Another year gone by

And so it was, the arrival of the last day of a year that I eleven months ago already considered to be the worst year of my life. It is surprising how fast time flies and how little (or much?) you seem to get done! Is it only a feeling or do the years pass quicker the older you get...? Anyway, celebration was due and I had prepared - with good assistance from Sofia - some of our standard Garvi New Year's Eve dishes for the very first time in my life! And guess what? It was all edible!

In true Nigerien style, Sofia and I had done the uniform-thing again, although we had designed our dresses slightly differently... (=the charm of having your own tailor!)

The guests arrived and the food seemed much appreciated. And yes, there was enough for Josef as well, even after Sofia had helped herself...

After dinner, we played Myers will Run like Arrows - a computer game that my brother made for me several years ago and which still tops the chart!

Then it was time for the last snack of the year. Sofia and I retreated to the kitchen to make some glögg à la Niger (made of malva). And voila, our little end-of-the-year-feast!

A good ending to the hardest but also in retrospect the most challenging and developing year I have ever experienced. When midnight arrived, we were on the phone skyping with my parents and my sister in Sweden (my mom was let out of hospital and could celebrate New Year at home). Technology makes distance seem so much smaller, but sometimes you still wish you could just cross the ocean in a click.

Ishtar