You know it's been a while since the last blog when you get an email from your mom saying, your last blog was January 4th, is that true? :) I'm glad someone out there is taking an interest. :)
Reasons for the absence of new blogs:
1. I'm trying to do a really good job of my new year's mantra (the fat elephant on the tiny stool), so most nights that means shortening the to-do list and I'm taking time to relax.
2. Writing reports ate up a fair bit of my "free time" the first weeks of January.
3. I haven't been so good with taking pictures myself lately, which leaves me to wait for pictures from others, and when I've promised pictures on the blog, but can't deliver them, I have a hard time writing about anything else.
4. Once I've stopped writing for a while I feel like I need a really good story to get back in the game. No such stories have come up lately, but I figure I've gotta start writing again sometime, so here I go, sharing a list of 25 things about myself, as I have also published on Facebook after being "tagged".
Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you.
1. This is my second attempt at writing this list. I stopped my first list because my first ten comments seemed more negative than I wanted them to be (though they probably really weren't). That's a pretty good indication of how hard I'm still working to keep a happy and optimistic outlook on life living in a place that can be pretty negative.
2. I love, love, love (am in love with?) Ben and Jerry's ice cream, still and forever. Sometimes I spend 5 Ls ($10) on a pint of Haagen Dazs ice cream because it's the closest thing here in LV. I've had people smuggle it into the country for me.
3. I'm coming up on my three year anniversary of living in Latvia (February 13), and realize that any time you open a new door for yourself it just makes life more complicated. Interesting, too, but definitely complicated. Nothing is perfect, there are plusses and minuses to everything in life.
4. I have a phobia about belly buttons (something to the effect of that's the place where all your skin is attached and held together so belly buttons shouldn't be touched).
5. I'm finding that I am really enjoying teaching grade 2 after years of being a preschool teacher, though some days I wonder if it's not this particular group of kids that is making it so great. If anyone can do it, they will be the ones to save the world.
6. I try to exercise by doing Pilates at home at least five days a week, which means waking up at 5:30am. I have more energy and feel better on the days I stick with it!
7. I also try to start each day with a quote or idea, kind of like a positive mantra for the day.
8. I really like to read and wish my eyes didn't close up on me after just a couple of pages of reading at night.
9. If the "unique" personalities of my past and future pets is any indication on what kind of children I will raise, I'm a little worried about what might happen....
10. I own enough children's books that my dad once recommended I might take out insurance on them, much as people sometimes insure large CD collections.
11. I can't stand to watch Latvian TV (horrible, horrible voice overs), so I'm really glad that we can now download and watch shows through our computer. I'm hooked on Grey's Anatomy, 24, Lost, The Office and Gilmore Girls.
12. I'm officially addited to Scrabble and Pathwords on Facebook.
13. My spirituality and beliefs have changed immensely over the last few years, and while I can feel what it is that I now believe, it's somehow not something that I can easily articulate in a few words. I've come to appreciate the complexity and individuality of it all.
14. I can't really get my head around the fact that I'll be 30 in a few short weeks.
15. I appreciate the sun a lot more than I ever have in my life before.
16. I prefer having "campouts" and sleeping on the couch rather than in bed. I also usually put on my pajamas as soon as I get home at night. Being cozy is the best.
17. I really hope that KB and I wil be able to fulfill our big dreams of a house at Jaunvitagas some day. I don't like that the economy can make us so doubtful of our own dreams.
18. I feel most peaceful wandering the woods at Jaunvitagas. I love being able to pick wild berries in the summer and mushrooms in the fall and then cooking with them at home.
19. I wish it were easier to see my family more than once a year.
20. It is 113 steps up to our "treehouse" apartment, no lift.
21. I currently have several craft projects going: knitting a scarf, dying fabric and cross-stitching for a round robin quilt project with five other women in my family, and I've been trying to sew a skirt on my sewing maching since October.
22. I love having lots of plants in our apartment. There are currently 46 plants living in the treehouse.
23. I like to cook and bake and I especially like having people to cook and bake for.
24. I don't think I'll ever stop learning how to be a better teacher. I am now about to sit down with homework for an online course about teaching children with dyslexia.
25. If I could be doing anything right now, it would be to jump ahead some months and be relaxing on a beach here in LV with my husband. Warm sun, sand on bare feet, fresh breeze....
