Welcome, friends!

Ever wonder what would happen if you truly “stirred your pot,” shaking up your life by moving to a new continent, country and culture?

And let’s add in also learning one of the hardest languages on the planet and navigating the future amidst living next door to Russia?

Welcome to my story and life here alongside the Baltic Sea in southern Estonia. My husband, John Ivanko, and I traded our granted comfortable and expected life path in Wisconsin, USA for our new Estonian homestead in June, 2024. For us, as we aged into our late 50s, we knew the time to shake things up and embrace all the changes and challenges moving abroad entailed was now.

While we bring experience from running a farm and B&B for thirty years, Inn Serendipity, we’re on a steep learning curve with new growing climates and customs.

My roots run deep here as this is the is the area my parents and family fled in 1944 when the Soviet Union invaded and occupied Estonia, where my father is from, and Latvia, on my mom’s side. While I was raised with a strong Baltic cultural connection, this chapter of my life is a new journey for me – connecting with my ancestral heritage in so many new ways, including embracing Estonian language learning.

Fun fact: I moved to Estonia never having been here before. John and I just knew for a variety of reasons it was the right time and right move for us.

Some stories take generations to complete.

I so appreciate your coming along on this journey. My motivation in creating this Substack is that by sharing our adventures – successes and failures – that it sparks ideas and support for you, for whatever change you may be craving.

In “Stirring the Pot” I’ll be sharing weekly-ish newsletter posts on:

• Updates on the new Estonian homestead: Tamme

• Learnings on embracing a new European home base and expat life

• Reflections on embracing one’s ancestral roots as a woman in midlife

• Recipes and flavors – especially from foraging in the forest across the road

• Serendipity and the joy of embracing the journey and daily simple pleasures

If your soul perked up reading this – welcome! – and a warm invitation to subscribe for free so every post goes directly to your inbox for free.

All posts are free. Gratitude to paid subscribers who can generously take an extra step of support.

I look forward to keeping connected!

Love,

Lisa Kivirist