It’s been so long since I posted to my blog, I feel like a bit of stranger here. I haven’t forgotten my blog, or any of my very-valued friends who stop by, read, and say hello; on the contrary, I think of you very often and feel quite neglectful over my absence from blogland (mine and all of those I visit regularly). The last month has been busy, with things both good and bad, and I have been trying to attend to everything without succumbing to the stress.

The good:

My job at the kindergarten has been just about full-time since the end of October, rather than the three-day-a-week gig it normally is. That’s been fine---I like my job a lot---but I find that after spending eight hours with children, I’m pretty much spent. An introvert by nature, I expend energy when with people and can only “recharge” by spending time alone, something I haven’t been able to do very much lately. So the past six weeks have left me fairly over-socialized and under-energized, which isn’t a good combo for me and my writing.

Last month, Husband and I took a big step toward planning for our financial future and purchased a tomannsbolig (a house divided into two flats) as a rental investment. We’re super excited about this and also a little bit frightened and a tiny bit stressed, all natural responses to such a major decision. As you can imagine, this has taken up a fair bit of the little free time we have, but we hope, hope, hope it will all be worth it. We have so much to learn! Our first tenants move in next week, so wish us luck!

Husband and I also adopted another cat in November. It was very soon after Harry’s passing, we know, but, honestly, we felt that we needed to do it to get out of the very real funk we had fallen into over Harry’s sudden death. Everyone, please meet Gunnar:



He’s a very mellow little fellow, more quiet and relaxed than Harry was, which has made it easier for Frida to accept him. As you can see, they’ve become quite good friends:



There has been some not-so-good stuff, too:

It’s been freezing, freaking cold here since the start of November, when we got our first good snowfall of the season. That’s early for snow and cold here, as winter doesn’t normally get such a good grip before January. We had a couple of weeks of -15C temperatures, with some mornings dipping to -22C. That’s cold, dude! Our car decided it didn’t like the weather at all and stopped starting up. While it was in the shop, I did a lot of walking and biking to get to and from work, which was tough but good for my waistline, which is still doughy with winter fat from last year. I had to buy snow tires for my bicycle and have been really pleased with how well they work. Our car is repaired now but I’m still using the bike whenever possible.



Worst of all, I received some very bad news from home last week. My brother was diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus and is in the hospital now undergoing all kinds of tests so the doctors can figure out how to help him. He is scheduled to have surgery tomorrow, after which we will all have more information about what will happen to him. This is very serious, my friends, and my family could use all of your good, strong vibes to send Michael the positive energy he needs. Please, please think about him and wish him the very best. I’ll keep you posted.

That’s it for now. Be back soon.