Snow is forecast for tomorrow.
And so it starts.
Argh.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Best night ever
Wow.
I was 20 feet from Robert Plant last night. Like, I could see that he was wearing grey snakeskin boots (those were some COOL boots.) And I could see the little grey hairs on his chin in his goatee.
I've been lucky enough to see him before, with Allison Krauss in 2008. Go back and read that post. I'll wait for you right here.
You done yet? Damn you read slow.
............OK, you're back.
Last night was the opposite of the show in 2008. In a good way (there is no bad where there is Plant) but opposite.
I wish I could do a column by column comparison of the two shows (help help I do too many spreadsheets if I am actually wanting to put one in my blog!) but my html doesn't go that far, so I will just get the idea across.
2008: Cool, blue light, precision, technically perfect, precise, huge venue, heartstopping beauty, the soaring commanding voice of Allison Krauss fully equal and at times overtaking Plant, a bit melancholy, T Bone Burnett rocking the stage, and Robert Plant waaaay down there as a little ant of a Plant.
2010: Raucous, warm, cozy, some sound issues that cropped up (feedback), bluesy, joyous, Patty Griffin as more of a side act to Plant, belting out when she was solo but pretty much back seat to Plant, hot yellow light, personality. Robert Plant was human sized.(And still HOT.)
So last night felt like the afterparty of the previous show. The dark night club, let-loose- and-have-fun show after the more formal, expensive show. The small intimate, just a few friends club gathering. I'm so lucky to have been there! I do think the chemistry between Krauss and Plant was better than that of him and Griffin. Patty Griffin may just not be someone who wants to take the foreground, which Krauss obviously relished. But Griffin as definitely more of a strong support act than a complete lead. When she got the lead, though, she belted it out and she was the Griffin I remember from having seen her in Austin. And....I was 20 feet from Robert Plant. When he came on stage, I couldn't help it, I screamed like teenager at a Beatles concert. My boyfriend was RIGHT THERE. Right there...there! In front of me! When he played harmonica, I had a brief and very vivid fantasy where *I* was his harmonica, I think I passed out for a moment from the thought of it.
Of the two albums, I think Raising Sand is the superior one. It just has instant classic written all over it, there is not a bad or boring song in the bunch. Band of Joy is a great album, and I like some of the songs even better than any on Raising Sand, but there are a couple of songs I really don't like, and that brings the album down a notch for me. Raising Sand is consistently good, while Band of Joy has a couple clunkers. But somehow that makes it more endearing, like the scruffy brother, or something.
Today I am tired, and my hearing is a bit fuzzy, and I am trying to get my energy up to see Lady Gaga tonight. But, even if I did suffer some hearing loss, it was worth it. I'll get a t-shirt: I Went Deaf For Robert Plant. (As it turns out, I got TWO t shirts from last night, the official tour on and Rich bought me another one from a guy outside the venue.)
So I can say, in terms of Robert Plant: Been there, done that, got the t-shirt twice, and so would do it again!
Friday, October 15, 2010
Friday bullet post
- I left work early today, it's a gorgeous chill fall day, sunny and golden colored.
- I rode my trusty DBS bike a different way home, a long way around through the back of Frognerparken then around front and then home.
- I so love my bike. It's like a big cushy Suburban of bikes. It's so smooth.
- I'm totally getting better at it, too. I'm up to 5th gear (out of 7).
- I dropped off my bike and then got on the tram over to Bogstadveien, the shopping road, and checked out some shops.
- God there are some great sweaters out right now.
- I am a TOTAL sweater whore.
- I got this really goofy crooked architectural sweater at Lindex.
- Long and black, naturally.
- You can never have enough black sweaters, skirts, dresses or shoes.
- Also checked out H&M.
- I swear to God I felt like I was 16 again at H&M. All the styles are straight from my closet circa 1984.
- I totally know how to wear all that stuff, but think maybe I am a bit old for it now.
- (I'm STILL glad leggings are back, how did I go so many years without them?)
- But I got this wierd residual teenage thrill from checking out all the styles.
- I remembered how excited I used to get when I was younger, checking out the fashions at Judy's and Express and Contempo and all those fab 80's shops I used to shop at.
