Tagged: obiterphotos

30
Jan
2010

SMOOTH AND CLEAN AND FROSTY WHITE, THE WORLD LOOKS GOOD ENOUGH TO BITE*

Yesterday, when I drove to work, everything was coated with hoarfrost, making the trees look like diamond-bright winter caricatures of their leafy green summer selves. No chance to take photos, since I didn’t have a camera with me, and the frost had melted by evening. Crisp and clear and blindingly sunny today; our backyard is a pristine white blanket of snow. I filled the bird feeder and hung it in front of the kitchen window. There are no berries on anything, the birds have stripped every bush and tree clean. Most of the birds I saw today were sitting hunched...

23
Jan
2010

ROOM RENOVATION

I didn’t get my own room until we moved to Belgium, the year I turned 13 but once I did, one of the best things about having my own space was getting to change things around to suit myself. I loved to rearrange my room. I’d move furniture around every so many months, trying out every possible combination of filling the space. I’d move the pictures I had taped or tacked to the walls. I’d rearrange the books in my bookcase and on my shelves. Interior design was an appealing career path. I still feel this way, but having a...

24
Dec
2009

WHAT A BRIGHT TIME, IT’S THE RIGHT TIME!

Sleeping in, Finished a great book, house spotless, and refrigerator stuffed with all the trimmings for a complete Swedish julbord and ready to go! Anders’ parents got here just after 3 p.m. and the kids watched Kalle Anka until Karin and I left to pick up John & Simone at the airport (on time! smooth sailing!). There is still a ton of snow and there are lovely advent lights in stars in the windows of every house. We had a wonderful evening stuffing ourselves silly on all the good food that Anders and his mom had prepared and then (finally!...

20
Dec
2009

IN THE LANE SNOW IS GLISTENING

Look what happens when someone leaves the snow on overnight! 24 hours plus of snowfall and we have over a foot. I threw the kids outside with a camera and told them to take photos. “Of what?” they asked. DUH! Of things covered in snow! When I got the camera back, they had taken pictures of both the cars and the mailbox and some blobs of snow on the side of the house. Anders is out shoveling, the kids are out sledding and I, in a hilarious twist of irony, am about to DEFROST THE FREEZER. Hahahahahaha!! ABOMINABLE! Clifford the...

02
Aug
2009

SOC’ IT TO ‘EM

Karin’s been torn between soccer and karate all this past year. She had karate class 2 nights a week and soccer practice 2 nights a week and inevitably one of the nights held both and she ended up having to choose each week which one to go to. For various reasons, soccer began to win out and it’s been more and more dominant since the spring. Her team was in a league which was too advanced for them; they ended up dead last, having not won a single game in the entire season, which was very hard on the kids...

27
Jul
2009

WALKING, WATCHING, WINDING DOWN

Walking with a large dog tugging at the end of your arm is quite different from the easy-sway, arm-swinging stride you normally produce. We are dog-sitting Max, the border collie that lives next door, for 2.5 days while his family is on a mini-vacation. We know that having a dog around the house makes the dog-longing worse, but none of us can resist any chance that comes up, far and few between as they are. Max apparently walks much the same round that I usually do, as he was ahead of me the whole time and never missed a beat...

16
Jul
2009

MEETING POINT

The place we stayed at in the Netherlands is in a little dangly bit of the country that hangs below the rest of Holland like a pom-pom poodle tail. To the left is Belgium and to the right is Germany and about 3 kilometers up the road from the apartment is the place where the 3 countries come together. It’s called Drielandenpunt, or “3 Country Point” and it has its own website (though not in English), and is located at the top of the highest point in the Netherlands, Mount Vaals. The hill is just over 1000 feet high (322...

14
Jul
2009

CASTLES & CAVERNS

I like castles a lot. What’s not to like? Oh sure, they’re often drafty, and probably a nightmare to maintain and let’s not even mention the heating bills, but imagine! Living in a castle must make you feel like the aristocracy whether or not you actually have any drop of royal blood running through your veins. When we lived in Europe and traveled all over the place, we always visited castles. When we visit my brother in Bavaria, invariably a castle sneaks on to the agenda. In Wales for a week while Anders went to a class, when Martin was...

12
Jul
2009

THE BEST ANTIQUES TO COLLECT ARE OLD FRIENDS

The last day of vacation was both a lazy one and a busy one. I slept in super late, after waking briefly around 9 a.m. and then dozing off again. The sun was shining most of the day and it warmed up nicely in the afternoon. Martin and I completely cleaned out his room in preparation for Anders to start the re-decorating work. I went to the grocery store, did a load of laundry and baked & decorated a cake. Tomorrow is a crazy day: I’m sure work will be frantic and stressful, though I hope it’s not too bad....

11
Jul
2009

SWEETER FOR THE EATER

Our cherry tree is the second one we’ve had; only 4 years old. The first one died after a year and we were a bit worried about the current one last summer as it had a bad bug infestation which my mom and I treated with soap and water. Two of the branches are dead and need to be removed. Last year we had a total of FOUR cherries. But this year: BUMPER CROP! We had to put blue net up and everything and the crows and jackdaws and magpies made concerted efforts to tease out the dangling rubies through...

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