Still Hot

This is just to tell you I’m still “here”. It’s still much too hot to spend any more time than absolutely necessary at the computer, though.

And unfortunately there are more urgent things to do with that time just now than blog – to do with getting ready to put The House on the market. We met with an estate agent last week and now there are questionnaires and inspections and getting the place cleaned etc etc. (No we are not doing it all ourselves but there are still things to do in order to get others to do things!) My brother has gone home but will be back next week.

Saturday and Sunday afternoons we had massive thunder and lightning and rain here to cool things down a little bit, temporarily… but not enough to have lasting effect. Today still hot, and the humidity higher – but no thunder to bring relief. Phew!

Cheerio for now!

It’s Hot

 

Just a short post to say that so far this week, things are going pretty much as planned. My brother is staying at the House, which has otherwise pretty much been emptied now (by hired help). We have kept a few basics though so that it works ok to be there. With the weather we’re having this week we’re spending most of the time outdoors anyway (in the shadowy corners of the garden!). 

We’ve arranged to meet with an estate agent on Thursday and before that we’re taking some time “off” – like going out for lunch, and seeing a bit of the countryside around town. Yesterday we had lunch at the Golf Club south of town -  the photos above are from the grounds near the club house and restaurant. And then we took a countryside detour back to the village/house, stopping at a couple of places on the way to take photos. I’ll get back to those in future posts.

Today we’ll be going to another countryside place for lunch so hopefully there will be even more photos.

Vacation (FMTSO)

Friday My Town Shoot Out - Summer vacations 
“How do you spend your vacation?”

vacation n
- a period in which a break is taken from work or studies for rest, travel, or recreation
- the act of departing from or abandoning property, etc

This summer I’m going for the second definition…

The House (my parents’ old place) has at last been emptied – or nearly. We finally hired someone a couple of months ago to do the rest of the job.

My dad’s former study three years ago:

Last week, all that remained in that room was:

And by now, those pieces of heavy furniture should be gone also, and the rest of the house be empty too; apart from a few basic necessities that we decided must remain until the place is finally sold. A kitchen table with two chairs, a bed, a  couple of sunchairs, and a few kitchen utensils – that sort of thing. Just enough for my brother and his dog to “camp” there a few nights (they’ll be coming down next week), and for me to go out there for the day now and then, while we get “the rest” organised – like contact with cleaners, estate agent, prospective buyers, various necessary inspections etc. How long it will all take remains to be seen. Wish us luck!

Harvest Time

I got a whole handful of berries from the strawberry plants on the balcony today!

Cliffhanger

I seem to have trouble keeping up with myself here in the Blogworld at the moment. I blame the weather. Last week it was too hot to spend time at the computer. Now we’re back to “achy” low pressure uncertainty, and feeling clammy because of high humidity…

Looking through my photos from last week for something to post I found this. It’s a consciously deceptive photo – I was trying different angles to find one that would give the impression of height and “anywhere”. In reality I was standing comfortably on a side-walk next to the Town Park…

Our World Tuesday

FMTSO: Routine (Summer Thursday)

Summer Thursdays in My Town (Borås, Sweden) differ a bit from the usual everyday routine, but have become a yearly tradition, to draw people into the city even in the heat of summer (when many prefer the beach or the countryside). The attraction is free concerts in the main square on Thursday evenings in/around July, and the shops then also staying open late (until 9 pm instead of closing at 6 pm). The main concert starts at 9 pm, and before that there are some less well-known bands etc playing. There is also dance music (different band) and an outdoor dance floor in the town park.

I never actually attended any of the late night concerts – not quite “my thing”, too loud and crowded. But we have had exceptionally warm and sunny weather this week. So after a few days of that, I tried a routine more associated with southern European traditions - taking a “siesta” during the heat of the afternoon, and then a walk into town towards evening, checking out the early part of the Thursday Night events.

Me and my shadow!

The rose garden in the Town Park in full bloom.

“Pre-concert” band playing in the Main Square (photo taken around 6:30 pm). That early there aren’t yet all that many people standing still to listen to the whole show. (I might have stayed a bit longer if they had not been quite so LOUD…)

Many like myself seemed to prefer to wander about, popping in and out of shops etc.

The police were on patrol to make their presence known.

… and an ambulance waiting around the corner…
I don’t know if that’s routine too!!

Pretty much summer-idyllic so far, but…
Wait a minute…
What’s that up on the roof?

An inflatable sculpture copy of Edward Munch’s famous painting The Scream. (Part of the ongoing sculpture biennial.)

Yes. There’s certainly a lot of anxiety lurking in the heat of summer as well. And one can feel very lonely in a noisy crowd - especially if one is there on one’s own rather than with someone in particular.

So after strolling around for a bit, I turned back home before it (presumably) got even livelier in town.

Seeking the most shadowy way on a hot day like this, I walked across the old graveyard both ways. (The first picture of me under the tree was also taken there.) On my way home, I spent some time watching the bunny rabbits living there (quite a big colony of them) – disturbing them in their supper (consisting of delicious green grass). They are very camera shy, but I managed to zoom in this one with the evening light shining through his ears.

 

Sporty Weekend Reflections

As mentioned in my “shoot out” post from last weekend, this past week we’ve had a lot of different sports activities going on here – Swedish Championship Week (‘SM’) in about 40 various types of sport.

Some of the days unfortunetly turned out very rainy, and as I’m not one of those sports enthusiasts who will glady stand around getting wet and cold in order to see other people getting even wetter, it wasn’t until yesterday I joined the crowds for a while with my camera. But then the weather was rather perfect for both participants and spectators.

Just getting into town at all was a bit tricky since the streets between the town center and where I live had been turned into a cycle-racing track surrounded by fences, and with guards at every pedestrian crossing.

In the river, there were various wet acitivites going on:

I’m not sure if the water polo players found the temperature in the river perfect as well.

Up on land, next to the river, they have been throwing stones smashing squash balls in a glasshouse…

… and in the main square, as I passed by, what was previously in the week a sandy boules court, was now being converted into a basket ball ground.

There was also a lion let loose in town. Probably a friendly one, but some children preferred to keep a wary distance. (Wise kids. Best ask mummy first.)

All in all, “something for everyone”, I guess.

Myself, I did not hang around long enough in one place  to watch any game in full, but I enjoyed the walkabout.

Linking to Weekend Reflections (first photo in particular).

[PS. Sorry to have no sunset picture for FMTSO... Some days the sun has refused to show it’s face at all; and when it did come out, it popped out of bed before me, and stayed up later than I did!]

Can You See It?

Can you spot the reason why I took this picture?