- I got a job at Judy's when I was 16, I thought I was THE SHIT for working at a cool mall store.
- I made $3.75 an hour.
- I was one of those fashion hags in high school, you know, those girls who always had the newest clothes and always wore different outfits? There were a few of us, and we all worked at mall stores.
- We thought we were cool.
- So then I got some sushi to go and headed home.
- Ate my weight in raw fish again.
- Made the mistake of googling 'salmon sushi' and read some horrible stuff about how raw salmon has worms.
- I feel icky now.
- Even though it's Friday, I am going to be lazy.
- My plans: a bath, then start season 5 of How I Met Your Mother (that Rich brought me from the US).
- My weekend plans: Lady Gaga and Robert Plant and the Band of Joy will be in town, and I am seeing them both.
- Robert Plant will ask me to run away with him.
- Rich won't mind.
- He'll be with Lady Gaga anyhow.
- In that meat dress, she's dinner AND a show, isn't she?
- Rich would love that. She comes with her own snack!
- And I'm taking Monday off work.
- WOO!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Lookee what Rich brung me!
Rich's mom owns a antiques shop/knick knack shop in Pennsylvania. It's one of those places that when you see it you HAVE to go in, just for the fun of a good snoop? It just looks like all sorts of fun stuff lurks in there. Shops like hers are all over the country, and I just love them.
Anytime Rich or I (or any family members) go to visit, she tells us to go on and have a treasure hunt in the store. Which is so cool. So Rich went on a treasure hunt and brought me this book, dated 1949, and put out by Neiman Marcus. All of the recipes are by Mrs. His-Name So and So (very few first names of the ladies, no, it's all using the man's name). Many of the recipes involve Fritos (which is AWESOME.)
There is a recipe for French Onion Soup that uses 3/4 POUND of butter. It uses more butter than stock, for Christ's sake. And there are a lot of classic old Mexican recipes that all involve lard (or fritos.)
What made me laugh was the recipe for Swedish Meatballs. There's a taste of Texas! And there is also a recipe entitled "Norwegian Hot Dish", that uses beef, kidney beans and tomato soup. I think I can somewhat confidently say, there is really nothing Norwegian about this dish, in fact, it sounds like chili to me. And for dessert, Mincemeat Mother-in-Law. Boil a bunch of fruit and spices until you can't recognize them....yeehaw! It's Mincemeat Mother-in-Law!
A Taste of Texas. From 1949. Lard, fritos, butter, shortening. Ah the good ol' days.
Anytime Rich or I (or any family members) go to visit, she tells us to go on and have a treasure hunt in the store. Which is so cool. So Rich went on a treasure hunt and brought me this book, dated 1949, and put out by Neiman Marcus. All of the recipes are by Mrs. His-Name So and So (very few first names of the ladies, no, it's all using the man's name). Many of the recipes involve Fritos (which is AWESOME.)
There is a recipe for French Onion Soup that uses 3/4 POUND of butter. It uses more butter than stock, for Christ's sake. And there are a lot of classic old Mexican recipes that all involve lard (or fritos.)
What made me laugh was the recipe for Swedish Meatballs. There's a taste of Texas! And there is also a recipe entitled "Norwegian Hot Dish", that uses beef, kidney beans and tomato soup. I think I can somewhat confidently say, there is really nothing Norwegian about this dish, in fact, it sounds like chili to me. And for dessert, Mincemeat Mother-in-Law. Boil a bunch of fruit and spices until you can't recognize them....yeehaw! It's Mincemeat Mother-in-Law!
A Taste of Texas. From 1949. Lard, fritos, butter, shortening. Ah the good ol' days.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Color
Ok crap camera I know but dudes check out this fall color! Those dark trees are purple against a red gold background!
Typical weekend (and how to piss off the neighbors)
Rich is in the US and I am here on my own. Yeah, I know, you think it would be all 'party!!' but, no. For one thing, everyone is out on høstferie (fall holiday) and second, I can't be arsed.
