Not Much Adventure This Week - But Some!

So most of the week, that is to say, all of this week was spent in the Stockholm area and all but a small amount was spent on just one apartment. We did not take much of a P day and we won't this coming week, either.

We did have an experience worthy of repeating, however, that occurred on Monday. It had to do with changing tires from winter treads to summer treads.

When you buy a car in Sweden, you get two sets of wheels, one of which has winter tires usually with studs, and the other set has summer treads. There are various places to store the unused set. We have a portion of the basement at the mission office where several sets are stored. Others have a storage space in an area of their apartment buildings, but many use a däckhotell (hotel is spelled with two "l"s). That's right there is a hotel for your tires. It is actually a storehouse for your tires. It is big business with various prices and services.

Winter tires must come off by the 15th of April and I wanted to get ours off as soon as it was safe to do so. Studded tires cause a lot of wear on the roads, but just as or more important, I wanted to be sure the next driver has good studs and treads for next winter. I wasn't able to get it done before the trip to Trollhättan (see last week's post), so I got it done on Monday.

Last time I had it done in a permanent shop that took most of the afternoon, but the time before I just took the car to a little temporary location where they do it without a reservation. I had a good experience with them, so I thought I would try it again.

It is a little risky because they don't post their prices. You have it done, then go into the payment booth, pull out your credit card and hope for the best. This time I went to a location near where we shop and while Olivia did some grocery shopping, I got in a very short line to get the tires switched out.

One man directed me to the right location to wait for the next opening, speaking in somewhat broken, but adequate English. Soon my car was on the rack that raises only high enough to get the tires off the ground. As I watched and listened, I discovered that all the men at this place were speaking Russian to each other. Then, I knew I had made a big mistake. The Russian Mafia is fairly strong in certain parts of the country and Russians have a spotty reputation. I was certain I would have to eat crow when the other senior missionaries compared what they paid for the tire change and what I would end up paying.

When they were finished, I went into the payment booth. The man behind the cash register was the one who directed me to the proper stall when I first arrived. He flashed a smile and said, "Ees all OK?" I agreed it was all finished and a good job. "OK," he said, "thank you for coming." Now, in some car-related businesses, they just send a billing statement to the office based on your license plate number. I asked, "How do I pay? Do you use the registration number?"

"No," he replied, "ees on da house." He had watched some American movies, obviously. I must have looked very confused, because he came over to me and put his hand on my arm and said, "We all believe same God. I cannot charge a brother. Ees on da house." I seldom think of the name badge we wear all the time, but it had been very apparent to him, especially with the words JESUS CHRIST taking up the better part of the space on the badge. I thanked him profusely, shook his hand and gave him a pass-along card.

This is kind of what it looked like, but the rack didn't lift quite
this high. 

One of the challenges in the Jordbro (yord' bro Jord refers to earth, dirt or ground; bro means bridge. We haven't seen an earthen bridge, but who knows what may have been there when the place was named) apartment is that someone gave the missionaries a piano. A very heavy, beat up, out of tune piano with no castors. I could move it a little, but lifting it was difficult. The missionaries managed to get it up the stairs; getting it down the stairs was going to be a real challenge. If it slipped, it would crush the wall at the bottom at best and the person on the downhill end at worst. We thought of all the ways we could manage to get it down, like several missionaries at once (they all have mothers who would not likely understand if their boys were injured in the process) and taking it apart to haul it down piece by piece. Finally, Sister Hales suggested that we hire a service that did that kind of thing. No matter what the cost, it would be worth it.

I got online and found a place that evening. The email exchange went something like this. "Can you move a piano? The second hand stores will not take it, so it has to go to the Återvinning (the recycle dump). It is on the 2nd floor (3rd floor in America) and up 3 flights of stairs."

"Hi. Absolutely. If it only 3 steps, it will cost 1300kr incl. paid for recycling.

Viktor" I guessed 3 steps is the same as 3 flights of stairs, and 1,300kr is about $140, so OK.

