Valentines and all that...

Hello all!  Well, I'm sorry for dropping of the earth, it's not for a lack of material, but rather, I've been experiencing some technical difficulties over here.  As per usual, my phone is dead and lost, Mayu won't let me touch his precious Iphone (probably because of witnessing the treatment of my own phone) and we left our camera in Canada on our last visit.  I needed some photos taken for an entry I had written, titled "shit my kids have eaten",  and Mayu had agreed to take the photos, for me, with his precious Iphone, but then before he got a chance, went away for work for the week!  So, here we are....in the wake of Valentine's Day. 

My sister works at a really busy restaurant in Toronto, Kalendar, (as they don't take reservations, it's not unusual, on the weekends, to wait for over an hour for a table).  Since she works as a hostess, she has to deal with fuming people, pacing the front, waiting (im)patiently for a table and sometimes being, well, total dick-heads.  She told me that she worked Valentine's, and I asked her (assuming so), if it was a total nightmare - and she said, 'no, not at all'.  All 'tables for two', every couple ordered a glass of wine, entree, dessert and, then, left shortly after paying the bill.  The turnover was quick, and the couples kept coming.  No couples lingered over wine or conversation, everyone, dutifully, ate and left.  Weird, right?  Well, perhaps not. 

Mayu and I, sadly, forgot the day, until I asked him what the date was, while I examined a carton of sour milk I was thinking of giving Olive.  When it dawned on us, of course, we hugged, kissed, said, "no gifts" and then made plans to have some wine and hang out in the evening (but this is every evening for us - we put the kids down at 7, grab a glass of wine, and lay together, in the aftermath of the day, on the couch).  Lame?  perhaps, but great.  Don't get me wrong!  We make a point of getting a sitter once a month and going out for dinner or beers, and of course, would love to do it more often.  But really?, we're just too tired to do it more often!  Once, we found ourselves out on a "date", in a pub, and we were too tired to carry on a conversation, instead we just sat side by side watching 'Swedish Idol' (which we could have just as easily done at home).  But this is it, when life, jobs, kids, ALL OF IT, gets in the way...it's tough.  So we figure, if you keep on making time, ALL THE TIME, not just on one day of the year, you'll end up with something a bit better in the end.  In fact, I asked an accountant friend some budgeting advice (hoping to get some material for an upcoming entry), and she said, well, get a sitter once a month and go out on a date!  lol!  Thanks Claire, but I'm afraid that's the opposite of what I was looking for...albeit, far better advice than 'save for a rainy day' or some load like that.      

So, for all of you who know what I'm talking about, this one's for you - hope you had a great day loving the one you're with, or grocery shopping.

Until next time,

Grumpy Old Sarah

And to prove I AM a romantic, not a cynic, here's one of my favorite fun facts:  In Paul and Linda McCartney's entire marriage, they only spent one week apart - cool.  

Oh, and don't forget to give blood and register yourself as an organ donor!               

don't expect to raise your cauliflower up and receive rubies!

My husband kindly shot me over an article on a reverse ruling on usage-based Internet billing in Canada, after telling him of the original bull-shit imposition by the CRTC.

Thank you for that Mayu!  He knows that I'm fuelled by small feats against The Man, and that a win, for what is right and just, totally makes my day!  "Those who are right are the rebels, not the snitches and those who bow down".  I have one small complaint, however, from the above article that spoiled by jubilation...it's the part where Industry Minister, Tony Clement, is quoted saying "This is a bread-and-butter issue".  I detest this kind of talk (just about as much I detest the word detest)...

...barking up the wrong tree, smooth sailing, man up, through the barrel of a gun, this ain't my first rodeo son, no dog ever peed on a moving car, that dog don't hunt, don't expect to raise your cauliflower up and receive rubies, a baby crying is a duck whingeing in space, when your mamma gives you some spinach be sure to turn to the cactus...

Ok, so the last three are mine...but you know what I'm talking about:  nonsensical idioms or sayings and the likes of, what I call, Doctor-Phil-talk.  uggggghhhhh!

I'm, currently, illustrating a grammar book written by my mom.  She mentioned to me, recently, that she might include a section on idioms...I told her that I didn't think it was a good idea.  Idioms and Doctor-Phil-talk are difficult to decipher, are a bit old fashioned (or dare I even say, 'hick') and, truthfully, dumn down the English language (people who speak other languages, other than English, already think that English is dumned down, let's not give them more cause!).  Why teach idioms to foreigners, already struggling, with learning a new language??  What people are, often, looking for when they use them, is a little something called 'vocabulary'...or perhaps, we may even say that, one is searching for the correct 'synonym'.  I had read, some years back, that the average newspaper is written for the reading level of an 8 year old...and with expressions like "bread-and-butter issue", I can understand why...there is no need to expand your vocabulary beyond grade 3, simply babble away in strange, difficult to decipher riddles and you'll be fine, you may even become the Industry Minister in Canada!  But this is it, I don't want to decipher advice (especially clinical, thanks for that Doctor Phil), or news articles (World or Local), or, quite frankly, any piece of non-fiction that should be delivered as a matter-of-fact and for greater knowledge purposes.  Please keep your idiot, woops, idioms to yourself!

Until next time...

Grumpy Old Sarah

By putting a piece of foil behind your radiators, you can, not only be kinder to the environment, but save on heating costs!

The third link in this blog (but here it is again) will take you to a super awesome website:  http://www.adbusters.org/.  Enjoy!   

