Monthly Archive: May 2019

27
May
2019

DOWN, DOWN, DOWN, THEN UP

We voted yesterday in the EU elections, but honestly, after hearing the results of elections all around the world, I wonder why we bother…I don’t feel like it makes any difference against the rising wave of nationalism, populism, right-wing rhetoric. Everyone I know expresses outrage and despair that the right-wing parties are gaining such ground, but SOMEONE must be voting for them. GAH. I really hope it doesn’t take a world war, climate explosion (beyond crisis) and a couple of generations to turn the tide again. Karin and I got her taxes done last week and I took them to...

20
May
2019

POPPING IN

I didn’t mean to disappear but first Karin came home and then Martin came home and we had all these things to do and here it is, only a week and a half later, but it feels like much longer. Anders was gone all last week, too…he left the day before Martin came home, on a work trip. He came home on Thursday and I’ve been kind of reveling in having all my babies at home together. We even watched Eurovision together as a family! (If you count the fact that a great deal of the time, someone was on...

08
May
2019

IF YOU WANT ME TO TREAT YOUR IDEAS WITH MORE RESPECT, GET SOME BETTER IDEAS*

I got involved in an interesting conversation the other day among a bunch of online writer friends, and have been thinking about it on and off all week. I’m putting it all down here because it’s an important conversation for me and I don’t want it lost on FB. One friend posted about someone (a friend) who had been spouting lots of rather repulsive opinions and my friend, who was only trying to relay what had happened and how he had felt about it, ended by saying that the guy was entitled to his dumb opinions. I didn’t know it...

04
May
2019

PRODIGAL

Karin’s trip to South America was 2/3’s done this past week. She and the girls were in Bolivia and heading from Lake Titicaca to La Paz for a couple of days last we talked. It’s been great that they have all been so good about posting on Instagram every couple of days and she has also texted us quite often and we’ve talked via Messenger almost every week. Helps to keep the distance a little smaller. After the mid-week holiday, we came back to crazy busy at work, as usual. Thursday felt like a Monday and one of my teammates...

01
May
2019

IT’S THE LITTLE THINGS

Just now, under the bird feeder, pecking up dropped sunflower seeds: a big, well-fed ring-necked pheasant strutting and bobbing his head, and a tiny-in-comparison golden-beige Eurasian collared dove. I had to look up the dove as I wasn’t sure exactly which breed it was; we don’t see them very often. We get pheasants almost daily, both the big male and a full harem of smaller, browner females that scuttle over to sweep up seeds and then dart back to the safety of the hedge. I’ve only got sunflower seeds left and not that many of them; the season for feeding...