After a long dry spell, we had quite a lot of rain this week. I did not mind, and Nature obviously welcomed it with open arms...
I've been out for a walk now and then in between showers, otherwise I've been spending most of my time either engrossed in family history (see my Greetings from the Past blog), or going through (reducing/ getting rid of) some old papers of my own - a job that somehow seems to be never-ending, and mysteriously always seems to leave me with my bookshelves still looking as full as before, never mind how many binders and kilos of paper I removed.
Yesterday, it was time for the annual "bulky refuse" day in the district of town where I live. I know from the Blog World that some of my readers in other countries have this service a lot more often; but here, it's one day in May (or rather, 1½ hours in that day) - and we're still supposed to bring the stuff to one spot on the estate where the trucks are parked. (I think you can ask for help if you've got very large stuff, though.) That spot is around 5 min walk from my building, and even using a shopping bag on wheels (or just the frame of that) I can't transport very much at the same time. Yesterday I made five turns back and forth, getting rid of broken appliances (like a bread machine, a fan, and an electric blanket that might not be broken but too old to be trusted), some smaller stuff (bulbs and empty ink cartridges etc that should not go in the ordinary household waste), and two carrier bags with empty broken or scruffy-looking old binders and folders. Phew. That actually kept me busy (and walking back and forth) the whole of those 1½ hours. (On the other hand, I also got my daily exercise.) After lunch I was so tired I lay down and fell asleep... Later in the afternoon, I ended up going out for another (short) walk, though - enjoying a bit of blue skies again, and not having to carry anything except my camera.
wow, that is cool that the do that, we have to drive about 30 minutes to get to the place to take stuff like that. and it is also once a month for 3 hours. requires a car. glad you got all the stuff out of the flat. I am wondering how the roofing is going
ReplyDeleteSandra, the roof-work is still going on. Not sure how much they still have left to do, but my guess is it will be at least another week, maybe two, before they take down the scaffolding.
DeleteI also collapsed and napped yesterday, but wasn't as productive as you. Had a nice lunch with friends - at a local restaurant. We usually eat outdoors, but like you, it rained. So we had to deal with a lot of noise inside. Very hard to hear each other. And my back is bothering me, so no good return of things to the pick-up that was also held here.
ReplyDeleteBarbara, I wish we had the pick-up at least twice a year here. As it it is I'm always nervous about missing it (although I rarely have, so far). Still, I'm thankful we at least have that once-a-year opportunity!
DeleteWhat a job! We had this happen a few times a year, maybe twice. We had to put the things in our yard by the street, and a truck would come around. They have stopped doing it now, due to not enough employees because of the Great Resignation. You can have stuff taken away if you call them though, but only one a year maybe. What is this white tree?
ReplyDeleteGinny, I'm not sure about the flowering bush/trees (there are lots of them around the old cemetery) but if it is what I think in Swedish, it's name in Latin/English is 'Amelanchier spicata'.
DeleteI had to look up the Great Resignation, I've not heard is spoken of in those terms here.
A lovely walk - how fresh and green the trees and shrubs look.
ReplyDeleteWe have a central point in town where we can take anything - TV's, and broken household appliances, furniture, bottles of used cooking oil which have to be disposed of "environmentally correctly", plus goodness knows what else. However most of us just leave large items by the nearest household waste bins - one for kitchen waste, one for plastics and a third for paper and cardboard, which are emptied every day except Sunday and Public Holidays. There is also an area where we can leave garden waste either tied neatly or in plastic bags.
Local supermarkets have collection bins for small batteries and light bulbs, and they are now collecting used metal coffee pods.
CG, we have recycling containers (5-6 min walk away for me) for newspapers and package materials: plastics, paper/cardboard, metal (cans, tins, lids) and glass (bottles, jars). There's also a box for small batteries. Leaving anything else in or next to those containers is prohibited. People keep doing it anyway, but I try to keep to the rules.
DeleteAs winter creeps in here it's lovely to see your beautiful spring blossoms. The pretty white flowers looks so refreshing. I used my Plant Snap app, took a photo of your photo and it worked, got the same answer you provided. I was surprised it worked. I live not far from a recycle station so don't have any difficulty getting rid of broken appliances.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a really smart app, Pauline!
DeleteRain is so welcome in our parts these days, isn't it!
ReplyDeleteWell done on sorting out your stuff and getting so much exercise in at the same time :-)
Here, we can "order" the service of having large stuff picked up; twice a year is for free and for more (or bigger or "special" items such as fridges) one has to pay.
Meike, living in a rented flat, at least I don't have to worry about items such as fridges (which are the landlord's responsibility)
DeleteThat is a neat idea for taking your unwanted items - wish we had that here, big rubbish and appliances get dumped sometimes, it's so untidy.
ReplyDeleteAmy, alas too many things just get dumped here too. Which is why I wish they had a few more collection days per year for "all sorts"...
DeleteSome of us just don't know how fortunate we are with our refuse and recycling collections.
ReplyDeleteGraham, I suppose when we're used to a certain kind (or level) of service we do to tend to take it for granted.
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