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.) 

 

Here We Go Again...

 Troubleshooting, part XWZ (...sorry, I lost count...)

 

 

(Re-using an AI-created image from 2024.)

I'm back in communication with my printer/scanner. 

Since my last round of trying to fix it, I've been suspecting that the problem must have something to do with an old unfinished printing job mysteriously stuck in queue, and refusing all attempts to just remove it the usual way (via the printer app).

 

Today, I first tried uninstalling and re-installing the printer; but that didn't fix it either. So... then I let AI guide me into mysterious chambers I wouldn't have a clue where to look for on my own; and eventually, having emptied one such folder of four files that I had no idea what any of them was - "abracadabra", the printer was immediately willing to both print a test document, and to scan a postcard... Phew! 

Unfortunately, having finished that job, I discovered that in the process, I had instead managed to lose contact with my File Explorer. It had decided to follow the example of my Firefox browser recently, and shrink to a size so small that it's useless (as I can't see what to click on). I suspect it did that in revenge, to punish me from consorting with AI and getting encouraged to fiddle with files and settings a normal non-tech user isn't supposed to dare muck about with... 

While the Firefox window problem could be fixed by uninstalling and reinstalling that browser, I'm not sure that procedure can be applied to File Explorer. (?) However, my new chum AI assures me that there are alternatives to File Explorer to be found. I think I'll have to read up a bit more on that before I try it, though.

Meanwhile, I think I have at least figured out how I can reach my documents and photos in other ways. So for the moment, I'll take the Scarlet O'Hara (Gone With the Wind) approach to further troubleshooting: "I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow." 

 

Postcards from a Stranger - (Audio) Book Review

 

Postcards from a Stranger by Imogen Clark
Audio book narrated by Henrietta Meire
(10 hrs and 11 min) (2018)

Cara grew up with her father and brother, and doesn't have any proper memories of her mother, who died when she was just around 2 years old. As an adult, she's still living with her father, who now has Alzheimer's; while her older brother, Michael, lives in London and has a family of his own. Cara has a skill for dressmaking, and runs her own business from home, designing wedding dresses; which also allows her to keep an eye on and be at hand for her father. In the long run that all gets a bit too much for Cara, tough; but then she manages to employ a qualified nurse to help her father in the daytime.

One day, Cara happens to find a stash of old postcards in the attic. The cards, from various corners of the world, are addressed to Cara and Michael, sent regularly every year until Cara's 18th birthday, always with the same message. The sender is anonymous, but Cara starts thinking that it feels like the cards could be from her mum - if not for the fact that the cards are all from after her mum died...

Cara's father is too deeply lost in his disease to be of any help, so Cara tries talking to her brother about it. But Michael says he does not know anything about the cards - and obviously they can't be from their mum, as she was already dead when they were sent.

Cara can't let go of the mystery though. She finds out that her mother had a sister, now living in America, and actually flies over there to try and get in touch with her aunt.

Even this does not seem to unravel the mysteries involved, though.

Somewhere half way into the story I began to have some suspicions of my own about the outcome in the end... But as it turned out, I too was on the wrong track.

I'm not going to reveal any more, but I got quite wrapped up in this book while listening to it. (It was another one included to listen to for free in my Audible membership. Seems to be the only one of hers included there for free, though.)

The author's page on Audible says:

Multi-million copy bestselling author Imogen Clark writes contemporary book club fiction about the hidden truths within families—and the consequences of uncovering them. Her novels have topped the Amazon Kindle charts eight times and are now translated into twelve languages, reaching readers worldwide. Originally a lawyer, Imogen left her legal career to raise her four children before returning to her first love—books. She studied English Literature part-time at university and soon began writing stories of her own. When she’s not writing, Imogen is usually planning her next adventure. A passionate traveller, she finds inspiration for her novels everywhere from Yorkshire, where she lives with her husband, to the far corners of the globe.

When I tried looking her up in Wikipedia, I just found an author with the same name who lived 1858-1936, though!

Books I Read/Listened to in May 2026

 

The Saint Mary's Cipher by Anna Elliott and Charles Veley
No 9 in The Homefront Sleuths Cozy Mystery series
Release date 2026-04-27
Audio book narrated by Iona Campbell (9:50 hrs)

Introduction from the Audible website: 

Palm Sunday brings spring to Crofter’s Green and a deadly secret. When a postal van crashes outside the Cozy Cup, Dorothy agrees to hold a registered parcel for the shaken driver. Minutes later, the parcel vanishes and the postman is found murdered. The only clues are an address in London and a faint cipher that points back to St Mary’s Church.

As Alice, Blake, Harry, and Evie follow the trail, the Homefront Sleuths uncover a chilling wartime plot that could leave the village in ruins. With blackout-darkened church bells, a father’s fate hanging in the balance, and a wedding at risk, they must stop a ruthless local ring before the first bombs fall.

My opinion: I've listened to all 9 books (so far) in this series, in order, in four months, becauseI found them included in my Audible membership for free - but am not sure how long that will last... I wouldn't be able to re-tell the plot in each individual book/mystery, but the characters are likeable, and the books have been entertaining enough to listen to. The setting is an English village in the early 1940s, during the war. (The events in the first seven books all took place during 1941, while with No 8 we moved into 1942 - and as you can see in the introduction for No 9, that one starts at Easter 1942.) 

