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Av EvaLena Hallgren - 4 september 2023 08:44

We are getting ready for the long flight back to Florida tomorrow so Mom isn't giving me any time for my story but here are some pictures from Stockholm where we are staying until tomorrow. According to Mom, this is the cleanest city we visited. and to her surprise a lot more dog-friendly than she remembered. 

Our trip has been fantastic but as usual everything fun has come to an end eventually. 

We also have to send a big Thank You and lots of wet kisses to our great friends who helped us so much during our last week and made up for the sadness we felt the previous month.


Thank you all for being with us on our trip


Life is great

Many wet kisses from Henry


 

Kings castle


 

Fish9ng in the city



 

City hall


 

Great restaurant Cafe Duval


    



 

Great Friends



   

  My rival


 

Stockholm train station


   


Abba museum



The Riksdag 


         

Raoul Wallenberg



     

City life is exhaustng


   

Wasa museum


 

Nordic museum

          





Av EvaLena Hallgren - 24 augusti 2023 17:03

 We have been having many sluggish days lately, it's been raining, and Mom was in the mood for a meal she used to love as a puppy. so she's been cooking a real meal for a change. It was very tasty but Mom seemed to have difficulties cooking for one person There are always leftovers which I would gladly devour but Mom thinks I get sick if I eat too much. 

   

One day we went to see some old friends for "Fika" (coffee and cinnamon buns) and I felt very loved there because the lady of the house didn't mind sharing her chair with me. As soon as she gets off the chair I quickly jump up and hide behind her.

   


After the visit, we continued on south to a small town where Mom looked for a part that was broken on Lucy but to no avail. Unfortunately, Lucy is so old so it's hard to find new parts for her but she still feels a lot better than many new RVS that we looked at where everything is plastic and seems like it'll break very easily. Nowadays there's a lot of emphasis on weight to make things as light as possible. In the end, we decided Lucy would be our summer house for a little longer

We spent the night by a very nice lake

 

Mom put me on this rock and asked me to pose like the little mermaid in Copenhagen harbor

 

I don't know what a mermaid is and didn't want to pose for some silly picture so I tried to jump off the rock but luckily Mom understood my discomfort and helped me off

 


I'm ready, let's keep going to the next place 


Sweden has a lot of roundabouts and every city seems to pride themselves in having great art displayed in the middle.

This girl is handing all drivers flowers. Roundabouts are so much more convenient instead of traffic lights Mom says Traffic flows so much quicker and since everybody here is used to them they know how to drive through them and use the directional so you know where they want to go 

 


Our next stop is called Julita FArm Julita which was probably a nobleman's farm already during the Viking Age. On the farm there is a rune stone, from the 11th century, and in Oxhagen about one kilometer from the manor, there are the remains of a Viking Age plateau house.

   

 


Julita Farm is a larger manor house next to Lake Öljaren. Since 1944 the farm has been owned and operated as a museum of the Nordic Museum. The estate was awarded to the Nordic Museum by the last private owner. The donation included a large part of the existing property which today comprises about 2200 hectares of land about 360 buildings and a well-preserved manor complex

   


 Most famous is Julita farm perhaps for the beautiful gardens that also house the museum collections of historically valuable plants - for example, about 250 apple trees of more than 100 varieties.

   

we picked 2 large bags of apples that we were bringing to our friend's house to make applesauce and juice

 

 

At the farm's former barn and stable there is Sweden's agricultural museum. Here are parts of the Nordic Museum's extensive and valuable collection of agricultural objects, images, and archives that describe the countryside and agriculture in Sweden from the 16th century until today. There are also farmed farms with grain cultivation and dairy farming. In the area around Julita Farm, the landscape is taken care of in order to temporarily associate with the museum area. We thought it was a great area to roam around although I wasn't too keen on those big black cows staring at me as I passed.

