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Monday, December 17, 2018

Christmas party

Last Wednesday I held one more lecture on biographical works but this time for a different crowd. The board members of the Skåne Historical Society were visiting. They were enthusiastic, to say the least. Even though this is their subject area they had never heard of most of the books I showed.

Friday at the morning fika I was asked by one of the cataloguers where I will spend Christmas. After talking for a while about Borås (where the library science college is) we realized that we attended the library education at the same time - in the same class! She has been my colleague here for two years and we didn't recognize one another. The library education was a long time ago now, more than 20 years. I can't believe how fast time flies.

Friday evening there was a fabulous Christmas party at work. It was arranged by the cataloguers. The theme was kid's party. We had to be creative and make a pasta picture and there was also a quiz. The alternative Lucia songs with unexpected lyrics performed by the cataloguers were incredible. A very tasty buffet was served but it was not in Christmas style. Chocolate cake for dessert. We also got our presents from work, it's a gift certificate so we get to chose the present from a website.

The weekend was not that hectic, at least not compared to previous ones. Saturday I went shopping and ran some errands but mostly for other people. I found a few more books for the library. Sunday there was biathlon to watch on TV (the Swedes did very well) and my kitchen needed sanitary arrangements.

I just sent out the annual Christmas letter by e-mail. If anyone feels neglected, let me know. Since I'm going to Borås for the holiday it might take a while before I can write here next time. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Tuesday, December 11, 2018

Lots of great food

Last week I gave one more lecture on biographical works. My engagement in the education team meant that I have started to write a manuscript for an online film. It will be an instructional film on how to manage the database and handle check outs of books, returns and renewals. The work is going slowly, this is new territory for me.

Wednesday afternoon I attended a lecture at the Archive center. The University archivist had published a book containing stories about some of the students and professors he had encountered in the archive material. He showed some of this material and talked about these odd characters. It was a very entertaining lecture.

Friday there was After Work at a restaurant. Two colleagues got new jobs elsewhere and were seen off. It was a noisy but fun event, also the hamburger was worth the money.

During the weekend I decorated the apartment in the spirit of the season. There is now an overloaded tree in the living room and Christmas ornaments everywhere. It sparkles and glimmers. Sunday my father and his girlfriend came to pick me up. We went to Ikea in Helsingborg. I had told them about the marvelous Christmas buffet and after tasting it they totally agreed. Great food. We also went through the store and got some small things.

Monday I took leave and went by train and ferry to Helsingör (Elsinore) in Denmark. It's a nice town with several charity shops and one outlet store with plus sizes. I got three tops, all on sale. For lunch I had a typically Danish dish; fish and chips with remoulade sauce. I couldn't resist buying some Danish cheese also, the kind that smells a lot. It was a very nice visit to Denmark, despite the high winds and rain.

Monday, December 3, 2018

Christmas music

There was a cold spell a week ago, when I had to scrape the ice off the windshield a few days in a row. It is now a lot warmer, about ten degrees and very wet. The month of December is dark here and many people decorate for the up-coming holiday early. My star is up in the window and I have spent some evenings making decorations with beads and wire.

Last week one of my collegues returned part-time from maternity leave. She needed training in the new database since she hadn't seen any of it. Thursday I held one of those lectures on biographical works I usually give when there are enough new employees who are interested. I handed out a long list of titles and brought some of the books to show.

The weekend was very busy. Saturday morning I brought some discarded things (both from me and my friend Eva) to a charity shop in Lund. Of course, I couldn't resist also to shop there. Only some small things.  At 1 PM I met my father at the History museum. This weekend was the re-opening after repairs and entrance was free. There was a new display with finds of gold and silver items from an old grave field close to where my father lives. We spent hours in the museum and actually covered all the displays; curiosities, flint material, animal skeletons, barbaricum, classical statues, cathedral interiors, coin collection and treasures. All of it very interesting. After a late lunch with my father we parted ways and I continued on to a church in southern Lund. There was a small concert with the choir and a piano player. The theme was songs of the season. One of my colleagues is in the choir. Nice event, but sadly rather few attendants. I heard later that they had forgotten to include the event in their online calendar.

Sunday was very rainy but I decided on yet another thrift store round in the countryside. This time to a large place I had bever been to before. Incredible amount of Christmas ornaments for sale there. Didn't get any of that, but instead bought four books for the library. In the evening there was a concert in the local church. I walked across town to attend. It was the Police force band and choir giving their annual Christmas concert. Very nice event. The church was filled to the last seat.

Sunday, November 25, 2018

One more funeral

Last weekend Ikea started offering their Christmas buffet. I couldn't resist it, I drove to Ikea in Helsingborg on the Sunday for this. Really great pickled herring selection. For dessert there was homemade ostkaka Småland style with strawberry jam and whipped cream. Amazing.

The week at work started with two days of some janitor work. The two regular janitors were off on a staff conference. I handled the boxes with transport books and the incoming mail. One other colleague helped also. During the week I processed a large number of donated books (some of them had been on a storage shelf for years). They are now visible in the catalogue. There is more to do with this, especially since I found an additional ten books for the library at thrift stores these past few days.

This week there have been many sales because of Black Friday. It's a concept we have copied from the US. I did go to a mall but only bought some small things, like a new bed sheet and a top. The visit to Eslöv yesterday resulted in some underwear at 20% off also.

Friday morning I drove to my ancestral origin, Norra Strö. I attended the funeral for my uncle's wife. She had been ill for some time. She was the third relative laid to rest at Strö church in only six months. The church was almost full. She knew many people since she was active in the local community. Some of the attendants I hadn't seen since the 1990s. After the funeral my father and I drove to his place for lunch and book talk.

Saturday, November 17, 2018

Archive Day

Last Saturday it was Archive Day. Many archives and libraries had open houses. This year my library participated in the exhibits at the Archive Center. The theme was "party and festivities". There were book sales, an entertaining film, short courses in genealogy, information booths and several lectures. Lots of people attended, the arrangement was a great success. I met a few colleagues there, both on duty and not. I came home with a few books also...

Sunday morning was spent at work. This was because I wanted to follow up on a clue I found in a database at Archive Day. There was a little progress, but I still can't find the origin of my soldier ancestor who is supposed to have come from Estonia (or possibly Russia). At noon I drove to my father's place to celebrate his birthday. It was a nice visit with great food; moose dinner and cake.

At work I got an introduction in cataloguing in the new and very complicated national system. My cataloguing colleagues are still very upset about the incredible work load they have now because the database system is so difficult. It takes such a long time to get one book processed that the activity level has decreased by 50-60%. This means that there are vast amounts of new books on shelves waiting to be catalogued and we have no idea if we have received a specific book or not the past six months. I needed to know how to add call number to the bibliographic item in the catalogue and this is thankfully not as complicated as regular cataloguing. It does take a long time, though. I have now added the books we got from the Economics library earlier and will continue with more backlogs.

At work the newly formed crisis team participated in a workshop, where we first soaked books in water and then tried to dry them again. It was training for something we hope will never happen in real life. We concluded that it is easier to wrap the book in plastic and freeze it, rather than spending time trying to get the water out by leafing in tissue paper.

Today I met a colleague and fellow book nerd in Lund. It was Amnesty's biannual second hand book sale. I didn't find anything for myself this time but I bought three books for the library. We also covered two thrift stores and enjoyed fika at a coffee place.

Thursday, November 8, 2018

New door

The month of November has so far been rather mild. It's not freezing here yet. I didn't notice that much of the Halloween weekend. No one asked for candy. It was cheap at the Coop grocery store so I contributed to the candy bowl at work (which is permanently placed on a table in the stacks). We need sugar to make it through the day sometimes. This week we got a large amount of books (5 moving boxes plus some extra parcels) from the Economics library. They had a weeding project and ended up with these books that they thought we wanted. Many of them we did want because our copy was missing but a large part of it we discarded (after checking our collections, of course).

