I received a multi-page letter earlier this week from the local government on Värmdö. It alarmed me a bit, so I asked my friend Anette to take a quick look for me before I settled down for a full translation. I also sent a copy to Willie, too. They both told me the letter had to do with our waste water tank and the kommun wanted more information about it.
It appeared that I had needed to send a statement back to the kommun after our grey water system was installed to show it was done according to the rules. I had not done that, and to make matters worse, I never responded to letters they sent me earlier in the year (because I never received them, of course.)
So they sent someone out to take a look. They found I was missing an air pipe at the end of the trench to oxygenate the bacteria, and they were also unable to tell much about the installation since it had grown over the past five years. They also charged me a fee of 4500kr for the cost of their visit.
I sent a copy of the letter to both Anders (our bathroom builders) and Janne for their feedback. Janne and I talked. He gave me good information about the trench he had dug, and the preparations completed for the water system. I will talk to Anders again soon about his work on the water, and about adding an air pipe.
The most important conversation I had was with Camilla at Värmdö Kommun. She was very kind in explaining everything to me in English, and also agreed to waive the visiting fee, since I had obviously never received any of her previous correspondence. I'll get the installation information together, and be back to her, although I may just have Janne and/or Anders speak with her directly. I'll install the air pipe this summer.
So... a bit of a complication, but nothing big, and easily fixable. I'm especially happy to report that he people at Värmdö were very nice to a slightly befuddled, but well-meaning Texan over the phone.
Showing posts with label Land. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Land. Show all posts
Monday, June 15, 2015
Sunday, May 17, 2015
The Arbetsdag
Yesterday was a great day. First off, it was sunny and beautiful for a change. I took advantage of the morning sunshine to clean and water seal the deck of the guest house.
Then it was time for the spring "working day" (arbetsdag in Swedish). Twice a year, residents assemble to take care of various tasks to maintain Aspö's infrastructure. I've always wanted to be part of the working day, and this year was my chance.
Lots of people assembled on the midsummer meadow, and a list of the day's jobs were discussed. One of the major tasks was to maintain the low spots on the path. Big bags of gravel had been brought in to spread around. A wood chipper was also used to mulch fallen branches and provide more path cover. I thought I might do that, since I was one of the younger people there at the beginning. Fortunately, though, lots of actual young people showed up and I was able to leave the hauling and chipping to them.
I instead volunteered to cut new pieces of wood for the path markings. I was able to bring the timber over to my house easily, and it was a simple enough job that I could do it without messing up! It turned out that I had to cut 50, though, so it took me a couple of hours.
Others volunteered to paint my cut pieces, so we had a nice assembly line going. After a day's drying, the new markers will be put up in place of the old faded ones. I like the thought that, on future walks around Aspö, it'll be a little bit of my work marking the path!
We all took a lunch break at 12:30. Peter grilled korvs for everyone, and Jeanette handed out cold beers. A perfect afternoon. I tagged a bunch of photos for quick viewing.
When the work was done, I walked over to Bosse's house and took possession of my new boat. Tony said I could keep it at his dock, so I motored over to find him waiting for me. He even made a little nameplate for my spot! (A photo of that, among lots of other stuff, is on the May photo page.)
The day ended splendidly; Peter and Jeanette invited me over for dinner. Peter grilled an amazing steak, and Jeanette shared her special pesto potatoes. We also drank quite a bit of very nice red wine! It was a superb evening to cap a really special day.
Then it was time for the spring "working day" (arbetsdag in Swedish). Twice a year, residents assemble to take care of various tasks to maintain Aspö's infrastructure. I've always wanted to be part of the working day, and this year was my chance.
Lots of people assembled on the midsummer meadow, and a list of the day's jobs were discussed. One of the major tasks was to maintain the low spots on the path. Big bags of gravel had been brought in to spread around. A wood chipper was also used to mulch fallen branches and provide more path cover. I thought I might do that, since I was one of the younger people there at the beginning. Fortunately, though, lots of actual young people showed up and I was able to leave the hauling and chipping to them.
I instead volunteered to cut new pieces of wood for the path markings. I was able to bring the timber over to my house easily, and it was a simple enough job that I could do it without messing up! It turned out that I had to cut 50, though, so it took me a couple of hours.
