%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
 |   Enga mellom fjella: where from across the meadow, poems sing from mountains and molehills. |
|
Enga mellom Fjella  Sentinel Marked as if you own me I bow before the Bitterroots and just like you my rocky soil, my withered grass lays prey to the empty sky. © Kåre Enga 2007 "Sentinel"   Reader's Choice of Poems: "Sentinel" "In the midst of silence" "Between us" "La Bella Vita" "Koan on an October sky" Reader's Choice of blog entries from my old blog "L'aura del Campo" :"Death of Jeannie New Moon" "Doing and don'ting. A scene in 2nd person." "In a garden of roses, baby" "Half-naked dreams? 'Getting the stain out of genes!" "Il pleure (poem). We R puddle-luscious, aujourd'hui." FACES     PLACES            Kåre  Enga~ until everything was rainbow, rainbow, rainbow! And I let the fish go. ~ Elizabeth Bishop The Fish |
| Sunshiny anxiety filled moi: Well I ate and I visited a friend and I got some empathy from another! And the  's out. This would be great if I didn't have a pile of things to do ...then again ...this is great regardless! Found my brochure on Norway hostels. I was sure I'd find it eventually. Eventually was last night. Also, cleaned out the fridge a bit. Found and revived a plant. 9 geranium flower heads in bloom. My Compaq computer decided to have a fit Sunday but last night it allowed me to watch another Inspector Walander movie. I feel good about visiting Ystad in Skåne in Southern Sweden. Feels familiar. I'll be there around May 9th, Ascension Day. Holidays! and Mondays... April 30 (Queen's Day and Walpurgis), May 1 (May Day, Labor Day), Store Bededag in Denmark (I think its April 26th this year), May 17 (in Norway), May 19-20 (Pinse or Whitsun or Pentecost). Traveling and things to do are affected. Mondays: April 22, 29; May 6, 13, 20, 27; June 3, 10. Examples: may (or may not) travel from Holland to Bremen in Germany May 1st. Labor Day is a holiday in Germany but not in the Netherlands. Mondays are "miserable" in Copenhagen as many places are closed. Therefore may use a Monday (May 6) to travel there from Lübeck, stay there the night of the 6th, 7th, and 8th and travel on Ascension Day (May 9th) to Ystad. I have found that holidays do matter! I was stranded in Trondheim last Pinse. Holiday can also be special times to visit. Queen's Day in the Netherlands is a prime example. But traveling and finding a place to stay? Not so wonderful. Ah... feel a bit better now! The stress of arranging everything has been getting to me. If I could just travel anywhere at any moment and sleep anywhere cheap once I got there I'd be much happier. But that's not my world. Wish it were but wishing doesn't make it happen. 40,675 |
Last minute me...  :So many little details... Like I changed my password at WDC Saturday. Why? International keyboards can be a pain. I made the password easier. Easier is better when I get frustrated. The really great news? I remembered the new one today! My uncle died this past week in Pennsylvania. Should I care? Well... I should. But I only met him a couple times in my life. My mother's family wasn't much of a family. More like related-by-blood people who avoided each other. His sister is unhappy; my mother is nonchalant. So I called a cousin in Oregon since no one else will probably tell her. Other family? If I can get a hold of my cousin in Arkansas... I have little energy to spare for drama. Still, it would've been nice to have had a closer family. Which reminds me that I should call family on my father's side before I leave. Not that it matters as much with Skype. And there's no obligation as nobody calls me. Which explains why local friends and acquaintances and facebook buddies and WDC friends matter so much. Humans are meant to make family. I do what I can. This week's word: hysteria. Today is Last Monday. Tomorrow Last Tuesday. Last Wednesday? A week of saying good-bye as most of the older folks don't use facebook and many of the younger ones that do have their own lives and students are busy as the end of the semester nears. Yesterday was laundry. Once dry I need to choose and start packing. Could've done this before but it wasn't necessary. Some things were set aside a couple months ago. The Last Day? If I'm not totally packed it's called dump-and-stuff.  Ah... rent is due today. It's the "little" details. 40,660 |
