Lizardek

04
Sep
2018

THIS IS THE LIFE

Tonight, Karin drove to the bus stop in Gårdstånga, and I was glad I was just along for the ride, because it meant that I could concentrate on staring at the GIGANTIC FIERY RED sun that was just about to descend below the horizon. We could only see the top of it above the trees, but it was seriously HUGE. Then as I turned the car around, after we switched places, we saw two hot-air balloons out over Odarslöv and one of them was as big as the sun. Weird what atmospherics can do. She had a nice week in...

23
Aug
2018

LEFT OF CENTER, PLUS POTATOES

Karin is leaving in the morning (really more like the middle of the night, since her flight from Copenhagen leaves at 6 a.m.) for Greece on a last-minute cheap ticket deal with a couple of friends. They are going to Kos, which I know nothing about, but the name was vaguely familiar, a brain-remnant left over from years of Humanities and Art History classes, one presumes. She came home after work to finish packing and requested “a nice dinner” so I had the inspiration to drive to Eslöv to an excellent butcher that we patronize on occasion and buy something...

13
Aug
2018

NOW I LAY ME DOWN

It’s tough coming home from work, especially after a night where I didn’t sleep well, because I either 1) couldn’t get to sleep 2) couldn’t get comfortable and kept waking up 3) kept waking up too hot 4) woke up super early and a) had to get up to go to the bathroom b) had a headache and had to get up to take medicine c) heard the furnace beeping and had to get up to go turn it off d) woke up when my husband’s alarm went off and then again when he went in and out of the...

06
Aug
2018

HOT POTATO

I’m normally about as far from being a gardener as you can get. I don’t like being outside all that much. I loathe having dirt under my fingernails. Bending over is hard these days thanks to back issues and kneeling is out completely. That said, I like gardens. I like flowers. And I like eating things. This year has been a banner year in the Ek family backyard, where we’ve managed to grow several…crops. Thanks to getting net on the cherry tree, we enjoyed a month-long bonanza of delicious sweet cherries. It’s hard to believe I had practically never even...

28
Jul
2018

PLUMBING THE DEPTHS

I just realized what is wrong with me. I’m in a rut. You know the one, maybe…where life is moving smoothly along and nothing much is happening; certainly nothing worth writing about, and you don’t feel particularly sad or happy or really, anything. You just get up in the morning and do the things you have to do: shower, dress, brush your teeth, etc. You go to work, you eat the meals that keep you going, you do some of the things that you like doing: reading, watching a movie or a show, making phone calls, checking email, but there...

18
Jul
2018

COOLING DOWN A BIT

It was cloudy today, an even gray cover, misting us in rain but not enough to actually WATER the thirsty earth. I went out with the hose after dinner and gave the potatoes and the tomatoes a good soaking, stopping to pluck another little red cherry tomato. The plants are so heavy they are pulling away from the house and leaning the slatted sticks that were supposed to support them over so far that I’m pretty sure it’s just a matter of time before they hit the ground. There are tons of tiny green tomato balls growing and still the...

16
Jul
2018

I’M MELTING, I’M MELTING

It’s official: I’m overheating. The house is hot, I’m hot. Every fan we own is on, and it’s NOT HELPING. GAH. It was 32C when I got home today. That’s 96F. In SWEDEN. Even in mid-July, that’s damn hot. Add hot flashes to that, and I am one unhappy camper. If it doesn’t cool down soon, I’m going to melt like the Wicked Witch of the West in a pool of my own sweat, swearing all the way. Yeah, yeah, there’s no humidity and it will cool down overnight, but OMG I’m hot today. I was so hot and tired...

10
Jul
2018

REAPING THE WHORLWIND

Last week at work, while making the corrections to a case study layout, one of the markups was to change a section headline about fingerprint scanners which are used for security at a school, from “Making a whorl of difference” to “Making a world of difference”. Now, I had thought that headline was quite clever when I was first copying in the content, and it made me smile. But the request to change it set me off. What?! I fired off an email to the colleague in the US office who is responsible for the case studies to ask if...

09
Jul
2018

DISTANCE MEANS SO LITTLE WHEN SOMEONE MEANS SO MUCH*

There’s a special feeling to being alone after weeks of being social. I feel like I’ve been on a whirlwind the past two and a half months. A good whirlwind, but a whirlwind nonetheless, what with Karin’s graduation, family visiting, friends visiting, and a seemingly unending round of parties and get-togethers. Now, the house is quiet and empty, and clean, and I am rather enjoying it. It’s funny how you don’t want things to change, and yet they do, and when they do, you can either rail against it or just enjoy the moment. I’ve had so many moments to...

26
Jun
2018

SCHOOL’S OUT!

Two down! At least, two high school graduations down. Karin had a fantastic day, starting with a champagne breakfast at the school and day full of activities until their “run-out” at nearly 4. I had thought Martin’s school yard was big and crowded, but I wasn’t at ALL prepared for how many people were crowded into the open areas of Karin’s school. Nearly 1000 students graduated and ALL their families and friends seemed to be there, with signs and balloons and plush necklaces and champagne bottles and big smiles. We parked at Karin’s girlfriend’s house and walked over to the...

January 2026
S M T W T F S
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031

Archives