"It's The Water" At Ramlösa Brunn!

The water from this well is still in our opinion one of the BEST tasting bottled waters you can find anywhere.  It is.... Oh YES..   Delicious!

All the houses shown here are in Ramlösa Park.

We four, Ralle, David, Mister (though he waited for us in the car) and I visited here today as we have many times before.  Another favorite spot.

A ceramic vase made in Höganäs

Stories about the effects of this iron and mineral rich water dates back as far as 1675 and earlier..... King Karl XI's soldiers came to this well for Rest and Relaxation just as an example of recorded history.

Tales  abound about the healing effects this water has had on everything from scurvy, heart palpitations, kidney and liver ailments, parasites, "the shakes", jaundice, headaches and mental and manic imbalance not forgetting some of the ills of women from fainting spells  to menstruation.  With the exception of eye problems it seemed a virtual cure all.

Johan Jacob Döbelius (1674 - 1743) studied and researched the water at Ramlösa Well for it's healing effects from the year 1700.  The Spa was established in June 1707 and during the early 1700s grew in popularity until the hight of activity and demand during the 1800s.

In the beginning visitors who came to drink and bathe in the water would find a place to stay with the local and private population, until in the middle of the 1700s when the hotel and bath houses were built.

The Hotel

Guests in need of "the cure" came from near and far.

These activities continued until the end of the 1800s and at that time the water was again analyzed and found to be extremely rich in minerals.  A factory was built near the original well and sales of bottled water started.

Around 1920 more money was generated from  the sale of bottled water than from  the Spa and Bath facility and the upkeep became an economic drag.  More investment and energy was spent on the water export.
The bottled water was purchased by customers from Finland, England, Holland, France, Mesopotamia, Turkey, Syria, Palestine and Egypt.

Ralle drank and drank of this water today!  He, "The Beautiful One" should live forever!

As a footnote I might mention that from my recollection at family gatherings when I was growing up my Grandparents would have bottled water on the dining room table too.  But it was water from Vichy, France.  Is it not funny how we consumers have preferred "exotics" how even then we imported and exported WATER of all things, from far and away places.

We sold Ramlösa bottled water in our little Scandinavian section at Oakhurst Feed and I was especially thrilled to have it both to sell and for my/our own consumption.  Until my cousin pointed out how absurd I was not to drink my own water!  How right she was.  Somehow I did not think of it in those terms until she mentioned it.  We did of course drink our own water as well,  we had a fabulous well of our own in Mariposa.  The bottled water was a treat not an every day drink and be aware we did drink bottled water from California too, Calistoga water most often and Italy's Pellegrino as well.

Ralle meets a new friend

Is Cherry Garcia in Viken ?

Hey, what's that... a new chew toy... do you think there is a cat in there ???
My somewhat "Chubby Hubby" and I went to visit the Ben and Jerry litter at Kennel Vi'Skaly's along with our "Vanilla Dream" of a dog Ralph Lauren.  He is truly a "Vanilla Dream"! ( From the Designer Litter of long ago or so I think  Ralph Lauren's group of litter mates were called?).
Ben and Jerry is  a company that  have always used such different and fun names for their various ice cream delights such as "Cheesecake Brownie", "Cinnamon Bun", "Wavy Gravy" or "Honey I'm Home" ..

Cleverly this new litter was named after various Ben and Jerry ice cream flavors.  These puppies are just as hard to resist and just as sweet as their names.  "Fairy nuts"?  "Berry N 'Ice"?

Hey there Big Fellow , who are you, may I get to know you?

 "Schweddy Balls"?  It was impossible not to think of that skit  when I looked at this cute picture.

"Schweddy Balls" is the name of a  silly limited Ben and Jerry flavor in honor of that Saturday Night Live  skit with Alec Baldwin from way back in the day.  Laughed so hard my stomach ached the first time I saw that.  Have laughed equally hard several times since........  fortunately  none of these new adorable little lives had to be burdened with just that crazy name.

Ralle, sweet and gentle.

"Butterscotch Swirl"?

"Chunky Monkey"?

What a baby sitter he -  the Ralle Man.  What sweet fluff balls these cute ones are!

then a  walk in Viken,

past the church,

down the main "drag",

down to the harbor,

along the ocean,

flying swans,

swimming birds,

past the dressing rooms,

all in a row.......  we go,   my slightly Chubby Hubby and I    ----  and --

no,  no "Cherry Garcia"  in Viken ... we looked , yes we did.

Foggy Farhult and Great Granola !!

There is something so neat about the images in the fog,

veils and shifting layers of gray,

trees dripping of moisture,

and moss soaking it up like sponge.

It is hard to see where the road leads,

where the sky begins or ends,

we walk on crushed shells and wet sand,

and wonder  if people are coming or going.

We pick up fresh eggs in Farhult,

where the chickens enjoy green grass and live a happy life,

where you can purchase pansy's and other SPRING flowers in every color for a very nice price,

while the farmers are out in the fields

planting potatoes and strawberries,

hoping to have New Potatoes for our enjoyment in early May.  The first golden little delights selling for  around 700 crowns ($104) per kilo or more........  at the start of the season.

Until then we will be happy with a  "dose"  of  home made  "Great Granola" a "Sunny Day Starter" or "Neta's Great  Health Mix"  loaded with dried cherries, cranberries, apricots, almonds, sunflower seeds, linseed, and all sorts of other goodies.  Don't forget , those in the know say that almonds and 'cots will extend  your life.... :-,) so make some Granola  !

Kindness-Love And a Dog In The Fog

It is not clear to me why I have had friendships lost and the fragility of love on my mind so much lately but I have.  Perhaps due to a friend far away in California who recently made mention of a rude neighbor,  perhaps my own experiences of late,  as I have been told the most vile things by someone I thought highly of,  a new experience for me for sure.  Or is it just this heavy, gloomy gray weather? Perhaps a combination of all......

Love and friendships are as fragile as a strand of silk yet I wished those two emotions, those feelings could  be as strong and as lasting as a diamond and last forever. How blessed we are to have some TRUE friends, on whom we can rely. Friends with whom we can be who we are, with whom we can talk  Not just be used.........

When the head gets "too full" of thoughts lacking answers it is so good to swing by the  nearby Castle  Park to feed the ducks... it is Spring,  the ducks are happy and busy and

as always glad to see us.

"A true friend is someone who thinks you are a good egg even though he knows

you are slightly cracked", that's a fitting quote by Eric Segal .

Krapperup Park, ponds, birds, and loads of seasonal flowers is a great place to go to clear the cobwebs, a place for meditation .......  contemplation ...  We adore this place, we cherish it!

Kullaberg next.  Magic and mystery.... fog hanging low, wisps of mists engulfing us, dressed like this "she" Kullaberg  is extra special...

with the oldest lighthouse in the northern region sending messages long and far, it is impossible to not think of and remember visits here

with family members and friends with whom we have ever lasting love and friendships.  The kind that survives!  The TRUE kind!

Anyone home?  Hallåååå....... no luck, no one there..  so

down the road we go

down the hill

over rocks and stumps and around wind twisted trees

WHAT ! What.... WHO....

a tree monster in the mist?   She/He is wishing we'd be gone.  QUICK!

OK, sorry to have disturbed, we will be on our way....... after all  "kindness is the language that the deaf can hear and the blind can see"  so said,  Mark Twain

or how about: "You can not do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late"  Ralph Waldo Emerson

Spring cleaning in yards and forests and tonight we "Spring Forward" Light is upon us!  Now if only the fog would lift ..