I got pulled into an ALL DAY meeting on Friday at work, damn that was a long day. That evening me and a coworker went and saw 'Eat Pray Love', which was a cute movie, and then she and I shot the shit over red wine until 3am. Nice to have girl talk, though we spent most of that time talking about work, then saying, ok, no more talking about work, and then we'd talk about work some more.
Saturday I got up reluctantly at 10 (oy I can't do those late nights anymore) and went to work for a few hours. Nice day for a bike ride. Got groceries, came home, put them away and defrosted some shrimp to make green chili shrimp enchiladas later that evening. Fell asleep around 3. Woke up at 7. Oops. Couldn't be arsed to make the enchiladas, and was too hungry anyhow, so made a frozen pissa. There is this new one out by Wagner, Sensazione? You guys in Norway, those are AWESOME. I like the ham, mushroom, onion one. Boy those are good.
I was watching "Big Love" in bed by 9:30 and asleep by 11. Me an' my rock-n-roll lifestyle.
Got up this morning and walked up the road to Deli Deluca to get my mocha vanilla extra strong coffee. They let you make it yourself there, with all the syrups and stuff to add, so I do three shots of espresso and then a cappucino, with chocolate and vanilla. By the time you are done with that, you are so hopped up on sugar and caffeine you don't know whether to shit or go blind. (I don't know what that really means, but my dad says it all the time.)
When I got back to the flat coffee in hand, this was around 10am, there was this kid on the doorstep holding newspapers. I thought he was a delivery boy, so I let him in so he could deliver his papers. Oh..shit. He was SELLING the newspapers door to door, knocking on doors at our entry controlled building at 10 on a Sunday! Oh so not cool. I have now engendered the ire of my neighbors, in a major apartment faux pas. I heard him knock on the door of the first floor flat, and scampered up the stairs quickly before they saw me. I think they booted him, and probably not nicely, either, as they are college kids, and I remember that 10am on Sunday at that age is prime sleep time.
Um, yeah, sorry there, neighbors. My bad.
Today will encompass a bike ride or walk on what looks to be a beautiful fall day, some tidying and cleaning, some much needed organizing of papers (currently stacked neatly on Rich's desk, but in no order or reason) and then I will make those green chile shrimp enchiladas I wanted last night.
And then, around 9pm, I will crawl into bed, pop in another episode of 'Big Love' and watch the wierdness that is Bill Paxton with three wives.
I got pulled into an ALL DAY meeting on Friday at work, damn that was a long day. That evening me and a coworker went and saw 'Eat Pray Love', which was a cute movie, and then she and I shot the shit over red wine until 3am. Nice to have girl talk, though we spent most of that time talking about work, then saying, ok, no more talking about work, and then we'd talk about work some more.
Saturday I got up reluctantly at 10 (oy I can't do those late nights anymore) and went to work for a few hours. Nice day for a bike ride. Got groceries, came home, put them away and defrosted some shrimp to make green chili shrimp enchiladas later that evening. Fell asleep around 3. Woke up at 7. Oops. Couldn't be arsed to make the enchiladas, and was too hungry anyhow, so made a frozen pissa. There is this new one out by Wagner, Sensazione? You guys in Norway, those are AWESOME. I like the ham, mushroom, onion one. Boy those are good.
I was watching "Big Love" in bed by 9:30 and asleep by 11. Me an' my rock-n-roll lifestyle.
Got up this morning and walked up the road to Deli Deluca to get my mocha vanilla extra strong coffee. They let you make it yourself there, with all the syrups and stuff to add, so I do three shots of espresso and then a cappucino, with chocolate and vanilla. By the time you are done with that, you are so hopped up on sugar and caffeine you don't know whether to shit or go blind. (I don't know what that really means, but my dad says it all the time.)
When I got back to the flat coffee in hand, this was around 10am, there was this kid on the doorstep holding newspapers. I thought he was a delivery boy, so I let him in so he could deliver his papers. Oh..shit. He was SELLING the newspapers door to door, knocking on doors at our entry controlled building at 10 on a Sunday! Oh so not cool. I have now engendered the ire of my neighbors, in a major apartment faux pas. I heard him knock on the door of the first floor flat, and scampered up the stairs quickly before they saw me. I think they booted him, and probably not nicely, either, as they are college kids, and I remember that 10am on Sunday at that age is prime sleep time.