We agreed on a day for him to come, but then I got concerned that he may not have understood about how far it would have to go to get down the stairs. I wrote, "Ok. We will be here, then. Kullerstenvägen 36, 136 52 Haninge. You remember it is on the 2^nd plan. 3 flights of stairs. 'YP Master' is on the door."

He responded, "ok." Then in just a few more minutes I got another email. "excuse. Is there 2 stairs or 3 steps? It is a big difference. Is there an elevator? If the 2 stairs and without the elevator and the piano are large and heavy models, it will be more expensive because it requires 4 people.

Viktor"  Huh? I certainly didn't know there was a difference between 2 stairs and 3 steps except one stair.

I wrote back, "As I have said from the first email message, 3 flights of stairs. There is no hiss (elevator). How much more? I don’t know what you mean by 2 stairs or 3 steps. There are about 36 stairs in all. It is on the 2^nd plan." Now I was worried. Viktor is an eastern European name. I am probably dealing with the Russians, again. He will find an excuse to really raise the price.

"Can you send a picture on the piano? I have to plan. If it's heavy model, it should be 3-4 people and then it will end at 1500kr"  I sent the picture you see above, we set a time for them to come and I had the cash ready. He had demanded to be paid in cash, another red flag. Still adding $35 to the price was more than reasonable.

When we arrived at the apartment, about 20 minutes earlier than when we expected him, the truck and 2 young, strong guys were waiting. They knew almost no English, but with my and Olivia's scarce knowledge of Swedish we managed to communicate. We all went up the the top floor of the apartment building and I showed them the piano. They tried to carry it to the door, but it was too heavy, so I assisted them in putting a dolly under the center of the piano.

They managed to get it through the door on the piano dolly.

Then the two of them moved it from the bedroom to the top of the stairs where they strapped on shoulder harnesses, and put the front straps under the piano legs. It took some time to get it right because one was balancing the piano as it hung over the first step, while the other had to reconfigure his straps that were slipping. Finally getting it right, they were able to use their back, chest, shoulders and legs to carry it instead of just their arms. Pretty slick! It was still a clumsy, heavy object and it was not always possible for the lower man to lift high enough to keep it from hitting the stairs. In fact, at one point they chipped a stone stair on one level. I followed behind and made the chipped piece disappear. 

Getting the straps under the bottom
side of the piano

Around the corner on the first landing

Down the second floor.

And into the truck. Thank Goodness for lift gates!

Even though it required only two men, I still paid them the full 1,500 kroner; it was more than worth it.

According to the landlord company, we have been in the Jordbro apartment for many years. It is very unusual, however, that we have no file on it at all. There is nothing in our binders and nothing in the file cabinet, so we don't know how long we have been there and we don't know if it came furnished or unfurnished. A call to the landlord clarified the latter issue. They didn't care if it came furnished or not, they had sold it and wanted everything out. That meant carrying out the heavy wooden kitchen table, a full-sized sofa, a desk, a coffee table, and some short stools and stuffing them into the Ford van. All the other furniture had been taken out earlier to furnish the Donohoo's apartment in Sjövde (see March Marathon has Begun). For the earlier move, we had the help of several elders; for this it was Olivia and me. I could carry everything alone, except the sofa , so Olivia had to help.

Earlier that day, I had been trying to clean the grime off from the balcony railing with a scrubbing brush. Water and suds were streaming down , but when I looked over the side, all I saw was only grass below, so I didn't worry about it. Soon, however, I heard, "Ursätka! Ursäkta! Hallå! Hallå!" I looked down and saw a man poking his head up from the balcony below me. He tried to explain in Swedish that the breeze was blowing the water onto his head. It was a nice day, so he and his wife were trying to enjoy the first sunshine we have seen for a long time. I sheepishly apologized and tried to keep anything from dripping down on them, after that.

To carry the sofa, we took off the legs so we could slide it down the stairs, lift it around the corner of the landing, then slide it down the next flight. When we got to the bottom, Olivia lost her grip and dropped the sofa. As she was trying to pick it up again, who should be coming down the stairs, but the guy with a wet head who cheerfully helped me carry it to the car. Nice to know he didn't hold a grudge.

