truths right now

you reach a point, perhaps very soon after you turn 50, when you start to think about the truth. and about telling it. and a list begins to pile up...and you have to get it out...

~ you don't have to like everyone.

~ and it's ok if everyone doesn't like you. life would be boring if that were the case.

~ it's great when you can have a gossipy conversation with husband on the phone about the state of the energy industry in denmark. seriously, i mean this, tho' it's hard to imagine gossip about electric and oil companies. however, it's a real thing.

~ i'm a bit jealous of a 5-floor office building with 77 meeting rooms (says she who is constantly booking meetings at the last minute and wishing there were more meeting rooms where she works).

~ it sucks when your mother is being erased by alzheimer's.

~ i'm totally cool with the no more periods part of menopause (especially as difficult as those menstrual cups proved to be), but the memory blips part is a bit disconcerting in light of the above.

~ the new s*town podcast by the folks at serial and this american life is an amazing snapshot of today's united states. and over far too soon.

* * *

spring has shown itself since i started this list a few days ago and it feels like things are shifting...not just the season. i decided to go lighter with my hair again after nearly two years of not coloring it. it feels like exactly what i needed right now - rather fabulous, actually. if i were to scan on an inner level and give a status assessment for this moment...i'd say awake, hopeful, energetic. i'm sleeping better and stressing less about the cheeto. life feels enjoyable, not hard - both at work and at home. i have an inner sense of bubbling anticipation. i don't know what it's about, but i'm looking forward to finding out.

scanning (for) signs of spring

100 happy days :: day 39

a couple of solid days of sunshine in the garden. temps are still rather cool, but we soaked up the much-needed sunshine and optimistically planted and fertilized anyway. we started this pear  tree espalier and have divided our one big blackberry bramble into a whole row of individual plants that we are hoping to train to climb a similar setup on the other side of the garden. at last, the garden is starting to shape up into a manageable space that we feel we can actually really use. these things takes time and a lot of hard work. but seeing it begin to be something brings a great deal of happiness.

100 happy days :: day 18

mid-afternoon, when i bought the grillables and charcoal, the sun was shining and the nettles were visibly growing. by the time dinner rolled around, the clouds had rolled in, but we still fired up the grill, made quesadillas and grilled pork and sausages. and made the first batch of nettle pesto. food cooked outdoors simply tastes better, don't you think?  definitely today's happy.

100 happy days :: day 9

finally. a day of sunshine and no wind. a real spring day. husband had a day off and we finally moved that row of asparagus that was way too close to the rhubarb. these are asparagus roots that we started from seed our second year here. how they're 4 years old and very substantial. we hope moving them won't have traumatized them too much and that they'll have a good season. dad had loads of asparagus in his garden and he was known for it all over town, so having a long row of healthy asparagus roots makes me feel very happy. i know that if he was able to see our project today, he was smiling.

the bees were very happy as well and the air was alive with their buzzing. there are plenty of crocus up and they were feeding greedily and cleaning out their hives. great to see that all four hives were buzzing (literally) with activity. we had a mild winter, so we expected them to be just fine, but it's nice to know it for sure.

molly loved that we were in the garden and obviously also loved the sunshine. she snoozed on a warm roof tile (it's part of a cover we put over our artichokes to keep them from being killed by the hard frosts. it was a perfect spot to relax in the sun.

today's happinesses. very simple, but somehow profound. spring is wonderful.

spring comes in time for my birthday

take two rows of shiny glasses, glistening in the sunshine. fill them with a refreshing st. germain cocktail (sauvignon blanc + sparkling water + st. germain), add five amazing, different, interesting, funny, creative women. and you get a wonderful evening of drink & draw. there was more than that - some good food, some building lego (naturally), a lot of laughter, some playing with stamps and drawing and sketching. and it was pretty much the perfect way to lead into my birthday.

unfortunately, my birthday decided to greet me with a fever and stomach virus and so i slept through most of it and didn't even have cake or a special dinner with my family because i was too sick. i was feeling somewhat better today and managed to bake a couple of cakes (one for work tomorrow and one to use up our old bananas) and even planted 102 strawberries in the garden (it was good to get some fresh air). but it will be an early night because i'm definitely not back up to full speed. i did have a bit of a wander around the garden, photographing signs of spring, so i will leave you with those...

signs of spring

sunny yellow.
small water droplets.
bright green to combat the grey.
signs of hope after a long, dark winter.
relentless winds blow,
belying the impending spring.

...or perhaps bringing it.

* * *

i know, i know, i'm all lego all the time. but i can't help it. the lego movie held onto the top spot at the box office for the third straight week. and these behind the scenes featurettes are so clever, i had to share this one.

i'll leave you with the film's earworm - everything is awesome.
just try to be in a bad mood after you hear this song.
i dare you.

here's hoping that everything is awesome in the week ahead. for you and for me.

signs of spring and sunshine

at long last, some sunshine and signs of spring have begun to show themselves...let's hope it continues! we really could use some warm days so we could open up the house and air it out!

so far this weekend...

the sun is shining and there are a huge variety of spring flowers popping up all over the property. 

i have baked a cake. it's this one. it's probably our 5th batch of it (and it's a double batch). if you bake it, bake the cookie bottom part for 10-15 minutes before putting the chocolate and the meringue on it and finishing the baking. they don't include that in the instructions, but it's a must. i make the mistakes so you don't have to! :-) also, i just chop up a chocolate bar, as chocolate chips don't exist in denmark. a marabou with daim works a charm.

mama hen and her little black chick were allowed outside with the other chickens for the first time. they've been VERY interested in what's going on in that little barn and trying to peek in every chance they got. mama has been showing signs of wanting to go out so since it's such a beautiful day, i decided to let her. i was worried the others might pick on the little chick, but mama was FIERCE and no one even made a move on him. if they even looked in his direction, she set them straight.

and here's the precious little one her/himself. we hope it's a her, of course, but i have to admit i often call it a him. little wing and tail feathers are coming in and it's quite possibly the cutest thing ever (other than the now ELEVEN baby bunnies we have, of course).

and i found out why those other chickens were so interested in getting into the little barn - it seems they had a secret stash of eggs going in there! one full dozen! problem is i have no idea how long they've been there, so we're a bit afraid to use them. it seems such a waste!

i hope your weekend is going well so far!

* * *

yes, yes, yes! someone finally sounded the death knell for microsoft word. i personally haven't used it in more than 3 years, but it's time someone publicly admitted that it's so over.

happy monday!

look at that glorious morning! i took this just minutes ago, when i went to let the chickens out. it's supposed to be rather cold this week and even down below freezing a couple of nights, but it feels like spring will win out in the end - it can't be beaten back forever by arctic winds.

it's easter week - sabin's off from school all week and tho' i'm working on a big project, there will be time for riding and making things (a vow to make at least one thing every day inspired by something i've pinned on pinterest will help that) and yummy food and some visitors later in the week and a bit of gardening and lots of taking photos.

happy monday, one and all!  i'll be back later with today's pinspiration creation.

* * *

in case you didn't see it yesterday - this is wickedly clever.