We never got to Norway.
Let me back up. When last we spoke, I was taking August off to, among other things, travel via Denmark to Sweden for a family wedding and then swing through Norway with my middle sister. But my sister caught COVID (despite masking) on the flight over, and I caught it from her in a car ride from Copenhagen to Sjöbo.
Our trip was not as bad as it sounds. For one thing, Copenhagen was beautiful, especially in the late, late twilight.
Nor did either of us have a full-on misery case, although we were both definitely ill. And cancelling your plans to hit up Norway’s most touristed destination (Flåm, on Sognefjord) to spend instead a few days in a random small town in bucolic Scandinavia with a sister, is nice in its own way,
even when you wind up waiting for a taxi in the parking lot outside a Thai restaurant next to an auto showroom. Or perhaps especially then. Never underestimate the opportunity to laugh at ridiculous British reality TV. Escape To The Chateau, anyone?
(By the way, as an example of trusting your gut, other than some kitten heel sinkage that orange dress and gold booties would have been perfect for the wedding. No fault to anyone; the decision required knowledge of context which only I had.) Evidence below.
Yes, I made it to the wedding the night before I tested positive. The Swedes’ position on COVID, as explained to me, is that they are all vaccinated, and they treat it like a cold. I followed their lead. It was a beautiful spot, a beautiful ceremony, and a great big wonderful party that everyone seemed to really enjoy.
On our way back to the Copenhagen airport, my sister and I spent one night in Malmö, and ate out on the sidewalk. So Swedish. Fish, shrimp, lemon and a potato.
Norway is for another day. And maybe we’ll find our way far north, for more of those moments of everyday life that are small and nevertheless wholly novel.
Now here we all are, looking at kids back in school, autumn, Hallowe’en, Thanksgiving, Christmas. And, should we forget, a critical election. I will be registering college students to vote in inland California, under the philosophy that action is the best cure for anxiety.
Glad to be back. Let me leave you for today with a few cool things.
First, the opportunity to see a concert version of Female Complaints, the musical about the compelling and relevant life of Inez Brown Burns, Tina deVaron (my classmate from college), has been developing with Kate Mully.
Second, I’ve been watching a stelevision show and really enjoying it. No, it’s neither a delicious rom-com, nor a deeply-felt, minutely-0bserved human drama. Snowpiercer, now on Amazon Prime, follows the last of the human race, and the train that may or may not allow them to survive their own worst traits. Why this show? 1) Bong Joon-ho, the artist responsible for Oscar-winning Parasite, directed the movie it’s based on he remains executive producer. 2) The cast includes the blindingly charismatic Daveed Diggs of Hamilton, Micky Sumner, daughter of Trudy Styles and Sting who is very extra-talented in her own right, and Jennifer Connelly, who is a star for good reasons. 3) All of this makes the show compelling, and in this day and age, if I’m going to watch something I want to be fully engaged. It’s by no means universally loved, but I stand by my recommendation.
Finally, my son has released a limited edition of his artwear on Patsport/Summon-Elemental. My favorite piece is, appropriately, entitled, “Last.” Last as in the last one? Or last, as in endure? I don’t think there’s a better way to know modernity than to pull some ambiguity over your head. Wear this over that oversized white shirt you bought last summer. Or that little black dress you’ve grown weary of.
Nice to see you all again. Have a very good weekend.
24 Responses
Hi Lisa,
Delighted to have you back. I miss your Saturday musings which are always so interesting.
Please don’t mind my asking- some time ago you wrote that you had deliberately gained five in weight. I was wondering if you had managed to keep it or do you have to ” work at it? I ask because I’m in a similar position and wonder if a few extra labs would work on me to?
I’d be grateful to hear your thoughts please.
Your holiday sounded delightful- it was good you had an opportunity to spend time with your sister.
Many thanks,
Helen
Thank you, Helen! Interesting question. Every time I get sick, which has happened way more in the past five years, I drop a few pounds. Then I do work to get them back on, in preparation for the next virus LOL. The thing is to try and do it without relying on sugar and saturated fat. Olive oil, avocado and whole grain bread are my friends:). Also snacking on cashews, almonds and walnuts. And I try also to do some strength and cardio work, so that the extra weight is useful, if that makes sense.
Total sense and thank you SO much!
Be well,
Helen
Welcome back! Sounds like you made the best of having Covid. So glad the wedding was wonderful; what did you wear?
Hello, MJ! Thanks! Absolutely made the best of it! And it’s really funny, what I wound up wearing. I had planned to wear black jacquard Dries van Noten pants, my tiger painted Gucci slides and this blouse I found on sale at Farm Rio: https://shopstyle.it/l/cfD4Z. But then I realized those pants are simply too tight for comfort, so I bought a pair of black Eileen Fisher ponte lantern pants. Which made me look unfortunately like a cossack. But I pressed on. On the day of, thinking it would be cold, I wore a black tank under the blouse. It was hot! I took the blouse off! And there I was, positively New York Art Gallery mournful, in the midst of the chipper florals. Lesson learned. Follow one’s instincts when you know the context and yourself.
Lovely pictures. Nothing like Copenhagen at dusk. Your story is a painful reminder of what happened to me one year ago this weekend, when I got Covid on the second day of my glorious trip to Italy*. But like you, spending the rest of the week self-isolating in a nice hotel in Lucca wasn’t bad. (I mean, c’mon, it was Italy.)
Still…ouch.
*I had NEVER gotten Covid before, and I guess I thought I had this superpower immunity. Masks? Pffft!
