Autumn and Health Updates

 

/Photo from November 2023/

"Autumn is the season that teaches us to let go."  

On Monday we had a glimpse of sun and blue sky here for a while, in the middle of the day; which inspired me to try a long overdue walk to the nearest "recycling station" (for packaging waste) some 300+ meters or so from home. 

I usually go every weekend, but now it had been 3+ weeks (the last time was the same day that I fell and hurt my knee - just after leaving that spot!). Walking there and back usually takes me perhaps 20 minutes, now it took me 40. Besides me now walking very slowly and keeping my eyes on the ground (looking out for wet leaves), it also turned out when I got there, that every recycling container was already over-full... (No doubt a few more people had been taking advantage of that short break in the almost endless rain lately!) I only "just" managed to squeeze in the contents of my own bag too, in their respective containers... (But I did get it all in, and did not just leave things on the ground - as I hate when others do that...)

No photos, as I had enough to cope with just handling myself and my main "mission". 

It was my longest walk yet since the fall. My knee is still not back to "normal", neither in colour nor size. But the swelling has gone down enough for me to now be able to wear a compression knee bandage over cotton tights... (which makes it easier for me to put it on vs take it off...)

Later, back home, I snapped the shot below through a window. I'm pretty sure those leaves must have had "help" to gather themselves that neatly below the tree... ;)

Yesterday (Tuesday) was laundry day for me, which is still quite enough "being on my feet" for me for one day. (Still some sorting and ironing left for me to do today.)

Since the week after my annual primary health care check-up, I've been self-monitoring my blood pressure at home (morning and evening, three days per week), reporting the results to an HCC nurse via an app - a new way of communicating with them, recently introduced. (I've been using my own monitor, as I have one since before that they "approve of". Otherwise one gets to borrow one.) That's been a relief in the respect that I've not had to transport myself to the HCC to do it (which I find stressful even in normal circumstances, not to mention just now, when I'd have to take a taxi!). But still a bit stressful anyway. And as my values have been "borderline" (perhaps also affected a bit by my "knee situation"?), I've not been feeling sure how the doctor (new to me) would choose to interpret them. But today I got a message in the app that she found them OK, which means I can just continue taking the same meds as before, and in the same dosage. (I guess she also weighed in for example that my blood tests were all good.) So the official monitoring has been declared over for now. A sigh of relief from me, as I know from previous experiences that adjusting medication can be quite a trial in itself... 

Two Soons in a While

Adapted to English by me from a Swedish version I saw on Facebook:

A Moment is 3 minutes.

A Right Away is 12 minutes.

A Soon is 24 minutes.

A While is 48 minutes.

Which means that there are 4 moments in a Right Away, 
2 Right-Aways in a Soon, and 2 Soons in a While. 

I reposted the Swedish original on FB (for Swedish friends) with the comment that it's good to have guidelines, but I probably still need to double those figures...! 

 

On Monday I managed a walk to the nearest small convenience "corner shop" (to buy some bananas). Normally that takes less than 15 minutes there and back again. Walking very slowly and carefully now, it took me 25+.. (Including sitting down for a couple of minutes on a bench on the way back.)

 

Autumn keeps advancing outdoors

 

Here's a Peanuts comics strip that made me smile the other day:

I don't think I'm being quite as grumpy as Lucy yet, though. I certainly don't hate the whole world... On the contrary, I'm still very grateful to be able to communicate with the whole world, without even going outdoors!

Weekend Reflections, and Storm Amy

 The Calm Before the Storm 

Wednesday, 1 October 2025

Friday, 3 October 2025

October is Breast Cancer Awareness (and fundraising) month here in Sweden - and if memory serves me right, I think in a number of other countries as well (?) Anyway, when walking into town on Friday, I found these temporary pink decorations added on one of the bridges across the river... Reminding me both of the friends I have lost to breast cancer over the years - and those who survived. (Note to self: Make an extra donation to cancer research.)

The Storm 

With sunny and calm autumn weather all week so far, it was almost hard to believe the forecasts about the storm expected to blow in over us on Saturday, and likely to wreak havoc here and there. I decided to take the warnings seriously, though, so spent Friday afternoon taking in some things from my balcony.  I took my foldable "sun chair" down to winter storage in the basement, made room for my geraniums on the window sill in the living room, and even tied my wooden bench to the balcony railing. Felt a bit silly doing that with the sun shining from a perfect blue sky - but...

... when Storm Amy arrived on Saturday, she did prove to be quite capricious. I can't say I noticed her wreaking any serious havoc just around my street (and we stayed connected to electricity and internet all day) - but I followed her adventures on my local newspaper app during the day, and it seems she behaved quite badly elsewhere in town, uprooting and throwing big trees around (blocking roads, and damaging buildings), and even managed to tear an old steamboat loose from its jetty in the lake north of town...  
 

