We have had the BEST summer so far. It's been hot. Like, 85 degrees in the shade hot. Sweaty, can't sleep at night because we have no A/C and there is no frigging breeze hot. Karla wears shorts and t-shirts and doesn't need to worry about a sweater hot. Tanning, sweating, going for walks, wishing we had a swimming pool hot. Convertible hot. For, like, a month now!
Today we have thunderstorms rumbling around, and it's humid and there is NO breeze and it totally reminds me of Texas. I'd drinking a drink with crushed ice, cranberry juice, some grenadine and Grey Goose Orange vodka (thanks Kate!) and it's cool and refreshing as hell.
I've been wearing nothing but skirts and tank tops and sandals. I am loving it. I figure, hopefully we have another month of this gloriousness........
Woo!
Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
Monday, July 24, 2006
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
...according to the Austin weather forecast...
We had the same temperature here today as you guys will in Austin.
We got up to 92 today, at least we did at our flat. We even had a little heat-fired thunderstorm roll by!
I took two cold showers to cool off. And it took less than an hour for a shirt I had washed to dry when I put it outside.
Yep, it's hot. I love it. Reminds me of home.
We got up to 92 today, at least we did at our flat. We even had a little heat-fired thunderstorm roll by!
I took two cold showers to cool off. And it took less than an hour for a shirt I had washed to dry when I put it outside.
Yep, it's hot. I love it. Reminds me of home.
havin' a heat waaave, a tropical heat waaave....
Ah yes, it's the hot days. We usually have a few of them every year, and these are them.
It's bloody warm out. We have all the windows open to catch every delicious breeze. (And it's a bit annoying when the workmen who are working on the building SMOKE right outside the bedroom window, thus ruining the sweet smell of summer wafting in...do I close the window to keep the smell out of the bedroom, and swelter, or keep it open and have the house smell like a bar? I think they are smoking hand rolled cigarettes, too, which are even stinkier than normal ones.)
I love the hot weather, though, except when I am sleeping. Then, it's a bit hard, because not only is it LIGHT outside, but I am also a ball of sticky sweat, flopping around in bed like a dying gasping fish with NO AIR. Rich, lying next to me, is like having my own personal man heater which I can't turn off, so he adds to the general sweatiness of the atmosphere. ARg. Let's just say, the sheets are getting changed with great regularity this week.
I had my first full day back at work yesterday (I work for the same people, but they farm me to different companies as need arises). It's always hard going back to work, especially when the weather says "Go outside! Pretty sunlight! Go outside!". But the job seems like it will turn out to be fairly interesting. At first it looked pretty horrible, but they are shifting my duties (after I told them that what they wanted me to do was patently NOT an area I knew anything about nor had any skills in achieving!) into an area more suited to my talents, so that's a great sign for their corporate structure that they LISTEN to the folks who work there. So I'll be doing more writing and less paper pushing, woo! And I have an office! With a desk, chair and computer! And my own window.....
After work I met up with a Texan friend who might be moving here. (I'm sort of the Austin Ambassador to Norway. I take care of Texans.) I showed him the $30 roasting chickens and the $20 small bag of dog food (they have two big dogs, and crap, I had NO idea DOG food was so expensive). We ate at a cheap (!) and cheerful curry house, called Curry and Ketchup (no ketchup in sight, don't know why they named it that). He seems fairly certain they will come here, but I will say that I also have to give the hard talk about money and expenses. Before we moved here, people told me it was expensive, but I thought "How expensive can it be?", and then was flummoxed when I saw just how expensive it can be! However, it seems he and his wife would be well suited for living here. He likes to walk and she's an independent sort who likes her quality time at home, so they seem ideal for the Norwegian lifestyle.
He's on a flight back home right now. He's carrying some brunost, the sweet brown cheese made from goat's milk. I'll be interested to see how folks at home like it.....I kind of do, it reminds me of peanut butter. But then, if I want peanut butter, I just eat peanut butter.
I also had to remind him that yes it is warm out, right now, but this is NOT normal. In fact, it's kind of like those random ice storms we would have in Austin.....once a year, quick and done. Enjoy it while it lasts!
Me? I'm going out to lie on the hammock. Gotta get that hammock time in now, while the gettin's good.
