Second Childhood

 

English title: Poo-Poo and the Dragons; originally published in 1942.
My copy in Swedish translation was printed in 1952.
Available for Kindle for about USD 1.05

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This month of July, with the weather shifting between too hot and too wet, and my bad knee still limiting me a bit as well, I seem to have reverted to a "second childhood" in my reading. On a whim, I started checking if some old childhood favourites of mine in Swedish (which I still also have in print) were also available in audio format from one of my library services - and as they were, I have been re-reading some of those "the lazy way" - i.e. by listening while resting, when too tired to do anything more productive... 

Alas the series that I dived into first (about "Kulla-Gulla") does not seem to be available in English: Only one or two of the books were ever translated to English at all, and none seem to have been turned into e-books. So the only chance of finding even the first two seems to be second-hand. (The series does seem to have been translated to German, but probably the same thing there - not likely to have been more recently re-published.) 

So really not much point in reviewing them here... But I'll give you a brief summary anyway - hopefully you might understand why I still feel inspired to do so, before I get to the end. 

I read these books more than once in my childhood/early teens, when visiting my maternal grandfather. Originally they belonged to my mum and my aunt - and later on, when that house was sold, they were among a few books that I decided to keep from there. 

Published in the 1940s, the story in these books takes place a few decades earlier (early 1900s). The main character is a girl (Gulla) who grew up in an orphanage, and then had to go into service very early on (still really just a child herself) to help in the household of a poor crofter with many children. (The croft called Kulla, and thus the girl came to be known as Kulla-Gulla.) Back in those days, orphanage children were "auctioned" out as servants to whoever demanded the least money from the village authorities to keep them. As things turn out for Gulla, though, it is discovered after some time, that she's really the illegitimate grand-daughter of the lord of the manor in the village. So in the later books, we find her having moved to live with her grandfather at the manor, and struggling to balance between having grown up extremely poor but then suddenly being expected to become a "lady". 

It's been several decades since I last read these books, but to my surprise I found I still liked them better than I expected. In some ways I can probably relate to them even more now, because of in later years also having learned more about my other grandfather's childhood: He was born the only child of an unmarried mother, and grew up in poor circumstances in a small croft cottage, too. After only a few years in the village school he became a shoemaker's apprentice - but then managed to change his career and became a journalist instead; and wrote a book about crofts in the village where he grew up (which was published after his death, by my parents).
...

Another of my old childhood books that I recently managed to find to listen to in Swedish is the book at the top of this post: Poo-Poo and the Dragons, originally written in English - and available cheap for Kindle if anyone should feel tempted...

It seems that this author, C.G. Forester, wrote many novels - and this one is not among the those he's best known for. (You can look him up in Wikipedia if you want to know more.) Personally I can only recall having read this one, though. Poo-Poo and the Dragons (1942) was created as a series of stories told to his son George to encourage him to finish his meals. (The boy had mild food allergies and needed encouragement to eat.) It is a totally whimsical story (involving dragons kind of "taken for granted"), but I found myself still enjoying it!

Now I'm curious to know if others among my blogging friends who have reached "senior" years also still have kept some of your old childhood favourites - and perhaps even re-read them now and then... ? (In my own case, as I don't have grandchildren, I can't "hide" my re-reading of children's books behind such excuses!)

Recycling, Exercise and Statistics

Friday last week, 24th July, was my 18th anniversary of moving into the flat where I've been living ever since. Back then, in 2008, I had not yet started blogging; and I don't have the photos of the moving chaos on my computer or online. (Another commemorative post from last spring may give you a "hint", though:  Memories of moving 2008.)

This July, another reason to let my thoughts wander back over the years that I've been living here, is that we just recently had new recycling bins for various kinds of packaging materials installed in three different places along my street. The photo below shows one of them, and another one just like it is more or less just across the street from where I live. 

 
This means that I will no longer have to go for a longer "recycling walk" to a somewhat bigger recycling station some 8 minutes walk or so away - which will be a relief, not least in winter... and with getting on in years besides...

I'm also hoping that "people" will take better care to leave the close-to-home stations tidier than they tend to do with the bigger more out-of-the-way station...  (The photo below was snapped some years ago - but alas it's very much of a repeat story.)

 

My thoughts travelling down the long and winding road of years past, it made me wonder how many weekly "recycling walks" I've made over the 18 years I've been living where I do now. It's usually been once a week. If I'm doing the math right, that means 52 x 18 = 936 times. And with each of those walks taking me about 20 minutes there and back, that means 312 hours, which equals almost two weeks (day and night).

Maybe I shall have to extend my walking in other directions to compensate for the exercise!! ;)  ... 

Skywatch Friday

 

Sunset sky - Thursday 23 July, 2026

Photo taken from my balcony yesterday; after a sunny day with pleasantly "cool" Nordic summer temperatures (not rising much above 20'C). Clouds gathered in the evening, followed by a mostly overcast day today. I don't think we actually got any rain, though - so far, anyway! (writing this at 6:40 pm) 

Personally, I much prefer it when I can open the balcony door or a window to let cooler air in, than having to keep everything shut, blinds down, curtains drawn, and fans running around the clock to try and keep the heat out (and yet not really succeeding) - as has periodically been the situation here too, this summer (but not for as long at a time as further south in Europe).

Linking to Skywatch Friday 

Wet and Dry

 I had a few comments on my previous post about how it still looks rather green here - and as I replied to some, for one thing we've not had the same long-lasting extreme heat as further south in Europe (Britain included); and for another we've probably also had more rain (even if mostly rather unpredictable showers combined with thunder). 

