Welcome to Tessa's blog

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Vintage store

This past Wednesday the annual book sale started. It's not such a big thing now as it used to be, but there are still bargains to be made. I collect books with chocolate recipes, and I found two different books very cheaply. I also collect books on Swedish emigration, but there are rarely any at these sales. There aren't many published on the subject anymore.

My new glasses that I got this January because my other ones had broken are now also in two pieces. It must be a manufacturing problem. I'm not particularly violent and try to be careful. The optician keeps replacing them without any additional charge, and I'm grateful for it. I must be a very expensive customer. I haven't picked out the new ones yet, but I will shortly.

Saturday I went to several nice stores. I found one vintage store mentioned on the internet, so I went there and found a small place with dresses and jewelry from the 1950s and 1960s. Original pieces. Very special dresses with enormous floral patterns and typical style of those times. I have to bring my mother there later, it was so interesting. The lady owning the store was very talkative and we discussed what flea markets are the best ones and things like that. After this, I took the bus from Lund to a small village to visit a second hand store. It's a large store where the items are very well organized. They also had a book sale and I found one more chocolate book there. Then I continued on another bus to Malmö and had lunch at a large mall. Did some browsing in the clothing stores there, but there was nothing new. The train from Malmö Central was actually on time. The statistics are terrible for the train service in this area. I don't know what explanations they have now, because there is no snow. Still pretty cold, though.

Speaking of snow and generally bad winter weather, I think one of the most fascinating tv-programs is Ice Road Truckers. It's daring truck drivers in northern Alaska, and I cannot believe that anyone would take such risks to earn money. Still, it's amazing to watch. The scenery is spectacular. I just wish they wouldn't broadcast it so late in the evening, I'm always very tired on Friday mornings.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Turquoise items

I have received an invitation to the Nelson Family Reunion in Minnesota in August. I would really like to go, but I don't know if I can. It looks like I will get very limited vacation time this summer. There will be some (unfortunate) staff changes in the stacks this year, and I will have to start teaching the third beginner within a month or so. So there will be three people at the same time, all at different stages of learning. It's going to require an incredible effort. Yet, I can't complain, because I actually got replacements (I never thought I would get three!).

One other job related issue is the fact that I have become a part of a national committee which will have its first meeting in Uppsala in March. We are going to make an inventory of the old material that is suitable for scanning and digitizing. We have quite a few old books that are much in demand and we have thought for a long time that these books should be made available online, so that people don't have to travel from the other end of Scandinavia (sometimes from even more remote areas) to read them. This upcoming week a scholar from Slovakia will visit the library to look at some special books. At least he thinks they are special.

It is rather cold here, and it's not encouraging me to make any trips. Still, I have been in Malmö today. I have been very curious to see the new furniture store that opened in November. It is a store with Austrian furniture, and I have to say it was different from Ikea. The selection of sofas was enormous. Just reading the labels was interesting, in many cases the German text hadn't been translated. The furniture design varied, some things I really wondered if they would get sold, the colors were hideous. I ended up buying some storage boxes made of straw. I had lunch there also, a very nice salmon meal. Then I continued on to a mall and spent a few hours there. I just got some small things, a turquoise colored handbag and a ring of the same color (not intentional, but these items were very nice and I have clothes that will fit).

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Book collection finally measured

It has been yet another week with lots of work. It's a pretty tough job to train two new staff members at the same time. One is a complete beginner and the other has been working quite a few hours at the circulation desk. I have great hopes for both of them, they seem interested and able to learn.

I got the last measurements from other departments, so now I know that we have 110 000 meters of material at the library. Excluding maps, microfilm rolls and posters. It was approximately what we thought we had.

The woman who went to East India was really a missionary, she was sent out by the Salvation Army. We haven't found any more details, but perhaps the relatives in Canada will know, and my colleague thinks he can locate them through old letters. Interesting case, I must say. There are also other cases right now, and they are taking much of my spare time.

Yesterday I went to a mall outside Malmö. The spring collections are beginning to arrive, and I got several nice tops in two different stores. Three necklaces on sale for the price of two was a very good deal that I made use of. I also went grocery shopping there and then took the train home again.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Shopping in Malmö

Already February. Time goes much too quickly. We are very busy at work. This year in April/May we will get some staff changes in the stacks, one will retire and another will be on a long leave. I wrote a document to my boss, explaining what will happen if we don't get replacements for these two. I didn't exaggerate. I just stated the facts. Four days later I was told that I would get a part-timer to start training the following Monday. I was also promised another part-timer who will start tomorrow. To say that I was astonished is a great understatement. There is absolutely no money for this. It takes a long time to train someone new and it's appropriate to start now and not after the two people have left. I'm happy to know that my boss (and her boss) listened to me.

Last weekend I was in Malmö. I dared to ride the train to one of the new stations under ground in the city. The train was of course delayed, but people don't seem to care anymore. I have commuted on train/bus every work/school day for more than 24 years and I can stand almost anything. It has even helped me in other areas. I have no problems with crowds, confined spaces or strangers. I hardly react when the elevator at work gets stuck in between floors. The shopping in Malmö went well, I visited one of the largest second hand stores I know of. Found a necklace there. I managed to visit three different malls in the city also and got a blouse on sale. I visited Gray's, the American food store. They have now also food and candy from England. Interesting place with a large memorabilia section, but I just got some peanut chocolate bars.

This weekend I spent Saturday at work. Not to actually work, but to try to catch up on some genealogy projects. One of my colleagues had asked for help, and we found some interesting details about his great grandfather's sister. She had emigrated from Sweden in 1911 and it said that she went to East India. Very unusual, I have never seen that before. I thought that maybe she was a missionary. We found her to be married and living in Canada by 1923, but the question about East India remains. We have to do some more digging here.