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Sunday, January 4, 2009
The ultimate Sunday night
This is the Sunday night of all Sunday nights. You can try not to let it eat away at the last hours of a lovely day off, but it still creeps in, that dread of totally not looking forward to Monday morning. The one after winter vacation from school for me has always been the ultimate Sunday night. I vividly remember crying alligator tears about it in elementary school.
The night before the first day of school in August is always filled with this bittersweetness of not wanting the summer to end, but there's jittery excitement because it's something new. Plus you've been away long enough, that you have some energy going back into it. Fall break, ski break, spring break, those are long enough to feel like you've had a bit of a break away, but you're not too far out of routine to somehow get back into it. But this Sunday night after two and a half weeks away is a tough one - I haven't yet found a way to make peace with it. Plus it's the dead of winter, and the treehouse is a pretty cozy place. At this moment, I would be content to be paid to be a slug on our couch for the rest of my life.
The great news is that we have had four white and bright sunny days in a row this year - that must be some kind of record! It's been gorgeous outside! I attribute that to a snowy white candle I bought at the end of last year, and I burned it as a meditation for snow in January. My other meditation for the new year was the wine I drank on New Year's Eve, called Balance with a fat elephant balancing on a tiny stool. I'm going to be the elephant on the stool this year.
I'm still compiling holiday photos, but for now, here is a sneak peak of our New Year's Eve celebration. I'll save the details for the rest of the photos.
The mantra in our treehouse for the year: "2009 will be just fine..." :)
)
The night before the first day of school in August is always filled with this bittersweetness of not wanting the summer to end, but there's jittery excitement because it's something new. Plus you've been away long enough, that you have some energy going back into it. Fall break, ski break, spring break, those are long enough to feel like you've had a bit of a break away, but you're not too far out of routine to somehow get back into it. But this Sunday night after two and a half weeks away is a tough one - I haven't yet found a way to make peace with it. Plus it's the dead of winter, and the treehouse is a pretty cozy place. At this moment, I would be content to be paid to be a slug on our couch for the rest of my life.
The great news is that we have had four white and bright sunny days in a row this year - that must be some kind of record! It's been gorgeous outside! I attribute that to a snowy white candle I bought at the end of last year, and I burned it as a meditation for snow in January. My other meditation for the new year was the wine I drank on New Year's Eve, called Balance with a fat elephant balancing on a tiny stool. I'm going to be the elephant on the stool this year.
I'm still compiling holiday photos, but for now, here is a sneak peak of our New Year's Eve celebration. I'll save the details for the rest of the photos.
The mantra in our treehouse for the year: "2009 will be just fine..." :)
Monday, December 29, 2008
Slightly delirious
The treehouse stinks of burnt plastic plus magnolia vanilla air freshener and a powerful but delicious gingerbread candle. I'm freezing because the windows have been open half an hour and slightly delirious from the smell... This may be a signal from the universe that I am really meant to do nothing during this winter break...
I've been doing a lot of relaxing this break because my body has given me serious signs I need to slow down - weird piercing random headaches along with total lightheadedness for a week had me quite concerned and I totally slowed down (aka: retired to being a slug on my couch) for a week before Christmas. (I "passed" all the tests the doctor put me through, so all signs point to stress that I need to manage a bit better.) This was followed by a Christmas cold/flu that my husband shared with me, so it has been all about reading good books and watching lots of movies the last week and a half. The only truly constructive things I have done include the following:
1. KB drove me to school for one hour so I could change the water in Bubbles' tank so that he survives the holidays. He is spending Christmas and New Years at school by himself this year after the close escape from death that we had last holiday season...
2. Spent Christmas Eve in Burtnieki with IG's family. It was quite nice to be in a family setting again for Christmas this year. We baked more piparkukas and piragi and had lots of great food to eat, and we sang Christmas and other songs. I hope we didn't get anyone else sick.
3. I have been attempting to dye fabric. Thus the treehouse smells of burnt plastic and I think I may just need to go back to only relaxing....
I am participating with five other women in my family on round robin quilts, where each person adds something to each quilt, writes a little something a journal that travels with that quilt, and it the end everyone has their own special quilt to keep, along with the story of the quilt. Since I, however, do not quilt, I have a different task. To dye fabric.
My sister sent me fabric dye before the holidays and I bought the linen here to dye a bit for each quilt within each person's color scheme. Krix and I have been in serious communication for a week now over email and skype as she has been trying to coach me through a technique they all learned for dying the fabric. This invovles sprinking the dye on damp fabric, putting it into a ziploc bag and microwaving it for two minutes. The part about the plastic bag in a microwave concerned me, but both Krix and mom confirmed having used this technique before.
