My Hip Replacement
Jeff’s life takes a turn as he get himself a brand-new prosthetic hip! Latvian medicine, is it worth it?
September 2025
I know that time shifts as we grow older. I see that at 53 that weeks last a day, days an hour, and time is just slipping away. I open my eyes on January 1, and by the time I blink it is September. I just wanted to write something of little consequence and without …
Pinball in Latvia
Pinball: A Love Letter It has been awhile, but I feel like I need to write something, so let me announce the introduction of pinball to Latvia! Thanks to Pinball Arena, Latvia may finally join the rest of the Western World! Yes, that’s right, we may have pinball machines! What is pinball? For those of …
Birthday in Belgium
Technically I took the trip the weekend before my birthday, but Baiba and I decided to pre-celebrate my 53rd in Belgium. The plan came together based on the cheap tickets I was able to find via Ryanair. I am also working on visiting places I haven’t been yet, and I am slowly covering all the …
In Memory of Andra Timm née Grinvalds
Andra’s Death My sister Andra died suddenly at the age of 69 on 5 January 2025. By chance, I had visited her the day before. I was in the U.S. visiting for the holidays. On the last day of my visit, I was in a hurry to meet a friend when my sister Susan texted …
Poland and Moving
It has literally been months since I have written anything, and so much is going on in the world that I feel inspired to make a little blog post. Halloween just ended, but the scariest few days are yet to come. With 2 days until the U.S. election, no one knows what is going to …
Vienna: A Punctual and Refined Place
Travel to beautiful Vienna and experience mediocre coffee with lots of people walking around in tennis shoes! And see one man urinating on the church steps!
A Tribute to Arnolds Grinvalds
Arnolds Grinvalds 25 October 1956–10 November 1990 Arnolds was the second child of Liesma and Vitauts Grinvalds. He was named after his uncle Arnolds Grinbergs, his mother’s brother, who had been a soldier, stranded behind in Latvia after World War II. Uncle Arnolds’ wife Alma fled the country with their children in October of 1944, …
Stockholm: A Tidy City
Jeff and Baiba take a whirlwind weekend trip to Sweden. Find out about the good, the bad, and the coffee.
Leap Year Special
I honestly have no idea what this is going to be about, but on this foggy morning in Riga, I felt like it was time to write something. Philosophy of Writing and Sharing I have not been writing my blog because I had this moment last year where I thought… why am I sharing my …