What I’m Loving Wednesday
1. Summer. Despite the rain every other day or so.
2. Vegan macaroni and ‘cheese’ (nutritional yeast). Just made up a new recipe and it turned out delicious. I’ll add the recipe to our recipe collection on another site we have.
3. Books (printed books, ebooks, library books…)
4. The library. I love the peace and quiet.
5. Exploring 3D worlds. It’s so relaxing, fun and interesting.
This depressing town is getting me down
Today I went do some grocery shopping and to go to the chemist’s/pharmacy. Some errands were a success and some weren’t. I even managed to sneak a peak at the magazines at the library, though I really needed to get to the shop so I could get back home again as soon as possible. On the way there, I saw a pretty impressive old ship at the waterfront. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo.
It’s just that this town really gets me down. You’ve heard it before, I know, but I really, really hate this town. Some of it’s probably not so bad, for some people, it’s just not the right fit for me. For instance, I hate living next to a big lake (and would hate living next to the sea). To make matters worse, there’s also a big river nearby. But after all, that’s just details, compared to all the mean, depressing people and the lack of culture. Actually, outside of Stockholm and Scania, this town really works quite hard at offering cultural events (though 99 % of the people going are at least 70, so I always feel a bit out of place). Unfortunately, that’s not enough. There are fewer books in the library. Fewer items for sale. Most things, but fortunately not all, are more expensive than in larger towns. If I’d liked it here, I’d probably be able to overlook many of the minor problems, but I don’t think a population of mean, unreliable, unpleasant people is a minor problem. It’s huge.
Sigh. I don’t like the bigger town that much better, but I always feel better when I get back from there. I think it’s because fewer people there are actually from this area originally. Many people have moved there from all over the country to work in the factories. I wish I could live in the countryside close to a big town. To go into town to do the shopping and to be able to return home in the evening. That way I’d get a break from all the unpleasantness.
Sorry about all the whining. I do try to stay cheerful and I try not to post if I’m feeling down, but sometimes I just need to vent a little.
Doing some errands
Today I went to a nearby town to get a few (partly book related) errands done. At last I was able to get my Cybook fixed for a good price. (Of course I wish I hadn’t dropped it in the first place). While I was waiting, I visited the library and borrowed the mystery I really would like to read as an ebook (but can’t). Now I’ve found out that I can’t read the other two books left in the series either (the re-published books, there are plenty of others that haven’t been re-published yet). This is the one I really wanted to buy, but they’re all very pretty. (This is the American edition, if you’re curious about the book. That means I’ll have to go back a couple of times and borrow the others.
After that we went out to the big mall to see if we could find some our special vegan products. Unfortunately, there wasn’t that much, but at least we were able to get some cheese. And – our favorite vegan chocolate that we usually have to buy online.
The weather is great and we’ll try to go back to this other town a bit more this summer. For instance there’s a big free festival there in July). We’ll be able to listen to our Eurovision Song Contest Winner. I never thought I’d say this, but I actually want to go and hear him perform live. ESC is not really my thing, normally.
Mum is also looking forward to seeing this big sailing ship that will come and visit our harbour at the beginning of July.
Went on a cruise
The other day, I returned from my trip to Riga, Latvia (where I’d gone for my big project). I’m so relieved to be home again, and very tired. In most ways, the trip was a success, at least so far.
There were also some things I didn’t really like. Riga had a number of fine but very run-down buildings, with many interesting architectural details. In places there was a bad smell. Someone I know told me that when he was in Riga, maybe twenty years ago, there was this bad smell too so obviously they haven’t managed to fix that problem.
It was a bit hard to find the way to where I would have my appointment. Also, the traffic was bad. I found it odd that there were so many men and boys around, but only a few women, mainly elderly ladies and a few young mothers. I can’t say that the Latvians and Russians in Riga looked particularly nice though two relatively young women (early 30’s maybe?) who tried to help us find the way, were an exception.
The weather was also great – sunny, warm, but not too hot. It was alright in the east of Sweden too, but just when we entered the west of Sweden, it started to rain and got colder. The clinic was fine (if a little cramped, compared the other one) but the staff made me so nervous by running late with the treatment. In the end, we had to take a taxi to the ferry terminal, even though it would have taken ten minutes to walk at most – if there hadn’t been any traffic, and it had been as straightforward to find the way as the natives seemed to think. Even then I got there with only five minutes to spare. Never again.
The cruise was a pleasant experience. Since we didn’t dare to fly again, this time, we decided to wait for this time of year to go by a big passenger ferry. It was a lot cheaper than flying so we got a ‘luxury’ cabin. The price for that included two ‘special breakfasts’. On the first morning, I think we arrived too late to go into the ‘special’ dining room so we got the usual breakfast buffet, which was actually quite nice, even for us vegans. There were plenty of fresh vegetables (cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes), baked beans and some fruit salad. We also got a fruit basket and some complimentary drinks in a little fridge.