The biggest event this week included a new apartment door this Wednesday. I had to stay at home that morning while the workers installed it. It's a heavy security door which is airtight. The installation took longer than expected because they made mistakes. They not only brought the wrong door, they also put the hinges on the wrong side of the frame. There are 40 apartments that will get new doors, all different colors and models. Things got a little mixed up. Finally, after five hours, they were done (right door, right hinges) and I could drive to work to attend a meeting in the afternoon. In the evening I had to vacuum the entire apartment. There was a lot of dust everywhere. I'm very happy about the new door, it shuts out the sound from the other apartments and the stairs.

Tuesday, October 30, 2018

Danish books

It's pretty stormy weather here occasionally. It's typical of the season. My car is small and I do notice the wind while driving. The massive road and bridge work is now over and I can drive the normal route to work. But the rerouting meant that I discovered a new grocery store and also a thrift store I had never seen before.

Thursday last week I went shopping in the evening. One of the malls had a VIP-night and most stores had 20% off the entire stock. Very generous offers. I bought one top and some craft items. Also groceries.

Last week at work I went to the storage three times. I had to search for books my colleagues couldn't find. One patron also asked for some specific Danish Bibles from the early 19th century. Since we have so many of those it was actually easier to go directly to the shelves, rather than the catalogue. The old handwritten catalogue can be very difficult to decipher and the order is not always that clear. The patron was very happy when I found the books he asked for.

At work I got involved in yet another project. This one is about online education. The first meeting was just a brief introduction. More will come later.

The weekend was rather quiet. I did some handwashing, cooking and tidying up. Cauliflower is cheap at this time of year and I have made several dishes with it. It definitely is my favorite vegetable.

Monday, October 22, 2018

Antique books

Last week at work I had desk duty the first three days. Thankfully, one colleague saved me and took the remaining two days. The most exciting thing happened Tuesday, when they called me from the information desk and asked me to help someone who needed proof of her ancestors' name. She wanted to change her last name to something her great grandmother had been named and needed to find the records. It was not difficult to locate the correct pages but she was really impressed.

Saturday I was at an antique book fair in Lund. Bought two books and then ran some errands. Sunday I did a road trip to some flea markets in the countryside. I found two nice egg cups for my collection. I'm very happy about my car. It's great to be able to just drive anywhere and not have to wait for a train. Right now there are problems also in the car traffic because one of the main highways is closed off for road and bridge work. It means that I have to drive a different route to and from work so I don't get caught in the now extreme through-traffic outside Lund. 

The weather has been pretty nice but it's getting colder and darker. I planted some heather in the flower box on the balcony, and also removed the furniture from there and put it in the attic.

Monday, October 15, 2018

Driving

Last week was yet another busy week at work. At this time of year many people are sick, so I get lots of desk duty. Friday afternoon one meeting was cancelled so I was able to bring the other new employee to the storage for orientation purposes. We also got some minor projects done. We had received an addition to a donation of books, so we shelved those. The new employee surprised me slightly by saying he really enjoyed it at the storage.

Last week I also had to get treatment by the chiropractor. My back is doing better now.

The weekend was a little out of the ordinary. I was acting driver for friends who needed to get some errands done. We also did a few excursions to the countryside and got groceries at a store I had never been to before. It was interesting to see new environments. The weekend also included defrosting of my freezer, some cooking and general tidying up around the apartment. The weather has been very nice and warm, around 20 degrees and sunny. Very unusual for being October.

Monday, October 8, 2018

Gravestone inventory

Monday last week we finally got two new employees. It was greatly needed, we were really struggling. It's one man and one woman and they seem to learn the job rather quickly. They have already cleared the backlog on one floor of the stacks. I have taught them the routines and also gave a lecture on our database system. One afternoon I brought the woman to the stacks so that we could do some minor tasks there and for orientation purposes. They will soon have to do the storage round.

For Friday fika I was asked to buy the bread. Since I drive to work now I had to get it at the local grocery store. It turned out to be a hit, the bread was absolutely fresh and I received a lot of praise for my effort. I have a feeling this means that it will be my task every Friday from now on...

Saturday was a long and very interesting day. I got up early, packed a lunchbox and drove to the northern part of Skåne. First I stopped at a clothing store in a small village that I had never been to before. There is no public transport to this place. I got a long tunic and a pair of pants. I then continued on to the church in my birth town Norra Strö. I planned on updating the inventory I took of the gravestones back in the 1990s. When I walked through the gates I saw a group of about eight people that I recognized. They were locals who had arranged a tour of the cemetery to talk about the people buried there. I joined in and could fill in a few details since I had the files with me. It was fun meeting them and talk about the old days. Later I walked several rounds in the cemetery, writing down the additional gravestone inscriptions and those of the new graves. I also took photos of some graves. Some more visitors came in and wondered what I was doing, so I explained. After talking for a while we understood that we must be related... My mother's second cousin Ingegerd and her husband had come to attend to the family graves. I have a faint memory of having visited Ingegerd's mother, probably in the early 1980s. Really strange coincidence to meet these people in the cemetery. These surprise meetings meant that I didn't get that much time for the inventory. Perhaps I will have to visit again to take more photos.

In the afternoon I drove on to another town nearby to attend a birthday party. One of our family friends turned 65. The celebration was very nice with lots of good food and a great cake. Also, I happened to be seated next to people who were interested in family history. It was indeed a great party and I was very tired when I came home that night. Sunday there was not much activity. Mainly I tried to decipher the notes I had taken of the gravestone inscriptions.

Sunday, September 30, 2018

Lots of desk duty

It was another busy week at the library. Three meetings, none of them was pleasant. There are problems in most departments right now, mainly because many people are sick or injured. One colleague had a bad accident involving a bicycle, where she landed face down on asphalt. She has now promised to wear a helmet in the future (we all asked her if she had or not). At work I had more desk duty than a normal week and also had to do the storage round one day (even though I'm technically exempt from that heavy job). In general, people have noticed that I'm back after vacation so I get involved in all sorts of discussions. Since I now drive to work every day, I have taken the opportunity to do some short excursions on my way home in the afternoons. It's mostly because I'm curious of outlet stores and charity shops I have never been to before. There were only some small purchases made. I have in fact given a lot more to charity than I have bought recently.

My mother and her boyfriend are now back in Borås for the winter. The summerhouse is closed down. It's rather dark and rainy here at this time of year. There are also some pretty bad storms.

Monday, September 24, 2018

Back to work

The first work week after my vacation was rather busy. There were quite a few tasks to attend to. Because of the straining situation I now have desk duty more often and also help my boss who had to take one desk duty even though he really doesn't have time. Last week we had the first meeting in the crisis team. We are about eight people who formed a team which will organize rescue operations for the books in case of water damage. We have experience from several different water leaks so we have made more formal preparations. There are now boxes with superabsorbents and plastic material to use if books get soaked. It may seem odd but the best way to save a wet book is to freeze it. So if there are large volumes we have to get them into freeze storage (which we don't have here). I hope this crisis team will never have to take action.

Friday I drove to the summerhouse in the afternoon. Saturday we went to visit our relatives in Vittsjö, which is in northern part of Skåne. We had a good time eating and talking, even though the weather was very bad with rainstorms and high winds. Sunday my mother wanted to go to the brand new shopping center in Kristianstad so I drove there. It was very nice, not excessively large with a good selection of stores. I got a pair of boots at reduced price because there were opening-weekend offers. We also got some groceries. In the afternoon I stopped by at my father's place on the way home. I was treated to moose steak with chanterelle sauce. Apple pie for dessert. I'm saying my father's girlfriend can really cook.

