Walk a Mile in My Shoes

 

 Water reflection in the river, last weekend (Borås city)

 

I find it a blessing to have some river views and the city centre within walking distance from where I live - this summer more than ever, since I'm now trying to avoid taking the bus. From where I live to the city centre it is probably around 1,5 km, or one English mile; and that (+ back) is a distance I'm usually able to walk.

(In a "normal" summer - with no corona to worry about - I may sometimes be a bit more adventurous, if I can also take the bus part of the way.,,)

Many short walks eventually add up to quite a few miles anyway, though - and in the long run (as I found out the other day), enough to wear out a pair of favourite shoes:

Hole in the sole...

So my next walk went to a shoe shop, to try and find a similar kind of footwear. I feared that might be hard, but I was lucky: Not only did the first shop I tried have a shoe of the kind I wanted, in my size, of good quality (I think) and comfortable. It also happened to be on sale (25% off). And as I was the only customer in the shop at the time, no queuing or otherwise feeling crowded involved... So all in all a smooth shoe-shopping experience!

 

Between the city and where I live, mysterious signs, maps and green markings have kept popping up lately:

These are all to do with plans for the future, to create a 5 km long park area all the way through the city, by connecting existing parks and other green areas with some new additions. I guess it will take years yet before it's all realized, but I like the idea. (On the map, I live in the vicinity of 5, and the city park is at 8/9.)

 

Time Travelling

Oops, I see it's been over a week since I last put in a post here. This will be a quick one just to reassure you that I'm still "around"...

... even if I kind of feel like I've spent the past week "travelling in time" ... From the early 1900s (continuing to explore old inherited postcards), to WWII (reading a new biography about Count Folke Bernadotte) - to about a month into the future (making plans for a little summer holiday trip with my brother again)...

Looking Into the Future

Do you have any tradition of fortune-telling at New Year? In old stories I’ve read, they used to melt tin and pour it out in cold water, and from the shape they made predictions. Similar to reading tealeaves in a cup and such, I suppose. (Which I’ve never tried either, since I use strainers that don’t really leave a lot of tealeaves behind!)

What made me think of this was a radio program I listened to on New Year’s Eve, where someone did the same kind of thing with home-cooked fudge instead of tin.

Then it came to mind again today when I looked at some photos from yesterday of icy puddles. What do you see in them? To me they took the shape of various animals.

I see a duck, an elephant, a lion and a badger! The only conclusion I can draw is that I must go to the zoo again some time this year! (I don’t think they have badgers, though. Yet!)

Anyway, I sincerely hope that the first dream/nightmare of the year does not point to future events; because this morning I woke up from one where I had just spilled a full three months supply of all my various medical pills all over the floor. I guess I must be grateful that I woke before I had to start picking them all up!’

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PS (2 Jan) Photoshop still goes over my head but in Paintshop I managed to find a tool that did what I wanted! This is what I see:

ABC Wednesday - X for Unknown

“The usage of x to represent an independent or unknown variable can be traced back to the Arabic word šay' شيء = “thing,” used in Arabic algebra texts…” (Wikipedia)

Hence X is often also used to represent other unknowns.

Sometimes life seems X-tra full of X-factors and crossroads.
My brother and I have some Unknown territory ahead of us now, after the recent death of our father. A lot of stuff to sort through, and (when we’re done with that, which will take a while) selling the House; which, although it was not our childhood home (but dad’s), has been there all our lives. (The link goes to a blog post of mine back in February 2010. Six months later dad had to move into an ‘assisted living’ kind of nursing home.)

Quotes of the Week–As Far As You Can See

Go as far as you can see; when you get there,
you’ll be able to see farther.
~ Thomas Carlyle ~

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Opportunities flit by while we sit regretting the chances
that we have lost; and the happiness that comes to us
we heed not because of the happiness that is gone.
~ Jerome K. Jerome ~

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We know what we are, but know not what we may be.
~ William Shakespeare ~