Decisions, Decisions ...

 

Today - Monday - was another day of cooler temperatures here (even below 20'C), but no predicted risk of rain. So a good day for me to walk into town again - this time to revisit the optician's and make my final choice of frames for the new glasses. As some readers may remember, I had taken two frames home with me on loan over the weekend. However, while I did like one of those from the shape and colour of the rim, and how they fit over my nose etc, I felt sceptical about the temples (arms), which were very thin - while I feel more comfortable with having those a bit sturdier...

 

https://www.readingglasses.com/blogs/news/parts-of-eyeglasses

 So when I got to the shop I said I wanted to look at some more frames before I decided; and did so, partly on my own, and partly with help from the optician manning the desk. 

While she and I were just discussing another frame she had just found to suggest to me, someone else suddenly turned up beside me and said hello... It took me a second to take in who it was: My old friend Ewa from Karlstad, whom I've known for almost half a century. (Back in our youth we were both living in Karlstad). She is an optician, too - retired since a few years now, but in the summers she has continued to sometimes take on short term temporary jobs in other cities (for the same chain of shops she used to work for). She last filled in for someone in this shop in Borås last summer; and we met up then. But as she told me then that that was the last time that she would be doing that, I had not expected to see her again this year! But she certainly "came in handy" to continue the discussion of my choice of frames now (while her colleague helped another customer instead). As we've known each other for so long, I could hardly have had a more competent "third opinion" for my final choice. ;) ... To sum up, I ended up deciding on a different frame than the two I had been choosing between over the weekend.

As with all the chatting I forgot to take a photo of it, I won't be seeing it again myself until I finally get it back with glasses fitted - which probably won't be until the beginning of August, as the shop will close for summer holidays for a couple of weeks in between.

The photo at the top is a view across the river from the park that I took when I walked back home from town on Saturday. This one with the thistles is the only photo I snapped today. They grew in another (somewhat "wilder") spot along the river.

Weekend Reflections

 

Yesterday was the first day in quite a while that was just offering "nice" summer weather (neither too hot, nor threatening with rain and thunder). So I seized the opportunity for a walk into the city centre just to have a leisurely look around some clothes shops - without any other more urgent errands to tick off my list. (I think that's the first time in nine months - because of the limitations that followed my fall and knee injury last autumn.) 

The photos above show the outdoor terrace of one of the popular restaurants/cafés along the river - currently decorated with white balloons. (I'm not sure if for some special reason - or just "summer".)

Before I went back home, I did sit down for short break myself - but at the ice cream café in the park on the opposite side of the river:

Before that, I had visited three or four clothes shops. What I was looking for was a pair of wide summer trousers, in a different colour than blue or black (which I already have). In my opinion this is an excellent garment for hot summer days - and not least when one also needs to wear a knee sleeve or two underneath... So I wanted to get another pair before they perhaps go out of fashion again (one never knows!). And in the last shop I visited, I did find a pair of mauve ones that I knew could be matched with a few tops I already had. So after trying those on in the shop, I bought them. Mission accomplished!

Skywatch Friday - After the Rain

 

Today I've only been watching the skies from indoors. A day of moody rain showers here - but that suited me rather well, as I had the laundry room booked for the afternoon anyway!

Linking to Skywatch Friday - USA 250th Anniversary Edition 

(Happy 4th July to my American friends!) 

Eye Test

   

The heat wave here (fairly short compared to further south in Europe) can now be declared over. Today I needed to put on a light jacket for my walk into town, and my foldable umbrella came in useful on the way back. 

The photo above is one I borrowed from myself from a few years ago. Today, with a walking stick in one hand, an umbrella in the other and the rest of my "things" in a backpack, I had no hand free to take photos... ;)  

 

My main errand today was an eye exam originally booked for last week, but which I had to call and postpone because it got too hot for me to go into town.

No such problem today; and as it didn't start to rain until later, I arrived at my destination neither too hot nor wet. 

The result of the examination was that some minor adjustments could this time be made for a pair of new glasses; while at the same time my optician also did not see any need to refer me back to the eye doctor just now, as my problems of "that kind" don't seem to have changed. So I decided to go ahead and buy new glasses; after all I've had my old ones for 5 years.  