Sunday, September 16, 2018

Road trip

Wednesday I went to Copenhagen by train for some shopping. I was lucky to find three pieces of garment that were all on sale. I was especially surprised to find a pair of jeans set at 150 DKK that were originally at 500 DKK. There was only one pair left and it was my size. Amazing.

Thursday I drove north to the province of Halland. I visited some parishes my ancestors had lived in; Harplinge, Steninge and Eftra. I drove around in the area and stopped at the cemeteries, churches and a local museum. I talked to the staff and also visitors at the Harplinge church but they told me there were no gravestones left and they couldn't locate the house I was looking for. I anticipated this, since it's such a long time ago (1870s). Even so, it was a very interesting excursion. I went to the beach north of Steninge where I knew ancestors had lived in a small cottage. Standing there on a cliff by the sea looking out over the barren and windy area, I wondered how it was at all possible for them to have made a living there. It says in the history books that people didn't do much fishing here because of shallow waters. There were factories which produced glassware and bricks providing some jobs and I know my great great grandmother started working at the brickworks aged eight. It is difficult for us to imagine such a life.

Friday I was at the archive center to do some various research. Saturday my library participated in Lund Culture Night. The two current exhibits were open and we had arranged three lectures on the subject of lithography (it's 200 years since the printing method was introduced in Sweden). Three people and a very old (but still functional) lithographic press were engaged from a museum in Stockholm. I attended most of it and have to say it was a smash hit! There was a constant line of people coming in and the museum staff were incredibly busy showing the equipment and how it worked. The lectures were also well attended.

And tomorrow I have to start working again... Sigh...

Tuesday, September 11, 2018

Funeral

Tuesday last week I drove to the summerhouse. It takes just over one hour. If I had started at my apartment and chosen to go by train and bus it would have taken more than three hours. Having the car will save me time and trouble. Late Tuesday evening my sister also arrived. The next day we (including our mother, of course) attended aunt Elna's funeral. It was a regular workday but all the nearest relatives attended. It was a sad occasion but we knew Elna had had a good life. She was an important part of our family. At the meal afterwards we had her favorite cake, a green princess cake (made with almond paste and lots of whipped cream). It was nice to meet the relatives, it's not often we see them.

I remained at the summerhouse for a few days and helped out with garden work. There were dead trees to cut down, among other things. We also went to a harvest fair, did some minor shopping in town and brought most of Elna's belongings to a charity shop. I was given one of her scarves and a small decorative box as something to remember her by.

Sunday was the election day and it seems to be a complicated affair where no one really won. It remains to be seen if they can sort that out and actually form a government. Monday I drove home to my apartment. I took a long detour by choice. My cousin has a clothing store with my size range. There were some purchases made; a tunic and a pair of pants. I didn't notice until afterwards that she had given me a discount. I continued on westward and had a great lunch at a golf club and then made it to two different shopping centers on the west side of Skåne. The one in Hyllinge was almost empty but had some outlet stores and cheap grocery stores. At the biggest one, Väla, I got a skirt, a blouse and some small things. I got back home at 7 in the evening, pretty tired.

Sunday, September 2, 2018

Third week of vacation

Monday I voted for the parliamentary election. The actual voting day is Sep 9 but I chose to vote earlier. That same afternoon I attended a crisis meeting at work. Bad things have happened and they are struggling to make the daily chores. One colleague had an accident and is off for three months and several others have partial or full sick-leave for other reasons. I can't help them, my vacation is fully booked. We did however discuss changes when I return to work in mid-Spetember.

Wednesday-Friday I was in London. Mainly to go shopping. The hotel was surprisingly good; close to a subway station and breakfast was included and also edible. This is not common, in my experience. I usually visit the Hard Rock Cafe while in a big city and this time was no exception. I was seated next to the kitchen and it was entertaining to see the staff work. I recommend the hot fudge brownie for dessert. There was a new feature with some added memorabilia (mostly guitars but also a stage outfit Madonna had donated) in a vault, which I looked at. The shopping took me in all directions, some places like Hammersmith I had never been to before. I visited a large number of charity shops and clothing stores. In total I came home with seven pieces of garment, underwear and a handbag.

Yesterday I drove to the nearest mall to give weeded items to charity. With the way I have been shopping recently I had to get rid of some of my old clothes. I have to say I'm very happy about my car. It is very practical. I will not have to wait for a train or a bus and will be able to get to places out in the countryside. I can tell already now it's going to make me even more lazy...

And during the visit in Borås earlier my mother gave me a hair cut. Sadly, all the beautiful curls are now gone. My hair is straight and short again.

Sunday, August 26, 2018

Two weeks of vacation

These past two weeks have been rather hectic. The same day my vacation started I visited the Malmö festival in the evening. I went mainly for the food, which is a little different with international influences. That day the weather also changed. In my opinion for the better. It's about ten degrees cooler now and it rains occasionally.

Saturday two weeks ago I went to the summerhouse and the next day I joined my mother and her boyfriend on a trip to Gotland. First we drove through Småland and made a stop at a very weird museum with several different displays; alarm clocks, figurines with accordions and tramps and the folklore related to them. The main reason for visiting was the handcraft items these tramps had produced from wire and metal. There were things like coasters, whisks and candleholders. My mother has done some of this type of handcraft and wanted ideas and inspiration. In the evening we made it to Oskarshamn, where we drove onboard a large ferry. After three hours we arrived at Visby. It was after midnight when we came to the B & B (where my sister and her family were already installed).

The week on Gotland contained a lot of sightseeing, we drove out every day. The island is known for rock formations ("raukar", sea stacks), sheep and an agricultural landscape. We visited a light house, nature preserves, geology & history museums, a cave with stalactites, a herb garden, several old ruins, the Visby botanical garden, a sock knitting factory and quite a few outlet stores and shops both in Visby and the countryside. My niece and I started every day by jumping into the swimming pool. It was truly marvellous.We also went to the beach, which was near the B & B. We all had one day of the week where we would be in charge of dinner. On my day I opted for as little cooking as possible and offered hamburgers and corn on the cob. It was well received. Our visit was at the end of the tourist season and my mother made some bargains when she got large flower pots at 50% off and souvenirs at 20% off. I found out that the souvenirs were cheapest in the grocery store! In all, we enjoyed our visit to Gotland very much.

After getting back to Oskarshamn on the ferry we drove west to Borås. The week there was also nice with a visit to the outdoor pool with my niece, shopping at second hand stores and a road trip to another town. During my visit I gave myself a present - a car. Yes, after 32 years as a train commuter I have given up and bought a car. It's a grey Hyundai, last year's model. Yesterday my mother and her boyfriend drove back to the summerhouse and I drove home. On the way I made a strategic stop at Ullared, which is a large shopping place pretty much out in nowhere. I limited my purchases to four pieces of garment and some small kitchen/decorative items.

Friday, August 10, 2018

Time for vacation

This Monday my mother called to say her sister was very ill and in intensive care at the Kristianstad hospital. I went there directly from work that afternoon. We got to see her one last time, although she was not really conscious. She passed away that night. Her health had been failing in recent years so it was not a shock but still sad.

The week at work was the same as the previous ones; hot. Wednesday there was an all-time record in Lund of 34.4 degrees. It has been a terrible summer. Despite this we have accomplished a lot of things. Much more than I thought we would. Mostly thanks to the extra workers. Today was the last day here for them and we had fika to thank them. This is also the last day before I get vacation. I'm very happy about this. It may take a while before I can write on the blog next time.

