Lizardek

26
Jan
2020

FILLING IN THE NEGATIVE SPACE WITH POSITIVELY EVERYTHING*

I was waiting for a friend of mine at the mall on Friday evening, sitting on a bench outside of the store we were going to the grand opening of. I had my phone out and was checking email or Facebook or something and I glanced up to see if I could see her coming yet. But coming toward me was Karin. My daughter. And I thought, “What is Karin doing here??” Only a split second later I realized it WASN’T her at all. It was a girl her age, dressed EXACTLY like Karin dresses, with the same shape face...

19
Jan
2020

STATE OF THE LIZARDEK

Reading: Wilding—Returning Nature to Our Farm by Isabella Tree Eating: honey-scented pork filet with garlic-roasted bacon Singing: nothing yet! Starting a new choir hopefully next Wednesday! Listening: my Spotify playlist, but I need some new music! Recommendations? Editing: waiting on final feedback for the logo design for Emily Drinking: really really cold ice water Watching: The Man in the High Castle Waiting for: my next Friday off Looking at: Instagram Enjoying: having a clean house Feeling: like I need a kick in the butt Finished: the Christmas stuff purge Buying: new fabric for the dining room chairs, new shades for...

12
Jan
2020

OUT WITH THE OLD

One of the items on my long-term to-do list was “purge Xmas stuff”. It’s been on the list since the summer of 2018 but I couldn’t do anything about it last year as we spent last Christmas in the US, so we didn’t decorate or have a tree at home. But it was on my mind, as one in a long line of cleaning-out projects that I’ve been slowly working through. I actually decorated a bit early this year, as we had our big Thanksgiving dinner at the last Saturday of November and I wanted the house festive for the...

08
Jan
2020

CONVENIENCE, COLLECTION & CONNECTIVITY

Sometimes I look at my phone and just marvel about how much things have changed in such a short time. All because of the technology available in a tiny flat rectangle no bigger than a piece of knäckebröd. I know that people moan about how much smartphones have taken over our lives, but honestly, they provide so much convenience and knowledge at the drop of a hat, it’s hard not to love them and be impressed. Think of how much paper we save the environment because we no longer need paper maps or boarding passes or newspapers or calendars or...

06
Jan
2020

A DECADE OF MANAGEABLE GOALS

I don’t really do New Year’s resolutions as such, but every year when I write my Retrospective post, I write down what I think are manageable goals for the following year. I think exercise and healthier eating are on them every year, and I feel like I’m sort of just kidding myself with how seriously I tend to take that one, which is probably the most important one that’s always on my list. My weight has at least been hovering around the same place for nearly the whole last year and since I am still under the weight I was...

05
Jan
2020

TWELFTH NIGHT

I could have sworn that I already wrote a post in 2020 and here it is the 5th of January and apparently I only wrote it in my head. That happens a lot. Whole conversations take place in my head. Whole posts written and discarded into the spaces between the folds of my brain. If all that is still in there, on top of the actual conversations and writing that I’ve done, imagine how crowded a place my brain must be! The sun is peeping out, though there is a lot of cloud cover higher up. It peeped a few...

30
Dec
2019

RETROSPECTIVE

new decade commences! Tomorrow is the last day of 2019 and then we are heading into science-fiction year numbering. 2020 sounds so very futuristic! This past year wasn’t exactly as calm as I anticipated but we’ve made it through, anyway. Here’s to the Twenties: may they be progressive, innovative, nurturing, and full of good things, including (from my heart to God’s ear) a new President. Family & Personal Highlights of 2019 New Year’s with our friends Kathey & Russell and my mom in Michigan Keeping myself diabetes-free Trip to Lisbon with Debbie Karin’s 2-month trip to Costa Rica and S....

28
Dec
2019

INBETWEEN DAYS

I’m officially bored. I finished watching both the British mini-series of Little Women and the last episode of season 1 of His Dark Materials, and I worked for about an hour altogether and read my book and played iPad games, and then Karin and Anders and I wasted 2 hours and 8 minutes of our lives watching the 2019 version of Aladdin. Why does that movie have such a good score on imdb? It’s TERRIBLE. Apart from a halfway-decent Will Smith, giving his genie his very best shot, the rest of it was leaden and boring. And I don’t think...

24
Dec
2019

EK FAMILY CHRISTMAS LETTER 2019

We spent last Christmas in Michigan with Liz’s mom and Martin and our good friends Kathey and Russell joined us there for New Year’s so we had a very happy start to the year! We were back in Sweden by January 4 and back to work nearly straightaway, leaving Martin behind to continue his second year at CCS. At the end of January, Anders went skiing in Czech Republic with friends on their annual ski trip. He had several work trips early in the year as well, all to Italy. Karin continued working at Axis with Liz as her contract...

19
Dec
2019

VACATION, SCHMACATION

It’s been a week of vacation and I’m slowly getting used to not working, though I’m still checking emails and our ticket system because holy crap we have a lot of work right now, and I feel guilty for being a slug at home while my teammates are buried. 🙁 It’s no fun being off when you fee like you’re leaving your team in the lurch. I actually went in to the office today for about half an hour because my boss organized a short julfika this afternoon. I brought cranberry-pistachio bark with me which was much appreciated. And I...