We ate lunch at the apartment each day. Crackers and ham or tuna.

A couple of days I had to take the computer and router with me
because we were expecting important emails.

Olivia can't help herself. she doesn't
just clean, she deep, deep cleans.

The apartment was declared clean,finally.

The days were long before we could
leave. We usually got home and
ate dinner at around 8:00 PM

During all that time cleaning we had to shoe horn in some other activities, as well. It was nice, though, because we got some diversion from the grind of cleaning. Elder and Sister Whitehead agreed to take some apartments to inspect, for which we were very grateful, because we lose three senior couples this month and have no one to replace them. So we took them to one of the apartments they will be checking to instruct them on the ins and outs of apartment inspections.  Elders Baggett and Steele had done a great job preparing for the visit. We forgot to get a picture, but the Whiteheads invited us to lunch, so we got a picture afterward.

The Whiteheads are now official - they even have the clipboard

We have been trying to find a shoe rack for the Jakobsberg elders, but ended up buying a kit for a wooden one with the idea of cutting the shelves shorter, so it will fit into their coat alcove. Luckily, Elder and Sister Smith were at the mission office at the time. Elder Smith is a former construction company owner, so I had expert assistance.

Unfortunalely, Elder and Sister Smith
return home to Idaho on Tuesday. We
will miss this selfless, cheerful couple.

We are continually asked where we will live when we return home. We finally made a commitment. We authorized our daughter Hannah to act on our behalf to purchase 2 acres in Middleton, Idaho where we will eventually build a modest home. The home will not likely be completed until Christmas or later, so we still have to work out the details of where we will stay in the mean time, but we have a lot of options, for which we are deeply appreciative.

Gotland is an island that is part of Sweden,
but only accessible by ferry or airplane.
When I saw this sweatshirt, I told Olivia
that in America it would have a ? behind
the name. So, for Hannah, I made a ? and sent
her the picture.

Saturday night we had a potluck dinner at the mission home where President and Sister Youngberg opened their home and all that goes with that. The food was wonderful as was the company. It was bitter sweet because we will miss these sweet friends (not to mention losing three sets of apartment inspectors). 

Seated in front are the couples who will be leaving this week and next. Elder
and Sister Hall, Sister and Elder Smith, Elder and Sister Bell. Behind are
me and Olivia, Elder and Sister Donohoo, Elder and Sister Johnson, Sister
and Elder Whitehead, Sister and Elder Hales, President and Sister Youngberg

Spring is officially here as evidenced by machines of various sizes swooping up the gravel that has been spread out over the winter. Because it has contaminants, it will not be used on roads again, but will be landfill some place or other. the video below shows one machine cleaning the parking lot at the mission office. Another evidence of Spring is that the Elders want to be outside without their jackets. We had no trouble convincing the Proselyting Office Elders to test the fire escape. We had not done that for a while, and discovered that no one from the current group was even aware that there was a way out in case there is a fire near the staircase inside. We needed to be more aware. 

I remembered that last Spring, I walked out of the house one morning to a chorus of song birds singing in almost deafening beauty. I commented to Olivia that we hadn't heard the song birds this year. Then, as I left the Jordbro apartment to get the van so we could begin loading it, I heard it again. Songs from a multitude of birds that had filled the trees all around - beautiful songs sung at the tops of their lungs as if they were completely unaware that there is trouble in the world. When I told Olivia about it, we brought some items down to the car and she listened for the sounds I had described. What we heard then, was the squawk of hundreds of jackdaws, cousins to ravens, that have a loud, almost disturbing call. Certainly nothing you would describe as a song. Still, we know we will hear the song birds again. Spring is making its presence known with brave little flowers popping up through the soil, buds making their presence known on the trees and migratory birds filling the air.

We hope your Spring has sprung and that your days are filled with the newness of the hope that is in Christ. He is risen and his is our message to the world.