Category: general

It’s bloody cold here. This morning when I drove to work it was -7C, and even though the sun has been shining for TWO SOLID DAYS, it’s been below zero for most of it. Anders is a walking furnace and so are my children so they never seem to notice the cold in the house, but I can’t seem to stay warm, and it’s not the fault of the house apparently, it’s just ME. Especially when I’m sitting still working at the computer. I sometimes feel my hands and feet will fall off they get so cold. I’ve tried typing...

The day is framed by a pale winter palette. The sky lightens a pale blue and lavender with streaks of rosy glow on the horizon where the sun is slowly being revealed by the turning of the earth. Later, the sun, setting, darkens the pale blue and lavender with streaks of rosy glow on the horizon exactly opposite its morning view, slowing sinking down into hiding. Snow bleaches the whole world white, there is only shadow and sun. The moon this morning, an enormous beveled disc, thrown by some gigantic muscled Olympian, hung incongruously alone and shining on the spotless...

Flat Stanley arrived in Sweden last week, but since Martin & Karin, and more importantly, the camera, were gone, we were forced to wait until today to give him a tour of Flyinge. He was sent here by my sister’s daughter Rachel, and will be heading to Germany tomorrow for a quick tour of “Mad King” Ludwig’s castles with johann_metzger before heading back to Virginia to share his travels with Rachel’s class. He’ll be taking along a viking helmet and a Swedish flag and we’ve uploaded photos of his visit to Flyinge. Yesterday was a gorgeous clear sunshiney day, but...

Where do you find a dog with no legs? Right where you left him. What do you call a fly with no wings? A walk. Two strings walk into a bar. The first tries to order something. “I don’t serve strings in this bar,” the bartender says roughly and throws him out. The second roughs himself up, ties his ends together, walks in, and orders. “Hey, didn’t you hear what I told your buddy?” the bartender says. “Yeah,” the string says. “Aren’t you a string?” the bartender says. “I’m a frayed knot,” the string replies. A man walked into a...

The moon is a dusty thumbprint in a clear blue sky, and the winter sun is blazing down low, making sharp shadows and sparking off every surface. A sugar-coating of snow was sifted down upon the ground during the night, it sparkles in the sunlight. A pair of swans in the pond, one standing, one afloat, he bends his neck down and touches her gently with his beak. They are so white in the blue and shining pond. Quiet day of AWC work, laundry, grocery shopping. My family arrived home at 7 p.m. and all is right in my world...

This morning when I went out to the car, there were cabochon ice diamonds all over the windshield. I had to scrape them off so I could see to drive, but oh! how I wanted to string them on a silver chain and wear them. Because it wasn’t overcast I could see how light it was already at 7:45 a.m. That’s the thing about the gradual light increase. It sneaks up on us here in Sweden because it’s so cloudy and rainy all the time in the winter that we don’t KNOW there are changes going on up there behind...

How cool is this?! I just got my new business cards for work and when I went to put a small stash of them in my purse, I found THREE gift certificates in the inside pocket that I had completely forgotten about! 1000 kronor to spend on books and 400 on JEWELRY! WOOT! I smell a shopping spree! Karin called last night from the cabin while I was at choir practice and the message on the answering machine went something like this, only much much faster and more high-pitched: Mama! Mama! Mama?? MAMA!! Martin, you have to come here! Mama...

I suspect most people, when they’re busy, find that time flies. They lose all track of time and suddenly it’s 5 p.m. and the bell is ringing, “time to go home!” This morning at work, where I was completely immersed in a huge, busy, fun, long list of projects and things to do and tasks to complete and jobs to handle, enough to have lasted what felt like several days I checked my watch, sure that I had missed lunch time and it was the middle of the afternoon, only to find it was ONLY 10:40 A.M. That is SO...

It occurs to me that this looks like a meme, but really it’s just me trying to jumpstart a journal entry. Things I’ve Never Done That I’m Proud of: smoked a cigarette, worn beer goggles, driven recklessly Things I Wouldn’t Do Even If You Paid Me: bungee-jump, eat snails, be unfaithful to my husband Things I’ve Done But Wouldn’t Do Again: given birth, lied about something important, approached an unfamiliar dog Things I Would Do in a Heartbeat: play Euchre, help a friend in need, hide candy from the children Things I Would Do Right Now If I Could Find...

Really, people, stop putting links to great blogs and great writers and great artists on your journals and your websites, and don’t let any of those cool people with the great sites write comments on your posts anymore with a clickable link to said great site, because honestly, HOW MANY FREAKING BLOGS CAN I KEEP UP WITH, ALREADY?!