M and I spent a week in Rovaniemi in Finland, with M's sister and her husband. We expected to see snow when we came up, and there was indeed quite a lot of it -- at home it was mostly gone. The fascinating thing in northen Finland was that the half-metre or so of snow was shrinking visibly each day, and it gave off a notable amount of water. I'd go for walks along nearby footpaths and observe it.

Sunday morning we set off home. It was excellent driving weather: blue sky, a degree or two below freezing. We drove via Tornio/Haparanda, and down the Swedish coast.

At Härnösand, the snow hit us. The sun disappeared, the windshield clogged with slush, and we had to slow down considerably. It wasn't dangerous, so much as really annoying, as we crawled down the E4. In the end, we stopped at Birsta, did some very quick window shopping, and sat down with a cup of tea for a while. After that it was a little better.

So now we're covered with snow, and it's soft, and wet, and does nothing to protect you from the very soft and wet and slippery ground underneath. Welcome, Norrlandian spring!
M and I are on our way to Geneva, where we'll meet my parents and siblings. I'm not sure what we are going to do, but the plan is outings by car.

This means we'll stay home for Christmas this year. Which seems odd.

It looks like our luggage has got itself a tail. The latest thing, I suppose.
The Swedish Transport Authority has been sending classified information to non-security-checked persons and enterprises abroad. I find this so odd. It wasn't even an isolated mistake. They have treated their database as one might fake data.

It seems that at one point a list of everyone in Sweden with a protected identity was sent out for marketing purposes.
M and I may take a trip to Rovaniemi some time soon. We were invited this weekend, but it won't work, so perhaps in two weeks.

If we dare...
I think the little upwards slope to the main road is making fun of me. I have been stuck there at least three times in the last few days. There is smooth ice under the snow, so once you have stopped, you don't start moving again with any ease.

By the way, snow chains must be a candidate for most useless invention ever...
M and I bought our fourth car today. Excessive? Well, we are going to get rid of the old C5.
M and I have gotten our thumbs loose and bought a new car. It is another red Citroen, but not as old as the old one. It's also smaller. We really need a small car to drive the four kilometres between home and Ånge.

We could fix all the paperwork on the spot and take it home with us. Only thing is that we need to buy winter tires. And whatever else we find out as we go.

This prepares us a tiny bit more for the day when the old car draws its last breath, which can happen any day. (Then we'll need another big one...)
We're going to Scania on Tuesday. Parents, my sister... We have planned it for months.

Except today the car died. I hope we can fix it tomorrow.
I'm going away for just over a week. Tuesday night I take the train from Ånge, to arrive in Uddevalla, where my parents will pick me up, about midday on Wednesday. The return trip is Thursday to Friday next week. I'm not sure if I will do any posts while I'm there.

Someone I spoke to today told me about a friend of hers who had been sitting at the station from midnight to five in the morning, because of something that had happened between Bräcke and Ånge (a signal fault?). I couldn't help asking her: "Is that the train I'm taking on Tuesday?" She said yes.

I have to bring a book...
Two days ago, I picked up my new progressive glasses. Then I went to a singalong meeting*. I found that I move my head a lot more than I'm aware of when I sing. The table was bouncing about, even though I thought I was looking at one spot the whole time.

They say you get used to it after a few days. I sincerely hope that's true. These glasses exhaust me. I'm trying to get used to not looking the my tea mug as I put it down. Perhaps I should learn not look at the keyboard as well?

One thing that works fine (to my surprise) is driving. As far as I can tell, I see everything I need to see, without any ill effects. There's a slight blur at the side mirrors, but I can re-focus on them without moving my head.



* A friend holds these at local old people's homes. I go there to help the singing. It is usually needed.

Trip

Feb. 19th, 2016 09:16 pm
M and I are going to Sundsvall to look at a couple of cars tomorrow. Can't be helped, I suppose, we really need another car...
M and I drove south (Ånge to Landskrona, about a thousand kilometres) on Monday. We started at seven o'clock, with a temperature of eight degrees below zero. The first tiny snowflakes came as we were packing the car. When we turned onto the E14 the air was thick. (E14, by the way, is known as a very accident-prone bit of road.)

As we approached the coast, the temperature rose, and finally settled at about freezing. At least it was light by then. We tried a new bit of motorway leading out of Sundsvall. Soon enough, we had to make do with the usual wire road, though. Most of the time the vehicle in front of us was visible.

Past Söderhamn we caught up with two large snowploughs. With perhaps fifty cars before us, we were slowed down to forty kilometres an hour. Then, somewhere between Gävle and Uppsala, the snow vanished. It was there, then it wasn't. It was at that point that we noticed that we had forgotten the tea...

The rest was easy. We stopped in Jönköping to visit my aunt and uncle and a couple of cousins, then went on, and arrived late in Landskrona.

The next day we drove to Lund and my parents. I managed to miss the first turn to Lund, but the second worked just as well, and we eventually found ourselves on Utmarksvägen, turning onto Sandbyvägen, eight hundred metres from my parents house.

Then the car said: "Kaboom, kachunk, ratatata". It went on for all of the eight hundred metres.

Merry Christmas, by the way.

Car

Jun. 5th, 2012 11:24 pm
M and I took a trip to Fränsta to pick up a new luxury car. I drove it home, and M drove the Jag. I felt privileged.

To be completely honest, it was the same car as before, except that it starts when we want it to, and we can use the handbrake. Not bad at all.

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Karin Margareta

December 2024

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