Let it Snow !

The best thing about Christmas is that everything shuts down or shifts into a lower gear.  There is less blah in the air when everyone is busy loading and unloading the dishwasher.  The focus is taken off high anxiety topics for a few days, it seems.  I certainly didn’t bother to scroll down the Google headlines before logging on to womazzle.  I really don’t want to know what the boys are up to these days....!!!

Just let it snow!

silent

I bathed my fire in the sea

And locked my storm inside that rock

It seems my heart fell silent then

No song has filled my lungs

Of all the tributes I have paid

None has been so dear

To walk this road in silence now

The snow unmarked appears

(AeJordan)

Toxic Trauma

I just got used to the idea of replacing the spoonfuls of sugar in my coffee with copious amounts of milk given all the negative press sugar has been receiving over the past years.  

Already I had cut down on my chocolate caramel shortbread consumption after the bad fats hype, so I was  quite confident to be on a healthy track.

But helas!  Apparently more than 300ml of milk a day is likely to kill you prematurely as well....!  Go figure.

So I cut out coffee altogether as of two weeks ago and redirected my hot drink addiction to spiced tea, preferably cinnamon, the tasty cholesterol lowering bark that makes a cup of watery brew halfway enjoyable.

But it seems like I can’t win.  

Apparently now cinnamon has become the new baddy -  especially the cheaper Chinese variety one would find in a tea bag or Christmas cookie.

  

What’s next?  

Water.  

Wanta bet?!

Not from Now

On December 1st, my great grandmother Johanna was born.  She died age eighy-six in 1972 after helping me learn how to walk and talk.  She had big, veiny hands which had seen lots of wood piles, hand axes and water buckets.  

With these hands she planted seeds in the spring and harvested cabbage and carrots in the summer.  She stictched me a pillow case when I was little, which, tattered and torn as it became over time, still remains one of my most treasured possessions.  

Together with my granpa’s old paper scale and my great auntie’s candy jar, it links me to a time that was mine in many ways more than the one I inhabit today. 

Ssshhht...he can hear you!

I am up writing this when I know I will regret it tomorrow, but while I will be drowsy tomorrow I am wide awake right now.  A leaden headache has finally lifted off and blown away, after a day of probability problems and the Konjunktiv Irrealis (do I need to say more).  

We finished the day with a walk in the milky fog of and English November afternoon.  The kids all needed airing and I needed to gain some territory.  Eventually, J. caught up with me and, tugging on my sleeve, reassured me “You are doing everything right, mom!

”Was I talking out loud...?

Solace

On grey wings’ journeys

My pace engages

When dark the early hour

Comes

In desperate hollows’

Warm embrace

Light’s brave gleam

So quickly fades

Where no breeze

The air can stir

A gentle tread

No baring finds 

Solace breaks the

Mournful silence

With her silken robes

Of changing hues

(Anna E. Jordan)

Does anyone see...

....what's wrong with this news blurp that makes it into all types of media and from there into the way we think, talk and make decisions?

"India is the world's top steriliser of women, and efforts to rein in population growth have been described as the most draconian after China. Indian birth rates fell in recent decades, but population growth remains among the world's fastest. 

Sterilisation is popular because it is cheap and effective, and sidesteps cultural resistance to and problems with distribution of other types of contraception in rural areas." 

(Reuters)

Smiles

Living every day as if it counts.  Making the best out of every moment.  Seeing the bright side, the silver lining, the glass half full...!  

Best to figure out how to get good at that over time.  

It's either that of a really fat midlife crisis.  

And who wants that...?!

Not just Anything

After another round of who done what (and who didn't) around the house, I lost my calm.

All that boring stuff about getting the trash to the curb on time, emptying the dishwasher, not leaving food out over night and smelly socks throughout the house, sometimes makes me want to leave and join the Bedouins.

What would happen to the trash and the socks then, I wonder...?  

Instead it's the weekend and this nonsense keeps  creeping up on us and making me fester with arrrgh.

J., now nine, came over to me after M. had left with a huff.  "What happened?" he wanted to know and I told him that I had lost my calm and that his dad didn't really do anything.

"You mean 'anything' both ways, right?"

Hm.