My own photo of the steamboat on a calmer day...

Photo from our local newspaper

The photo above, copied from the local newspaper's website, shows how a tree fell on an apartment building (not in my street, but another part of town). Luckily it did not break any windows, but it caused some damage to a couple of balconies. 

Today it still kept raining all day; but in the afternoon the wind had died down, and I went for a short walk around a few of the neighbouring buildings in connection with taking out some rubbish to the bins at the corner. (Only about 10 minutes or so, though, and in spite of both umbrella and raincoat I also felt need to change my trousers when I got back in...) 

Linking to Weekend Street/Reflections 

 

Progress of Autumn, and Things To Do

 

Where did September go? In many ways, and not least because of mild and sunny weather, it was a month that felt more like the end of summer than the beginning of autumn. Now October is upon us, however - and it seems to come with a long list of Things To Do.

It started already on Monday this week, with having to get up early and go out for a walk without even having had breakfast first - something which I can assure you is not my usual habit. It pretty much only happens when I have to go and have fasting blood tests taken - which was also the cause this time, for an "annual" doctor's "follow-up" appointment coming up in a couple of weeks. The "annual" has in later years been replaced with at least 18 months but I can't think of one word for that. The "follow-up" part is also not quite what it used to be, since nowadays it seems to be a new doctor every time. But a general check-up of  chronic condtions and prescribed meds, anyway.

I've also had reminders about upcoming vaccinations (flu+covid), but I'll have to book a separate appointment for those. And I need to get a haircut, but I don't know where to fit that in until some other things are over and done with...!

On today's to-do-list was Laundry Day + putting in an online order of groceries for delivery tomorrow. Usually I choose delivery on Thursday or Friday, but this week I needed to make it Wednesday, because on Thursday or Friday - at any time during either of those days - I have been forewarned to expect a visit from plumbers to install new taps (faucets) in both kitchen and bathroom. (They'll be doing this in all the apartments in my area, all in one fell swoop - not just mine.)

I hate (ok, strong word...) fuzzy time indications like "between 7.15 on Thursday and 16.00 on Friday" (even if I suppose it must be implied that I can probably relax between 16.00 on Thursday and 7.15 on Friday!) ... They say the job as such will only take about 20 minutes in each apartment; but not knowing when those 20 minutes will be still makes it problematic to plan the day(s). Of course I'll have to be up and dressed at 7.15 (way before my usual breakfast time) "just in case", plus I'll be worrying that they'll ring on my door just as I'm in the bathroom, or preparing lunch, or whatever... And I predict that  I probably won't settle down to much blogging until it's over and done with!

 

Autumn is happening fast now. The two photos at the top were taken on Saturday, on my walk back home from visiting the market in town. The photo here at the bottom of the post shows the same trees today - only three days later. (It should be added that these trees are among the very earliest to turn all yellow, though. I don't know what kind they are.)

"Autumn Is a Second Spring"

 

23rd September, 2025

▲ These trees at a parking area near the river in town are as eager to display beautiful autumn colours in September, as they were to show off cherry blossom back in May. (Photos taken from different angles, but it's the same place.) ▼

19th May, 2025

 "Autumn is a second spring, 
when every leaf is a flower."

Albert Camus 

 

Gathering Evidence

 In my previous post I mentioned my observation (from innumerable walks around the old cemetery close to where I live) that trees seem to hold on longer to their leaves on the branches that grow very close to the streetlights. 

Today was a grey and gloomy day, and I did not get out until around 3 pm. The streetlights were lit up while I was still out, which gave me an opportunity to gather some more evidence for my theory... I'll let the photos speak for themselves:

 - - -

Meike (in a comment) was also asking after Barbie & Skipper. For anyone who happens to have missed the previous adventures of these two, perhaps I should repeat the explanation that around 1½ year ago I decided to donate a bunch of old Barbie dolls from my youth to a charity shop. (Before that, they had all been spending the last 50+ years in various storage rooms, packed away together in one big box.) At the last minute I decided to keep two of them after all (while six went off to unknown destinies). The two that I kept now live on a shelf in my sitting room, and have appeared on this blog now and then to show off outfits sewn by my mum back in the 1960s.

As by now they have been "out in the open" for over a year, some of my readers have already seen most of the clothes that I kept for them. But since Meike asked... Yes, they did get "dressed up" for the Halloween/All Saints' this year too (I think in the same outfits as last autumn); but have now "dressed down" to more casual autumn wear again. ;)

 

Leaves Kept Falling...