It's bloody warm out. We have all the windows open to catch every delicious breeze. (And it's a bit annoying when the workmen who are working on the building SMOKE right outside the bedroom window, thus ruining the sweet smell of summer wafting in...do I close the window to keep the smell out of the bedroom, and swelter, or keep it open and have the house smell like a bar? I think they are smoking hand rolled cigarettes, too, which are even stinkier than normal ones.)
I love the hot weather, though, except when I am sleeping. Then, it's a bit hard, because not only is it LIGHT outside, but I am also a ball of sticky sweat, flopping around in bed like a dying gasping fish with NO AIR. Rich, lying next to me, is like having my own personal man heater which I can't turn off, so he adds to the general sweatiness of the atmosphere. ARg. Let's just say, the sheets are getting changed with great regularity this week.
I had my first full day back at work yesterday (I work for the same people, but they farm me to different companies as need arises). It's always hard going back to work, especially when the weather says "Go outside! Pretty sunlight! Go outside!". But the job seems like it will turn out to be fairly interesting. At first it looked pretty horrible, but they are shifting my duties (after I told them that what they wanted me to do was patently NOT an area I knew anything about nor had any skills in achieving!) into an area more suited to my talents, so that's a great sign for their corporate structure that they LISTEN to the folks who work there. So I'll be doing more writing and less paper pushing, woo! And I have an office! With a desk, chair and computer! And my own window.....
After work I met up with a Texan friend who might be moving here. (I'm sort of the Austin Ambassador to Norway. I take care of Texans.) I showed him the $30 roasting chickens and the $20 small bag of dog food (they have two big dogs, and crap, I had NO idea DOG food was so expensive). We ate at a cheap (!) and cheerful curry house, called Curry and Ketchup (no ketchup in sight, don't know why they named it that). He seems fairly certain they will come here, but I will say that I also have to give the hard talk about money and expenses. Before we moved here, people told me it was expensive, but I thought "How expensive can it be?", and then was flummoxed when I saw just how expensive it can be! However, it seems he and his wife would be well suited for living here. He likes to walk and she's an independent sort who likes her quality time at home, so they seem ideal for the Norwegian lifestyle.
He's on a flight back home right now. He's carrying some brunost, the sweet brown cheese made from goat's milk. I'll be interested to see how folks at home like it.....I kind of do, it reminds me of peanut butter. But then, if I want peanut butter, I just eat peanut butter.
I also had to remind him that yes it is warm out, right now, but this is NOT normal. In fact, it's kind of like those random ice storms we would have in Austin.....once a year, quick and done. Enjoy it while it lasts!
Me? I'm going out to lie on the hammock. Gotta get that hammock time in now, while the gettin's good.
Sunday, July 02, 2006
not really fair....
Hi y'all.
I'm on antihistamines. It's really cool. Like, WHEEE! Look at me float! And it's also cool to have it with beer. Beer and Benadryl....that's AWESOME.
Ok so today I think I have finally figured out that for the first time in my life...I have allergies. If allergies are:
Eyes so itchy and runny that you want to pluck them out. The skin around your nostrils itching like nuts. An itch deep inside your ear that makes you twitch, but there is no way in hell you can scratch it unless you, like stick an ice pick into your BRAIN.
Oh my god I am in hell. I make it to within 3 years of 40 and I get allergies NOW? Crap.
Also, it's HOT outside! It's like, 85 or something. That doesn't seem so bad, BUT we are on the top floor of a brick apartment building with metal roof and all glass walls. No air conditioning. And the sun shines, like, 18 hours today. So, it's hot. And I am itchy. And hot. And I want to remove my eyes and douse them in water. Is that possible...?
Today I went to the July 4th festivities in Oslo. I don't know why I go when, honestly, I am sort of disappointed every year, though I am not sure why. I mean, there's burgers and hot dogs and we had burritos (sort of) this year. I had popcorn and a really good cinnamon roll and there were dogs and classic American cars. Maybe it's because I expect all the Americans I meet to just be a bit more fun or outgoing. It's not that they are not nice, but I feel sometimes it should be hugs all around and "Woo! American! Hi! How are YOU?!" I always think that as expats we should all be sort of joined together in expat-edness, but it's really all just people and the usual normal peopleness. I never really get that "Hail Fellow Well Met" feeling. There's no cool bonding or high-fiving or anything. Maybe I miss the fireworks. Maybe I want nachos and funnel cakes and Indian Bread and cheap beer. (Actually, that's getting closer.) Maybe my runny gummy eyes and red nose just scared people away......
