Privacy

 

This is the 'privacy screen' thingy that I carried back home with me earlier in the week (on the bus + walking). (Cf my Monday post.) An adjustable trellis made of willow, covered in fake leaves. It's not heavy - just not a really comfortable size to be carrying around for too long.

It was not until I freed it from its plastic cover yesterday, and quite a few fake leaves immediately fell off, that I began to question the truth of the label declaring the contraption to be "eco-friendly and sustainable"... (The trellis itself, absolutely. The fake leaves, maybe not so much...) Luckily I unpacked it indoors rather than outdoors.

As it's lightweight, it wasn't too hard to fasten it onto the balcony railing simply using gardening wire. I put it up yesterday - and as far as I can tell today, it still has most of its leaves in place, in spite of rather windy weather.

Visually, I quite like it; and above all, it serves its purpose.  I can partially see through it, but my "next balcony neighbours" and I no longer have to stare one another right in the face if we happen to be out on our balconies at the same time. (On the other side, there is a permanent frosted plexiglass screen between me and the balcony directly adjoining mine. So while we hear each other all too well, at least we don't see each other.) 

I've seen other balconies in the neighbourhood using the same kind of trellis screen that I bought now, so that's what inspired me to get one like that too. It seemed an easier option  to handle than something more solid that would probably need professional assistance to be mounted in a safe way. (I'll be taking this one down over winter.)

These are my cherry tomato plants. They have grown quite a bit and are now also beginning to bloom, although that may be hard to see in this photo.

 

New Mural

Walking into town today I discovered that one big new mural is now in place. I really like it!

 

 A bit further on along the river, preparations for another one have started:

The 2024 Borås Art Biennial is "up and running"...
No doubt there will be more new art around town to explore during the summer.

Monday Shopping Spree

As today seemed likely to be neither rainy nor too hot, I decided on a trip "across town" to the vast shopping area there in the afternoon. This still involves quite a bit of walking. (15 minutes to where I can get on the bus, and the same on the way back; and also more walking at the other end of the bus route to get to the shops that I wanted to visit.) I had too much else on my mind to stop and take photos; but I did find what I set out to buy (+ more...)

One item on my list was a small(ish) radio that can be used with batteries as well as connected to a wall socket. The old one that I had (usually sitting on the desk in my study) recently gave up on me.  I had found one online, but wanted to see it (and hear it) before buying, so went that store first. They had a demo ex up, which worked well enough. (And the one I bought also worked to my satisfaction when I got home.) (It can also be connected as speaker to for example a portable CD-player. I've not tried that yet but I'm thinking it might come in handy if I want to re-listen to some CD audio books I bought before the days of streaming and downloading...)

Next, I went to my favourite clothes shop - and found them to be celebrating the start of the school holidays with 20% off everything. A pair of jeans was on my list since back in spring, when I failed to find any that fit me in the two different shops in the city centre that I tried. (I then bought a pair of thinner wide trousers instead, which actually proved a better  choice just then, as the whole month of May turned out too hot for jeans anyway...) Now I found a stretchy pair that fit my current body shape rather perfectly - and it was even the first pair that I decided to try on, which somewhat restored my self-confidence...

For warmer days, I also found a wide cobolt blue tunic (with pockets) to wear with leggings; and a loose fit sleeveless summer dress.

My last stop was at a store that (among other stuff) sells garden furniture and such. There I bought a kind of privacy screen for one end of my balcony. I'll take a photo of that when I get it in place - if it works out as I hope! ;)

That was as much as I managed to carry, so then I took the next bus back...

Graduation Anniversary

 

Today is Graduation Day in our high schools / upper secondary schools here. Yesterday I noticed this lavishy decorated entrance at one of the buildings in my neighbourhood. (Decorations still up today.) Someone living there is celebrating "big"! :)

I have blogged about Swedish high school graduation traditions before. Today's local newspaper reminded us all that last years celebrations turned dramatic as a big fire broke out in the town centre - probably not caused by the celebrations as such, but it forced all the parading vehicles with celebrating (ex)students to take a different route than usual. (And the building where the fire was is still wrapped in plastic and undergoing major renovation.) You can read my blog post about that here. Last year the month of June was hot and dry. This year, so far, it's chilly and wet... Hopefully that means less risk of fires - but not so much fun for the students riding around town in open vehicles!

This year it's 50 years since my own high school graduation. Looking back through some more old graduation blog posts, I also found the collage below (photos from 7th June 1974; collage made in 2012). It was raining and rather chilly on my graduation day too.

I did not have a graduation party, as that same weekend I was leaving with my family for a three weeks holiday by car in the U.K. (Our last long trip together as a family.)

My photo album from that journey tells me that exactly 50 years ago today, 14 June 1974, I was at Devil's Bridge in Wales. (Link to a blog post of mine about that from 2021.)

...

Adding a link to Sepia Saturday 728

Wallflowers

 Definitions of Wallflower:
"a person who sits by the wall at a dance because no one has asked them to dance"
"a shy person, especially female, who ...  does not attract much attention".

On top of a stone wall along the old cemetery, these tiny yellow flowers are now in bloom. I did not know their name, but put my photo into Google Image Search, and found that their Latin name is Phedimus hybridus or Sedum sibericum (English: Siberian Stonecrop;  Swedish: Sibiriskt fetblad.)

A bit further on, a taller and older part of the wall is totally covered by these big old Hydrangeas - or Hortensias - which really don't fit the symbolic definitions of wallflower, as they are rather majestic... They are still flowers growing on a wall, though! ;-)