2022-01 Northern Lights

Because there had been a bit of a dual-taxation nightmare the previous month, this month I was saving money and looking around to use whatever we already had.

Snowshoes

I went out on the snowshoes up the local hill. I worked out a loop that was only a few miles but was a good amount of effort.It was probably a bit too powdery and deep for snowshoes but I was stubborn and wanted to go out on them.

Growing Area

I set up a growing area in the basement with my girlfriend and we started germinating seeds. We were doing this to discover what worked. We didn’t know exactly what the timing would be like for getting the plants outside in the spring so we were going to experiment.

Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

In the winter, when the sky is clear we are more likely to be able to see the northern lights. Sometimes it is just a hint of a vague pattern that could be confused with a cloud in the dark sky or lights from vehicles. But then perhaps you see it suddenly form a curtain shape.

This time was quite different. I was just looking out the curtains before getting into bed when I saw the sky changing visibly. Although we had seen small hints before, this was the first time we saw really large and bright patterns from the northern lights. We ran outside to stare and to take pictures.

We took lots of photos with what we had to hand, but it was below zero and I was outside in nightwear. The patterns came right above the house. It was awesome.

Summary

I’m afraid that is it for this month. In hindsight, with the dual taxation bill not yet resolved and the stress of the winter, plus all the knock-on effects of covid, I was a bit strung out. This was a bit of a low point. I had stopped doing my Swedish lessons and I wasn’t writing in the blog.

On the positive side, in the final week of the month, things turned around. I would eventually have a great Skatteverket officer take over my tax return submission. Over the next months and via a mountain of emails, we made real progress and everything would be straightened out. When my paycheck came in, I started talking to a friend about getting some local wood delivered to start constructing a workbench so I could attempt some carpentry projects. But that is next month.