Lagopus Member

Unless I'm much mistaken, some of you may have been missing my pictures, so I snapped a couple on my way home from the grocery store just now. First, looking north from the town square. Here's looking south toward the sun and the mountain (one of my favorites) called "The Sarcophagus". You can see why I think it isn't time…

Nope, Michele! I had no idea whether you were talking and wondering or if you'd completely given up on me. Usually when I go silent I at least check in every day or two and read up. But this time I went cold turkey on the thread from mid-January until yesterday. Oh, and that race is only a half-marathon. It will be my…

Penny here. I've been through the wars over the past couple months. I think I last posted from Cabo Verde in January, and I haven't logged in since then. How lovely to see you all again! My long silence was caused by overwork. By coincidence two very big projects I'd agreed to well in advance both turned out to have…

I've been busy and unable to read or post for a while. Partly it's because work is picking up again, but also because my husband is on one of his trips abroad, and I decided to accompany him (for once). I don't usually, because these trips tend to last only a few days and cross multiple time zones. That leaves me out of…

About the TV sign-off: In Sweden they usually had some kind of host who came on and introduced the next program. When the last program was finished he or she would say something variant of the theme "That's all we had to show you today. We wish you a good night." No national anthem. Just silence for a few minutes, then the…

Gorgeous, Tracey! I looked at all three images. I don't know if you're trying to choose one or intend to use all three. Just in case you're trying to choose, I'll say my piece. I love the look of the key, but I couldn't figure out what it was supposed to signify. I racked my brain for a while but didn't come up with…

Machka - Congratu-very-lations on completing a half-marathon! And to your husband for completing a 5k! He's made such an incredible recovery. I'd call it miraculous except that it's so clearly the result of lots of hard work and dedication. :flowerforyou: After your 12-km run a while ago - the one I believe you described…

Yeah, Karen, it doesn't look like much except when the wind finds some remaining loose snow to blow around. It isn't quite the same all-round experience as when you can feel your house shaking in the wind. I found a short video from the dog yard, which is NOT protected by the mountain. The dogs need attention regardless,…

I don't know if anybody will be interested, but our local paper Svalbardposten has arranged a live link so those who wish can keep an eye on the approaching storm. The wind is from the east, so their office (and most of town) is protected by a mountain. Many of the activities in town have been cancelled today. The school…

So am I, Yvonne, both self-identified and because of my field. But I don't have a word-of-the-day calendar. Or a word of the year, for that matter. Lanette and Margaret - Sometimes, out walking in the spring in woods or pastures in rural Sweden, you come across blooming lilacs. Snoop around nearby and you may find the…

Katla dah-ling There's no telling how well you would do. I didn't know myself how I would react to real polar night, even though I'd lived way far north of the Arctic Circle for years before I moved there. I never could have guessed how much I would love it! :heart: :love: :heart: After choir practice yesterday, a friend…

I've been a bit frustrated lately because the weather in Longyearbyen has been too dangerous for running. It's about to get worse, with heavy snowfall and winds gusting to 100 mph. However, I won't be there for that. I just flew down to the mainland to meet my husband when he gets back from India tomorrow. He's scheduled…

Thanks Heather! Our circle includes a couple people whose "control dramas" fall into category 2: being nasty and manipulative. One is known for lashing out at everyone and everything until he gets his way. The other withholds information and goes behind people's backs to get things her way. Unfortunately, both are also in…

Aw Heather... Tough day you had there. I'm glad you could turn yourself (yourselves) around, though that isn't unexpected: you usually do manage. But I'm intrigued by that article! Could you post the link or PM me with it? **************************************************** I don't have much to say for myself just now,…

Sorry for your loss, Machka. Wonderful that your grandmother lived a full, healthy, generous life. :heart: /Penny

Sorry Pip. I'm 63, waaaay older than you. /Penny

Do you love it the way you love riding in the wind, Pip? We all know how much you enjoy THAT! /Penny

Cari - I see Heather has told you her story. I was hoping she would, because I think it answers your question about doing a 5k in March. Go for it, girl! I'm not a life-long runner. I didn't start running voluntarily until I was 26, after the birth of my second child. At the time, we lived in Norwich, England, beside a…

Hooray for the long bike ride Machka! :heart: Margaret - Thanks for the reminder! Yes, it was the fern room. :relieved: *sigh* Naturally they will have made the entire conservatory more accessible by now. Fifty-five years ago, accessibility hadn't been invented yet, and even if it had, it wouldn't have occurred to me that…

Yeah, Heather, I've sensed that you've found the running groove, but it's nice to see it in black and white. I'm with you 100% on the challenge posed by wind. As for circumstances, sure, I've got low temperatures and light levels to contend with, but I almost never have to deal with traffic. :wink: Time to get out and…

Kylia - Great to hear that Aubrey's operations went well. I'll continue thinking of her and your family and sending good thoughts. Margaret - Thanks for posting those photos from the Como Park Conservatory. As you may recall, I grew up in Minneapolis and loved visiting the conservatory. There's no mistaking that formal…

We're already on the other side. Longyearbyen is a tiny town, but they just put on the best fireworks I've seen since 1984! I thought Big Ben was still out of commission. Great if I'm wrong about that because Big Ben and the stroke of twelve are iconic. More tomorrow in the new thread and the new year. /Penny, still on my…

Heather - I loved the picture of John rolling out the croissant dough, but worry about his poor back! In that pic I saw that your retro clock and the Kitchenaid were both powder blue! When you posted the first picture showing them, they were both white on my screen. I couldn't figure out why everyone was so impressed with…

Hello on this last day of an eventful year. It makes me think of that (supposedly) Chinese curse: "May you live in interesting times." I've been keeping up with my reading here, but also suffering from brain fog, so I can't keep track of all the particulars. Sorry about that! Christmas snuck up on us this year, what with…

Big hugs to you Kelly! I didn't mean to break the spell of your wonderful poignant story. <3 :'( <3 :) Just I'm on my phone and a bit handicapped. /Penny again ;)

I also want a quiet, low key Christmas. So much going on. Speaking of "flipping the script", I saw this yesterday, and knew I had to share it with you. It's by Abdullah Shoaib. Pretty Ugly I’m very ugly So don’t try to convince me that I am a very beautiful person Because at the end of the day I hate myself in every single…

Whoa, Tracey look at yo' bad self! Where'd ya get those northern lights! I'm easing back into the thread, reading to catch up with y'all. My dad is doing so well... :heart: and he and my mom are delighted to be able to sleep in the same bed again. Dad went to bed a bit early last night (say 9 pm) and Mom asked if she could…

Hi ladies I haven't had a chance to log in and read since I left Norway at the beginning of the month. My 90-year-old father had his hip replaced a week ago. He spent one night at the hospital and they sent him home to the health center at the retirement community where he and my mother live. He was up and walking within…

^This^ from a woman who should know. Thanks for posting it, Beth. /Penny