A Sunny Day

 

The "every other day" kind of weather continues. Yesterday (Sunday) it snowed some more, and I did not set foot outside. Today (Monday), the world was still white when I woke up - but to my relief the sun was also shining again. 

The main reason why I felt relieved was that I had spent a week worrying if I should cancel an annual dentist checkup scheduled for today - or not. But my weather app kept insisting that Monday was likely to be the best weather day in the foreseeable future; and so I had decided to keep it. 

Glad I did, as now it's over and done with. I left home a quarter of an hour earlier than I would have done if the ground had been free of snow and ice. That proved a good idea, but got me into town without stress. Had the pleasure of meeting my "old" dentist (who retired a couple of years ago), temporarily filling in for my "new" dentist, who is on maternal leave. And the even greater pleasure of him finding nothing wrong with my teeth. (It was a routine checkup, and I've been feeling okay since I got the last crown fitted back in the autumn.) So in the end I just paid a rather hefty sum of money for a bit of a chat, and having my teeth polished ;-)  As nothing else needed doing, though, there was actually a bit more chatting than usual, both with the dentist and with the nurse. (Chatting at the dentist's usually difficult, as it mostly tends to consist of them asking questions and oneself gurgling something unintelligible in return, with one's mouth numb and full of their instruments and fingers...) 

No teeth removed or replaced on this visit!

My walk there and back was also quite pleasant, even if I had to take it slow (and keep my eyes on the ground a lot). First two photos from crossing the city park on my way into town; the others taken on my way back, then choosing another path along the river.

Magic Transformation

 

Happiness is having one's mouth full of teeth again - after a few weeks of having had to make do without one of them! Yesterday the Tooth Fairy (i.e. my dentist) waved her magic again, and I got my new crown put in place. Turned out a perfect fit, so will hopefully make daily life easier again for a while (until who-knows-what-may-happen-next). 

* * *

Coming out from the dentists' , I still had sort of a contrary feeling of deserving an extra "reward" for going through the process. So before I went back home, I ended up also going to a shoe-shop to buy myself a new pair of warm indoor slippers. Well - it wasn't really an impulse purchase, as I'd had it in mind for for a while. ;-) And probably not one that would have ended up on my blog, if not for a certain detail. I tried on a few different ones, but here is the pair that I ended up buying:

See that little tag? It "sealed the deal" for me...

Recycling magic! :-)

Broken Tooth, New Government, and First Frost

Another week gone by... (I wonder how many blog posts over the years began with that very phrase?) 

On Tuesday, I had a dental appointment; and much as I suspected, it turned out an old crown was broken, and needed replacing. (It came out as soon as the dental hygienist gently poked it.) It will be a similar big job as with another tooth back in spring - I know "the drill" by now... (ha ha) So here I am with a temporary filling, and needing to be inventive with my meals for a while again. Got a lengthy (1 hr) appointment at the end of the month for "preparations", and then I'll have to wait a couple of more weeks or so for the crown to be made, and another appointment to have it fitted... 

Well, to look on the bright side - it's autumn, and a good season to try out soup recipes...

Tuesday was also an Important Politics Day, and besides my visit to the dentist's I spent a good deal of it in front of the TV, as it it was the day our new Swedish government was introduced (the result of negotiations between four parties that have been going on since the election back in September). 

The new prime minister is the rather short man in the middle (Ulf Kristersson). Basically, the new government consists of representatives from three right-wing parties, with a fourth large one lurking in the shadows behind them. (I.e. with no official representatives in the government, but pulling quite a few strings anyway. Not least when it comes to stricter migrations politics.)

In what ways they will live up to their promises (or threats, depending on the point of view) remains to be seen. (Like so many other countries we're still in a situation of nearly half the population having wished for a different outcome of the election.)

Wednesday was laundry day for me (as it often is). It was also a sunny day for a change (after a number of rainy ones), so between turns to the laundry room, I continued with winter preparations on the balcony: like wrapping the wooden bench out there in a tarpaulin. I also took in a couple of geraniums - one of them about to bloom. (Crazy plant/s... They've had all summer, and choose not to produce flowers until the end of October!) Good thing I did, because that night we did get the first frost. (Which killed off the remaining painted nettles; but I had counted on that. I have more of those indoors.) Continued my "autumn cleaning" of the balcony on Thursday afternoon (which was also sunny). The strawberry plants are rather hardy, though, so they'll be up for a while yet. (Before it gets seriously wintry, I'll put them in hibernation beneath the tarpaulin-covered bench.) I also went out for two walks: Before lunch to the supermarket for a few "extras" (as it was the week between my online-order weeks); and again in the afternoon, "just for a walk" (and some photos).

 

Man made Leaf Blowers competing with the forces of Nature this week!

On Friday we were back to grey and rainy (and a bit milder). I seemed to spend a good deal of that day messing up the kitchen by making soup from whatever I could find in the fridge that might suit the purpose. I did follow a basic recipe for carrot soup that I found online, but as usual I didn't have all the suggested ingredients, or the right proportions of them, so exchanged this for that and that for this... The result was a carrot-onion-ginger-potato-red lentils-chicken bullion concoction. Frozen in portions and might be improved by some actual pieces of chicken thrown in when I heat it up... (No photos. I had my hands full!)

