Monday was yet another shopping day with my mother. There are several outlet stores in Borås, many mail order companies are based there and have a place to sell last year's collections to a fraction of the original price. I got a pair of jeans for 60 SEK and a tunic for 50 SEK, for instance.
Tuesday my mother drove me to the train station (after checking out a second hand store first - bought a yellow bracelet). I had a heavy load to carry: a backpack, a suitcase, a large plastic bag and a handbag. After riding three different trains I arrived back home in the evening.
Wednesday I had a lot to catch up on. Lots of junk mail to sort, dead insects to dispose of, plants to water, clothes to unpack and e-mails to write.
Yesterday I went to the archive to do some research. I hadn't been there in quite a while. There are a few Americans (not related) coming here in a week and a half, and I wanted to add to the genealogy files before they arrive. Another thing I found was the address to a very distant relative in Ottumwa, Iowa. She was just referred to as Mrs F Nelson and I had no idea if she had any children. I know from earlier cases that there is a chance the younger generations keep the house (especially if it's a rural area). I entered the address in the most used search engine online and in seconds I understood the connections. It instantly solved a brick-wall case I had eight years ago. I keep all unsolved cases in a special file. I never, ever give up. In 2001 I visited a granddaughter of Selma and August Peterson (Maywood, IL). Among the family belongings was a letter written in the 1970s from a woman in Ottumwa, Iowa, stating that she was related to the Petersons - but didn't explain how. The letter writer turned out to be a second cousin to Selma's children. (Also a second cousin to my grandfather and his siblings, but none of them would ever have known this).
Today I went to Lund again. This time to get new glasses. There was a waiting time of three hours to get my eyes examined, so I went shopping first (is anyone surprised?). Not so many clothes this time, just a top on sale. I stocked up on medicine to ease flu symptoms (the most feared kind of flu has already spread at the university). I also got some plastic containers to keep the flour in so that bugs can't get into it. The eye exam went well, my eye sight has changed very little in the past five years. I will get my new glasses (two pairs) in a few weeks.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Trip to Borås
Friday August 28 I spent most of the day clearing out my cupboard in the kitchen. There were unfortunately some small bugs that had moved in that I had to get rid of. I threw away seven bags of food, sprayed the cupboard with bug spray, closed the door and left home.
The visit at my mother's place was mostly packing and cleaning. The Saturday and Sunday we got a visit from a Mattisson relative, Roland and his wife Ewa. We went to Övarp to see the ruins of the old family farm. The house burned down in December 1946, and the area is now forested and difficult to get to. We had a picnic on the front steps. We talked a lot about the ancestors (it had been the location for the Mattisson family since late 1600s) and what we would have done without the internet (they found us through Swedish Roots website).
Monday - Wednesday we spent emptying the fridge, freezer and other spaces in the kitchen, preparing the house for the winter, solved crosswords, and got a short visit from aunt Elna. Early Thursday morning my mother and I started with an overloaded car towards the western part of Sweden. We made a stop at this country's most famous discount store, Gekås in Ullared. It's a huge place that sells clothes, toys, electronics, dry goods, and many other things very cheaply. There are also other outlet stores in the area. We didn't shop that much (compared to other customers), but I got two winter coats, a grey top, a swimsuit and some other things. My mother also found some nice tops, and shopped in the pearl outlet store. After driving in a terrible rainstorm, we arrived in Borås at about 3 pm. We unloaded the car and rested for a while. My mother's apartment is pretty close to my sister's house, and I walked down there to spend the night.
Friday morning my mother came to pick me up and we did a tour of the town. I still need new glasses, and we went to the optician to look for some appropriate ones. I picked some out, but will not buy them here. It's easier to do that in Lund when I return home. After buying a shirt on sale, going grocery shopping and picking up my nephew at daycare, we returned to the apartment. Dinner was at her place also.