 


Look a Panda Cow


The fence around the cows are electric so there are these kind of bridges to cross into their pastures. I'm not about to visit with them and Mom agreed because she was afraid I step into any of their big cow patties 


Around 1180 Julita farm became the site of Julita monastery when King Knut Eriksson partly donated, partly exchanged Julita to the Cistercian order.

There are said to have been relics at the monastery; a piece of John the Baptist's skull as well as part of the Virgin Mary's arm and chin. The monastery became a place of pilgrimage and a visit here was equated with a visit to the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. Saba monastery was for a time in charge of the Peterspenningen. It was money from all the monasteries in the country that was collected to be brought to the Pope in Rome


       


We had a great time walking around the grounds looking at all the old houses and here someone created an art piece 

 


The old houses with grass roofs are great looking 

   

this is the stable where the coaches and horses were kept 

 


All in all, this is a gorgeous area and since this is off-season we had the place almost to ourselves Mom once again found some mushrooms she fried for lunch

 

We spent the night at the farm and continued on the following morning. 

After spending so much time walking around outside I had a hard time being Moms copilot so I fell asleep on the job

 


When we passed this place Mom just HAD to stop for those potato pancakes and I really liked the bacon which she  shared with me. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmit's sooooo soo  good

 


I don't have much to tell since we haven't been doing much lately, we just spend the days relaxing in the gorgeous nature 

Life is great

Henry






  





Av EvaLena Hallgren - 20 augusti 2023 19:35

We woke up to a gorgeous sunrise at 4.45 AM It's definitely getting closer to  fall because it's getting dark at night now

 


Yes, Mom kept her promise and we stayed for a second night at the marina, and on the second day, we had lunch there. Well, Mom had lunch and she ordered a smoked fish pate which she liked very much but got severe heartburn after eating it. I did get a small taste and I wasn't impressed.

 


We're having a sunny nice day so we went for long walks in the village which is very quaint.

 

A rusty old fisherman 


 


In the evening this beautiful boat came in and anchored for the night. we were told she was built in America and is as old as Lucy and in as good shape as she is we thought,

 

Mom needs to do laundry again and is looking for a place we can do that. Sweden does not have laundromats like in the USA so we need to find a campsite with machines.

On our way, we found a shop that sells RVs  Mom wants to look into upgrading Lucy, and there are a lot of choices if you want to get a giant bus. The salesperson was using a tool that beeped in every nook and cranny in Lucy and couldn't find any damp spots and he was very impressed with her great shape. I could have told him that without using a tool.

Mom looked at a small brand-new RV and initially was very impressed but after the salesman left she went back and tried the bed the shower the toilet and crawled around like she owned it, and soon realized how badly it was made. Lots of weak plastic and very dark and cramped. .................jaaaay we're keeping Lucy

   


Mom bought a new outdoor chair (the old one broke somewhere in Poland) and decided Lucy is still better than any other RV so far.

How about this garden furniture? I'm sure they last forever but not very comfortable. The table is from an old mill Mom thinks

 


Driving along we passed this couple and I thought it was the coolest thing I've seen. We didn't speak to them so we have no idea where they were going but it was obvious they were camping since the bike had all the equipment for it. 

This dog looked so happy just as much as I am when Mom takes me for a ride in the basket on her bike.

 


We stopped at a rest stop where this guy was selling homemade jam. Lingonberries, wild blueberries, and cloudberries

The last one is Mom's favorite, so she bought a jar. 

 

As usual, I begged for a treat because I did smell that they had some kind of sausage too, but all they offered me was a sugar cube? What do they think I'm a horse? I declined the offer

 


 We arrived at this campsite that was supposed to have a washing machine but the advertisement was wrong. Still, Mom decided Laundry can wait it's very pretty here so we'll stay a night.

 


We went for walk in the nearby forest which Mom really enjoy and so do I 

 

There were lots of lingonberries and blueberries which Mom also likes but they need to be cooked with sugar and put in jars, so Mom skipped picking any.