Glass Clear

Often it feels like I am skipping alongside a clamoring digger.  My squeaky voice not even as much as a chirp against the monstrous roar of our time.  And it is true, the marvels of this generation have mostly passed me by.  It seems that I lost eye contact somewhere around the third to last bend...right around when Twitter entered news broadcasating and when Facebook became the new schoolyard of the 21st century.  

It’s been a while now, but I decided to join neitherTwitter nor Facebook.  With the help of my dear friend Susan, I did however add my soliloquy to those of other bloggers, simply because it cut down on the amount of illegible notes I left on napkins, notebook borders and phone pads.  

Being an admitted technoskeptic, I nevertheless try to understand the underlying momentum of an innovation.  Twitter did indeed come in handy when demonstrators where being rounded up and gunned down across the Maghreb during the Arab Spring.  What happened in Tiananmen Square in 1994, when the Chinese military clamped down on pro-democracy protesters and ushered in another quarter century of icy censorship and political persecution seems much less likely now thanks to social media.  

I also do realise that kids need hide away places where they can meet, chat and act stupid.  But nonetheless I am really really happy, that my kids don’t use Facebook for that.  

All in all, despite an occasional oncoming of geriatric helplessness, I feel more stable where I stand.  I prefer not to follow every whim, because more often than not, they have turned out to be nothing but variations of the old (and rarely improved) theme.  

Online banking may be quicker when it works, but the time one ends up spending securing accounts and figuring out problems that crop up outweighs the weekly walk to the local bank counter.  

Credit cards do come in handy - especially when one travels - but usually we end up spending more than we should and leave a pathetic trail of bad habits visible to a much wider world than we would wish.  

But then, I had to realise that people seem to like being transparent at times.  In fact, in seems that soul stripping (and all other forms) has reached a new level of popularity!    

This, however, also seems nothing but a variation on an old ritual in the old world:  confession.  So nothing new really, despite all the hype.  

Just more money and energies spent

Where have all my friends gone...????

I criss crossed the English countryside yesterday in search of a fat cheeked yellow fellow but I only found SQUASH!!

Roaming School

The funnest thing about homeschooling is that we can pop up our tent about anywhere.  So we are off for a bit now to see how much French we really know.  Luckily my aunt has a house in the dunes - and it's gonna be a scorcher weekend.  Just what this slightly tattered soul needs.  So...bisous bisous! 

This is it

It is what it is
And nothing lasts forever
So why don't you just stop the battle
Why don't you just stop the rant
Since it is what it is
And nothing lasts forever

Not Yours...not really

Sometimes, I think, it is a really good idea to take a break from the buzzing vibes of family life and to find that single frequency that is ours.  The same is true with friends. 

While it is great to find compare notes, the constant hum of opinions and moods that enter into each encounter can blotch out any thoughts or ideas oneself might have. 

Sometimes it can take only a split second, a look, a tone of voice that sends a message to occupy our mind completely for the rest of the day.  We try to sort and analyse  what just happened and might push any more meaningful thoughts aside.  

But then, maybe we are more afraid of looking for any original ideas in ourselves than constantly picking up outside inputs – however meaningless they may be…

Message of Fall

I follow the rising mist downhill.  But as I am closing in, it lifts.

September Shadows

It’s still warm in the early evening.  The damp air envelops me like a towel taken out of the dryer as I lounge on a lawn chair in the shadows of the descending night.  The air is rich with the laden smell of decay.  

In the growing darkness the walls of our house seem massive.  The bright windows are like cut outs.  I always thought that houses resemble lanterns at night and I like their warm glow and the intimacy of life inside.  But for a moment longer, I want to remain where I am.  

On the outside looking in.  

What "Mr President"didn't say....

Every once in a while I check out the White House page to see what El Gran Queso has to say.  For the very eager there even is a Sign up option so that Obama’s speeches will be automatically sent via email, entitled “What the President said today.” 

Apparently it seems, that we are facing serious consequences from something called "climate change."  The President informs us that carbon levels are on the rise, mostly emitted by energy producing industries.  Oh my!  This, he states, is worrying as globally temperatures are rising and weather patterns are becoming more extreme!!  Ten of the hottest years on record have occurred since 1998! Can you imagine??  Even UN secretary Ban Ki Moon was seen marching with a crowd of demonstrators against climate change in New York recently...Well, if THAT doesn’t say something!!  Thank you for letting us know, Mr. President...!