Saturday my mother and I worked from 10 to 1 at the second hand store she regularly works at as a volunteer. It was a big place and very popular. I attended to the clothes and it was busy. People are sloppy and clothes end up on the floor or in the wrong crate. I can understand that my mother enjoys being there, because it was quite fun. Afterwards we were in town to cheer on my brother-in-law, who was running a 10 km race. We missed him at the finish, but met for an indoor picnic later with a few other participants and their families. There were many young children and it was rather noisy.
Today we went to a small village outside Borås, where they had a flea market. People had parked their cars, opened their trunks and sold items from there. There was also a house with small rooms, each rented by a seller. There were jewelry, second hand items, children's clothes and decorative items. My mother was the only one who made purchases, she found some necklaces she will take apart and use the pearls to make new ones. She also got two bags with pearls for 20 SEK (very cheap). Afterwards we had lunch at Ellagården, a restaurant outside of town in a rural area. The restaurant was in the renovated barn, and the food was really great with a large buffet. Waffles for dessert. We also went to a resting stop at the highway. It was a beautiful spot by a small lake. There was a handcraft sale there.
The visit at my mother's place was mostly packing and cleaning. The Saturday and Sunday we got a visit from a Mattisson relative, Roland and his wife Ewa. We went to Övarp to see the ruins of the old family farm. The house burned down in December 1946, and the area is now forested and difficult to get to. We had a picnic on the front steps. We talked a lot about the ancestors (it had been the location for the Mattisson family since late 1600s) and what we would have done without the internet (they found us through Swedish Roots website).
Monday - Wednesday we spent emptying the fridge, freezer and other spaces in the kitchen, preparing the house for the winter, solved crosswords, and got a short visit from aunt Elna. Early Thursday morning my mother and I started with an overloaded car towards the western part of Sweden. We made a stop at this country's most famous discount store, Gekås in Ullared. It's a huge place that sells clothes, toys, electronics, dry goods, and many other things very cheaply. There are also other outlet stores in the area. We didn't shop that much (compared to other customers), but I got two winter coats, a grey top, a swimsuit and some other things. My mother also found some nice tops, and shopped in the pearl outlet store. After driving in a terrible rainstorm, we arrived in Borås at about 3 pm. We unloaded the car and rested for a while. My mother's apartment is pretty close to my sister's house, and I walked down there to spend the night.
Friday morning my mother came to pick me up and we did a tour of the town. I still need new glasses, and we went to the optician to look for some appropriate ones. I picked some out, but will not buy them here. It's easier to do that in Lund when I return home. After buying a shirt on sale, going grocery shopping and picking up my nephew at daycare, we returned to the apartment. Dinner was at her place also.
Saturday my mother and I worked from 10 to 1 at the second hand store she regularly works at as a volunteer. It was a big place and very popular. I attended to the clothes and it was busy. People are sloppy and clothes end up on the floor or in the wrong crate. I can understand that my mother enjoys being there, because it was quite fun. Afterwards we were in town to cheer on my brother-in-law, who was running a 10 km race. We missed him at the finish, but met for an indoor picnic later with a few other participants and their families. There were many young children and it was rather noisy.
Today we went to a small village outside Borås, where they had a flea market. People had parked their cars, opened their trunks and sold items from there. There was also a house with small rooms, each rented by a seller. There were jewelry, second hand items, children's clothes and decorative items. My mother was the only one who made purchases, she found some necklaces she will take apart and use the pearls to make new ones. She also got two bags with pearls for 20 SEK (very cheap). Afterwards we had lunch at Ellagården, a restaurant outside of town in a rural area. The restaurant was in the renovated barn, and the food was really great with a large buffet. Waffles for dessert. We also went to a resting stop at the highway. It was a beautiful spot by a small lake. There was a handcraft sale there.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Railway museum
Tuesday I unpacked and went grocery shopping. Wednesday I travelled to Helsingborg to a mall and found a jacket in the store where it's not possible to shop unless it's a sale. They had 70% off all summer clothes. The jacket had cost 1900 SEK (I paid 500), so it was of pretty good quality.
