More Azaleas

 

We've been enjoying a couple of summery days here, with sunshine and temperatures above 20'C. (24-25 today)  Apparently, that's not going to last though -  they're now saying that in a day or two we should not be too surprised to even see some snowflakes mixed with the rain...! (It's very dry, so we could indeed do with a bit of rain - but snow seems rather "unnecessary"...)

Anyway, yesterday I decided to give both myself and my new tablet a rest from the headaches to do with app installations etc, and try to enjoy the outdoors instead. 

So I went for an "early" walk into town for some errands (not super early - but before lunch, rather than after). And in the afternoon, I was able to sit for a an hour or two on my balcony in relative peace and quiet, under a parasol, relaxing and listening to an audio book, without feeling neither too cold nor too hot. (A rare occurrence, as it's usually either too cold, too windy, too hot, or too much noise from neighbours to spend much time out there...) And a bit later still, I went for a another walk around the cemetery, to check on the azaleas - and to try out a new pair of summer shoes that I had bought in town:

Very light and airy and comfortable, at least for a shorter walk. (Upper part and lining textile; sole underneath light plastic, reminding of crocs.)

Today turned out even warmer - but also windy, so not a "balcony day". But it was also laundry day for me anyway; so that didn't matter much. I was able to both start and finish early with that task, though, so I also had time for another "azalea walk" afterwards...

High and Low

 

Walking into town on Monday afternoon, via the city park, I happened to see this very tall crane at work, lifting something onto the roof of the hotel with the big mural. I found it better to stop and wait until the crane had safely finished turning to the side, rather than having to pass right under it while it was still moving... 

Continuing straight forward past the hotel, my eyes fell on this old brick building, which in "style" reminds a lot of some of the bigger old industrial buildings in my previous post. 

Because of big city fires back in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, there are very few wooden buildings still standing in our city centre; but in the background in the photo above you see one or two of them. The statue at the entrance to this pedestrian shopping street is called Knallen, an old local dialect word here meaning "The Pedlar" (i.e. "a person who goes from place to place selling small items"). So what he is holding is a sack with rolls of fabric in it. Pedlars were very common in this part of Sweden in the past, and Borås was and is still known as a textile city. 

However, my errand in town on this Monday was to a small "health" store situated in one of those old wooden buildings behind the Pedlar. Primarily they sell things like dietary supplements and other non-prescription "alternative medicine" stuff; but what I was after was a new pair of comfortable indoor sandals to replace my old Birkenstocks (which  served me well for many years but are now almost starting to fall apart). 

I was lucky, as the second pair I tried on immediately felt very similar to my old ones, although they're of a different (Swedish) brand - Embla. So I bought them. And so far no regrets - they're very comfortable indeed, and I hope they'll continue serve me well for another number of years ahead.

(When it comes to buying shoes, my experience is that quality and comfort is usually worth the money, rather than just looking for the cheapest price tag...)

New shoes

Old shoes

 

 "A good pair of shoes is like a best friend,

always there when it counts the most."

 

Hi–Buy–Bye

We had rain in between my snowy Thursday post and the sunset Friday post, so the snow from Thursday is all gone now. But back to frost again this morning, and again partly icy and slippery streets…

I took the bus into town for a few errands, including looking for a new pair of winter boots. Since I only knew that I wanted them to be warm, comfortable and really nonslippery, I expected the search to probably take some time. However, this is how it went:

I went into the shoe shop that happened to be the most convenient place for me to start. Right inside the entrance, my eyes fell on this boot on a shelf. It was the very first item I saw. I took it down to inspect it further. It had a note on it, telling me that it had a sole with both metallic and rubber studs, which would permit me to walk both on icy ground and on hard indoor surfaces without slipping. Just the kind of thing I wanted; but did not even know existed. The boot I took down happened to be my size. I tried it on. While I was doing so, a shop assistant turned up and asked if he could help. I asked to try on the other one as well, and he fetched it. They felt really comfortable. I chatted a bit with the assistant while walking a few steps with them in the shop. (He praised them as well, of course.) Why look further? I bought them and left – and doubt I spent more than five minutes in the store! It may be my quickest footwear purchase ever! Now I just hope they’ll prove to be as good as they sound. (I haven’t tried them outdoors yet; but no doubt I’ll have the opportunity very soon…)

Revisiting and Catching Up

I suppose you might be wondering what I’ve been up to since my last post on Midsummer Eve… I’m kind of wondering myself where the time has gone to.

