This morning, I swear, if my head hadn’t been attached, I would probably have accidently left it at home. I managed to remember that Martin has utedag* today, it being Wednesday, but I still managed to leave the house without his plastic cushion, which we turned around to retrieve and then, after getting to the school to drop him off remembered that he was also supposed to have a lunchbag with him, in addition to his fruit (the only thing I DID remember). Because it’s the end of the school year and schedules seem to be warping and shifting faster than I can keep up with, I went to doublecheck with one of the teachers and mentioned that I had forgotten Martin’s lunchbag and she said, “Don’t worry about it, I’ll fix him up something.” How nice was that?!! 🙂 So nice it made my day.
The lupines are springing up on their tall stalks, out of clumps of multi-armed starred green leaves. Royal purple iris stand sternly at attention, guarding doorways. A black cat turns and stares and then pounces on something with both paws together, slipping sideways under a grassy path and disappearing. Flowering currants are covered in tiny pink blossoms, they’re called rosenribs in Swedish. Europe is a land of hedges and most gardens and yards are outlined in green, cornered and clipped with living borders. It’s aggravating to me that I only recognize beech on sight and don’t know the names of any others. There are so many different kinds of hedge; I can’t decide if I like the evergreens better or not. And Googling hasn’t helped me find a website that shows pictures of different kinds of hedges and what their names are, darn it.
Going home to the States in summer plays mind games with me. When I drive or walk past gardens and yards it seems strange to be able to see all the way to the houses. There is rarely a green wall of privacy between any home or the street. After living in Europe for so long, such openness seems almost indecently extravagant. I can remember when I first moved to Sweden thinking that all the homes were so closed in, so secret…now I see the hedges as providing a sort of coziness and definition. Most of the houses in our new division have planted baby hedges outlining their lots. It will be interesting to watch them grow up and slowly hide the homes I’m so familiar with now.
Oooh! Geek Alert! I just got handed a new Sony Ericsson Bluetooth Handsfree HBH-200 to play with and test out. Like I’m going to give it back or something. Mine, mine, all mine!
Playing With Your Food! Hot Dog Art (the kids are going to LOVE this! thanks for the link, lonita!)
Very Happy Birthday Wishes to: ankylosaurusy and nannergo!
*literally “out day.” I can’t think what this is called in English as my mind is apparently mush today. They go out for most of the morning walking and eat lunch outside. All my mushy brain can come up with, as evidence that I’ve ingested way too much Milne, is “expotition.”