I assume the series will continue... Whether I'll also continue to listen, probably depends on if it will also continue to be included among my "free" titles!

 

In the time of Five Pumpkins by Alexander McCall Smith
No 26 (!) in The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series
Release date 2025-09-04 
6 hrs 54 min

Introduction from the Audible website:

The rains are coming, but not just yet. When they do, there will be green shoots of growth throughout Botswana. Pumpkins will flourish – particularly those of Mma Potokwani, matron of a children’s home and old friend of Precious Ramotswe. Mma Potokwani and Mma Ramotswe have many other things to talk about, including a new friendship that Mr J.L.B. Matekoni has struck up with Mr Freddie Mogorosi, a prominent figure in the motor trade.

In the meantime, Mma Ramotswe looks into what seems to be a straightforward matter involving a husband who thinks his wife may be having affair. But there is a surprise in store: she, it transpires, suspects that he himself has a lover. This is obviously a case that will require tact – which of course is a quality Mma Ramotswe has in abundance. Along with kindness.

In this latest visit to The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency we are reassured that no matter how unhappy the world may be, there is always an oasis of courtesy and peace in that special place in southern Africa. To which you are now invited.

My opinion: I repeat what I said about the previous one in this series (in April): I'm  impressed that Alexander McCall Smith still manages to keep this long series enjoyable. The "concept" is pretty much the same as it has been all along, but at the same time the main characters do keep developing and maturing - giving the sense that time does pass in their lives as well as it does for us who have kept following the series from start (1998). (It's only the last few that I've bought with Audible credits, in the past I borrwed them from the library.) 

 

The Man with a Load of Mischief by Martha Grimes
Book 1 in the Richard Jury series (first published in 1981)
Audio book 9 hrs 32 min; narrated by Steve West

Introduction from the Audible website: 

At the pub The Man with a Load of Mischief, they found the dead body stuck in a keg of beer. At The Jack and Hammer, another body was stuck out on the beam of the pub’s sign, replacing the mechanical man who kept the time. Two pubs. Two murders. One Scotland Yard inspector called in to help. Detective Chief Inspector Richard Jury arrives in Long Piddleton and finds everyone in the postcard village looking outside of town for the killer. Except for one Melrose Plant. A keen observer of human nature, he points Jury in the right direction: into the darkest parts of his neighbors’ hearts…

My opinion: This is the first book in another very long series of detective novels. From Wikipedia I learn that Martha Grimes too by now has written 26 books about DCI Richard Jury. I have read a couple in the past, a long time ago (and not in order); and now decided to go back to the first one in the series to see where it all started. Besides the detective Richard Jury, and I think also the character Melrose Plant, another thing that links all books in this series is that their titles are all names of English pubs.

Murder on the Rocks by T.E. Kinsey

A Lady Hardcastle Mystery, Book 13
Release date 26 May, 2026
Audiobook 8 hrs 11 min
Narrated by Elizabeth Knowelden

Introduction from the Audible website:

February 1913. Lady Hardcastle and her diminutive but brave lady’s maid, Flo, have been invited by their friend JB McIntyre to spend the weekend at his recently renovated Tudor fort on a remote island off the Devonshire coast. But the holiday quickly turns sinister when first a number of valuable jewels go missing—and then a fellow guest is murdered with a most unusual weapon.

Asked by JB to investigate, the stakes are raised for the sleuthing duo when a violent storm traps the group on the island and cuts them off from help. Is the murderer in their midst? With everyone claiming to have an alibi—but each also having a skeleton in their closet—can Lady Hardcastle and Flo unravel this complex web of secrets and deception before the killer strikes again?

My opinion: This is one of my favourite mystery series in later years, told from the point of view of Florence, lady's maid (but really more like companion/friend) to Lady Hardcastle - both of them with a rather adventurous background from travels in foreign countries, but in the first book coming back to England to "settle down" in an English village. ... Well - as all of us who enjoy this genre of British literature, the idea of a peaceful and mystery-free life in the English countryside is really a contradiction in itself... 

This 13th book is a little bit different in that they leave their own house and village to go and stay with a limited number of guests in an isolated big house on an island. So their usual set of friends in their own village are not involved in this story.

I enjoy this series as I like the characters, the setting, and the witty repartee between Lady H and her maid. (Originally I fell for the series because one of my paternal grandmother's older sisters was a travelling lady's maid more or less in the same era. To my knowledge she didn't solve any murders, but she still led a more adventurous life than most girls/women of her time.)  

 

Entering June

For the month of June in my 2026 photo calendar, I chose this garden gate. It's from my visit last summer (in August) to the childhood home of the Swedish author Astrid Lindgren (at Näs, Vimmberby, in the province of Småland). If you'd like to (re)visit that post and look at more photos from there, you can do so here. 

. . .

A lot of my "computer time" is currently spent trouble shooting again. This time it's my printer that's being uncooperative (since a week or two). It still works as copier (showing that it's not "dead") but refuses to print documents from the computer - or scan images. I've tried the "automatic" trouble shooting routines without success, so I'll probably have to get into the more time consuming process of uninstalling and reinstalling etc... Or perhaps even wait for a new app which the old app says is going to be released soon... Just hoping no urgent printing jobs will turn up in the meantime!