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.