Tagged: martinbean

13
Jan
2022

START ART!

I just thought of something I’d like to do for a goal for 2022, and since it’s already mid-January, I’d better get started! I think I’d like to try doing art at least once a month. I haven’t done anything since the early days of this blog in the early 2000s with the collage book I started then. I used to be so crafty and artistic. Now I just LOOK at other artists’ work on Instagram instead of creating my own. Heck, even my mom paints and she’s in her 80s, so what’s my excuse?? It’s an excellent idea for...

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...

20
Nov
2021

WHEEEEEEEEEEEEKEND

Dang, this month is getting away from me. It’s the weekend again and I’ve been thinking that I need to get a post written so here I am. This morning I woke up slowly, from very complicated, weird, but interesting dreams that of course I can no longer remember. It’s nice to wake up with a nice feeling like you were in the middle of a good story dream, even if it evaporates all too quickly. I wouldn’t tell you what it was even if I could remember it, because I believe dreams are of zero interest to anyone but...

08
Nov
2021

GIGGLING AND GRAVESTONES

This past Saturday was All Saints Day (also known as All Hallow’s Day) here in Sweden. It was late this year, falling on November 6. A lot of older Swedes are against Halloween simply because when it falls on a Saturday, which means it is ALSO All Saints Day, the sacredness of the holiday is overshadowed by the newfangled ridiculousness of an American holiday which “doesn’t even belong here”. So I’m always glad when Halloween doesn’t hit All Saints Day. What’s really super confusing is that there are TWO All Saints Days, both of which are celebrated in Sweden. One...

18
Sep
2021

PRODIGAL SON

Martin left North Carolina on Tuesday. Mom, Sarah and Bryce drove him to the airport, a couple of hours early, so that he could get his extra bag registered and make sure everything was squared away. He had gotten a rapid COVID test the day before (negative) and downloaded 2 Audible books for the trip. Everything went super smoothly and he kept us all informed by text messages at every step of the way. When he got to London on Wednesday morning, it turned out that his flight to Copenhagen had been moved slightly and was departing about an hour...

11
Sep
2021

JUST A FEW THINGS, AFTER A FEW WEEKS

Oy! That’s what you get, I suppose, when you get back to work and regular routines. Suddenly, 2 weeks have whipped by and you haven’t written a thing. I’ve been busy, both with work and stuff at home, and a lot of work for the AIC, as well, as we’re in the beginning of the season, starting to plan the first in-person events in over a year, and preparing for the Annual meeting and board elections. I’ve been busy contacting members, finding out who is planning to continue and deactivating those who have left or don’t want to renew, as...

28
Aug
2021

AUTUMNAL PREMEDITATIONS

Hello from rainy SkÃ¥ne! We had a few nice days at the beginning of last week but it’s back to rain and grey and solid cloud cover. I was really hoping for a nice weekend, but it’s not looking like I’ll get my wish. Tonight we are going (with Karin) to the annual crayfish party, hosted and attended by friends we haven’t seen since the start of the pandemic (with the exception of 1 couple). It will be weird but nice, I’m sure. Everyone is fully vaccinated, but crowds of people make me nervous these days, so we shall see....

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...

16
May
2021

NO ESCAPE FROM REALITY

It’s forecast to rain all day and this coming week but the sun has been doing its best to stay out and I went for a walk around the village, enjoying the sunshine (had to remove my jacket!) and the greenery. The cherry trees and magnolias and spirea are blooming. The magnolias, especially the bright pink ones, are such ridiculously pretty pink popsicles of trees. Columbine and forget-me-nots and pansies are everywhere and every field looks carpet-bombed by bright yellow dandelions. Out in the fields, the rapeseed is reaching its neon-yellow heights. And I saw a pied wagtail! The first...

May 2024
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