 


All of a sudden Mom dives to the ground like she has found gold and yes this IS the forest gold Mom says. 

Hmm? they didn't do anything for me


 

Mom was thrilled and when we got back to Lucy she made a sandwich and celebrated with a Swedish beer.

She selfishly devoured the entire sandwich without giving me a taste. 

Mom said it's bad for me, I think she was lying because she didn't want to share. 

To be totally honest though, I did get t a piece of cheese while she was cooking.


In the evening we did another walk through the woods and found this tent, We knocked but nobody was home.

It turned out it was a place for rent if you wanted to have a BBQ party in the wilderness. We peaked inside and it was a fireplace in the middle and some benches around. It's a copy of the old Lapplander's home which they used while herding their reindeer.

     

The laundry is still on Mom's mind so she called a different place to make sure there was a washing machine available and it was so after a 2-hour drive we settled at yet another nice place by a lake. 

Unfortunately, it has been raining so much here that half the camp had been flooded so it was quite muddy which meant Mom does not let me run around as much as I like. Especially now when there'll be clean sheets on the bed.

 

We're staying here for two nights to get the wash dry outside because Mom just loves the smell of clothes dried in the fresh air.

Unfortunately, the sunny weather we have been having. disappeared so on our second day it rained all-day 


   

It's still ok Mom got to finish her book and I got to catch up on some napping.


Life is good but very wet at the moment

Henry








  

Av EvaLena Hallgren - 16 augusti 2023 16:41

It hasn't been easy to get Mom to help me with my story, because now Mom got a book that completely mesmerized her. The author is from her puppy town and the story is about a woman's life and struggles to live in Northern Sweden from 1896 to 1985.


Not only does she read the book, but she also found (according to her) the best yarn store in Sweden and couldn't resist starting a project

So now you understand how neglected I've felt right?

Anyway, today I put a big guilt trip on Mom so here we are at yet another marina by the Baltic Sea and it's so peaceful and quiet here so she promised we'll stay two nights.

 



With mixed feelings, we left her Puppytown and started the drive south on European route E4, which passes from north to south along the coast from the border with Finland, with a total length of 1,590 kilometers (990 mi)

Mom says this is the most boring road in the world, she says she knows every bend, hill, dip, house, lake, village town tree, and bush ..................well those last ones may be a slight exaggeration. 

Usually, as of lately she never stops in the towns but decided to change that and see if there have been as many changes in these towns as in her hometown. 

The first stop 121 miles south was Örnsköldsvik, It's a natural harbor and archipelago in the Gulf of Bothnia and the northern boundaries of the High Coast area. It is well known as an exporter of pulp and paper products and heavy machinery goods. It has a strong environmental record and is the "testbed" for ethanol-powered cars.

Traces of human activity in the Örnsköldvik area date back to the Nordic Bronze Age.

Main Street was exactly the same, and the ski jump tower is still there, the park is the same

     

The cranes at the harbor looked the same as did the statue of the “Peasant sellers from the North”

   


The Bank is still there, but Mom was wondering what they do there now because almost no one uses cash in Sweden anymore.. we found a free coffee stand and somebody must really like cheeseburgers here

 


Sit down in the sun and have a cup of coffee it's on me, says the Chef 

 

This apartment building has been here a few years and is impossible to miss as you drive south. This architect must have had a very playful day. Most balconies in the North have glass enclosures so they can be used on cooler days. 

We call them  "senior incubators"

     


We parked at the marina in the middle of the city and had a very good night 

 

Early morning fog 


 

The following day we only drove 75 miles but made a stop at The High Coast Bridge. It was at the opening in 1997 the world's ninth-longest suspension bridge, with 1800 meters. (5900 feet) The bridge is also one of Sweden's tallest structures with bridge piers extending 180 meters above the water. 