Meanwhile, our committed leader fights like a berserker by supporting studies and rallying support for commitments for the Paris Climate Summit in 2016!!  Aaawwww!!  He also has increased the wind and solar energy, we are told as polished graphics depict green swirling wind turbines and solar panels on little green houses.  

But, of course, it is far more interesting to read between the lines and to list all the items “The President DIDN’t say...”  

Nowhere does he admit that hydraulic fracturing, an industry aggressively pushed by the Obama government (and its lobbyists) continues to contribute growing amounts of carbon emissions.  After all hydrocarbon extraction is its goal  It is, let’s say, OLD SCHOOL i.e. not up-to-date with newly set targets for CO2 reductions.  

Nowhere does he admit that the wasteful method of flaring is contributing at disturbing levels to greenhouse gas emissions, including Methane, the second largest contributor to global warming.  

Nowhere are there any actual figures about US greenhouse gas emission reductions, although he did admit that efforts haven't yet been sufficient...

Every time I drop him a line inquiring about of Fracking and the US government’s commitment to promoting this most damaging extraction of carbohydrates, I receive the same PR blah about The Presidents commitment to alternative energies.

Clearly.  Fostering carbon intensive energy production while pointing fingers at end users (who have been duped by promises of cheaper fuel prices), he does only ONE thing:

Making us all wanting him to SHUT UP !!

Patri-ego-tism

Although I am not a Brit, I would feel sad to see this union fall apart. 

Just imagine not having the union flag on every tea mug purchased on this patriotic shoal!  Or think about how sad the Queen must be to let go of Balmoral...or was it some other illustre place where she likes to roam around in her jeep?  Who would be Queen of Scots actually?  Some Mary?  Would there still be Haggis in the frozen section or would British...uh...Smaller Britain patriotism forbid that? Hm. 

Well, we will know soon enough whether we will have to grab a passport on our next trip to Edinburgh...but then, it always felt a bit foreign up there!!

Dig that!

September and with it the love, turmoil and redemption.  We are back to homeEd.  I love it, but it makes my day that much shorter.  But, hey, I am back to studying classics, music theory and my much beloved book of 1,000 amazing facts!!  Did you know that there are salt water crocodiles in Australia?  That poor continent really got the short end of the stick.  Sharks, spiders, jelly fish, scorpions...you name it !!!

Fear Factor

Single-minded, men can be very effective at achieving one goal: competence.   Titles, medals, honors, public acknowledgements bear witness of that all important purpose in life.  Men battle and save lives, they rebuild economies and strengthen communities, they devote their lives to art and maritime biology, they become pros at ping pong and Fusion cuisine, they found charitable organizations and develop top notch technology and marketing strategies. 

However, the broader sphere of life can, be tricky to manage for them.  Joggling a career, relationship, children, family and friends can be straight out impossible. 

I have seen a lot of men buckle under the complexity of long-term relationships.  Eight out of ten of my female friends are currently either divorced or going through divorce.  Two of them are living in separation.   All of them have children.

Throughout the last twenty years of my married life, I have come to believe that women who want to raise a family would do best (and often do) forming strong ties with other women instead of relying – and often being let down – by a male partner.

It is simply not their forte to keep school dates, food preferences and names of friends in mind while maintaining a stable source of income, taking care of relatives and planning the next summer holidays.  

No need to gripe and moan.  Best actually to plan life with a good pre-nuptial agreement in place and look out for other women who might be willing to share in daily chores, child care and holidays.

The marital contract would ensure that the single-parent household is viable even after the partners split.  Children need to be taken care of long-term and the person having worked in the unsalaried and under acknowledged role of the guardian must be fully compensated and supported as well.   Afterall, a guy who invested all his working hours in his career and most of his non-salaried time in hobbies pulls ahead of the woman who spent every waking hour of the day in raising children.  

Clearly she made a strategic mistake by trusting a male to stand by her and pitch in with the shared responsibility of raising the next generation.  But it would be an even worse mistake for her not to have a Plan B in place.

Funny enough – that’s how most women still operate. 

Are they afraid to mention the dirty d-word when it matters most…before they enter into marriage?

It wouldn’t be the first time that fear lies at the bottom of foolishness!