I did meet up (briefly) with a friend of a friend who will probably be moving here. (Hi Tony and Susan!) Once I saw him again I totally recognized him. I'm going to meet up with him again tomorrow after his final job interview and my first real (again) day of work, to show him a grocery store and go on a walkabout Oslo. I'll show him both the scary stuff (food costs) and the good stuff (pretty scenery EVERYWHERE) ...must be balanced.
Is this post even at all interesting? I think not.
yeay Benadryl! hey! I'm sleeppyyyy.....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
I'm on antihistamines. It's really cool. Like, WHEEE! Look at me float! And it's also cool to have it with beer. Beer and Benadryl....that's AWESOME.
Ok so today I think I have finally figured out that for the first time in my life...I have allergies. If allergies are:
Eyes so itchy and runny that you want to pluck them out. The skin around your nostrils itching like nuts. An itch deep inside your ear that makes you twitch, but there is no way in hell you can scratch it unless you, like stick an ice pick into your BRAIN.
Oh my god I am in hell. I make it to within 3 years of 40 and I get allergies NOW? Crap.
Also, it's HOT outside! It's like, 85 or something. That doesn't seem so bad, BUT we are on the top floor of a brick apartment building with metal roof and all glass walls. No air conditioning. And the sun shines, like, 18 hours today. So, it's hot. And I am itchy. And hot. And I want to remove my eyes and douse them in water. Is that possible...?
Today I went to the July 4th festivities in Oslo. I don't know why I go when, honestly, I am sort of disappointed every year, though I am not sure why. I mean, there's burgers and hot dogs and we had burritos (sort of) this year. I had popcorn and a really good cinnamon roll and there were dogs and classic American cars. Maybe it's because I expect all the Americans I meet to just be a bit more fun or outgoing. It's not that they are not nice, but I feel sometimes it should be hugs all around and "Woo! American! Hi! How are YOU?!" I always think that as expats we should all be sort of joined together in expat-edness, but it's really all just people and the usual normal peopleness. I never really get that "Hail Fellow Well Met" feeling. There's no cool bonding or high-fiving or anything. Maybe I miss the fireworks. Maybe I want nachos and funnel cakes and Indian Bread and cheap beer. (Actually, that's getting closer.) Maybe my runny gummy eyes and red nose just scared people away......
I did meet up (briefly) with a friend of a friend who will probably be moving here. (Hi Tony and Susan!) Once I saw him again I totally recognized him. I'm going to meet up with him again tomorrow after his final job interview and my first real (again) day of work, to show him a grocery store and go on a walkabout Oslo. I'll show him both the scary stuff (food costs) and the good stuff (pretty scenery EVERYWHERE) ...must be balanced.
Is this post even at all interesting? I think not.
yeay Benadryl! hey! I'm sleeppyyyy.....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Longest day of the year...
....which is kind of a big deal around here. Coming up to today, we gained 4 minutes of light EVERY DAY from the winter solstice. From today on, we lose four minutes of light EVERY DAY until winter solstice comes again. Doesn't seem like much, until you think that in 10 days that's 40 minutes of light either gained or lost, depending on where you are in the cycle.
So it's no wonder Scandinavians (and most Europeans) are sun worshippers of the first order. You have to enjoy it while it's there! And there's alot to enjoy around here:
And it also explains why I am so frigging tired. I have had a hard time sleeping, what with the sun setting around midnight and starting its ascent again around 3am......
I have 6 months before it gets to the darkest day. And today is the first day of summer...so that means about two months of almost guaranteed warmth! Woo!
So it's no wonder Scandinavians (and most Europeans) are sun worshippers of the first order. You have to enjoy it while it's there! And there's alot to enjoy around here:
And it also explains why I am so frigging tired. I have had a hard time sleeping, what with the sun setting around midnight and starting its ascent again around 3am......
I have 6 months before it gets to the darkest day. And today is the first day of summer...so that means about two months of almost guaranteed warmth! Woo!
Monday, June 19, 2006
Walkies! Walkies!
Back when I had my dog, Beaufort, I used to drive her nuts by coming up to her with her leash and hollering in a mock British voice, "Walkies! Walkies!" She would absolutley LOSE her MIND, knowing that it was time for a WALK ohmygod a WALK we're going to go SNIFF stuff and PEE on things and see the WORLD and I can BARK and it's so great and boy can we go now can we can we can we huh huh?
