Tagged: goodthings

16
May
2021

NO ESCAPE FROM REALITY

It’s forecast to rain all day and this coming week but the sun has been doing its best to stay out and I went for a walk around the village, enjoying the sunshine (had to remove my jacket!) and the greenery. The cherry trees and magnolias and spirea are blooming. The magnolias, especially the bright pink ones, are such ridiculously pretty pink popsicles of trees. Columbine and forget-me-nots and pansies are everywhere and every field looks carpet-bombed by bright yellow dandelions. Out in the fields, the rapeseed is reaching its neon-yellow heights. And I saw a pied wagtail! The first...

13
May
2021

MOMENT WITH A MAGPIE

Yesterday, we had lunch out on the deck, in the sunshine. Karin was here for a quick lunch for 30 minutes. It was lovely. Later in the afternoon, after I was done working, Anders and I sat out in the sun for awhile again. I had my book and the sun umbrella up and I just sat and enjoyed the green of our yard, our hedge, the trees, the newly planted seedlings in the vegetable garden, the pansies in their pots. I had filled up the birdbath earlier, and while I was sitting there, I saw a magpie alight on...

09
May
2021

SUDDENLY, SUMMER

Sometimes, when it’s been a while, and I keep forgetting to write something here, I feel like I’m coming to confession: Forgive me, LJ, for I have sinned. It’s been 8 days since my last post. Last week was all work and crappy weather and nothing much on the news front, until Friday, when I got a letter in the mail from our local healthcare clinic with an appointment time for my first vaccine shot. WOO HOO! FINALLY! It’s scheduled for May 19, so I am going to be super careful between now and then. Imagine getting COVID the week...

20
Apr
2021

NEW CHAPTERS

I threw my back out this weekend, moving furniture around in the kids’ rooms and then made it worse by continuing to work, and then cleaning out the fridge. By Sunday I could barely walk. Getting up from a sitting position or from bed was torture, walking hurt, sitting hurt. Everything hurt. Thank all the gods for ibuprofen and heating pads. I had a massage scheduled yesterday after work as well and Emily spent extra time on my lower back, getting at the place where the muscles were protesting. I had a couple of bad nights, but this morning, despite...

16
Apr
2021

ALL THE THINGS

I made it through another work week, and this one without crying in front of my manager on a Teams meeting, so I call that a win. Work is still crazy but I am proud of my team for managing to keep our task queue at a reasonable level, despite the fact that we were 2 men down this past week as our freelancer wasn’t able to help us at all. Next week I have a massage scheduled and a hair appointment so I will actually be getting out of my house (more than just to the grocery store) for...

03
Apr
2021

A WEEKEND OF MENTAL HEALTH BOOSTERS

I read recently that birdwatching from your home provides a major boost to mental health. The article says, “Researchers from the University of Exeter recently found that bird watching can have a positive effect on mental health. They discovered that people who are able to watch birds from their homes have a lower risk of depression, stress, and anxiety compared to people who live in less nature dense areas with fewer birds.” We have two bird feeders set up at the corner of the deck, one that holds 2 suet balls and one that is 2-sided for sunflower seeds and...

28
Mar
2021

WEEKEND WRAP-UP

The people behind us are slowly but surely cutting down ALL the trees and bushes and shrubbery that block the view of their backyard and farm from our backyard. It’s making me sad. They decimated all the trees that were there before and now he’s out there again with a chainsaw buzzing away. If he cuts down all the lilacs that are growing by the ditch, I’m going to be very very sad. All the natural greenery that hemmed in our yard: gone. I don’t want to look at the back of their carport and stable and parking area. Our...

01
Mar
2021

RABBIT RABBIT RABBIT (NOT REALLY, IT’S BOOKS)

Did you know about the tradition of saying “rabbit rabbit rabbit” on March 1st to ensure good luck throughout the rest of the year? Did we collectively forget to do it last March? Rabbit rabbit rabbit has its own Wikipedia page, even. And some people say it on the first of every month…just for extra luck! We say “rabbits rabbits rabbits” to make the smoke of bonfire go in a different direction, away from our eyes, too. To be honest, I can’t remember when that started or when I first heard about the March 1st thing. Anyway, I actually have...

02
Feb
2021

WALKING ON ICE, WALKING IN SUNSHINE

Unprecendented amounts of sunshine so far this week, and I’m loving it. But it’s cold…brrrr, is it cold. So cold that when I went to scrape the ice off the car windows, I discovered most of it was on the INSIDE. So cold that I am able to let out my inner dragon, blowing iced breath and roaring under it. Here in Flyinge, the cold stays close to the ground. The snow we had weeks ago, enough to cover the yards and streets and the tops of the hedges, is still there, albeit eroded at the edges. On the streets,...

18
Jan
2021

TOP OF MIND

It’s pretty amazing what our brains can do. I’ve been thinking a lot about memory lately. I’ve read a lot about the brain, but I don’t really know all that much, technically speaking. I am just really glad that it can keep so much straight! So many important details that we have constant and instant access to: personal info, contact info, memories. Just the fact that we have so much information on tap inside our heads at all times, without even the help of Google, is mind-blowing (ha!). On top of the important things we need to remember and keep...

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