Tagged: goodthings

06
Nov
2008

THANK YOU LETTERS

One of things my mom managed to instill in me while I was growing up was the necessity of writing thank you letters. If I had been a guest at someone’s home or received a gift from someone, it was good manners and a courtesy to respond to it with a written thank you note. Writing cards or letters at all seems to be gradually becoming a lost art, which is a shame since getting “real” mail in the post is one of the nicest ways to make someone’s day. Over the years I’ve gotten several surprised and grateful thank...

18
Oct
2008

MID-DAY UPDATE

Anders spent the morning and part of the afternoon taking our computer apart and trying various things to figure out what is wrong with it and his best-guess diagnosis is that the motherboard has gone bad (last seen hanging out at pool halls, leaning up against the alley wall with a handrolled hanging from its lower lip and a sullen expression on its face) and doesn’t even recognize the drives or startup process. Which is at least comforting in the fact that our files are probably okay…we just can’t ACCESS them. Because the PC is leased through Tetra Pak, it’s...

16
Oct
2008

THE GOOD, THE GOOD & THE UGLY

Today was all about good things, right up until about 20 minutes ago. The worst of the week is over and I seem to be not only still standing, but still in a good mood. The dentist visit today was relatively painless despite having to patch a damaged filling and I hit the bookstore on the way to eat lunch at a good sushi place and picked up several new books that have been on my wish list for awhile. I had a good day at work, got a lot done on a big project I’m up to my elbows...

05
Oct
2008

PRETTY PURCHASES

Whenever I go to art or craft fairs, the things I have the hardest time resisting are the things that are embroidered or tapestry or have certain animals like lizards (goodness knows why), moose, horses, dragons, cats and roosters. I don’t have ANY rooster stuff and I don’t have a lot of horse stuff either, but I’m drawn to them nonetheless. I’m not allowed to buy moose anymore, but they find their way to me regardless; it’s not my fault, I swear. The art/craft fair that we went to last weekend had over 70 exhibitors showing items in every imaginable...

28
Sep
2008

WHY ORANGE IS MY FAVORITE COLOR

Even though I decorate my home with a peaceful palette of pale greens and tend to wear black and chocolate brown and other dark and dusty colors like forest green and eggplant purple, it’s orange that is my favorite color. Orange with its bright unexpected blast of color, orange that brightens a day immediately like an adrenaline shot of sunshine, orange that makes you smile and lifts your mood and shines out with a reverberating vibe of energy. It’s the color of pumpkins and Japanese lanterns and clementines and salmon nigiri. It’s tiger halves and tabby cats, tiger lilies, monarch...

21
Sep
2008

TOGETHER TIME

It’s been a bit of a game-playing weekend, which has been really nice, since I grew up in a game-playing family and miss it quite a lot. My husband didn’t, though he plays sports (which is not the same thing at all), and in this particular area, his background is winning, since we rarely seem to play games as a family, even though we have an awful lot of them. Yesterday we went in to Malmö to the castle and toured the museum which is a combination natural history / art / historical museum. Some of the art was fantastic...

18
Sep
2008

PRACTICALLY PERFECT IN EVERY WAY

♥ Waking up leisurely, realizing that I didn’t have to get up for work, and then reading for an hour before finally arising ♥ Having breakfast with Lizardmom ♥ Sweater weather ♥ Walking through the shopping district of Lund’s old town center and finding an absolutely beautiful sweater at Kriss and splurging ♥ Eating at one of my favorite restaurants that never fails to have excellent lunch entrees: chicken filet baked in pastry with potato terrine, sauted vegetables and tarragon creme. ♥ Stopping by Press Stop to pick up some American magazines: Martha Stewart Living and Real Simple ♥ Receiving...

14
Sep
2008

THIS, THAT & THE OTHER

What’s your idea of a perfect weekend? Going away somewhere, away from the daily routine or the familiar surroundings and taking in new sights, new surroundings, new experiences? It certainly has its attractions: the chance to get away, if only for a couple of days. Or staying home and making plans: having friends over for pizza, or throwing a dinner party or filling the days with activities and errands that you never otherwise have time to do during the regular hamster-wheel of your week? Or, even better, staying home and just enjoying yourself with no definitive plans? Sleeping in, doing...

14
Aug
2008

IT’S HUGE, EUGENE!

I don’t know why I’m continually surprised that southern Germany is so lush and green. There are endless fields of grass and pasturage and every village and town sports buildings layered with flower boxes in storied rows, filled to overflowing with geraniums and petunias. John and Simone have a garden now, for the first time, and it’s their passion and delight. They’ve built a raised bed rock-wall herb garden and filled a large patch with vegetables and a second one with flowers for cutting so that Simone can have fresh flowers in the house cycling constantly through the summer season....

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