Day 365: The Top Ten Hits of 365

To recap, in no particular order, here are my reflections on the year that was. Many, many thanks to those of you who followed the blog, for your comments and support. Although I did this for myself, it was really nice to know there were people following along or dropping by from time to time.

Adieu. Be well. Be happy. Be you.

1. I am happiest when I focus without
2. People following and commenting on my posts made happy
3. I have neither a more nor a less positive outlook on things today than I had a year ago
4. The great satisfaction this project has brought is having done it at all
5. I am looking forward to ending this project and will miss it when it is gone
6. I forgive myself for forgetting to post some days
7. I am happy to have this written record of a year in my life
8. Hebrew is my native tongue
9. My greatest coping mechanism is a sense of humor.
10. Planning in things that make me happy makes me happy.

Day 364: The way forward

People have been asking if I will continue the blog after Day 365 and the answer is no. Looking ahead, my plan is to focus more energy without and less within. I'm happiest when I do. And see. And move. Still, I have enjoyed having a project and 365 days is an ideal time span for me. Long enough to feel like a real commitment and short enough to feel do-able.

There are shelves of unread books, a list of undone projects, files of untried recipes, stacks of unsung songs...the possibilities are endless. When one door closes, another opens nearby.

Day 363: Neither here nor there

The natural question on everyone's mind is whether the experiment worked. Do I have a more positive outlook on life today than I had a year ago? The answer? Nyes. That is, yes and no. As I wasn't a particularly negative person to begin with, I'm not sure that there was all that much room for improvement. So in my case, I think this project was (as I wrote yesterday) all about the doing. I liked having a focal point every day. And I like having a stored history of those focal points now.

So, no regrets. :-)

Day 362: Commitment

In retrospect, the best part of this project is having done it at all. It gave a focal point to each day that was both easy to achieve and important to do. It also inspired at least two other people of whom I am aware to start 365 day projects of their own, with one more on the cusp.

Sometimes it's in the doing. Early on I realized that my entries did not have to be profound. That writing an entry was at least as important as its content. That insight served me well here and in other aspects of my life as well.

Day 361: The best laid plans

Five: Planning in things that make me happy makes me happy. When the plans finally come around, I'm not always keen on following through. I've learned to trust the inner planner though and believe wholeheartedly that she knows I will be so happy if I just follow her plans.

That's how I wound up driving to a farm in the country today with two friends and my Sweeties to see the cows being set free to graze after a long winter cooped up in the barn. Trust me, I had no desire to climb out of bed when the alarm went off early, early, early this morning. But I trust the planner so off I went. It turned out to be such a relaxing, different way to spend the day. We made a picnic of it and the cows delivered with quite a bit of hopping around, munching on grass, butting heads and mooing to their hearts' content. As a bonus, the Sweeties got to see an ambulance helicopter that landed in the field to airlift a someone who was having trouble breathing to the hospital.

My bonus was a Sweetie spontaneously plopping himself down in my lap. He then asked for an apple, leaned back against me, ate and chatted with me for a good 20 minutes or so. Heaven.

Yup, the planner knows what she's doing!

Day 360: Cloudy with a chance of Canasta

After a week of glorious summer weather, the clouds are back, but not in my way. A perfect afternoon for a Canasta klatch who'll be arriving shortly. Coffee's on!

When I think about my final words for this project, inevitably the critic in me pipes up with "But you didn't post every day!" Actually, that is a voice I chose to ignore throughout this journey which in and of itself made me happy. So there, is number 6 in my countdown.

Ah, the klatch is here...with scrumptious snacks! Later...

Day 359: LOL!

My best defense against anxiety, fear and general down-in-the-dumpness? Joking. It's what got me through medical and dental procedures and many a loooong business meeting. Every once in a while, I lose my sense of humor and this year has shown me how much better off I am when I find it.

So, here's a cute one:

"Did you hear about the person who got the whole left of his body cut off?"

"Yeah, but he's all right now."

