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We will soon change to wintertime, so these days I remember my new summer memories. I am prepared to embrace autumn and winter with joy. Even though the world is struggling with war, you have to think of the present time here and now. One of the world´s longest ongoing political conflicts between Israel and Palestine has escalated. Perhaps the war in Ukraine is contagious. I had actually planned to go to Israel, but the war in Ukraine made me cancel my traveling til later. I went to France and Spain instead.
In Sweden, there are currently a lot of bombs and shootings, just like an Italian mafia movie. The police are getting help from the military. It seems like it is only Sweden that has these kinds of problems. None of the other Nordic countries. Finland, on the other hand, has probably had a sabotage on one of their undersea Baltic gas pipelines. As usual, Finland is demonstrating sisu.
Today, I think of my nice summer memories, and I say “Goodbye summer, and see you soon 2024”.
Predicting the future is not so easy. Who could have guessed 10 years ago, that the world would suffer from a pandemic, and then war? And thereby, economic consequences in everyday life. Perhaps it was not unexpected. The Crimean peninsula was annexed by Russia in 2014. At that time, the war felt far away, but today it is very close because newspapers write daily about everything related to the war in Ukraine. We are trying, each of us, to support peace, and our sympathies and thoughts go daily to Ukraine.
I don’t know much about economics, no more than what you read in newspapers. However, the prevailing inflation should be a classic textbook example. As a layman, one wonders if there are other ways to control inflation than the National Bank´s measures. Perhaps political measures? Or simply to end the war. Nevertheless, it feels like we won’t return to what it used to be, at least it feels very distant.
From what I remember, it is directly between buyers and sellers that the market itself prevails. And, is inflation there? When I was on one of my long walks in Spain this summer, by coincidence, I ended up in the middle of a street market where everything between heaven and earth was being sold. This market felt miles long. I passed a carriage where there was extra activity. A big crowd, loud voices, and trade as you can see in the photo above. It felt like there was something special right there that made me think “This must be market economy”. I continued my walk which became considerably calmer closer to the beach, and I ended the day with a nice swim.
It is amazing with different cultures, languages, and ways of living. My Spanish friends have inspired me. When we studied French together in Pau, France, I was often invited to Sunday dinner. Vanessa’s and Patricia´s father stood at the stove cooking for hours. With the cigar in the corner of his mouth. The stews were very well cooked. When we then traveled to Spain, they introduced me to tapas, tasty small dishes. Vanessa taught me how to make tortilla, Spanish omelette. Also some important Spanish words such as dog. Today, I am trying to learn some additional Spanish words and small phrases that facilitate communication. My vocabulary is growing slowly and surely.
When we met in Barcelona, we had the opportunity to be tourists together. Please see the photo below where we are visiting one of Antoni Gaudi’s buildings. What incredible imagination and creativity. Of course, we needed a break and we had tapas of course. We have some nice memories to think about. It is needed since everyday life is here now.
You get nice memories that you can enjoy after traveling. I like the sea and it has been a long time since I saw the ocean. My journeys are usually intensive with a lot of planning in advance. This summer I went to Spain for swimming and beach life. The Spanish Costa Brava coast is also known for its gastronomy. Cooking is a lot of chemistry, where you highlight different flavors, coulor combinations, textures, and so on. I once read about a restaurant a few miles from Barcelona that used frozen carbon dioxide (dried ice) to elevate the dish to an exotic and exciting experience.
Dogs have always taken a big part in my life and I met a Spanish Molly. This Cocker Spaniel was not called Molly but was named “Chorizo”. It roughly means sausage. Chorizo is very popular in Spain.
Exercise is short-lived, and in order not to lose fitness, I walked a lot in the mornings. With a water break! Now I am up and running as usual again. I am interested in pulse-raising training and I have been inspired by Associate Professor Eva Andersson who, among other things, has studied maximum heart rate for 40 years. According to her, physical activity has an effect on cognition, i.e. how the brain receives information, processes it, and makes decisions in the short and long term. Exercise has therefore a good effect on, for example, memory and attention. It is well known that the level of the stress hormone cortisol decreases with physical activity, please see Andersson et al. 2022 Läkartidningen, Fysisk aktivitet vid depression och ångestsyndrom
Now everyday life is here, and in some ways, it is also wonderful. All you have to do is load up with tea and candle lights for the coming autumn evenings.