Others volunteered to paint my cut pieces, so we had a nice assembly line going. After a day's drying, the new markers will be put up in place of the old faded ones. I like the thought that, on future walks around Aspö, it'll be a little bit of my work marking the path!
We all took a lunch break at 12:30. Peter grilled korvs for everyone, and Jeanette handed out cold beers. A perfect afternoon. I tagged a bunch of photos for quick viewing.
When the work was done, I walked over to Bosse's house and took possession of my new boat. Tony said I could keep it at his dock, so I motored over to find him waiting for me. He even made a little nameplate for my spot! (A photo of that, among lots of other stuff, is on the May photo page.)
The day ended splendidly; Peter and Jeanette invited me over for dinner. Peter grilled an amazing steak, and Jeanette shared her special pesto potatoes. We also drank quite a bit of very nice red wine! It was a superb evening to cap a really special day.
Thursday, April 2, 2015
Coming back to Aspö
There's an advantage of arriving at this time of year. The island community has a number of clean-up events in early May. Typically, I haven't been able to attend those, preferring to save my vacation time for later in the summer.
Now, though, I have lots of free time, so we will stay longer, and be part of Aspö's clean-up this year. I'm looking forward to it!
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Housing shortages in Stockholm
In summary, it's largely an issue of supply and demand. Not enough new homes are being built in the city to meet the need. Add to that comparatively easy credit, and prices keep going up and up.
Different countries are trying a range of solutions. The Netherlands, for example, has tightened credit and tax rules for mortgages. The UK is working to re-purpose currently empty buildings into residential use through a public forum.
Sweden is taking another tack. I remember Annika and Olle telling me about a change in the law this summer, allowing structures of 25 square meters to be built without planning permission. I hadn't thought much about it; after all, I have my guest house already, and the previous rules allowed structures up to 15m2.
The Economist straightened me out, however. These new structures, referred to as an Attefallshus, is the government's response to the housing shortage. They're just the right size to serve as a guest house or a mini rental property. A landowner could put one up in their garden with little trouble, providing quick housing to the rental market.
I found a company that specializes in these little houses. Enkelrum (English translation) provide a range of finished homes that can be dropped in, complete and ready for living, with a crane. They are nice looking little places.
We've already been thinking a bit about our guest house. It is 20m2, so a bit smaller than these houses, but still a good size. Essentially it is just a bedroom now. I think, with a bit of reshuffling, we could install a mini-kitchen and carve out more living space. If we find ourselves with more long-term guests, it would be a good project for the future.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Texan IKEA
No matter how many different IKEAs I shop in all over the world, it still amazes me how similar every store is. Our new store in exurban Texas was spookily like the one in Barkaby, down to some of the smallest details.
It gave me an odd feeling, as I've apparently associated shopping at IKEA with trips out to our stuga in an almost Pavlovian way. But now, we're looking at things for a very different kind of house. It will probably take me a few trips to recalibrate my thinking from 'small house and hard to transport' to 'big house and fill up the station wagon'.
By Texas standards, our house isn't all that big, although it is certainly larger than the average suburban English or Swedish home. As we've been unpacking and settling in, I've noticed a few fundamental differences between my new home and my previous ones in Europe.
There's a shortage of homes in the UK. Planning restrictions make it difficult to build new homes, and so the law of supply and demand make them increasingly expensive. As one reaction, homes are getting smaller and smaller. I posted previously about home sizes around the world, with the UK trailing the list with an average of 76 square meters, about a third the size of the homes in their former colonies.
Those problems don't exist where I live now. There's empty land seemingly everywhere, so it is easy to throw up housing subdivisions. On my way to IKEA, I drove past suburb after suburb, on a six-lane tollway that didn't exist when I lived here last. This creates a virtuous circle; land and homes are cheap, which attracts people and businesses, which in turn attracts more growth, and so on. This keeps costs of new homes down, or allows them to be built even larger at affordable prices. I've seen some real monster houses in my neighborhood.
However, this cycle has its drawbacks, too, which I'll save for further exploration in future posts.
It gave me an odd feeling, as I've apparently associated shopping at IKEA with trips out to our stuga in an almost Pavlovian way. But now, we're looking at things for a very different kind of house. It will probably take me a few trips to recalibrate my thinking from 'small house and hard to transport' to 'big house and fill up the station wagon'.
By Texas standards, our house isn't all that big, although it is certainly larger than the average suburban English or Swedish home. As we've been unpacking and settling in, I've noticed a few fundamental differences between my new home and my previous ones in Europe.