Day 358: Going, going, gone

Day 365 is like a beacon that's finally within sight, guiding me to the conclusion of this year-long experiment. It blinks oh so steadily as I make my way, one day at a time toward the inevitable end. A day I long for, bringing this chapter to a close. A day I dread as I suspect I will also miss this daily obligation.

And so it goes. Longing. And dread. Two sides of a thin coin.

Day 357: Hebrew is my native tongue

Tov, davar achad sh'ani lo asseetee ha sha'na ha zu ze l'chtov be ivrit. Chaval, biglall sh'ze gamm kef ledaber ivrit ve ze gamm chelek kaze gadol haya be yalduti. Im hayiti kotevet be ivrit hayiti messaperet all mishpacha.  Sh hitzilah oti. Ve ometz. Ve ahava. Oo-lie ze bidiuk ma sh'asseetee achshav.

Chaval sh'yeter ha olam lo yachol lihishtamesh be

גוגל

lehavin. ;-))

BTW, (ve ech homrim et ze be ivrit chevreh?), me'anyen sh'katov be google.co.il yesh "gamm be anglit ve gamm aravit". Ba'atar ha aravi shelahem katov gamm anglit gamm aravit. So there!

Day 356: The final countdown

This is it folks. Ten days left and counting. Naturally, I find myself reflecting over the year that's passed and is almost over. So, here come ten discoveries I made during this journey, one per day, in no particular order.

One: I am happy to have this written record of a year in my life. At various points in my life, I have tried keeping a journal or diary without much success. I found the effort not very gratifying and could never keep it up for more than a few days at a time. So this is the closest I have to diary. It is my intention to convert the entries, including the photos, into a PDF to keep for posterity. It will be interesting to read in sequence when the year is over and to re-read in, say, 10 years time.

Today's image is from the Math Center super duper study circle that took place in three huge tents at Kungsträdgården (of cherry blossom fame). So much fun. So much energy. And once again I met my personal goal...to learn something new myself.

Day 355: Surround sound

At the language café. An extra volunteer showed up today so I do not have a group of my own. Instead, I spent my time doing reviewing some math in preparation for tomorrow's Math Center super lab, answered a bunch of e-mails and caught up on FB. All in the midst of the happy babbling of participants all around me.

Nice to be able to hang out and do work in the company of others. On the way over here, I took a photo of Kungsträdgården where the cherry blossoms blossomed just a few short days ago. This as a reminder of how important it is to live in the moment. Would have been so easy to miss the beautiful sight (see Day 349).

Day 354: No pain's the gain

My dentist warned me that the tooth behind the tooth that he just did a root canal on was loose and should get extracted. I am fond of my teeth and was not so keen on the idea. Plus, who can afford all these treatments? So I decided to wait and see.

That was on Monday. Let's just say I did not have to wait very long. By Thursday, the pain was noticeable. However, Thursday was a holiday here and Friday a bonus day so I can first contact the dentist tomorrow. Which is why I am so very grateful that I still have some pretty strong post-surgery pain killers left from last year. It would have been a miserable day without them. :-)

Day 353: Rest is more

Came across this image and just loved it. Pretty much sums up my Saturday because sometimes I just love to veg out. Today it was reading, playing and eating with a bit of TV thrown in for good measure. Oh, and preparing for the math convention on Tuesday (my idea of relaxation).

Very tired after all that resting...time to go to sleep!

Day 352: Rare find

Sweden is many things, among them a good coffee country and the second highest per capita consumer of ice cream in the world. So you would think coffee ice cream would be a given. Nix. That's why I am always on the lookout for it, in grocery stores and ice cream parlors. Every once in a while I get lucky and today was one of those days! Yummo!

It really does not take all that much to make me happy...

Day 351: Meaningful conversation

A long, long walk in great company. Talking about things that matter. Laughing. Sunshine.

Not bad for a Thursday in May.

Day 350: Dramaten

One of the great things about being full-time funemployed is being able to take advantage of last minute daytime opportunities such as attending a dress rehearsal at Sweden's Royal National Theater, Dramaten. Just stepping inside this building is a joy in and of itself, although one I did not get to experience today as the production was in the theater's so called Little Stage.