 



This is a sure sign of fall, it's rowan berries, and like with lots of wild berries, the bitter, astringent taste is said to be improved after frost, which helps make the fruit sweeter. Rowan berries should not be eaten raw as they are highly astringent, diuretic, and laxative due to high levels of sorbic acid. They must be processed/cooked for human consumption. fresh rowan berries have historically been used as a laxative.


 



Sundsvall is our next stop, which is not only dominated by the pulp and paper industry,
The city has burned down and been rebuilt four times. The first time, in 1721, it was set on fire by the Russian army during the Russian Pillage of 1719-1721.

Swedish industrialism started here when a sawmill bought a steam-engine-driven saw in 1849. The first large Swedish strike was the "Sundsvall strike" in 1879. The industrial heritage makes social democrat sympathies more prevalent in the Sundsvall region than in Sweden as a whole.
In 1888 on 25 June, strong wind and dry conditions contributed to two city fires in Sweden on the same day. On this day both Umeå and Sundsvall caught fire. The Sundsvall fire was the largest in Sweden's history. It is presumed that the fire was caused by a spark from a steamship. After the fire, the decision was to rebuild using stone. Sundsvall's center was later nicknamed Stenstaden (the stone city). One advantage of the new construction was that within three years the town was arguing that it should be allowed reduced insurance as new rules had been brought in that applied to wooden towns. One disadvantage was that after the fire only the better off could afford to live in the centre

     


A personal favorite is the Hirschska house and on top of one of the towers is a dragon that was supposed to protect the city from fires

 

The dragon later served as inspiration when the municipality added colorfully painted dragons  placed along the streets to represent the different businesses. I liked the policeman

 

   

A natural meeting point "See you at the statue!" The classical Sundsvall landmark is the Statue of Gustaf II Adolf which was placed here in 1911.

It says we are proud of our history but most of all we are curious what the future will bring

 

 Vängåvan fountain, nestled in the park with the same name, was completed two years before the fire of 1888 and later restored. An intricate creation referencing Sundsvall’s natural timber resources, it features a slew of animals including bears, dolphins, and lions. The distinctly non-Swedish family of animals (aside from the bear) is a nod to Renaissance symbolism.

   

On top of this building, Mom noticed a very interesting sundial. It was cloudy so she couldn't tell if it showed the correct time.

 

 

This city has many gorgeous pots with beautiful plants that unfortunately will not last much longer when the cold winter sets in    

 

The beautiful old train station has now become a restaurant and a new modern one has been built a block away

 

 

Once again we were parked at the city marina and had only a few steps to get into the main street

 

 

look at this stone dog I met on our morning walk, he made pawprints before he got stoned?

 

 

After the morning walk, we drove 185km (115 miles) to a very small fishing village and once again parked at a marina.

Hopefully, Mom keeps her promise to stay here for two nights but tomorrow will tell.

   


It's very nice here lots of great walks and from what I can smell a very nice fish restaurant.

Mom is boiling potatoes now, so I guess we are eating in tonight 


Life is great 

Henry



Av EvaLena Hallgren - 13 augusti 2023 08:12

Ever since we arrived in Mom's puppy town she's been sleeping later and later in the mornings, this morning she didn't get up until 7.30, that's a record. I think she's reminiscing back to her teens?

Here I'm running after the ball at the same field she was kicking it back in 19???? something (I wouldn't dare tell you the exact year, she may hold back on my treats)

 

Yesterday one of Mom's classmates came to visit and Mom desperately tried to stretch her wrinkles away to look as young as her friend. 

 

we all went for a traditional "fika" place and this is the silliest cookie I've ever seen. I did get a small taste and you know me, I like everything

 

Her friend took us on a drive to the lake where they learned to swim in 19??? neither of them had any interest in getting into the water now, they both said it looked cold.  Back in 19?? they went in not long after the ice broke, or at least that's what they said.

   

Mom's uncle had a summer cabin at the lake where she spent a lot of time back in 19?? it was moved and Mom couldn't believe how much it had shrunk since 19?? it was much much bigger back then, or was it?

