This week in The Pearl


This week, for the most part, has been sunny and mild, February does that to us here, it seduces you into thinking that spring is replacing winter. Experience reminds me that March can all too frequently turn quite winter-like, even snow. But I am ready for spring. On Wednesday we went for a walk and…

TheTravelsketcher’s Tuesday


Our Europe trip planning continues, discovering that there are no direct flights from Helsinki to Montenegro we are contemplating what we have done before, that is adding a stop instead of just a layover. The best options seem to be either Vienna or Prague. And since so many people, and most recently our fellow bloggers,…

This week in The Pearl – January 30, 2026


We started last weekend with a birthday party for Tricia. We had some friends and family over and called it a BYOHH party (Bring Your Own Happy Hour). Lots of good food, conversation, music, and I even got to dance with Alexis. Our dance floor is pretty small! On Sunday Tricia made crispy Parmesan rounds…

TheTravelsketcher’s Tuesday – more planning


Continuing with the theme of how we plan trips, and the actual planning for an upcoming Europe trip, I added our second stop to the sketchbook which I will take with me on the trip. Last week I wrote that I use the Notes app on my iPad for trip planning. It is more than…

This week in The Pearl – January 23, 2026


A quiet week for us, which is nice to have now and then. Thanks to video calls we were able to chat with our friends in Paris, and with our Japanese daughter in Tokyo, who has two adorable little ones. For Sunday Lunch Tricia made mushroom tartlets for out entrée, I made a goat cheese…