It’s forecast to rain all day and this coming week but the sun has been doing its best to stay out and I went for a walk around the village, enjoying the sunshine (had to remove my jacket!) and the greenery. The cherry trees and magnolias and spirea are blooming. The magnolias, especially the bright pink ones, are such ridiculously pretty pink popsicles of trees. Columbine and forget-me-nots and pansies are everywhere and every field looks carpet-bombed by bright yellow dandelions. Out in the fields, the rapeseed is reaching its neon-yellow heights. And I saw a pied wagtail! The first of the season; it’s official: spring is here, haha!
My friend’s situation in the hospital has worsened in some ways; last Wednesday night she had a minor stroke and lost her capacity for speech for a short while. We’ve still been receiving daily texts from her with short updates, and this morning she called me and we talked for nearly an hour. She’s very upbeat and positive, despite having no answers yet, a continuing barrage of tests, and no timeline on when she will be released. I’m grateful that she was actually IN the hospital when the stroke happened and that she is getting such good care from the staff. No visitors are allowed due to COVID, but she doesn’t want anyone sending anything to her right now. Just good thoughts and texts. Her father was completely incapacitated by a stroke when he was somewhere around her age and I know the specter of that is always present in her mind.
At least 4 people that I know, all friends or old schoolmates of mine, have lost their fathers in the past couple of weeks. It’s very sobering. I feel like I’m reaching the age of condolence cards and hospital visits and funerals. Not a stage of life that I’m thrilled about being in, that’s for sure. There’s no alternative, of course. No one gets out of life alive.
Anders and I are watching Halston, a mini-series about the designer’s life, success, and gradual decline. We both like Ewan MacGregor, but I have to say I am not really into it. Halston seemed like a real diva jerk and the excess of the Seventies and that kind of rich-person lifestyle is not really something I am okay with or really care about watching. There’s only 1 more episode so I guess I’ll finish it, unlike the documentary about the Knutby murders that Martin recommended a week or so ago, and which we started watching. I stopped after 2.5 episodes, though Anders finished it. I just couldn’t take any more religious idiocy. People are so stupid and selfish sometimes. Even if the documentary itself was very thorough and well-done, I don’t need that stuff in my head. We watched Nomadland last night as well, but even though I thought it was good and very well-done, I wasn’t that impressed. It felt like it was going nowhere, which yes, I know, was the whole point.
I AM reading a really engaging book, though. Why Peacocks? An Unlikely Search for Meaning in the World’s Most Magnificent Bird by Sean Flynn. I’m only a few chapters in and already I highly recommend it. Super interesting!
The long weekend is nearly over and I managed not to work at all apart from answering a couple of emails quickly on Friday, though I admit to THINKING about it. I didn’t do a whole lot; my manager will be proud of me. I slept in, read 3 books, played games, watched shows, took walks, and cleaned. I defrosted the freezer, washed all the rugs, and mopped ALL the tile floors in the house: go, me! This upcoming week is a bit of a busy one. I’m doing a training for the marketing team in Middle Europe tomorrow afternoon, on Tuesday I have a long-delayed dentist appointment, and on Wednesday I get my first vaccine shot. The week after that I have three appointments as well. Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Haha!
In the US, the CDC has said that fully vaccinated people no longer have to wear masks, even indoors, with some few exceptions. One person on Facebook asked how you trust others that aren’t wearing masks to actually have been vaccinated, and was answered that you can’t. The whole thing is built on an honor system that no longer seems to exist in America. Of course, all of society itself is basically built on an honor system, isn’t it? Someone else asked how you tell if someone is vaccinated if they aren’t wearing a mask and the answer was: ask them who won the election. It’s funny ‘cuz it hurts. It makes me glad all over again that I live in Sweden.
My son, who is supposed to be moving home this summer at some point, just quit his job at Dominos and started a new one at a different restaurant. I felt like it wasn’t being very ethical to start a job that you know you are going to be quitting in a few months, but everyone seems to think it’s perfectly fine in that industry. He’s been progressively unhappier at Dominos (shocker, I know) and this new place seems to be MUCH better, and is paying him quite a bit more. I wish he’d found it earlier!