It’s a beauty of a day today. The sky is piercingly blue with fluffinated, fluffoid, fluffanuffalous floating clouds. It’s warm in the sun and there’s a cool breeze. Yesterday was so windy that the tarp-n-tent that we had erected over the deck for Saturday’s party blew over, causing me to leap out of bed in the early a.m. to help Anders who was already outside wrestling with the beast. Today, the wind’s mom has obviously told it firmly to settle down and it’s amusing itself with little soft almost-autumn leaf rustles. This weekend coming, we are going to plant the...

Monday: massage, regional planning meeting Tuesday: finish AWC website and do AWC newsletter Wednesday: choir starts Thursday: book group Friday: evening at Emily & Martin’s cabin Saturday: Stone Age dinner and then crayfish party AT OUR HOUSE (yes, I’m certifiable) Sunday: Finish all AWC stuff before meeting Monday: John leaves, Karin dentist appointment, first AWC board and monthly meetings I had a 3-hour nap today. And I power-walked for half an hour with my brother. I’m tired. That’s all. Oh, and also…Reese’s Fast Break candy bars are better than sex. Why didn’t you send a box home for ME, Sarah?!

5:00 a.m. : Oh GOD, We didn’t kill all the #$%@! flies before we went to bed last night!! 5:10 a.m. : SMACK! 5:15 a.m. : SMACK! 5:45 a.m. : Bzzzzzzzz!! aargh 6:00 a.m : SMACK! 7:15 a.m. : Bzzzzzzz! oh, for fuck’s sake 7:16 a.m. : Swish! 7:20 a.m. : Swish! 7:33 a.m. : SMACK! 10:15 a.m. : Aaagh! We overslept! Get up! GO GO GO 10:17 a.m. : Who’s damned idea was it to schedule a party for 60 people 4 days after our return from the States? 10:18 a.m. : Oh. Yeah. Mine. *grumble* The tent went...

Presents go a long way for making up for the fact that I just turned 40. Today at work my department gave me a lovely set of fat matte etched gold earrings. Only one problem: I have virgin lobes. I’m not altogether sure why I’ve never gotten my ears pierced. I do know why I haven’t gotten a tattoo: I’m a big wimp. My mom doesn’t have pierced ears either, and part of me thinks that it’s cool. We have less holes in our heads than most people. 😛 I also know that I would spend a FORTUNE on earrings...

WHY OH GOD WHY do I have Yankee Doodle stuck in my head, only with the words “I’m an Oscar Mayer Weiner”?! Somebody, please, shoot me now!!

There’s something not so bad about waking up at 4 a.m. You’re not completely deep into REM sleep at that point, and it’s easier to pop awake and stay there. Even if you’re not jetlagged, it’s always easier to wake up at 4 a.m. than 7 a.m. 4 a.m. in Flyinge: A rooster crows 4-5 times, then stops, then starts again. Patter-rustle of rain like light, quick footsteps. Insects rouse from their leadbelly torpor. My daughter’s breath steams in, whistles out. Outside, the greyness is lightening, colors gain definition, depth. Clouds move past the house, sliding along the sky. I...

Rachel, Martin and Karin in the babypool, with Bryce watering the flowers behind them

We’re baaa-aaack! 🙂 The last several days have been so whirlwind that I feel as if Hurricane Charley was my LIFE! The party on Friday was great! Our giant-feasty-spread of salads was a huge hit. We had chicken curry salad, diced veggie salad, roasted vegetable salad, tuna pasta salad, shrimp-avocado-spinach salad, napa cabbage salad, sourcream and cucumber salad, swedish potato salad, tomato-basil-mozzarella salad, fruit salad, deviled eggs, veggie and dip tray, black and green olives and CAKE! brownie cake with caramel frosting, cinnamon swirl cake with cream cheese frosting, and spice cake with white chocolate almond frosting. It’s no surprise...

There’s no place like home 🙂

We’ve been doing party prep all day: dusting, laundry, vacuuming, general pickup, and then starting the preparation on the gazillion salads that we are serving tomorrow. Anders was outside all day weeding, mulching and then mowing the lawn. We also had to run to the store 3x for various forgotten ingredients. After dinner, which was gigantic, perfectly cooked, THICK steaks and artichokes, we did the salad prep. I was in charge of chopping vegetables. I’m a slicing, dicing queen. My mom and sister were very impressed, so I guess my two years of slavery service at the Bagel Fragel Deli...