Category Archives: Uncategorized

Turn back time

It is good for your well-being to snooze I read the other day. Not a major study, but anyway. I searched through my photos for an image that could capture this day as fall begins to turn into winter. Found these Lady´s mantles (dew caps) below, which in summertime are so beautiful when they carry water drops. Now, however, the frost is taking hold.

It is important to see the little life in everyday life. A lot is going on in the world that affects our daily lives. We know we have to be vigilant. The unreal can happen, as happened to two Swedes in Brussels who fell victim to a terrorist.

And of course, we understand Israel wanting to defend itself when they have been attacked. The UN wants an immediate ceasefire from both sides. From what I understand, an Israeli music festival was targeted for attack by Hamas. Music is something that unites people, which in my eyes, makes this attack even more heinous. Ending up sharing this impromptu gig with Annie Lennox and David Bowie rehearsing. If you look closely, there is a man in the audience listening to them so devotedly and empathetically.

Goodbye summer ⛱️

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”.

The economic crisis

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.

Tourist in Barcelona

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.