How cool is this? The invitation came via the theater's FB page. All you had to do was to write Yes in a comment and your name was added to the guest list. I cannot imagine such a thing at a Broadway theater, inviting the general public to a dress rehearsal. Gotta love those Swedes ;-)

Day 349: The flowers that bloom in the spring, tra la

What a sight on my way home from the library today! The cherry blossoms in Kungsträdgården are in full bloom and people are out in droves. Magical!

Day 348: Walking in sunshine

Every once in a while I am overwhelmed with the beauty of Stockholm. It is usually on a pristine summer day, clear skies and sunshine. Today was no exception and a great opportunity for an extra long walk. Met up with a friend after my last stint (for now) at the dentist and we took a long walk around Djurgården, the island that once was the royal family's hunting grounds and now is home to a variety of museums, an amusement park and a rather large gardening business. We stopped there for lunch and I was so very impressed with the trees they're growing into standalone sunshades.

Cool, don't you agree?

Day 347: Music to my ears

Sometime in the next few months, ALLA KAN Institutet, where I led singing circles for a number of years, will be moving. Today, I made my way over there for one last end of term celebration. I could only stay for the first hour, and what an hour it was! Singing filled the room. Familiar songs, songs new to me, solos, sing-alongs. It was so much fun.

Then off I went to a very different type of musical event, to listen to the fruits of a weekend workshop on composing for the theater. Six musicians worked with a couple of scenes from Macbeth  to which they each composed the beginnings of a score. Fascinating to listen to their very different interpretations. Inspiring too to imagine a stage production of Macbeth with a soundtrack.

There is is so much creativity in the world.

Days 345-346: Anticipation

Canasta after a long, long hiatus. And the sun is shining (perhaps we will play out in the garden?). Plus, I have to clean the place before guests arrive (dishwasher already running), which means I get to enjoy a clean home even afterwards.

Not bad for a Saturday in May. Enjoy your day whatever it may hold!

Days 343-344: Tax collections in Stockholm

Almost forgot to file my Swedish income tax return this year. Fortunately, one of my friends posted (boasted?) on FB that he'd just completed his and so I was reminded. Perhaps I forgot because I owe money this year...who knows? In any event, had this been the U.S. I'd be sitting for hours filling in forms. As it is, I filed online which took approximately 2.3 minutes, including transferring the funds I owe. Then off I went to the Math Labs.

On my way, I crossed a busy intersection where a number of workers in orange vests clearly stamped with Tax Dept on their backs were on hand to collect returns from passersby and, more incredibly, from people driving by. I've said it before, and I'll say it again...gotta love them Swedes!

Day 342: Back in high school

What a luxury...I get to do high school all over again helping my tutee (a word I just made up?) catch up on her work. Today's subjects were math and religion. Was able to find the school book on religion that they are using at the library and spent some time reading this evening. As it so happens, the exam she is having this week is on what they refer to as the "Abrahamistic" religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. There is an entire chapter devoted to each, plus an intro chapter that focuses on the common ground that these religions are built on. The world might be a more peaceful place if more schools took this approach. (The book, btw, covers the Asian religions as well as new age and non-religion.)

Enlightening.

Day 341: Whole and hearty

So, today I learned that a friend in NY tripped, fell, jammed her arms and broke both her shoulders. She is was rushed to the hospital and underwent surgery. And a cousin in Holland broke her ankle.

It's not hard to find something to feel positive about in my own life on a day like today. I am whole. I am healthy. I walked for kilometers with no incident.

Enough said.

Day 340: Helping hands

For days the lamp outside the door to my apartment has been dark. It's a ceiling lamp and requires a ladder to get to and I have simply been too lazy to go down into the basement and bring one up. Then a neighbor rang my bell rang and wondered where we keep the light bulbs!

I gave him the key to the storage area and a few minutes later there he stood with a light bulb and the ladder. He removed the light fixture which I took and cleaned while he changed the bulb. He replaced the fixture, gave me back the keys and took the ladder down to the basement.

