Tagged: holidaze

26
Oct
2025

GLAMOUR AT THE GALA

Yesterday, I spent just over an hour ordering Christmas gifts from various websites. One of them wouldn’t accept my card the first time, and I tried again until it did (since I knew there was nothing wrong with the card and figured it was just a glitch). Right as I was finishing up getting ready to head out the door to the Halloween party I got a text message from our bank saying there was suspicious activity on my account and asking me to call immediately. So I did, and found they had put a block on my card until...

25
Oct
2025

CUTTING EDGE

This is me, currently. I took the photo last night. I was really cold, especially my head and neck, so I was wearing a fake fur neck wrap thingy. I never realized how much Barky kept me warm until I lost her. I sent the photo to a friend of mine and he answered “it doesn’t look that bad!” and he’s right…from the front, with minimal lighting, with it all slicked back instead of sticking up like a short-haired troll doll, it looks “not that bad”. But what he couldn’t see, and what you can’t see, is how thin it...

12
Oct
2025

SUNDAY SCRIBBLES

My weeks are full right now. I don’t know if that’s a good thing (distraction) or a bad one (stress). This coming week alone is a lot, though it’s not what I would call crazy: Mon: blood draw at healthcare clinic in the early AM, work all day, AIC board handover meeting & dinner Tue: Drip dose 4 in the morning, work rest of the day, meet kids at Costco for shopping, then dinner, then home with Karin and Essie Wed: early morning psychologist appointment, work rest of the day Thu: AIC lunch, work all day Fri: DAY OFF, no...

20
Jul
2025

RECHARGED, RELAXED, RECREATIONAL, AND REARRANGED

When you wake up at 5:30 am and can’t get back to sleep, so you get up and play iPad games, and read, and stare out the window at the brightening day and the honeysuckles twining their way up and around the trellis, it seems like a waste not to get moving and get things done. It’s my last day of sick leave/vacation, and I have pretty much laid waste to my entire summer to-do list and then some, over the past 3 weeks, so there wasn’t much ON my list for today. I’ve even spent time organizing and cleaning...

12
Jul
2025

TIDY HOME, TIDY MIND

Having a clean and tidy house is really important to me. It appeases my OCD and it’s satisfying, and it makes me happy to be able to look around me and admire the NICENESS and cleanliness of my own home. Even when I was a kid, I liked tidying up the mess my room often became, just for the satisfaction of it. I liked rearranging my room as well, because every time I did, it became NEW and was satisfying for a long time. One of the things that I used to cajole my siblings into doing when we were...

06
Jul
2025

TO-DO BEE DO BE DO

Waking up super early has one advantage, though I could wish it was not the case since I’m HOME AND DON’T HAVE TO GET UP. Because I can’t get back to sleep, I figure I might as well get up and moving and shower and eat breakfast so I can start doing whatever it is I have on my to-do list for the day. You might think that I shouldn’t HAVE a to-do list while I’m on sick leave/vacation, but have you met me? I live for to-do lists. And oh my god, I’m getting so many things done right...

21
Jun
2025

SOLSTICE RUMINATIONS

Happy summer solstice! Glad midsommar! What a difference a couple of weeks, good medical care, a definite diagnosis, and wonder drugs makes. I’m still easily tired, which isn’t surprising considering I’ve been so housebound and sedentary. I hope to start walking again soon. We’ve had a full week of the most beautiful weather: sunny, blue skies, a little breeze, perfect temperatures, cool evenings. If the whole summer was like this, I’d be perfectly happy. Yesterday was midsummer in Sweden, a day off, and one of the biggest holidays of the year. I was up early as has been the case...

18
May
2025

SHOWING OFF SWEDEN

So much for my good intentions of posting more in May. I managed 3 posts, then real life intervened. But in a mostly good way! My best friend from college, Julie, and her family: husband Todd (Benny), daughter Erin and son Drew, finally made it to Sweden to visit! I picked them up at the airport on Saturday, May 10, at 4:30 and we crammed all their bags into the Tesla and came over to Sweden. We managed to keep them up and got them on schedule right away, which I think was helpful for them. Anders cooked a delicious...

26
Apr
2025

TRIP TO OREGON, JULY 1992

(When reading this, remember this is long before cell phones, Apple Pay, and baggage weight restrictions) I’m back from my first real vacation in years, 10 whole days. I had a wonderful time in Oregon visiting my best friend Becky and her husband Doug, and squashing my maternal urges with their two beautiful children: Christopher (3) and Sara (2). Lots of hanging out with kids, shopping, movies, the Oregon County Fair (quite a treat), and going to hear great live music. But the best story is about my arrival and departure from hell! I swear that everything you are about...

01
Jan
2025

SLOW START

Yesterday’s New Year’s Eve party at Mats and Annlotte’s was really nice, even though I was slightly dreading it, because it was a lot of people, and we had to dress up. I was also not looking forward to driving home super late, but as it turned out, we were 10 people, and I already knew 8 of them. The dressing up was not too onerous. Anders bought a new blazer on Monday, and I wore a black tunic dress with white embroidery over leggings and the white flower necklace that I bought ages ago to go with it. Comfortable...