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Alla inlägg under augusti 2013

Av EvaLena Hallgren - 30 augusti 2013 08:19

Hi again, I don’t have much of a story this time,we’ve been “laying low” as they say, and that’s quite ok to do nothing sometimes. It’s been cooling down a lot lately, and in the mornings it’s no more than 40 degrees inside. As long as you stay under the covers it’s quite nice, but no fun to get up in thee morning. It doesn’t take many minutes before it’s warm as soon as Mom turns on the heater, and I stay in bed until than.....
The other night there was a Northern light in the sky, Mom ran for her camera, but couldn’t find the right settings to capture it, so this is a stolen picture from the newspaper...........pretty cool phenomena
 
 
 
Mom has been out having dinner with the girls from her puppy school and once again I had to stay home and watch Adrienne. She also has been on a cousin dinner, and I had to stay home with Vanja, because some real big kitties that hates dogs lived there.  5 siblings, Moms couins.............she said thee evening was awesome...............well, I have to take her woord for it.
 
 
I told Moms please let me come along, I’m pretty sure I can charm the kitties..............Mom said, maybe so, but if you fail you’ll be shredded, and we’re not taking a chance........................look at the size of this cat’s !!!!! gorgeous ............
         
One night we went to see Vanjas puppies puppies, and there was the guy I met the other day, and that was great. He had two younger brothers. I thought they were very nice too, but as usual puppies are a little too energetic for me, so I got nervous and wanted to stay away and do my own thing. It was fun watching them bouncing around though.
 
         
 
 
After the visit Vanja drove us around on narrow village roads looking at little houses that Mom thinks might be nice to live in if she get tired of Adrienne ....................what !!!! tired of Adrienne ???? we just started !!! we’ll see says Mom, it’s always good to keep your options open .....Anyway, country side is cozy
       
Mom says we’re going to move into town today, and later we’re going to the food festival...................and soon we have to start thinking about a drive south...............Adrienne has no snow tires.................hahaha
Look how silly Mom looks in this wig...................glad she didn’t buy it...........I liked the blue one better.
 
 
 
this is all for now, have a great weekend....................and as usual I send wet kisses to all ...
 
 
 
 

Av EvaLena Hallgren - 27 augusti 2013 08:00

Waking up to a new day in paradise and as promised I will now tell you about the church visit. This is the church Mom went to as a small puppy and where she had her confirmation.She’s not much into church stuff, but thinks this is the most beautiful church in Sweden.............at least on the outside. The stuff inside used to scare her to death when she was real little.
 All this time with mom I’ve been listening real carefully to find some juicy scandalous stuff about her......( stuff that can be used as blackmail for treats ) I’ve just about given up...............until I heard this. During bible studies  she used to rip pages from the holy book and fold birds !!!!  Now THAT”S bad...............now I need too do something as bad so I can go to the same place as her, because there’s no way she’ll go to heaven after that stunt ? don't know what yet, but I’ll figure something out..............or is redemption possible for her ?
 
 
This church has a history from 1324 when the first one was built on this place. Already in 1386 it was replaced by a larger one.The third church on this place was built 1507 and contained the four Gothic arches we see today. In 1799  the parish had grown (you where forced to go to church back than) so two side isles was added and the style changed to neo-classical. 1916 a restoration was made and high altar was moved to the original position ...................I have to admit it’s a real stately building.
 
The interior underwent the most comprehensive restoration 1963-64, and the gray paint was changed to white, the blue stained glass window and white paint sure made it a lot brighter and cheerier
 
The stuff that scared mom as a puppy is still there but didn’t appear as frightening anymore ? The triptych dates from the 15th century, and from left to right it is, St.Margaret, St.Sebastian, St.Olav, St.The Holy Trinity, St.Martin of Tours, St.Birgitta, and St.Lawrence.............wonder what Sebastian did deserving such bloody beating ?
 
 
 
The pulpit is from 1648 and it's from here the preacher held his sermons about redemption..........and ?????
 
 
When Mom was a puppy, she thought the head of John the Baptist on a plate was the most terrifying object in the entire church, but she remembered red  blood on it too ? maybe that was her imagination ?? I still think it looks spooky ............and like all other sculptures....it's very old.........
 