There were many big homes here now and someone had moved her uncle's house which was now used as storage for the community.

 


In the afternoon we lay down because Mom was so excited to start reading the book a local author had written about an old woman's life and struggles from 1896 to 1985, and then it didn't take long for this to happen. 

First time ever Mom took a nap with me during the day.................

 


Yesterday morning we went for a long walk to explore all the changes from 19??

To Mom's relief, the bridge is still here, and it will surely remain untouched since it is a listed Unesco building since 1994

 

Lejonströmsbron is a wooden bridge crossing the river near the parish church for Skellefteå landsförsamling. The bridge was completed in 1737 and is the oldest wooden bridge in Sweden. It is 207.5 meters (681 ft) in length and was for a long time Sweden's longest wooden bridge.

Mom told me they used to climb over the railing and sit on the stone pillars and fish and and and ..............I'm not allowed to tell. Anyway it was a safe place to avoid getting caught by adults

The last war battles that took place on Swedish soil took place in north Sweden under the Finnish War, also known as the 1808–09 war. On May 15, 1809, the Battle of Lejonströmsbron occurred. 

 


Mom said that even though not everything they did was approved of by adults, they never destroyed anything or painted graffiti like this.

 


Mom doesn't do much church stuff anymore but back in 19?? this was where she got her communion and was forced to attend on several Sundays. It's definitely the prettiest church in Sweden says Mom, and it's a little comforting to wake up every morning with this in view.  

     


Right next to where we are parked, there are kayaks to use and I can tell Mom is really tempted if it wasn't for the freezing cold water. All you do is use your phone to pay and receive a code to open the lock and off you go.

As a matter of fact, there isn't much use of cash in Sweden anymore. Everywhere you go, you send money using your phone number
 

This suspension bridge leads to a small island in the river, it is part of the church grounds, and in the summer there is a cafe where a lot of people come for their "fika"

 


Nex to the church is Bonnstan which dates back to the 17th century and is one of the oldest known depictions of the church town from1732: 

When it was mandatory to go to church on Sundays it was used as a place by the parishioners who lived far outside the city. It was simply not possible for them to travel to church and home again in a single day and they needed somewhere to sleep. In each house, there were a number of chambers to accommodate all the parishioners. it became a natural gathering place for the residents of the area. You could meet relatives and friends who lived in other villages, and many met their real true love. There are many stories of young men wandering around Bonnstan on weekend nights to find love.

The chambers in Bonnstan are still used by private individuals and during the summertime the church town is alive again. Midsummer celebrations and markets of various kinds are held here annually, and the worn facades of the houses are a popular background for photography of loved ones.

Although Mom wasn't around during the mandatory church-going times, these cabins were a place for partying in her youth, and she and her friends are quite happy there were no cellphones back then and the walls can not speak.

   

We followed the river walk into the center city yesterday and what luck, somebody had dropped a whole sausage by this statue

The statue is of a young immigrant boy sent to Sweden feeling sad and longing for his family in his war-torn home country.

 


The cactus planter has moved but still almost the same as MOm remembered it

 

The hot dog stand, which was another hangout in 19?? is still here but of course not with the same owners. The old owner Ivar was so kind when they were hungry and had very little money he used to sell them an empty hotdog bun with ketchup for a few pennies. He also had the best sausage burgers in town

 



Last night I was left to watch Lucy for several hours because Mom was invited by a friend to eat the famous Northern dish of fermented fish. I didn't get to come along because Mom said it would have been a total overload to my nostrils and I may not be able to smell anything after it.

Mom said it was delicious but the best part was seeing her old friend and chatting about good old times


   


Today is cloudy and I have a feeling we'll be staying at home because Mom is excited to continue the book 


All is great 

wet kisses to ya all

Henry

  








Av EvaLena Hallgren - 11 augusti 2023 09:27

We just got back to Lucy on Friday morning after a long walk around Mom's puppy playground. I think she was living in a great place as a puppy with plenty of space, very quiet, and few cars. 