| Rained-on me: Rained today. The land needed it. Mt. Jumbo and Mt. Sentinel are noticeably greening up but the the soil in the valley is parched. Real rain. Plinks in puddles popping bubbles! The river is raising as well. Two beavers by the bridge were gnawing away last evening at dusk. Caught a picture. I'm reading, planning and now have a DVD on Holland. Finding a place on Queen's Day (April 30th) becomes stickier every day I wait. If I cannot find something suitable in Amsterdam there's always Den Haag or Haarlem or even Utrecht. Any place within 30 minutes may do. The center of Amsterdam would be best though. I have my orange shirts. Stayokay has hostels from 19-33 euros: http://www.stayokay.com/en/hostel?gclid=CKCN39KRt7YCFaODQgodHj4APQ Today the Orange of Syracuse play basketball. My brother-in-law will either be ecstatic or not... he's a big fan. Win and they are in the championship game. First Friday was great last night. Belly dancers, colored powder throwers, musicians... Mostly saw paintings but the bead work in my own building was nice. The highlights of the evening for me included speaking Spanish to someone who lived in Costa Rica and worked at Tico Times. That and the 3D printing demonstration. They use plastic here but fancier machines can use metal and chocolate has been used as well. I saw an expandable bracelet (orange) being made. Can you imagine 3D mini-busts of your friends around the dinner table? Shrunken heads? Heads made into soup bowls for "monkey brains? I bet they will be able to use porcelain, paper and dough ...if they don't already. 3D printing is coming to your town... |
| Well, perhaps just a tad. Half awake me: Living in a college town means getting use to the rhythm of college life. Right now lots of students are visiting elsewhere. Ty and Jeremy come immediately to mind. Nick stuck around... but he's moving on come August. Florida! he told me last night. Moving on. I remember my trip to Key West in my senior year at U Kansas. It was "get in the car and go". My get up and go needs more time and planning these days. And moving... I moved to a small Kansas town and then to a small Nebraska town. At least Nick has a job at Disney World. And a plan for further education. I was befuddled at that point in my life. Living in a college town means having to say good-bye again and again as young people say hello to their futures. 40,612 |
| Sunshiny smiling me: Woke up fairly early today. So unlike yesterday. Hope to get more things done. Hope to see my friend Nick later. He thinks maybe I've been "down" the last two weeks. Maybe? I believe it's more a mild case of not feeling 100% well, bad nerves and frustration. For me that's fairly normal! Salmon loaf today at the Center... that'll put a smile on my face. Kitchen worker commented on how I'm always smiling. Others have commented on this as well. Truly, I'm not happy all the time (as in rarely happy), neither do I smile all the time; but, I'm easily amused and quick to smile. Maybe that's a good thing. I'm not faking it ... it's just that a smile is pasted on this old mug. My dad was that way as well.How odd it is to realize in old age that we are a part of our family tree ... even if we felt estranged or "unrelated" as a child. Poetry: keeping up with one-a-day (anyone remember that brand of vitamins?). Also, recording observations of my surroundings on a daily basis. Need to form this good habit and keep it alive in Europe. It'll help in writing about the experience later. Good notes are essential when the brain doesn't remember details. Why not remember e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g? Well, I can't! Plus if I have a train/bus/boat to catch or a photo to take or ... trips need not be intense every moment. One can take time to breathe! It's okay to breathe. So, today my goal is to finish some editing, do something with my rooms, see Nick.  And smile more. 40,581 |
| ...to get this posted. Sleepy me: Got up late and now I'm playing catch-up. Went to Socrates Club. Watched another Wallander movie last night. NOT READY for ANYTHING. Must post this here while I can: http://whatever.scalzi.com/2012/05/15/straight-white-male-the-lowest-difficulty-... Because? I've talked about this concept many a time but I don't have time to read this arcticle before this place closes! Ack ...must get up earlier! Cooked last night: mixed pancake mix, milk, egg but didn't fully blend. Threw it in a pot with quite a bit of olive oil in the bottom. Turned up heat for a very short time then put as low as I could with the top on. Well... The top was fluffy (like certain biscuits) with custard beneath... Unintentional but maybe I could do something with this idea some day. I like being able to throw things together and walk away for a few minutes. Maybe next time I should measure???? 40,561 |