I kinda know how she felt, lately. Well, except for the part about peeing on stuff.
I've been a walking MANIAC. Maybe it's the iPod. It keeps me motivated. Or maybe it's because I got this pedometer and I am hell bent on doing 10,000 steps a day (which, by the way, is harder than it seems cuz it's like five miles or something and how many people actually walk five miles a day anymore in this world of cars?) or if it's because the weather has been so great, or I am discovering all these cool new neighborhoods and hills and meadows around here or what. I mean, the walking around here is awesome. There's always a view from a hilltop, or an old farm, or an iron age burial mound, or an old viking trail, or something. There's trees and flowering bushes and pretty houses.
There's hot guys without their shirts off working on their yards, and just for Rich there is always a girl in a bikini somewhere. I was rather tickled when he saw one on Saturday and then, about 5 minutes later, told me musingly that I should get a brown bikini. And I'm all like, "Um, you mean a brown bikini like the one that cute girl was wearing?" And he's all, "Um, yeah, because I noticed how her hair color was like yours and brown would look good on you." Uh.Huh. I am SO sure he was looking at her HAIR color. The hair color of a cute, firm assed, girl in a little brown bikini. But, nice save, guy. Really. You are learning the ways of the wife. It's only taken 13 years....
Um, where was I. Oh, walking. Yeah, on Saturday I dragged Rich's ass out for a walk that ended up being 7.5 miles. For you non-mile using people, that's like, 12 kilometers. It was a long walk. And a good walk. And it was really warm out, like, 80 degrees, or something. Which doesn't seem hot to you Texas people but I am up NORTH and that means I am closer to the sun than you and then there is this whole thing with the ozone being damaged up north and that makes the sun more intense....so it was hot. (Hey! Quit laughing, you Texas people! I'm not kidding!) I was quite tired afterwards, and we actually turned down a couple of invites to bbq's and stuff because, well, ouch.
Walking that much on Saturday entitled me to do nothing on Sunday. I thought about walking, but, you know, moderation in all things. Besides, I'm almost finished working my way through the last season of Angel. A girl's gotta have her priorities.
It rained really hard last night and washed away all the pollen dust (and boy am I glad I washed all the decks and glass just on FRIDAY, dammit) so it's not so sunny out, but it looks like the rain might hold off for me to get another 5 in if I do it now.....So I gather my iPod and my pedometer and mutter to myself, "Walkies! Walkies!"
I miss that dog.
I've lost 4 pounds, by the way.
I kinda know how she felt, lately. Well, except for the part about peeing on stuff.
I've been a walking MANIAC. Maybe it's the iPod. It keeps me motivated. Or maybe it's because I got this pedometer and I am hell bent on doing 10,000 steps a day (which, by the way, is harder than it seems cuz it's like five miles or something and how many people actually walk five miles a day anymore in this world of cars?) or if it's because the weather has been so great, or I am discovering all these cool new neighborhoods and hills and meadows around here or what. I mean, the walking around here is awesome. There's always a view from a hilltop, or an old farm, or an iron age burial mound, or an old viking trail, or something. There's trees and flowering bushes and pretty houses.
There's hot guys without their shirts off working on their yards, and just for Rich there is always a girl in a bikini somewhere. I was rather tickled when he saw one on Saturday and then, about 5 minutes later, told me musingly that I should get a brown bikini. And I'm all like, "Um, you mean a brown bikini like the one that cute girl was wearing?" And he's all, "Um, yeah, because I noticed how her hair color was like yours and brown would look good on you." Uh.Huh. I am SO sure he was looking at her HAIR color. The hair color of a cute, firm assed, girl in a little brown bikini. But, nice save, guy. Really. You are learning the ways of the wife. It's only taken 13 years....
Um, where was I. Oh, walking. Yeah, on Saturday I dragged Rich's ass out for a walk that ended up being 7.5 miles. For you non-mile using people, that's like, 12 kilometers. It was a long walk. And a good walk. And it was really warm out, like, 80 degrees, or something. Which doesn't seem hot to you Texas people but I am up NORTH and that means I am closer to the sun than you and then there is this whole thing with the ozone being damaged up north and that makes the sun more intense....so it was hot. (Hey! Quit laughing, you Texas people! I'm not kidding!) I was quite tired afterwards, and we actually turned down a couple of invites to bbq's and stuff because, well, ouch.