Yesterday I went to work in the morning and helped out for an hour, so that all the staff members who wanted to could join the bus trip to Ängelholm, arranged by the social club. We started at noon from Lund and it took about one hour to get to the railway museum (slightly delayed by two road construction sites and the absence of a gps/map/directions to the museum). It was a fairly large museum with built-up interiors of a railroad worker's cottage, a station waiting room from the late 19th century and a mine. There were several model trains from all eras, informational films on small monitors, a large steam engine built in Kristianstad in 1906, a movie theater where the benches were moving so it was like riding the trains you saw on the film, displays of different signalling systems, bridge constructions and much else. I don't think there has ever been that many male colleagues on any trip we have done before. After surviving the rush hour traffic, we got back to Lund at about 6 pm. We then had dinner at a restaurant focused on organic, locally produced food. It was a buffet with lots of vegetable dishes, and the food was great.
Today is yet another travelling day. I will visit my mother again. Some time next week she and I will drive to Borås. It may take a while before this page gets updated.
Yesterday I went to work in the morning and helped out for an hour, so that all the staff members who wanted to could join the bus trip to Ängelholm, arranged by the social club. We started at noon from Lund and it took about one hour to get to the railway museum (slightly delayed by two road construction sites and the absence of a gps/map/directions to the museum). It was a fairly large museum with built-up interiors of a railroad worker's cottage, a station waiting room from the late 19th century and a mine. There were several model trains from all eras, informational films on small monitors, a large steam engine built in Kristianstad in 1906, a movie theater where the benches were moving so it was like riding the trains you saw on the film, displays of different signalling systems, bridge constructions and much else. I don't think there has ever been that many male colleagues on any trip we have done before. After surviving the rush hour traffic, we got back to Lund at about 6 pm. We then had dinner at a restaurant focused on organic, locally produced food. It was a buffet with lots of vegetable dishes, and the food was great.
Today is yet another travelling day. I will visit my mother again. Some time next week she and I will drive to Borås. It may take a while before this page gets updated.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Trip to Stockholm
My sister and her family were also at my mother's place the weekend of August 15-16, and we did some excursions in the area together. We went to the highest waterfall in Skåne, Forsakar, which is about 10 meters high (a second one in the same creek is about 8 meters high). Not that impressive statistically, but a pretty area with "troll forest". My brother-in-law is interested in geocaching (treasure hunting with a gps), and he found some locations during our trips. We were also at an old water mill for the bakeday and we drove around in a formerly military area on the coast which is a moor with grazing sheep. It was a special place with dry grasslands and flowers, with a very nice view of the coastline.
The first three days of last week my mother and I went to several fleamarkets and second hand-stores, visited some of my mother's friends, picked wild blackberries, and prepared for the up-coming trip. Wednesday we took the train to Stockholm. It was two hours delayed, and it was very boring to stand and wait for it, but we endured. We visited my mother's 1st cousin Rolf and his wife, who have an apartment two subway stations away from the central station. I visited them in May also. My mother and I couldn't help ourselves, so we frequented many of the second hand-stores in the area. We found some real nice things. I got a pair of shorter pants for 20 SEK and a white skirt for the same amount. Also a handbag cheaply. My mother found an ad in the local paper about a store that sold pearls for 70% off, and she spent an hour in there, shopping like mad. She got some great bargains also in other stores. Our relatives brought us to Millesgården, which is a sculpture garden formerly owned by the artist Carl Milles. Not only interesting pieces of art both inside and outside, but also an incredible view from it and a great restaurant.
Saturday my mother and I travelled on to a friend of hers who lives northeast of Stockholm. We travelled by train (two different) for about an hour. We found the Petersen family at the greyhound racetrack. They were working there as volunteers, and didn't participate actively in the racing. They have two greyhounds, but one is too young to race and the other too old. It was interesting to see the races, the dogs were running very fast. A race was over in 32 seconds and it was hard to see who actually won.