There's a shortage of homes in the UK. Planning restrictions make it difficult to build new homes, and so the law of supply and demand make them increasingly expensive. As one reaction, homes are getting smaller and smaller. I posted previously about home sizes around the world, with the UK trailing the list with an average of 76 square meters, about a third the size of the homes in their former colonies.
Those problems don't exist where I live now. There's empty land seemingly everywhere, so it is easy to throw up housing subdivisions. On my way to IKEA, I drove past suburb after suburb, on a six-lane tollway that didn't exist when I lived here last. This creates a virtuous circle; land and homes are cheap, which attracts people and businesses, which in turn attracts more growth, and so on. This keeps costs of new homes down, or allows them to be built even larger at affordable prices. I've seen some real monster houses in my neighborhood.
However, this cycle has its drawbacks, too, which I'll save for further exploration in future posts.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Kalle Anka
We're about 15 minutes away from sitting down together (with half of all Swedes) to watch the traditional Christmas broadcast of Donald Duck and friends. I've posted previously about this phenomenon. Marcia forwarded me an article from Slate which tells the whole story of Kalle Anka far better than I ever could.
After Kalle, then Marcia's julbord, and finally, the opening of gifts. Photos are up on the right in the 'Christmas 2010' webgallery.
After Kalle, then Marcia's julbord, and finally, the opening of gifts. Photos are up on the right in the 'Christmas 2010' webgallery.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
The World's Oldest Tree
I had always thought the oldest tree in the world was a bristlecone pine in California's White Mountains. In fact, hiking out to see one is a trip I've always wanted to take.
Anyways, it appears I was wrong. The world's oldest tree is named "Old Tijkko", and it's only a couple hundred miles from Aspö. It's a spruce in a park in Dalarna, and it's 9,550 years old!
It's not exactly like a bristlecone, which has been the same object, growing over thousands of years. This spruce is a clonal organism, which means it has regenerated many times over the millennia. There aren't any original parts of the tree left, but the organism is still the same.
I read something that gave me pause, however. This tree has managed to live so long through a process known as "layering". Each winter, heavy snow pushes the tree's low-lying branches to ground level, where they take root and grow again the next year. Layering is when new roots sprout from the contact point.
Over the past few years, Sooz and I have removed a bunch of scrubby trees whose branches have layered and taken root in a bushy fashion. Now I'm worried. In my pursuit of a holiday home, did I cut down some terribly old tree that has survived on a little island unmolested all these years ?
In other words, have I become, God forbid, the archipelago's Don Currey?
It's not exactly like a bristlecone, which has been the same object, growing over thousands of years. This spruce is a clonal organism, which means it has regenerated many times over the millennia. There aren't any original parts of the tree left, but the organism is still the same.
I read something that gave me pause, however. This tree has managed to live so long through a process known as "layering". Each winter, heavy snow pushes the tree's low-lying branches to ground level, where they take root and grow again the next year. Layering is when new roots sprout from the contact point.
Over the past few years, Sooz and I have removed a bunch of scrubby trees whose branches have layered and taken root in a bushy fashion. Now I'm worried. In my pursuit of a holiday home, did I cut down some terribly old tree that has survived on a little island unmolested all these years ?
In other words, have I become, God forbid, the archipelago's Don Currey?
Monday, August 16, 2010
Sunny Monday morning
Sorry for no updates yesterday, we hit the ground running and didn't stop!
First off, Marcia lent us her car which was a real luxury. We loaded up with not too much stuff and stopped at the Stavsnäs ICA for a few groceries. Our provisions were bolstered with leftover party food from the previous evening's festivities.
It was gray and fairly wet on Aspö. It drizzled a bit but mostly it was humid. We saw Ole and Annica who said they saw the moose right next to our house the night before! I had ordered some wood for the deck between the houses so Sooz and I spent the afternoon carrying that up. Olle helped out as well, and Annica told Sooz to help herself to their plum tree.
Salmon for dinner, then "Project Runway" on the iTunes and an early night. Between the lumber and the late-night party, we were tired.
This morning is sunny and breezy. We have a few chores to do but we'll be chilling out, too. New photos are in the webgallery.