 
St.George, killing the dragon and the princess..............was sitting on a window sill and sometimes Mom sat so close to it so she fantasized it moving, George raising the sword and killing the dragon that squirmed and begged for mercy ............guess she wasn’t listening much to the sermon  huh ?
 
 
Madonna with child from 15th century, all these statues with missing limbs sure made imagination run wild in a little puppy brain..........(made sermons seem shorter ) but sleep at night harder...........
 
 
This is the oldest statue in the church. It's from the 12th century and made of walnut. The child, Jesus that Mary should hold in her arms is missing, and so is her hands........ (maybe Jesus took her arms with him when he left ) looks like blood pouring from where the hands that are missing...........well it did when Mom was 5.....  
 
 
Every school year Mom and her classmates sang hymns and got their grades before the summer brake started...............this is the song..........
 
where are my classmates ??????
 
 
There’s a wood bridge over the river, and Mom and her friends used to climb down and sit on the pillar under the bridge and fish........(no fishing allowed, or at least not without license, fish hatchery loaded with salmon was up the river. Once a year it was supposed to be a secret when they let the fish down the river..).... I peeked over the edge, and I’m now convinced..........Mom was a nutcase..
 
 
 
 This bridge was build 1737 and is Sweden’s oldest and longest bridge built of wood 133 meter
   
 
The graffiti looked pretty good I thought,and it was well made, but of course it was misplaced .............common sense says you don’t do this on a historic monument............oh well.....
 
 
The nature in this area is gorgeous, lucky Mom that grew up very close to all this beauty ............
       
 
the birds are starting their migration south...................a little reminder to Mom .............we are going too real soon ..........right ?
 
 
 
 
 
 This is a picture borrowed from her friend Vanja. It’s interesting since you hardly ever see this anymore, but this was the way hay was dried when Mom was little, you had a pitchfork and tossed the hay up on wooden bars. When dry it was loaded in a big wagon and you got a ride on top of it, either behind a horse or a tractor, than unload it all into a small storage barn. Nowadays a huge machine spits out giant balls wrapped up in plastic. It looks like big marshmallows on the fields..............easier for the farmer, but more fun for the puppies in the old days
 
 
 
 Finally here’s a few more pictures of the old church town, that dates back to the 1600s, and was used for staying overnight when forced to visit church every Sunday. If you lived too far away every other Sunday was ok. ................today they’re used in summer as recreation stay and parties............if this walls could talk ..........NOT says Mom
 
     
 
Todays flower pictures..............soon this will all be covered with snow !!!!
 
       
 
After I helped Mom out of bed and had my breakfast and batroombreak, it's time for another nap............while Mom have coffee and write on my blog..............Not fair says Mom, she says I'm supposed to help !!!.......................I am in a subliminal way ....  
    
 
wet kisses to all..............
 
 
 
  
 
 

Av EvaLena Hallgren - 25 augusti 2013 20:42

As always Mom is slow when asked to write my blog, she had promised to write yesterday, but ...............oh well .........I’m stuck with her and it could have been worse..........
Before I continue my story I want to show you a picture of the dirt roads we’re driving on sometimes. Mom hates them, and I‘m not very found of them either. It get very noisy inside Adrienne, and I can tell Mom get nervous when she meets a car and have to move out very close to the ditch ............. finally we made a pact , no more dirt roads this summer..
 
 
 
This is the gorgeous place we’re staying at now, it’s first class and plenty of room for me to run around.
 
 
Service is great, I get to ride a wheel barrel with a guy I really like, although in this one there’s no meatballs, like there's at the barn
 
   
Vanja has this sporty little car that goes real fast, but there’s no backseat, and no place for my stroller, so we only went out in it once.
 
 
It’s a neat car and the engine sound is real cool, but it’s not very roomy, and my old Mom has difficulties getting in and out of it................
 
 
 
As the Swedish tradition dictates, there’s a lot of “fika” places around, and one day we went to a place Mom went to with her parents. This place was famous for their peacocks, and as mom remembered they weren’t very nice. Mom said she was about the same height as them, and that they scared the hewey jeweys out of her. This time they were locked up and didn’t look very scary at all.I sized up the bird,and  told mom to let me in the cage and I’ll settle the score for her..................but she explained that this one can’t possible be the  same one that chased her as a puppy. ..................hmmm bird looked pretty old and scrappy to me...............which means Mom is....!!!!  ....oops better quit this train of thought IMMEDIATELY ...
 
