Yearly Archive: 2021

11
May
2021

HEARTBEATS & BIRDSONG

It’s the prettiest time of the year. All the flowering trees are in bloom: yellow, white, pink, and all the trees that don’t have flowers look like they’re blooming too: bright neon green. I went for a walk around the village and had to restrain myself from taking photo after photo of trees. Trees are so pleasing in their new spring finery. I walked through the pear allé and admired all the white blossoms overhead. Tulips and daffodils and pearl hyacinth are blooming and our yard, along with everyone else’s, is polka-dotted with sunny circles of dandelions. Out back, a...

09
May
2021

SUDDENLY, SUMMER

Sometimes, when it’s been a while, and I keep forgetting to write something here, I feel like I’m coming to confession: Forgive me, LJ, for I have sinned. It’s been 8 days since my last post. Last week was all work and crappy weather and nothing much on the news front, until Friday, when I got a letter in the mail from our local healthcare clinic with an appointment time for my first vaccine shot. WOO HOO! FINALLY! It’s scheduled for May 19, so I am going to be super careful between now and then. Imagine getting COVID the week...

01
May
2021

ON HOLD

Happy first of May! It’s a beautiful day here, sunny with blue skies and a little breeze, but definitely still on the chilly side. We still have some 0 temps in the forecast but I’m really hoping that slightly warmer weather is on the way. On Wednesday night Anders had an accident in the garage and took a fall. He was astride the motorcycle he is rebuilding and the whole thing tipped sideways, throwing him into the wall, as well as everything in front of it, including a grill and a metal bike stand. End result: his motorcycle is fine...

24
Apr
2021

THE SOUND OF SILENCE

About a week ago, I started a post with this sentence: Man, it’s *crickets* around here. It never even occurred to me how very specific that particular phrase is. To English-speakers, of a certain age, and a certain kind. And also how recent its use is. yourdictionary.com gives this definition: (US slang, humorous or derisive) Absolute silence; no communication. Derived from the cinematic metaphor of chirping crickets at night, signaling (otherwise) complete quiet. May be used alone or in metaphorically descriptive phrases. Merriam-Webster has a whole page in their “Words we’re watching” site dedicated to it…because it’s a word that...

20
Apr
2021

NEW CHAPTERS

I threw my back out this weekend, moving furniture around in the kids’ rooms and then made it worse by continuing to work, and then cleaning out the fridge. By Sunday I could barely walk. Getting up from a sitting position or from bed was torture, walking hurt, sitting hurt. Everything hurt. Thank all the gods for ibuprofen and heating pads. I had a massage scheduled yesterday after work as well and Emily spent extra time on my lower back, getting at the place where the muscles were protesting. I had a couple of bad nights, but this morning, despite...

16
Apr
2021

ALL THE THINGS

I made it through another work week, and this one without crying in front of my manager on a Teams meeting, so I call that a win. Work is still crazy but I am proud of my team for managing to keep our task queue at a reasonable level, despite the fact that we were 2 men down this past week as our freelancer wasn’t able to help us at all. Next week I have a massage scheduled and a hair appointment so I will actually be getting out of my house (more than just to the grocery store) for...

13
Apr
2021

DON’T YOU (FORGET ABOUT ME)

Man, it’s *crickets* around here…even more so than usual. I don’t think I’ve ever gone this many posts with so few comments. I don’t know if it’s because of the stupid LJ issue with telling anonymous commenters that they are banned (they’re NOT! YOU’RE NOT! COMMENT ANYWAY!) or people’s general malaise or what. I know I’m one of the last diehards out here blogging, but it’s such a marked difference from even a couple of years ago. And I’m just as culpable as anyone else. I read a few last-blogger-standing blogs out there too, and rarely comment. I’m much more...

11
Apr
2021

AROUND THE VILLAGE WE CALL HOME

Good thing I went for a walk yesterday while the sun was shining because today is freezing: grey, rainy and occasionally snowing. It’s supposed to be like this all day. Yesterday afternoon I asked Anders if he wanted to go for a walk and he said yes and we left about 3 pm with me saying that I wanted to walk at least 20 minutes. There are no good places to walk, really, in our village. It’s all paved for the most part, with only one gravel dirt path (the snail trail) unless you head to the outskirts. Karin and...

10
Apr
2021

IF I DID NOT LAUGH I SHOULD DIE*

Last week was not a great week. Specifically, Thursday was not a great day. In fact, it was a down-right shitty day. Things went wrong all day and culminated in crying in front of my manager on a Teams call, which was extremely frustrating and embarrassing. I was crying because I was angry and upset and then all the rest of it came pouring in on top and just made it worse: worry and stress and sadness and fear and all the emotions this past year has been piling on top of me. UGH. To make things even worse, poor...

03
Apr
2021

A WEEKEND OF MENTAL HEALTH BOOSTERS

I read recently that birdwatching from your home provides a major boost to mental health. The article says, “Researchers from the University of Exeter recently found that bird watching can have a positive effect on mental health. They discovered that people who are able to watch birds from their homes have a lower risk of depression, stress, and anxiety compared to people who live in less nature dense areas with fewer birds.” We have two bird feeders set up at the corner of the deck, one that holds 2 suet balls and one that is 2-sided for sunflower seeds and...

May 2024
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