Um, yeah, sorry there, neighbors. My bad.
Today will encompass a bike ride or walk on what looks to be a beautiful fall day, some tidying and cleaning, some much needed organizing of papers (currently stacked neatly on Rich's desk, but in no order or reason) and then I will make those green chile shrimp enchiladas I wanted last night.
And then, around 9pm, I will crawl into bed, pop in another episode of 'Big Love' and watch the wierdness that is Bill Paxton with three wives.
Thursday, October 07, 2010
Sushi
Lately I have been craving sushi. ALL THE TIME.
There is a sushi place a block from our house, a little take-away place. The girls there, I think they are Thai, want to teach me Norwegian. I find it hilarious that Thai girls want to teach a Texan Norwegian at a Japanese sushi place, but that is how my life rolls lately, so I just go with it. I gamely order my sushi på Norsk with the Thai girls helping me along. (I have real problems saying '7' in Norwegian, by the way.)
Anyhow, I order my usual SHITLOAD of sushi, and in a nod to normalcy, when they ask how many chopsticks I want, I always say 'Two", so that they think that I am ordering all this fish for two people and not just for piggy me.
But it's not for two, it's all for me, ME!... IT'S MINE... MY SUSHI and I don't have to share it with ANYONE bwahahahahahaha!!!!!
And now I am burping sushi. This is not a bad thing, by the way. (urp).
There is a sushi place a block from our house, a little take-away place. The girls there, I think they are Thai, want to teach me Norwegian. I find it hilarious that Thai girls want to teach a Texan Norwegian at a Japanese sushi place, but that is how my life rolls lately, so I just go with it. I gamely order my sushi på Norsk with the Thai girls helping me along. (I have real problems saying '7' in Norwegian, by the way.)
Anyhow, I order my usual SHITLOAD of sushi, and in a nod to normalcy, when they ask how many chopsticks I want, I always say 'Two", so that they think that I am ordering all this fish for two people and not just for piggy me.
But it's not for two, it's all for me, ME!... IT'S MINE... MY SUSHI and I don't have to share it with ANYONE bwahahahahahaha!!!!!
And now I am burping sushi. This is not a bad thing, by the way. (urp).
Wednesday, October 06, 2010
Hmm....I think I like it
Well, I changed my blog template on a whim, and I rather think I love it.
And I actually think the commenting is working better now than it was before. Is that just me? Y'all having any problems?
Maybe I will blog more now. I know I have been bad about it. But it seems like lately I just work. And I don't blog about work. because a) it's work and how boring is it to blog about work and b) I ain't no dummy and I just don't think you SHOULD blog about work (unless that is part of your job).
So, if all I do is work, and I can't write about work, what will I write about?
Dinner's in the oven, tonight is chicken wings and rosé. Rich is in the US for a family thing. So I have a week of bachelorette food. So tonight it's the chicken wings and rosé, tomorrow is sushi and rosé, and then Friday it will be pizza and rosé followed by a viewing of Eat Pray Love.
Are you noticing a theme in my bachelorette food?
And I actually think the commenting is working better now than it was before. Is that just me? Y'all having any problems?
Maybe I will blog more now. I know I have been bad about it. But it seems like lately I just work. And I don't blog about work. because a) it's work and how boring is it to blog about work and b) I ain't no dummy and I just don't think you SHOULD blog about work (unless that is part of your job).
So, if all I do is work, and I can't write about work, what will I write about?
Dinner's in the oven, tonight is chicken wings and rosé. Rich is in the US for a family thing. So I have a week of bachelorette food. So tonight it's the chicken wings and rosé, tomorrow is sushi and rosé, and then Friday it will be pizza and rosé followed by a viewing of Eat Pray Love.
Are you noticing a theme in my bachelorette food?
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
Um...surprise!
Yeah, if Badger jumped off a bridge, I guess I would too. I was over there visiting her blog, and she had changed her template, so I thought, hey, WTF, if she can do it so can I.
So I did.
Like it? That's me on the roof of the Oslo Opera House tiled in the background, there. Lots of little bitty me's.
