One of this year’s summer hits in Sweden was Ingen vill veta var du köpt din tröja, a catchy little tune with a refrain that’s been stuck in my head for months now. The other day when it came on the radio I said to Olof that I liked it and he said, “What? This… Read More Heavy

I’m a little embarrassed to admit this, but I didn’t know until last night that Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake were even a couple, let alone planning a wedding. (And yes, I’m a tad embarrassed to admit that I’m embarrassed for not knowing that.) It’s not that I care about either of them in particular–I… Read More Living in a Vacuum

After only two days Lucy has blended so seamlessly into our family that it almost seems as though she were always here. As I wrote before, I was immediately drawn to her when I saw her tied to a light pole last week. I felt instantly that I was meant to have her. Because I… Read More There’s Something about Lucy

Could you resist this face? Neither could I. Long story short, we’re a two-dog family again. Last Saturday we made a quick trip to town to go to Myrorna (the Salvation Army Thrift Store). As we pulled into the parking lot I noticed a little dog tied to the light pole. I developed an instant… Read More Sucker for a hard-luck story

Olof’s mom came by last night with a little present for me, a gorgeous ivy geranium. The flowers are dark pink with soft white “highlights” (for lack of a better word). She’s had hers hanging outside the front door all summer long, and every time I walked past it I almost turned green with envy.… Read More Plant stuff

I read in the paper last week that a Consumer Reports-style look into the manufacture of kids’ clothes in Sweden revealed (pun emphatically not intended) that little girls’ clothes are markedly skimpier than little boys’ clothes, even down to the toddler sizes. In Europe, clothes are sized by the height of the child, which means… Read More Fashion Victims

So I bought a new domain over the weekend, mostly because I’m compulsively acquisitive, and I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it. At first I was just going to buy the name, because I didn’t want to lose the chance (as if there were legions clamoring for the rights to beverlytjerngren.com), but… Read More On writing

Until a few weeks ago I had never heard of “peat plugs,” and until yesterday was I wasn’t even totally sure what they were. Now I’m wondering how I ever lived without them. The purchase of a hundred of these miraculous little disks has revolutionized my pelargonium propagation project (doncha just love a little unexpected… Read More Saturday

Tage and I went on a raspberry hunt this afternoon because I had been assured that there were raspberries two houses over, at Olof’s sister’s place. Since they’re on a six-week trip to Iceland and not expected back for a month or so, I figured they wouldn’t mind if we raided their bushes. Imagine my… Read More Friday

After putting it off almost until the last possible day, I finally got most of my Mosaic Minds work done for the upcoming issue. I’m still waiting to hear back from one author approving the editorial changes to her work, and for a couple of last-minute features, but at least I’ve cleared the biggest hurdles.… Read More ‘zine stuff