She grew up on the other side of this river


We spent the night in a VERY small town and in the morning we said goodbye and continued on a couple of hours (again through the forest) 

 

We made a quick stop at this power station that was commissioned in 1908 and was then the first of this city's large power plant buildings. Nowadays, the old power station is a building monument and a museum of the history of hydropower, where guided tours are offered in the summer.

   

When Mom was a puppy her parents often came here with a picnic basket to look at the water and the logs coming down this chute. Mom used to fantasize about sliding down on a tube. Nowadays logs are transported on trucks and trains.


We stopped yet in another small village to visit yet another cousin and that was very lucky for us because they served moose burgers that were so delicious they melted in the mouth. We also got to keep all the leftovers which we ate for two more days. (Mom is getting fatter)

While we were visiting a horrible thiúnder shower and lots of lightning came over us and it was very scary. Thankfully it didn't last long so we could continue on. 

Mom arent afraid of thunder, but as we drove on she too was relieved we weren't on the road because plenty of trees had come down over the road. By the time we came, workers had cut them up so we could get through.

Once again Mom wanted to do laundry so we stopped at a campsite in a little bigger village and stayed there for two nights.

 


This is a very nice campsite that Mom has been to with my predecessor Buttons and this time we had the company of a very well-fed hedgehog. Mom didn't let me get acquainted though, she says they are known to have lice

 


We are surrounded by water and there's this headland that we walked on several times and while Mom looked for mushrooms I was exploring. It looked like an obstacle course with all the roots 

this is a good one to eat, but unfortunately, the worms had been munching away on the hat so we left it


   


This tree looked like it was about to run away

 

Finally, we got into the town where Mom is born and we parked by the river and walked into the centrum to meet an old classmate.

Everything looks very different from what it used to be and the two old friends sat by the river to reminisce about good old times. I found a guy that was eating something and went to get me some food. My charm wins every time

 

The town square where there was a bus station now houses an ugly monster building in Mom's opinion.

It is constructed from 12,200 cubic meters of wood from trees harvested from within a 60-kilometer radius of the city.

The cultural center, which takes up the lower four levels of the building, is built with columns and beams made of glued laminated timber and without the use of concrete. (The cement industry currently accounts for about 7 percent of global CO2 emissions, per the International Energy Agency.)

The building houses six theater stages, the city library, two art galleries, a conference center, restaurants, and a hotel with 205 rooms that offer views of the surrounding city.

Apart from being one of the world’s tallest wooden buildings and a meeting place for the city’s residents, the building’s energy system tries to be as carbon-neutral as possible.

The building is equipped with solar panels, batteries, and a heat pump that works with electrical, water, and district heating. Even the sprinkler system, which in most buildings is usually powered by diesel, is powered by renewable energy.

Excess energy from the building is passed on to other parts of the city or stored in the cultural center’s on-site batteries.

 



This fountain has been talked about a lot and the rumor is a plan to remove it. It wasn't there when Mom lived here either

 


This wall was a meeting place when Mom was a kid, they used to sit on the stone slab, but now there were sunchairs placed there? Today youth are a little spoiled we think


 

There are millions of bicycles in town, seems like everybody here uses a bike instead of a car to go everywhere and that's nice. This is a two-tier bike rack.

 


Last night Mom met a classmate whom she hasn't talked to for almost 60 years and they talked and talked and laughed blabla bla for what seemed like hours. I took a nap.

We are going to stay here for a few more days so I'll continue my story tomorrow because now we're being picked up for lunch.

Life is great


wet kisses to ya all 

Henry 

  






Av EvaLena Hallgren - 8 augusti 2023 07:20

Sunday morning Mom's cousin suggested we all go for a hike in the forest to find the phone with a direct connection to God so we did.

Again I was allowed to run loose because  Mom knows I'm too coward to run away..............Who is she calling a coward? 

