Surprises

There is a knock on the door. I am cleaning the shower in my underwear, and Staffan is taking an afternoon nap. I pull on my jeans and run down. There is a van at the curb. But not the big van. When they collected our things last Thursday, they had miscalculated. There were some things left, and these were picked up by another van. Apparently the other van came over before the first van. So here we get three bikes, a little coffee table and five boxes. It’s so exciting to unpack a box when you have no idea what is inside. Could be anything. In fact, two boxes contain my plants, and they have survived. Otherwise we are now in possession of a very peculiar array of objects. We have crystal glasses, a garlic press, a wicker wastepaper basket, an antique china egg cup, three wooden spoons, a salad bowl, cocktail sticks, two oven thermometers and other indispensable utensils. We also have the clockwork from the grandfather clock and two marble tabletops. But best of all – four garden chairs. At least we can sit down for our meals.