Monday, August 6, 2018

Excursion to Ivö

One more terribly hot week passed by. I spent the mornings at the storage and the afternoons in the basement level. I was asked to help out at another department so I have registered a lot of books in our catalog recently. There is a backlog because they couldn't get the book entry transfers working from the new national catalog to ours until last week.

Our two extra workers have been very efficient. So efficient that we have problems finding tasks for them. They have shelved, retrieved, sorted, moved, boxed and rearranged books. They also vacuumed part of our storage. We were told to take it easy with the vacuuming because the engine was getting overheated. Apparently it draws air from outside (where there is about 35 degrees) so it doesn't get cooled properly.

It was another great weekend at the summerhouse. My sister and her family were there also. Saturday we did an excursion to the island Ivö in the the northeastern part of Skåne. The only way to get there is by car ferry across the lake. We brought lunch which we ate in a natural preserve. Ivö is a place of geological interest, with an old kaolinite quarry and fossils in the sandy soil. We hiked along a trail in the forest, near the beaches. We also looked at the church, a well (without water) and ruins of the castle Ivöhus (where an archbishop had lived in the 13th century).

The ocean water was warm so we jumped in a few times. My niece is like a water animal. She spends more time under the surface than above it. Crazy kid.

Monday, July 30, 2018

Simrishamn market

We have 30 degrees indoors at work (outside it's 33). Last week I was supposed to have two desk duties but managed to persuade someone else to do that so I could go to the storage instead. I found out today that the air conditioning at the storage can't cope with this climate so it's up to 22 degrees there now (should be 18). Still, it's much better than at the main library. I have been sitting at someone else's desk for the time I need to use a computer. One of my colleagues works part time so I can use his desk in the afternoons. It's located in the basement so it's better than on the 5th floor.

In my apartment it's an acceptable climate because I can open the kitchen window and the balcony door to get air to ventilate. My bedroom is too hot so I sleep on the couch instead.

This past weekend did not turn out the way I had planned. I was really supposed to go to Landskrona carnival but that did not happen. Friday evening my mother called me and said they were going to the market in Simrishamn Saturday. She asked me to join them so I did. Simrishamn is a seaside town in the southeastern part of Skåne. It's a long train ride, more than two hours. We had a good time at the market; I bought a dress, a scarf and a tunic. For lunch we had an upscale pizza at a nice restaurant where we sat outdoors under the trees in the back yard. When we were done it was 50 minutes until my next train so instead I went with my mother and her boyfriend to the summerhouse. It meant that I missed taking my medicine one day but I don't think that will be a problem. That evening I went swimming in the ocean. It was great, it must have been 25 degrees and fun waves. Sunday morning I did the same but the water was colder and no waves. It was still very enjoyable though. After one fleamarket and relaxing time on the deck I returned home Sunday evening.

Monday, July 23, 2018

July heat record

Last week it was the same procedure as the previous one - I spent as much time at the storage as possible. Some afternoons I have travelled to a few indoor malls to check out the summer sales but there have been very few purchases made. Wednesday it did actually rain a little. It had no particular effect on anything. This July will be the hottest in 260 years. The farmers are experiencing great difficulties. They don't have enough food for their animals and the crops will be very limited.

There are many forest fires in Sweden right now. Some of them are out of control. There are hundreds of firefighters on their way from France, Germany, Poland, Denmark and other countries to help us. They bring helicopters and other material also. We are grateful for this. The fires have historic proportions.

Saturday I went to Eslöv, which is a small town north of Lund. There really isn't much to do there. I went to a second hand bookstore I had heard about but never visited before. It was very well organized. I bought a book on emigration. After visiting a charity shop I went for lunch at the local pizza place. This was basically what I had energy for.

Monday, July 16, 2018

Summer sales

Last week it was yet again incredibly hot weather here. It's very dry everywhere. There are several forest fires raging in northern Sweden right now.

At work I spent as much time as possible at the storage, where there is a constant temperature of 18 degrees. I brought the two extra workers to shelve most days. This week we are only two people in the stacks, plus those two extra. It's manageable, even though we have more requests than I expected at this time of year (and with this weather).

This past weekend was the first one I didn't go to the summerhouse in quite some time. Instead I travelled to Ystad, a very nice seaside town on the south coast of Skåne. There was an international food market, a flea market and most stores had started the summer sales. The icecream stand at the square had the same kind of brand as in Åhus. I chose pecan and chocolate flavors this time. Very tasty.

Some afternoons I have travelled to different malls in the region, and also to Helsingborg. I have been looking for more short pants and found one black pair on sale. Also a jeans skirt in a second hand store.

Sunday I had to clean up in my apartment. It looked absolutely terrible. I cleaned the bathroom and kitchen, went to the recycling place with paper/plastic, went grocery shopping and did some handwashing. I also watched the nations cup show jumping event and the soccer world championship final on TV.

Monday, July 9, 2018

Market

Last week was another hot one. I spent some time shelving at the storage (where there is a constant temperature of 18 degrees) to avoid the worst climate. One of the temporary workers also helped with shelving.

The hot weather has meant that my tomato plant is growing quite fast. I have actually remembered to water it. There has already been about ten yellow tomatoes to eat. They were very nice.

Wednesday afternoon I went by bus to Hörby, where there was the annual market fair. It started already in the 18th century and is one of the oldest traditional markets here. I got some small things; a plastic bucket, napkins and some licorice.

Rather surprisingly, the Swedish soccer team made it to the quarter final but was there beaten by England. It doesn't happen often that the Swedish team makes it that far so they did well.

This weekend was yet again spent at the summerhouse. This time I had invited a colleague and she had a car so she drove us. She also brought her dog. We covered a couple of fleamarkets on the Saturday. I got a bedside table for the summerhouse. Sunday my mother took care of the dog so we could go to Åhus to be tourists. We looked at the very small museum and then had a very large icecream. It was very much worth the money. Near the marina I spotted a clothing store and was lucky to find a pair of short pants and a top on sale. Even though the ocean water was rather cold (15-17 degrees) we jumped in twice. It was a great weekend.

Monday, July 2, 2018

Picnic

The most memorable thing last week at work was the picnic we were treated to Thursday afternoon. It marked the end of the semester. The food was good (salmon and cheese quiche) and the company entertaining.

I spent yet another weekend at the summerhouse. Saturday we went to a car boot sale to get rid of some unwanted things we are not using anymore. The sales went relatively well. Sometimes my mother buys more things than she sells, but this time she only got one top cheaply so it ended on plus. The weather was hot and sunny so I got burned on my arms. The ocean water is however not so warm, only around 15-17 degrees. Sunday I dared to jump in once more but it was a short dip.

The Swedish soccer team is doing well in the world championship, they won one more match. The next one is tomorrow afternoon and I know already now there will hardly be any visitors or staff members present at the library then. Generally, there are actually more people here than I thought at this time of year. Probably because our database has been off line. During the summer I get a lot more desk duties, often two or three per week. I also have to guide the two temporary workers who are here to do some moving and shelving projects in the stacks and storage. It will be a busy summer.

Tuesday, June 26, 2018

Midsummer holiday

Last week at work was incredibly busy. Since the new database system LUBcat started Tuesday we got lots to do. We had a huge backlog. The system seems to be functioning relatively well. Unfortunately it didn't tell us if a book we returned in the system was requested or not. We discovered this rather quickly but the next day we still had to return a few hundred books one more time. All the returns were finally done by this Monday. That's also when we had the official launch party, with a speech and cutting of a ribbon. Also some snacks and drinks.