       
 
 
Last night they had the nerve to go out for pizza and leave me home alone to watch Adrienne.....................guess somebody got to do it, wish it wasn’t my job all the time. Truth is I napped a little on my watch too............
 
   
   
 
 
 
 The other day when we went into town I met this girl living in a flower shop, pretty cute, wish I could have stayed longer.
 
 
 
Found this strange looking bike, looks kind of backwards and I was thinking how hard it must be to turn ? I really don’t understand the point of two wheels in front ? Guess they have some strange thinking engineers in this country too 
 
 
 
talk about bikes, everybody rides a bike in this country, and I mean EVERYBODY , the main street even has a counter that counts every bike passing. The picture doesn’t tell, but there was thousands every day, the amount for the year was so many numbers so.................. The picture of Che Guevara is put there by some ill informed kid ............so disregard
 
 
 
 
Today a made a new friend, he was so sweet and I gave him a real good bath, but I have a feeling his mom will make him take another bath when he get home......people are strange ...........
   
 
He let me borrow his sunglasses...........
 
 
   
finally here's Moms flowers os the week
 
     
 
ooops, almost forgot to tell you about the great looking rainbow we saw 2 days ago...........Mom say they are illegal in Russia !!!!!!!!!!   but I’m not sure she knows what she’s talking about because how can they forbid something that just happens and no one can control ???
 
     
 
ok, I'm now ready for bed..............tomorrow I'm going to tell you about our visit to church......................yepp that's right .................we visited the church...................and the roof didn't fall on Mom......................
 
wet kisses to all, miss you Buttons
 
 

Av EvaLena Hallgren - 23 augusti 2013 06:43

Mom and I spent one night in a very small village called Fällfors, she used to spend a lot of time there as a little puppy. Like everything else things have changed, so there wasn’t much more than the river, church and entrance she recognized. That didn’t matter much, place is still beautiful. Too bad it was raining cats and dogs ( what stupid expression is that ? I didn’t see any ??) all evening and night.
Mom was prepared to stay until the sun came out again, and it did late morning, so it was time for a walk along the river.
 
   
This river has a lot of salmon, and are one of the few rivers that has not
been harnessed for hydropower production, because the Swedish
Environmental Code prohibits construction of power plants here. However, there is a natural
partial migration hindrance (water fall) here,so two fish-ladders, one along each bank, have
been built to aid fish migration upstream,and at one place you can sit and watch the Salmon struggle uphill to spawn. We were watching a little while, but it’s a little too late in the summer for spawning.
there is a drop of 165 meters between the sea and Fällforsen
that is located 38 km from the river mouth.
 
       
 
The river landscape is affected by the past timber cutting and dredging. The river was used for log
driving until the end of the 1960s. Almost 60% of the stream length has been used for timber
floating. Most of the affected areas have been restored, by replacement of stones and boulders, in
order to improve reproduction success of fish species utilizing these habitats
   
Salmon production is highest in the forested areas. The spring flood, occurring during the first half of May,
is intense and influences the bank vegetation. Instead of shrubs and trees, the banks grow herbs
and grasses....................mom and I really liked this space where we parked all alone listening to the rushing waterfall...............( and unfotunatly rain on the roof)
    
 
These kind of “barns” timbered and with eight corners,usually built in early 1900 or earlier,was a common sight in this province.They have become very popular and are often bought, moved, and restored.
 
 
Swedes, (as their neighbor Finns ) love their saunas, here’s one built as a barrel on a trailer so it can easily be moved to a new location..............rent a sauna for the weekend !!  Probably not a good business in Florida..................
 