Sunday we went to Vaxholm to take the ferry out to an island in the norteastern archipelago. Finnhamn is a rocky island covered with forest. There is a restaurant, a hostel, a small farm, some small houses for rent and lots of visitors come from Stockholm during the summer to enjoy the nature, go sailing and hiking. It was very picturesque. We had a magnificent lunch there, a special kind of herring on crispbread.
We started out early this morning and that was good, because there were transportation problems in Stockholm. It took two and a half hours to get from Åkersberga to central Stockholm by train, subway and bus. We spent the morning in Gamla Stan (the Old Town), a very touristy area with lots of souvenir shops and small cafes. We found a store with everything half price off, and made some purchases there. After lunch at a coffee place, we returned home by train this afternoon. I arrived back in Kävlinge at 8 pm.
The first three days of last week my mother and I went to several fleamarkets and second hand-stores, visited some of my mother's friends, picked wild blackberries, and prepared for the up-coming trip. Wednesday we took the train to Stockholm. It was two hours delayed, and it was very boring to stand and wait for it, but we endured. We visited my mother's 1st cousin Rolf and his wife, who have an apartment two subway stations away from the central station. I visited them in May also. My mother and I couldn't help ourselves, so we frequented many of the second hand-stores in the area. We found some real nice things. I got a pair of shorter pants for 20 SEK and a white skirt for the same amount. Also a handbag cheaply. My mother found an ad in the local paper about a store that sold pearls for 70% off, and she spent an hour in there, shopping like mad. She got some great bargains also in other stores. Our relatives brought us to Millesgården, which is a sculpture garden formerly owned by the artist Carl Milles. Not only interesting pieces of art both inside and outside, but also an incredible view from it and a great restaurant.
Saturday my mother and I travelled on to a friend of hers who lives northeast of Stockholm. We travelled by train (two different) for about an hour. We found the Petersen family at the greyhound racetrack. They were working there as volunteers, and didn't participate actively in the racing. They have two greyhounds, but one is too young to race and the other too old. It was interesting to see the races, the dogs were running very fast. A race was over in 32 seconds and it was hard to see who actually won.
Sunday we went to Vaxholm to take the ferry out to an island in the norteastern archipelago. Finnhamn is a rocky island covered with forest. There is a restaurant, a hostel, a small farm, some small houses for rent and lots of visitors come from Stockholm during the summer to enjoy the nature, go sailing and hiking. It was very picturesque. We had a magnificent lunch there, a special kind of herring on crispbread.
We started out early this morning and that was good, because there were transportation problems in Stockholm. It took two and a half hours to get from Åkersberga to central Stockholm by train, subway and bus. We spent the morning in Gamla Stan (the Old Town), a very touristy area with lots of souvenir shops and small cafes. We found a store with everything half price off, and made some purchases there. After lunch at a coffee place, we returned home by train this afternoon. I arrived back in Kävlinge at 8 pm.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Seafood buffet
We missed out on the fleamarkets because my mother's car was at the mechanic's. It took longer time than expected to get it fixed, but it's now running smoothly without the annoying noise we had to listen to for many months. The only thing left to fix is the air conditioning, which all of a sudden thinks it's winter outside and switches to hot air.
Saturday we had seafood buffet at a restaurant near Åhus. We were supposed to bring Mark here, but instead of cancelling the reservation, we kept it and had a wonderful meal. Prawns, several kinds of salmon, clams and crab with salad, potatoes and bread. There was also music entertainment, three young people were singing easy-listening tunes. Very nice evening.
Sunday my mother and I went to the beach closer to Furuboda. The waves were fairly high and the water was reasonably warm. It was the first time I jumped into the ocean this year and it was great fun!
