Monthly Archive: January 2006

18
Jan
2006

MENTAL PARENTAL

Life is heating up, along with the earth, which is, although it may not SEEM like it, moving down the orbital arc towards spring. Choir started tonight with a bang. We’ve already got a schedule of concerts through to August, with 3 major programs, including a tour show of the Spanish theater/dance/song/music extravaganza (Sangria!) we put on in 2004. Wheee!! We worked through a couple of our favorites from Sangria, and then started the first song from Stabat Mater, which nearly all the Swedes have sung before and knew, but I’ve never even heard of. Which is a bit strange,...

17
Jan
2006

ROSES IN DECEMBER

All my life I’ve tried to train my brain to take snapshots. When I’m in a moment that I find particularly moving or beautiful or funny, I sometimes hear this tiny little director behind my eyes suddenly whip out his megaphone, adjust his beret and yell PLACES EVERYONE—FREEZE FRAME! “SSSSSHHHH,” I tell him, “You’re ruining the moment. Be quiet.” And he frowns and looks indignant and mumbles something about just doing his job. I don’t remember when I became conscious of doing this: consciously trying to save a memory. Perhaps around the age of 9 or 10, the same time...

16
Jan
2006

CAREER PATHS

When I was 17 I thought a career in childcare was a definite possibility. I was good with kids and they liked me, and I could round them up, sit them down and get them to be quiet within minutes. I remember flooring a couple of teachers that I worked with as an aide my first few days at the daycare on the outskirts of Michigan State, when they came into a room that a few minutes earlier had been expanding like a JiffyPop, to find the 5-year-olds and I seated in a large bunched circle on the floor, quiet...

15
Jan
2006

THINKING OF SOMETHING STUPID TO SAY

It is so quiet in the house that the clickety snick of the computer keys sounds like popping bubble wrap, muted fireworks beneath my fingers. Besides my own self-generated soundtrack, I can hear the hum of the monitor, the quiet drone of computer (slightly lower-pitched), and the murmuring of the aquarium pump. Why all this undertoning doesn’t drive me batshit insane I don’t know, since normally repetitive noises top my list of cut-that-out-before-i-kill-you annoyances. The only other sound is the empty whooshing slap and slurp of my liquid brain; there’s nothing concrete to be had today, it seems. Have I...

14
Jan
2006

WORDS SPOKEN IN WINTER GO UNHEARD UNTIL THE THAW

What do you do when you find an accessory for your home that you absolutely LOVE and MUST HAVE, but your husband (or roommate or boyfriend or whatever) gets that look on his face when you take him by the arm and lead him excitedly over to show him? You know that look. It’s the same one you gave him when he suggested devoting one wall of your bedroom to Ducati motorcycles. It’s the “you’ve got to be kidding me” look, the “over my dead body” look. What do you do then? With your heart fluttering out of your body...

13
Jan
2006

OBITER DICTUMING WITH A VENGEANCE

Topics of Discussion Between Martin & I During Our Evening Walks Yesterday & Today: Greek, Indian and Norse Mythology, Whether Trickster Gods are Good or Bad, Why Some Kids Are Bullies, Which Book to Read Next After Oz3, Whether Watching Harry Potter Would Scare Him Now Since Narnia Didn’t. I’ve always loved Greek mythology. I took several courses in it, along with Art History, during college, and still have several reference books on my shelves. I think my love goes back to a particular book (although it could just be because of Wonder Woman on TV when I was an...

11
Jan
2006

HEART PARTS

Help! Help! I’m being oppressed! By cloud cover. Actually, it’s too thick to merit a thin, just stretched over top, short little name like cover. I’m being oppressed by cloud duvet. By cloud quilt. By cloud down comforter. It sounds very cuddly and warm, doesn’t it? HA! Sweden in January is anything BUT cuddly and warm, I assure you. Had another toss-and-turn, mostly sleepless night last night. (Have since heard, right here on my computer, that several of YOU didn’t sleep well either, what’s up with that? sympathy insomnia?) Anders didn’t sleep well either (and NOT because of any alleged...

09
Jan
2006

BORK BORK BORK!

My friend brief_therapy has admitted that she can’t cook. She’s even gone so far as to PROVE it on a few occasions. So, another friend of ours, Marie ozswede MarthaStewart sent her a Cooking By Numbers website to help her out. I thought, HEY! That sounds like a good idea. You enter in the ingredients you have to work with that are currently in your fridge or your cupboard and it gives you recipes that work for those particular items. Cool, eh? Here’s my favorite. I told it I only had apples. Apple on its own – Serves 1 Ingredients:...

08
Jan
2006

SECOND THOUGHTS

Most of my life I’ve been very capable at saying yes to the right things and no to the wrong ones. There are only a few instances that I can think of where I have truly not been able to answer correctly and act accordingly. That is completely aside from my ability to multi-task and my well-documented love of having an overfull plate and schedule where my life is concerned. This past year I made promises to myself to try and slow down, smell the roses, give more time to my family, take more time for myself, and not take...

January 2006
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