Tagged: goodthings

12
Jun
2008

CONJURING WITH SCENT, SPORTING WITH SYNONYMS

Mellifluous scent of clipped grass rising sweetly to the nose Deep pans swollen with rising, golden bread, heat waves shimmering above, the buttery smell of baking bread Steam-scented burn-smelling air around a bonfire at night Unexpected whiffs of lilac passing on an early evening summer breeze Sharp citrus scent of clementines scouring the nose, setting the teeth and the inside of your mouth to tingling The clean honeyed odor of a child’s freshly shampooed and towel-dried hair Delightful perfume of almond rising from an open bottle of essence Lily of the valley’s pleasing and dulcet fragrance Yeasty delight of your...

01
Jun
2008

QUEEN O’ THE MAY

It’s hard to decide which I like better: the myriad mosaic of green that is spring or the upholstered uniformity of full-on summer verdancy. Everything is padded and plump with summer now, in leaf. The fluff-headed grasses sway in the wind of the cars’ passing along each country road. Small birds tumble about each other above the rooftops, romance on the wing. We’ve had the loveliest anniversary weekend. Just think! 12 years married. Of course, in the frenzy of making sure to remember the date, I got it firmly fixed in my head that YESTERDAY was June 1st, and because...

23
May
2008

WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND

My plan, when I first moved to Sweden with my new husband, was to study Swedish for six months and then start looking for a job. Best-laid plans, and all that, and my discovery, 2 months after our arrival, that I was pregnant threw them right out the window. I studied Swedish anyway, but only for 4 months, taking an expensive class first at the Folkuniversitet and then, when I moved up to the front of the line, a second class at the free, government-sponsored Swedish for Immigrants. This second class sucked in comparison, but we couldn’t afford to turn...

15
May
2008

POSSIBLE REASONS WHY LIZARDEK IS IN SUCH A GOOD MOOD

2 solid weeks of sunshine? Anticipation of book group tonight even though she hasn’t read the book? The lovely lovely lilacs? The decision to take off for lunch in town tomorrow and then play hookey for the rest of the afternoon before attending a party in the evening? The fact that tomorrow is Friday and she has no plans for the weekend? ALL OF THE ABOVE?

05
May
2008

FEELING GRATITUDE & NOT EXPRESSING IT IS LIKE WRAPPING A PRESENT & NOT GIVING IT

Oh GOD STOP RUBBING YOUR EYES, stop stop stop stop !!! AAAAAAGH. *rub rub rub* I love allergy season. Not. Flattened by jetlag, I have zombied my way through work today and a parent-teacher conference, with my eyes reduced to tiny, itchy slits through which I peer at people blurrily and then sneeze a few times before blowing my nose. SO beautiful! THANK YOU to Chuck for being exactly the person you come across as. For being as comfortable and down-to-earth and humorously self-deprecating in real life as you are online. Thank you for flying all the way across the...

12
Apr
2008

GOOD THINGS ON A SATURDAY IN SPRING

Eating blueberry cake hot out of the oven Sitting on a sun-warmed bench at a playground with my face turned up to the light and the heat Watching Martin patiently play with a little 4-year-old girl who had attached herself like a limpet, and marveling over how GROWN-UP he suddenly looked Rocking out to great old 90s tunes in the car Listening to blackbirds sing Getting a backrub by shoulderblade from my daughter (very weird, though) Seeing a stork stalk gawkily along the edge of a field Walking outside in the clear cold night air, where the paving stones sparkle...

10
Apr
2008

I WOVE MY WEBS FOR YOU BECAUSE I LIKED YOU

How much do you think your friends define you? Are you cool because of the people you hang out with or are they cool because of YOU? What I love most about book group is not actually the books we read. Most of the books are not books I would have chosen to read at all, and while sometimes that’s okay and they turn out to be worth it; that’s not always the case. It’s not the discussions about the books either, though I like those a lot, especially when there are majorly mixed feelings about the book or in...

06
Apr
2008

LET THE SUN SHINE IN

What determines your mood? Is it already preset when you wake up? Does the sunshine factor in? Is it based on how many things you have to do during the day or worries you have about the week ahead? Despite the cloud cover, we have had intermittent sunshine all day. Right now it is beaming through the house like a great big global smile. It’s lighting up everything—the floor, the fish tank, the dirty windows. I still have to get out and go for a walk, but am guessing I will end up going after dinner which I need to...

04
Apr
2008

SPROING!

The lungwort in the front garden is in full bloom. What an ugly name for a pretty plant. It was fun just now to look up the origin of the name, however I like the other colloquial names for it much better: Spotted dog, Jerusalem cowslip, Soldiers & Sailors. I like it because it has such fun polka-dotted leaves and it flowers for a really long time, and then it flowers again, and also it just keeps coming up year after year without my having to do anything much. I like low-maintenance plants, since I’m the world’s most indifferent gardener....

12
Mar
2008

TIME SPENT WITH CATS IS NEVER WASTED

I had not exactly forgotten how lovely it is to have a cat in the house, but it has, admittedly, been a VERY long time. We were forced to give our 2 Swedish cats away only about a year after we adopted them, when Martin was only a few months old, because Anders’ asthma had progressed to the point of dangerous on their account. Today, receiving Hanna was the last thing on a very long list of Things To Do, and much the most anticipated. Both the kids had school. Karin had swimming and Music-play group. Martin had music and...