Being very quiet

Just sitting here, outside our little cottage, trying very hard to do quiet things. You know how hard that can be!

Every thing you want to do makes noise, for example opening the cupboard to get some chips. The bag needs to be opened and it takes two tries, first with the scissors and then with a knife. Finally you get that sorted and then you just want to get something to drink and take it quietly outside and try not to make a peep. That's when something, precariously placed in the fridge, splashes onto the floor and needs to be wiped up. Your'e still trying to maintain some sort of silence but it is not to be, because when you finally get outside the neighbours, whom you haven't seen for a while, decide to come around for a chat. You try to speak quietly to set an example without actually saying anything but it doesn't work. And why this endeavor to be so quiet you might wonder.

Well, elder daughter and a friend arrived from London Stanstead today. If you habitually take the Ryan Air flight to Gothenburg you know that it leaves early in the morning, and if you want to be sure to make the two-hours-before-hand check in that they require, you need to get there the night before. It's barbaric! But, since it seems to be the only way, they should at least install comfortable armchairs. You can see whole families with elderly grandparents making makeshift camps on the floor, trying to catch a few hours of sleep. People get pretty protective of their spot too and it can get a bit nasty. So as you can imagine you are pretty cranky when you arrive in Gothenburg. This time it wasn't helped by the fact that we took a little detour into Gothenburg to visit my mother before setting off for the island. My mother was very happy to see her older granddaughter though, and we had a nice little visit, and handing out of presents from Africa.

I hope the nice summer weather will stay on for a while and that we will be able to enjoy the Swedish summer. We haven't even had that many mosquitos this year.

Before the girls arrived I also had whirlwind visit from our friends from Grenoble. They also have a house in the south of Sweden, and now that we live in Australia it is so nice to catch up in the summer. They came up here with three teenage boys to go to Liseberg, the big amusement park in Gothenburg, and also to show the boys this part of Sweden which is different to Skåne where they have their house.

Unfortunately there were no elks around when they were here but they did show an albino elk on the news. Even the horns were white.

"So remember every goodbye makes the next hello closer"

Speak again soon then!

Fika

Yes, finally! This is a Swedish concept which really just means having a coffee and maybe a bisquit or a cinnamon roll or something else sweet at any time of the day. Swedes love it. It is such a simple way to invite people, without worrying about cooking and what wine to have with different dishes. Just put on some coffee and maybe bake something or get something from the many bakeries or just open a package of bisquits. Even Wikipedia has cottoned on to it and here you can read more.

The reason I am writing about is that yesterday I took my mother, who is staying with me, for a little drive, and we ended up in Fjällbacka . As soon as we had parked the car and started walking around my mother expressed a desire to have a "fika" and we ended up doing just that on one of the piers.

The place was packed and Fjällbacka is not very big, so it was noticeable. We got a good spot for people watching though. I think some people there were famous judging by other people whispering and taking pictures with their phones, but not really famous for me, since I have not properly lived in Sweden for 30 years.

It might not be visible in this photo but most of the boats sailed under Norwegian flag or maybe some under German flag but not many Swedish boats. I don't really know the reason but I am guessing that the neighbouring countries might have stronger economies than Sweden maybe. Or maybe Swedish boat owners find Fjällbacka too crowded and know of other places hidden away.

The reason I was keen to see Fjällbacka was because I have read all the books written by Camilla Lackberg. They are murder stories based in Fjällbacka and now they are being made into films, called the Fjällbacka Murders (hum, where have I heard something similar?).

We have had a whole week of warm, sunny weather, I could almost contemplate having a dip, even though the water temperatures are not up to 20+C, if it wasn't for these little monsters.

It is time to go out and enjoy the sun while it lasts and I suggest you do the same, maybe with a suitable beverage in your hand or maybe with a "fika".

Gardening advice

I am not an expert at anything but one thing I am fairly good at is  this.... growing grass, beautiful green grass.

So this is how it works!  You clean up an area and put down some landscape fabric and then you  put gravel all over that and then you go to another country far away, say, Australia, for the sake of it. You come back 9 months later and the most beautiful grass will then have come up. Thick and healthy! You couldn't have done if you tried! It's a miracle! The problem is you wanted it to be a gravel path and now it is not even visible, and you have to do it all over again.

Cabin fever is rampant here with the rain and the grey skies and if it doesn't stop we will have to do the Swedish thing and go to Mallorca or where ever the sun is.

Forget the above sentence, it was written in despair after days of greyness and rain. The sun has arrived now and all of a sudden everything feels better.

I got up early today because the farmer's son who is going  to take down some trees here was supposed to come this morning but yet again he didn't turn up. Maybe country people function on a different inner clock. I will have to learn to be patient, not the easiest thing for me.

Last night I was watching TV and my mother who is staying here with me, had gone to bed when there was a little knock on the window. It was my neighbor who wanted to tell me that there was an elk in the field on their side. I have been told about these elks ever since we moved in but never seen one. I have seen others though in my previous life when I was a cook in Dalecarlia. This job included   getting breakfast going very early for the sawmill workers and I saw elks almost every morning driving to work. But we have never spotted one here, so this was a treat.

It was too dark for photos so you just have to take my word for it. My SIL will be so jealous. When they were here I had to take them to a special elk park to see elks. I know it is a little bit like cheating but what can you do when you are only here for a short time.

Hubby has left too, to go back to work and on his very last day we took a walk called the Coastal walk and it is marked the whole way. For a normal fit and well-equipped person this would probably have been a piece of cake but I struggled.  It was extremely wet and I was in normal shoes. They had also put up a stile to prevent horses and cows and some people to get over to the other side and I had a hard time with that. Hubby walked ahead to see if we were on the right track and I didn't see him again, not until I had given up all hope, and then he returned with a bowl full of mushroom. I understand that when you find a good picking spot, be it mushroom or blueberries or whatever, you can't stop. It must be the gatherer instinct that kicks in; you want to provide for your household. So when he finally turned up with that, all was forgiven and we had a nice mushroom toast each when we got back for our farewell supper.

Until next time "May you too see an elk. They are magic!"