 
 
We left this gorgeous place and went to another gorgeous place where one of my favorite people lives.
But that’s a story for tomorrow...............sun is on it’s way up, time for morning toilet brake.
 
wet kisses to all
 
 
 

Av EvaLena Hallgren - 21 augusti 2013 20:13

It’s unbelievable how time flies when you’re having fun, it’s already Aug.21 and fall sure is in the air. Flowers are wilting and it’s much cooler. Leaves on trees haven’t changes color yet, but from what I see it’ll happen real soon.................so pretty soon we’ll prepare for our drive south.
Still it’s so gorgeous here, and last Saturday we went to visit Mom friends in their summer house.............we were driving forever on a small dirt road, I noticed Mom being nervous, and I didn’t like it all, as a matter of fact I threw up a little............At last her friend met up in his car to help her find the right road...................and OMG I thought he was kidding !!!! Mom and Adrienne is going to drive in there ???? ..............when I heard Mom revving the engine ..........................I laid down and closed my eyes...............they made it .........(the picture doesn't show what a steep hill it was )
 
 
after a big sigh of relief we both noticed an absolutely breathtakingly gorgeous place. Water on both sides and the cutest little house..............
 
 
This is Jean and Monicas summer house.......................awesome place
  
 
 
 
 
 
There was a lot of catching up and chatting about old times, and a delicious dinner was served............evening went very quickly and it soon got dark and time for bed
 
   
 
it rained a lot all night so the morning walk was wet and gross...............I was not a very happy camper
   
 
later in the day sun came out and everything dried up, so Jean and Monica took us for a ride around the lake...............I never knew there was so many trees...........and a dining place by a lake in the middle of nowhere, no houses in sight ............looked like it has been here for awhile.
 
   
 
This was quite interesting ????? smelled good, but it was weird ? nothing like I smelled before ?..............It’s moose poop Mom said, Ohhh ............like meatballs at the stable ?.................judging by the size I thought it’ll be gourmet , but noooooooooo ............... what a disappointment.
I was told some industrial children made necklaces of it, and sold to tourists.............what about the smell ?? they varnished them ...hahaha
 
 
 
This is called the red gold of the forest......................it’s lingon berries and a very important jam to serve with Swedish meatballs. When Mom was a puppy she had to pick 2 liters to bring to the school kitchen..... and also 1 liter of blueberries. ( the wild ones that grows in the woods like lingon)  
After this visit we continued to a small town called Fällfors, ............A place Mom often visited as a puppy. We stayed over night by the stream where the salmon grows, but I tell you more about that tomorrow, it’s now time for evening “fika”
 
   
 
Good Night and wet kisses to you all
 

Av EvaLena Hallgren - 20 augusti 2013 07:28

   Good morning all, I’ve been out in the woods again,places with no connection and worse yet no real bathrooms, or showers. Not that I care much, since there’s lots of trees to choose from. Mom is less thrilled to use Adrienne since she needs to be emptied. Anyway it is gorgeous and you soon forget the little disadvantages.
One day we spent looking for trolls...................stoned trolls........   We found so many it was hard to choose which ones to show you, they all had different expressions.........
                 
That kid Oskar also came along, and he had made a 10 crown bet with Mom that there are no Trolls in the woods, he lost and made his grandma pay up ..........
 
 
   
 
supposedly there was Santa's in the woods too, we walked and looked, but only found a tiny little one. 
 Santa's don’t stay around here in the summer, they go to the North Pole I heard..................
   
 
on our way back we stopped at Oskar's cousins house, and he showed us his chickens...............
 
 
The bigger ones were real funny looking. They had huge feathery “socks” on their feet, and when they walked they waddled .................I wasn’t allowed to chase or go near them since they got nervous as soon as they saw me...................shheeeees ............can’t I ever have a little fun ?
   
 
After all this running around Oskar needed a short rest in the hammock, and to count his fingers to make sure they were still all there..................you never know about these trolls, OR chickens
 
 
 
meanwhile Mom was taking pictures of some real lazy bumblebees.............guess they're gettig cold, because it's fall up here now.....................brrrrrr
 
 
 
seedpods
 
 
it's now 8 am, and I'm still in bed, don't feel like getting up yet, even though Mom finished my blog, had her coffee, and are ready to go............I noticed my friend Lizze left for work hours ago..............he should have taken me along ...............Mom says I have to get up, it's time for my morning toilet she says ............. bullsh%%..................I know when it's time for that ..........so read your book I'll let you know when I'm ready ....OK .............and Vanja isn't up yet so .............shhhhhhhh

