walk with me, walk with you

"how do you pick up the threads of an old life? how do you go on? and in your heart, you begin to understand... there is no going back. there some things that time cannot mend, some hurts that go too deep - that have taken hold."

-frodo baggins
'the return of the king'

cookbook of countries

turns out, i have a pretty good sense of what swedish men are like, or at least, what these men would be like. witty, intelligent and well, one had bedhead that sorta looked windswept. robin impressed me with a polenta, swedish-style and helped do the dishes. andrew made some eggs and patrick drank coffee and told us the swedish words for different items around the house: cafe=coffee (that one was obvious) and canut=canoe (they went to weeke wachee spring today).

as robin said, thats really the best part of a trip, getting to meet new people and talk to them about their life and yours.

not to mention, sharing some really good recipes. :)

being in america

so tonight, after several phone calls - 'hello! we are at daale mabrry!' - in the cutest swedish accent you ever could hear, we finally came to a plan. im not sure whats keeping my brother, but he should also be arriving in town shortly. i hope they are comfortable on the pull-out couch. are swedes comfortable inside? i picture men with windswept hair, ruddy cheeks and fair, light eyes. i see them at home in the mountains, sturdy as goats on a craggy outcrop of rocks. i mean to say, they seem like the outdoorsy type. i will let you know if my stereotype is anywhere near to the truth.

i wonder what they like to eat?

every bench reveals a picture

its very quiet here, at my apartment. there is only the sound of the wind and the low rustle of the trees moving. i sat on the balcony a little today, admiring the grand old aloe with its long, spiky leaves. i have to get through this dark tower book relatively quick - its overdue almost a week now and i have about 400 pages to go. i will not tarnish my library record if i can avoid it.

im waiting for em and zeph, trying to tidy the place and baby-proof what i can.

i toasted some squash seeds, a good healthy snack. the same snack i took to the bench at the park next door the other week. there i sat, really unsure of how i was feeling; whether it was just a sad mood or a clinging cloud that ive been trying to ignore. i was undecided, but still content in those few moments. the sun was a warm, sympathetic beam on my neck and shoulders. for a half a moment, it was all i felt.

or your name is mud

why do i always have to dodge the sprinklers on saturday night? every time, for a split second, i consider embracing them instead; getting soaked instead of slightly spattered.

we were a group of ragtag kids that day - bored and going stir-crazy. it had been raining nearly everyday the last few weeks and the ground was so saturated, that the water was collecting into several large puddles, one area resembling a small, shallow pond. the ground was squishy no matter where you stepped and the mud was pleasantly forced through our toes. we went outside to investigate, see if there were any tadpoles brewing and generally survey the land that was our yard. indy was with us and he was just as eager as we were to get rambunctious; he had always been the most energetic of all the dogs we've had. within minutes, we forgot about the wild life. the mud had enticed us, lured us. there was no way we could have resisted. we rolled in it. we threw it. we ran through it, all around the house, our legs pumping hard to come unstuck. we chased indy and he chased us. and oh, how we laughed! the yard became a mess of muddy, broken grass and dirty water and our clothes were streaked with dark brown.
and then, when we could run no longer, we traipsed to the front door and shook ourselves off - only to find the door had been locked. a parent called out a window that the door would remain impassable until we were clean enough to enter. so, we did the only thing we could do; we caught our breath, rested our shaky limbs for a moment and got ready for a new fling in the mud.

tiss? tiss? tiss da ear?

this past week, life was good. i spent nearly every day with my visiting sisters, had a good few hours each day wrestling with nephews that loved 'crash landings' and books, not to mention getting in a little snuggle-action, too. now my head hits the pillow and im instantly asleep.

and the funs not over yet.

emily is coming over on sunday and bringing, of course, little zeph with her. what a cutie. and zeph is cute too. :)

im happy that the bros-in-law spared their lovely wives for a week or more. it was certainly a highlight of my year.

see how little it take to make aunt teffie happy?