I think my presence at the information desk has never been in such demand ever before as this past week. My phone kept ringing constantly. Since I was on the education team for this database people thought I knew everything about it. This was perhaps not entirely true... Many things are new; the way you log in, how to register a new patron and how to register a new book. So pretty much everything. The biggest challenges of course show up when you work at the desk. I often found myself standing behind the librarians on duty like a prompter, giving advice and explaining things.

Thursday afternoon I was very tired when I travelled to the summerhouse. My sister and her family were already there. Friday it was Midsummer Eve. There was some dancing around the maypole but not by us. We helped decorate the maypole, however. This holiday is also about food. The herring tasted very well. We could sit outside and eat but had to go inside shortly afterwards when the rain came. Saturday my father and his girlfriend came to visit to play with the kids. We engaged in a lawn game called kubb, where you throw sticks at blocks to knock them over. It's actually quite fun. Since the winds have changed the ocean water was cold. The only one who jumped into the 11 degree water was my niece.

This summer it's the soccer world championship and because of this my mother's boyfriend got a new big TV for the summerhouse. Sweden qualified this time and so far they have won one match and lost one.

Tuesday, June 19, 2018

New database system

Last week we had a wake for our departed database called Lovisa. We had a small gathering at a pub, where the old ones (me and a few others) told tales of Lovisa's introduction almost 20 years ago.

One of the more memorable library visitors recently was the American man who asked for information about his grandfather. The grandfather was an American who had been involved in some committees relating to the Lutheran Church and had visited Sweden in the 1940s. I was able to find the minutes from the meetings he had taken part in and also two newspaper articles where his name and photo were included. We even found five letters he had written to Swedish religious leaders. The grandson was ecstatic about the finds and thanked me excessively.

Last week I held one more education session for some colleagues that still hadn't seen the new system. It was a very positive atmosphere and we all thought it will be better and easier to use for the staff.

Our new database system, called LUBcat, started today. I was invited to an improvised launch party in the technicians' office. There are of course problems already. For some reason we can't print anything from the website... At least not the things we want. Luckily, we didn't have that many patrons today. We have, however, about ten carts with books that need to be returned in this database but we can't do that right now because of the printing issues.

Over the weekend I visited the summerhouse again. The temperature is lower, around 20 degrees and the wind has changed so the ocean water is colder. Still, I jumped in once. We went to two fleamarket stores and surprisingly my mother actually donated much more than she bought this time. I got a book for my library. We are supposed to have all Swedish books but some we have never received because they are published abroad. This particular one had text in Swedish but was printed in Germany. Monday morning I travelled directly from the summerhouse to work. Once again the railway company had a bad day. The train crew apologized several times. The delay was about an hour in total.

Monday, June 11, 2018

Weekend at the summerhouse

Saturday a week ago I went to Lund with a colleague to see a minor re-enactment of the Battle at Lund 1676. It was in a park by the Cathedral. The battle included people in armour, old weapons, horses and cannons. It was loud and dusty but rather fascinating. Any other horse would have freaked out but those ones must have been trained to stand such sounds. One of the participants had a cell phone that he used to take photos of the crowd and that looked really out of place.

Monday last week the climate indoors was terrible and so hot that I had to go home after lunch. My brain was not working, it was no use staying. Wednesday it was our National Day. It means that the stores are open in Denmark. This time I took the train north to Helsingborg and then (a very crowded) ferry over to Helsingör (Elsinore). It's a pretty little town with very old houses. I found four second hand stores and one outlet store with plus sizes. I bought a summerdress in the latter. I bumped into a colleague in one store. There were thousands of Swedes in Helsingör that day. I had lunch at a typically Danish family restaurant. Dessert was an incredible chocolate cheesecake. It was a very nice visit to Denmark.

Thursday at noon was a milestone in the history of the library. Our local database system was shut down. We have had the same for about 20 years and it was time to get something else. It will take time before all the data has been migrated into the new system. Most likely we will have a new database next week. Right now we can't do much. We can't register new books or lend books to anyone. In the stacks we are busy shelving, however.

The hot weather means water shortage and most places now have a ban against watering outdoor areas such as gardens and lawns. Last week we had no hot water in my town (still unclear why) and Friday hardly any water came through the shower. That evening I travelled to the summerhouse and spent the weekend there with my mother and her boyfriend. Saturday was the first time this year I jumped into the ocean. It was great! Pretty high waves and acceptable temperature. Of course I got burned by the sun but it was still worth it. We also covered two fleamarkets but spent most of the time relaxing. Very nice.

Friday, June 1, 2018

Hot weather

I haven't had time to write here in a while. This time of year is very tough at the library with lots to do. It's the end of the semester and the students need books for their reports and then they also return large numbers of books to us. This year it has been worse than usual, I think. There are many other things going on also. Both our local catalogue and the national catalogue Libris will be down for upgrading in June. Many of us have been rushing to get things done before the closing. The catalogues will be drastically different when they go live again, so many fear that everything will take longer time then. We are still testing our local database to see if it will cope with such a workload as we expect with full capacity. It's still uncertain. The education sessions have ended. Now I'm involved in the project group that will produce guides and manuals for the staff.

This summer two students will work in the stacks and in preparing for that we needed five bookcases installed. The janitor is so busy we had to get a moving company to do it. There has also been an afternoon with lectures for the staff. The topics were equality and diversity. It was a lot more interesting than I thought it would be.

The weather is extreme in every way. The month of May has never been this warm since they started keeping records in the 19th century. The ventilation system at work is not functioning well. It's 28-30 degrees inside my office and the stacks. It's very difficult to do manual labor under these circumstances. The heat is affecting my brain and I have made several mistakes these past two weeks.

Monday, May 21, 2018

Carnival

Thursday evening I attended a concert in Lund. The Academic choir had invited the Missouri University choir. They sang some pieces together. It was a marvellous experience with a very powerful sound and varied program. Two colleagues are in the Academic choir and they said afterwards that they too were very impressed by their guests' performance.

The weather is nice but it means that it is now about 28 degrees in our offices. It didn't take long before we started complaining. It's the same thing every year.

This past week I invested in a sun deck chair to have on my balcony. It's not a large balcony so I had to remove the other furniture. In order to get it home I borrowed the storage round car Friday. The library was closed over the weekend so the janitor told me he didn't need the car back until Monday morning. I made very good use of this offer. Saturday I drove to the Archive center to do research in the morning. At 1 PM I continued in to town and parked in the regular spot at the library. Then I walked 200 meters and joined many thousands of other people to watch the carnival parade. Once every four years there is a large carnival in Lund. It certainly is a spectacle. The floats were on trucks and displayed variants of current events. There were references to local politics, the traffic situation, the new university in Malmö, the Me Too-movement and much else. The participants had dressed up (or down) in crazy outfits in all sorts of colors. In between the floats there were also marching bands and dancing groups. The event is estimated to attract about 400 000 visitors to Lund over the weekend.

Sunday I did a nice road trip in the area north of where I live. I visited a small village where there are several second hand stores. I hadn't been there in years and there are even more shops now. I only bought a few egg cups for my collection. After driving further east I had lunch in a town and then went for groceries. It was great weather so when I came home I tried out the new sun deck chair. It was approved of.

Sunday, May 13, 2018

Chores

The week at work was interrupted by a holiday on the Thursday, Ascension Day. The first three days of the week we had to cram in three education sessions; one for my closest colleagues and two for general staff members. We have done this a few times now and we are more confident than in the beginning. I even forgot my manuscript on one occasion but I don't think anyone noticed. Friday there were not many people working, as it wasn't a proper working day. The library was however open and it means that a few of us have to be ordered to work. This is usually not a problem, there were five people who agreed to be "ordered" this time. The extra overtime hours you get are a good deal. I had to be there a little longer than the others because I had desk duty until 4 pm. There was quite a lot to do, especially since one patron had asked for several different journals and they turned out to be both large and heavy.