The rest of the Midsummer weekend was kind of chilly and I spent much of it indoors, catching up with an abandoned book, a bit of paperwork and “whatever”.

I’ve also let myself get wrapped up in revisiting (on DVD) the classic British TV series Brideshead Revisited from 1981 (adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's novel from 1945). There’s something kind of hypnotic about the tempo in which it’s told; and even more so when one is able to choose one’s own pace of watching (not having to wait a week or whatever for the next episode)…

Then on Monday I revisited the exhibition of sculptures in and around the Textile Fashion Center, together with my aunt and uncle, who were in town for the day. We also had lunch at the restaurant within the Center.

This is Michael by Xavier Veilhan.  It’s supposed to be “reminiscent of early Modernism’s endeavours for reduction, to portray the human body as a regular structure – man as architechture”. The artist is the same who made the sculpture Vibration  which I’ve shown in an earlier post (blue horse and wagon).

Why this one is called Michael, the brochure does not tell. Thinking about it now, I come to the conclusion that it must include a reference to Michaelangelo (who was good at angles as well as bodies). I had to think in English to come up with that, because in Swedish that play on words (angel/angle) does not apply!

Later on Monday I got my HP Slate Book back from the “computer hospital” where I had to send it a couple of weeks ago when it suddenly collapsed and refused to recharge its batteries (after I’d only had it a few weeks).

As I suspected, the fault turned out to be in the AC charger, and all it needed was a new cord. But of course they would not take my word for that, so I had to send the whole thing to the repair shop. And before I did that, I thought it best to uninstall the personal apps and accounts I was logged into… Which means that when I got it back, I had to start everything over more or less from scratch. So no wonder perhaps that yesterday seemed to swish by rather quickly too.

Today I’ve basically had a householdy day of washing and cleaning; but also managed to slip away to revisit a nearby shoe shop and catch up with their sale…

 

 

The Winter Millipede

My parents called it (or them) “the millipede” – referring to the family’s various footwear residing in the hall…

   

You may well ask: How many pairs of black winter boots does one woman need?? However, in my opinion there is no fixed answer to that question... Not in this climate, anyway!

 

These high leather boots are good in the late autumn, or as long as the streets are bare. Not so good in snow/ ice/ slush, as the sole is rather thin and the heel doesn’t fit with any kind of ice-creepers (well, none that I’ve found so far, anyway!)

These stretchy rubber ice-creepers, by the way, were a bad purchase for me (I realised too late). I can hardly manage to get them onto any pair of boots even when the boots are dry and off my feet…  Just forget about attempting to put them back on after having taken them off in a shop etc!

 

In snow, these boots are a better alternative than the high ones. Lined with sheepskin, they are warmer – and my “easy-to-wear” ice-creepers¹ fit them well:

However, the shorter shaft may not be the most elegant choice with a skirt. Nor is a leather boot the best alternative in slushy weather. So… keep looking…

These are synthetic, so better at keeping the feet dry in slushy weather – but instead less good at keeping you warm when it’s really cold. But they have built-in ice-creepers that fold very easily in and out:

Walking far on that kind of ice-creeper is very tiresome; but if you only need the spikes to get across difficult icy patches here and there, it’s a good solution.

Here’s an alternative for really cold and icy days! Waterproof but “breathing” ankle boot with sheep skin lining, thick and heavy sole, and ice-creepers which fold (with a bit more effort!) in and out of the sole, front and back separately:

The spikes give a good grip on hard ice, but you need a tool to fold them in and out, and to clear the soles of grit that tend to get stuck in the deep-cut pattern. Not recommended while balancing on one leg in the street. (If you’re acrobatic enough to manage that, you probably don’t need the spikes anyway!) It worked out all right for me to wear these when walking to the supermarket on a recent very icy day, though – because at the supermarket they have a carpeted area at the entrance, where one can also sit down for a while. But in the town centre, they would not be so good… So… Keep looking…

 

Yay! Quite recently I found these – and at half price too! Goretex (waterproof, breathing), very light, warm, good sole, and my “easy” ice-creepers fit on them…

