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Wednesday, September 21, 2011

A week in Borås

There hasn't been any activity here for a while. I have been busy! The day after I came home I had to go to work to use the computer, and my colleagues were quick to tell me that they missed me tremendously. There were a few piles of papers on my desk. I ignored them. On the 10th I went to Hässleholm to meet my mother, and then we had arranged a meeting with two relatives I don't remember ever having met. This is on my mother's mother's side. They seemed interested in family history and I handed over some documents containing info on that side. They also gave me a research task that I don't think I can solve. One of their ancestors (on another side) went to America unknown year, leaving his family behind. His name is common and I don't think I will crack this one. But I will of course try.

After a few days of preparations, we packed my mother's car full of her belongings and then we drove up to her apartment in Borås. We spent a few days unpacking and organizing everything there. My mother is a volunteer at a large thrift store two days a week (minimum), so I joined her during the opening hours for that. We measured fabric and lace, tried to help the women decide how many balls of yarn they would need for a cardigan for instance, and tried to find matching ribbons for whatever the fabric was. No one had done much in that section during the summer, so we were very busy filling up the boxes and shelves with new items also. It was fun to hear what people would do with the fabric they bought, and we told several of them to come back and show us the result. I can understand that my mother likes it there, it's definitely her area of expertise.

During my visit to Borås I also went to several second hand stores (my mother was keen on seeing the newly added items), cheered on a greyhound owned by my mother's friend at a dog race (he came in 4th), went shopping at a store for plus sizes (no, it wasn't necessary, but rather affordable) and spent some time with my sister and her somewhat sick family (two of them were not well at all). This visit I couldn't stay at my sister's house (I didn't want to get sick), so I had to endure my mother's loud snoring a whole week. I survived, as did she (I snore too)...

I arrived back home two days ago. I still have vacation, I start working on Monday. Yesterday I stopped by at work to do some research and to book some train tickets for a conference next week. I talked to my boss and she was not happy about my absence. She implied that everything crashes when I'm not there. I can't see that connection completely, I have to say.

Today I made use of one of the train tickets sent to me as consolation for all the delays this past winter. It's a day of free travel, so I have been in both Helsingborg and Malmö. I have checked out the new collections in the clothing stores, of course. It seems like the fall colors are mainly brown, orange and yellow. My colors, even though I didn't find anything worth buying. My couch is still overloaded with clothes, most of them I got in the US, but there are also two loads of laundry added now. I will have to start sorting pretty soon. It will be interesting to see if I can squeeze it into my closets.

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