15 minutes later: CRAP IT MESSED UP MY COMMENTING!!! ARGGGH!!!! Can someone do some test comments please?
So I did.
Like it? That's me on the roof of the Oslo Opera House tiled in the background, there. Lots of little bitty me's.
15 minutes later: CRAP IT MESSED UP MY COMMENTING!!! ARGGGH!!!! Can someone do some test comments please?
While the oven heats up...
....and before I make dinner, random picture*!
This is me in Cambodia at Ta Prohm, a temple ruin at Angkor. Behind me are the roots of a giant tree.
*Random picture posts also mean 'I have nothing particularly interesting to say or write** about, so I will just post photos.'
**Or I have so much to say I'd never shut up, so best to self censor right now until I get my head straight.
This is me in Cambodia at Ta Prohm, a temple ruin at Angkor. Behind me are the roots of a giant tree.*Random picture posts also mean 'I have nothing particularly interesting to say or write** about, so I will just post photos.'
**Or I have so much to say I'd never shut up, so best to self censor right now until I get my head straight.
Saturday, October 02, 2010
Random picture day!
This was a shot I took inside the halls and corridors of Angkor Wat in Cambodia.
Friday, October 01, 2010
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Shit, now that's trendy too?
Seems riding your bike to work but refusing to wear ugly biking clothes, is trendy.
I just wanted some exercise and a faster way to work. And I am lazy so don't want to have to change clothes when I get to work, not to mention, hello, you won't catch me DEAD in bike shorts.
Now the New York trendy set is all over it.
Damn.
But my bike is WAY cooler than theirs. So there.
I just wanted some exercise and a faster way to work. And I am lazy so don't want to have to change clothes when I get to work, not to mention, hello, you won't catch me DEAD in bike shorts.
Now the New York trendy set is all over it.
Damn.
But my bike is WAY cooler than theirs. So there.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Saturday
I rode my bike down (up?) to the grocery store today. I really like my bike, like, love it, but am still a bit nervous riding around in traffic and so on. But, there is no learning without doing, so I bravely squashed my hair under my helmet (NERDY!) and got my ass on the bike to ride down (up?) to the Meny store.
I made a small adjustment to the seat before I took off, raising it about an inch and a half, and that has really helped make the cycling more comfortable. My legs don't feel so crampy. I had the seat deliberately a bit low so that I could pop my feet down on the ground easily as I got used to riding again. I'm a bit wobbly and need the security of a quick touch down, but today I decided to get a bit braver and ride high like a big girl.
Is it just me or is Oslo pretty much all uphill? Somehow I managed to go uphill to the store and uphill on the way back. And I got lost in my neighborhood twice. Found my way out quickly, but along with all uphill, there are no straight roads here, it's all loopy 5 way intersections, and I keep looping the wrong way.
After I got my groceries and road back home, happily not dying in the process and feeling like I am already getting better with the biking stamina and stronger legs, I treated myself to a coffee at Kaffebrenneriet (translates loosely from Norwegian to "The Coffee Brewer"). Well, 'treat' might be the wrong word, as I don't really like Kaffebren, but I was too lazy to go up the road to get the coffee I DO like. Anyhow, once again, I was reminded of why I don't like this coffee chain.
First of all, cut out the snobby attitude, hey guys? I want my coffee how I want it, and if I want some extra damn chocolate in my mocha, besides your lame half ass token squirt, just give me the chocolate without the smirk, ok? Also? Fill up the cup? If I am paying almost $7 for a coffee that is so small that a Starbuck's Tall size (which, ironically, is the small) can kicks its ass just by standing next to it, I expect that cup to be FULL and not half filled and then foamed to the top.
I like good coffee just as much as your average snob, but you can make good coffee without being overbearing about it. For an example, check Stockfleth's. They make great coffee, how you want it, and nary a snob in sight.
And don't even go into how much I miss Haveli coffee in Asker. They make the best mochas on earth. Maybe some day I will get really brave and ride my bike there.....
Nah.
I made a small adjustment to the seat before I took off, raising it about an inch and a half, and that has really helped make the cycling more comfortable. My legs don't feel so crampy. I had the seat deliberately a bit low so that I could pop my feet down on the ground easily as I got used to riding again. I'm a bit wobbly and need the security of a quick touch down, but today I decided to get a bit braver and ride high like a big girl.
