Tagged: goodthings

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....

15
Jul
2008

REMINDING MYSELF THAT ATTITUDE IS ALL IN WHAT YOU FOCUS ON

Things I am loving right now: ♥ A thought-provoking and challenging book by a favorite author ♥ Being able to find things when I want them ♥ The sound of crickets in the evening ♥ The way the air cools down at night and breezes gently through the house ♥ Nearing the climax, chapter by chapter, in a gripping story that I’m reading aloud to the kids at bedtime ♥ The way they both groan and say “Keep reading, mommy!” when I reach the end of the chapter and put the book down ♥ Open-faced mini pavés with ham &...

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...

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