The traffic service here had once again a very bad day Tuesday. I didn't know about the total breakdown until I got to the train station. I turned around, walked back to work and borrowed the storage round car. I had to get to a meeting with the condo association and just barely made it. Of course there had been accidents on the road so getting home took almost one hour. Normally it's a 15 minute drive.

The top I missed out on the previous week I was able to find in a store in Lund instead. It was very nice with purple flowers on a black background. I haven't done that much over the weekend, really. The weather is lovely with sun and not too hot temperatures, 20-22 degrees. I have done some chores like getting plastic and glass to the recycling place, grocery shopping, replanting a dying houseplant, clearing out outdated food, reorganizing part of my book collection and handwashing a few blouses. I have also enjoyed sitting on my balcony.

Sunday, May 6, 2018

Trip to Copenhagen

May 1st is a holiday here and I went on an excursion to Copenhagen that day. The weather was rather bad so I spent the day in two different indoor shopping malls. I had a great lunch at a buffet restaurant. Especially the dessert was noteworthy: chocolate pudding and waffles with maple syrup. The shopping was limited; a floral blouse, a peach colored t-shirt and some socks. Still, it was a nice trip.

Thursday I gave a lecture on the new database system to the colleagues in my department. There will be a few changes that will effect our work. Most of the changes will be for the better, believe it or not.

Saturday there was a market fair in the town where I live. I went there for an unusual reason. I collected printed material from all the political parties represented. This year is an election year and the ephemera department at my library has the ambition to collect this type of material. It is not always sent in to us.

Today I made a short visit to a mall in Malmö because I wanted to buy a certain top in a store. I missed out, unfortunately. They didn't have my size. Instead I went grocery shopping.

Monday, April 30, 2018

Long weekend

For the education sessions last week the test database had been upgraded and it did actually cope with the work load. The first session on Wednesday went well even though the "students" didn't bother about doing the tasks suggested to them. Thursday morning I sighed loudly when there was an e-mail from my colleague saying he was sick. It meant that I had to do all of it that day. I hadn't prepared his part and it didn't go that well. At one point I completely blanked out but I hope no one noticed. On the Thursday the students were much more into doing the tasks themselves and that was a relief.

Friday there was a new exhibit opened at the library. It was commemorating the start of the lithographic printing method in Sweden 200 years ago. The staff in the stacks had helped out by retrieving a large number of works for this exhibit. It was interesting to see the displays.

Friday I also managed to get through the last reference book on Geography, so now that entire section is done. I moved about half of the collection to the stacks. I think the next subject will be Natural science.

This weekend turns out to be a long weekend because the library is closed both today and tomorrow. Today is Walpurgis Night and tomorrow is Labor Day. I have taken it rather slow so far, I only went to the nearest mall to get some new flowers for the balcony. I even dared to get a tomato plant.

The weather is typical for the season with high winds and rainstorms. The blue flowers in the park in front of the library have already blossomed.  The spring came late this year but now everything is growing fast.

Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Education sessions

Last week we held the first education session regarding the new database system that will be implemented in June. It was a terrible experience. Pretty much everything went wrong. It turned out that the test database couldn't cope with that many people logged on at once. It crashed. We desperately tried to make the best of the situation and gave a completely unprepared presentation instead. I had the biggest and most complicated part. This experience was so bad we had to have a debriefing afterwards. The next day we had a session again and it went better because now we knew we had to give a presentation. I talked for over an hour and there were many questions (some of which we couldn't answer...). I have never really done something like this but my colleagues said I did well. For the next sessions starting tomorrow the technicians have made improvements to the test database. Hopefully, it will cope with the work load.

Saturday I went to the archive center to use some of their databases I don't have access to myself. One of my colleagues also joined me there. I visited mainly because my relative in Denmark called me and gave more details about a lost emigrant. I had gathered also other research questions and solved a few of them. I discovered some new information about emigrants on my father's side. While my grandfather was alive, I asked him if there were any living descendants of his aunt or first cousin who had emigrated to the US. He said that there were not. This is actually not correct. On the handwritten family tree put together probably by my grandmother more than 30 years ago there was a woman named Lynne born 1951 listed as a descendant. I have wondered about this and now I was able to find out more. Her mother died already in the 1950s and I think this might be why there was no more information, since the relationship was through her.

Saturday, April 14, 2018

Danish relative

My birthday last week was not really celebrated. The only amusement was a chocolate cupcake I bought myself. That same day I went with a colleague to the storage to do some minor projects and to shelve. We got some things done but both of us injured our right hands in this process. She got more problems than I, my hand is better now but she still has hers bandaged. I also have back problems. It's the same as usual and I have made an appointment for Monday at the chiropractor's place.

Wednesday was the funeral for my mother's eldest brother in the home parish church. I did not attend it. I hadn't met him in many years.

Thursday evening I got a very surprising phone call - from Denmark. I have never met the woman who called but it didn't take many seconds before I understood who she was. She was not so interested in family history 20 years ago when I visited her brother and sister in Copenhagen but now she had started on it. We are related, however it's distant. We have common relatives in Australia and that's what she was mostly asking about. It was possible to understand her, even though she spoke Danish. She had actually found a clue for a lost emigrant in that family. Her call got me started on this research again and I spent time at work today to search for more information.

At work we got one more employee who started last week in the stacks. It was not necessary to teach her anything because she is the one who replaced me during my illness last year. She was already familiar with the job. We are very happy to have her back. We were really struggling to cope with our tasks. Many people have also been ill (all sorts of flus and colds) and some days we had to ask our boss and other staff members for help. The piles with returned books were gigantic and we lagged behind with everything. This past week we also got two students to help out by shelving both in the stacks and the open collection. The situation is better now, thankfully.

Yesterday I gave a short speech at a review regarding our new database system, which will be implemented in June. We have open meetings for all librarians once every two weeks so that they can come and ask questions and get news on the progress. It is a very big project. I discovered a bug in the new system (this was not really what the technicians hoped for but rather now than afterwards). They took it seriously and discussed it at length, before deciding to fix it during the migration in June. My speech was about this bug and how and why we need to fix it.

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Easter

Last week at work was hectic with five meetings in three days plus lunch with a colleague from the History Museum. It turned out to be a longer week than I had planned on because a colleague was sick. I had to take her desk duty on the Thursday also. That evening I went to the summerhouse for the Easter weekend. My mother and her boyfriend were already there and my sister with family arrived the next day. Even though the weather was wild and crazy with lots of snow and high winds we did some excursions. Over Easter there are art exhibits everywhere in Skåne. Artists keep open houses and show their paintings, sculptures, photos and other things. We made it to Simrishamn one day to look at some pieces of art. It was bitterly cold so the visit didn't last that long but it was still nice. Easter is also about food and naturally there were some eggs consumed. On the Sunday we were invited to my father's place for a big meal. Herring, salmon, turkey, cheeses and Janson's Temptation for instance were served. Very tasty.

The large amount of snow meant some outdoor activities. My niece and I spent quite some time in the back yard (where there was 30 cm of snow) making a snowman and throwing snow balls. Great fun!

I had taken two days off this week so I left today to go home again. Of course the weather has now changed and it's spring weather instead. Sunny and much warmer. Before I left Kristianstad I spent several hours at the city library to do some research in their local collection. I found some more clues for my history projects in books we don't have at my library.

