Lots of food

The theme last week seemed to be food. There was a large supply of ginger snaps and candy offered at work. Also Wednesday all the staff members were treated to Christmas lunch at a fancy hotel. It was the first time we have received such an expensive meal at the employer's expense. It was the same place we had dinner after the August bus excursion and were disappointed by the food. This time it was better but not near five stars. Like I usually do I focused on the herring and salmon, and some were not edible. The mustard herring was over-spiced and the salmon was very dry. It was somewhat compensated by the dessert table, which was magnificent. Almond cakes with whipped cream and cloudberry jam, rice pudding and all sorts of handmade candy and toffee.

The other major food event occurred Saturday. I decided to go to Ikea in Helsingborg to try their Christmas buffet. It costs less than one third of the hotel buffet above, but it was better. There was one kind of herring that was just amazing and the salmon was very tasty. The Småland ostkaka (rice pudding Småland style) was incredible, without a doubt the best one I have tasted. While I was at Ikea I bought some textiles, and went to the mall next door also. There was a closing-down sale where I got a top rather cheaply.


We did some other things last week at work. One of my colleagues got the idea to use the National Union Catalogue (a large set of green volumes) to build a Christmas tree in the main hall of the library. This is sometimes done at American libraries so the idea was not unique in any way. The tree turned out to be about two meters tall and has attracted some attention. It looks pretty nice.

Today I started to decorate my apartment in the spirit of the season. I got the fake tree, four boxes and two bags down from the attic. The candles, santas and other figurines are up on the shelves and tables, and the star is in the window. I assembled the tree but haven't decorated it yet.

Christmas party

It was a tough week at work with three storage rounds and long hours. I had lots of books to relocate from the open collection to the stacks also. Friday evening it was time for the annual Christmas party, arranged by the social club. We chose to have it at a restaurant this year and it turned out great. It was a cosy place and we had a very good time eating and talking. It was traditional food like meatballs, herring, Jansson's Temptation, rice pudding and much else. Very tasty. We had asked people to dress for a theme (castle) and some of my colleagues had gone far and dressed up as a fair maiden (a guy) and a knight in armour (a woman). They both got first prize. Presents were also handed out. A very nice party.

I have received a new request for research and that has kept me busy. It was a very tricky case, where the families moved to a new place every year. I couldn't always follow them everywhere because some archival resources were missing. Sometimes the information in one household ledger was incorrect and in one case the husband got his surname changed in between two ledgers and there was no explanation for it. It took a while to establish his identity because of this.

Today there was a Christmas market in town, but there were not many people or stalls this year. The weather is pretty bad, it's raining with strong winds. It's not really cold, it's about 10 centigrades, which is warmer than usual for the season.

Unusual questions

The snow melted very quickly so it's now dark and rainy again. Over the weekend there was a huge storm that caused some damage to houses and roads. The train service still hasn't recovered completely, but they will hopefully get it sorted out by tomorrow.

Last week I worked four days. The most interesting thing was when I retrieved a book for the American TV-series Who do you think you are. They needed a specific book that we have, but I don't know who the celebrity is that they were doing research for. Nevertheless, it was an honor to be able to supply the material.

Last week was also the first time someone has ever asked how many shelf meters our printed catalogs consist of. The question came from the National Archives. I didn't have that figure so I had to walk through the entire library, measuring the catalog boxes. The answer turned out to be about 630 meters.

Wednesday I asked my father to come and take a look at the locking mechanism on my apartment door. It wasn't working properly. I have had problems with it before and now it turned out to be beyond repair. It required two trips to the building supply store and a total of six hours work. I feel kind of sorry for my father here, that much work and all he got in return was dinner.

I'm very sorry to report the passing of my nearest relative in the US, Jeane. She was my mother's second cousin and I located her back in 1995. I visited several times and it was wonderful to make her acquaintance. She was so interested in family history and we had so much to talk about. A genuinely warm and caring person, she will definitely be missed.