Wet kisses to all

 

Av EvaLena Hallgren - 16 augusti 2013 08:49

Yes I managed to get Mom to update my blog even though not too much has been happening around here, but I do have a few pictures I like to share.
Life here is pretty uneventful at the time, The ladies are knitting and chatting, while I’m napping and begging.
I got quite a few people around her wrapped around my paw, and the latest is a little boy. It’s true I don’t really care for kids, but this one is real sweet and he doesn’t scream with that high pitched voice. He loves to play soccer with me, and I wish he had control of the fridge, but the grown ups keep telling him it’s no good for me .................and bla bla bla
He's one of Birgitttas puppies puppy and his name is Oskar, he's 9 years old just like me.................
     
Couple of days ago the ladies went out to celebrate pretty Vanjas birthday, and again I stayed at home, but this time I hade company napping on the couch, and that's better than boring shopping
 
 
I do not understand why they drove to a nearby city up North ? city is called Piteå and was the first city to make a no car shopping street. (nowadays most cities have that) Maybe Mom wanted to see how things have changed since her puppy times ? or maybe they didn’t want to look at this ugly fountain in this town ?
 
This town is called the Riviera of the North, and the beach is really crowded in the summer. It’s the Baltic sea and cold as hell according to Mom, but to her ALL outdoor swimming is cold. It’s also very shallow here so you have to walk forever to get water over your knees...........
 
   
On the way home they wanted “fika” and stopped at a promising place that looked pretty, but they only had food so after a few pictures of the light house the search went on
 
   
 
Next stop became the Fish Camp, a very rustic place in the woods where it’s very easy to catch fish because there’s plenty of Artic Char , sea trout and salmon. For the fish you catch you pay by the kilo, so it can get quite expensive.
a link for you who's interested in reading more about this place
 These two siblings got to catch one fish each........................parents ready with their wallets
 
   
 
 
The place is quite rustic, and it’s now off season, so there was no “fika” here either.....................but they each had an ice cream which the seagulls took an interest in
 
       
is it possible to build anything more rustic than this ?
       
 
Next weekend would be the last day for keeping anything open here, so they are celebrating it with a pig roast.................(who celebrate end of summer ? ) than it’ll open again for ice fishing in the winter
Do you think it's it's possible to get CNN on this antenna ?
 
 
a little owl had her own house
 
 
 
There was a lot of old interesting farming tools laying around, and Mom is challenging city Dad to tell what this equipment is used for ...............hehehehe
 
 
 
This tractor was hooked up to make tiles for building roofs, but maybe now used as plates for the pig roast
 
     
 
all in all it was a great day, ladies shopping, me napping, great company, great weather, (just a few short showers) ...............let’s do it again .
Today I heard it’s Aunt visiting on the schedule..................a new one we never met before, hope her fridge is well stuffed.
 
 
wet kisses to ALL
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Av EvaLena Hallgren - 15 augusti 2013 21:59

It’s Thursday and we’re still at cousins  house, wonder how long we can stay without getting into trouble ?
The view is so gorgeous from the house, and it seems like it changes every day
Last night it was so foggy you couldn’t see the lake, it was almost spooky, but still very pretty.........It’s already fall and it’s getting very dark at night..................summer sure is short up here......time to drive south I think....
       
it’s getting pretty chilly at nights, but days are still beautiful and warm .................The other day we went out to pick mushrooms in the forest. Birgitta’s youngest puppy and friend drove us, and they had already located where they grew, so it was no challenge to get them at all.
 
         
we picked enough chanterelles for a soup and delicious sandwiches
 
 
 
there's a lot of these anthills in the forest, and they are quite interesting to stop and study. The little ants are working so fast and carrying 10 times their weight into the hill..........
 
 
 
we also found time to visit Aunt Ingegerd who lives in a place where old people lives. She loved the "fika" we brought, and the long walk we made..........
 
 
these are fall flowers that have grown humungous in Birgittas garden.
 
 
 
life is still great, and napping in Adrienne wonderful. ...................as a matter of fact it's time for bed now, so I'll continue my story tomorrow.........
 
wet kisses to all as usual.
 

Skapa flashcards