So before leaving the shop I also tried on some frames. I ended up taking two back home with me over the weekend, and will go back at the beginning of next week to "close the deal". Both those I took home with me were on sale. I do actually know which one of those that I prefer... But I might also want to have one last look around  next week before making the final decision. After all, I'm likely to be living with my choice for a couple of years at least! 

Recently,  I came across the following two "eye tests" of other kind online. At least I can brag about managing those without running into any major problems. Can you? ;) 

 

 

July

 

For the month of July in my 2026 wall calendar I chose this photo of a typical Swedish rural idyll. It is one I took last year at Bullerbyn - "The Noisy Village" - in the Swedish province of Småland. The real name of the place is Sevedstorp; and it is the village Astrid Lindgren had in mind when she wrote her books about The Children of Noisy Village. And it is the village where Astrid's own father grew up. (You can /re-/read my post about it and see more photos here, in a post from August 2025.)  

In case it's not obvious to all readers, the two containers in the foreground are milk churns (cans), which at small farms used to be put out on platforms like that by the road, to be picked up by a truck to be delivered to the nearest dairy. 

Watching My Curtains Blowin' in the Wind

 

My living room curtains

The front of thunder and rain that broke the heat yesterday was followed by quite windy weather - but now combined with more refreshing lower temperatures. I was in for another hot and stuffy night last night, though - as with the winds blowing, and possibly also more rain and thunder, I did not dare keep any windows (or the balcony door) open over night.

This morning, it still did not feel safe to leave anything open if I went out. I decided that the best thing was probably to prioritise taking the opportunity of a good cross-draught to help getting the indoors temperature down - but stay in to supervise it. So that's what I did.

It was also too windy to leave the parasols up on my balcony; so it's been curtains closed, but balcony door wide open in the living room - with a blackout curtain covering that opening. Also a window in my study half open; and on the other side of the flat, one window ajar in the kitchen and another one in my bedroom. 

As for myself, I spent quite a large part of the day in my lounge chair just inside the balcony door - feeling the breeze blowing in... And the cooler air then being circulated further by three fans whirring in different places around the flat...  

It's normally only in the heat of summer that I keep curtains drawn all across the windows like this (on top of closed blinds) - and thus see the patterns on those properly. The ones in the living room (above) I bought when I moved in here, which will be 18 years ago in July. The colours may possibly have faded a little bit with time - but I think not much. Anyway, I still like them. I also remember that when I bought them, they reminded me of the novel The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier (which is about the making of a medieval tapestry by that name). There aren't actually any unicorns on my curtains - only horses and some animals I'm not sure what they're supposed to be (deer? large dogs?). But I still get that association in my head, every time I look at them...  

The curtains in my study

The curtains in my study were bought a couple of years later, I think (after I had tried other old ones there but ended up not satisfied with those). They have birds on them, and I like them because they are white and thin enough to let through some light - but at the same  time colourful and cheerful.

And now, having spent half a day (or more) watching my curtains just "blowing in the wind", my mind wanders off to one of my Dylan favourites from way back in my youth...

 

How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, and how many times must the cannonballs fly
Before they're forever banned?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind

Yes, and how many years must a mountain exist
Before it is washed to the sea?
Yes, and how many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free?
Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head
And pretend that he just doesn't see?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind

Yes, and how many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, and how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, and how many deaths will it take 'til he knows
That too many people have died?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind

 

Hot

 Barbie and Skipper went to the beach (in their original 1960s outfits) but I'm staying in. No early walk for me  this morning as there was thunder in the air, and storm warnings. Not much wind actually followed - but a lot of water did fall straight down for a while.

27C indoors now and about the same outdoors. (Y-day we reached 33C outdoors.)

Testing blogging this from my phone. Very fiddly, so this is all you get today! 😎☔️🌞

Early Bird

 

I'm not usually an early riser, but this morning it seemed like a good idea to try it. So after an early visit to the bathroom, I did not go back to bed as I usually would. Instead I had an early breakfast, and then went out for a walk already at 07:15. (My working days are so far back in history now that can't even remember when I was last out that early. Once upon a time I used to start work at that time, though, so must have been up and out even earlier!)

