monday's lesson in spending your energy wisely

i learned a lesson this evening that i really need to remember. because it was something that i already knew, but rarely act on. i was supposed to go to one of those soul-draining meetings this evening. but i had had a headache all day and so i said i couldn't be there. and oddly, at about the same time, the clouds lifted, the skies cleared and the sun came out. really, i mean it. and my headache faded. and i went out to the barn and i spent time checking on all of the animals. we've got a regular nursery going around here - frankie's mama pepchen has 3 new kittens. this little black hen hatched out 4 fluffy little chicks (i zoomed in, i don't dare get too close, she's a meanie pants). and the bunnies, two batches, are almost 2 weeks old.

our coming 2 filly has gained weight in leaps and bounds since her worming and has shed her winter coat and is looking very pretty (tho' i didn't have the camera on me at the time, so i'll have to show you that another time). and after i tucked the horses in with their grain and some fragrant hay, i stepped out of the barn and across the greening field (i don't know whether it's wheat, barley or rye, but whatever it is, it's coming up fast), there was a deer grazing in the distance. the air was full of birdsong and it was peaceful and glorious and my soul felt restored. way better than some meeting full of senseless powerplays by a sexist, racist troglodyte. with my energy levels filled to overflowing, i can see him for the silly little man he is, rather than being angry or wound up about it. maybe my own skies have cleared now and it won't ever go back to how bad it was. but maybe, just maybe, i'll have to skip another meeting or two to be sure. in the meantime, i'll just enjoy this beautiful, peaceful calm contentment that has come over me after spending the evening in the company of my animals, the garden, the trees bursting forth in all their glory of green and the cool evening air, tinged golden by the last waning rays of sunshine. i will remember that this is how it feels to have made a good decision, just for me.

we drove 600km to see a boy band in berlin

we've been in berlin. seeing one direction. hottest boy band in the world. it was, surprisingly, awesome. more soon, but first some rest.

modern mosaics

generations (slægter følger) by carl-henning pedersen, 1987

after the flood (efter syndfloden) by carl-henning pedersen, 1985

the cup of life (livets kalk) by carl-henning pedersen, 1986

the acension of elijah (elias' himmelfart) by carl-henning pedersen, 1985

jacob's dream (jakobs drøm) by carl-henning pedersen, 1987

mosaics by danish artist carl-henning pedersen adorn the cathedral in ribe, one of the oldest towns in the country. it's a very pretty place, idyllic little winding cobblestone streets and the cathedral in the center. i love the atmosphere of churches - the hush, the way people whisper, how often they are over-dimensioned, especially if they're called a cathedral. it is a bit surprising to me that carl-henning pedersen was contracted to do such mosaics for the church, and i don't know if there was controversy at the time. i see it as only being able to happen in more open, less correct times (were the mid 80s really like that?). i love the irreverence of the mosaics and the way that i can't really see much religious imagery in them at all. i think it fits perfectly with the danish lack of religiosity  despite their love of spring holidays and having a state church. these mosaics provoke me to think far more than some fresco of an overly-adult-looking baby jesus on mary's lap. i say bring on modernity. especially in religion.

saturday on thursday or just another random list to clear my head

things i've learned in the past few days:

~ do not be tempted to cook with the beautiful, smooth, fragrant, white inner bark of an oak tree. it's bitter as hell.

~ once you have had the iPhone above, you cannot go back to an iPhone below. i smashed the screen on my 4S the other day and am borrowing a friend's 4 while it's at the iPhone hospital. the 4 is not the same as the 4S - it's slower and apparently cannot be used for actual phone calls (not that that bothers me all that much). i guess i didn't really know this as i went from 3S to 4S back in the day.

~ oak is heavy. really, really heavy.

~ a photo of a baby bunny is almost a shoe-in to go explore on flickr.

~ not all writing is equally easy. the more you care about it and the closer you are to it, the harder it is.

~ good things really do come to those who wait - we've waited three years to eat the first asparagus from our garden. it was heavenly.

~ when you read the no. 1 ladies detective agency books, you will want to drink excessive amounts of rooibos tea.

it feels like it's the weekend, but it's only thursday. that's because it's ascension day in denmark and therefore a holiday. because the danes are so religious and all. not. but hey, it's like having a saturday already on thursday, so i'm not complaining. here's hoping your thursday had all the goodness of a saturday as well.

peachy perfection

the danish model rears its ugly head

i love the danish model. NOT.

honestly, there are times when i'm less than fond of the danish model. i mean in general, not the union model being referred to in this headline (i just couldn't resist using it, since it fit my ironic mood). even down to the word nydansker - new danes - in the little headline below the big one. that term has, in the past decade, taken on a negative connotation. and really, does anyone expect to be allowed by the old danes to actually become a new dane? i don't think so. the danes are too much of a tribe for that. i could go on and on about this, but today i'm thinking about one aspect of the broader danish model that i'm not that keen on...and that's blind allegiance to bureaucracy.

sabin will move over to what is effectively middle school next year. in connection with this, there is a form we had to fill out. after name, address and social security number, the next questions are "mother tongue" and "land of origin," followed by whether or not danish is spoken in the home. it is unclear how this information will be used.

i wrote to the principal yesterday, expressing worries about the purpose of that information. i said that i hoped that the fact that we speak mostly english in our home wasn't going to be used to discriminate against or exclude my child in any way.

i promptly received the answer that the reason it was there was that the school had to send a report about two-language (tosprogede - another word that's taken on a very negative connotation in danish) students to the municipality every year. she assured me that it was not, under any circumstance, used to discriminate or exclude children - tho' she offered no proof of this and provided no information as to what it was to be used for. she also offered no information as to the municipality's purpose in gathering such information on a yearly basis. i can make some guesses about this, with extra funding being at the top of the list. she further advised me to contact the municipality if i wanted further information.

if you recall, this isn't the first time the school has tried to pigeonhole my child with objectionable questions about the languages she may consider native. in that instance, they were also very poor at explaining the purpose of the questions.

and i've thought a lot about that. and i think the answer is twofold. 1) danes trust blindly in their bureaucracy. if the municipality wants a yearly report of what languages the school age children speak in their homes, then they must have a reason for it, so we'll just provide them with that information without asking or even wondering how it will be used. 2) the danish higher education system does not include a set of general education credits which force students to have at least been exposed to basic rhetoric and argument-building. therefore, the principal of the school thinks she actually answered my questions and concerns, not realizing that "the municipality asks for it" is not an argument and does nothing to persuade me that there are not ulterior motives behind it. nor does her proof-less assurance that the information is not used for discrimination or exclusion. these are not arguments, but i have encountered such statements so many times that i have come to believe that danes believe they are arguments. because they don't know any better. me, however, i'm grateful to the TA who taught my rhetoric course at iowa because what i learned from him is still helping me recognize bad arguments on a daily basis.

watching the asparagus grow

at long, long last, it was a lovely day today. warm, sunny, light breezes. i swear you really could actually see the asparagus growing. tho' my dad needs to get back here and weed it again. the weeds, you can definitely see them growing, right before your very eyes.  i also planted 50 strawberries plants today. in a month or so, we're going to be so glad i did that. it's such a relief that spring seems to have actually come, i was really beginning to lose hope.