I'm staying close by to keep an eye on her in case she needs my help. Sometimes she can't keep up because she doesn't have my strength.

Like at this steep hill for instance 


This is last year's moose poop


Mom keeps stopping to look for eatable mushrooms, and this is not it as far as she knows


 


We walked about 2,5 miles and there it was the Phone to God. Hope he answers 

Nina made the first call and she looked very happy so I bet he was listening


We also made the call and Mom chatted for a while. Ony time will tell if her request will be granted

 

I too put in a request and my mouth watered when God said I have been such a good dog all my life so I could have as many treats as I like for the rest of my life (I hope Mom heard so she knows to keep lots of goodies around?)

 


After a group photo, we hiked back to the car all hoping we hadn't forgotten anything we wanted to ask God

 



There were a lot of blueberries growing but no one felt like stopping to pick them. It's too soon for the lingonberries but here are a few bright red ones. not enough to make jam 

 


At the wetland, we balanced on these planks that some nice people had put there so we could keep our paws dry 

Buster and Elix could have cared less about getting wet, they jumped in to every puddle they could find



 

Back at the house, it was time to relax and the best pace for that is on their outdoor couch.


or on somebody's lap who has tasty ears


   


Dinner tonight was again moose but this time cooked like a roast beef. It was absolutely delicious. Mom's cousin isn't only a hunter she is also a fantastic cook. She made a wild mushroom gravy to go with it. Oh yes I did get to taste this fabulous tender meat

 


After supper, we played cards 

 


Mondy morning everybody except me and Mom had to go to work so sadly we had to say goodbye and continue a little further North through even more forest. We drove for two hours and I don't think we met more than ten cars 

This is a very desolate area. We did see one stray reindeer and that's the only life we saw

   



We arrived and Nina's Moms house and there I met 4 more dogs, but as usual I don't care much about other dogs, I prefer people, especially people with cookies.

Mom fell in love with this teeny tiny white snowball and said she wanted to keep him.

Noway I said, he may be cute but he doesn't have my personality 

   

The supper was chicken and rice and it smelled yummy but there was no chair put out for me? Some people just don't understand my needs. I tried very hard not to be forgotten and I finally succeded to get a little taste. 

Can you see me under Mom's arm? Any trick is allowed in the hunt for teats I say

 


It's cloudy today and I heard something about going into town. I sure hope it's not a big busy city because I do prefer all these country villages with plenty of room for me to run loose.


Still feeling great 

Wet kisses HEnry 



    

Av EvaLena Hallgren - 6 augusti 2023 06:12

Good morning all, 

I have to tell you that I'm a little upset with Mom because lately, she has been so busy with Aunts and cousins and her friends that I feel a little rejected, but she promised to make up for it this morning.

To go back a few days before we met her aunt our friends took us to a country fair in a village where there is a lock


This lock is part of a waterway 390 km (240 mi) long, linking several lakes and rivers to provide a route from Gothenburg on the west coast to the Baltic Sea. This waterway was dubbed Sweden's Blue Ribbon.

 

The Göta Canal was officially opened on 26 September 1832. However, the return on investment for the canal didn't live up to the hopes of the government, because the original justifications for the canal's construction were the onerous Sound dues imposed by Denmark on all vessels passing through the narrow Oresund channel between Sweden and Denmark. The canal enabled vessels traveling to or from the Baltic Sea to bypass the Oresund and so evade the Danish toll. In 1851, the tycoon Oscar Wallenberg founded the Company for Swedish Canal Steamboat Transit Traffic to carry goods from England to Russia via the canal. However, it only ran two trips before the Crimean War halted Anglo-Russian trade. After the war ended, the great powers pressured Denmark into ending the four-hundred-year-old tradition of the Sound Dues, thus eliminating the canal's usefulness.