The reason today was of course just knowing that it's going to get too hot later (see yesterday's post). And already at this early hour, I found that I preferred to keep in the shadow for the most part.

Luckily, the old cemetery with its huge old trees is only a few minutes away. I did not go any further, but just strolled around there for about 40 minutes before returning home. It was me, the birds - and cemetery staff already busy with hoses and watering cans... 

 

I liked how the morning light fell on this old grave.

 

The little fountain near the funeral chapel adds a refreshing splashing sound - a good place to sit for a while on a hot day (I know since many summers before). 

 Not a cloud in the sky; and the hydrangea climbing on the cemetery wall was buzzing with what must have been hundreds of bumble bees, in the sunny spot next to this gate. (You probably won't be able to see the bees in this photo though - I can't!) 

The last photo, with the water sprinkler (and rainbow!), was taken on another day and at a somewhat later hour. But the sprinklers were on in the same spot when I passed there this morning too.

Casting a glance at the clock on the wall in my study just now, it says 11:15 (summer time). I can hardly believe that. Feels like a lot later in the day for me... Pretending to be an early bird for a change is really messing with my inner sense of time! 

 * * *

"An early bird" is an idiom that refers to a person who wakes up early in the morning, arrives before others, or acts ahead of schedule to gain an advantage.
The term originates from the classic proverb, "The early bird catches the worm".
(AI summary)

 

Summer in the City

 

The heat from further south in Europe is moving north (or north-east). So far, it seems that where I live (Borås), might only be just on the border to the "serious" heat warnings - as in we might get away with only a couple of days with over 30'C (86'F), rather than longer. (Yellow = over 30'C for several days; and orange = over 33'C for several days.) How good they are at predicting remains to be seen, though!

Not comparable to 40+ in areas further south in Europe, of course (and I try to keep that in mind); but 30+ is still too much for my liking. I never coped well with high temperatures, even when younger. So today I called to postpone my appointment with my optician in the city centre tomorrow - until the end of next week, when (according to my weather app) it will hopefully be a bit cooler again.

 

In my flat I've already been keeping curtains and blinds drawn for a few days, trying to keep out the heat. Nights still being cooler has helped a bit but now it will inevitably be getting hotter indoors as well over the next few days.

Today, I received a delivery of groceries from the supermarket. They had even put me first on the list rather than last for a change, so it arrived already at 10 am. So I have plenty of fresh food and drink, and won't have to go out for supplies. 

On Saturday I have the basement laundry room booked for the afternoon. I'm thinking I might refrain from using the hot air drying cabinet for a change... ;) 

 

For Whoever Needs It!

 

I don't recall where I got this from... ;)

Seeking Shadow

Nights are still "blissfully cool" here but the days sunny, and temperatures are predicted to keep increasing until and through next weekend. Still, from the latest prognosis it seems likely they may drop a bit again after that, so that we won't have to face the really extreme long-lasting heat that has been reigning further south in Europe. (I for one am keeping my fingers crossed...!)

Today I was up early to open the balcony door and windows to let some cooler air in before it got too warm. I also did my online order from the super/mega market (delivery on Thursday) while my study was still in shadow. Around 10:30 I went for a walk to the same supermarket, though. (About an hour there and back.) One thing they don't include in the online deliveries is flowers; and I wanted to buy two more pelargoniums (geraniums), for my balcony. (And that was my only purchase today - so just "in and out again"...) 

I think the two I got a few weeks ago will stay indoors, and these two new ones will be my only live balcony decoration this summer. I just don't feel I have the energy to "potter about" a lot now. But I have put these two in pots that can easily be moved around to either hang on the railing or just sit on the bench next to the wall. (Or taken indoors in a rainstorm, or if I go away for a few days.)

Midsummer Orchid

 

My white orchid is in bloom again - last time was back in winter, around Christmas/New Year; so not very long ago at all. It normally lives in my bedroom window, but I just moved it into the kitchen instead. The weather forecasts for the week ahead are now predicting hot temperatures - which may make me want to keep both blinds and "blackout" curtains in the bedroom closed more than just overnight... 