The first attempt was just amusing, as KB was helping me with his advice (including using a fish net for a better "sprinkling" effect). We stared down the microwave nervously during the first two minutes, but other than some leakage, which I was able to clean up, nothing too damaging occured. A few of the other dyes did leave as permanent stain in the microwave, so I decided to set it aside for the night.
Tonight, however, during the second attempt, my microwave burned a massive charred hole into the first plastic bag. I turned it down from 800 power to 600 and the microwave still burned holes into the next two bags, which I quickly removed before they charred. So the question is, are European microwaves really that different from American microwaves? Or should I really just not attempt any work during this holiday and stick to 100% relaxation?
I'm slightly too delirious to make the decision now. Maybe I'll attempt it again tomorrow when I can think more clearly again...
I've been doing a lot of relaxing this break because my body has given me serious signs I need to slow down - weird piercing random headaches along with total lightheadedness for a week had me quite concerned and I totally slowed down (aka: retired to being a slug on my couch) for a week before Christmas. (I "passed" all the tests the doctor put me through, so all signs point to stress that I need to manage a bit better.) This was followed by a Christmas cold/flu that my husband shared with me, so it has been all about reading good books and watching lots of movies the last week and a half. The only truly constructive things I have done include the following:
1. KB drove me to school for one hour so I could change the water in Bubbles' tank so that he survives the holidays. He is spending Christmas and New Years at school by himself this year after the close escape from death that we had last holiday season...
2. Spent Christmas Eve in Burtnieki with IG's family. It was quite nice to be in a family setting again for Christmas this year. We baked more piparkukas and piragi and had lots of great food to eat, and we sang Christmas and other songs. I hope we didn't get anyone else sick.
3. I have been attempting to dye fabric. Thus the treehouse smells of burnt plastic and I think I may just need to go back to only relaxing....
I am participating with five other women in my family on round robin quilts, where each person adds something to each quilt, writes a little something a journal that travels with that quilt, and it the end everyone has their own special quilt to keep, along with the story of the quilt. Since I, however, do not quilt, I have a different task. To dye fabric.
My sister sent me fabric dye before the holidays and I bought the linen here to dye a bit for each quilt within each person's color scheme. Krix and I have been in serious communication for a week now over email and skype as she has been trying to coach me through a technique they all learned for dying the fabric. This invovles sprinking the dye on damp fabric, putting it into a ziploc bag and microwaving it for two minutes. The part about the plastic bag in a microwave concerned me, but both Krix and mom confirmed having used this technique before.
The first attempt was just amusing, as KB was helping me with his advice (including using a fish net for a better "sprinkling" effect). We stared down the microwave nervously during the first two minutes, but other than some leakage, which I was able to clean up, nothing too damaging occured. A few of the other dyes did leave as permanent stain in the microwave, so I decided to set it aside for the night.
Tonight, however, during the second attempt, my microwave burned a massive charred hole into the first plastic bag. I turned it down from 800 power to 600 and the microwave still burned holes into the next two bags, which I quickly removed before they charred. So the question is, are European microwaves really that different from American microwaves? Or should I really just not attempt any work during this holiday and stick to 100% relaxation?
I'm slightly too delirious to make the decision now. Maybe I'll attempt it again tomorrow when I can think more clearly again...
Saturday, December 20, 2008
In waiting...
Hooray! Tomorrow is officially the shortest day of the year. As of Monday, we gain back three seconds of daylight. That is the best news all year. :)
Ziemas un Saulgriezu kalnos
Saule un cilveki kapj -
Parlukot darbus, kas veikti,
Sagaidit jaunos, kas nak...
Ziemas un Saulgriezu kalnos
Saule un cilveki kapj -
Parlukot darbus, kas veikti,
Sagaidit jaunos, kas nak...
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Commentary on the black and white
I've been deep in thought about the black and white world for the last week or so. It was triggered by a concert we attended last week, a legendary Latvian rock singer celebrating thirty years on the stage. The concert was quite well done with a short text, poems or food for thought in between every couple of songs. The thought that stuck with me most was the idea that winter is the time of year that we should use to rejuvenate ourselves much like nature does, to be quiet and still and look inside ourselves to see what work you can do on yourself. In a bleak outside world, you look inside yourself and in other people to find color. Perhaps not the most eloquent translation/paraphrase, but you get the idea.... Also, not this was not a novel idea to me, but somehow it has really spoken to me this time around.