Walking that much on Saturday entitled me to do nothing on Sunday. I thought about walking, but, you know, moderation in all things. Besides, I'm almost finished working my way through the last season of Angel. A girl's gotta have her priorities.
It rained really hard last night and washed away all the pollen dust (and boy am I glad I washed all the decks and glass just on FRIDAY, dammit) so it's not so sunny out, but it looks like the rain might hold off for me to get another 5 in if I do it now.....So I gather my iPod and my pedometer and mutter to myself, "Walkies! Walkies!"
I miss that dog.
I've lost 4 pounds, by the way.
Friday, June 16, 2006
Karla and the Man-Eating Hammock
I think it's been established that my life can never be simple. And that I can never be cool. I can try as hard as I want, but The Gods of Goof always remind me that I am under their constant surveillance.
So, today I was out on our wrap-around deck, wearing a bikini top and shorts, doing some cleaning. The deck is walled with heavy clear glass to keep anyone from falling off, and it looks cool, but it also means NO privacy and that glass gets alarmingly dirty, especially after the late pollen showers we've had. I noticed the neighbors had all cleaned THEIR glass, which meant, dammit, that I had to do ours to keep up with the Joneses. (Though in Norway it's keeping up with the Lunds, I guess.) It was a great opportunity for tanning, as it's a beautiful day, hence my wearing the bikini top and shorts. I would have worn the bikini bottoms, too, but glass walls and great visibility to the neighbors nixed any ideas of my exposing my ass to so many in such a bug under a magnifier way. Bikini tops are perfectly acceptable hereabouts, and in hot weather you see girls wearing them walking around, perfectly comfortable. (Yes, guys, Norway is heaven in summer.)
So I got busy with the cleaning, being extra careful not to douse the people five stories below with water spray from the hose. There are shops and cafes down there, and it would not be nice for me to hose down innocent shoppers and eaters. (Not nice, but it would be fun...and it was tempting. But I refrained. I'm evil, but not rude.) I got pretty soaked in my cleaning frenzy, and let me tell you it was COLD water. But the glass is clean of pollen and all is sparkly.
AFter all my hard work, I fixed myself a sandwich, got my latest book du jour (James Frey's "A Million Little Pieces", yes I am behind but hey, I am also half a world away, ok?) and settled down for a nice laze in the hammock.
THE HAMMOCK OF DEATH!
I ate my sandwich, drank my lemonade, and snuggled in for a good read in the warm sun when I noticed that my swimsuit top was sort of bunched up. I tried to sit up to fix it....but got yanked back down to the hammock. Oh SHIT. My top was tangled in the hammock strings. Somehow, someway, the hammock had grabbed the back of my top and it was SERIOUSLY twisted in the ropes. I could feel it, when I reached around and there was NO WAY I could get it unstuck. Now....this is bad.
I am 5 stories up. The phone is nowhere near me. I am tied to a hammock. By my very small bikini top. In the bright sun. I have sun screen on, but it's about 4 hours til Rich comes home and I don't really want to bake myself to a fritz. And boy can I sunburn. To add to this, I am RIGHT next to the glass wall, so anyone in the whole building next door, and many of the folks in our building, can see me really clearly. Not to mention the workmen who have built scaffolding on our building to fix some enginneering issues that have cropped up.
People, I am fucked.
I tried to just hang out calmly in the hammock, wiggle back and forth, hoping that however my top got IN the ropes it would work its way OUT. Nope. I gathered my book to my chest and used it as camouflage as I twisted my top around to see what was going on in back. OUCH.. That hurt. However, I could see that the hook of my top was double twisted in the rope... and it was no longer holding my top closed.
My only choice is to remove the top. I can't extricate myself any other way. FUCK.
I am not an exhibitionist. Especially on my own deck where the neighbors would forever remember me as that strange hammock-obsessed girl with the removable bikini top. (And these boobs have RARELY seen the light of day....which explains their perfection, if I do say so myself.)
I peeked out through the glass to see if anyone was looking, or out on their balconies. Pretty clear. The workmen were on a lunch break or something, I'm not sure, but they weren't in the immediate vicinity. It would be a simple matter, now that the back of my top was open, to wriggle out, leave the damn thing attached to the hammock and run like hell into the flat.
I gathered my book over my boobs (note to self: always read bigger books from now on, no small paperbacks), slipped the straps over my shoulders, rolled off the hammock onto the deck sans bikini top and ran like the dickens into the flat, clutching the book as tightly as possible. "A Million Little Pieces" became my One Great Hope of Modesty.