Home is where the heart is...I guess?

"Where are you from?" an elderly Brit asked me a few years back. 

While I sipped on my stout in the dank pub in my favorite seaside village, Doolin, I thought, then answered, "Canada, and you?"

 "Connecticut", he replied back in a thick English accent. 

Hmmm, something is going on here that I'm not privy to it seems..."You mean, Connecticut, in the United States, that Connecticut?" I asked, smartly, and to clarify.

 "Yes" he kept on, without pause, "how long are you here for?" 

Ok, I don't get it, either my stouts been drugged, or, well, that must be it...my beer has been drugged!  Help!  "Well, how long am I in Doolin?...only until the end of the weekend, but in Ireland?, well, I live in Dublin, soooo...and you?  When do you return to "Connecticut"" I asked, slowly, making the appropriate hand gestures. 

"Oh," he said in a bit of tone, "you're not from Canada at all then, you're from Dublin".

 Mayu and I had an ongoing joke after this encounter, that whenever we were asked "Where are you from", we'd reply with the location we most recently came from (we figured this was better than the alternative:  "Planet Earth, the Mothership"). 

"Where are you from?" he asked.

 "The basement" I answered. 

"The basement?  Where's that?" 

"Oh, about 3 meters yonder" I answered, pointing to the basement, of the bar, where the toilets were located.

But in all seriousness, when you've moved a lot, and have been nowhere in particular longer than somewhere, or have taken up residence in a location which is not your parents', or for that matter, have never lived in the place where your parents reside, nor have spent any time in your birthplace...where do you say you're from?  Many of the above are true for, both, me and my husband.  His parents moved between various places in Central America and Berlin, and my dad played football when I was young, and after his retirement, my parents seemed to just keep moving.  To complicate matters, we've moved around a lot as adults and have taken up shop in Sweden, where neither us were born, nor speak the language, yet both our girls were born here, and our oldest daughter, Olive, says more in Swedish than the languages spoken, to her, at home (English and German).  As we learn more about the culture and customs in Sweden, although some weird (Crayfish parties), some annoying (cutting in line, as if the queue of people with groceries overflowing from their baskets is invisible), some wonderful (dagis/subsidized daycare & föräldrapenning/generous parental leave), some crazy-fun (Midsummers) and some peculiar (black clothes, black prams and white walls), we fall more and more in love with the country and all of its peculiarities.  But when, if ever, will we say that we are from here...and if we never say such a thing, as time goes on, where will we be from? 

Although I'm not from Sweden (yet?), I can say one thing for sure, since returning from a month in Canada, I felt more at home this morning on my walk, with Olive, to dagis, when I passed a neighbor saying "Welcome back", than I did the entire time I was in Canada.  Perhaps home really is where the heart is, or, at very least, can help to explain where you are from.  Now I just have to learn Swedish!

Until next time...


Grumpy Old Sarah


If you'd like to eat organic and/or be kinder to the earth, but can't justify/or afford the cost, Eco milk is a good place to start - you'll be doing your bit and it has a relatively big impact on the environment.


And, since I'm a mom of 2 under the age of 2, I just can't justify enough, that a glass of wine each evening is good for me, so, drink up!

To blog or not to blog, this is the question...

After having had posted the above on my fb and receiving support from friends to go forth and conquer, I nervously sat down, last night, and began hacking away trying to structure my future blog.  I vacillated between an online-diary and attempting to produce a great think-tank which would encourage thoughtful insights from friends and family  - but this is it:  I don't KNOW what this blog will be or become, or if I'll last much longer than a couple entries before I can't stand it any longer (I've already been told by friends that I'll have to carry around my mobile, ugggh, and maybe even have to keep it charged, ugggggggh, in order to get pics while I'm out to make things more interesting!! ;)) 

Although I cringe at the thought of reading back on 'Dear Diary' entries 20 years from now (I luckily - major sarcasm here- saved my diaries from my teenage years...what a muppet!! ), I won't be able to help but yammer on about my 2 girls: Olive & Poppy, and my partner in crime: Mayu.  I'll, also, likely complain about the old ladies who live in our closets:  Ata & Minuet (don't worry, we don't keep old human ladies tucked away, Ata & Minuet are cats).   

I also love sharing my two (sometimes unwelcomed) cents with the world , and will likely bitch a lot about day-to-day annoyances and behaviors - God willing, this will remain humorous, but you must understand that I was brainwashed as a child, by my parents, into believing that most people are idiots...I just can't help but think and express this. 

Hopefully, in addition, there will be some discussion on parenting, gardening (yes, it's true, come spring, I will likely talk a lot about tomatoes - and, I think, I’ll try planting some root veggies this year...just to save something to talk about come fall), renovations (Mayu's very favorite topic, I'm sure), travel/culture/being part of a family in a foreign country, health and the likes. 

But lastly, I just want to exercise my right (aka, test my ability and technical savviness), dammit, to blog...so, here we are, and welcome.

Yours truly,

Grumpy Old Sarah

(my husband has kindly pointed out, that at the ripe old age of 30, I qualify for the BBC's Grumpy Old Women series)

Until next time:  'Instead of discarding the water you've used to cook your vegetables in, save it to water your plants' and, for the ladies with boys...

Raising boys       

and, lastly, for all the parents...please meet a couple, the really fantastic founders of www.babble.com, whose website I frequent and will likely share and post for discussion ...watch this...