First Signs of Spring

 

Walking into town today I noticed the first signs of spring: A few snowdrops in bloom in a little flower bed created by someone living in the condos along the riverside. (The footpath between the buildings and the river is public, though.)

In spite of this, winter is not likely to be over for a good while yet. We'll probably see more snow again soon (although predictions just now vary between rain and snow, as temperatures are likely to  still be up and down around freezing point).

Tomorrow, Sweden will be lifting most of the corona-restrictions that have been in place over winter - like how many people may gather indoors for this or that purpose, etc. However, this does not mean that the pandemic is over, either. Only that with the 'omicron' variant, and with most people now either being vaccinated, or having had the disease (or both!), it's behaving differently (most people not getting seriously ill). So the restrictions aren't serving the same purpose any more. Or so they say. For my own part, I think I'll probably prefer to "keep my distance" for a bit longer. Or at least not immediately join a big crowd for celebrations!

Slow Progress

Horse Chestnut tree

Spring is making slow progress here this year. While some years, everything seems to explode all at once, it's been quite the opposite this year, with very subtle increase of greenery from one day to the next - or indeed, from one week to the next.

Myself I still seem to be in "slow" mode, too, recuperating from the vaccination last weekend. While the worst side-effects wore off in a day or two, I've still had some lingering "harder-to-pin-down" kind of (perhaps) symptoms, like a bit of headache and general tiredness; plus the injection spot staying red and sore and itchy longer than I recall from any ordinary flu-shot. (The latter reaction seems finally to be almost gone today, though.) It's not that I've had any real difficulties coping with things I've needed to do. It's just like everything has seemed to require a bit more effort and "self-peptalk" than usual. 

 

The Vaccination

Last week they opened up vaccine-booking for age group 65+ here.  I checked out the website the same morning I read about it in the local paper, but then there were no time slots open. I tried again in the evening, and then there were lots of times for Sunday afternoon, and I managed (2nd attempt) to book one. The next day I mentioned it on Facebook, and then a friend pm:d me and offered to drive me = transport solved.

So my friend picked me up on Sunday afternoon and drove me across town to the vaccination centre set up there. We arrived 25 min early, but there was no queue and I was allowed in straight away. Got my shot (the Astra vaccine), sat for 15 minutes in a waiting room afterwards (that's to make sure no one gets a severe allergic reaction) - and was out again before the original time I had booked. My friend was waiting in the car and drove me back home. The whole adventure took less than an hour. (Well - that part of it, anyway.)

On Monday, I did go through some side-effects, but I was prepared for that to happen. It started around 12 hrs after the injection (i.e. in the middle of the night) and involved slightly raised body temperature (with some initial shivering), tiredness, headache, and general muscle ache. As I have some chronic pain problems, primarily in my right shoulder/arm, I had asked to be given the shot in my left arm. Even so (but not really surprising to me), it was still primarily my right side that reacted with increased pain. (A rather odd feeling, hard to describe: knowing that there is a spot on your left arm that is 'rightfully' a bit sore, but it's still the right arm acting 'drama queen'...)

So I had a quiet Monday, just resting with audio books, radio and TV. (Heated up some soup for lunch.)  Towards evening I was feeling better, and on Tuesday morning my temperature was back to normal. I'm still kind of feeling a little bit 'off' in a hard-to-define way, though. The injection spot is also still red and sensitive to touch, so I guess my body is still working away at trying to figure out what on earth hit it, and how to best deal with it. 

 

I hope it will be done with the processing soon and then continue to quietly build up a good defense for possible future attacks; as my next shot won't be until the beginning of August. (Vaccine deliveries were delayed earlier in the spring, and it seems the current priority is to give as many people as possible their first shot.)

***

Photos: Playing in Picasa with photos from the recent "We Knit For Peace" exhibition.

No.3 is from the waiting room after I got the jab, though. That was a bit surreal, too. People came quietly one by one and took a seat, and every now and then someone quietly rose and left, as their 15 minutes had passed. No one spoke; it was like a ritual of a short silent meditation...)

Waiting

 

We still seem to be stuck in between winter and spring here, a kind of non-season that does not inspire much photography. On Saturday, the sunset seen from my living room window was quite spectacular for a while, though.

On the whole, Nature as well as People just seems to be waiting for Things to improve. The snow went away, there was spring in the air for a while, but then it got colder again. Today when I went out there was a flurry of snow whirling about again, and I also noticed that it was very silent - the birds seemed to have put their singing on hold as well.

Yesterday (sunny but rather chilly) I walked into town after lunch. My main errand was to a chemist's shop for a some medical & hygiene supplies; that's about as exciting as life gets nowadays. On my way back I also passed my favourite tea shop, though, and noticing that there were no other customers at the moment, I took the opportunity to pop in there as well, and was happy to be able to add two little packets of tea to my booty. Shops here now have to limit the number of customers to the size of the place; for the tiny tea shop that means only one or perhaps two at the same time. I noticed they had moved their queue ticket machine outside.

I can't remember when I last went into a shop to just "have a look"... (If I don't know exactly what it is I'm after, I don't go in.)

In spite of various restrictions we still seem to be on our way into a third wave of covid here, the numbers increasing again. The good news (I just watched another one of the twice-weekly corona-related press conferences on TV that have become routine ever since last spring) is that death numbers are going down, though - assumed to be related to successful vaccination of old people in care homes, or with home care (and of staff working with those people). Vaccination has been going a bit slower than first estimated though, because of delays in delivery of the vaccines. As 65+ I'll be in the next priority group, but probably at the bottom of it (as they'll be going from older to younger). So I'm expecting to have to wait a while yet before it's my turn. 