I am proud to report I only have one small bruise (besides that of my pride) from my roll off the hammock.
I came back outside clad now in a very large, hook-free t-shirt, and it took me about three minutes to get the top unhooked from the hammock. It was REALLY caught. Caught like a fish in a net.
Why do things like this happen to me? Do I have "dork" tattooed to my forehead? I mean, c'mon!
So, today I was out on our wrap-around deck, wearing a bikini top and shorts, doing some cleaning. The deck is walled with heavy clear glass to keep anyone from falling off, and it looks cool, but it also means NO privacy and that glass gets alarmingly dirty, especially after the late pollen showers we've had. I noticed the neighbors had all cleaned THEIR glass, which meant, dammit, that I had to do ours to keep up with the Joneses. (Though in Norway it's keeping up with the Lunds, I guess.) It was a great opportunity for tanning, as it's a beautiful day, hence my wearing the bikini top and shorts. I would have worn the bikini bottoms, too, but glass walls and great visibility to the neighbors nixed any ideas of my exposing my ass to so many in such a bug under a magnifier way. Bikini tops are perfectly acceptable hereabouts, and in hot weather you see girls wearing them walking around, perfectly comfortable. (Yes, guys, Norway is heaven in summer.)
So I got busy with the cleaning, being extra careful not to douse the people five stories below with water spray from the hose. There are shops and cafes down there, and it would not be nice for me to hose down innocent shoppers and eaters. (Not nice, but it would be fun...and it was tempting. But I refrained. I'm evil, but not rude.) I got pretty soaked in my cleaning frenzy, and let me tell you it was COLD water. But the glass is clean of pollen and all is sparkly.
AFter all my hard work, I fixed myself a sandwich, got my latest book du jour (James Frey's "A Million Little Pieces", yes I am behind but hey, I am also half a world away, ok?) and settled down for a nice laze in the hammock.
THE HAMMOCK OF DEATH!
I ate my sandwich, drank my lemonade, and snuggled in for a good read in the warm sun when I noticed that my swimsuit top was sort of bunched up. I tried to sit up to fix it....but got yanked back down to the hammock. Oh SHIT. My top was tangled in the hammock strings. Somehow, someway, the hammock had grabbed the back of my top and it was SERIOUSLY twisted in the ropes. I could feel it, when I reached around and there was NO WAY I could get it unstuck. Now....this is bad.
I am 5 stories up. The phone is nowhere near me. I am tied to a hammock. By my very small bikini top. In the bright sun. I have sun screen on, but it's about 4 hours til Rich comes home and I don't really want to bake myself to a fritz. And boy can I sunburn. To add to this, I am RIGHT next to the glass wall, so anyone in the whole building next door, and many of the folks in our building, can see me really clearly. Not to mention the workmen who have built scaffolding on our building to fix some enginneering issues that have cropped up.
People, I am fucked.
I tried to just hang out calmly in the hammock, wiggle back and forth, hoping that however my top got IN the ropes it would work its way OUT. Nope. I gathered my book to my chest and used it as camouflage as I twisted my top around to see what was going on in back. OUCH.. That hurt. However, I could see that the hook of my top was double twisted in the rope... and it was no longer holding my top closed.
My only choice is to remove the top. I can't extricate myself any other way. FUCK.
I am not an exhibitionist. Especially on my own deck where the neighbors would forever remember me as that strange hammock-obsessed girl with the removable bikini top. (And these boobs have RARELY seen the light of day....which explains their perfection, if I do say so myself.)
I peeked out through the glass to see if anyone was looking, or out on their balconies. Pretty clear. The workmen were on a lunch break or something, I'm not sure, but they weren't in the immediate vicinity. It would be a simple matter, now that the back of my top was open, to wriggle out, leave the damn thing attached to the hammock and run like hell into the flat.
I gathered my book over my boobs (note to self: always read bigger books from now on, no small paperbacks), slipped the straps over my shoulders, rolled off the hammock onto the deck sans bikini top and ran like the dickens into the flat, clutching the book as tightly as possible. "A Million Little Pieces" became my One Great Hope of Modesty.
I am proud to report I only have one small bruise (besides that of my pride) from my roll off the hammock.
I came back outside clad now in a very large, hook-free t-shirt, and it took me about three minutes to get the top unhooked from the hammock. It was REALLY caught. Caught like a fish in a net.