First off, Marcia lent us her car which was a real luxury. We loaded up with not too much stuff and stopped at the Stavsnäs ICA for a few groceries. Our provisions were bolstered with leftover party food from the previous evening's festivities.
It was gray and fairly wet on Aspö. It drizzled a bit but mostly it was humid. We saw Ole and Annica who said they saw the moose right next to our house the night before! I had ordered some wood for the deck between the houses so Sooz and I spent the afternoon carrying that up. Olle helped out as well, and Annica told Sooz to help herself to their plum tree.
Salmon for dinner, then "Project Runway" on the iTunes and an early night. Between the lumber and the late-night party, we were tired.
This morning is sunny and breezy. We have a few chores to do but we'll be chilling out, too. New photos are in the webgallery.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Our land is registered!!
As I expected, a bunch of documents came from Lantmäteriet today, and to the best of our Swedish comprehension skills, our land is now officially registered in our names.The key phrase for me was underrättelse, lagfart which translates to "notification of title registration"; a pretty good clue. Of course there's a 4575kr fee for the registration. But it's ours now!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Our contract's back from Lantmäteriet
...but that was all we got, our original contract back with a stamp on it, and a number handwritten on the stamp. No other documents, just the contract in a big envelope.
I assume more info will be forthcoming, but I take this as a good sign!
I assume more info will be forthcoming, but I take this as a good sign!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Letter from Ann-Catrin
A signed note from Ann-Catrin arrived today, and I'm sending it, along with our original land purchase contract, back to Lantmäteriet for another go.
I wrote a cover letter in Swedish. I tried to keep it simple, but let's hope not too simple. I don't want the authorities to think a 6 year-old is trying to register a land purchase!
I wrote a cover letter in Swedish. I tried to keep it simple, but let's hope not too simple. I don't want the authorities to think a 6 year-old is trying to register a land purchase!
Friday, September 4, 2009
Swedish bureaucracy
This is an interesting twist. When I came home tonight, I found the postman had delivered a thick envelope from our friends at Lantmäteriet.
Inside were all the papers I sent them as part of my application, each dutifully stamped and initialed in an official manner, plus a big detailed printout called a inskrivningsdagbok, which I translated as "enrollment diary".
It appears to me that everything has been officially approved and recorded, despite our rejection letter of earlier in the week.
I've sent scans of the inskrivningsdagbok to Tony and Rutger for their opinion. Stay tuned.
UPDATE: I talked to Rutger and my optimism was misplaced; our application is still "avslag", or rejected. We still need to submit a note from Ann-Catrin, which is on its way to me.
Inside were all the papers I sent them as part of my application, each dutifully stamped and initialed in an official manner, plus a big detailed printout called a inskrivningsdagbok, which I translated as "enrollment diary".
It appears to me that everything has been officially approved and recorded, despite our rejection letter of earlier in the week.
I've sent scans of the inskrivningsdagbok to Tony and Rutger for their opinion. Stay tuned.
UPDATE: I talked to Rutger and my optimism was misplaced; our application is still "avslag", or rejected. We still need to submit a note from Ann-Catrin, which is on its way to me.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Reply to Lantmäteriet
I talked to Tony and it appears the people at the Lantmäteriet need a short statement from Ann-Catrin regarding the land sale. She will send me a letter with her approval and I'll send all the paperwork back.
As Janne said, "at least we have a dialog with the authorities," so I'm relaxed that it will all be sorted out.
As Janne said, "at least we have a dialog with the authorities," so I'm relaxed that it will all be sorted out.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
We've received a letter today...
... from the Lantmäteriet about the registration of our land (as I had posted previously).
Unfortunately, it's been rejected. Sooz has translated the letter, and it appears there's a problem with the purchase contract. I don't believe there's anything significant, however.
I'll send a copy of the letter to Tony tonight so we can determine what to do next.
Unfortunately, it's been rejected. Sooz has translated the letter, and it appears there's a problem with the purchase contract. I don't believe there's anything significant, however.
I'll send a copy of the letter to Tony tonight so we can determine what to do next.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Earthquake in Southern Sweden!
I talked to Janne tonight and he said Skåne was hit by a mild earthquake. Sure enough, The Local has a story of a quake at 4.6 on the Richter scale. No injuries reported, thankfully.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Sunshine
I found a cool website in which you can input your latitude and longitude (or your zip code if you're in America) and get a chart of the sun's seasonal position at your location.Thanks to Google Maps, I have the precise location of our house, so after a bit of data entry- voilà! (I will admit to spending a good part of the morning entering various locations and playing with the chart output.)
