Tagged: karinbean

26
Jul
2020

NEWS FROM THE INSIDE OF MY HOUSE

Where do people go when they stop blogging? How can they stand not knowing what’s going on in the lives of the friends they’ve made online? How can they stand not knowing how the story continues? Even though I can go weeks without posting, I can’t imagine stopping forever. Or, well, I can, but I don’t want to. I like having this record of my life, my thoughts, my obiter dictum. I still think about blog friends, online friends, who left the blog world years ago. Just dropped off, stopped writing, as if no one cared that they were gone....

26
Jan
2020

FILLING IN THE NEGATIVE SPACE WITH POSITIVELY EVERYTHING*

I was waiting for a friend of mine at the mall on Friday evening, sitting on a bench outside of the store we were going to the grand opening of. I had my phone out and was checking email or Facebook or something and I glanced up to see if I could see her coming yet. But coming toward me was Karin. My daughter. And I thought, “What is Karin doing here??” Only a split second later I realized it WASN’T her at all. It was a girl her age, dressed EXACTLY like Karin dresses, with the same shape face...

24
Dec
2019

EK FAMILY CHRISTMAS LETTER 2019

We spent last Christmas in Michigan with Liz’s mom and Martin and our good friends Kathey and Russell joined us there for New Year’s so we had a very happy start to the year! We were back in Sweden by January 4 and back to work nearly straightaway, leaving Martin behind to continue his second year at CCS. At the end of January, Anders went skiing in Czech Republic with friends on their annual ski trip. He had several work trips early in the year as well, all to Italy. Karin continued working at Axis with Liz as her contract...

02
Dec
2019

CREEPING UP

This weekend was filled with family thoughts in many different ways. Because it was the weekend after Thanksgiving, which we can’t celebrate on Thursday here in Sweden, it was also filled with the friends who have become family over the years. I went to the annual AWC wreathmaking workshop on Thursday evening, and we figured it out it was the 20-year anniversary. Not a huge turnout this year, but it was fun regardless, and I was quite happy with my wreath. I don’t understand why no one else takes advantage of the gold spray paint that Rosa always has on...

22
Nov
2019

THE OPPOSITE OF NANOWRIMO

There’s no shortage of days in November, no lack of days that I could have been writing, but didn’t. November days all seem to blur together in one gray, cloud-covered, drizzly blur. Today was no exception. A few weeks ago, we had so much work we were drowning in it (not waving, but drowning), and I sent out an email to all the marketing people both in Corporate and out in the regions to give them a heads-up that we were really slammed and could they please 1) give us more than 1-2 days deadline on their requests and 2)...

25
Aug
2019

TRIALS OF A BIBLIOPHILE

Megsie tagged me a book meme on Facebook, which is kinda the only meme that I can’t resist. It’s posting 7 books you love for seven days. When you read as much as I do, it’s REALLY hard to only pick 7 books. Do you pick your FAVORITES? (Impossible to stick to 7, in that case). Do you stick to one genre? Do you play to your audience? Do you choose only newer books or only older ones? What if you like really quirky books or complicated books or Harlequin romances or you feel children’s literature is underrated and not...

27
May
2019

DOWN, DOWN, DOWN, THEN UP

We voted yesterday in the EU elections, but honestly, after hearing the results of elections all around the world, I wonder why we bother…I don’t feel like it makes any difference against the rising wave of nationalism, populism, right-wing rhetoric. Everyone I know expresses outrage and despair that the right-wing parties are gaining such ground, but SOMEONE must be voting for them. GAH. I really hope it doesn’t take a world war, climate explosion (beyond crisis) and a couple of generations to turn the tide again. Karin and I got her taxes done last week and I took them to...

04
May
2019

PRODIGAL

Karin’s trip to South America was 2/3’s done this past week. She and the girls were in Bolivia and heading from Lake Titicaca to La Paz for a couple of days last we talked. It’s been great that they have all been so good about posting on Instagram every couple of days and she has also texted us quite often and we’ve talked via Messenger almost every week. Helps to keep the distance a little smaller. After the mid-week holiday, we came back to crazy busy at work, as usual. Thursday felt like a Monday and one of my teammates...

04
Mar
2019

THE WEEK THAT WAS, IS, AND WILL BE INSANE

Where does the time go? It’s been over a week since my last confession. Er, post, I mean. In that time, I have cleaned house like a machine cleaned up the front garden beds finalized the AWC newsletter and website updates before the monthly meeting called and talked to and activated two new AWC members ran the AWC board meeting as our President is still away won trivia night with my team, The Know-It-Alls, at the monthly AWC meeting (prizes: tulips and Reese’s) gotten a raise and praise cleaned and sorted and purged and packed things in my mother-in-law’s apartment...

12
Feb
2019

GROWNUP GAMES

What are you playing at? I just asked myself this question and it made me laugh a little. I’m playing at keeping my cool (especially at work where I was on a short fuse today) and playing house (which I sometimes still feel like I’m doing despite living independently, even when it was with roommates or my husband, since I graduated college) and playing at being an adult. Aren’t we all playing at that? Do you feel like you’re making it up as you go along, too? Do we all feel that way secretly and some of us are just...

April 2024
S M T W T F S
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
282930  

Archives