Category Archives: Uncategorized

There is a mosquito flying around in the house. I wonder: How on earth has it managed to stay alive for so long? We’re almost halfway through January already.

Can someone tell me why I can’t design patterns and knit for a living? With a little baking of cakes on the side? It makes me so calm. Of course, I know why. For starters, I would be bored out of my mind within a week. Argh. I hate my mind sometimes. Ben, the coolestContinue reading “what do I want to be when I grow up? (January 11th)”

Today, the snow is storming. Dad called and said that I probably shouldn’t go out driving today, just to be safe. What with the slipperiness and bad visibility and all. No problem for me. I hadn’t  planned to go out anyway. I’m busy writing. Later: It’s pitch black outside. I’m designing a new pair of mittens. I’mContinue reading “snowstorms (January 10th)”

The sun was shining today, but mostly I’ve been sitting on the couch, writing. I went out for a short walk, though, down to the lake. It was just below freezing, I think, because there was frost on the ground, and the ice on the lake was not shiny. There were sounds, of water movingContinue reading “when the ice is singing (January 9th)”

While doing fieldwork in Ouahigouya, I got this urge to drive. The freedom, I guess, and being so physically in control. I started planning a trip to the cottage for as soon as I was back in Sweden, for rest and concentration, an article reading retreat, if you will – but mostly because I wantedContinue reading “a drive to the country (January 8th)”

I decided to have a slow start to my spring semester. I started by visiting the city library – I really shouldn’t go there, though. I lose all self-restraint. Then I took the bus to the SRC to say hi to Roweena. Hanna, Lara and Miriam were also there. Sitting in the master’s cave, watching darkness fallContinue reading “back to school (January 7th)”

One week on the beach in Ghana wasn’t enough, okay. I was still exhausted, so I: spent most of my time in bed, either sleeping or catching up on all the TV shows that I had gotten behind with while in West Africa (Parenthood, New Girl, The Good Wife, The Mindy Project, and so forth)Continue reading “first week of January”

I celebrated New Years Eve with the old gang. The people from high school, you know, Cecilia and Klas and Johan, etcetera. First, there was the dinner, only for the specially invited. The day before, when trying to decide what to wear, I had looked over the guest list and realized two things. One: OutContinue reading “welcoming the new and shiny (January 1st)”

I went to the doctor, to get tested for stomach parasites. Just to be safe. I’m indulging in food and TV shows. The darkness is disorienting. I have not come back to the Nordic countries in winter for fourteen years, and never after a more than two months stay in the tropics. I do notContinue reading “adapting (December 30th)”

Mr. P at Arlanda Airport, being welcomed by the king and queen. Being a world traveler and all, Mr. P can appreciate most kinds of climates and landscapes. But there’s just something about the clean, simple smell of air below freezing. Especially after having been in a place like Accra, with the humidity and heatContinue reading “Mr. P returning to Stockholm”