Monthly Archive: May 2004

Out in the fields, the evening sun is slowing moving aside a white swath of foggy cloud. For a moment, it’s as though it’s rising instead of setting. Clover and cowslip muster along the dirt road and the gravel lies in the triangular patterned ridges that tractors have left behind. A magpie startles and then swoops into flight, the double white flash of its wing markings slice the air. Off in the distance, fields of rape glow in golden patches. On one side a seemingly infinite carpet of green moves wavily over the fields all the way to Holmby church....

I’ve never been drunk in my life. I’ve never really seen the need. But I’m drunk now…on Spring. It’s intoxicating. You don’t even have to ingest anything*, it just fills you up with joy automatically. I’ve started going for a power walk each evening after I put the kids in bed and Karin is safely asleep. It’s so light out, even at 8:30 that it feels like late, late afternoon, even though the sun is streaking orange and pink behind the trees. One allé is lined with tall wild pear trees. Their branches are stretched and curled and covered with...

I have an interview in 2 weeks!!

The atmosphere at work is so full of tension and weirdness that you could cut it with a knife. The head of our department is really angry over what happened on Friday (his planned outing not getting the positive reception he expected) and showing it. 🙁 I had a long talk with another colleague about everything and she feels essentially the same as I do. Neither of us has any good ideas for solutions, however, beyond looking for new jobs. Flyinge in Springtime: Scroll down for pictures Interview with Madeleine L’Engle: I Dare You A Wrinkle in Time has finally...

put up insect bead curtain and window screens can’t stop opening windows put all the winter jackets in the closet put dark navy blinds up in the kids’s rooms so they’ll stop saying it’s too light out to be bedtime changed from winter comforter to summer-weight blanket lilacs, lilacs, LILACS! received invitation to annual midsommar party

Haha! My BROTHER called to wish me a Happy Mother’s Day…which none of my family here had thought about. Anders always makes sure I get flowers for the Swedish Mother’s Day (May 23) but he never remembers the American one. 🙂 Doesn’t seem fair to make him remember 2 mother’s days somehow. I sent flowers to MY mom and will be calling her and my grandma later. It’s looking to be a beautiful day today, it’s 10:30 and the temp is already up to 20C. I have … NO PLANS … other than to drop off and pick up Martin...

Yesterday was an all-around horrible day. I bailed out on work togetherness (bleah) after a couple of hours of trying to put on a smiley face, and later, after dinner with some friends where I felt increasingly uncomfortable and out-of-place*, we ended up not being able to see Mona Lisa’s Smile as it turned out the movies changed yesterday at the theater and they hadn’t posted the new ones on the website, so we had a choice between Secret Window and “Angelina Jolie playing an FBI agent” movie, whereupon the other 3 girls chose Angelina because the theme of the...

The courtyard of the school looks like a ticker tape parade hit it, but it turns out it’s the cherry blossoms blown asunder by the wind. Skåne is windy, as usual, and the trees are winking silver and green, silver and green. The tulips and daffodils are bleached of color and bowing under their own weight, and the dandelions are closed up tight waiting for the sun. It’s a 3-pheasant day, must be a lucky one. 3 proud (but stupid) gentlemen pheasants ambling in various places along the edges of the road, the grove, the fields. 1 of them struts...

After the bath, while I’m brushing his hair: Liz: (brushing Martin’s wet bangs straight up) There! Go check that out! Martin: (goes to look in mirror, comes back rolling eyes at me) Farmor: Vilken tuffing!* Martin: (makes another face) Jag vill inte vara en tuffing, jag vill vara en snygging* Me: (laughing too hard to brush)

Fighting with my daughter seems to be becoming an integral part of our lives. 🙁 We just butt heads constantly. I know that I have control issues, but I also find the stubbornness and tenacity of my daughter completely over-the-top. She finds it necessary to fight EVERY request, every order, everything. I’m so tired of it I could scream. Last night was horrible and this morning wasn’t much better. After doing a LOT of thinking about it, trying to figure out what to do to change my attitude and my reactions, which, let me tell ya, ain’t easy, I had...