Prologue: I am no longer on partial sick leave. I am considered well and am back to work 100%! I have new tasks but am the master of my day, even though my work calendar has never been as full as it is now! Now: I was tasked with teaching some part-time workers about what […]
A little musing and sharing via eleven questions thought up by Lisa and found via Paula. 1) Socks? Love them or hate them? Handknitted socks a co-worker made for Secret Santa. And I won them! They keep my feet toasty in rubber boots. — I have cold feet. Socks, please, and they have to cover […]
So, as usual, I am Mercurial and go up and down more than a rollercoaster. After a great day yesterday—which I realize now may have taken more out of me than I thought, with all that talking to the psychologist—I ended up grumpy today. Total raincloud-right-over-my-head grumpy. Grumpy At the end of the day, a […]
I’m now a Norwegian! I am no longer a documented alien or immigrant. I am a documented Norwegian citizen now. Check this out: The document with my mug shot is my Norwegian passport. My country of birth is a variable and in black type. In red type above it, it says I am a Norwegian citizen. […]
This is basically a list, a gratitude list. Because in the midst of nearly feeling overwhelmed by everything going on in September, I have discovered something: People helping me. The tradesman doing the tiling, also closed off the door to my bedroom and left the bedroom side looking very nice The same tradesman also washed […]
There are two things I need to do, simply because they are important to overall health and sanity. Sit less at computer. Daily spiritual practice of some kind. This computer—and the internet—are way too distracting. WAY too distracting. Hours can pass by and all I’ve done is look at stranger’s pictures, and stranger’s comments, and […]
Creature comforts. Usually I find mine in warm, fuzzy blankets, or clean, soft bath towels, or a well-made meal, or the corner of my sofa, or a warm muffler on a drafty day. This time I found it in a pair of shoes I never meant to pack, let alone wear. I have a friend […]
The funny thing about being foreign is that I don’t talk about being foreign. Norwegian TV came to my place of work and interviewed some of our non-Norwegian employees during lunch. They managed to find one of the noisier places in our cafeteria to do so, but also a pretty visible one. (We assume it’s […]
Unlike what other people I know experienced, 2012 was a laid-back year for me. I entered the new one, ready for action. Today, I got a taste of what might be in store: I’ve been asked to stand for election to my co-op’s steering committee, an office that is for two years at a time. […]
Wordless Wednesday Alice
It’s New Year’s Eve 2012. I’m in jeans and a wool sweater, not in my high heels and sparkly top. My plans for a productive day and a party for one have been sidetracked. I feel lazy and low-key. And thoughtful. My neighbors are not being low-key; they’ve been shooting fireworks sporadically all evening. I […]
Wordless Wednesday
There were only two things planned today: My haircut and taking some pictures of a Bergen still enjoying summer. OK, a vague third plan: Getting off the bus one stop after the usual one. That last was due to the surprise I gave myself going to the Paul Simon concert last month: The bus stop […]
Somewhere on the bus on the way back to the airport I realized that there was no Wordless Wednesday post this week. And since two-day seminars way up on 815 meter high mountain tops tend to knock a body out, I’m getting around to posting some photos for you only now. The nice thing about […]
I am going down yet another rabbit hole. It diverges from the one I was falling down about a year and a half ago. At least somewhat. All roads lead to Rome, but not all are main highways and will get you to your final destination; they do move you forward, though. My new rabbit […]
So I’ve heard of the wonders of kale (called “green cabbage” in Norway) and this time of year our supermarkets carry it. The plant is perfect for temperate climates because a bit of frost makes it taste better. It can be used in anything you would use (cooked) spinach in and has about the same […]
Some time last month, I was listening to a new spiritual podcast, and the speaker said that we can all heal ourselves and each other by stating, “I love you. I’m sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you.” Apparently, this series of four short statements healed all the patients of a psychiatric facility, simply by being […]
Bergen. Winter. Rain. Snow. Rain. The rain could not melt the packed snow away. It could only turn it into the slickest ice. I tried to balance in the wind, but the wind caught my coat and I felt myself being pushed along – no way to stop, nothing to hold on to. I need […]
New Year’s Eve. The day when people are either scrambling to get food and champagne for the evening’s festivities or are contemplating what resolutions to make for the coming year – or both. For me, 2011 is the start of the next half century of my life. I was 50 in December. It was actually […]
A big Thank You to my regular commenters and to usually silent readers for responding to my post “Now what?” on January 3. I’d like to say something is different since the last time I wrote, but there really isn’t any progress to report on. I am struggling with focusing on working on the issue, […]