 

 

And There Was Christmas

Living alone and keeping to the recommendations of only celebrating Christmas with members of one's own household... One might think that would mean lots of time for a blogger to to blog. Somehow, it seems I still managed to fill my time mostly with other things, though!

What you see above is a closeup of one of the decorations on a bridge over the river in the city. Picking up where my 4th Advent post left off, here are some more photos from my sunny walk last Saturday. (Blogger/the internet seems to to be cooperating better today.)

There is an ice skating-rink in the park - frozen by artificial means, though, as it hasn't really been that cold here yet (mild December, and temperatures still hovering hesitantly just around freezing point for Christmas).

Actually, the Christmas days themselves offered quite nice weather for walks as well. A bit chilly, but nonetheless I manged to get out twice on Christmas Eve, and one walk per day the next two days. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were mostly sunny. Boxing day was grey but with a few snowflakes in the air. (Not enough to cover the ground, though. And today is windy and rainy, and I think I'll be staying in...)

Christmas Eve: Sun still very low, and a bit reluctant to get out of bed at all... (Photo from around midday.) Went for walk across the cemetery and down to the river to say hello to some ducks.

In the afternoon I had a Skype meeting with my brother; and there were also phone calls and messaging with a few other friends. And enjoying my decorations, and all the cards that had been dropping in during December. As this has pretty much been my "new normal" for a number of years now, I can't really say that this Christmas will stand out for me (personally) as very different. (New Year's Eve will be, though, as that will be the first time in two decades that I won't be having my usual party with a handful of friends.)

 (Well, I guess that one thing that might stand out as different in retrospect would be my haircut. Or rather, lack of. Haven't been to see my hairdresser for months...)

The dawn of Christmas Day, from my balcony (around 10 am)

 A bit of frost on the ground that day, and ice on the puddles!

 

And the ducks in the river obviously don't care about any rules about keeping distance.

The Good News this last weekend of 2020 is that the first dosages of vaccine have started arriving. The first corona vaccinations in Sweden have been given today to elderly people living in care homes. Hopefully we'll see the situation gradually improving during 2021.

Weekend Reflections

On Friday we had a rare day of November sunshine and blue sky, and I decided to make use of it to go for a walk. As I also needed some things from a chemist's, I walked into the city centre, before noon. It did seem that people have got the message from the latest restrictions as there were very few people about. And a small chemist's shop I passed was all empty of other customers, so I had no problem getting my errand done. Before walking back, I made an extra turn to the main square for a quick check on things.

 

A few market stalls have been put up wide apart, but I think it's been arranged so that different businesses will take turns being there. (An attempt to keep business going in the city without gathering too many customers all at once.)

Santa's labyrinth. (There's a letterbox for wish-lists in the middle.) Not sure it's the best idea this year to risk getting trapped in a labyrinth of any kind! On this occasion it seemed all empty, but I stayed on the outside all the same...

And the big 'mistletoe' on the bridge had been put up as well. What where they thinking, and what would the Health Agency say about it?! (The couple in the picture did not stop under it, though.)

It was a good day to stop here and there for reflections and photography, though!

Mid November

 

Oops, I just realized it's been over a week since I last posted. If anyone is wondering, perhaps I'd better report that this is because I've been feeling gradually better (not worse). Even my blood pressure monitor seems happy now; so I hope the (new) doctor will be too, when I next speak to her. (Which might be tomorrow, if she's better than the other one at calling as agreed.) The weather has been very novemberish, and I've had a lot of indoors things to catch up with. (And I've got started on Christmas cards to be sent abroad...) I've also been out for walks, but they have mostly been short, grey and wet, and with little to inspire photography. (The photo collage above is from the beginning of the month.)

Alas, the corona situation is getting worse again here, including new restrictions almost every day now. Some restrictions are local now and may vary from one region to another, but yesterday the government  announced that from next week until at least mid December (maybe longer), public gatherings will be reduced by law, nationally, to a maximum of 8 people. Apparently this is as close to lock-down as we can get here, without it clashing with our basic constitutional laws. But it's being made very clear that for the time being, we're really expected not to hang out with anyone except those we live with (or work with, for those who cannot work from home); or in shopping malls, gyms, swimming baths, museums, libraries etc. And when we do have to go shopping, we need to be strict about keeping distance; and shop owners must also make that possible. (It seems people have been getting more careless during the autumn than they were back in spring.)

Personally, I feel like I've pretty much been living like that ever since February.

Keeping Distance and Being Thoughtful

 "Keeping distance is being thoughtful"

These signs are found all over the parks in our city this summer, as a reminder to keep distance, even when sunshine and greenery and holiday mood may tempt us to forget all about the invisible virus.

On this particular occasion (last Tuesday), I had no difficulties keeping distance, though - as I was the only visitor in this little park down by the river when I took the these photos. Plenty of room for me to just be thoughtful all to myself!

 

Obviously, there are different rules for plants & flowers!

PS. Being a language nerd, I had to try to figure out what the languages on the sign are... I recognize four out of seven (Swedish, English, Finnish, and German at the bottom) but what about the ones in the middle? Google Translate helped me identify the fifth as Somali. No 4 and 6 are likely to be Arabic and Persian, but which is which? I searched for ways to tell them apart, and found a 5 min YouTube course on that very topic... So I think I can now say that the languages from top to bottom on the sign are: Swedish, English, Finnish, Arabic, Somali, Persian, German.

Why? In the previous century, we had lots of Finnish immigrants (and many people with Finnish roots still living here). In later years, many immigrants from the Middle East and Africa. As for German, I guess some immigrants (for example from Eastern Europe) perhaps know more German than English (+ we get German tourists in the summer).