GAH
Work is insane, it’s too dark out, it’s raining, the kids are on vacation for a week, we’re dog-sitting and I forgot we have to carve the pumpkin tonight. I miss summer and I can’t wait for vacation.
29
Oct
2012
Author: lizardek
24
Oct
2012
PARTS & PIECES
I’m down to the last few things to do with the diminished boxes of Lego left on the dining room table, but I have to admit I’ve been a little obsessed fascinated with trying to figure out what sets the pieces we have left might belong to. Several of our pieces are really old, from the 60s and 70s and a few are only inventoried in a couple of esoteric sets that neither Anders nor I remember having had, so we can’t figure out where they came from to begin with. Martin picked up at least 3 or 4 bags...
19
Oct
2012
AUTUMN BEAUTY & A BOOK DILEMMA
Most years, autumn here in southern Sweden is an afterthought. A quick flash through gold to brown and ashes! ashes! all fall down! Autumn is usually rainy, sodden, darkening and the leaves don’t stand a chance: they fall with the rain to lie in decaying circles beneath suddenly bare branches. This year, O! we’ve been blessed by cold, clear days and a long stretch of solid blue sky and flame-tipped, flame-topped foliage. The birches are golden, the maples are red, and everything else is in between: orange, pumpkin, crimson, amber, saffron, carrot, coral, terracotta, rust, umber, copper, bronze. Most of...
15
Oct
2012
MOSTLY KARIN
I was maybe a little too hasty in my despairing busy-angst last week, because I just sat up and looked around me and realized I have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING BOOKED any evening this week and I don’t even have to drive Karin to or from any practices! (More on that in a minute) How did THAT happen? It’s like a shining oasis of empty calendar in the middle of a giant sea of crazy. The reason why Karin isn’t going to practice this week is because she fell and hurt herself in gym class on Friday and we ended up in...
11
Oct
2012
SO. MUCH. TO. DO
Every hour is filled. Of every day. Of every week. UNTIL NEXT YEAR. Where is my order form for MORE HOURS IN THE DAY, PLEASE?
04
Oct
2012
COMING UP AND GOING DOWN
Anders comes home tonight, and I am SO glad. Single parenting is HARD. I don’t feel like I’ve had a moment to relax or slow down for the entire 2 weeks he’s been gone, but we’ve managed nearly everything and the house hasn’t fallen apart and the kids haven’t died of starvation or anything, so, Yay me! I was at Martin’s school tonight for a parent meeting. The first half was about the trip to London that Martin’s class won. They are going the first week of November, for 3 days, and I get to go, too! I haven’t been...
26
Sep
2012
FOILED, TOILED, COILED
I’m beginning to think the fates are moving against us in the matter of going home to the States for Christmas. First we had to wait forever to get approval on Anders’ vacation time, then we tried 3x to buy tickets online that were apparently NOT EVEN AVAILABLE, then we had to wait another week to get permission to take the kids out of school a couple of days and NOW I discover that Karin’s American passport expired in February! AAUGH. Anders is in Italy for 2 weeks and every single day has got something scheduled. I had to write...
18
Sep
2012
HIT ME WITH TECHNOLOGY
Another sign I’m getting old…oh hell, who am I kidding…just one of many in the seemingly endless rank of signs that I am getting old: When we arrived in Boston and took the shuttle over to the car rental place, after completing the paperwork, I was handed my contract and told that my car was in space B18 with the keys in it. We found the car, a compact little Ford Fiesta in bright blue and threw our suitcases into the truck. But upon getting into the car, we discovered the “keys”, which it took us a moment to find,...
15
Sep
2012
WAYS TO MAKE YOUR SATURDAY BETTER
Sleep in like a giant slug: take that, jetlag! Pow! Open the porch door and windows to let the fresh air and sunshine in Enjoy the smell of fresh cinnamon buns that your husband is baking (to sell at the soccer game later) Finish a really good book that you didn’t expect to like (Room by Emma Donoghue) Catch up on your magazine reading (1 issue of Intelligent Life, 2 issues of Martha Stewart Living) Eat a yummy lunch of Cream of Potato soup (imported from the USA) with bacon Get the kids to pick up their rooms Do laundry...
12
Sep
2012
BRAIN DRAIN
There is something about the autumn light that just gets me buzzing. Driving home, the sky was such a clear blue and the lowering sun was beginning to tint the bottom of the clouds pink and coral. Everything looked extra-3D somehow; more real, brighter, ALIVE. The leaves haven’t begun to change yet, as we haven’t had any real frosts to speak of but the foliage looks thinner somehow.The trees are dark, dark green and the edges of the roadsides are tawny gold. Years ago, I was a mad fiend for Trivial Pursuit. Of course, back then EVERYONE was. It was...