Monday last week I had a doctor's appointment. It was the one year check-up after my illness was discovered. It was a rather unusual visit. It lasted one hour and 20 minutes. (Normally they want you out of there in less than 15 minutes). The doctor was very talkative and when she heard that I had found a supplement in the health food store that is helping to ease the side effects of both the chemo and the medicine I'm on now, she wanted to know more. She was very meticulous and asked me lots of questions. We concluded that my situation was nearly acceptable but I was offered one more medicine (which I said yes to) and she wanted the surgeon to take a look at my scar. Only three days later I was sent a note from the surgeon, with a date for that check-up. There are many bad things you hear about the Swedish health care system but personally I can't complain. They have always taken me 100% seriously and have made sure I'm ok. There are always issues like waiting times and one or two people not really having the right job but in all I'm impressed by the fact that the health system actually functions.


Sunday, March 25, 2018

Book sale

This Wednesday evening I went with two colleagues to listen to a lecture on DNA genealogy. I might have mentioned before that it's the latest in the world of genealogical research. The lecturer was the author of a book on the subject and he knew basically everything. It was a very interesting lecture and he mixed anecdotes and facts in a good way.

The most crazy day at work was suprisingly enough Friday. The madness started at 8 AM when it was clear that three people were off sick. I had desk duty and couldn't help much and in addition to this we hosted a study visit from a Croatian librarian. I basically gave her a pile of requests, pointed in the right direction and told her to find the books. There was no time for a lengthy introduction. Luckily, those call numbers are numbers, so it's relatively easy to give that job to a non-Swede.

Saturday there was a secondhand book sale arranged by Amnesty in Lund. I went with a colleague and also met one other colleague there. All three of us admit to being nerds in the field. We all look for books for ourselves but we also try to find books missing at our libraries. My purchase was the smallest, only four items (mainly relating to emigrants). We ended the visit in Lund by going out for a salad lunch.

Monday, March 19, 2018

Furniture

I continued to be a patron for a few hours last week and had another go at the hard-to read letters. Thanks to two other colleagues we cracked some of it. I especially wanted a letter mentioning an old  manuscript deciphered and we managed that.

The week at work was as busy as ever. I had desk duty two days. The usual meetings are unavoidable, of course.

This Saturday my father and his girlfriend came to visit with the motor home. This was because I wanted to buy some pieces of furniture. I got a head board for my bed at one place and then we drove towards Malmö. There was a long wait on the freeway because there had been an accident but we made it to Ikea after a while. It was very crowded. We started out by having a very nice lunch. Then we opted for the somewhat shorter round and picked up a few things. I got a bedding set, a large bouquet of tulips and a rectangular footstool in blue color. At my apartment my father helped me with some minor repairs also.

It's still pretty cold here, it was 6 below zero this morning. The wind has calmed down a bit and the sun is shining so it's not that bad.

Monday, March 12, 2018

Praised bookservice

The article I wrote for the local historical society publication gave no response whatsoever but I guess not everyone is as interested in old archive material as I am. I wrote about a newly scanned archive series available online at the Riksarkivet website. I found my great grandfather's farm listed there, it stated how many cows he owned in 1917 and what kind of crops he grew in the fields, among other things.

At work I spend a lot of time weeding the reference collection. The current subject is Geography.

We have received much praise for our bookservice. One patron was just ecstatic about the fact that we were able to locate a unique book for her at the storage. She travelled from Blekinge province for this book and she sent a long thank you-note afterwards. She even sent this note to the newspaper, asking to have it published somehow. It feels rather odd to get such a response for doing one's ordinary job.

Last week I took one afternoon off and became a patron instead. I asked to have a volume from a manuscript archive retrieved. It contained over 300 letters written in the early 19th century by the owner of the Strö manor house to his nephew. There was a valuable book collection placed at Strö manor house 1785-1845 and I want to research this. It turns out that both these people had a handwriting that is extremely challenging to read. The manuscript librarian told me the nephew (who was of noble family) was famous for his illegible handwriting. I have 30 years experience and have to say not much was understandable. The last 20 letters or so were not possible to understand at all, the author was 87 years old by then and the letters were written with bad ink. Still, it was interesting to see the material and I could conclude that they did not discuss book-related issues in these letters.

Sunday, March 4, 2018

More research

Another busy week at work. I had to attend five meetings. I'm trying to learn the new database system we will install in June. The problem is that it is not near finished. Three of the meetings had to do with this new system. It's a pretty big challenge to create a teaching module for a system which is still being developed. We don't really know what the end result will look like. Or even if it will function, for that matter.

This past week there was a big misunderstanding between me and a colleague. She was sick Monday and we decided to switch desk duties so she would take mine on Friday instead. She forgot about it. Incredibly enough, no one noticed until about 1 PM, when the books from the storage round were still on the desk. We both rushed to get the tasks done and I hope the patrons didn't notice any of this. This week there were terrible problems with the trains and roads due to heavy snowfall and very high winds, so the number of patrons was rather low. Personally, I was lucky with the trains but several of my colleagues have been snowed in the entire week. Some people were able to work from their computer at home but not all.

I must have been one of very few people who still had a land-line phone but that is now cancelled. It was my phone company that decided to quit offering this kind of service so I decided it was time to let go. Now I only have the cellphone. It is for work but the subscription means free calls so I'm allowed to use it for private phone calls also.

Recently, I have engaged in quite a lot of research of various kinds. One research request and one article for the local historical society publication were finished a few weeks ago. I'm now gathering material for another (longer) article, relating to a book collection. At the same time I'm working on the bibliography for Norra Strö and have extended the search area to include also the nearby parishes.  It's all incredibly interesting and I wish there was more time for these things.

Monday, February 26, 2018

Sports

This past week it was sports break for many people. A few of my colleagues went off somewhere to go skiing or engage in other winter sports. The flu season is even more noticeable now, two people were absent from my department. I unexpectedly got desk duty today because of this. Not what I had planned for.

Last week there were some difficulties with the trains. In fact it was so bad Tuesday evening that I turned around and went back to work to borrow the storage round car overnight. I understood it would take hours to get the trains back in action so I decided it was best. It happens once or twice a year that everything fails like that. I have general permission to borrow the car in those cases. I did of course make use of it and went for groceries on the way home.

The Olympic Games turned out to be the most successful ever for Sweden, with 14 medals in total. One of the more unexpected gold medals was in women's curling. The athletes did very well in biathlon and downhill skiing also.

It's cold here. Down to 10 below zero and winds from the north. At least it's light out when I leave home in the mornings now. The darkest times have passed.

Sunday, February 18, 2018

Medals

Since some of my tasks have turned out to be a little too straining it was decided that I no longer have to drive the storage round or do any shelving/retrieving of books. This remarkable decision taken above my head will have a very negative effect on my colleague's work load. Especially since we are one person short already. At the same time they have changed the schedule for desk duty and given the staff in the stacks even more work retrieving also from the open collection. I really think they should have engaged another person first before telling me to stop working with this. Now, there is not a chance that I will be idle since I'm involved in several projects and my to-do list is long.

At the Olympic Games the women are doing very well in skiing competitions. So far there are seven Swedish medals, six of them have been awarded to women. I have been watching quite a lot of it on TV, I especially think biathlon is interesting.

It's not as cold outside anymore but still high winds occasionally. It's flu season and this is noticeable at work. Several people are at home, either because they are sick themselves or have sick kids.

Sunday, February 11, 2018

Storage round

It was another tough week at work. This Wednesday I drove the storage round for the first time in almost an entire year. It took a long time and there were problems with the electric compact shelves. There was only one meeting scheduled but it meant that I got more tasks to do. My to-do list is now almost two pages long. I had to go to the chiropractor also. The last treatment was in April. I should go at least once every three months so it was definitely time.

It's relatively cold outside. It has been below zero most days recently. Also windy, which makes the cold effect feel even worse.

The Olympic Games started this weekend. There is one gold medal for Sweden already. A female cross country skier won the first event called skiathlon. Impressive.