Below are some photos of the autumn changes in one and the same huge old horse chestnut tree through the month of October - until the very last few leaves still hanging on, one week into November...

11 October 2024

18 October 2024

20 October 2024

25 October 2024

8 November 2024

The very last leaves still left on this tree yesterday. I think the reason leaves on this branch stayed on longer than all the rest is that they're very close to the lamp post on the other side of the path (you can see it in the 2nd and 4th photos). I've noted the same thing with other trees as well: Branches very close to the light from the street lamps tend to keep their leaves longer!

Leaf Blowing Season

 

View from my window this morning

Probably a bit of frost during the night, followed by a bit of wind this morning... Now the leaves are dropping fast from the trees! Leaf blowers were already hard at work on the lawns outside my buildning when I got up today.

For me today was laundry day, so spent mostly indoors. But I was able to get started an hour early, so also finished early; and had time for a sunny afternoon walk afterwards. Today I enjoyed that special autumnal feeling (and sound!) of literally wading in dry leaves practially all the way around the old cemetery...

 

Certain trees have lost practially all their leaves, while others still have plenty left.

A comment on my previous post reminded me of a report that was published back in September, to do with which of the 20 largest cities in Sweden are the "greenest" - as in having the most trees and the most green areas etc. Comparing a number of different parameters of that kind, a study showed that Borås has the greatest tree cover in relation to its surface area (52 percent), but is also at the top when it comes to the percentage of inhabited green space (58 percent). In total, we ended up as No 5 on the list. Although all the greenery is one reason that I like living here, I don't think I would have guessed!

A Quiet Day

 

Today I haven't heard a sound from above (cf previous post). A bit of sudden noise from downstairs made me jump - but that turned out to just be from refurbishment work being carried out in the flat below (just now empty waiting for new tenants).

It's been a mostly grey day, but no rain, and I got out for a walk after lunch as usual. Autumn colours in progress...

I have washed out the empty plant pots from the balcony, and taken those + plastic floor mats, parasols and my chair down to the basement storage room. (Should I still want to sit there for a few minutes on a sunny afternoon, there is a wooden bench that I keep out there all year round.) The 'privacy' trellis screen with the fake leaves that I bought back in spring will stay up until November, I think. A box of strawberry plants is still on the railing, too. (It will later go into hibernation under the bench, which will in turn be covered with a tarpaulin for winter. But no need to do that before November either.) 

Indoors weather is predicted for later in the week. I have a dentist appointment on Wednesday - just now it looks like I might manage that without getting too wet; but that of course remains to be seen. Then they say storm Kirk is going to hit us on Thursday/Friday. Probably in a somewhat weakened state compared to further south in Europe, though.

The Autumn of Life

 

We had another sunny September weekend - and probably a last farewell to what has felt like an unusually prolonged summer - starting already at the beginning of May, and lasting almost through September.

 

Now it seems autumn has started to take over, though. Raining today; and all at once, it feels a lot more autumn-like...

On my Sunday walk across the old cemetery, I happened to meet an older woman with a rollator walker (with a seat). She stopped and asked me the time, saying she had forgotten her watch at home. As I had remembered mine,  I could oblige. (Besides,  I also had my mobile/cell phone.)

However, after that she kept on talking... And as I was in no hurry, I remained to listen for a while. In the course of the conversation I learned that she was a widow since some years back, still living on her own in a flat somewhere nearby, spending a lot of time just waiting for home care staff (who never seemed to come on time), had applied for a place at some assisted living or nursing home and had been waiting a long time for that - but had also recently turned down an offer of such a place in a part of town with which she wasn't familiar, as she really wanted to be in the town centre. She had used to go and have lunch at a restaurant at some such place there sometimes; but was no longer able to walk there, as it was too far away for her now. She missed her husband; and all her old friends were gone (dead) too. She had a twin sister (alive but living somewhere else, was my impression) but did not get along with her (waste-of-space) brother-in-law, and never had... One thing upon another; and on the whole she came across as rather tired of life. (In spite of which, she had got herself out for a walk, all by herself, though, and did also seem to have spark enough to get upset about things.) As for me, she kept referring to me as "young"... Not really feeling all that young myself any more (at 69), I did finally ask her straight out how old she was, and it turned out she was 92 (born 1932). I.e. of the same generation as my parents, born 30/31, and gone since 15 vs 13 years now. So of course "entitled" to feel old and tired... and one might think that at that age just wanting to move to a care home of some kind should really be reason enough, But I do know that there are not nearly enough such places, and thus also queues... I do hope she won't have to wait much longer for a place somewhere where she'll feel less lonely. 

(For my own part, I came away from that meeting feeling unusually young and fit...)