Balcony Time

 

The sunny weather continues to inspire "spring things", and today I once again took the bus "across town" to buy something I knew I'd be able to buy there, but not in the city centre. The photo is from close to where I got off the bus, and you can see a glimpse of the shopping mall I was aiming for through the trees on the left. (Some trees are almost turning green now... won't be long!)

I had done my online research beforehand, so it didn't take me long to find what I was looking for - in one of those stores that tend to sell just about anything except food, clothes and hi-tech stuff. What I was after this time was a new wind/privacy protectetion sheet (or whatever you call it) for my balcony, as my old one came out torn from its last turn in the washing machine back in the autumn (having served me through several summers by then). The new one is the exact same model, size and colour though. (Which I considered a good thing as then I knew it would fit!) Having bought that, I also had time to pop into the nearby (food) supermarket and buy some bananas and grapes, before I caught the next bus back. (Some walking included in the trip as well though, as I have a 15 min walk from home to the bus stop from where I take that bus - and the same on the way back.)

Put up the screen when I got back home, the way I'm used to having it. It reduces the open part of my balcony railing in corner where I usually sit, but leaves a narrow peep-hole at the other end. 

I also actually sat there for a while after lunch (shadowed by the parasol, which is also new - bought last summer, but not used until now) - listening to music from Spotify. Someone might remember me "discovering" this app when I bought my new phone about a month ago... Then amazed that it seemed to be ad-free, which was not my impression from before (years ago). Well - that of course turned out to be just for the first two weeks, and then it changed to the free version with ads... However, today they offered me a free premium trial of three months... No ads + also being able to download and listen offline. I decided to accept that, as spring/summer is likely to be a period when I'll find that useful. (Like when sitting on the balcony, or elsewhere outdoors, and wanting to shut other sounds out.) (Of course I realise that they hope three months free trial will get me so addicted that I'll then want to continue and be willing to pay for it... Ah well. I'll decide about that when I get there!)

Making Progress...

Getting acquainted with my new phone is still taking up a lot of my time - and I keep oscillating between frustration and revelations... ;-)

Out on a short chilly walk on Sunday (just my usual turn around the cemetery for exercise) I had my first attempt at shooting some outdoor photos. Or so I thought. Turned out when I got home that what I had actually done was shoot some very short, shaky and blurry videos (of things not supposed to move!). 

Being used to actually pressing a physical button to take photos (even on my old phone), I guess I probably pressed the "screen button" on the new phone too hard...

Yesterday was sunny (even if still rather chilly), and a better day for outdoor photography. I managed a few shots in and near the park downtown; and then at home also experimented with creating collages. Some crocuses had shown their face again after the snow-shock that must have buried them the other day; and I spotted a couple of more unusual ducks among the usual mallards in the river.

I think they must be goosanders (Lat. Mergus merganser, Swedish: storskrake)

The white ones, bottom right, are snowdrops with snow dropped on top of them... (The crocuses were in a sunny spot, the snowdrops in a shady spot.)

- - -

Some of my other experiments have been related to sound rather than images. The new phone turned out to have no headphone jack; so the day after I bought the phone, I decided to also invest in a couple of new wireless (Bluetooth) earbuds. They don't even have a cord between them to keep the pair together... So far I haven't dared use them outside the flat! ;) They're surprisingly comfortable, though.

The photo on the left is a shot from my TV screen today (watching an episode of Foyle's War). Just as a reminder how far technology has come in the past 80 years or so...!

You turn them on/off and change volume etc by tapping on the earbuds themselves. I've still not quite mastered that art... Sometimes if I want to increase or decrease the volume, I manage to turn them off instead. Or suddenly an automatic voice cries "GAMING MODE" in my ear...  It seems I'm also supposed to be able to answer a phone call by a tap, if I happen to be wearing them when the phone rings. (That still remains to be tested.)

Getting the earbuds also inspired me to look into how to transfer music to the phone from my laptop (where I have pretty much all my old vinyls and CDs saved as mp3-files). Grasping how to do that turned out another headache. I'll just sum it up by saying I tried things more than one way without success... Finally, yesterday, I somehow managed to transfer two (2) albums, though - still hadn't got a clue why only those two (out of several more attempts) were successful!

Somewhere in between, it also occurred to me to explore Spotify (music streaming app). Wow... Somehow I've been under the impression that the free version of this app would also involve lots of unwanted ads and interruptions. (Perhaps in the beginning it did?) But I find now that it does not! And so easy to find old favourites... And once I started marking those, the app started making automatic playlists for me, and bringing up even more suggestions that I hadn't thought of... But you can also listen to full albums. (I bet some of you are laughing at me now. You probably knew all this since like forever.) Anyway, I got spellbound for hours yesterday afternoon, just exploring this whole world of old/new  music... Conclusion at the end of the day: No need to have tons of music files downloaded now - only perhaps a few, if I also want to be able to listen offline sometimes.

Still... Always unsatisfied with unsolved mysteries, today I returned to the problem of how to transfer music from the computer - and think I managed to figure it out. Somehow, after the two successful downloads yesterday, I must have broken off the procedure and failed to start over correctly. Like it seems essential that I turn on the phone first, before connecting it (by cord) to the computer... Never mind the rest of the steps, as it probably varies between devices anyway (which apps are involved etc). Suffice it to say that I have now also downloaded a limited number of my own albums for "offline" listening. 

However, in the process, I've probably also developed an addiction to continue exploring Spotify...