..som kvinna..

Dom betraktade henne skeptiskt och undrade kanske med aningen förakt i det brummande tonläget:
"Vad fasen tror du att du håller på med egentligen?"
Hon vände sig mot dom och sa: "Jag? Som kvinna? Åh, ingenting särskilt. Ingen speciell planering. Ingen speciellt rak eller utstakad kurs alls..
Men dock: med alla flaggorna i topp samtidigt!
Som kvinna!"
Då sa dom inget mer, gubbarna.
Vände sig om och lommade hem var och en till sitt. Planerat, tryggt och invant.
Nog hade dom - litet envar, önskat att dom kunnat haft alla flaggorna i topp dom också.
Så där litet lyckligt, lyxigt och oplanerat. Mer för fulla muggar. Liksom..

(P.E. i ett försök till tolkning av vännen Johns målning.)

(Målning; John Torrey, California)

Att äga ett valnötsträd..

När köpet var avslutat häromdan av mitt gamla gotlandshus (en del är byggt på 1800-talet och en "nyare" del tillkom 1918) med den makalösa trädgården, stack en av de söta gamla damerna som växte upp här denna lapp i handen på mig. Här hade hon nogsamt skrivit upp alla frukträd och buskar som finns i min nya, okända 100-åriga trädgård :
"Äpplen, Ingrid Marie och Oberländer närmast garaget,
Stenkyrka vit Astrakan närmast huset
Höstäpplen
Päron
Greve Molke gråpäron
Hösthallon närmast pumpen
hallon och björbär
valnötsträd"
Tack för den lappen, Ingrid!
Jag sprang genast ut i trädgården och spejade nedanför valnötsträdet! Och mycket riktigt: i en krans runt trädet låg en hoper valnötsskal! ! Den bär frukt!
Ser fram emot nästa års skördetid - alla hasselnötterna och valnötterna de 100 liter hallon man brukar plocka här! Förutom alla äpplen och päron! Vilken lycka!!

For Hinda..

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR HINDA!
I wish you a great birthday my sweet daughter-in-law! Your first birthday as a mother! Hip hip hurray and bundles of love and thoughts from us all in Sweden! Wish we could be with you, Malcolm and little Thalia to celebrate today!

Facebook users beware..

(Photo: Getty, BBC)

Facebook's 120 million users are being targeted by a virus designed to get hold of sensitive information like credit card details. Koobface' spreads by sending a message to people's inboxes, pretending to be from a Facebook friend. It says "you look funny in this new video" or "you look just awesome in this new video", BBC reports on December 10th. Read more..

10th of December..

..and the world marks UN Human Rights Day..

With X-mas just around the corner..

..and Gotland considered to have the best and mildest climate in Sweden, I found some signs of the lingering autumn.

The apple tasted lovely but the rasberry was kind of sour. The former owners of my house inform me that they picked over 100 liters of rasberries in the garden last year. And they left a bottle of homemade rasberry squash for me in the kitchen when I moved in - made by the deceased former proprietor of this kind and friendly house..

In Gotland, there are even some people growing their own grapes for winemaking. One of these is an old school mate of mine from the old days at Whitlockska Samskolan.
Article about his brave efforts here (in Swedish though)
I will have a go and plant a few vines myself in the spring on my southern lime covered wall that should be warm enough for the grapes to ripen.. My sister who lives almost next door has plenty of very nice tasting grapes in her garden ripe and ready for picking around mid-and September..

Les yeux de..

Le Clezió..

the Nobel Prize laureate 2008

in literature

The intensity of those eyes..

is only matched by the intensity of his words..

More Le Clezió picture galleries

The first Sunday supper..

..in my new home - the old house in the Gotland countryside with this lovely church as its closest neighbour. The photo is snapped from my porch window set with old handblown glasses..

My furniture and personal belongings have not arrived from the mainland yet.
So what do you do if you are expecting guests?
Well,I found an old garden table and placed it in the kitchen and laid the table with stuff I bought at the Red Cross flea market yesterday..I served my favourite squash soup and baked potatoes with seafood mix are served with wine..I am slowly filling my cupboards with food and spices and all the necessities needed in an empty kitchen.
The wrought iron chandelier above was a true bargain as well and it just had to be fixed to the celing and some candles added for this premier occasion! This is house warming!!

This old clock works quite prefectly on time and tolls with a beautiful, old fashioned strike on the hour! Believe me when I tell you I did not pay more than (equv.to) some 50 dollars for it yesterday! The fleamarket outside Visby where I bought it has a great name: it is called "Uncle Bargain" or "Farbror Fynd" in Swedish! Here you can fulfill most home making needs for a dime! Check it out here!
I fell in love with it, and being a clock freak all my life, I simply could not resist it! It fits well in my old house here on the Gotland countryside.
Chez: "Farbror Fynd"

The first visitors..

..and wellwishers start arriving to congratulate me on the new house.

Friday saw a stream of people and animals knocking on my kitchen door in the back of the house! A very nice homely feeling! Here , my sister is having a hard time to stop Shanghai to enter for a quick look at the interiors! He got a well tasting apple from the garden as a welcome gift..
This is an old stove I have in my kitchen. It was manufactured in the 30´ies according to a brass sign on its front and has not been in use for 30 years. I am not sure I shall keep it. It claimes a lot of space in my kitchen but on the other hand it might well be a great heating source - if it works! I will have to get it tested by professionals on December the 10th..

Busy days..

..in Gotland. I am moving into my new house. Parts of it are well over 100-years old and today I found some beautiful antique things in a cardboard box..

This is the view from my kitchen window towards one of my farmhouses in the rear of the garden.
There are quite a few barns and old buildings (a former black smiths workshop, a former saw mill, a carpentry, one barn with plenty of old fishnets) belonging to this old house set in this devine garden.

The first load arrives to unpack..

The sun sets in the west as seen from one of my living room windows. It is a beautiful december day and I spend the first night trying to make out all unfamiliar sounds. But there are none. Everything is as peaceful as can be in this old house of so many different levels and angels and rooms up and down.. An architectural wonder! As those old houses often are that have been added to over the years. Most of the things are handmade, like the entire kitchen with its sturdily crafted drawer´s chests. Hidden cupboards are found in every wall. The heavy ironcast stove for logfires..Everything is so functional, probably eternal, and non-fancy. I don´t really feel like renovating a thing! The house has quite a history too. A long, long almost epical family story. I will now be part of this house´s history. I recently got to know so many of the lovely people that used to live here and are able to tell me the stories of their ancestors from the old days..
A housewith a soul.
Today I will start to write my own history in those walls.
How priviledged I feel to be part of this!