Tax free shopping
Other than a visit to the ‘supermarket’ for some tax free shopping and eating breakfast, we mainly stayed in our cabin. Some of the male passengers were very rowdy and rude to the female passengers. Another reason we didn’t particularly like the Latvians and Russians. The majority were either one of those nationalities. However, the internet didn’t work in our cabin so we had to go out, preferably one or two decks down to get online. While we were in Swedish waters, we were at least able to phone home.
Just one more complaint – we weren’t let off the boat in Stockholm until 20 minutes after arrival. That meant we missed our train and lost quite a bit of money, because we couldn’t re-book the ticket over the phone. We’ll try to get some of that money back from the ferry company, but I’m sure they won’t see things our way. Fortunately, we were at least able to book tickets for a high speed train that left about an hour later but arrived just half an hour later. When we got off the train here, we had missed our bus home, or so we thought, but when we got outside, to the ‘bus station’ part of what’s called ‘the travel center’, the bus was still there. It started rolling, but the driver saw us and stopped and waited, which was a bit of luck.
Now I just need to remember to relax, make sure I don’t get angry, not carry anything heavy and avoid crowds, so I won’t catch an infection the next couple of days.
Get to know me tag: twenty-one questions!
1. Are you named after anyone?
Yes. My mum was a teacher and once she was testing children’s ability to read and met a very cute, but not so bright little girl by a lovely name that is also now mine.
2. When was the last time you cried?
Strangely enough I don’t remember, but I do cry quite often.
3. Do you have kids? Not yet.
4. If you were another person, would you be a friend of yourself?
I should hope so. As me, I’m quite lonely and I’d to think that ‘the other me’ would at least be friends with me.
5. Do you use sarcasm a lot?
Occasionally.
6. Will you ever bungee-jump?
No.
7. What’s your favorite cereal?
I don’t really eat cereals.
8. What’s the first thing you notice about people?
The face probably.
9. What is your eye colour?
Greyish blue.
10. Scary movie or happy endings?
Happy endings.
11. Favorite smells?
Hm. Vanilla, chocolate, cinnamon, lemon, peppermint or flowers, grass, trees. Or fresh laundry.
12. Summer or winter? Summer.
13. Computer or television?
If I have to choose, computer, but I do like to watch a little TV sometimes too.
14. What’s the furthest you’ve ever been from home?
Not very far. Either England or Paris, not sure which is the furthest away. I have also lived quite far away from where I live now, probably as far away as London or Paris (to the north).
15. Do you have any special talents?
Spelling, languages, getting a quick overview of things. Nothing much, in other words.
16. Where were you born?
Outside Gothenburg (Göteborg), most people probably haven’t heard of it.
17. What are your hobbies?
Reading, writing, hanging out with my family including the four-legged ones, see below.
18. Do you have any pets?
Yes, dog and cat.
19. Favorite movie?
I guess I’ll say LOTR, but I have seen a few others I really liked too.
20. Do you have any siblings?
Yes, a sister, who is also my best friend.
21. What do you want to be when you grow up?
LOL. Do I have to?
Library visit
Today didn’t start out very well. I was so tired, after just having returned from a tiring trip (more about that later), but despite that, I woke up far too early and couldn’t go back to sleep. Then I decided to go to the Garden Center to buy a few zucchini plants to put in the garden. The only one I could find was one that was suffering from some kind of blight. So, no luck there. While in the shop, I met a woman going back out again – in the ‘wrong’ direction. Apparently, she didn’t want to get too close to me, so instead she did a goat-like jump and tripped over a display stand with fertilizer or something like that and turned one of the containers over. What? I can assure you I was very clean and proper.
After that, I went to the library and sat down to read for a few hours in peace and quiet and now I feel a lot better. 🙂 Thanks, dear library and book. You’re better than a spa.
Me and tea
Two-tree years ago, I didn’t drink tea. I didn’t like it. In fact, I found it downright disgusting. However, despite that, I was always a bit curious. Tea has always seemed interesting to me. The history of it, the technique for making it.
Then for some reason, I decided to try again. My mum’s always kept trying to make me have some. She loves it. My sister does too. So I tried a lemon tea, meant to be used as ice tea, but without the sugar. I was amazed. It was actually quite nice. In fact, more than nice.
Now I have a cup almost every evening. And apart from the lemon tea (which is sadly only sold during the summer – I’m looking for it every time I go shopping) I also drink lemon and lime tea and peppermint tea.
Tea lovers probably feel sick by now. Sorry. I’m such a kid at heart. Every time I sit there watching my steaming cup of tea, I’m thinking ‘wow look at that, I’m drinking tea.’ It’s like in that diaper pant commercial I used to watch a long time ago. ‘Mommy wow, I’m a big girl now.’.