Everything is easier when you don't have to do it alone. I'm glad I have such great neighbors!

Day 339: Count on it

Spent a part of the afternoon "taking" the national math test for 9th graders in preparation for the Math Center convention which takes place in mid-May. Figure I might as well get a head start. Plus, this is actually my idea of fun :-)

Would have liked to report that I got 100% but alas they got me on an area question that was less than obvious. It's in the photo if you want to take a shot at it. Oh, well. Still, got all the rest correct and let me just say it's been a day or two since I was in 9th grade. Next up, the 10th grade test.

Day 338: American history

Spent an interesting couple of hours helping a Swedish high school student with some history homework. The topic happened to be the American Revolutionary War to which this history book devotes four pages (contra the French revolution which gets twice as much print space). It's been a long time since I visited this chapter in American history and it was fun (not to mention challenging) to find myself explaining it in Swedish.

As a bonus, I walked to meet the student at the library and then home again...10.4 kilometers in total. Now here's to a good night's sleep! And tired legs :-)

Day 337: Spring has sprung

How do I know? I switched from winter gloves to thinner ones and to a lightweight blanket on my newly made springtime bed. Did not have to wear a hat outside today. Medborgarplatsen was teeming with people sitting in outdoor cafés. The neighbors are grilling outside. I could have normal shoes on my feet rather than construction boots.

Plus, the air smelled like spring.

It's about time!

Day 336: An evening at the ballet

It's been ages since I last was at the ballet. It will not be ages until the next time!

Giselle (Royal Swedish Ballet)

Day 335: Seen about town today

On an extra long walk today ( 5 km), I saw a number of things that I felt moved to photograph. Here they are in the order in which I saw them. Some were puzzling, others entertaining. I do love my walks :-)

Attention Swedish readers: What on earth does Lura inte i vassen mean???

A bit hard to tell what this is from this photograph as it was taken from too far a distance. It is a double-decker bicycle rack. We've discussed installing one in our garden for quite some time. I finally got to see what one looks like.

Seen on the bulletin board at the library. Rudebeck is one of my Swedish brothers. I was tickled to see this poster advertising his fabulous cabaret act.

Coming to our civic theater in December. Needs no further explanation. Aforementioned brother got online and got us tickets for January.

Day 334: Something to chew on

And teeth to chew it with. What a pleasure to be able to use both sides of my mouth again. The root canal is not complete but the roots have been removed and the Novocaine soreness is gone and I can chew again! Food tastes completely different (or perhaps simply complete) when it hits a larger surface of your tongue. Terrific to get the entire spectrum of taste again.

Day 333: Triple crown

Earth, wind, fire and water...spent a good part of this afternoon exploring the four elements in song, drawing and dance under the guidance of a play therapist and in the company of seven other women. Drawing is so very definitely not my thing but today I simply let go of any expectations and just let my hands fend for themselves. The results are far from what I would consider works of art. Still they represent strides forward from the days I simply refused even to try.

The dancing was energizing and I know I will feel muscles tomorrow that I'd long forgotten I have. Plus, I missed the bus stop on the way there and wound up walking back three stops...about 1.2 km...so I even got a walk in today in the glorious sunshine. Love it when my unconscious mind takes such good care of me!

Day 332: Some days...

...it's easier to write this blog than others. Today was not one of those days. I woke up with a headache bordering on migraine, spent the day in bed despite the glorious spring weather that finally made an appearance in Stockholm and canceled plans to go out for Culture Night. So how do you write a "finding happy" entry on a day like today?

If you're me, you go back to the blog's original idea, to find something positive to write about every day. After a long nap, the headache finally gave way to hunger. There's a good sushi restaurant next door that prepared my meal on a plate I brought along from home. And there's a movie on TV that begins in a few minutes that has a 7.6 rating in IMDB and that Roger Ebert called the best film of the Sundance Film Festival the year it was released.

Oh, and there's generic Excederin, the miracle anti-headache over the counter drug.

