The recycling station across the road from Coop in Spånga has disappeared. Maybe it has moved, I haven’t checked. I guess I should.

Instead I’ve just gone to the other recycling station nearby, next to Spånga Folkets Hus. Which I think might technically be marginally closer to us. But because it lies in the wrong direction and doesn’t have a supermarket next to it, those 20 metres that I could possibly save by going there are useless. I can walk 700 metres to the recycling station and to the supermarket, and the same back again – or I can walk 650 metres to the recycling station, and the same back again, but still need to make the whole trip to the supermarket in the exact opposite direction.

Coincidentally there are DHL and Schenker parcel pickup points very close to each of the recycling stations. The algorithms usually pre-select the one next to the Folkets Hus, because I guess it appears closer. And I always override their choice and pick the one in central Spånga instead, because then I can pick up my parcel on my way from somewhere else. Technically closer does not mean better.

I still end up walking to the “wrong” pickup point regularly, though, because many online shops don’t let me choose and leave it to the algorithm.

My standard 30-minute walk takes me through Starboparken in two directions.

We were sitting on the deck, having dinner, when we noticed an unpleasant burning smell. Not the usual smell of barbecuing meat (which can be pretty unpleasant to a bunch of vegetarians – seriously, it makes me think of burning flesh) but something more chemical or plasticky. When we also noticed a smoky haze in the distance, Eric went off to investigate and potentially call emergency services. That turned out not to be necessary, because they were already on their way.

The cause was an electric bike battery that had caught fire while charging, two houses away from ours. Bike batteries can apparently be really dangerous and have caused major fires in Stockholm recent years. I remember websites advising people to not charge mobile phones overnight for safety reasons, but I haven’t seen that advice for a few years now. I guess phone battery technology is more mature. But for bike batteries, that advice is still applicable – charge during the day, and not indoors. Bike batteries get more bumps and hits (which is really bad for them) and obviously they’re also quite a bit larger than phone or laptop batteries. Plenty more firepower.

The internet has now also taught me how dangerous large lithium ion batteries are to transport, and how many shipping companies don’t even want to touch them, and how they require special certification.

In this case the incident was judged serious enough to warrant two fire engines and a police unit to manage the site, and the police decided to cordon off the streets around the house in question. Luckily nobody had been injured. The situation was quietly resolved later without any further excitement.

Last time we had a fire near us was seven years ago.

I was reflecting in Slovenia that the locals there probably stop noticing the stunning mountains around them after a while. Just like I was so charmed by the greenery in Spånga when I first saw it, but now rarely think about it. So here’s me paying attention to it again.

Also, taking an evening walk to get my daily exercise in.

Our cat’s pose, in our cat’s spot, but not our cat.

There are so many cats in the neighbourhood that I sometimes wish there was a Facebook – in its earliest incarnation, when it was just a set of personal profiles with photos – for them all.

There’s a new young cat in the neighbourhood, out for the first time (or at least exploring our yard for the first time). Nysse is not impressed.

The neighbours’ house is looking house-shaped already, 10 days after the first pieces were delivered.

After the explodey work was done, the neighbours poured a foundation. Now the house is being delivered in big chunks, and lifted in place. Lots of progress very fast.

Of the two supermarkets in central Spånga, Coop is far more spacious and has a much better organic selection, while ICA has a much veggie selection (both better quality, and more to choose from). The vegetable stand in the square can be hit and miss: they’ve got things that you’ll never find at Coop or ICA, but the quality can be so-so. Case in point: peas in the pod (which aren’t commonly sold in Sweden, believe it or not) but so dry and wrinkled that I couldn’t find even a handful that I was willing to pay for. That’s what you get for lack of refrigeration.

Mama pig at the animal husbandry school near us has been looking big and heavy for a long while now. Today Eric reported (on his way to the supermarket) that the piglets had arrived. Adrian and I went piglet-watching.

There’s six of them, and they all have different colouring. One very pale with stripes, one pale with barely-visible flecks, one beige with stripes, one pale with large dark spots, one brown with stripes, and one fully brown.