Friday, December 21, 2012

winter solstice: the darkest day of the year


i don't know about you, but if this is indeed the last day of existence as we know it, it surely is taking its time. i'll admit we're taking it quite stille og roligt as they say in danish. in fact, i'd say we're downright making plans for the future. husband signed a contract for a new job today - it starts january 2. it's the kind of job that comes with a car, which is new for us and a little bit exciting. he doesn't know yet what kind of car he'll get, he's still letting it all sink in, i think. i'm voting audi, but i suppose he'll get a reliable toyota of some kind.

a cleaning/decorating/rearranging frenzy is building inside me, but first i have some sewing to finish for christmas. a couple of lovely, warm snuggle quilts for the big girls and maybe a fun bag or two if i get really ambitious. but what it means is that i think that the world will be here tomorrow to rearrange and that it will still be cold and people will need to snuggle up under a blanket.

we cut down a tree a week ago (it had to go anyway), but we still haven't brought it in and decorated it. i think we might not, actually, as horrible as that sounds. we're going to møn for christmas (one of our favorite places in denmark) and we won't be home anyway, so it feels a little bit like it doesn't matter. i think this old, rather uninspiring house stands in my way at times. in a way that makes me slightly depressed. tho' i'm trying to keep that at bay here in the christmas season. hmm, maybe a cheerful, warm tree, with twinkling lights would have helped...

speaking of christmas, i am perhaps feeling slightly humbug about it. sabin has done nothing but complain about her daily christmas calendar. there were a lot of tubes of paint in it, but i thought it was a fun way to give her art supplies. apparently, it was too boring. and it makes me feel bad that i'm raising a spoiled brat who can't even be grateful. i suppose it's my own fault, but it does rather depress me nonetheless. how can i wrest her from the grip of a consumer society? all we hear on the news is that we need to start "using" again, which means spend money on stuff. but really, we have all the stuff we need.  i declared that i didn't want anything for christmas and if people insisted, it should be something from a second-hand shop or flea market. i sincerely hope they listened.

maybe those mayans knew what they were doing, setting the end on the solstice - it is the darkest day of the year after all. it can only grow lighter from here.

* * *

worst words of 2012.

i think she missed out noms and FTW and that she insufficiently blamed pinterest for curate.

here's just an excerpt: "Epic. Adjective. Unless you're describing The Iliad or The Odyssey (and in a high school or college English class), choose anew, friends. Don't make me say this again in 2013."

4 comments:

Molly said...

Hmmm, we've got gift issues with our big girl here too. As the first gifts from friends have started coming in I'm not seeing the kind of gracious thanks I'd expected from her. We've had two serious chats about it and I'm determined that if it happens again the gift will be confiscated, even at the risk of causing a scene and embarrassing the gift-giver. I'm convinced tho that it's not us (how could it be??), must be them :)

Mary said...

I say that all the time about "epic". I HATE "epic", and whenever I read it, the voice in my head screams "YOU'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT FRIKKIN' BEOWULF, YOU KNOW!!"

How long will you be in Møn? Let me know if you'll be passing through Strøby Egede - or as I call it, The Shire. :)

Congratulations on the husband's new job! Crossing my fingers for the Audi.

julochka said...

@molly - it can't possibly be us. :-)

@mary - we're making only a quick trip over 24th and back on the 25th, so sadly, not this time. but we SHALL drink wine together!!! in 2013!

Mary said...

I'll drink to that!!! :)