The Midsummer weekend so far has been a bit "mixed" weather-wise. A massive front of thunder and lightning passed in direction NE over Sweden on Midsummer Day. Just around here we escaped most of the drama, though. It also hasn't been really "hot" yet. But it has still been feeling "clammy", and  I've been having headaches + feeling tired - which I blame on a combination of weather, wind and high grass pollen count (to which I'm allergic). So I haven't been "doing" much. I've been out for short walks but not for very long at a time. 

For me personally, because of the allergy (since my teens), Midsummer was never really my favourite holiday. Wise from past experiences, nowadays I try to avoid making any big plans for it... 

Just staying home, in town, can actually have its own kind of quiet charm - as a lot of other other people prefer to escape to the countryside or the seaside! 

Midsummer

 

In Sweden, we celebrate Midsummer Eve this Friday. Once upon a time it used to always be on 23rd June, whatever day of the week that happened to be. But in 1953 it was decided to always celebrate Midsummer Eve on a Friday; and Midsummer Day on the Saturday. So that's the way it's been my whole life. (Midsummer Eve is not a public holiday, but Midsummer Day is. So Midsummer Eve is treated much like a Saturday as to what's open or closed etc.)

This is a scheduled post; but this year I'm not very likely to attend any big Midsummer celebration. The museum park that I have sometimes visited to listen to some traditional music and watch folk dance performances on this day is too far away for me to walk to now - plus it's always very crowded at Midsummer, so one can't count on finding anywhere to sit down either.

  

I think my best photos from such a Midsummer celebration are those I took back in 2014. One of them copied above, and if you want to see some more, you can revisit my post from 2014 here.

But this year I'll most likely just be going for one of my usual shorter walks closer to home, and then celebrate quietly at home... 

... with Barbie and Skipper... ;)

 

Catching Up

On Saturday (13 June) our King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. There were live TV broadcasts from Stockholm most of the day; but I didn't remember until rather late in the afternoon. In the evening I watched a special one hour concert for them from the Royal Opera House, though (also broadcasted live). 

A royal boat used only on special occasions.

 
They were lucky with the weather in Stockholm that day, and had a beautiful day for the celebration. 

Down here in the south-west it was a rather grey weekend with frequent rain showers; but I managed one or two short walks in the nearby cemetery. The azaleas are past their prime now, but most of the rhododendron are still magnificent:

And new summer flowers had been planted here and there.
 

Today (Tuesday) there seemed to be a chance to get through the day without rain, so I decided to seize the opportunity, and called my hairdresser to ask if she could fit me in for a haircut. She could; so I walked into town for that, and afterwards to the pharmacy for a few items. Before I went back home, I also went by my optician's too book an appointment for an eye exam - as  yesterday I got a text message from them which was not just reminder, but an offer of a free test (for being a long term customer).  

It's been a while, and even if I haven't really felt any deterioration, I had it in mind already last autumn - but then I had that accident with my knee, which left me rather handicapped all winter. (And the optician's examination room is "upstairs"...) And then more recently, I broke a tooth and needed a new crown, so that took priority!

A couple of years ago I was also diagnosed with macular degeneration (but the slow kind, and I haven't felt it getting worse). So I've also been hesitating if best to start a new checkup at the eye doctor's, or with the optician. I had actually just come to the decision that I'd probably better ask about that - when this offer turned up. With a free test at the optician's, nothing to lose by starting there! 

  

Skywatch Friday

 

Wednesday, 10 June, 2026 (21:25)

Thursday, 11 June, 2026 (22:40)

Linking to Skywatch Friday

The Gentle Approach

or "When you feel like quitting"...

Here is an example of a YouTube video by the "PT guy" I mentioned at the end of my post yesterday. I think in this video he pretty much sums up his general "attitude", which is what has made me also try to practice some of his advice in other videos about gentle movements and exercises etc. 

- Gentle Approach
- Aiming Low
- Remember Your "Why"

 

 

I Walk in Beauty

 

A rhododendron tree of unusual colour - in the old cemetery.

 

"Now I walk in beauty. Beauty is before me. Beauty is behind me. Above me and below me. Around me and within me."
- Traditional Navajo. 

