Happy New Year

Happy New Year. Or Gott Nytt År as we say over here.

The Thinker

Contemplating about the year that is coming to an end. Was it a good one? Not one of the best, that's for sure.

What do you mean cold?

Here is a street portrait from last month. I was dressed for the cold (-2C), with a t-shirt, a warm sweater, my Winter jacket, warm gloves and a knit cap, so imagine my surprise when I spotted a jogger dressed in shorts in Handen. This tough guy is Sam Paris, an American living in Sweden. He jogs year round dressed like this. Apparently something he got used while in the US military, stationed in Germany. I didn't recognise him at first, but when he told me his name I realised that I took a portrait of him during Haninge Day while he was performing.

Winter Count 2017

Time for another Winter Count. Time flies and all that. Had to find a care facility for my mother at the start of the year. She now lives at Malmgården at Dalarö. My flickr buddy Bengt enjoyed a minisemla at my favorite cafe back in February. A nice sign of Spring popped up in March. The old tree had to make an appearance of course, so here is an April snap of the Swedish Whitebeam. I visited a few car meets this year. The first one was at Årsta castle back in May. Celebrated Midsummer with my mother at her care facility, that was a fine day. Bought six new lenses this year. My test model for most of them was my neighbour Danuta. The, (photography), Summer highlight is often the big greaser meet at Vegabaren and that is where I snapped the portrait of the guy with the face tattoo. The annual bike race was of course a must, I took many panning shots that day. Autumn is represented by this photo of an old cottage at Ormsta, a tiny hamlet in a rural part of Haninge. Another new lens, this time my model was Mikael who has been my barber for a couple of decades. I almost gave up photography late in the year because of the poor weather, but here is a snap from the first snowfall of the season, taken from the hill at home.

Jamare

Swedish slang word of the day. Jamare. Often taken with a cup of coffee like I'm dong here. Gammeldansk snaps. I bought the glasses at a local market a few years ago now. Made by a local woman. The name "jamare" apparently comes from a glass of Jamaica Rum that you would enjoy with your coffee. Jama is also the word that a cat makes. Skål!

Staying Indoors

I haven't been out with the camera for what feels like a very long time. Maybe six or seven weeks. I can't really cope with the weather. Gray skies. Rain. More gray skies. No sunshine since I don't know when. Took this snap a while back. I was looking for something deep down in a wardrobe and had to move my old record player so I decided to see if it was still working, and it was. The LP here is a classic. New Gold Dream with Simple Minds.

Skärgårdssnapsar

No Christmas gifts in my family, but we decided to test these ten different shots. Works well with any Christmas food. They have been around for a long time at the Systembolaget but this was my first taste. The one from Utö sounds interesting but I am probably just saying that because Utö is an island in the Haninge archipelago. Skål!

Rödljus

Bad joke, (title), of the day. I'm done in the kitchen for now. Which means that the Swedish meatballs are done. The brother has taken over as Chef for the next hour or so, he will make a "räkomelett" and his favorite Christmas food "Janssons Frestelse". And then it will be my turn again as I'm in charge of the "prinskorv". Just came back from a visit to our mother at her care facility at Dalarö. She got a Christmas gift from the staff, which was nice to see. We enjoyed coffee and cake, and stayed for a couple of hours.

Julfoto

I don't do Christmas. This is as close as it gets. Also probably my first, (and last), "photo" ever uploaded to flickr and the blog taken with a smart-phone. Took the "photo" at my mothers care facility at Dalarö a couple of days ago. She was in bed when we arrived in the late afternoon. But we were able to communicate a bit. She informed us that the had a new fiancée. It will not last for long though, she said. The fiancée in question was an employee at Malmgården. He helped her out of the bed and into her wheelchair. We found a lot of clothes in my mothers wardrobe that we didn't recognise. When we asked about it we didn't get any real answer, but when my brother met a friend at the pub last night, (she works at Malmgården), she told him that whenever someone passes away that persons clothes will often be donated. My mother turned 79 two days ago. We will visit her again tomorrow.

Tomtegubbar

This is pretty much all the Christmas decorations that can be found at my place. Three "tomtegubbar" that my parents must have bought a few eons ago. They were keeping an eye on me last night when I made "Julgröt".