Today, another grey day, catching up with a bit of this and that (including blogging).

March

 

The month of March, around here, is still hovering between winter and spring. This year it has started out sunny, but still chilly (frosty in the mornings). In some areas the snow is all gone - and yet it may still be lingering just around the corner. These photos are from a short walk around the old cemetery this afternoon. In one tree I noticed a brand new nesting box. If anyone has moved in yet, I don't know!

In the trees I can see from my windows, the magpies are repairing and adding to their old nests, as usual. (The two photos below are from last year, but it looks much the same now.)

No doubt the ducks in the river are up to some family planning as well - even if not showing me where, but trying to confuse me with reflections of human dwellings...

 - - -

A week ago, I broke a tooth again. Called the dentist on Friday and got my annual check-up brought forward a couple of weeks, to Monday morning this week. Being very far from a "morning person" these days, I usually try to avoid early morning appointments - but as I wasn't sure how the weekend would go, I felt that in this case, I had better take the first option offered. Luckily at least the weather was OK and the streets not too icy. I was back home again before my normal (winter) breakfast time - with some grocery shopping done on the way home as well. But with just a temporary filling; and another appointment next week to begin a "bigger job". Fingers crossed she'll manage to figure out a way to fit a crown on what remains of the original tooth...

Meanwhile, I'm again keeping to soft foods, and trying to chew only on the other side... To avoid complicating things further by for example catching a cold, I also intend to continue to stay away from any attempts to resume "social life" for a while yet. (Can't say I had any immediate such plans anyway, even if corona restrictions have been lifted...)

Toothday

You may think it’s Thursday, but to me it’s been Toothday.  I had a visit from the Evil Tooth Fairy last night - the kind that takes your tooth AND your money!

So first thing in the morning I got on the phone to my dentist’s office; only to be told by their answering machine that the whole gang of them were away for education, and won’t be back until Monday.

Somehow that feels typical, although I suppose if I had kept proper statistics over my tooth emergencies over the years, I’m sure I’d find that my dentist has been available more often than not. In fact I’ve had the same dentist for well over 20 years, and I think it has only happened once before during that period that I had to seek help from a different dental practice.

Today however, they were referring emergencies to another dentist/number; and since four days seemed too long to just wait and worry, I took the plunge.

Luckily they were able to fit me in already at 8:40 am, so no complaints about the service. I took a taxi and got there in time. It was an old crown that had got broken off – together with a piece of the original tooth it was attached to. Luckily it was one that already had a root-filling, so no pain. He gave the rugged remains a bit of a polish and put a temporary protective filling on top. So at least now there’s a smooth surface and no sharp edges to cut my tongue on. This will hopefully keep until I can discuss the more permanent solution with my regular dentist.

There will be no steak for dinner over the weekend. 

Picture from http://www.supercoloring.com/

“The folklore states that when a child loses a baby tooth, if he or she places it beneath the bed pillow, the tooth fairy will visit while the child sleeps, replacing the lost tooth with a small payment.” Wikipedia

I can’t really recall any stories about the tooth fairy in my childhood, but I think I did get coins when I lost my baby teeth.  - What about you?

Midweek Blues: Snowing Again!

This morning I had to get up early to go to the dentist, because I happened to break off a corner of a tooth last week. I’ve not been in pain but as I suspected it resulted in the tooth needing to be replaced by a crown. So I spent 50 minutes in that chair today to get a temporary one and then I will have to go back in two weeks to get the real one. (Well – fake one, but the real fake one. You get my drift…) He also detected another tooth that needs to be fixed; and then there’s a third job that has been postponed before, which I had probably better get out of the way as well. For reasons hidden within the insurance system it will be cheaper to have it done in connection with the other expensive jobs rather than by itself.

For other reasons hidden within the insurance system, there was a new experience involved today. In addition to the usual x-rays, the dentist took a photo before he went to work on the tooth! Have you ever had anyone take a flash photo into your mouth? Maybe I should try that with my own camera?? (But I think I’ll spare you that view.)

My day could have been worse though. The weather forecast yesterday said we were to expect snowstorm today. I mentally prepared myself that it would already have started in the morning when I had to go out to go to the dentist. Actually, when I woke up in the night I took a peek out of the window, and I was convinced I saw slush on the ground. That, however, turned out to be just an illusion, caused by a combination of how colours get distorted by the streetlights, and “headology” (see my previous post today)… Because when I woke up again, there was even a bleak sun on the horizon, and the ground between patches of old ice was perfectly dry. I was even able to walk into town (instead of taking the bus).

 

About an hour after I got home, though, the snowstorm was upon us in full force. “So much for spring”…  Now we’re back to this:

There is still a hard wind blowing, and more snow supposed to fall from the sky tomorrow.

 

For Midweek Blues at The Dusty Cellar

PS. The star in the top photo is made from horseshoe nails. It hangs in my bedroom. All three photos in this post were taken through my windows, today.