Tagged: americanabroad

04
Jul
2019

HONEY AND HOTDOGS AND HOLIDAYS

Two people, both complete strangers, that I’ve talked to recently on the phone, have referred to me with what I thought were rather strangely inappropriate endearments. One called me “honey” and the other repeatedly called me both “momma” and “baby girl” during our conversation. These are women who I am betting are younger than me, and even if they are American, doing this kind of thing strikes me as weirdly off. The only people I would refer to as “honey”, first of all, are my husband or my children. The only other time I would call someone “honey” is if...

24
Jun
2019

SWEDISH EVERY WHICH WAY

If the first part of this year is any indication…heck, if the first part of this LIFE is any indication, the rest of this year will fly by and I’ll be left gaping at the fact that it’s Christmas time YET AGAIN. I’ve been gone for 2 weeks and even though I managed to post quickly last Monday before we zoomed off again to Stockholm for a week of city and sun and Swedishness, it feels like I’ve not really had a chance to sit down and gather my thoughts here. We had a lovely week, despite some bobbles at...

17
Jun
2019

BLINK AND YOU’LL MISS IT

I came back to Sweden in full summer swing. It’s midsummer week and everything is full-blown green and blooming here. Even the roses started exploding while I was gone. I had a simply fantastic week in Seattle. The weather was drop-dead PERFECT (though I confess I missed most of it as I was indoors all day during the week for the conference). I came out of my flight to find mom already arrived and waiting for me last Saturday and we got to the hotel just in time to find a place to eat and then unpack and relax. I...

31
Mar
2019

SHOULDA WOULDA COULDA

There is so much beautiful artwork out there and sometimes it really pains me, like I mean, REALLY hurts, that I can’t just buy it all. Or at least one piece from each of the many, many artists I admire so much. Paintings, illustrations, embroidery, photography, drawings, collages…my walls would be literally COVERED floor to ceiling in every room if I allowed myself to indulge my passion for art. Thank goodness for Instagram then, which has turned, for me, into my own private art museum, with ever-changing displays of loveliness. I can admire art, like it, write a comment to...

26
Mar
2019

AUGH AND HMMM AND YAY

I was at the AWC monthly meeting yesterday evening, and it was the first time in 3 months that I didn’t have to run it because the woman that is our President is back from her 3-month sojourn in the US. She went home abruptly right after Christmas as her dad was dying, and ended up staying until this past weekend. She’s a powerhouse and we’ve really missed her, especially on the board. And especially as right after she returned, she got THREE messages, from ALL THREE of our Activities officers saying they are 1) stepping down immediately due to...

24
Feb
2019

LIZ IN LISBON

We were supposed to be three friends going to Lisbon but Camilla was super sick the whole week before and on Friday, 2 days before we were to leave, she called Debbie and I and told us she was probably not going to go since she was still so poorly. WAAH! What a bummer. She was able to get her airline ticket refunded but it ended up being just Debbie and I headng to to Portugal last Sunday. Despite our disappointment about Camillla’s absence, we managed to have a good time. I had so many people tell me how great...

08
Jan
2019

TRAVELS, PART THE FIRST

I’ve been clubbed by the hard hand of jetlag. I’ve been meaning to write a post since Saturday, when we arrived but due to countless factors, this is the first time I’ve actually gotten started. Reasons for not posting, besides jetlag: too many other things to do, sleeping, working, constant computer crashes, reading, catching up on other more important stuff, procrastination, and also, feeling as if the amount of things I have to write about is overwhelming. Despite all my good intentions, my road to posting is paved with excuses. It’s crazy how fast a 3-week vacation can go, but...

21
Oct
2018

FALL FRENZY

The fall frenzy has started…each week has more things scheduled than the one before and I’m not even in choir this year. On Friday I went with two colleagues and another friend to the sing-along showing of Hair at Spegeln in downtown Malmö. It’s the second sing-along I’ve been to there, and it was just as fun, though a different feeling since it is such a different movie. I love Hair…it’s one of my all-time favorite musicals. I grew up listening to the soundtrack from the play because my dad loved musicals, too. I knew every word to every song...

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...

28
Apr
2018

WHAT’S THE BUZZ, TELL ME WHAT’S HAPPENING

Last week at work was awful. Too many things that were frustrating, rage-inducing or just plain annoying happened. I am VERY glad of this long weekend, though I am going to have to check into work emails and possibly do some work regardless because there is just so much of it. We were all freaking out over the amount of short weeks in the next two months (the first of which is this one). You’d think that we’d be THRILLED about having all this time off after the long holiday drought since the beginning of January, but 1) there are...