Why do things like this happen to me? Do I have "dork" tattooed to my forehead? I mean, c'mon!
Saturday, June 10, 2006
it's the day.....
Today is the day that all us folks living in Norway look forward to all the long winter. (And spring and sometimes, fall as well.)
It's that perfect summer day. Temps range in the mid to lower 80's. Clear sky. The pollen storm we've been under for the past few weeks has finally ended. (Everything is coated in yellow pollen dust. I am SO glad I don't have allergies, it's got to be miserable with THAT much pollen around.) No clouds, no haze, green trees and flowers blooming everywhere.
The plaza beneath us is buzzing as an African band plays drums and xylophones ("more cowbell!") and food sizzles and arts and crafts sellers sit in the sun behind their tables (why am I not selling any jewelry down there today, I ask myself?) and kids frolic naked in the fountains, chased by their not-much-more-clothed parents.
When it's 80 degrees outside, all of Norway comes out to play. All in their best linens and sundresses and shorts and summer clothes that they all better wear NOW because God knows how long we will get to wear them....though the weather seems to say it's a high pressure zone over us right now that might last over a week.
A whole week. It's like summer holiday but I don't have to face the lines at the airport!
It's that perfect summer day. Temps range in the mid to lower 80's. Clear sky. The pollen storm we've been under for the past few weeks has finally ended. (Everything is coated in yellow pollen dust. I am SO glad I don't have allergies, it's got to be miserable with THAT much pollen around.) No clouds, no haze, green trees and flowers blooming everywhere.
The plaza beneath us is buzzing as an African band plays drums and xylophones ("more cowbell!") and food sizzles and arts and crafts sellers sit in the sun behind their tables (why am I not selling any jewelry down there today, I ask myself?) and kids frolic naked in the fountains, chased by their not-much-more-clothed parents.
When it's 80 degrees outside, all of Norway comes out to play. All in their best linens and sundresses and shorts and summer clothes that they all better wear NOW because God knows how long we will get to wear them....though the weather seems to say it's a high pressure zone over us right now that might last over a week.
A whole week. It's like summer holiday but I don't have to face the lines at the airport!
Friday, May 05, 2006
spring right of passage
Today is the second day of beautiful weather we have had. Up until yesterday it's been rainy and shitty, but it finally lifted and it's lovely outside.
So of course it makes sense that on the second day of sunny weather I've already seen my first sunburned bodies from yesterday. It's a Norwegian spring right of passage. You burn yourself on the first sunny day.
Today I took advantage of the gorgeous warmth and went for a long walk. A bit too long as I am worn out, but it was worth it. The flowers are starting to bloom, the grass is getting green, and the Norwegian ladies are out in their gardens in their bras. Ladies of a certain age (let's say, born before 1950) like to work in their gardens in their bras. You know, when you see a lady in her garden in that garb, that it is officially summer. The first time I saw it I thought it was kind of strange, but now I just think it is the cutest thing ever. I mean, why the hell NOT garden in your bra?
So of course it makes sense that on the second day of sunny weather I've already seen my first sunburned bodies from yesterday. It's a Norwegian spring right of passage. You burn yourself on the first sunny day.
Today I took advantage of the gorgeous warmth and went for a long walk. A bit too long as I am worn out, but it was worth it. The flowers are starting to bloom, the grass is getting green, and the Norwegian ladies are out in their gardens in their bras. Ladies of a certain age (let's say, born before 1950) like to work in their gardens in their bras. You know, when you see a lady in her garden in that garb, that it is officially summer. The first time I saw it I thought it was kind of strange, but now I just think it is the cutest thing ever. I mean, why the hell NOT garden in your bra?
and here we go again
More pictures. I'm not yet sure of what, so lemme dig thru and find some stuff....ah, yes, to continue with the previous food theme, I offer you:
Ronald McDonald on Khao San Road, Bangkok. Sorry, but he is just freaking scary whether Buddhist or not. Urg.
A restaurant we did NOT go to in Chiang Mai. Though I rather like the German-Mexican aspect of it, because that would totally fit in with the part of Texas I am from. We have a large German contingent in the Hill Country. And everyone likes Mexican food, right?