Plus, tomorrow's another day :-)

Day 331: You never know...

My little afternoon project was to update the bulletin board in our building's lobby with the names of the new board members. We have one of those boards that you affix gold plastic letters to. As it turns out, this year we have an unusually large number of Ks in our board members' names so I did not have enough letters to go around.

Fortunately, the name and phone number of the letter place is on a sticker on the storage box. I called to make sure they still sell them, which they do. As I was speaking to the nice woman on the phone, it occurred to me to ask if they would be willing to mail the letters to us. Now, bear in mind that I am talking about seven letters, hardly big business for them, so I did not hold out much hope for a positive response. Which only goes to show that if you don't ask, you're sure to get a No,
because this time, I got a Yes.

Her condition was that I send an order via e-mail which I promptly did. A few minutes later I received a confirmation. The letters would be mailed to us on Monday. In addition, she took it upon herself to send a payment voucher so that we don't get charged an invoicing fee. Now that's customer service!

Day 330: Colorful

Have I mentioned that I have not bought a transportation card since my return from the U.S. on Feb 4? My reasoning was that I would not be riding the subway and buses regularly enough to make it worthwhile. It would be more economic to pay as I go. As it turns out, I have a strong resistance to paying as I go. Instead, I choose to walk. So it's win-win all around.

One consequence is discovering areas in my own neighborhood that I never knew existed. Today's surprise was this colorful view in front of a local restaurant:

Uplifting on a gray and rainy day like today.

Day 329: Nitrous oxide

More commonly known as laughing gas (lustgas på svenska), nitrous oxide is my hero of the day. When I had to have my first root canal and was dreading going to the dentist, my then sister-in-law suggested I find a dentist that can provide laughing gas. It doesn't exactly make you laugh, nor does it reduce pain. You feel the pain, but you simply don't care all that much. I tried it and I was hooked. Since then, no dentist may enter the room without it.

And so it was today. Now the Novocaine is wearing off and the throbbing pain begins. So my second hero of the day is the last batch of chicken soup that is defrosting even as I write. Thank goodness there is something I can eat that does not require chewing!

Day 328: All's well that ends well

Not such a great start this morning. After yet another "can't fall asleep till the wee hours of the morning" night, up at 6:30 AM to make an 8:00 AM dentist appointment. Got as far as two stations from my place when the subway delays began. The train ahead of ours was stuck at the next station. Wound up turning around and going home after consulting with the dentist. (What did we do before cell phones?)

That auspicious start left me tired and cranky and not at all looking forward to this evening's meeting of the new co-op board. This was to be the first meeting of this year's board elected at last week's shareholder meeting. We have a relatively large board (7 members and 2 deputies, impressive given the building has a total of 24 units) and this year three of the nine are both new to the board and to the building.

The main order of business at the first meeting is deciding on a chairperson, secretary and treasurer. Our treasurer agreed to continue as treasurer for the coming year. I've been secretary for several years now and quite like that role. However, our chairperson left the board after several years of service and I suspected my name would be floated in her stead. And I was right.

To my delight and surprise, one of the new board members expressed an interest in chairing! He was ratified and I can thereby continue as secretary. Not only that, but in a round of introductions we discovered that we have a doctor, an electrician, a superintendent, two computer nerds, a couple of handymen and a lot of creative ideas on our board.

Great way to end the day!

Day 327: A beautiful day in the neighborhood

Eight PM and still a moderate amount of daylight. Walking through this town is enough to make me happy. Today, especially so. Today is the 65th anniversary of Israel's independence day and as I made my way toward the café where a celebration was planned, I passed by a number of people speaking Hebrew. A rare event and one that made me feel like part of a community, albeit a mostly invisible one. Nice.

Day 326: Happy sleepy

At 4 AM, I was still reading. Not so fond of nights when I simply cannot fall asleep. At 5 AM, daylight broke. Sometime after that I finally fell asleep and woke up at about 10 fully aware that in four short hours the gamers would arrive and my place, simply put, was a mess.