I remember when that happened to you:(. So sorry. As I remember the feeling of being immune to COVID. First time I got it, coughing person behind me on a 10 hour flight, and I in a KN95 mask. This time I wore an N95 mask on my flight, but, my sister caught it! Sigh. I think you suffered more, as you did not have a beloved sister in the cabin next door. I hope you never catch it again.
I ditto MJ’s query: what did you wear to the wedding? You imply that you left the slice-of-orange dress and the gold booties behind, but maybe I have mis-read your text? And thanks for the pix of late-summer Scandinavia – so magical.
And, Welcome Back! We’ve missed you.
I’m glad to be back! Thank you:). I wrote the story of how I wound up funereal, above;). I’d never been to southern Sweden, quite different light and climate and really worth a visit. You’re welcome:)
You’re back! I was excited last night in anticipation of your post. :)
The wedding and your adventures in Scandinavia sound lovely. And yes, what did you wear? I’m so sorry you got Covid again, though. It’s been worse each time for me for some reason, and my vaccines didn’t seem to have much of an effect. Apparently they don’t in some who have certain autoimmune conditions (I have celiac disease). Thank you for sharing your beautiful photos, and I hope you and your sister are feeling great again soon. ❤
Hmm… they seem to have reversed the initial position on effectiveness after further study. Oh well – I must be broken in some other way…
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/17562848231170944#vaccination
Jess, that you looked forward to my post, nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me. Or, at least up there in the Top 5. Thank you. I’m so sorry COVID hits you worse every time and vaccines don’t help. There’s so much yet unknown about the disease, it’s hard to get so sick and also deal with uncertainty and lack of knowledge.
Welcome back. I’m so sorry you got Covid, and I hope there are no lingering effects. Your altered plans looked lovely, and that you got to share it with a sister is sublime. Your photos are beautiful. And a musical about Inez Brown Burns? Wow. I read the Bloom biography. What a complex woman. I love the work of director Bong Joon-Ho. Parasite was extraordinary. Thank for mentioning Snowpiercer. The cast looks excellent. I’m intrigued to see another Sumner. I loved Elliot Sumner in Ripley. (Amazing if you haven’t yet seen it.)
Thank you:) Katherine, it’s possible you are the most broadly cultured and erudite person I know. I am never anything but impressed by your taste and recommendations. I haven’t seen Ripley. In truth I am so low brow these days I was put off by the black and white. I have to up my game!
Ah. Thank you for the lovely compliment. My curiosity is big. Like my dad at 88 after a weekly library run with my mom to pick up his usual catholic set of books, asking me, “What did you think of the ending to Rebecca?” and me trying to remember if the ending to the du Maurier book was different than the ending to the Hitchcock film with Olivier and Fontaine. Hah. At the same time my dad was loading Linux onto his computer, working on his HAM radio, watching baseball, exercising, volunteering. All quietly and with focus. I admire his way of being.
Initially, I shared your lack of interest in Ripley. Andrew Scott didn’t compel me, and the b&w trailers looked bleak. My initial impressions were wrong. It was one of those limited series I became reluctant to watch more of because it was so good I didn’t want it to end. The series is intelligent, meaty, and clear about the horrible complexity of murder in a way almost a bit amusing. The glorious b&w was beautiful, brilliant, and revealed the seedy, unwashed corners that exist in the most beautiful places, but are not shown in the photos. To get a feel for what Ripley does with b&w, watch the series, and then watch The Talented Mr. Ripley with Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Jude Law. Previously, I loved that film, but suddenly the colors on the boat and shore look garish and obvious. At least to me.
One thing that excited me about the series, when I began to read about it between episodes, involved creativity and age. The creator, producer, writer, director Steven Zaillian is 71 years old. His cinematographer Robert Elswit who created the beautiful, atypical b&w is 74. There’s something about the two of them as counterpoint to the whole, Biden is too old as an age as opposed to Biden individually is past the time when the job works for him, that made me happy.
Here’s a Vanity Fair article in which Zaillian and Elswit discuss the b&w. (I hope you can see it. I have a VF subscription, and I can’t find a way to send you a gift article.) https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/ripley-netflix-shot-list-awards-insider?_sp=793ff690-84c6-4c5b-b4d3-82f74e2d2be3.1725764596678
Thank you for the thoughts and community your posts engender. I loved thinking about all of the things you mentioned today. xo.
Agree completely about Katherine! I’m also put off by the black and white (which I used to love). But I’m going to give it a go.
I was excited as well on Friday night that you’d be back on Saturday! Patrick’s limited edition is fabulous and my favorite piece is Vivacity (which is sold out). I am glad to hear that this bout of Covid was milder than the last you had. I’m terrified to get it again after my first case which was in January. Glad you had a good time anyway.
So nice of you to know when I’m coming back. I hope you stay COVID-free for the foreseeable future.
Despite the blasted Covid, you made the best of the circumstances which is always the ideal response. The grounds of the wedding venue look terrific… A beautiful estate and lovely grounds. I am sure you looked elegant and classic Lisa.
I hope you are fully recovered and are looking forward to Autumn with cooler days and sunshine.
Thank you. And I am enjoying our first hints of autumn, cool mornings, and the change in the light.
The party was at Övedskloster Castle? Well, it’s not really your average ”farmish-gardenish” setting ;) Such a beautiful historic place.
Happy to hear that you recovered quickly from covid!
Yes! I just had no idea, and I should have known more consciously even though I unconsciously sensed what I should wear. Not to mention I should have communicated the exact destination to the experts here:)
I loved the movie Snowpiercer (the director’s name is Bong Joon-ho).
Glad you are better now.
I really butchered that, didn’t I? And I even looked it up. Thank you.