This was followed by our trip to Jaunvitagas to get the Christmas tree. (As an aside, Ojars the Batmobile is officially banned from another trip to Jaunvitagas until spring - this time we got stuck in the snow for only three minutes, as opposed to the three hours we were stuck in the mud the week before.....) KB and I are finally "feeling" holidays again for the first time in years and decided to start creating our own traditions. We chose our own tree to bring home, but also decorated a tree that stays (thus the ribbon tieing in the last post).
There was very little snow on the ground in Riga, but the scene changed quickly as we drove out of town. Everything was breathtakingly, beautifully white and we couldn't help commenting on it the whole drive. It was another cloudy day in LV, but the grey skies have a very different feel when everything else is covered in white. We decided it felt like we were living in a black and white photograph, and suddenly the winter did not seem so bleak anymore, but rather extraordinary. When KB saw the photos we had taken (in particular, the one of me carrying the tree), he said it looked like one of those black and white photos with just one part colored in. And so, at least for now, the way I look at everything around me has changed. During my recess duty this week, I wasn't feeling down about another cloudy day, but I looked at all the color the kids were creating in a black and white world - not only in the literal sense with their multicolored snow gear but also the color and energy they were creating from inside themselves - each one something special enough to be colored in so it could stand out in a black and white world.
Living in the extremes here in LV, the cycles of life are that much more pronounced and I have developed a much deeper appreciation for the way our universe has been created and all that we can stand to learn from it, if we are just open and willing. So here's to the black and white which is winter - of course the white always helps (so send some more our way please, if you've got it), but there's just as much to be said for the grey, too. Because this morning when I woke up with my eyes on a bright, crisp blue sky, it felt like winning some sort of lottery, and I know it's going to be a good day!
This was followed by our trip to Jaunvitagas to get the Christmas tree. (As an aside, Ojars the Batmobile is officially banned from another trip to Jaunvitagas until spring - this time we got stuck in the snow for only three minutes, as opposed to the three hours we were stuck in the mud the week before.....) KB and I are finally "feeling" holidays again for the first time in years and decided to start creating our own traditions. We chose our own tree to bring home, but also decorated a tree that stays (thus the ribbon tieing in the last post).
There was very little snow on the ground in Riga, but the scene changed quickly as we drove out of town. Everything was breathtakingly, beautifully white and we couldn't help commenting on it the whole drive. It was another cloudy day in LV, but the grey skies have a very different feel when everything else is covered in white. We decided it felt like we were living in a black and white photograph, and suddenly the winter did not seem so bleak anymore, but rather extraordinary. When KB saw the photos we had taken (in particular, the one of me carrying the tree), he said it looked like one of those black and white photos with just one part colored in. And so, at least for now, the way I look at everything around me has changed. During my recess duty this week, I wasn't feeling down about another cloudy day, but I looked at all the color the kids were creating in a black and white world - not only in the literal sense with their multicolored snow gear but also the color and energy they were creating from inside themselves - each one something special enough to be colored in so it could stand out in a black and white world.
Living in the extremes here in LV, the cycles of life are that much more pronounced and I have developed a much deeper appreciation for the way our universe has been created and all that we can stand to learn from it, if we are just open and willing. So here's to the black and white which is winter - of course the white always helps (so send some more our way please, if you've got it), but there's just as much to be said for the grey, too. Because this morning when I woke up with my eyes on a bright, crisp blue sky, it felt like winning some sort of lottery, and I know it's going to be a good day!
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Friend or foe?
I bought a new hat. We're not sure if Mima is wildly in love with it or hates it with a passion, but either way, she attacks it any chance she gets. Because of that, the hat strategically lives at the highest place on the coat rack, though I wouldn't put it past Mims to plot out a late night attack while we are sleeping.
And here is evidence of how I take winter seriously now that it's my third winter in LV with recess duty. (I don't know why my face looks crooked or what the goofy expression is all about, but it's the only picture I could get KB to take on our way out the door today.)
And here is evidence of how I take winter seriously now that it's my third winter in LV with recess duty. (I don't know why my face looks crooked or what the goofy expression is all about, but it's the only picture I could get KB to take on our way out the door today.)
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