Sailin’ On
Today’s lunch was a Paleo-friendly zucchini egg roll filled with bacon, herbs, and Swedish cheese, which is one of the best Paleo recipes I’ve tried so far. While I grated the zucchini and cut the cheese, Querido took care of the filling. It was really nice and romantic… until I cut my thumb with the kitchen knife and suffered a sudden blood pressure drop - then Querido had to hold my legs up for a while, and it wasn’t exactly nice in this context, but it was still romantic.
I’m not sure if it was a case of vasovagal syncope, excess heat, or both. Vasovagal syncope is something that has stood with humans for millions of years: its function is most likely related to protecting the brain and blood supply during dangerous situations. It may also be related to “playing dead”. That’s very appropriate for today’s lunch, and I’ll tell you why. Blood phobia is significantly higher in females and children, which some scientists have tried to explain using the paleolithic threat hypothesis. According to this theory, non-combatants during warfare in this evolutionary period - women and children, precisely - could not outrun a young male adversary, and so, by having this somewhat paradoxical reaction to an attack (fainting or pretending to be dead), they possessed a survival advantage. So if you’re not too happy with the sight of blood, don’t worry: you’re probably just an old soul!
Anyway, the food was very tasty.
After lunch, Querido played some Civilization VI and I did some programming courses about introductory HTML/CSS. We had MakerSpace at 17:30, so we were expecting to meet Phil not too late after lunch. Surprisingly enough, though, he called to inform us that he had gotten a motor for his boat and that he could take us to MakerSpace by boat. And we said yes, of course: why wouldn’t you say yes to going somewhere you go to every week, but by boat instead?
We went to the part of Lidan close to Sankt Nicolai’s Church. First, the boys had to bring the boat across the road to get it to the water, which is still pretty comical to think of. Then we all got in the boat, which Querido and Phil pushed/dragged for a bit. The motor was noisy and all, but it was working! And our journey started.
There are few things in life that make you not only want to stay in the “now” but, moreover, oblige you to do so, because of how breathtakingly beautiful and peaceful they are. This is one of them.
We also saw a small heard of cows on one of the margins. And several families of ducks. They were really cute!
Around 17:00, we turned the boat and started going towards Sockerbruket to attend the weekly meeting. When we got there, the only way up was to climb a metallic ladder, which was fun for me to do - I was wearing heels. Maybe I’m being overconfident here, but I think I can do anything wearing high heels now. I scrapped and cut my left arm a bit, but I managed to do it with a hand from Querido. Plus, I got him to play nurse.
MakerSpace went well. We spoke to Simon about his Goats of Anarchy socks and about how the three of us like farm animals and animals and general. Simon also said he finds spiders really cute. I find spiders really cute only from a distance.
After the meeting, Phil went back to his car by boat, and Querido and I went to say hello to my svärföräldrar. They were very kind - as always - and served me a very much needed cup of coffee. We talked about the future, what I could do with a law degree in Sweden, and about our desire to go on a pilgrimage. Regarding that last subject, Querido’s father offered us his (super neat) military backpack. While they went to get it, svärmor and I talked a bit about the churches in the county.
It was a great day, but I must confess that I was excited about getting home for some cuddling. Luckily for me, that’s how the day ended!