 

These days the canal is primarily used as a tourist and recreational attraction. Around two million people visit the canal each year on pleasure cruises - either on their own boats or on one of the many cruise ships - and related activities. The canal sometimes is ironically called the "divorce ditch" because of the troubles that inexperienced couples have to endure while trying to navigate the narrow canal and the many locks by themselves 

    


I only really liked this stand with smoked sausages and reindeer meat and wanted to take a whiff but some lady passing by didn't like me doing that so Mom got scolded for letting me.

 



There was this hot dog shop with my name on but I wasn't allowed inside. What's up with that?


 



Mom and her friends bought shrimp sandwiches and that must be Mom s favorite because this is not her first since we got to Sweden.

 

This super cute little girl was hanging out at our table because she thought I was super cute


 

Mom wished the gas prices today were as good as in this non-active station


I already told you about the long drive through the woods to Mom's Aunt where we stayed a couple of days 

This is an area where cross-country skiing is very popular and a lot of people will not stop even if there's no snow so they invented a ski on wheels.

 

I reluctantly  let Mom's aunt have my seat for a short ride in Lucy


 

She's more than 10 years older than Mom and still walks for an hour every day plus doing aerobics for 15 min. with a lady on TV. I loved the walks even though the weather was crappy. Many clouds spoiled the beautiful view.

 

At lunch, they made these sandwiches with raw fish on them........... I did get a taste of the eggs

 




Aunt Ruth is a day mom for a Tibetan Spaniel named Rulle, he was an ok guy except he tried to dominate me which is not to my liking.

 


 Leaving Ruth we drove another 4 hours looking at another billion trees the only good thing about this drive is there's hardly any traffic. All of sudden something caught Moms eye and she had to turn around and look.

Here in the middle of nowhere was this portrait of

 


 Mom thought that was pretty cool, I got the chance to take a whizz and we continued on 

 


This monument is similar to a traditional Sami hat. The Sámi are the Indigenous people of Northern Europe. Their traditional regions stretch over Northern Sweden and Finland, the North-Western corner of Russia.

Traditionally, the Sámi have pursued a variety of livelihoods, including coastal fishing, fur trapping and sheep herding Their best-known means of livelihood is semi-nomadic reindeer herding. As of 2007, about 10% of the Sámi were connected to reindeer herding, which provides them with meat, fur, and transportation. For traditional, environmental, cultural, and political reasons, reindeer herding is legally reserved for only Sámi in some regions of the Nordic countries

 We finally arrive. I have been here once before and I love love love this home where awesome people and dogs live, and there's lots of property and green grass for me to run free. 

 

 

This time a new guy had moved in, and his name is Elix he liked my tennis balls as much as I do and we had a little tiff about them, so poor Elix got punished for nipping at me. 

 

Once again it's sunny and life is great

I tried very hard to get a taste of Nina's breakfast so I got scolded a little by Mom 

 


At the lake, they have built a nice dock and a sitting area 

 


Yesterday we packed a picnic basket and fishing rods and to both my and Mom's surprise the entire dock was driven out with an electric motor on the lake to a good fishing spot. I did NOT like it, I thought it was scary.

Buster who is a sweet and kind giant loved it and played with the fish before he killed it. He is the bravest guy I know.

 

Mom did catch a pretty big perch on a hook with a worm attached.................scary creature in my opinion, but Buster just couldn't wait to sink his teeth into it and he ate the head........................he did puke later on, and if he would have asked me I could have told him it was a bad idea to eat that spiny slimy thing 

 

 

 

 

 

Mom has once said how she was longing for a great steak so this nice man who's also a terrific cook invited us over for a very delicious meal. I didn't get a taste of the meat but that's ok because this guy also had plenty of special treats for me.


 


The view from his terrace is amazing 

 


Ok, I,m now caught up with my story, and hopefully, Mom won't let this much time pass by before helping me with my story. 

Today's weather is gorgeously sunny and 68F 

Life is GREAT

lots of wet kisses Henry

 







Skapa flashcards