lördag, april 11, 2009

Moving house

In a week I shall be moving house. From my 1970ies suburban
Botkyrka, Bothwid’s church with 8 storey buildings built by the same Swedish company /the BPA; Byggproduction AB, the Buil-ding Production Ltd) which built many houses in Communist Poland and the DDR, to the ancient village on Styrsö or Steering Island (the Vikings used a cairn on it as a mark to go to the big Slave market on neighbouring Brännö (Burnt Island?).

Most everything is upside down at the moment. Yesterday I pac-ked the china. Tree big boxes full. About half of the books are done. It will be some 80 paper bags in total.

I’ve already sold two off of the book-cases (they are much too tall to take, the room which I intend to have for my library is just 185 centimeters high - Papa wasn't able to stand in it). Five book-cases remain, but we’ll see about that. Doesn’t seem much of a market for book-cases, or indeed anything, just now.

The lorry comes to Botkyrka this Thursday and arrives on the island by ferry on Monday, 8 days. I take the train next Saturday with little Casper in his cage. He detests the underground and the tram - they are too shaky and make too much noice, but last time he slept in the train ;=) Hopefully I shall be able to organise a bit in the house before the lorry turns up.

The house is our old summer cottage, a late medieval type log cabin, built in 1811, our neighbour Lisa Jonason always said. Three sections, vestibule and kitchen in the middle, a room to either side of about 22 square meters, 2 bedchambers in the attic.

And it’s already pretty full, for my mother never managed to throw anything away…

I shall do some repairs, of course. Take down an old cupboard-wardrobe, put up some wall paper (William Morris), put in a shower and a washing machine in the attic. Also, redo the kitchen and fill in a couple of very secondary doors, adding a cat door for little Casper.

Then it is the garden which has died almost completely in recent years when my parents rarely went. When we were children there were Apple trees (Transparente blanches, red Winter apples clim-bing on the cliff, & c.). A Sour Cherry tree, a Pear tree (which long-time was too young to give any fruit), a Plum tree (Victoria), and berries of all kinds.

There also were a few Farmer's Paeonia and a very beautiful old Rose bush with plenty of small, fragrant roses. They were a very light pink but otherwise like these.

Also the flower bed by the gate is gone. So is much of the gate it-self, and part of the fence...

But the outhouse (the one still standing) is full…

So I shall probably be silent from approximately Thursday next to the following Monday or Tuesday.

Bee good!

20 kommentarer:

Brian R sa...

God speed. I sailed through the archipelago near Stockholm last May, the islands were beautiful. I see this is much further south. I spent a night in Gothenburg on my previous visit to Sweden way back in 1974.

Göran Koch-Swahne sa...

Yes it's much further south, some 400 or 500 kilometers.

And it's very different from the Stockholm archipelago which is wooded. "One gets the roots around ones neck" my Grandmother used to say about Stockholm...

So the West coast (the Front side of Sweden, as they say) is more like the high mountains up north. Very bare, almost no trees (though some have been planted over the last century ;=)

Frank Remkiewicz aka “Tree” sa...

Göran,
Sounds to be like a "coming Home". Certainly hope you enjoy the trip and the new digs!

It turns out that we have peonies along our front walk and a pink rose very much like the one you pictured. we also have bearded irises and daffodils and pink tulips.

We are blessed to have your gifts and we will miss them if only for a couple of weeks. Godspeed!

Göran Koch-Swahne sa...

Thank you Fred!

We used to have Irises in a spot in the mountain just close, but I don't know if it's still there, they are bog creatures, you know ;=)

But no Tulips (they are lovely). However in the flower bed that has disappeared by the gate we always had lots of Crasse (?), which is both beautiful and edible...

We also used to have what we call Wild vine, but I don't know if it's still there...

Göran Koch-Swahne sa...

Krasse is Cress in English

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropaeolum_majus

Leonard sa...

Oh Göran, your move sounds wonderful, inspiring and touches my heart...how I wish we were there to help you sort things out, I´m quite the decorator and Juan Carlos would have everything ship shape in a few days (he´s a tad obsessive, but we´ll over look that)...happy everything, I´ll be thinking of you...stay safe and keep your head down in the library.

Leonardo Ricardo

Göran Koch-Swahne sa...

Thank you Leonardo! I a m looking forward to it.

I've actually always wanted to live there permanently ;=)

Göran Koch-Swahne sa...

Give my love to JC!

Frank Remkiewicz aka “Tree” sa...

Göran,

In Exodus, it says that God "hardened" Pharoh's heart. Is hardened the correct word and why?

Cany sa...

Many, many best wishes on a longed-for move. Seems you will be going "home" and how exciting is that to add your new to the old you will reestablish.

Sounds very wonderful, actually.

Have a blessed Easter.

Göran Koch-Swahne sa...

Thank you, dear Cany! and have a blessed Easter!

Göran Koch-Swahne sa...

Well, I don’t really know Fred. In the Septuagint (1826 edition of the Codex vaticanus) Exodus 7:22 reads kaì esklärúnthäs ä kardía Faraw, which is generally translated: and Farao’s heart hardened, or such…

So es-klärúntäs would very plausibly be the opposite to “receive”, and thus in a way “closed itself to the words of the Lord” (which is the following half-verse ;=), but I have no Greek Lexicon at hand (except the one in the Stuttgart Novum).

At Lund I could compare not only the English Liddel-Scott (generally very bad, read sexualised), but the French Père Chantraine (very good, 1960ies to 1990ies), the Italian, the German, the Latin…

So it’s fair, but not exact (nothing ever is, it appears ;=)

Mike in Texas sa...

I'm waiting to hear if you're all settled in, Goran.

One of my dear friends from my Bucharest year lives in Gothenburg.

I have visited Stockholm and the island of Gotland, but I have only seen southern Sweden from the northern Danish coast.

Erika Baker sa...

I'm coming to this thread late, but I wanted to say that your move sounds wonderful. I'm very tempted to come and visit you there some time!
Is there any holiday accommodation in the area?

Göran Koch-Swahne sa...

No, not at all all settled in. No internet connection until now 1.53 hours PM, Monday. Been filling 3 containers of junk so far. More to come.

But it will be fine! one of these months;=) The local plummer (I suspect he is from Silesia originally) hasn't got time until November, and that goes for 'most every one else...

No recession in these islands!

Göran Koch-Swahne sa...

There are a few places to stay and eat besides my guest room, of course. Nowadays that is...

Before 1989 foreign nationals were allowed on the boats but not really supposed to stay...

All that is changed now, there is even a small brochure distributed giving advise in foreign...

The Communist party actually has had one of the smaller islands for years and brought several delegations from Soviet countries, simply making a phone call to the local Coastal Artillery base ;=)

Göran Koch-Swahne sa...

Erika, I would be very much obliged to recieve you and Susan. And the girls, of course! Dearest Erika and Susan!

It is a lovely spot, a crossing between a Swedish, late 19th century Binz (Rügen) - though the old Restaurant and the Hotel are gone - and Arcadia, sheep gazing (with their lambs ;=) in the big field outside!

A bit archaic on the standard, though... for a while yet - but there is running water in the cabin since a few years back!

All the best!

G

Erika Baker sa...

Thank you for your extremely kind words, Göran! We may well take you up on them, maybe next year!
All the best to you too, dear friend

E

Göran Koch-Swahne sa...

Next year things will be ready ;=)

Anonym sa...
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