Well, here we go from the cheesy to the sublime. This was the appetizer I had at Le Normandie at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Bangkok. It is a seared tuna something or other with a reduction of this and a wasabi infused glace of that. I had no idea, I just ate it. It was phenomenal. That restaurant was so posh. They even gave me a little stool to put my purse (my over the shoulder embroidered $3 bag I got in Laos!) on so it would not have to rest on the floor! There I was, a glamourous tourist; sweaty, red faced, disheveled hair and disgusting from having toured the Wat Pho in 100 degrees of heat and humidity that morning, now sitting at the poshest damn restaurant in Bangkok. Nice.
The guy seated at the table next to us looked exactly what I would think a Chinese Emperor would look like. He ordered a thousand dollar bottle of wine to have WITH HIS LUNCH. Seriously. It was amazing. I was considering offering him 5 bucks just so I could have a sniff of that wine, because I know it would have smelled heavenly. But he also looked like the sort of guy who could have had me killed just by a slight hand motion which would have called over a bodyguard who would have then snapped my neck like a little twig. So I refrained.
This was the main course I had. It's also, like, the second time in my life I have had veal, because veal gives me the willies. But nothing else on the very small exclusive menu was anything I really wanted (other options including pigeon, sea urchin, etc.), so I got veal because at least I knew it was beef. Even if baby beef.
It was good. That baby cow died a noble death. (Yes I KNOW how they are kept which is why I don't eat veal, but well, it was already dead, wasn't it?) The little ice cream cone looking thingy in the upper left corner was a bit of cous cous in a radish. Very cute.
Today is the sort of day that reminds me why Norway can be so nice. Crystal clear skies, today it will be 75 or so. The breeze coming in the windows gently blows the freshly washed white curtains aloft. The air smells crisp and like the mountains. I have iTunes Radio on, broadcasting some trancey-dancey music that lifts my spirits in time with the floaty curtains.
I never understand why Norwegians leave this gorgeous weather in summer. I'm glad I got out in winter and early spring. Now I can enjoy the summer and have the whole country to myself. I am now going to go find my walkin' shoes and go for a hike.
Ronald McDonald on Khao San Road, Bangkok. Sorry, but he is just freaking scary whether Buddhist or not. Urg.
A restaurant we did NOT go to in Chiang Mai. Though I rather like the German-Mexican aspect of it, because that would totally fit in with the part of Texas I am from. We have a large German contingent in the Hill Country. And everyone likes Mexican food, right?
Well, here we go from the cheesy to the sublime. This was the appetizer I had at Le Normandie at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Bangkok. It is a seared tuna something or other with a reduction of this and a wasabi infused glace of that. I had no idea, I just ate it. It was phenomenal. That restaurant was so posh. They even gave me a little stool to put my purse (my over the shoulder embroidered $3 bag I got in Laos!) on so it would not have to rest on the floor! There I was, a glamourous tourist; sweaty, red faced, disheveled hair and disgusting from having toured the Wat Pho in 100 degrees of heat and humidity that morning, now sitting at the poshest damn restaurant in Bangkok. Nice.
The guy seated at the table next to us looked exactly what I would think a Chinese Emperor would look like. He ordered a thousand dollar bottle of wine to have WITH HIS LUNCH. Seriously. It was amazing. I was considering offering him 5 bucks just so I could have a sniff of that wine, because I know it would have smelled heavenly. But he also looked like the sort of guy who could have had me killed just by a slight hand motion which would have called over a bodyguard who would have then snapped my neck like a little twig. So I refrained.
This was the main course I had. It's also, like, the second time in my life I have had veal, because veal gives me the willies. But nothing else on the very small exclusive menu was anything I really wanted (other options including pigeon, sea urchin, etc.), so I got veal because at least I knew it was beef. Even if baby beef.It was good. That baby cow died a noble death. (Yes I KNOW how they are kept which is why I don't eat veal, but well, it was already dead, wasn't it?) The little ice cream cone looking thingy in the upper left corner was a bit of cous cous in a radish. Very cute.
Today is the sort of day that reminds me why Norway can be so nice. Crystal clear skies, today it will be 75 or so. The breeze coming in the windows gently blows the freshly washed white curtains aloft. The air smells crisp and like the mountains. I have iTunes Radio on, broadcasting some trancey-dancey music that lifts my spirits in time with the floaty curtains.
I never understand why Norwegians leave this gorgeous weather in summer. I'm glad I got out in winter and early spring. Now I can enjoy the summer and have the whole country to myself. I am now going to go find my walkin' shoes and go for a hike.
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