Friday, December 14, 2012

Day 205: Unfathomably senseless


Happy is not high up on the list right now. Hard to connect with happy in the face of the senseless killing of children. 18 die in Connecticut school shooting


 My cousin's daughter writes, "The elementary classroom is a fun, warm, and welcoming place where young children are inspired to be the very best versions of themselves and where they become excited about learning. At the end of the day these amazing and inspiring children show so much love and appreciation for the opportunities they are given. How could anyone in their right mind want to destroy such a beautiful thing."

How, indeed?

Day 204: Out and about

When it's cold outside...really, really cold...it's good to make commitments that guarantee I get out of the house. Otherwise I have a hard time motivating myself to put on all those layers of clothing. How do families with small children cope with all this winter clothing? It must take forever to get out the door.

This evening's commitment was dinner and the theater with one of my two Swedish brothers. I've been so snowed under (pardon the pun) with putting on a musical, it felt really great to go see one instead, although calling a stage production of Dirty Dancing a musical pushes the envelope a bit. Still, I enjoyed being in the audience for a change. Really must do this more often.


Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Day 203. Ya still gotta love the Swedes

So off I trudge in the slushy snow to get the premier invitations out on time. Not the most glamorous part of the job but, hey, someone's got to do it :-) The nearest "last minute" mailbox (last pick-up time 19.00) is at Medborgarplatsen, one t-bana stop away or about a 10 minute walk from my place. (That was yesterday's news, btw; today, I learned that in Ringen it is 18.00 and at the one outside Ringen it's 19.00.) 

But I digress. I was trudging. Jo...Medborgarplatsen is a gathering point on Söder. Great in the summer. Lots of outdoor cafés, food vendors, a library, swimming pool, food hall and multiplex. And a last minute mailbox. This is the sight that greets me as I approach.


Red for Christmas, pose side-by-side with year-rounders Yellow and Blue, the national colors.

Ya gotta love it. Only in Sweden, bless their souls. These red season guests pop up every year at around this time and then retreat soon after Christmas, only to show up again reliably a year later. They'll motivate it with all sorts of stats, and surround it by rules and processes, etc. but still...I like living in a society where things like "last minute" mailboxes and Yule Tidnings matter.

As do Chanukkah greetings. Our Chanukkah celebration at Kungsträdgården this year was covered by a number of newspapers and TV stations. That was nice. A live and let live attitude goes a long way toward maintaining peace, as long as you don't equate "live and let live" with "don't care." We need to stop being divisive and instead reach out to one another, within and beyond our core group.

A long way from "last minute" mailboxes, eh?!

Namaste.

Day 202: What's important?

Spent the day buried in a project that should have taken max two hours and wound up taking all day. Bad planning? I don't know. Some people live in a "squeaky wheel gets the oil" mode while my focus is on optimizing for efficiency. When we try to work together, we clash. Puh.

Oh, well. The final product was superb. I can't show it to you here because it requires tactile contact, but if you're curious, send me your snail-mail address and I'll post you a copy.

And I got to walk through this lovely area...so white, and still (except for the wafting voices of the choir practicing in the tiny church that is in the middle of this enclosed courtyard). All in all, a good day.

Monday, December 10, 2012

Day 201: Holiday sales

A fun way to spend an hour or two is browsing Amazon in preparation for a trip to the U.S. No use starting unless I have an hour or two on my hands, because the site is way too good at suggesting items that I might find interesting. The danger is that my impulsive self will run amok so my routine is always to load up the shopping cart and then "sleep on it."

Today's treasures include Barbara Kingsolver's new book, Flight Behavior; Anne Tyler's The Beginner's Goodbye (which I already borrowed from the library and read but have to have my bookshelf); a DVD of Sondheim's Company; Louise Erdrich's The Round House. Did I mention you can do all this shopping while listening to sample music tracks?

Better get back to it now :-)


Sunday, December 9, 2012

Day 200: The second hundred mark

Basking in the afterglow of Board Games...Yeah! my monthly gathering of game playing enthusiasts. Best part? Kicking back on the sofa with a clementine and admiring my clean home afterwards :-)

It's the age-old strategy of inviting people over so you're forced to clean. A prerequisite, of course, is that you'll only invite people over to your home if it is clean...which, hard as it is for me to grasp, I'm forced to acknowledge is not a universal truth. Me? I can't think straight when I'm surrounded by clutter, so it's pretty neat around here most of the time. And once a month, I give the place a real cleaning, then reward myself with an afternoon of fun in the company of people.

And as a bonus, I get a clean home to enjoy.

Next month, we're all going to see Assassins afterwards. Let the games continue!

Day 199: Oily business

And so it begins...eight days of everything fried. Happy Chanukkah! Plagiarizing from an acquaintance I bid all my Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist friends et al. lives filled with light that will show you the way to happiness, love and understanding.

Let the latke eating begin!