Since Halloween is such a big deal here, I just have to post some more pictures even though it´s over for this time.

Last week started out with all of us, except Johan, catching a cold so there were some inactive days and the kids didn´t go to school. This Friday I had some highlights done at the Fox & Jane Salon (took like three and a half hours!) and there I learned a lot. My stylist was really great in telling about Americans´ social behaviour etc. She was born in California and had just moved here from Berlin, Germany where she had stayed for three years, so I think she felt a little bit like an European. 😉

Like why Americans like to talk in the elevator, it´s not because they are really interested in you, but more because they feel an urge to say something and want to fill out the “awkward silence”. It´s kind of funny, since for a Swede – it´s more embarrasing to say something in the elevator and break that awkward silence. 🙂

She also told me about public schools, they (of course) get government money for each child who attends school. The school misses out on some money every day a child is absent. No wonder they are really eager to have Vira in school every day.

Last Wednesday was Doctor´s Day! Olle and I went to the Gouverneur Hospital to see Gloria once again. This time they only checked his weight and gave him his first shot of Varicella, since he had never actually had Chicken pox!

Our next visit to Gloria is on Thursday, when Elvira is going to do her health examination. This week, public schools are closed on Tuesday Nov 8 (Election Day, Midterm) and also on Friday, Nov 11 due to Veterans Day. Wednesday is an early day in school for Vira, due to so called school Conferences – a focus on learning, although behavior and social concerns might be discussed. The teacher will review your child’s progress, including strengths and areas in need of improvement. You also might talk about standardized test results, individualized education plans (IEP). Looks a bit similar to the Swedish arrangement and here it´s also a 15 minutes long student-led session.

Last week was also last class of Drawing. I really liked it, and will probably do another round soon. 🙂

This day the kids also finally got their own bank cards. It only took an hour with our bankman Tamba at Chase 😉 This weekend has been full of hangin´out, first on Friday evening, Johan and I had an AW with Anette, a friend of Lotta´s, at Local 92 on Mulberry Street. A really nice acqauintance. 🙂 By Saturday, Vira and I were window-shopping for four hours… and in the evening Johan and I met up with Suz and Carl for an amazingly tasty dinner at Moustache, a Middle Eastern Cuisine on Bedford St in Greenwich Village. They gave us tips to some jazz clubs like jazz at Lincoln Center, Mezzrow and the Smalls. Hopefully Olle is allowed in some place, despite his age. I will now do a little investigation 🙂

Today is Sunday and time for the New York Marathon 2022, with over 50,000 runners! We started off in Brooklyn on Bedford St, and just in time for Olle to see Katta, a friend of Mari´s. All the rest of us missed her, so we continued our tracking and spotted her at 61 St, 1 Ave on Manhattan 🙂 So fun to see her, and a lot of Swedes were running. It was a true festive atmosphere all over the city, and almost the same temperature as at the Swedish Marathon in June… We have also set the clocks back 1 hour, so again Sweden is 6 hours ahead of us.

I have also got a tip about the Art Gallery Crawl and even found artnet.com by myself. I would like to visit a gallery, like go to an opening in black turtleneck, sip a glass of red and just “hmmm…, hmm…., Ahh”! 🙂

Now the first little sunflower is accompanied by the second 🌻

Just went down to Trader Joe´s and I have never had a thought about how the Brussels sprouts grow…