In our area/town there has also so far been no ban on using sprinklers for watering, which means that the places where I usually walk and snap photos - like the old cemetery nearby, and the park down in the city centre - have had extra help to remain predominantly green. 

However, today I walked a different way down to the riverside, and snapped the photo below to show you one example of places nearby where it's more obvious that it's really "fundamentally" rather dry around here too:

 
This is the grassy hillside below the cemetery up on the hill; and on the other side of the street, a slope down to the railway running in a valley further down below looks much the same.

But then down by the river, it's quite easy to forget about the drought again for a while. (There are dams at the northern vs the southern end of town to adjust the water level through the city centre, and it has been kept normal so far.)

 Water lilies are now in bloom in certain places in the river - here, yellow ones. (Alas as I only had my phone camera, I could not really zoom in the flowers properly.)

 

Interlude

 

Finally a day of neither glaringly hot, nor risk of sudden heavy downpours and thunder. As seems to have become the pattern this summer, I needed to take advantage of that for a couple of necessary errands in the city centre (mainly to the pharmacy this time); leaving me very little room for any more exciting excursions. But it did allow me a walk through the city park, and along the river, to get myself there and back. 

 On the way back, along the river, I sat down for a little while on a bench in the shadow on a kind of jetty (or wooden platform) - opposite the apartment blocks below:

In spite of the weather today being quite pleasant compared to last week, being on my feet for a couple of hours in the sun still had me feeling quite hot before getting back home again... So after lunch, I had another one of those afternoons when I just fell asleep, listening to an audio book - and then really not getting much else done...

I'm still using a walking stick, which is both "a blessing and a curse" at the same time. A blessing because it allows me to walk further than I would dare try without it. But a curse because it means I never have both hands free (and have to plan any errands or other activities accordingly - including photo stops!) 

Brrr...

 

 "Sudden drop in temperature" - AI generated image...

I know I said in my previous post that I'd welcome a drop in temperature - but then I had in mind daytime temps getting down to like perhaps just under 20C - not 12...

On Thursday afternoon we reached 32C here (89.6 F). Today, Sunday, it's not risen above 12C (53.6 F) all day . That's a drop of 20C (68F) in 2½ days... Not sure I've ever experienced that before?!

With unpredictable winds and rain showers reigning outside, I've just been staying in today - trying to let "enough" chilly winds in now and then to get the indoors temperature back to some kind of normal - but not too cold!! 

Thunder and Rain

 

Linking to Skywatch Friday 

On Friday afternoon the heatwave that has been ruling here for the past week started to break up, as thunder and rain showers began rolling in from the south-west. The showers have been brief but violent. The night indoors was still hot and clammy, as one could not leave any windows or balcony door open. Nor can one do so today, even if just going out for a short while. 

I did venture out for about 20 minutes around noon today, just for a "breather". I only walked 10 minutes in one direction and then turned around. The three photos above show my view of the sky on the way back. I managed to get back home dry, but shortly after, a sudden gust of wind blew shut the balcony door with a big bang (I had opened it wide when I got back in) and the heavens opened again. (The folding umbrella I had brought with me on my walk probably wouldn't have helped much.) 

This weekend of thunder is likely to be followed by a whole week of cooler weather (even under 20C) and also quite a lot of rain. Whether one considers this a blessing or a curse probably varies a lot from one person to another! Personally, I welcome the drop in temperature, and I know that nature is thirsting for rain... No guarantee how long it will be before I'll start complaining about it being too wet, though! ;)

Flamingo Fountain

 

Photo snapped off my TV screen, from the news on Swedish Television today. At a retirement home somewhere they have introduced this as a fun way for their residents to "cool off" in the current heat wave.  

 I did contemplate yesterday to perhaps make similar use of the sprinklers in the cemetery. (But then it wasn't yet all that hot, so I didn't...)

 

Today I might have been more tempted, as we reached 31C (88F) here in the afternoon. But that also meant it was too hot for me to walk that "far". I was only out for a very short walk in the morning, to buy some fruit & veg in the nearest small convenience shop. The rest of the day was spent indoors behind closed blinds and curtains, with fans whirring... 

Tomorrow they predict 32C, so I won't be doing much then either! 

Hot Again

 

 

 

It's getting hotter here again - seems we can expect around 30'C in the next couple of days. Today "just" around 26-27, but with the sun glaring from a clear blue sky without a cloud in sight, still feeling too much for me. I've been out twice but only short distances. Before noon I walked to one of the two small convenience shops in my neighbourhood and bought a big box of ice cream (1.5 l, which I was just about able to fit into my freezer, which is rather small and was already rather full of other kinds of food). After lunch I fell asleep for a while; and then in the late afternoon (after some ice cream!) went for a short stroll to the old cemetery, keeping in the shadow as much as I could. Before turning back home, I sat down there for a while (also in the shadow), on a bench in the memorial grove overlooking the chapel, near a little fountain providing a "cooling" sound. 

The next few days for me aren't likely to include any longer outings either.

 

Skywatch Friday

 

   

Wildflowers have been sown on a grassy patch dividing the walkway from the street in my neighbourhood. I think the main purpose is probably to attract bees and butterflies - but I find them very attractive as well! 

   

On the other side of the street you see the stone wall on the west side of the cemetery. Usually I walk on the inside of that wall, which is why I haven't spotted these flowers before!

And looking in the opposite direction, there was a very artistic sky formation! :) 

It's getting warmer again here, but today still not unbearably hot for a short walk before lunch. (I made sure to bring a bottle of water with me, though!)

Linking to Skywatch Friday

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.