Sunday, February 4, 2018

Free genealogy database

The big news in the world of genealogy here is the fact that the Swedish National Archive is no longer requiring a fee to view their scanned material. They got extra money for the budget so they don't have to charge people. Both as a librarian and a researcher I am in favor of this development. The databases now available can be used by not only people doing family history research but also scholars of history, geography, demographics, social history and much else. It contains a varied kind of material from about the 15th century and on. The link is: https://sok.riksarkivet.se/digitala-forskarsalen. If you prefer the website in English, chose Other languages in upper part of the page.

At work it was a tough week, both for my brain and my body. I was scheduled to attend five meetings but only made it to four. There just wasn't time for all of them. I have desk duty at the internal desk every Friday starting this past week. It's the desk on which all the problems end up, basically. Books without barcode, call slips not processed, printer failures, questions from staff and patrons, books not catalogued and every possible mishap imaginable. Friday evening I was pretty brain dead, in other words. The woman who was hired to replace me during my illness was not allowed to continue even though we really would have needed her. One person has retired so there should be budget allowance for it. We are not happy about this, as she proved to be very well suited for the job.

Saturday my father came to visit. We had quite a lot to talk about because the local history book was published. He is interested in the history of Norra Strö even though this is not his ancestral home. We did live there for a few years in the 1970s and we do know many people there so there was lots to discuss. We also made a trip to the nearest mall. I handed over even more junk to the charity shop and we did some shopping. I also stocked up on food items.

Sunday, January 28, 2018

Bibliography

This past week was busy at work. I am involved in several projects and there have been a few meetings. Wednesday I went with two colleagues in the larger transport vehicle to the storage. We needed to move two ladders and five carts with books out there.

Thursday I stayed at home because a firm would come and inspect the ventilation system. It was given approval. That day I also did quite a few chores like cleaning the bathroom, moving stuff off the floor and doing some hand-washing.

This week I received a copy of the local history book from the author. I'm very glad to have it. This has meant that I have started a new project. I'm currently listing articles and books relating to the history of Norra Strö parish. It's a small parish so there aren't that many references but the list is five pages long already. I have found several articles I didn't know existed. Someone had for instance interviewed my mother's godmother and written about it in a journal for children. There were also some prints from 1736, relating to a funeral of the owner of the manor house. Very interesting finds.

Monday, January 22, 2018

Archive visit and a new book

This past week was rather busy. The semester started on Monday and we had a lot of requests to process. We just barely made the noon deadline that day. The lines were also long to get student id-cards (they are produced at the library). I was busy doing even more shelving and book searching. Had to go to the storage one day also.

Friday I was really surprised to find a new book about my home parish Norra Strö. It was written by a local resident and included both results from research and his own recollections. I got even more surprised when I read the preface. My name was mentioned there. The author thanked me for my efforts to dig up archive material relating to the parish. I had no idea he had written this. The book is nice with varied content spanning several hundred years.

Saturday I went to the Malmö city archive. They had open house and I joined a group allowed down into the stacks. The archivist showed us a book with tax records from 1517 and I could read most of the names on the displayed page. They have records from factories, societies, churches and local administration dating back hundreds of years. I also attended a lecture on DNA in genealogy, which is the latest in this business. The lecturer gave an example from his own research, where his great grandfather had an unknown father. After doing the DNA test he had to change a part of his ancestral tables because the man he thought was the father of this child could not be related. Eventually, he was able to find the correct father thanks to other people having done this test too. It was a very interesting day at this archive.

At home the biggest change is the fact that all the Christmas decorations are gone. It took an entire day to store everything in the attic again. Sadly, one of the glass decorations broke but there are quite a few items left. This December we could chose (from a mail order catalog) a Christmas present from work. I did this a little late and didn't get mine until last week. I opted for a hand-held blender.

Sunday, January 14, 2018

Back to work

Monday I started working again. We are all very sad about the loss of our colleague. She was only 56 years old and a good leader of both the library and the staff. This week it was difficult to get things done. No one was in the mood for working. We did the necessary tasks but spent most of the time talking about what had happened. I did engage in some shelving and was given a few book searching requests.

Several people have commented on my (new) hair. It actually has a somewhat darker tone and it is not entirely straight anymore. It does happen that the hair changes both color and texture after chemo therapy.

This Wednesday I had an appointment at the medical center and they wanted some blood from me. This is rather difficult. This time more so than normal. It took three nurses eight attempts before there was any sign of blood. My veins run very deep. They apologized for their inability but I said not to worry. After everything I have endured I don't think eight needle marks give reason for concern.

Last night there was a movie entitled The C Word (2015) on TV. I have seen it before and do recommend it. It's based on the blog that Lisa Lynch (1979-2013) started writing when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was brutally honest (in a sometimes hilarious way) and wrote for instance about the horrifying side effects from chemo that she got. (I admit to having censored a large part of that in this blog). She also published a book with the same title as the movie. The blog was (and probably still is) helpful to many people who are affected by cancer in one way or another. The blog is called Alrighttit and can be found if you google it. Lisa died in 2013 and the last posting she did herself was in December 2012.

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Christmas holiday

I had a long vacation over the holiday season. I travelled to Borås by train already December 20. I stayed with my mother and her boyfriend. We made some purchases in the second hand stores (very cheap Christmas ornaments and two tops for me), baked cookies, went swimming at the indoor pool a few times, helped my sister and her family decorate their tree (a real one, very big) and made some craft items for decorations. On Christmas Eve we all went to Göteborg, the hosts were my sister's in-laws, like usual. It was a very nice celebration. Great food; herring, Janson's Temptation, sausages, meatballs, roasted ham, salad, homebaked bread, cheese, chicken quiche and much more. Tomten brought some presents even for me: a tray with dalahorses on, coasters in the same style, a scented candle, fine chocolate, shower gel and soap, a handpainted tree decoration and a ticket for a movie. The weather was miserable with rain and high winds but we still went out for a walk the next day (this has also become a tradition). After eating leftovers and/or lutfisk for lunch we returned to Borås the next day.

Remarkably, I didn't buy anything at the after-Christmas sales. My sister, mother and I went out to see the movie. We started at a restaurant for an up-scale pizza that my mother claimed was the best she had ever tasted, and then we saw a Swedish comedy that was better than average. Wednesday my mother, her boyfriend and I travelled by car to the summerhouse in Skåne. It took about four hours. The house was pretty cold inside. After two days of cooking, cleaning and preparing, my sister and her family arrived too. Saturday the women went to a clothing store that my cousin owns. We were mainly going there to visit her but I ended up buying some clothes also. I was surprised to see that she had plus size clothes in stock (and it was my favorite brand, Zhenzi!). I got a long tunic and a pair of jeans.

New Year's Eve some of us went to the local church to listen to a performance by an opera singer. He had a strong voice and the church was small, so it was powerful. In the evening my mother served a three-course meal: shrimp toast, chicken with bacon in mustard sauce and rice pudding with cloudberry jam. Very tasty. Just before midnight we all walked down to the beach. It was a special experience to see the fireworks along the coastline. We have never celebrated New Year's there before.

The day after my father and his girlfriend came to visit to play with the kids. Later that afternoon my sister and family returned to Borås and the next day I also travelled home. Most of my house plants had survived. My brother-in-law had fixed the problem with my lap top (for this I am very grateful) so I checked my e-mails and found out that the library boss had died Saturday morning. She had been ill with cancer for five years but still insisted on working at least part-time. She was very concerned for me when I was diagnosed with cancer and was very supportive. We talked quite a lot and communicated via e-mail about our health issues. She didn't respond to my last message so I suspected that things were going wrong rapidly. Very sad.