Day 43: Taking a break

So, just to prepare you, tomorrow my Sweeties and I are off on vacation. It's become our tradition and something we always look forward to. This year we're off to Legoland and I'm not sure who's more excited, the boys or me!

It's been ages since I've been to Legoland, and to be able to hang there with two 8 year olds is just, well, perfect. I've been living at their house for the past couple of days while my bathroom renovation continues, and we've been busy planning how to organize our trip. I love this part of taking a journey with the boys. The planning, the actual travel time (this year by airplane for the very first time together!). Each year has also been a milestone of sorts.

"That was really fun, Auntie Bella." That was Bruno after we spent the day at the Space Needle in Seattle a few years ago. First time they rode a roller coaster. It was very exciting, sending them off. I think I surprised them both when I said OK. But I figured, if they weren't scared, why should I put that thought in their heads. (Plus there were other kids around their dimensions riding :-))

All packed and ready to go!

But I digress...
I was preparing you...for a pause. A brief absence. A time for immersion in happy. I'll be back on July 5th, with a new bathroom, new energy, and a new post.

Day 42: My summer is made!

Today, I move to my next location in town...the Sweeties, their parents and Bagarmossen. Any of you who have known me for any period of time, know about my Sweeties, who know me as Auntie Bella and who have been the apples of my eye since the day (after) they were born. (Someone recently said that 8 was almost too old to be called sweeties. I say, an Auntie Bella prerogative ;-))

But I digress...
It's been incredibly relaxing living in Ingrid's apartment. Such a comfortable and warm space. Gave it a little TLC...as a special thank you to Ingrid, for being so neighborly. The art of neighborliness is somewhat lost on many Swedes. It's not really a part of the culture here. But Ingrid and Leif have for years been the type of neighbors I used to have in NY growing up. And that my mom had until the day that she died, still living in the same building.

Hej då Ingrid! Och TACK!

Happy news for the day: the bathroom may well be done ahead of schedule, maybe as early as July 5! I'm way too weary of contractors to count on it. But still...the tiling (both walls and floor) is done, the electrical work is finished. They have to finish the ceiling and mount the fixtures, which I think is the least complicated part of the project. All in all, it looks promising and an excellent note on which to kick off the summer, which I officially declared open today!

On the itinerary so far:

• Vacation with Sweeties
• Elizabeth Gattman's bon voyage party
• Songsemester i stan
• Dinner with Travis and Suellen
• Cynthia visits from Herräng
• Hesselby Slott Folk Festival
• Försäljning på loppis

all leading up to...ta-ta-ta-ta...Lori and Dorit's visit in August! Cause for celebration, n'est-ce pas?

Day 41: Cheap laugh

I find most of the "cutesy" things people post on FB superfluous. But every once in a while, something actually makes me laugh out loud, as this one did:

Admit it, you're laughing too. The cartoon also reminds me of author Lori Berhon's most recent blog entry about The New Fossils in which she reflects on all the things that have gone extinct in her (our) lifetime. One thing that has yet to go extinct are books and, if you haven't done so already, you should buy and read Berhon's The Breast of Everything. I guarantee you haven't read anything like it!

Day 40: A weight was lifted...

...or at least a block. Yessiree, folks, I'm writing again. Interesting how yesterday's blog got the greatest number of comments thus far. Which kind of reaffirms my conviction about talking to people. Vitsen att prata med folk. Every one of the comments was so super-supportive in its own way. Everything from commiseration ("Writing a daily blog is harrrrdddd.") to ways to unblock the block.

But I digress...
Had to come up with a photo for today, because I think it's prettier with a photo. So, in case of emergency, and if I can't find one more appropriate to today's thoughts, here's a photo of the socks I chose for today's outfit...aren't they simply gorgeous?

I've been thinking about this thing called writing. Where does it come from? Why is it important? For me the act itself is meditative. Then there's the question of language.

Det är intressant det här med vilket språk man skriver på.
It's quite interesting the effect that the language itself has.

That's why I love translation...getting the sense across, capturing voice. Quite bracing and challenging. Depending on the topic, more or less interesting. My Swedish is to the point where there are some things I can get to the source of much more easily than in English. Also, I think that Swedish fills a different function in my life than English does. I haven't gotten to the bottom of it yet...I'm a work in progress.

With fabulous socks!

Day 39: Writer's block

Can someone who is not a writer get writer's block? Not really sure what writer's block is, come to think of it. Is it that you have nothing to say? Or that you have something to say but you don't know quite how to say it? Or that you know what you want to say but it comes out differently?

Whatever the definition, the bottom line is that nothing gets written. I'm happy to have a label to put on it. Beats feeling guilty and makes me feel I have something. Writer's block. Yup, got me some of that. Must mean I'm a writer. Or maybe it's a signal that I'm not :-) 

Day 38: Napping

No sleep is quite as sweet as the afternoon nap. Snuggled up with a book under a wool throw on the living room sofa as the rain falls outside, I drift off to sleep. My dreams are usually much more intensive and memorable during this sleep and I wake up with an enormous sense of luxury.

Sometimes, like today, the nap goes into overdrive and the next thing I know, it's almost past my bedtime. What to do, what to do? Awake, refreshed, yet feeling like it's time to turn in for the night. Well, first, I will finish writing this blog. And then, I think I will continue to Pomodoro (http://www.pomodorotechnique.com/) the fridge.


Yup, that's what an afternoon nap can do for you...get you going on a task you'd otherwise be too tired to do. Those Spaniards really know what they're doing with their siestas. 'Night y'all.

The object of tonight's Pomodoro...shhhh, don't tell Ingrid, it's a surprise!

Day 37: Om vitsen med att prata med folk

I'm having a kind of vegging out day. A day doing nothing. A day of simply being. This is actually not as easy as it sounds. Take for example, the pusher. The pusher is constantly on my case to be doing something. The pusher is like, "OK. So you've done that, now what?" Now what are the pusher's favorite words.

My anchor today is a Skype date with a friend in NY. My friend is a wonderful talker. Probably likes talking more than anything else in the world. This makes it fun and always interesting to talk with him. He is also a fabulous listener, which, of course, is what it takes to be a good conversationalist. So, about an hour from now, I am going to engage in a genuine conversation. :-)

Until then, or sooner if I feel done, I am writing this blog. It feels great to send the pusher on vacation. Also, to honor her. To be fair, the pusher is also why this blog appears, every day. I'm pleased with this gift I am giving myself. Tracking my life for a year. Makes me happy.


But I digress...
Jo. This Midsummer, I was reminded of the point of talking to people (rough translation of the blog name from Swedish). Because I have heard that there's no point in talking about things, it doesn't help anyway, so why bother. And somewhere along the line, I think I bought into that. That, or Swedish reserve has rubbed off on me. Either way, every once in a while, it's nice to get a nice swift kick in the butt as a wake-up call. (Can you fit more metaphors into one sentence?)


Did you know, for example, (non-Swedes can skip this part...you may find it boring) that if you use your ROT-avdrag, Skatteverket pays the contractor now, and deducts the amount from your taxes at the end of the year. This basically means that you can borrow that money from them, until February or so of the following year, interest-free. 


Nope, I didn't know either. Until I started talking to people. You get stuff for your taxes in this country, folks. Yes you do. That, too, makes me happy.

Ready to Skype!