It's Sunday morning. I wake up late and stay in bed until 11. No plans for a change - how nice. I decide to go down to the library a few subway stops away to pick up the books I reserved. I looked at the clock and suddenly it's a bit late. I might… Read full post »

“I am just afraid that you will blog about this.”, says my sister with a timid smile. We are standing in the stairway outside her apartment waiting for the ancient elevator with the foldable iron gate to arrive. I have just watched my sister, 40 year-old orthopaedic surgeon and jet-setter… Read full post »

Note to self: Foreshadow more.
Right. Foreshadow.

“Why don’t you ever write about me on your blog?”, asks my sister, affecting the puppydog demeanor she uses to evoke assurances, compliments or love from significant others . As successful and competent as my little sister is in her… Read full post »

Dear vzn,

In the eleven months that I have been writing this blog, I seem to have developed an internal self-censorship about what I feel comfortable writing about and what I do not. The demarcation line between what I allow and do not allow myself to write seems to run parallell to… Read full post »

Daughter: So when is B coming home? 

Me: He just went for a walk, why?

Daughter: I want to know if can continue to watch TV or if he will want to watch CSI when he comes home.

Me: But he is taping it anyhow.

Daughter: Okay then I will watch… Read full post »

Sometimes in life when you have been going in one direction you will find that there is not enough room for you to to grow. Not enough air. Not enough sun. What can you do? There is only one thing. Look around and try to find what you need. If needed,… Read full post »

I spent most of yesterday at Church wearing pink latex gloves. It was the day of the annual parish Christmas bazaar. The bazaars at my Parish these days are pitiful affairs compared to the huge bazaars of my childhood. The more orthodox parish members and committees have scaled the event down… Read full post »

“Gordana, are you feeling okay?”, I ask the cleaning woman at our Office. I have bumped into her at the 4th floor bathrooms, drooping over the cleaning cart for support. She is white like a sheet. “No, I have a horrible headache.”, she replies. I bring Gordana over to the Serv… Read full post »

A young beggar, clearly a foreigner, makes his way through a subway car. He approaches a middle-aged woman and holds a cup towards her. Depending on where the surveillance cameras were situated in the car they may or may not have captured:

• The middle-aged woman’s expression of contempt.
• The beg
… Read full post »

I recall an excercise I read somewhere on how to create fictional characters. It was meant to access the readers’ stereotypes at the same time as making the character predictable to them; which I guess is the same as making them understandable. The excercise consisted of writing and completing… Read full post »

My daughter’s math homework is going splendidly these days, thank you for asking. Last night however I could have used some moral support as I tried to help her study for a psychology test. The other family members cowered in remote corners of the apartment, fearing to thread into the kitchen… Read full post »

I helped make sandwiches at Church today. The month that passed since it was our team's turn to make them last went by really fast.

Our team seems to collaborate quite well these days. Each of us has had to make sacrifices for this to happen;

• Sven has finally
… Read full post »

So I attended this literary evening last night with my new favourite Polish writer Olga Tokarzcuk.

What with my liking books and all one would think that literary evenings and book clubs are a recurring agenda item.  Au contraire. My prowling for game in this arena has been a solitary acti… Read full post »

I am on the bus on my way to work. A female sits down in the seat right of me. She is an adult, but younger than I. Frizzy blond hair, jeans, sports bag. She takes out a notepad, a textbook and starts reviewing the materials. Big bulky sweater.  One glance… Read full post »

I met Sergey this weekend at the allottments. He was petting a cat.

"Nice koschka", I agreed. The cat in question was the killer calico with one green eye and one blue eye. The one who hunts rabbits whose bodies technically speaking are larger than hers. The one who has no t… Read full post »

I was tired after finishing Sacred Games. I needed something lighter to read; the book equivalent of a bowl of chicken soup the day after a Thanksgiving dinner. "Something nourishing but not too rich, please." 

In the library catalogue I came across Amy Tan's Saving fish from drowning.… Read full post »

Get this book. Just get it. You can get a used copy for as little as 59 cents on Amazon. Such a fat book. Too fat to start reading at once. When would you have the time to get through it? 

Let it lie on your bookshelf for a while. It's going to… Read full post »

My outlook has been a bit black for a day or two. Extensive talks about living arrangements at home. Me and my daughter represent the faction that is for secession. Boyfriend's faction is for continued unity.  

 Last night as I was driving to my sister's apartment (trial… Read full post »

I love cooking with bean sprouts. They add texture to soups and stir-fries. I like them best the Korean way; steamed, with salt and lots of sesame seed oil. 

I dislike the tinny taste of the sprouts that come in cans. So I germinate my own sprouts. I can never limit myself to… Read full post »

I ran into my mother yesterday. She pretended not to see me.

I was walking along the large street outside my work during lunch hour. I had decided to take advantage of the nice weather. Three subway stops away there is a second-hand shop I like to visit when I… Read full post »

Dad has taken up driving again apparently. This is bad news. Even before the stroke multiplied his reaction times by ten his driving strategies were iffy. He developed a way of positioning the car right inbetween lanes, whether they be two lanes with traffic facing the same direction or two lanes… Read full post »

Carrots, beets, radishes, onions,  sugar peas, haricot verts. Pumpkins. Sunflowers. Dill. Parsley. Zucchini. Tomatoes. Lettuce. Cabbage. Potatoes. 

Did you think this is a list of things I am harvesting? Ha! It is a list of edible plants that can, have and will fail to deliver. Each year th… Read full post »

1) The first to arrive in the neighbouring garden is Pecka's wife. I have written before that she takes the morning shift. I have proven to Pecka's wife that I am not chatty which is why she is friendly to me. We say hello. We exchange information about one or two… Read full post »

Each summer the allottment association proclaims a number of days for work on communal stuff. Fences need painting, ditches need cleaning. Someone needs to cut down the brushwood along both sides of the gardens.

There is an expectation for garden owners to show up on these days, but no… Read full post »

Shorter posts, shorter posts. Okay. I will tell you about my most recent crush. Her name is Michelle and she is three years old. Each time I leave the apartment Michelle is playing outside.

"Where are YOU going?", Michelle asks invariably.

I tell her that I am going to work/the store/the… Read full post »