I Can Drive Again!

12 days of hoofing it everywhere was probably good for me in a lot of ways – not the least of which is keeping me humble – but it sure was nice to take the car today and drive to Boulder Ridge!

Loki has loved the walk to and from work all this week (I had a friend park my car at work on Monday, so Loki has had his “home away from home” as usual) -but his delight at getting to run free was obvious. Now he’s snoring at my feet.

All Saints this weekend – I might visit my Aunt and her family if the weather holds tomorrow, because I can drive again!

What Is It…

… that makes a picnic table look so forlorn when covered with snow?

Picture Puzzle

I’m bored stiff!

That’s why I cooked up the idea of posting a picture of a typically Swedish item for you to guess on.

These things can be seen outside most apartment blocks, although I think they are not being used as much today as what was the case maybe 20-25 years ago and even earlier. I took the picture because I liked the wave pattern in the snow – but what is it?

Use your imagination and give it a whirl – there’s a small prize in it for anyone who can guess what this contraption is used for.

Fall Colours

The leaves have changed colour rapidly the last few days. We had our first night with frost just yesterday and there is no denying that fall is well underway.

I always marvel at the wooden bridges they built along country roads as late as in the 1940’s. There are a number of these along the old road to what used to be the nations bigggest lead mine – a road that was used to freight heavy material to the mine and even heavier ore from there!

But one of untold tree stumps along the shores, reminders of how the lakes were made into water reservoirs for the power companies. In the background you can see some of the very secret facilities used by the cartesting industry – the biggest industry in the county during the winter.

While I was busy taking pictures, Loki found something absolutely scrumptious – to roll in….  Something he thought smelled totally divine – but something I could only identify as dead. VERY dead, at that…

The trip back to town was made with the side window open and once at home he was dumped in the tub for a thorough cleaning. He didn’t at all think that was fun – after all, he’d just put on some perfume HE really liked the smell of…

Random Shot

Yesterday morning before work, I took Loki for a walk along the old stretch of a road outside town. The area is very popular with fishermen, and I saw one through the foliage along the old road. He was standing on the other side of the new bridge and I thought it would make a nice picture.

Well… In my hurry to make it to work on time, I didn’t check how the picture turned out until I came to the office, but I still sort of like the result.

Further To A Previous Post…

For all of you who have encountered IT Departments from Hell – do check this out: The Proverbial Lone Wolf Librarian. Here’s one who has put her/his frustration to good use! Me thinks I’ll be putting a copy of this on my bulletin board at work…

A Day In The Life Of Loki

Loki is growing very fast and today I realised that I’d better get busy and take some pictures of him.

It took less than an hour to massacre a paperbag from the Coop.

The neighbour’s dog is a good role model and very gentle with him…

… but he can be a real tease, what with his superior height.

Tug o’ war with a little guy is always fun.

Guess who called it a day around 8PM this evening?

Fireweed In A Different Shape

If you haven’t already visited  a blog called Hearty Halfbreeds, please do so. She’s the one that gave me the idea to do this.

I plucked the fresh flowers off fireweed and made…

…jelly! I would never in a lifetime come up with the idea myself, but I’m really pleased there is a way to capture and use the essence of one of my favourite flowers. It still is termed a weed – but what do I care!

Finnskimo has a recipe on her blog so I won’t repeat that, but here’s a few hints.

To get 8 cups of flowers, you need almost half an IKEA paper-bag full of flower stems cut off just below the flowers.

Use the fresh ones – the ones bumblebees go for – I think they give the best colour to the finished product.

If you can’t find pectin in envelopes, a bottle containing 180 ml (do the math!) should do the trick. (Says she who is worriedly looking at her 6 beautiful jars of jelly, hoping it’ll set over-night… That’s the trouble with translating recipes from one set of measures to another, it turns into a guessing game at times.)

Update.

I ended up having to bring it to a boil again and add another bottle of pectin…. and then one more. The second one may have been overkill, but I didn’t want to have another repeat.

Homecoming Weekend

Thought I’d venture out for the merriments this evening… So I drove by the major venue where some (minor) talent is going to be performing in about half an hour… And saw way too many former students outside in different stages of intoxication.

Seemed like a better idea to take some pictures of fireweed… This from my neighbours down the road – the bricks were to become a fence, but somehow that never happened.

I so admire this “weed” that can survive under the most challenging circumstances. The colour is breathtaking (yes Jenn, I was thinking of you…) and it seems as if they need hardly any nourishment to prosper.

Iris

Beauty can be found in so many places. The other day a friend and I drove out to the place where my Grandmother’s family came from.

The old house is used as a cottage these days – by distant relatives of mine. No electricity, water from the lake and wood stove for cooking – at one time the harsh reality for everyone in these parts. Now it’s the things that makes cottage-living romantic.