That Old Tree

This was the old tree one hour ago on another gloomy Winter day.

Brf Blicken

A photo of a new high-rise building in central Handen. Taken a few weeks ago now. The building is called Brf Blicken and I have shown you a few photos of the construction process before, and here is another one. Part of the massive project Haningeterrassen. The view from the balconies here will be a good one. You will have a great view over the Rudan nature reserve, including the two lakes and the forests. I snapped this with my new canon lens with the help of the Viltrox 2.0 teleconverter.

December Light

Still very dark days. But soon the days will get longer again. I can't wait.

Hic!

Downing the first glasses of glögg of the Christmas season. This one was sort of home made. My brother got it as a gift from a client. Made by The Generation as it says on the bottle. Skål!

It is sunny, it is sunny...

Just fooling myself again. But we did see a blueish sky for a couple of hours today.

Another Glorious Day

Weather update. New houses at Lillgården. The horrible weather continues. Six weeks since I last saw the sun.

Deflated

The football season is definitely over.

Alfredshem

For most people living in Tungelsta this is just another house at Ålsta, an area that have changed dramatically over the last fifteen years. The house is red today, a few years ago it was yellow. Liza Sergler lives here today. The property is called Alfredshem and it does have an interesting local history. It was built 1901 by a man called Jäderlund. Seven years later a baker bought it. He was called J.A. Ahlfont. My mother used to buy bread from the bakery when she was young. The loaf was known locally as Hedbergslimpan, or Tungelstalimpan. When the baker died the recipe was lost forever as he was the only one who knew it. In the 1920s the Ahlfont family also operated a greenhouse nursery on the property. It was small, only two greenhouses where they cultivated roses and tomatoes. It was run by Fritz Ahlfont. His daughter Lotten married a famous cyclist, A.V. Persson, he was an Olympic gold medallist, they lived nearby. In 1931 another baker took over the bakery business at Alfredshem. He was called Hedberg and had previously another bakery at Skogs Ekeby in Tungelsta. So now you know that. I got my facts from several sources, including the book Tungelsta Trädgårdsstad - en by växer fram, written by Hilding Eklund and Janne Sandh.

Fail of the day

There I was, camera ready, even a few minutes early. Waiting for 16 jets from the air-force. They were flying in a Christmas tree formation. Their route would make them fly pretty much right over me. Complete fail on their part. Didnt even hear them. But we could of course also blame the weather. I noticed at twitter that the former PM Carl Bildt managed to snap one photo with his smartphone.

Vinterbild

So I was hoping last week for a bit of sunshine, and maybe the sky was blue for a few hours but I must have missed that. Back to the gray skies once again. Really depressing weather. Got a thin layer of snow a couple of days ago, It is still around and as I'm typing this it is raining a bit. The temperature is hovering around 0C. The photo here is from the hill here at Bergdalen in Tungelsta.

Snökristaller

Swedish word of the day. Snow crystals.

Klädnypa

Swedish word of the day. Klädnypa.

Olydnad

Swedish word of the day. Olydnad. Civil disobedience.

Rosgården

The first gardener to set up a greenhouse nursery in Tungelsta a century ago lived in this house. His name was Gustav Andersson. Nicknamed Ros-Anders. He cultivated roses and learned that while living in the US. The house sits at Kvarnvägen overlooking a little valley where his greenhouses stood for many years. Today they are all gone and a retirement home called Ros-Anders-gård has been built on his old property. I took this photo from my home across that little valley. Looks like the new owners are replacing the roof tiles at the moment. Another photo taken with the help of my Viltrox 2.0 teleconverter.

Oh yeah!

I heard that we will possibly see the sun again tomorrow after a five week long absence. Oh yeah!

Byggnadsställning

Swedish word of the day. Byggnadsställning. Scaffoldinf. As seen at the recent refurbishment at Rudsjöterrassen in Handen. Shot at 400mm with the help of my Viltrox 2.0 extender.

Fire in the sky

The good news is that we can forget about November. The bad news is that we still have to battle with the cold and dark month of December. This was the colorful sunset this afternoon.

That Old Tree

Ice had formed here and there on the path leading down to the old tree. Not hard enough to walk on so I had to be careful with the mud and what have you,(horse droppings), as I zick zacked my way towards the Swedish Whitebeam once again.