Now it's 9 PM and everyone's left. The dishes are in the dishwasher, the place sparkles and I can go to sleep. Can't wait! Oh, and I received two energizing e-mails too.

It's been a good day all around.

Day 325b: We're off, we are...

325a
Not exactly champagne and caviar if you catch my drift. Equally enchanting not doubt, Being good isn't good enough (Sånger om längtan...songs about longing) with the ever wonderful Johan Rudebeck at Café Tjärlek. Four o'clock if you care to join.

Update coming afterwards...'cause this is for sure today's happy :-)

325b

And a report after. Fiaf, Jacque Brel, Hasse o Tage, Kander and more in the most charming café ever! Go Johan and Eric.

(Note to self: have a party at this café! Soon.)

One sings...

...the other plays...

...in the coziest café ever!

Day 324: (Still) Gotta love those Swedes

Today is gray, gray, gray. Reminds me a lot of my first visit to Sweden in 1991. It was also April and the weather was chilly, overcast and damp, just like today. But I made lunch plans with a friend near her place of work and was determined to walk the 5.2 kilometer there, rain or shine.

Along the way, I passed a number of different daycare and school classes taking an excursion. It's the cutest sight. The really young kids are dressed in reflective vests and hold on to each other or the teacher or the stroller if there is one. They look something like this:

Today, for the first time, I noticed the very clever "walking rope" for children who are a bit older It functions to keep the kids together and connected to the teacher at the same time. It is a length of rope with evenly spaced handles. Each child grabs hold of a handle while the teacher grabs the front of the rope, and off they go. The advantage over holding hands is the contact between the kids and the adults (there are typically two, one at the head of the line and another at the end). Here is what it looks like in action:

Clever, no?

Day 323: Popularity

On Sunday, it will be that time of month again. No, it's not what you're thinking (been there, done that, doing it no more...hey, another reason to be happy!). No, it's Board Games...Yeah! on Sunday.

I organize these event via Meetup and have done for several years now, limiting attendance to 12 people, which is who many I can comfortably accommodate in my apartment. It's a good number too for playing. We can split up into two or three groups and switch around during the afternoon.

Nowadays, the event always has a waiting list. So I sent out a mail to the people who registered, including those on the waiting list, asking them to change their RSVP to No if for some reason they cannot make it. To my surprise, over the next two days, the waiting list got longer. Tickles me pink that these events are so popular.

Let the games begin!

Day 322: Statistics

Never before have I been as excited to get an update from the Apple App store! Today's Wordfeud update features game statistics! That is music to the ears of a math nerd like me. And they are well designed stats too. You can see your wins, losses, etc. for each language and board combination that you play. These stats only cover games that were started on February 16 or later.

Here's what I discovered:

• I play a lot of Wordfeud (OK, I already knew that but I put it at the top of the list so that you won't have to comment :-))
• My percentage win rate in English (83%) is only slightly better than in Swedish (78%)
• I resign very few games, and those I do are never because I am losing
• It is easier (for me?) to score high points and to make 7-letter words in English than in Swedish

But anyway, see for yourself...oh, and do send me a game invitation if you want to play. My username is OdellaBella.

Day 321: Commuter no more

With the best of intentions, I set my alarm bright and early so that I would have time to walk to my dentist's office for today's 8 AM appointment. And then the snooze function popped up. Four times. There went my walk. Fortunately, Stockholm has a great transportation system and the subway got me there in time.

It's been a very long time since I've ridden the subway at that time of morning. As I was being squeezed by morning commuters I found myself thinking how glad I am to no longer be doing this every morning. Perhaps that was the whole meaning of the snooze function...to bring me to this realization.

The 4 kilometer walk home was all the more delightful!

Day 320: Jewish penicillin

Lunch

The wonders of FB. My neighbor posts that she's come down with a bad cold. I comment that I have homemade chicken soup to help her get better. And so it is! A batch of "Jewish penicillin" on its way next door. Perfect way to commemorate the Shoah and help a friend and neighbor. Plus, I got to eat some for lunch too :-)

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