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!
I'm actually a mediocre photographer. I have a awful lot of pictures from the cruise, most of them rather bland. I still haven't gone through all of them.

For now, I present you this picture of the ship's garden

This the garden, probably taken from the pool deck )
The cruise is approaching, and I'm a little nutty. I have actually been shopping. M asked me who I was, and what I had done to his wife...

Speaking of M, he is going off on his own on Wednesday night, so I will have to go to the cat hotel with Loffe and Byzans on Friday. He'll pick them up next week.

The bus leaves Ånge at nine Saturday night, and will pick me up about five minutes later. Plus delay, of course, but I'll be sitting there.
I a week I'm going for a cruise on the Mediterranean with Ljungandalens kammarkör. It was a very sudden decision about half a year ago, mostly because we got an affordable offer. So, here we go. We are going to sing at the Swedish Church in Rome, as some kind of excuse for going.

I have packed most things, dyed my hair, removed the hair on my legs. Now I have to remember that we still have practice on Wednesday. There's plenty of time to get nervous.

Geneva

Dec. 1st, 2017 08:32 pm
I never really got my thumb out to tell you about the trip to Geneva. We met up with my parents and siblings. The weather was nice and autumnlike. Fun was had. We saw the Jet d'Eau and the Clock. We ate at the Cafe de Paris.

We went to have a look where I lived when I was about four years old. Interestingly, everything around it had been renovated, but that particular building was exactly as it used to be, only a little shabbier (according to M(um), whose judgement I'm going to trust in this case).

Kastrup Airport in Copenhagen seems to have a whole row of gates that don't exist. We guessed they are for aliens.
The trip to Storhogna (750 m above sea level) last weekend was very pleasant and relaxing. We arrived at about seven, found our key and our room, and took our things there. The restaurant was still open, so we tried their buffet, which was delicious.

I followed the advice to get up early and take a swim to elevator music before breakfast. Afterwards, M and I had planned to go for a walk, but there had been a little snow, which had melted and left the paths a little slippery. We still were out for an hour and a half, or so, checking out the surroundings of the hotel. Beautiful, if a bit misty.

After lunch, we tried the swimming pool again, and then the bubble pool. I haven't swum for ages, but I felt like I was getting the hang of it.

Before we went home, I practised some inner stillness. I'm not sure if it worked, but I felt relaxed, and I think I got some body awareness, so that part was probably right.
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...
I have booked a train to Uddevalla in late July, for about a week in Bohuslän. I think this is the first time I go away somewhere without M, and it feels a little peculiar.

We're going for a vacation together in September instead.

Roadtrip

Aug. 6th, 2013 11:34 pm
M and I take the car southwards tomorrow morning. It'd not pleasure this time, but a funeral. I'm trying to figure out what I have forgotten to pack... The schampoo is there, and so is M(um)'s camera. I haven't found any stockings, but that's less of a problem, they sell stockings in Landskrona too. Need to pack computers. Need to pack crosswords (I have started to solve crosswords again). Need to pack food for the trip. And books, but I'll put them in the glove compartment. Did I throw in any make-up? I should check.

We'll be back on Sunday.

Road trip

Jul. 11th, 2011 06:23 pm
M had seen a server cabinet with some auxillary, most importantly a UPS, for sale. The price was 3000 SEK, which made it an acceptable extra cost to drive to Nyköping to pick it up.

We set off at half past five, and reached Stockholm traffic at about ten, so we probably missed their lunch hour. I wouldn't have guessed. Anyway, we emerge from it unharmed, and managed to find our way to a nice little former vicarage, where the UPS was waiting for us, along with the rest. The seller himself wasn't there, but his brother helped us load everything into the car, and his mother offered us some lemonade (delicious).

We have a large car, but to fit the cabinet into it we had to move the seats forward as far as possible. Now imagine us crouching over the wheel, with this giant metal box behind us. We looked hilarious (we have pictures). Then we drove back home, stopping only at Max[1] in Bollnäs for a quick meal.

Now it's in our basement, and likely to remain there. We removed everything in it, and carried it inside between us, then we had to cause some damage to the ceiling (no, nothing serious) raising it upright. The UPS will do duty as UPS, and the server cabinet -- I'm sure we can use it to keep servers in, or something.

[1] Note for non-Swedish people: Max is a hamburger chain. Exactly like McDonalds, except that it's no different at all.

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Karin Margareta

December 2024

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