I wasn’t going to invest much in workout equipment at home. Costs money, takes up space. And besides, I liked cycling to and from work, and Friskis & Svettis group workouts, so medium term I intended to go back to that. What’s the point in buying stuff I’ll only use for a short time. I’ll just buy a kettlebell.

Fine, a single pair of dumbbells as well, then.

But the short term stretches out longer and longer. I find myself enjoying workout videos more than I expected, and they’re doing wonders for my well-being. I can picture continuing like this – working from home most days of the week, doing a lunchtime workout every day. Plus Ingrid has also started working out, so the equipment gets much more use.

Oh well, let’s get a gym mat, then. And we really need some more dumbbells in lighter weights.

There is still a real shortage of gym equipment. Vinyl dumbbells in suitable sizes are sold out in most places. I finally found a place that had what I wanted. A week later I got an email telling me that the things they let me order were not actually in stock after all and could they perhaps tempt me with some completely different things. No thank you.

I nearly ordered dumbbells from Germany but shipping chunks of iron across half a continent sounds like such a waste that I’d rather do without. After much creative googling I finally found another Swedish shop that had what I wanted.

I ordered my stuff, and waited. Two weeks later I still had nothing. I sent an email, then called and left a message, then called again. The company seems to be totally ignoring me. And now I saw their Trustpilot reviews and they seem to be a bunch of scammers.

It’s not the loss of a few hundred kronor that bothers me most, but the endless waste of time. A month after I decided to buy dumbbells I still don’t have any.

The dumbbells in the photo are our oldest ones. Unlike the newer vinyl-coated ones, the paint on these flakes off and the iron underneath rusts. But if this order also doesn’t go through, I’ll give up on the vinyl and just buy whatever I can get.