Yearly Archive: 2017

01
Aug
2017

TRIPPING

On summer nights, with the windows open, you can hear the frogs in the pond across the street from my mother’s house chuckling. They laugh all night long. At least it sounds that way from the distance of a driveway and a gravel road. “Heh, heh heh,” they chortle. “Heh, heh heh.” ALL NIGHT LONG. The first time I heard them, I couldn’t figure out what it was or where the noise was coming from. Karin and I were sharing the big bed in the front bedroom and I rolled over and poked her. “Are you giggling under your breath?”...

25
Jun
2017

SUM SUM SUMMER

Got home from the week in Germany last night, sailing up through the country like we had jet propulsion, in stark contrast to our crawling, staggering, stuttered drive down. What took us (and should take us) about 11.5 hours including the ferry and stops on the way back took a horrendous 16.5 hours on the way down, thanks to massive, unending construction and unbelievable traffic. Between Hamburg and Hannover on the way down, while I was at the wheel, 30 kilometers took us nearly 3 hours. ON THE AUTOBAHN. We had a lovely week with my brother, Simone, the boys,...

04
Jun
2017

NEVER GONNA STOP, GOTTA GO

Anders is cooking dinner with the groceries I bought after I dropped Martin off at the bus station in Södra Sandby: salmon, new potatoes, spinach and a creamy herb sauce to go with it. I bought three big artichokes, too, but figure we can have those tomorrow. It’s another long weekend and yesterday was simply lovely; it was what I needed in every way. The sun was shining, it was warm but not too warm and I left the house at 1:30 (after practice-driving with Karin to her soccer match and finishing a very good book which made me late...

25
May
2017

A DAY TO RELAX IN

It’s another long weekend in the middle of the Swedish spring. We have a glut of them in April, May and June every year and then pretty much NOTHING until Christmas. This one is for Ascension Day, which is today. My company is great about holidays…we always get a half-day the day before and if the holiday falls on a Tuesday or a Thursday, we get the Monday or the Friday off as well. Next week is a regular 5-day work week but then we have another long weekend and a 3-day work week following. And then it’s only 2...

24
May
2017

UP/DOWN

Good things Lilacs, pied wagtails, full-on spring, warm days, cool breezes, a long weekend right now and another one next weekend (!), Late Night talk show hosts that articulate everything I feel about my home country right now, singing Africa in choir Not so good things Pinched nerve, lack of motivation, mixed emotions that threaten to overwhelm me, not being able to sit at the computer without pain, unfriending people on Facebook because I just can’t take it anymore, end of choir term and not knowing if our choir will continue in the fall Looking forward to Midsummer week in...

10
May
2017

THERE! THAT OUGHT TO HOLD YA

Gah. Time goes by too quickly. I think about writing all the time, but then I sit down to do something simple and my arm shoots pain and I give up and don’t stay here long enough to write anything. I suspect this is what aging is going to be about for me: falling apart, pain and doctor appointments. And who wants to read about that? NOT ME. Anyway, we bought our tickets to the US for the summer, or for at least 3 very expensive weeks of it. For Karin’s and my round-trip tickets and Martin’s 1-way ticket, it...

01
May
2017

THINGS I AM ALL ABOUT THIS LONG WEEKEND

Sneezing Itchy eyes Baby lilacs Dandelions in the sun Fat floofy full pots of pansies Chilly clear blue skies Bonfires! Strawberry & rhubarb pie with whipped cream Open windows Blowing my nose a million times Breezes, lots Writing lists Looking for motivation Naps Trying and failing to sleep in Ouchy arm FBARs Pied Wagtails! SPRING IS HERE!

16
Apr
2017

SPRUNG!

Even my mom has mentioned how neglected my blog is. I know, I know! I survived the MRI, but it was not a pleasant experience at all, and I have to wait a week for the results, to even know if they got good enough images to use or if they will want me to do it again (please no). It’s a extra-long Easter weekend, which is nice except for the fact that I am STILL sick (coughing mostly and snucky) and Anders is sick and Karin is sick. The kids and I actually colored eggs on Thursday, something I...

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