...except they didn't.  Partially sunny me: The day is lovely. And I'm quite fine, thank-you. But... No, my daydreams didn't lead here to Montana. They wanted to live in Norway. They wanted to go to school in Wisconsin not Kansas. They wanted a garden... My geraniums are blooming and I need to deal with bits and pieces (broken off stems and leaves) from jade plants before I travel. If the flowers are watered occasionally while I'm gone I'll have flowers when I come back. The jade plants grow very slowly. I should be taking advantage of the sunny day. In Costa Rica one can take the sun for granted. Not here in Spring. In CR it's always hot, warm or mild ...depending on where you are. Rains have their season but temperatures are fairly stable. It's hard to explain weather to someone who has never experienced it. Kinda like pointing out to white folks that they are NOT being chased out of town. Without that experience the explanations do not seem to lead to understanding. Snow means nothing to a Costa Rican. Privilege (like White Privilege) is the absence of something ...like having to make choices as to what you wear in Springtime or where you can safely live. It would've been nice to go to U Wisconsin. I had been accepted in the honors program but we had no money. I could've studied biology or switched to geology (I'm better at geology) and gotten a minor in Scandinavian Studies, graduated around the time the North Sea oil fields took off. Moved to Norway. Moved to Vestland. Daydreams... Reality: I would so like to visit Stavanger this May. 40,538 |
| For my few followers ...thank-you. Springy me... Day of sunshine and 60 degrees. Wore a long sleeve black shirt without my jacket. Felt over-heated.  Yellowbells in bloom. Saw a beaver working upstream. The birds are reported to be back. Took boxes out of two closets and put them on the futon. Now to go through, sort, consolidate, throw out. Started already. Nearing the end of my book. Calm peaceful day. Monday will be too. I avoid drama. Quite successful at that recently. Made for some good blogging though. Back in the day when I started blogging I was amazed that anyone would read what I wrote. Then Blogville bloomed. When it busted ...like any boom town, I was saddened. But it was time for many folks to move on. These days I'm blessed with every comment. Still I blog when I can. After April 13th it'll be difficult. For now? Planning my trip and wondering whether this April I can write poetry every day for NaPoWriMO. 30 poems in one month is easy for me. Done 100 before! But, I'll be preoccupied this April. I'm no April Fool so I just need to be realistic. I think that's the best plan of all. |
| Tired me: And a tad too late to post today, so this will have to do for the end of the month. French... did so well on Friday but looking at French grammaire this evening ... ack. English borrowed words and grammar from French but one does not equal the other. Drove me nuts years ago and today as well. I may take the small pocket book with me but I'd be better off just translating simple phrases. In two weeks I'll be ready ...or not. Now... who knows about NaPoWriMo? Who's participating? I need to check on-line... and I will, but my computer has been acting up. I'll try to write more in April. Won't guarantee what language it'll be in though! Between French yesterday and Spanish today I sometimes have no clue what'll come out. At times even my English is blocked. A friend kindly mentioned today that this happens to her too. I just thought it was All-timers... Anyhoo... about 2/3 way through the last (14th) book of the Wheel of Time. I like the way this one is set up better than some of the others. Of course ...it's the end! or a beginning. 40,492 |
| Incredible edible me... ??? Well ...I do look better with a haircut. Less on top and more on the sides was making me look like Grandpa Herman Munster. Cost me $14. Which was fine. Then I went to Best Buy and spent over $70 to buy SD cards for my camera. Since I was informed that tablets (I may buy one ...should buy one) only take the mini-cards I bought the 8 gb cards with adapter. One does what one must... Could take over 8,000 photos with what I'll be packing! I will take some videos too I'm sure, but doubt I'll run out of space. May run out of room on my computers. Must reactivate or open new account at Picasa or somewhere else on-line. I have too many photos. Transferred 13 photos from memory to card yesterday ...easy to do so why didn't I do this earlier? Ack... should play with my camera ... learn how to use it. The Wheel of Time is turning. On page 300 or something of 900+ on the last book (#14). Soon I'll be done done done ... until the Wheel turns once more. At least I got two things off my to-do list. Bought 2 black shirts today but that might not count. Need to go through clothes very soon and make decisions. Decisions? Some aren't very important and can be left to the last minute. Some not. Like my pills. Need to count how many I have left. Outside it's still Spring. Daffodils and hyacinths shivering but it's SPRING! 40,458 |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
