Annelise's Adventures on Earth

Congratulations Astrid & Manny!

Me with Setina (and half of my sister Carley), my cousin Astrid's new adopted baby from Ethiopia! It was so great to get to meet her!

Annelise & her niece Maija

Maija helps celebrate her auntie's birthday with the family at Girardi's in Edmonds.

Oct. 15, 2008

Jonell & Chris Lee Reception - Salty's at Alki Sept. 6, 2008

The bride & groom - Jonell & Chris

The view of downtown Seattle from Salty's on Alki.

Annelise's chocolate fountain drenching!

Yumi's delicate plate of chocolate dipped goodies - so artistic.

Jenn, Annelise & Yumi

The gift to those who attended the wedding reception was a caricature drawing! Here I am as the little Mermaid!

Caricature of Tina & Adam

Caricature of Patty & Conrad

Caricature of Katie & David

Annelise meets Countess Alexandra of Frederiksborg

Countess Alexandra & Commoner Annelise meet in Seattle, August 6, 2008

Annelise's Royal Encounter!

I had an exciting evening last night!! The Danish National Girls Choir was in Seattle last night and performed along with theNorthwest Girl choir at the Unitarian Church close to the university. Joining the choir on the start of their tour was Countess Alexandra of Frederiksborg, former princess of Denmark! (She was married to the Queen of Denmark's youngest son, Prince Joachim, but was divorced a few years ago. They had two sons together, Prince Nikolaj and Prince Felix. Alexandra has since re-married to Martin Jørgensen).

When Countess Alexandra entered the church everyone rose as she walked to her seat in the front row. Then after the concert, she spent some time in the reception after the concert. She was talking to two people I knew, so I stood there and snuck my way into their conversation when after a little while, one of the ladies presented me to her and then we shook hands! Alexandra has a very strong hand shake! I spoke to her in Danish and I told her that it was an honor to meet her. She exclaimed right away that I spoke wonderful Danish (which is a compliment, but on the other hand she could tell I was an American by my accent...). I told her I had studied at the same language school she had studied at in Copenhagen. She asked if I had lived in Denmark and I told her about studying as an exchange student through the Universityof Washington and Københavns Universitet and then again in Aalborg for a few years.

I continued to tell her how much I loved Denmark and she asked me what I liked so much about it. I told her it was the whole country, the whole culture, the fact that every Dane could sing the same songs, like the one written by Hans Christian Andersen "I Danmark er jeg født". Alexandra asked me what kind of connections I had to Denmark and I told her how my grandfather was born on Fanø, that we had a summer house there, and that my Dad's cousin still lived on the island. She was quite impressed that I still had family there and had contact with them. I told her I always keep my eyes open for jobs in Denmark, because I would really love to live there, but that it is a bit difficult as a foreigner to get a job there. She disagreed and said that Denmark wants foreigners who can speak English, and I told her that I will keep trying. Alexandra then asked me if I was married. When I told her no, she said I had to find a Danish guy and move to Denmark! I told her I had already tried twice, but she said there are a lot more Danish guys out there!

I asked Alexandra how she liked Seattle and she said she loved the hills, how green it was and all the water, but she hadn't been in town that long. I asked her if she had flown in that day, and she said no, they had sailed in from Victoria, BC to Port Angeles and then drove to Kingston. I got excited and told her that I lived inEdmonds right where the ferry sailed to! Unfortunately, she is leaving today, so I told her I hoped that she got a chance to explore some of the city before her flight back to Copenhagen. She said she loves big cities and I couldn't help but think to myself that that was one of the reasons why she left Prince Joachim - she didn't like living in the country, so far away from everything...at least, that is what I read in the gossip magazines.

Then I ended our conversation by saying it was a pleasure to see her again and I told her that I had seen her for the first time at the opening of the DGI-byen(swimming center) in Copenhagen. She was surprised and said that that was about 10 years ago! I told her it was only 8...and she said, at the very least 8. But I could remember the date as I was living in Copenhagen from 2000 to 2001, so it was during that time. I had also seen her a second time after that when the Queen's mother had died, but I didn't mention that. :-)

So, our conversation ended there and that was that! It was great! She was so nice and personable, such a warm smile. She is very, very petite, so I was huge next to her, but she is beautiful. Alexandra's father is from Hong Kong and her mother is Austrian, so that is why she has an Asian look to her. In the picture I attached, she is the one in red. The lady she is talking to is Birthe and we are on the Northwest Danish Foundation program committee together. :-) Birthe's son has a picture of me shaking hands and talking to Alexandra, so I'm waiting to get those from him soon!

Annelise in Sedona, Arizona

The Red Rocks of Sedona - April 20, 2008

The view this Monday, January 28

This past Monday, Western Washington awoke to a layer of white. I was fortunate to have a two-hour late start at work, and enjoyed sleeping in a bit more! :) Here was the breath taking view from my living room when I opened my blinds that wintry morning!

The Edmonds ferry making it's way to Kingston on the Olympic Peninsula.

Annelise's New Apartment - Edmonds, 98020

My parents over for their first dinner at my place, Saturday February 2nd. We had carrot & bacon soup, which Irene had made in Denmark last year and it was so delicious!