“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!
If there is someone who feels like an outsider, like they don’t belong, like they haven’t found their kindred spirits on this earth, there is sure no evidence of them at the Squam Art Workshops, nestled deep in the oak groves of rural New Hampshire. SAW is held at the twin lakeshore camps of Deephaven and Rockywold on the shores of Squam Lake. I’m sure there are times when it’s bleak there; in winter, maybe, when the leaves have forsaken the trees and the ground is slick with ice and downed branches and the lake is a gray and frozen...
You know how when you hit your funny bone a good one, it radiates that spasm up and down your limb to the exclusion of every other sensory input possible in that moment? How you just have to stand statue-still, with your other hand clamped around the screaming bend in your arm, and WILL the pain to fan out from your fingertips? What would you do if it didn’t stop? For. Two. Whole. Weeks. I called our healthcare insurance company today and asked for an appointment with a naprapat which I wasn’t even sure of the definition of until about...
A forecast for all-day rain that turns out to be COMPLETELY wrong Taking the day off Sleeping IN on a work day Planning ahead Having a brainwave on the way to Lund and going to the train station in Hjärup instead where the parking is free all day! Getting up on the train platform to discover that someone vandalized the ticket machines the night before* and they were being replaced, so: free train ride to Malmö! Having everyone show up for the AWC lunch on time Festival food! Moose Wok, Wild Pig Pockets, SUSHI! Langos! Churros! Mini-donuts! (I didn’t eat...
After a simply lovely 3 weeks of having mom here, I had to hand her off this morning to the airport, where she flew down to see the Latest Main Attraction in Germany: her new grandson, Samuel Otto. I can hardly begrudge the fact that she had to leave, since I’ll get to see her again in just a few weeks, but it WAS tough to have to do it on my birthday, and the kids & I are lamenting how very empty the house feels without Lizardmom (or Anders!) in it now. The 3 weeks she was here were...
When Anders first suggested Iceland for our summer vacation trip, I wasn’t all that enthusiastic. It’s expensive. People mostly go there for the scenery and outdoor activities. It’s small. But the more I’ve learned and read and heard, the more excited I’ve started to get about it. I’ve seen Jeanine’s photos and heard colleague’s accounts and it sounded lovely but what was there really to do for someone who doesn’t do bathing suits and isn’t thrilled at the prospect of horseback riding or nature hiking for days on end? I’ve heard Iceland compared to the moon and heard that it’s...
It’s gone a week, nearly, and suddenly it’s June. And I’m beginning to have that panicky feeling of “where has the year gone?” It’s nearly half over! Eeek! Christmas will be here before you know it! Haaa! Anders comes home tomorrow from his 3-weeks of jaunting. He’s home for a week, then gone for a week then gone for the weekend, then gone for a week. THEN he’s on vacation, and we still haven’t bought tickets for our trip to Iceland. I don’t even know if we can really afford it. There seems to be no end to the things...
As far as relaxing goes, this weekend was a bust. Though I DID get about an hour on the trampoline, laying in the sun this afternoon (and the itchy sunburny forearms to show for it), it was go go go from the get-go. We had our company spring party on Friday night at Malmö Slagthuset (the old slaughter-house), which was a nightclub for years, but has since closed down and is used to large events and theater nights now. Our company has passed 1000 employees this year (!) and it felt like all of them were at the party (though...
Every day when I come home after work, I feel like I’ve been run over by a truck: SO TIRED. I’m not tired at work. I just seem to collapse and deflate as soon as I get home, and I can’t AFFORD to: there is still stuff to be done. Example: today, when I came home, I dealt with Karin’s salami selling (yes, again), got Martin off to piano, got dinner on the table, took Karin to soccer practice, went to the grocery store, put the food away, watered the pots and garden, planted nasturtiums, updated the AWC calendar and...
I’ve lost count of how many beautiful days we have had this past week. I don’t remember EVER having this many days of this kind of weather in a row before; not here in Sweden, anyway. And the forecast I looked at earlier just showed more of the same: sunny, sunny, partly sunny, sunny. Whee! Sweden, when you get Spring up your nose, you really get Spring up your nose! Spring is sproinging out all over. Everything that blossoms has suddenly exploded. The bird cherry across the ditch in the backyard blew up like a giant Jiffy Pop yesterday (without...