However, I’m still not sure I’m ready to throw out my old “moon-boots” just yet… I’m not keeping them for their elegance – but they’re the only footwear yet that have kept my feet warm even when standing still waiting for the bus in really cold weather and snow…

 

PS1: Close-up of the “easy-to-use” ice-creepers (you fasten them around the ankle with a leather strap):

PS2: For extra extra safety, on a particularly slippery day, I sometimes bring an “extra leg” on the walk…

Shop ‘til You Drop

It’s a tough job, trying to build up a new wardrobe.
As previously mentioned, I lost a bit of weight over summer, with the result that when I started needing my autumn/winter clothes again, I found that rather than just fitting back into them, I have shrunk out of them… Which is of course a pleasant change from the other way round; but it does involve quite a lot of “work”.

For one thing, because of limited wardrobe space, I could not just buy new clothes without also radically throwing out a lot of old ones. And what on earth was I to do with all those which no longer fit (and that I have no wish to fit back into)? Having no car, and a bad arm (not able to carry much), I would require help to take them to a charity shop (across town) …

One day a few weeks ago, while out walking in my neighbourhood, I was thinking about this and wishing for some place closer to home where I could leave them. Then, passing the recycling station on the estate where I live – which has hitherto only had recycling bins for paper, plastic, glass and metal – I happened to look up; and there, right in front of me, was a brand new container which must have been added this month. And it turned out to be for clothes; by courtsey of some environmental non-profit organisation. I don’t know much about them (I think they’re new), but I don’t really care. They have now got about half of my old wardrobe! … Which leaves me some room to go shopping!

On Thursday night this week, one of my favourite clothes shops in town had a special shopping night for members, after the usual closing time – with 25% discount on everything bought during those three hours. As among other things I needed a new winter coat, I decided this was worth a bit of queuing. I’ve never been to one of these club nights before, but it did indeed soon get very crowded… Phew! But it did save me around £45/$70. The items bought (that night) were the ones above.

That’s not the only shopping I’ve done this week. I also bought new shoes (not that I’ve shrunk out of my old ones – but I do tend to wear shoes out by walking).

However, even a new winter coat or good walking shoes seem fairly simple purchases compared to the major ordeal of the week, which was a vision examination followed by having to choose no less than four new spectacle frames (as just one pair of progressive glasses does not sufficiently cover all situations for me).

As anyone with bad eyesight (and not wearing contact lenses) knows,  choosing spectacle frames is an ordeal because one has to try on the frames without the correct lenses in them; which means not really being able to see properly how one looks in them.  And on top of that knowing that these frames will be part of one’s appearance every day over the next two or three years or more.

Have you noticed the change in spectacles fashion lately? I’ve actually been avoiding walking into opticians’ shops over the past few months (even though I knew I’d soon have to), because I was so afraid to find nothing but the kind of frames that seem to be turning up everywhere around me lately (especially on TV). That is: huge, thick, plastic ones, covering half the face. And I don’t want those!

(image courtesy of Google image search)
My apologies to anyone who happens to love them. They may of course look just awesome on you. I just don’t want them on myself!

Which is why, when I finally stepped inside a couple of weeks ago to make an appointment, I found myself in a big predicament, as the assistant behind the counter (offering to help me with a preliminary look at frames) was herself wearing a pair similar to those above. Only purple instead of yellow.

The predicament increased, when among the frames she picked out for me to try, were the very same big purple ones that she had on herself…

N.b. this was after my (obviously inefficient) attempts to make clear that I really did not want plastic frames at all, but was looking for metal ones similar in shape to the ones I’ve worn for the past 2½ years.

In my attempts to explain my reasons to the purple-framed shop assistant, one of the phrases I used was “been there, done that”… I doubt she understood what I meant, but I have proof:

(Any wonder I don’t want to go back there? This was 1977. I would not mind the better hair quality back, please – but not the glasses!!!)

I think she must have jinxed me or something, because contrary to my resolutions, I still ended up going home that day with three pairs of plastic frames that I did not like at all, on loan until my appointment this week.

By then I had come (back) to my senses, though. And luckily, it was also the optician herself, and not the assistant, who helped me make the final choices. And she seemed to agree with me (or at least had the professional skill to pretend to).

Which means all four of my new pairs will still be metal-framed ones of reasonable size. Actually the ones for allround use will be the exact same model as the ones I have now, only a slightly different colour. (I’ll show you when I get them.)