Monday there was a package for me to collect, and it was a blender! It seems to be the result of a competition where you were asked to give a smoothie recipe. My sister and I composed a few for this competition back in June, but we didn't try them, so it's uncertain if they were actually drinkable. My brother-in-law won one too, so they might not have gotten that many answers.
The week at work has so far been busy. One colleague called in sick today and we didn't really need that. Some of the students have received their reading lists, and have already started to order books for the upcoming semester (starts August 31).
Friday I will again travel to my mother's place. My vacation starts then and I will be away for about ten days. I might not get to a computer to write here in a while.
Saturday we had seafood buffet at a restaurant near Åhus. We were supposed to bring Mark here, but instead of cancelling the reservation, we kept it and had a wonderful meal. Prawns, several kinds of salmon, clams and crab with salad, potatoes and bread. There was also music entertainment, three young people were singing easy-listening tunes. Very nice evening.
Sunday my mother and I went to the beach closer to Furuboda. The waves were fairly high and the water was reasonably warm. It was the first time I jumped into the ocean this year and it was great fun!
Monday there was a package for me to collect, and it was a blender! It seems to be the result of a competition where you were asked to give a smoothie recipe. My sister and I composed a few for this competition back in June, but we didn't try them, so it's uncertain if they were actually drinkable. My brother-in-law won one too, so they might not have gotten that many answers.
The week at work has so far been busy. One colleague called in sick today and we didn't really need that. Some of the students have received their reading lists, and have already started to order books for the upcoming semester (starts August 31).
Friday I will again travel to my mother's place. My vacation starts then and I will be away for about ten days. I might not get to a computer to write here in a while.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Ladybugs
We are a little surprised by the nice weather here. It's quite sunny and warm. Many of my colleagues have already had their vacation and have not been that happy to return after four weeks of mostly rain. The wet ground has enabled bugs of all kinds to flourish. Some parts of Malmö have been invaded by ladybugs. I have to keep the window open at my desk at work (no air conditioning) and there are lots of insects finding their way in.
I drive to the remote storages also this week, but now I also retrieve books at all four places (usually it's two places). Apart from myself, there is one fulltime and one parttime worker right now. Not much, but we are making it. The hard work has taken its toll a little sooner than I hoped. I had to go to the chiropractor again this Monday.
This upcoming weekend I will spend with my mother. I'm sure there will be at least one fleamarket visited.
I drive to the remote storages also this week, but now I also retrieve books at all four places (usually it's two places). Apart from myself, there is one fulltime and one parttime worker right now. Not much, but we are making it. The hard work has taken its toll a little sooner than I hoped. I had to go to the chiropractor again this Monday.
This upcoming weekend I will spend with my mother. I'm sure there will be at least one fleamarket visited.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Closet clearance
I was in Malmö this Saturday. I went to some of the second hand stores, but didn't find anything worth buying. One of my favorite stores is Gray's. They import American food and cool things like fridge magnets, Elvis memorabilia and bbq equipment. I got some cake mixes there.
After all the clothes shopping recently, I thought it was time to clear out my closet again. I ended up throwing away some tops I have ruined by eating too sloppily. The usable clothes I don't want anymore filled two bags. Amazing.
I have also given up on the balcony flowers. I threw most of them away this weekend. They were really not attended to as much as they deserved. The weather has been bad (except for this past weekend), so I haven't spent any time on the balcony. The weather today was extreme, the rain was very heavy and the thunder and lightning caused traffic problems. The trains were over one hour delayed this afternoon.
After all the clothes shopping recently, I thought it was time to clear out my closet again. I ended up throwing away some tops I have ruined by eating too sloppily. The usable clothes I don't want anymore filled two bags. Amazing.
I have also given up on the balcony flowers. I threw most of them away this weekend. They were really not attended to as much as they deserved. The weather has been bad (except for this past weekend), so I haven't spent any time on the balcony. The weather today was extreme, the rain was very heavy and the thunder and lightning caused traffic problems. The trains were over one hour delayed this afternoon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)