Hello again, dear readers,
Since restrictions on international travel from Australia had eased as 2022 progressed, hubby and I finally booked in April to return to Sweden, for three months from the start of June 2022. Our cottage on the island of Orust, north of Gothenburg, had pretty much had to fend for itself the three previous years, with just a couple of short visits by my nephew near the Swedish mid-summer holiday. Our elder daughter and her Senegalese husband had also planned to move to Sweden from Spain, using our cottage as a base at the start. Despite my trepidation about the flight, it all went quite smoothly with passenger assistance at departure, the two transits (Bangkok and Helsinki), and on arrival. One curiosity was the flight path to deviate around Ukraine.
Due to a slip on our part, the electricity at the cottage had been cut at the end of 2021, but we were able to arrange for it to be reconnected for our arrival. Then it was a case of gradually restoring internet access, satellite TV (two of life's essentials!), cutting the lawn, and getting our 15-year-old Nissan from France back on the road, after it had sat for four years out in the open in our driveway. All it needed was a new battery, a couple of new tyres, a new fuel injector, and a lot of TLC with a sponge and detergent. It took three tries to get the car through the road-worthy test, one of which was preceded by a lap or two of the local roads at high revs to lower the CO reading. Hubby got that tip from the internet, which certainly made the monthly subscription worthwhile.
Our daughter now has a car to use, which is essential in view of the location of the cottage. She burst a (new) tyre on a rock outcrop in the gravel road leading to our cottage the morning that hubby and I were leaving to return to Australia, the fan belt has since had to be replaced, and a most recently the alternator gave up the ghost, but, touch wood, the Nissan seems to have survived.
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| There is a bit of work and a few tic bites ahead of us. |
Hubby had several DIY tasks at the cottage to keep him occupied, including repainting two outside walls. The weather was fantastic for much of our time there, which is fine if the walls are not south facing, but they were. He had to wait for cloudy days to avoid the paint drying on the brush. Red wooden cottages are all very cute, but they do require work. We should not complain too much though; we have only just begun to repaint walls that were last repainted in 2010.
The five tree stumps near the house had turned into ants' nests. Sweden has no termites, but an ant infestation is not so desirable. The blokes-weekend method of trying to burn the lot after a good dousing with petrol is not great near a wooden cottage, but professional stump removal is not cheap. Son-in-law came to the rescue with Herculean effort using axes, saws, a crowbar, and a lot of sweat.
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| The stump near the well. |
It was not all work though. We had very enjoyable quasi-simultaneous visits by friends from France and the UK, with the obligatory silly-hat competition. The demand on the bathroom was intense, to the point that hubby had to use the outdoor shower - great for the first few minutes when the sun has warmed the water in the hose, a bit bracing after that.
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| Overcautious - hats in the shade |
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| Look what came down in the last shower |
Hubby spilt glasses of red wine, not once, not twice, but three times. He could 'blame' the first two spills on the irregular board hidden beneath the table cloth, but the third time was all on him. To make matters worse, the third soaked a large-print library book that I had foolishly left on the table. It was part one of two, so we had to pay for both books to be replaced. Personally, I quite liked the antique look of red streaks on most pages, but not the librarian. We looked on in amazement at all three spillages, since it is so unlike hubby to be so clumsy; perhaps it was the wine.
My nephew has been nagging us to go to an antique warehouse near Uddevalle, about 30 km from our cottage, for many years. Last year he was even more insistent, since he was keen to find a stuffed capercaillie (who isn’t?) So we went, and, lo and behold, they had four of them! The salesperson did say something like “We don’t get that many people looking for these; let’s take x kr off the price, just to seal the deal.” My nephew was very satisfied, although he has yet to find a secure way to attach it to a wall in his apartment.
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| In Melbourne, 'grouse' means something wonderful or amazing. That sums it up. |
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| Grass cut, walls repainted, paths and flower beds weeded, stumps removed - just in time to fly back to Sydney. |
All in all, it was a great visit to Sweden after a three-year absence, and so nice to be really home.