When we arrive in December for a short visit, we'll have (fairly weak) sunshine only from 8:30 and 14:30. But next midsummer, we'll have sunshine between 2:30 and 21:30! Better buy some window shades.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Returning this weekend
I've been so busy I realise I haven't updated on my decision to go back to Aspö this weekend.
Saturday is the big semi-annual trash pickup for the island, and Janne has offered to haul out my building trash but I thought it'd be nice if I could do it myself. Also it seems like a good way to meet other residents.
Also, Wille is going to finish the floors and the interior walls this week, so I want to get a good look at those. And I have to get detailed measurements of the kitchen area so we can finalize our order. Plus I have lots of stuff in Ann and Dave's guest cottages that I have to move over; that'll be a dozen half-hour round trips alone. So it will be a busy weekend.
I'm getting a standby ticket on SAS; I hate to fly standby anymore but it's not an option this time as the last minute-tickets are so expensive. I hope to fly in Friday night, crash at Marcia and Rutger's, and then do the bus and boat out Saturday morning. Next Monday is a holiday here in the UK so I'll fly back midday, giving me the whole weekend to work and clean up.
Saturday is the big semi-annual trash pickup for the island, and Janne has offered to haul out my building trash but I thought it'd be nice if I could do it myself. Also it seems like a good way to meet other residents.
Also, Wille is going to finish the floors and the interior walls this week, so I want to get a good look at those. And I have to get detailed measurements of the kitchen area so we can finalize our order. Plus I have lots of stuff in Ann and Dave's guest cottages that I have to move over; that'll be a dozen half-hour round trips alone. So it will be a busy weekend.
I'm getting a standby ticket on SAS; I hate to fly standby anymore but it's not an option this time as the last minute-tickets are so expensive. I hope to fly in Friday night, crash at Marcia and Rutger's, and then do the bus and boat out Saturday morning. Next Monday is a holiday here in the UK so I'll fly back midday, giving me the whole weekend to work and clean up.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Cleaning Up
I have lots to talk about but today's our last day on Aspö so I don't want to spend too much time on the Macbook Air.
We went over to our house to clean up, and sort out and cover all the leftover packages of wood. Göran, the electrician, didn't come over but I talked to Wille who had spoken to an electrician colleague so he has a good idea what needs to be done. He also spoke to Stefan about the roof panels and the glue drips. I sent photos of the roof and Stefan advised a specific type of scraper to remove the glue.
Annika and Olle invited us over for cake and coffee in their garden and it was great, we also met Annika's son Patrick who is a nice kid and year older than Grant.
We had a lovely pot luck dinner at Ann & Dave's. Tomorrow morning, Marcia and Rutger are coming over to visit and we'll head home with them.
We went over to our house to clean up, and sort out and cover all the leftover packages of wood. Göran, the electrician, didn't come over but I talked to Wille who had spoken to an electrician colleague so he has a good idea what needs to be done. He also spoke to Stefan about the roof panels and the glue drips. I sent photos of the roof and Stefan advised a specific type of scraper to remove the glue.
Annika and Olle invited us over for cake and coffee in their garden and it was great, we also met Annika's son Patrick who is a nice kid and year older than Grant.
We had a lovely pot luck dinner at Ann & Dave's. Tomorrow morning, Marcia and Rutger are coming over to visit and we'll head home with them.
We have a house!
It was a long day but our little house is indeed up. Willie and his crew had to go on a 7PM boat so we hit it hard. As usual, it took us a long time to struggle up the last (and tallest) beam, but once that was done, we were rolling.
One snag was that the roof panels were soaked; Wille was pretty unhappy at their condition, so we left the underside of the roof open to help things dry out. He's going to talk to Stefan about that and also about all the glue drips on some pieces.
Wille and Michael will be out next week to do the little house and the snagging on the big house.
But- we have a house!!!! Lots of photos in the gallery.
One snag was that the roof panels were soaked; Wille was pretty unhappy at their condition, so we left the underside of the roof open to help things dry out. He's going to talk to Stefan about that and also about all the glue drips on some pieces.
Wille and Michael will be out next week to do the little house and the snagging on the big house.
But- we have a house!!!! Lots of photos in the gallery.
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