 

Some of the purple rhododendrons that were first in bloom are already fading and dropping a lot of petals to the ground; after a rather windy and rainy week. Others are still in their prime, though:

 

Because of frequent downpours, I haven't been straying far from home this week. Yesterday I had the laundry room booked in the afternoon and did not go out. Today was delivery day (from the supermarket), but they came an hour earlier than usual, and after lunch I braved a half hour walk around the cemetery and managed to get back dry...  

 

I'm still using my walking stick when I go out, but in the cemetery I sometimes practice keeping it "off ground" for a while now and then, when walking on smooth paths without too much debris. In certain situations, like on uneven ground, walking downhill, or crossing streets, I still feel need of it, though. - And when crossing streets etc, I also kind of feel that it serves to tell drivers and other pedestrians not to expect me to be able to hurry! 

 

A couple of months ago, a friend whom I haven't seen in person since last summer, ended a text message with hoping that I have "a good physiotherapist"... I didn't find the mental energy just then to explain that I don't "have" a PT in the sense of meeting one at my health care center. However, that's not the same as lacking advice about useful exercises. These days, you really only have to google "knee problems" or "knee bandages" once, and if you're also using Facebook, they will immediately start feeding you not only daily commercials for knee sleeves etc (how many do they think one person needs?!), but also physiotherapist videos. Some of those just annoy me, but some have actually proved helpful. Besides the exercises as such, I find that it's very much a question of the PT's "attitude"... My favourite so far is one British guy whom I'm actually following now (while others still just keep turning up anyway). If anyone is curious, you can also find this guy on YouTube: his name is Josh Trevorrow. (I might try to share some video here another day, but just now I'm too tired for the technicalities.)   

The First Week of June

 

The first week of June offered rather "mixed" weather, with high risk of showers most days - so I've mostly been keeping to short walks. On Wednesday 3rd June, I managed a walk into town for a few errands and back again without getting wet, though. 

 

On my way  home, I passed by this really massive hedge of purple rhododendron in the park (photos above and below):

 

Besides stocking up on tea from my favourite tea shop, and a few minor things from the pharmacy - all of which I managed to fit into my small backpack - I also visited a flower shop to buy two flowering pelargoniums. Maneuvering a walking stick with one hand these days, one extra bag is as much as much as I can manage!

As I'm not (at least not yet) sitting on the balcony much, I placed the pelargoniums indoors for now. One in the living room (above) and the other one in the kitchen (below).

 

 

 

This time of year, I have a very green view from the spot at the kitchen table where I always sit - for example at breakfast. 

 

I bought a new black tea blend with strawberries, mango and lemon in it to try out. (I like it!) (A direct translation of the Swedish name to English would be "strawberry straw"...) 

 

Thursday afternoon was laundry day for me and I don't think I went outdoors at all - but from the laundry room down in the basement I could enjoy this "different" view of the rhododendrons outside (through a small window high up on the wall):

 

 

Friday the 5th was rather rainy, but dressed in a raincoat I managed my usual "recycling walk" + a visit to a small shop on the way back to buy some fruit & veg. (Fresh strawberries included! I think probably Dutch rather than Swedish, though.)

 

6th June is Sweden's National Day and a public holiday with  traditions attached. There are usually celebrations in the city park in the afternoon and I assume that was probably the case this year as well. The weather that afternoon also turned out rather good. But personally I didn't quite feel up for a walk into town just to mix with crowds of people this year. So I just went for a quiet stroll on my own in the cemetery, where the azaleas were still in full bloom:

 

 

 

 

And in the evening I watched parts of the national celebrations in Stockholm on TV. Below is an official photo I copied from the royal family's website, of them traditionally joining the crowds at the open air museum Skansen in Stockholm:

Princess Madeleine and her husband Chris O'Neill; Prince Carl Philip with his wife Princess Sofia; King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia; MrAndreas Norlén (Speaker of the Parliament), Crown Princess Victoria with son Prince Oscar and husband Prince Daniel. The queen and the princesses all wearing a national folk costume in yellow and blue (the colours of the Swedish flag).

Busy times for the royal family just now, as the King and Queen will also be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary next weekend. (They got married 19th June 1976, but as in 2026 that date happens to be Midsummer Eve, the official celebration will be held the weekend before.)