Tagged: karinbean

20
Nov
2022

GOOD STUFF and GOODBYES

What a weekend! We had our annual Friendsgiving dinner potluck yesterday and it was a smash success. I was quite worried to begin with because I invited too many people, or rather, I invited so many people that we weren’t at all sure how we’d manage to set up the tables and chairs so that there would be space for everyone, or even if that many people would fit. But we did, and they did. I should remember that inevitably there is always someone who cancels last minute and sure enough, 3 people on the invite list weren’t able to...

31
Oct
2022

HALLOWEENIES

It was either a very quiet year for trick-or-treating, or I bought too much candy. 😛 It’s super foggy out tonight, and I know lots of families were very excited about Halloween this year, judging by the chatter on the village FB group. We’ve had lots of kids, actually, but it doesn’t feel like we had THAT many, if you know what I mean. They’re still trickling in as I write this, and maybe I feel like it wasn’t so many because Karin took turns with me answering the door and handing out candy. I guess I’ll be bringing lots...

12
Jul
2022

HOW SWEET IT IS

Look at me posting again! Whee! Russell helped me add a Contact page last night, and we fixed some formatting issues on the About page, and he added a captcha safety measure to the comments form so that I don’t get bombarded with spam. I don’t expect I will, regardless, as I don’t link to my blog much or advertise it publicly, but you never know. *** We had a cake party at work this afternoon, and I’m still on a sugar buzz. Helen, who is a friend, and the Marketing Director’s assistant, took it upon herself to organize a...

11
Jul
2022

TRAVEL BUG

We had a visitor this weekend, one of my mom’s cousin’s granddaughters, who is the same age as Karin (or at least the same age as Karin will be on Wednesday). Her name is Cassy and she’s my second cousin once removed. (She and Karin are third cousins). She emailed me a couple of weeks ago out of the blue and explained who she was and that she was backpacking around Europe and was wondering if we would be up for hosting her for a couple of days. She had gotten my name and contact info from her aunt Kim,...

21
Jan
2022

ME AGAIN

Why can’t I seem to remember about this blog until the weekend? I am completely consumed by work during the week, apparently. It’s not like I have a lot to talk about, right now, as I’m back to working from home full time, but I don’t want to lose the habit. Is writing once a week enough for me? I guess it’s better than nothing! Karin finally caught the covid. She was up in Sälen skiing last week and she and one of her friends tested positive while they were there. We heard that they were having to shut down...

28
Dec
2021

EASE ON DOWN THE ROAD

One of my goals for 2021 was to walk a 5K every month in addition to the nearly daily walking I was already doing. My usual routes are either a double-helix around the neighborhood (approx. 1 kilometer), or a 1.5K zigzagging up the neighborhood and then over and around and down below the school, or a 2.5K which goes around the school, over into the village and all the way down the goats and back. It’s harder to keep up the commitment in the winter when the roads are icy, and they stay icy in our neighborhood for a really...

26
Dec
2021

POST-HOLIDAY BLISS

It’s the day after Christmas, at the end of 2021. It was a good Christmas in many ways…the four of us back together and everything ready in plenty of time so no one was stressed. I had most of my shopping done by the end of November, almost all of it done online, and the last of the things I ordered arrived well in advance. Karin helped Anders with ordering stuff for me, so he wasn’t stressed out either, at least not that I could tell. 🙂 We did a big grocery shop for both Christmas eve and Christmas day...

08
Jul
2021

GROWING THINGS, GOOD THINGS

Every evening, through the spring and summer, I go out and water in the garden. I’m not a gardener, not really. I put pansies in the pots in the spring and swap them out for pelargoniums in the summer; those that don’t have year-round succulents. I’m partial to plants and flowers that are low-maintenance, that come up year after year, with the minimum of attention: water every evening, some weeding when it gets to the point I can’t ignore them anymore, and sunshine. In the front garden, we have a circle of yellow-veined hostas, interspersed with some leafy plants that...

02
Jul
2021

HOLES AND HOPES

I find myself checking my head constantly, without thinking about it. My hands in my hair, sifting through the strands, feeling the lumps and landscape of my skull like an amateur phrenologist. I am trying unconsciously to tell if there is more damage from my fall than I thought, or maybe I’m trying to smooth it out, to make sure there are no actual holes in my skull, as if my fingers could softly and carefully rub the bone back together. There are 22 bones in the human skull, 14 of which make up your face. The bones of the...

22
May
2021

SHOTS, SHOOTS & SONGS

Yesterday, Anders saw on the news that hospitalizations of patients with COVID, who have received their first vaccination shot (here in Sweden, at least), were on the rise. Maybe no one told them that 1) it takes 3 weeks for the first shot to reach full effectiveness and 2) it takes TWO SHOTS (for most of us) and a couple more weeks after that to be fully covered. I get that people are increasingly willing to take risks because they are so tired of the restrictions of the past year and a half, but HOLD OUT. Anders got his first...

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