Amazing musical

Last week was busy with two storage rounds, one workshop and two meetings, but I only worked from Monday until half of Thursday. At noon I went to Stockholm by train, arriving at my mother's cousin's new apartment in the evening. It was in the same block as the other place so it was convenient. Friday my mother also arrived and she and I went out exploring the shops in town both that day and Saturday. There were several nice home decor shops but we only made a few purchases. We also visited my great grandparent's grave and the house where they had lived. Sunday we walked to a local train station to meet my mother's friends who were coming in by train from outside of town. We have known them for ages, they used to live nearby but moved some years ago. We had lunch at a restaurant on top of the train station. I had a very nice meal with fish and mashed potatoes. After this we took the bus to a place called Djurgården. The four of us went to see the musical Kristina from Duvemåla. It's the musical version of Vilhelm Moberg's fictional work about the emigrants from Småland, Karl-Oskar and Kristina, who settled in Minnesota in the 1840s. It covered many aspects of emigration, still valid to this day with surprisingly current themes: reasons for leaving, the journey, the adjustment to a new environment, the prospects and new challenges, and the longing for home - wherever that may be. I cannot put into words how magnificent this performance was. My mother said afterwards that she almost forgot to breathe on some occasions. It was so meaningful, not only to me, as I had thought, but my mother was just amazed. It was actually her suggestion that we should go and see it. A great evening.

Today my mother and I travelled to our respective homes again. It is colder at home than when I left. It has also snowed, which I heard surprised a lot of people who hadn't changed their car tires to spiked ones. There have been quite a few accidents over the weekend here.

New project

I have now decided what my new project will be. Back in the mid 1990s I made an inventory of the gravestones at the local cemetery in the parish where I was born. The intention was to send it in to the project co-ordinator at the Genealogical Society, but that never happened. I lent the material to the Historical Society and it took more than a decade before I got it back. By then things had changed and the project wasn't active anymore. A few years ago they got it started again with a better system. You can now make the registration yourself directly on the computer screen. This wasn't possible before. So this weekend I have spent time researching the names on the gravestones. I have also tried to update the material with the burials occurring the last 20 years. My uncle's wife took photos of many of the gravestones and they will be included, but I will probably have to go to the cemetery to get the rest photographed also. It has all the chances of getting to be a long-term project.

Apart from this there really isn't that much to report from here. The week at work wasn't as bad as many other weeks. I was asked to go to a faculty library for consultation regarding old books and that was rather interesting. One of my colleagues asked for help with a genealogy question and that was even more interesting.

Reward

It was a busy week, with three meetings and two storage rounds, among other things. I was interviewed by two colleagues about the quality of our services, from the staff perspective. I had a few things to say, so I hope it was noted. After three work weeks it was necessary to get treatment by the chiropractor again. That's how much my back can stand, apparently.

One very fun thing happened this week at work. There were some specific books missing and a colleague had sent out a general email to the staff, asking for help locating them. He wrote that there would be a reward if anyone found them. Thursday I saw the books on the return shelf and quickly sent an email to everybody, claiming the reward. The answer back was very funny, he offered a box with a conserved roll of bread (given to him from a conservation company). After that, people who saw me in the corridor laughed and commented on it - all my colleagues had read about it. The box with the unedible roll is now in my office. (The last time a reward was offered and I could claim it, I got a Snickers)!

Friday one of my third cousins came to visit at the library. I met her grandfather several times when I did research for the book about Arndt. She has just moved back to Sweden after four years of university studies in England and now chose to continue her studies in Lund. I have never met her before. I showed her the library and then we had lunch. It was very nice to see her.

This weekend has been slow, I can't even remember the last weekend I spent at home. The weather was pretty bad with high winds and rain. I have attended to the large piles of documents on my desk, the floor and the coffee-table. I managed to file some of them but not all. I have been thinking about what my next project should be but haven't decided yet. There are seven items on the list right now.

One of the more odd features this week was my mother's appearance in the audience at a live tv show. For many years there has been a bingo-show on tv, raising money for the local sports clubs all over the country. It's a popular event and my mother had been offered a seat in the audience this evening. I was then forced to watch it, and did spot her somewhere in the middle.

Lots of shelving

This week went by incredibly fast. We were very short of staff so we had lots to do. One afternoon I brought a colleague to the storage to do some shelving. It was definitely needed. It's hard work to climb up and down ladders to reach the top shelves. We were very tired but we got a fair amount done.

This weekend it's All saint's/Halloween but I haven't noticed it much. No one has asked for candy here. Since the library is closed I had to find something else to do. Saturday I went to the mall outside Helsingborg. It was packed with people. I had lunch there but didn't buy anything. It's not like I need anything after those shopping trips abroad recently.

This week a refugee housing facility opened across the street from where I live. It houses young people from the Middle East. The large amounts of refugees are an enormous strain on our economy. 9000 people per week are applying for asylum here. This is a small country with limited resources and the situation is already now difficult to manage.

Weatherwise it's a pretty typical Swedish fall, though maybe a little mild. Dark, about ten centigrades and foggy. I have thrown out the summer flowers on the balcony. There is now heather instead. It looks rather nice.