Yearly Archive: 2017

31
Dec
2017

RETROSPECTIVE

very year, it goes a little faster, the swing from beginning to end. The seasons march past, the sun rises and sets, the things we do and say and experience, all flying by, to become a memory, a happening, something to look back on. This was a hard year for me, watching from afar as my country’s leadership opened its coat and exposed itself to the world. I’ve been learning how to live without children in the house, since Martin has been gone since July and Karin is basically never home. It’s been a year of adjustments, for sure. I...

25
Dec
2017

HAPPY HAPPY MERRY MERRY

It’s been a very relaxing long holiday weekend here in Flyinge. Unlike most of North America, we’ve had no snow, which is a pity…it’s been the usual southern Swedish mix of rain and grey, but inside candles, advent lights and the Christmas tree area all lit. Martin arrived home on December 19 and time is already flying by. I took two days off so we could get some things done and enjoy his being home before finishing up work before the holidays. It was SO NICE to see him and give him a hug and it’s SO NICE to have...

23
Dec
2017

EK FAMILY CHRISTMAS LETTER 2017

2017 started off quietly, with Liz participating in a gospel fest concert and Anders skiing in the Czech Republic, both with colleagues. Liz continues to sing in Eslöv’s pop choir, and is active on the board of the AWC, handling membership, and Anders kept busy mountain biking, competing in several X-Cup tournaments and Cykel Wasa during the year. January also marked our 20th anniversary of moving to Sweden! Hard to believe how time flies! In the beginning of February, Martin received confirmation that he had been accepted into his first place choice for college…at the College for Creative Studies in...

16
Dec
2017

GETTING IN THE MOOD

As always with this journal, I’m torn between simple posts about what’s been happening, what I’ve been doing, and more complex posts about my philosophies and what I think and care about. For the 4 of you reading, does it make a difference? It was an up and down week, work-wise. I tried too hard and went in on Monday, but ended up only managing a half-day before giving up and going home. Tuesday, however, I woke up feeling much better, worked from home all day and by Wednesday felt I was pretty much back to normal. The only other...

09
Dec
2017

TAKING THINGS OUT

You know, I’ve not even had that much problem with my gall bladder, but after a third episode, and getting it checked, and hearing that it was “nearly full of stones”, I thought it was better to be preemptive about having it removed, rather than wait until I ended up with major issues. Considering that my brother, my mother AND her father all had gall bladder attacks, it was probably just a matter of time. My surgery was scheduled for Wednesday morning and I’d had 6 weeks to prepare, and by prepare, I mostly mean losing weight. I managed to...

03
Dec
2017

LIGHTING THINGS UP

This has been a majorly NON-SLUG weekend here at Chez Ek. Anders, who has apparently been replaced by a pod person, went out yesterday and bought outdoor lights and HUNG THEM ALL ALONG THE FRONT EDGE OF THE HOUSE. He was too funny, because he came in to the bedroom on Saturday morning, where I was still lolling reading, and asked me if he could get one of these. Apparently they sell them here in Sweden, now. Guess who got the hairy eyeball THIS time? 😀 He had no intention of actually buying one, though, and proceeded to look up...

30
Nov
2017

I DO AND DO AND DO

This has been crazy week. Something every single evening: Monday – WW, where I expressed disappointment that my scale at home in the morning showed I had lost more than the scale at WW in the evening and was told that “you can’t trust your scale at home”. Which? What? Why not, WW? SO YOU CAN GET PAID MORE? Give me a break. (it was because it was morning, that’s why, and I was getting ready to shower and hadn’t eaten anything, so there) Tuesday – AWC monthly meeting with 2 guest speakers and the annual holiday cookie exchange, which...

26
Nov
2017

MAKING MERRY & GIVING THANKS (PLUS EATING STUFFING)

Would you believe that the ONLY photos I have of the 2017 Thanks-Friends-Giving-Aganza are a montage of my antique mini silver salt and pepper shakers being filled? SO EXCITING. Back in the day, we used to record our gathering for posterity, posing on and behind the sofa, which children in our laps, etc. Nowadays, we just wait hungrily for everyone to arrive already, throw things in the microwave to heat them up, and stampede to the tables to stuff ourselves. Nary a photo in sight! No one even lifts a camera, ’cause their hands are full of forks and knives,...

21
Nov
2017

GHOST TOWNS

Wherever we go, the older we get, the more we are living in the past. Everything around us reminds us of it, whether we realize it or not. Every house you pass, every building, every street you drive down, or road you take is a path, a place, a memory of something from your former self, your former life. And when you live somewhere for a long time, it’s even more true. Every rock, fence, tree, garden, has a history imprinted upon you. That’s the house the twins lived in, Martin’s former best friends, when he was young. And that...

17
Nov
2017

BEATING THE BLUR

Do you think time seems to go by faster because we stop paying attention to the details? At a certain point, we’ve seen it all before so we don’t have to watch it as it develops, and only need to stop and snap to when something new happens. And after years, nothing new really happens. Unless we really stop. And force ourselves to see the details in the little things, the everyday things that really aren’t the same. It’s not easy, though. I think we lazily allow ourselves too often to coast along, skimming the surface of our lives, until...