Tagged: holidaze

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...

30
Dec
2024

RETROSPECTIVE

nd of the year retrospectives are fun to do. I’ve been writing them since 2008. I guess they appeal to the listmaker in me, and the OCD-me as well, because now that’s it been a tradition for 16 years, I can hardly stop now, can I? 2024 was a good year in many ways, judging by the family Xmas letter that I wrote and posted last week. Lots of travel for all of us, and I DID make it to Ireland, after dithering for a very long time between it and the south of France for my birthday trip. Karin...

26
Dec
2024

THE THREE RE’S: REST, RELAX, RECHARGE

It’s the day after Christmas. Boxing Day in the Commonwealth. Annandag Jul in Sweden. It’s a holiday here, too, though lots of stores are open. We had a lovely Christmas. The kids were both home for Christmas Eve. We watched Kalle Anke (which is obligatory in Sweden) at 3 pm with glögg and cookies, then opened one present from under the tree. Then we had julbord, which Anders fixed most of. All the trimmings: 3 kinds of herring, cold smoked and warmed smoked salmon, homemade hovmästarsås, romsås, brunkål, rödkål, and creamed kale (from our garden!), smoked sausage, liver paté with...

22
Dec
2024

EK FAMILY CHRISTMAS LETTER 2024

We still had Liz’s mom and Danely here until January 4 so 2024 started out nicely with family in the house. Karin, however, was still in Austria finishing up her second ski guide season. Anders went skiing up north at the end of January with his best friend Mats. Anders has had a lot of travel this year with work, with multiple weeks away in Kumla, Tingsryd, Italy, Norway, Germany, and Finland, among others. Good thing he loves his job! It’s been a busy year, for sure, with lots of travel, and lots of moving. Martin moved in with Theo...

October 2025
S M T W T F S
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031  

Archives