November 2021

Well, finally I will update my blog for the rest of 2021. As you may have seen, during the first half of November I was in Glasgow for COP26. You can find the story by following the link “BikingForFuture”. Until the 21st of November I was on my way home from Glasgow, which you also can read about by following the link above.

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22nd Nov 2021

I started this morning very slowly. In the middle of the day I went to the nearby grocery store to buy some food, but there was not much to choose. Anyway, I bought the most necessary. In the afternoon I was on Facebook and was very surprised, but also happy, how many likes my posting about my trip had got. I also got some friend requests.

My son Samuel was calling me, asking me, if we will spend the Christmas holidays together. I was happy about it and agreed. After such a long time on the road with staying at others homes, I felt lonely now and really look forward to visit my son Samuel and his family.

I also took time to correct some mistakes in my texts at “BikingForFuture”. I found a lot, but I am also sure, that there will be a lot left. It is not so easy to find ones own mistakes. Anyway I make less mistakes, when I am writing on my computer. Writing on my smartphone is less comfortable.

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23rd Nov 2021

I have got my booster vaccination against COVID-19. I had an appointment at 11:30am, but I think, I was there an hour too early, because the clock at my stove still had summertime ;-). Nonetheless, I was welcomed.

At 3pm our new boules’ center was inaugurated. Irene told me about it the 22nd, because usually we are playing boules on Mondays, but this week it was too cold to play boules outside and the center, we have had before, was no longer available for us. When I started attending the boules group, we used it. The center was newly done at that time, but already the same year, we got to know, that the college close by need that space and the center will be re-done and used for something else. During this event, Irene also took the opportunity to leave the key for my apartment back to me. While a lot of retired people, who are playing boules every week, were gathered and chatting, one of them did finally understand, that it was me, who had been going by bicycle to Glasgow for the climate. The others didn’t care at all about it.

The event did not last very long and I could in time go to pick up my few vegetables from the Reko-ring. Directly afterwards I had to continue to a meeting of our climate group of our local Nature conservation association. We had an evening, where we offered soup for free and had invited people from outside our association. I was asked to talk about my bicycle tour for the climate during another, similar meeting in the future and also was told, that the chairman of the Green party Katrineholm also may talk about his walking tour to Glasgow at the same meeting (some of the group were walking from Sweden, but the chairman didn’t have so much time, though he was walking from the central station in Amsterdam, where he had been going to by train). – It was slippery on the pavement this night.

Finally that night I had to contact my housing company about my washing machine and the elevator in our building – both were partly broken. We do it by the company’s homepage, which is open 24/7.

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24th Nov 2021

Even this morning I was slow. I also checked Facebook and the new likes I have got there. I have never had so many likes, like those days, because I had been telling about my bike trip to Glasgow. Further more I checked the site Marketplace at Facebook, because I am still looking for some small things for my apartment.

In the middle of the day I was going by my bike to the bicycle and repair shop to talk about the wrong bicycle stand, they had sent me, but none of the two employees, who can work with e-bikes, was there. I left the wrong bicycle stand there, telling them, I will come back the upcoming day.

During the late afternoon I used our laundry room on the ground floor. I also got a phone call from an employee from my housing company about the elevator. He already knew, that there was something wrong with it and told me, that the company is waiting for a specialist, who can repair the system.

I was tired again early this evening, by that time I had finished with my laundry around 8pm, but was not going to bed straight away.

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25th Nov 2021

Luckily the weather was warmer again. At the bicycle and repair shop I made three suggestion regarding to the wrong bicycle stand.

1. to reimburse me with the amount of the costs for the wrong stand including the costs for the parcel
2. to reimburse me with the amount of the costs of the stand I bought in Glasgow
3. a free maintenance of my bicycle
   They decided for the last option, but I could not leave my bike right away. We agreed, that I should leave it the upcoming Monday.

The rest of the day I spent at home.

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26th Nov 2021

The night had been cold, but daytime it was around zero degree. After our weekly “FridaysForFuture” demonstration, I had to continue to a meeting of our tenants’ association. It was at another place, than the usual and it was not so easy to find as I first had believed. I did not really find the premises, because it was further away from a junction as I had been told. Anyway I joined that meeting for a while.

I had to walk home, but was picking up my bike and going to the supermarket of different reasons. Actually, I did not need anything from the supermarket, but my vegetable supplier was there for a kind of Christmas market, selling of their items. There were market stalls outside the supermarket. It was really cold for the sellers to be there for the entire day. There were also artists announced, who would show different artistic plays with fire – and it was both: different to the usual and artistic. It was nice, but I got cold, especially my hands. Even the dancing club “Rock You2” had a show. When I finally left and steered my bike home, I thought I am going to freeze my fingers off even it was not more than -4°C and I had double gloves. It seems, the bicycle gloves are not only bad in rain, but also in the cold.

When I had got my usual temperature again at home, I did take photos of things, I tried to sell, like the big bag I had during my trip on the luggage carrier. I filled in and uploaded adds, asking for around half of the original price of the items. Here is the list:

• Water bottle with filter (original price 559 SEK) – offered for 300 SEK
• Bike Gaiters short – only tried on once (orig. 279 SEK) – for 150 SEK
• Vaude bag 30l (orig. 1,100 SEK) – for 600 SEK or highest bid
• Trangia pot (95 SEK), pan (95 SEK), handle (59 SEK) – used once – for 150 SEK together
• Mobile holder in silicone (orig. 200 SEK) – for 100 SEK

I can already tell you, that I could not sell anything of those. After a while, someone living close to Stockholm was interested in to buy the gaiters, but asked for to send it to her for the same price. I told her, I only sell to people, who are picking up the item at my home. For the mobile holder I got an offer to buy one for 50 SEK. I told him, that I am not interested in to buy, but try to sell it. Anyway, he told me one more time, that I could buy one of his for 50 SEK. Later I reduced the price for the water bottle as well as for the mobile holder, but that did not help either. I will try to sell them during springtime again. If nobody is interested in the items, I will give away them to the Red Cross Secondhand shop here in Katrineholm. Maybe they are luckier. By the way, later I decided to keep the water bottle, because of my plan to go to COP27 in Egypt.

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27th Nov 2021

I haven’t been outside my apartment. I was updating my blog somewhat and got a fraud message of a Süleyman, telling me, he want to buy my bag, but a special way – with a carrier involved. I have had such a message already, but with a female name, when I sold my old bike. I didn’t trust that woman either, but that time there were trustworthy people buying my bike.

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28th Nov 2021

I had a “kitchen” day. I started to make some chocolate balls (the basic are oat flakes), continued to take care about the cabbage I had bought the Tuesday before and also cooked oat milk and oat chocolate milk.

There was still time enough to update my blog somewhat in the afternoon.

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29th Nov 2021

Our group of retired people had our premiere at the new boules center. Unfortunately the surface under the gravel is not the way we wish. It is easier to play at the outside boules center.

It was so cold this day, I didn’t leave me bicycle for maintenance as agreed – and it took more than a week before I left it, because the temperature were only becoming colder. I was updating my blog instead.

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30th Nov 2021

My youngest brother was turning 69 years of age and I sent him an email with congratulations.

By the cold, I did order groceries from the supermarket and also ordered necessary items from the pharmacy. That done, I baked saffron buns. They are usual during the time of advent, especially to have them for Lucia.

Before I was going to bed I did take down all my curtains, because the upcoming day, window cleaners will come.

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For following me during the month of December 2021, unfortunately you have to wait some more days. I hope, you meanwhile will enjoy my text about the so far missing days of November.