On the road again

Yes, I have been out on a little road trip. I went up to see our old friends who now live up in Hälsingland. For the non-Swedes reading, here is a snippet of information from good ol' Wikipedia. If you have a look at the map you can see that our cottage is down on the west coast in the part called Bohuslän and our friends live in Hälsingland, on the other side of Sweden, and MUCH HIGHER UP. The trip took about eight hours, excluding power naps.

On my way up to Hälsingland I stopped at Husaby church. They have found a bit of oak from year 1000 but the present church is from 1120. It is where, for the first time, a Swedish king was baptized as a Christian.

It is not just that Hälsingland is far away, but it is also very different. They have beautiful, big farm houses in this region and our friends themselves live in one of them. Many of these farms have been classified World Heritage and we went and saw some of them on one of our outings.

The flower of Hälsingland is flax (every 'landscape' of Sweden has a regional flower) and you make linen from it. We went for a study visit to Växbo; it was very interesting. I love clothes made from linen; it is a shame they are so darn expensive. However, my friend bought me a dish rag (!) made from linen and swore that it is the best ever. Apparently, I would never want anything else after using one of them. We shall see.

There were many looms in Växbo,
but in metal, and very noisy when
they were all running.

One of the highlights of the trip (since I missed out on the Jimmy Reeves museum and the hubcap museum on the way up) was a visit to the Lill-Babs café and museum. Lill-Babs was a very popular singer when I was young and she has had a long and active carreer. She comes from a place called Järvsö and we went there for a coffee on my second day.

I have lots more to tell, especially about the trip back, but it has to be for another time. It's now time for some gardening. Just wanted to show you what I came back to:

Nothing!

And this is what I left in Hälsingland, yum!

Crop circles and blue grass

I have always been a little intrigued when reading about crop circles and now I have created one of my very own.

I got the lawn mower back from the repair shop. I was almost sleepless the night before, worrying about driving in the van on our narrow little road ...

... and then tipping the wagon and driving  the mower off. I have not trained for this sort of stuff, I worry about tipping backwards or going sideways into a ditch. It is not as easy as it might sound. Anyway, in the end my neighbour came to the rescue. He did it while smoking a cigarette and finishing his coffee!! So clearly not as dangerous as I had imagined.

So now I have done the mowing and to make it more fun, I have created crop circles. If one of them guys up there in the sky looks down on this island they might get a bit confused and ask themselves questions just like people do about other crop circles.

As far as the blue grass, I am not referring to the color of the grass I was cutting but to the style of music that the band played that I went to see yesterday in the Henån library. The band was called the The Goodbye Girls and consisted of four girls. One was Swedish, two were Americans, and one was Canadian. It was a good romp! In fact much livelier music than on this Youtube clip that I am attaching but I can't find anything else.

We are continuing with the mild weather here in Sweden and unfortunately we are also having forest fires raging in several places probably due to the dry summer we have been having. However, nothing down this way so far.

Here is a new weird little activity if you have a boat. When I saw this person the first time it looked like he was walking on water but I think it must be some little air cushions.

I am off now to take the car to the repair shop, keeping my fingers crossed that nothing is wrong.

Just a little thank you to my favorite "hacker" who helped me get photos off my telephone.

Bye for now!

To say goodbye is to die a little

At least that is what the French say and I tend to agree. Especially when the sad goodbye is to your daughter returning to Africa after two wonderful weeks here at the cottage in Sweden. The list of dangers that I imagine can befall her is endless, especially if you are going to Africa. Plane crashes, Ebola virus, and malaria, spring to mind, but there are no doubt many, many other catastrophies that can strike you. But the thing is you don't have to go to Africa for bad things to happen to you. Lately there has been several plane crashes in other parts of the world, and you can be attacked in any big city just going about your own business.  On the road where I saw the elk accident (see previous installment), a car drove off the road the day after, in broad daylight. Both the driver and the passenger had to be gotten out of the car by the rescuers sawing off the top of the car. The driver didn't make it and the passenger is in critical condition. And that is on this little road that I take all the time!!

So I am going to try to be reasonable and stay calm until I hear that she got to her destination alright.

On the island of Lyr

We have had a wonderful summer so far and the fact that two of our three kids and a nephew and my mother have been here has been wonderful.  Now they have all gone back but in fact I am sitting here waiting for our French/Swedish friends who are coming for a little visit.

This is NOT the cleaning our crop of marijuana. It is the
oregano that was mistakenly cut down and had to be taken
care of.

I am also hoping that the builders will turn up soon and do the back deck but their notion of time is very fluid. They were supposed to be here two days ago, but not a word from them.  I know they will come but when?

Maybe next time I will have photos of the new deck, or not, until then, take care and enjoy the rest of summer, I know I will!

Road tragedy

Yesterday when I was driving back to the cottage from Henån, our closest small town where we go for shopping, post-office stuff, library, and last but not least wine and beer shopping, I saw something very sad.

I was driving behind a slow-moving car when I saw an elk coming down a slope, ready to cross the road. The people ahead obviously didn't see her (it was a female elk). They collided with her and she flew onto their windscreen,, and then up on top of their car and rolled off, falling down on the side of the road. She was still alive when I jumped out of my car and just lay there so stoic and beautiful even though her two hind legs were clearly broken and pointing any which way. She must have been in so much pain. The elderly couple were fortunately fine though a bit shaken up. They had been driving quite slowly which might have reduced the impact. We had to wait quite a while for a hunter from the hunting team responsible for that specific area to arrive and shoot the elk.

