i left this lovely apartment last monday to bicycle down to my grandmother's farm around 17 km south from here (probably the most southern i will get this summer holiday). i traveled down there to get some peace and quiet in an effort to focus on one of my exam assignments. it was nice going away for a while...it became an educational 4 day long vacation...she was surprised and happy to see me.

this was my working space at the at my mothers old room upstairs:

and this was the view from my working space:

one of the most surprising manifests of the vacation was to discover that my grandmother digs watching speedway. haha! wow. another thing i learned is, that my grandmother spent most of her day in her chair at her dinner table solving crossword puzzles and sudoku or read in a magazine only interrupted by toilet visits, lunch, tea and little naps now and then. she falls asleep a lot during a day actually sitting in her chair in the middle of solving a crossword puzzle and then she suddenly crumples up snoring now and then. it's obvious she's sleeping and not just resting her eyes...but when you confront her with it, she doesn't want to admit it. hehe. she's funny.

this is my grandparents as young. my grandfather died 25 years ago:

one of the days down there my grandmother went through her personal phone book while she was talking about which ones where dead by now...imagine having a phonebook where half of the content doesn't work anymore because the people are dead and buried...that must be a weird feeling. i tried to trace some indications in my grandmothers face which could maybe lead me to learn a bit more about that feeling...but it didn't succeed so well. we also talked about how and when my grandfather died and if he lived to experience at least one of his grandchildren. he did...'cause he saw my cousin, tania, only one week after she was born and 4 days later or so...he died.

my mum's old room...i dig that lamp:

it's like walking in to a time capsule when you are at my grandmother's house. the kitchen has been the same for at least 30 years, and so has the living room. my mum's old room was painted and had a new carpet not so long ago but the furniture are still the same.

these ones have been a part of my grandmothers bathroom for as long as i remember. they have always impressed me more or less:

wednesday i suggested we baked a banana cake as she had more bananas than she could eat before they got too old. she was in for it. so i called my mum to get the recipe (i guess it's too long ago since i baked it the last time) and started finding the ingredients while my grandmother sat on her chair behind me watching. i had to use a hand-held mixer...she sighed and asked if i couldn't go for a little less 'cause she wasn't sure if she knew where it was. after some discussion i convinced her...this was what i found...it's over 40 years old, but still going strong. crazy...huh?!:

the last twenty four hours in my grandmothers company was a bit of a trial to me. 'cause she's an old lady who is not used to have company..so when she finally do have company, she's very chatty repeating herself several times, telling the same stories, wondering 'bout the same stuff and asking me about the same things over and over again. i got a bit tired of it...and started missing the things at home more and more. but on the same time i beared over with her and enjoyed my time down there...'cause...you never know when it's the last time. i will definitely do it again later this summer if i've got time for it. it was definitely worth it in many ways...and hey i got a half assignment richer. yay.