Tagged: goodthings

30
Dec
2011

RETROSPECTIVE

n just over a week, I will have been in Sweden for 15 years. It’s hard to believe that much time has gone by, because mostly, it seems to have happened in the blink of an eye. Didn’t I just move here? Can I really speak Swedish? Are my kids really this tall? This has been a good year for us, and it has also zoomed by almost too fast for me to keep track of. I’ve managed to slow down to an almost dead stop this week though, and have found (rather to my surprise), that I really NEEDED...

17
Dec
2011

DAMSEL IN DISTRESS

Being sick and bedridden for a week and a half does not make for exciting blog fodder. Disgusting blog fodder, maybe, but who wants to hear about that? I have not weighed myself to see how much weight I have lost in the past 8 days of not eating anything because today I ate. Actually I ate yesterday, too, but it was pretty minimal, and it was MEDICINAL and also, full of love vitamins: Anders made me chicken soup from scratch. Wasn’t that nice? There is a little bit left, and since there was also leftover macaroni from yesterday, I’m...

28
Nov
2011

STARRY STARRY NIGHT

I realized a little while ago that I had never posted about the amazing job Anders did on renovating the playroom. I don’t have photos of the whole entire room, because we still have to hang paintings, but that’s not the important thing. The playroom was the first room, after the kids’ bedrooms that really needed an overhaul. It was very much a playroom from the beginning, when we built the house and the wallpaper was very much child-focused with blue skies full of fluffy clouds and green meadows full of fluffy sheep. We had shelves filled with games, lego,...

26
Nov
2011

READY

It’s 2 pm, 3 hours before our guests arrive for our Thanksgiving bash. The last 2 turkeys are in the oven. The entire house is sparkling clean, thanks to the help of ALL of us (Martin windexed, Karin dusted, Anders mopped, I vacuumed). The tables are set up and decorated, and I have nothing do do for 3 hours but write this post, eat a (very) small lunch and RELAX. Aaaaaaaaaaaaah. Life is good 🙂 Happy weekend everyone!

24
Nov
2011

HOW I SPELL THANKSGIVING

T is for Typing, one of the primary ways that allows me to easily communicate with all my loved ones far away H is for our House, chosen with care, built with pride and filled with love A is for Anders, without whom I would be lost N is for Nature; this wonderful world that surrounds me with beauty and fills me with inspiration K is for the Kooky Kween of Kuteness: KARIN! S is for Sweden, my adopted homeland G is for the Good Son, my firstborn, Martin I is for the Internet and all the Information it puts...

18
Nov
2011

THE BUSY HAVE NO TIME FOR TEARS*

Someone at work, who is probably looking for another job, told me today that I should get out too, and find a place where I would be more appreciated, because in her words, “you are not appreciated enough around here”. This actually made me laugh (though it made me sad for her, because she obviously feels it applies to her), because it couldn’t be more untrue. I swim in appreciation at work. I dive into it daily and dog-paddle merrily about, with my chin held high. I honestly don’t think a day goes by that I don’t get a thank...

04
Nov
2011

ANTISUSHIPATION

It’s probably no secret here that I love sushi. It’s probably no secret that my kids love it, too. We’re all a bunch of sushi fiends and my husband just rolls his eyes when it’s suggested as a dinner alternative every time we talk about going out to eat. It’s the standard DAILY answer both kids give if asked “What shall we have for dinner tonight?” I didn’t even try sushi until I was 30 years old. I had friends who tried to convince me that it was really good but I was adamant that nothing so disgusting (raw fish!...

30
Oct
2011

MAKING IT THROUGH AND MOVING FORWARD

Well, I made it through 2 Anders-less weeks! He made it home this afternoon and we’re all together again, for which I am very glad. His suitcase was overweight though and he had to pay a fortune in fees, which means my 4 cans of Campbells soups cost approximately $17 dollars each. SUCK. We are dogsitting London, my cousin Cate’s dog this week, while they are in Dubai. They are, like, the 4th people I know that have recently gone to Dubai. This, despite Reykjavik coming in first as travel destination of the year for 2012. (We’re so ahead of...

06
Oct
2011

HARBINGERS

Sugar beets on the edges of the roads Sugar beet truck traffic causing the village speed limit to be lowered to 30kmh…ARGH Seasonal satisfaction about not ever having bothered to put up blinds in the bedroom The annual tussle with Karin about why it is no longer okay (read: warm enough) to continue wearing shorts Honking v-formation flights of southbound swans and geese The welcome disappearance of flies and mosquitoes A major disinclination to crawl out from under the covers in the morning Double rainbows over Flyinge thanks to simultaneous rain & sunshine Daily morning ice-scraper use to remove condensation,...

03
Oct
2011

SOMETHING ENTIRE

“I was something that lay under the sun and felt it, like the pumpkins, and I did not want to be anything more. I was entirely happy. Perhaps we feel like that when we die and become a part of something entire, whether it is sun and air, or goodness and knowledge.” —Willa Cather Corny Kids!