Halloween / All Saints', Owls and Candles

As mentioned before, in Sweden we celebrate All Saints' Day on the first Saturday in November (i.e. today), rather than on November 1st. (The holiday was moved here back in 1952, which means it's been like that all my life.) It's a rather solemn holiday, mostly about remembering the dead, tending to family graves, and church concerts with requiems.

Nowadays it also tends to get mixed up with American Halloween traditions, though - even if many still claim that those do not belong in our culture; or should at least be limited to the night of October 31st (never mind what day of the week). Others argue that as All Saints has been moved, then Halloween should also be celebrated on the Friday before All Saints. And with schools nowadays also closed a whole week for "autumn leave" (no such thing back in my own school days!), Halloween time now tends to sort of spread out to cover two weekends + the week in between!

For me, All Saints used to be a rather gloomy holiday (sad rather than festive and child-friendly). Nowadays, I feel more free to celebrate or ignore it as I please, though.

In my own home, decorations for autumn/Halloween/All Saints are sparse. Basically, I just change the display on the old chest in my living room a bit - adding a bit of orange, and featuring my owl collection. (If you can call just a handful of something a collection!)

 

These tiny ones sit on the rim of my vase of fake twigs.
(They can also sit on a plant pot.)

 

The big one used to be my mother's. You can put a tea candle inside it. With a real candle, it gets very hot, though... So I sometimes put a battery candle in it instead.

 

Back in summer I found this little one in a souvenir shop and added it to the "collection". It's small but heavy - made of solid concrete. I fell for it because it reminded me of the bigger hollow one, and I thought they might like each other's company... ;-)

On another wall (all year round) hangs an owl made in batik technique, made by my maternal grandfather back in 1976. He made quite a lot of batik art back in those days. I think I got this one for either my birthday or Christmas that year.

 For this weekend, I put a lantern with a battery candle in my living room window. That's for all the family graves that I don't visit... The lantern may get stay up until it's time to put up Advent candles instead, though. (Or until the battery runs out; whichever comes first.)

I did also go out to put a real candle on the one family grave we have in the old cemetery nearby where I "always" walk, though. Someone else had been there before me:

 

Rotten to the Core (Book Review)

 

Rotten to the Core
by T.E. Kinsey (2022)
A Lady Hardcastle Mystery, Book 8

(Read on Kindle + Audible)

This book is part of an English "cozy mystery" series that I happened to pick up from the beginning (a few years ago) and have continued to follow. It's set in the pre-WWI years in an English village, and starring amateur detectives Lady (Emily) Hardcastle (a widow) and her lady's maid, Florence Armstrong (narrator of the stories). In the first book they returned from India, seeking a quieter life in a small English village. Of course village life turned out less quiet than they had imagined . By now they have gained quite a reputation for helping the local police solve all kinds of mysteries (usually including murder) - and readers  following the series have kept learning a bit more about their background with every book. 

 In this book, it's apple harvest and cider-making time in the village, and a member of an ancient society to do with the cider production is found murdered in an apple orchard. 

The author, T E Kinsey, grew up in London and read history at the University of Bristol. I enjoy the books because of the historical setting, likeable characters, witty repartee between them - and the author also obviously having fun writing them...

A few examples of dialogue between Lady Hardcastle and her maid:

‘So much for the sheds,’ said Lady Hardcastle. ‘If I sat in the wheelbarrow would you wheel me to the cider mill? It’s too hot to walk.’ ‘Not on your life.’ ‘I don’t know what’s become of modern servants,’ she grumbled. ‘I’m sure my parents’ servants would have carried them on their backs and been grateful for the work.’ ‘Times have changed,’ I said. ‘Herr Marx pointed out that I’m an oppressed mass, I am. I shall be rising up any day now, and casting off the yoke of the capitalist bourgeoisie.’ ‘And about time, too. But would you still carry me? It’s too hot.’ ‘No,’ I repeated. ‘Best foot forward, come on. The walk will cool you.’ ‘Now, I know that’s nonsense.’ ‘It’ll get you in the shade, at least. If you’re a good girl I’ll buy you an ice cream from that tearoom at Chipping Bevington.’

- - -

‘It’s always like that,’ I said. ‘We suspect a string of wrong people, some of whom end up being murdered themselves, until it finally dawns on us who the real killer is. That’s exactly how it works every time.’

- - -

‘Oh, there’s no need to rush,’ said Lady Hardcastle. ‘We shall say we went to look at the church. People never dare doubt one if one says one has been looking at the church.’

"All Things Bright and Spooky"

This year (in spite of skyrocketing electricity bills) our City Park has been decorated with some "Bright Art", to brighten up the dark winter months (from Halloween until after New Year). As today I was out after lunch (around 2 pm), I had not really expected them to be lit yet; but some of them were. I suppose I should go back some late afternoon in twilight to see the full effect. But for now, here is how I saw it today.
 

 

 

I missed the sign for this one, so don't know what it's called. But it comes with spooky howling sounds in the background...

 

(Saving some more photos of "nature's own art" for another post.)

Indoors and Outdoors

 

This is the geranium (or pelargonium) that I rescued from the balcony last week, before the first (and so far only) frosty night set in. It seems quite happy to be back indoors - and I am quite happy, too!

Meanwhile, the weather outdoors is back to milder, but grey and rainy. I've been out for daily walks in the neighbourhood - but "nowhere special". 

Gardening staff in the cemeteries are having a busy time of year - getting rid of fallen leaves, and decorating graves before All Saints' Day (celebrated here the first Saturday in November).

My maternal great-grandparents' family grave in the old cemetery - with extra "fall decorations", courtesy of the nearby maple trees... ;)

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).