Krematorilampa

A lamp on the wall at the crematorium in Västerhaninge.

The Spiral

' Luckily for the architect I haven't been able to find out who designed this hideous spiral ramp that will take you to and from the Rudan nature reserve via the commuter station in Handen.

My gift to myself

A gift to myself. Two pairs of winter shoes.

Timmerknut

Old log building meters from the lake at Rudan in Handen. Today this is a popular nature reserve, just half a century ago there was still a working farm here and some of the old buildings are still standing. If you look at yesterdays post you can see the building behind the bench.

November Mood

This is a good photo for November. Grey skies. Rain. Snow. Dark. Repeat...

The Poseidon Building

More testing of the Viltrox C-AF 2x Magnification Teleconverter Extender. Shot this handheld at 400mm from the Upper Lake at the Rudan nature reserve. Aiming the camera at the top of the ugly 15-storey, (49m), high-rise at Poseidons Torg, a central square that you walk through if you are going to and from the commuter station, the mall and the cultural centre in Handen. The monstrosity known as the Poseidon Building, (Poseidonhuset, was built back in the mid 1980s. In the foreground the top of the building that I showed you a detail of yesterday.

Facade

Testing the Viltrox C-AF 2x Magnification Teleconverter Extender with the new Canon zoom lens. Shot this handheld at 400mm. The building is one of the uglier in Haninge.It is a huge office building called Rudsjöterrassen that houses everything from a school to a hotel. It sits just meters from the commuter station in Handen, and the very popular Rudan nature reserve. I took the photo standing half way up the equally ugly spiral.

Greenpeace

Graffiti on the Krigslida bridge.

L♥ne L♥ve L♥ck

A lone love lock on the bridge crossing the railway tracks at Håga in Västerhaninge.

Neon Sign Repair

Repair work on the big Coca-Cola sign at the plant in Jordbro.

Glasshouse no longer

After 800 smashed and replaced windows, the local historical association, Folk & Trädgård in Tungelsta gave up. The new acrylic sheets should be a bit harder to break for the local kids. You will find this little greenhouse in the park in Tungelsta. It has been used for wedding parties and more. Not sure how appealing this new look will be, but the greenhouse will still be used for the upcoming Christmas market.

Winter Pattern

Winter, day two. Still cold, around freezing. No more snow since yesterday, but the little we got is still there. And I'm already fed up with it.

Winter selfie

A thin layer of the white stuff this morning. Total chaos in the traffic as usual. All bus traffic cancelled in Stockholm because of the icy streets. Oh, and the glasses are new. Also bough bifocal contact lenses that were quite expensive.

Arturo Berly Montalvo

New art exhibition at my favorite cafe Malmens konditori at Lillcentrum in Handen. Had a short chat with the artist, Arturo Berly Montalvo during a visit last week. His art can be seen at 300 locations in Stockholm alone. His paintings here has a 19th century feel to it. This oil painting is called Skönhet. Beauty. If you visit in person you can see the painting in color...

A tricky climb

The leaning tower at the Medieval church in Österhainge looks tricky to climb.

High-rise

Two abstract photos. Taken ten days apart at the Upper Lake at the Rudan nature reserve. The reflection is a new one, it's the 18-storey high-rise Brf Blicken, still under construction so I will aim my camera at it from all sorts of different angles.

Laxknut

Very old Swedish word of the day. Laxknut. Dovetail joint. As seen on an abandoned building during a very muddy walk yesterday in a forest behind the Hesslingby estate in rural Österhaninge.

Mikael

This is Mikael. My barber going back a few decades now. When he first cut my hair I was your typical Swedish kid with blonde hair and he was the opposite with very black hair. Neither of us had a beard. Today we both have gray hair and a little beard. Weird that! Photo taken at his hair saloon earlier today. Shot with my new zoom lens at f/2.8, at 200mm.

It's getting colder again

From a visit to the nature park Slätmossen. I often photograph the greenery from the little bridge but on this day I focused on the leaf on the railing.

November Sun

Arriving to the Lower Lake at the Rudan nature reserve yesterday I noticed a familiar couple out on one of the piers. We met briefly in December of last year at the other end of the lake. The little dog knows that it is very photogenic so it struck a pose as I walked out onto the pier.