The incident stayed with me all day. I was wondering if she had a young one back in the woods somewhere who was waiting for her.

On to happier things...

There is a heat wave here in Sweden right now. It is almost +30°C in the whole country.

We have been going for dips in the sea, especially to a place called Ellös where there is a ramp to get into the water. It makes it easier for a soon-to-be-ninety-year old to get in. No, I am not talking about myself! It is about my mother who is staying with us for a few weeks.

Last night after dipping we went to an auction at Tofta Gård. It was good fun and you could probably find good bargains. However we don't have space for anything so I held myself back. It was the first auction for elder daughter so I gave her strict warnings not to gesticulate or scratch her face or ear. This can be taken for a sign to raise the bid and you can end up with something very expensive and unwanted, if the auctioneer decides to accept that as the last bid.

A funny detail showing the difference between generations. A teenage girl asked her mother after having spent an hour in the sweltering heat of the barn where the auction was held: "Why don't they just sell the stuff on e-bay"? Yes, indeed, why don't they?

Sing-along

Oh, by the way, they seem to love sing-alongs here in my old home country. I had no idea! It's a revelation!

Three evenings a week they have either sing-along from Gothenburg  (my hometown) or sing-along from Stockholm (the capital), and if that is not enough we can also sing-along with our Norwegian neighbors from across the border (Drammen).
.
It's great when you live with a 90-year old, as long as they stick to the old songs from way back. We know the texts then and we can belt them out.  What we don't want, are the new performers, with their new un-singable tunes.

And oh, by the way, today was the anniversary of the birth of my first born, I guess he/she would call it a birthday. It was almost as sunny and pleasant a day, as that day thirty-four years ago, when my life changed forever.

At the time we lived in Scotland but due to, what I perceived to be the dodgy healthcare over there,  I had opted for coming "home" for the birth of my first  born. I won't go into any more details and I think you are happy to hear that but it was a very happy day! Never to be forgotten!

Motherhood rocks!

PS Still no photos, but when I get on to it I will shower you with photos

Strawberry picking

Today was strawberry picking on a neighboring island, on a self-pick farm, with my soon-to-be 90-year-old mother.

I don't recommend it!
It's just not worth it!
Avoid it if you can!

By the time you park the car and get yourself and mother out of the car it has already turned into an ordeal. Then you have to get your little empty buckets weighed, then you have to walk to the strawberry field. There is nothing for elderly pickers to sit on. It's also very hard to see the berries. You have to move the plants around a bit. You can get very dizzy bending down.

Still, we ended up picking four litres but that was really all we could do. I had to ask the person overseeing the picking if it was ok for me to go back and get the car so I could drive on the little path and pick up my mother.  She very reluctantly agreed but it wasn't very popular with the other pickers, you could tell. You could tell what they were thinking!

Anyway, after a few detours on the way back and a wasp sting in my scalp, we had a late lunch with strawberries for dessert. Wish I could show you a photo but my camera is acting up and I don't know how to get photos off my phone. I really need another adult here, preferably under 35. Isn't it lucky that only son is coming soon for a little visit. He doesn't know it but there is a little list of things for him to do.

We have been very lucky with the weather here in this part of Sweden. It is not blazing hot but sunny and pleasant. I arrived here before Midsummer and it was very light and it is still June but you can tell it is already getting darker at night.

I have to go out on the veranda now and do my usual elk spotting. The neighbors always seem to  see them before me and usually send me an SMS so I can go out and see them. They are magnificent and a little scary! It sounds like I see them every night but that is not the case, but just now and again, when they decide to parade themselves in the field in front of the cottage.

Only three more sleeps

Can't believe that it is only three more days until I migrate to Europe again. It seems I just got back. Well, maybe not quite. Reading back on my notes we have done a lot of things since my return to Oz in August last year, one of the most memorable being our kids' visit in March, together with other family members and friends.

Every year at this time they have something called Vivid Sydney and it seems to get more and more elaborate. I posted a couple of photos on Facebook and here are a couple more.

This weekend has been spent driving in Sydney for different reason. Our son is giving up his flat before going to Europe for a holiday and we can store his stuff in our garage but it does mean a few trips back and forth across Sydney.

Impossible to fit in a car here but on the other hand we
have never been able to keep our cars in the garage.

I also had to do some last minute shopping in markets that are only open on the week end. We went to Paddy's Market for Australiana stuff and food, and to Bondi market as well. I love the markets here in Sydney!

The spice selection in this stand is to die for!

Bondi Beach

Going for fish and chips on Bondi Beach

I ordered a little surprise for hubby. Chargrilled
Brussels sprouts with corn and balsamic vinegar.
He actually liked them! Normally he has a gag
reflex when you serve Brussels sprouts even with
the turkey and wouldn't touch them.

Fortunately it is a long weekend here due to the Queen's birthday, so tomorrow is off work for hubby  as well.

On Tuesday I have my last art class and then Wednesday I am off for that long flight back to Sweden.
This time I don't have a stop-over unfortunately, but on the way back I'll see to that I have one.

Leaving you with a wise saying from a Korean ginseng shop:

He does look healthy and happy, doesn't he?

So, stand by for the next instalment from Sweden!