Is it just me or is Oslo pretty much all uphill? Somehow I managed to go uphill to the store and uphill on the way back. And I got lost in my neighborhood twice. Found my way out quickly, but along with all uphill, there are no straight roads here, it's all loopy 5 way intersections, and I keep looping the wrong way.
After I got my groceries and road back home, happily not dying in the process and feeling like I am already getting better with the biking stamina and stronger legs, I treated myself to a coffee at Kaffebrenneriet (translates loosely from Norwegian to "The Coffee Brewer"). Well, 'treat' might be the wrong word, as I don't really like Kaffebren, but I was too lazy to go up the road to get the coffee I DO like. Anyhow, once again, I was reminded of why I don't like this coffee chain.
First of all, cut out the snobby attitude, hey guys? I want my coffee how I want it, and if I want some extra damn chocolate in my mocha, besides your lame half ass token squirt, just give me the chocolate without the smirk, ok? Also? Fill up the cup? If I am paying almost $7 for a coffee that is so small that a Starbuck's Tall size (which, ironically, is the small) can kicks its ass just by standing next to it, I expect that cup to be FULL and not half filled and then foamed to the top.
I like good coffee just as much as your average snob, but you can make good coffee without being overbearing about it. For an example, check Stockfleth's. They make great coffee, how you want it, and nary a snob in sight.
And don't even go into how much I miss Haveli coffee in Asker. They make the best mochas on earth. Maybe some day I will get really brave and ride my bike there.....
Nah.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Joy
Perhaps, if you have read my random scribblings for a little while, you might know of my absolute love for Robert Plant?
Well, I've been giving his new album, Band of Joy, a listen and can I just say...the love stays strong.
First song, Angel Dance? Awesome. Love it. Makes me happy. Third song, Central-Two-O-Nine? Awesome as well. And so on....
I don't know what it is about Plant's music I like. Perhaps that he goes to the root of things, and that his curiosity for the world and different forms of music is so infectious? He's just so willing to give things a try, check them out, play with them...and then move on to something else. (But it's always something else cool.) He just seems to be a traveler on this earth, experiencing all it offers, and learning from it every step of the way. As someone who has a similar life philosophy, I find his music just speaks to me on almost a soul level. I love learning his journey with him (damn I wanna buy that guy a beer!) Also, I really do like blues and roots music of the Southern US, and somehow he has the perfect mannerism and voice for that kind of music. And don't EVEN get me started on his mastery of North African music and the Moroccan influence of No Quarter.
Love!
Nobody was on my floor of the office this afternoon, so I cranked up the Plant while I worked. Chair dancing makes spreadsheets much more fun.
I can't wait til I get to see him here in Oslo!!!!!!
Well, I've been giving his new album, Band of Joy, a listen and can I just say...the love stays strong.
First song, Angel Dance? Awesome. Love it. Makes me happy. Third song, Central-Two-O-Nine? Awesome as well. And so on....
I don't know what it is about Plant's music I like. Perhaps that he goes to the root of things, and that his curiosity for the world and different forms of music is so infectious? He's just so willing to give things a try, check them out, play with them...and then move on to something else. (But it's always something else cool.) He just seems to be a traveler on this earth, experiencing all it offers, and learning from it every step of the way. As someone who has a similar life philosophy, I find his music just speaks to me on almost a soul level. I love learning his journey with him (damn I wanna buy that guy a beer!) Also, I really do like blues and roots music of the Southern US, and somehow he has the perfect mannerism and voice for that kind of music. And don't EVEN get me started on his mastery of North African music and the Moroccan influence of No Quarter.
Love!
Nobody was on my floor of the office this afternoon, so I cranked up the Plant while I worked. Chair dancing makes spreadsheets much more fun.
I can't wait til I get to see him here in Oslo!!!!!!
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Dining room flowers
The sun was hitting the flowers on the dining table so prettily I just had to take a picture of it.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Ok, so I DO have something to say.
So I'm watching this movie Rich put in, called Kick-Ass. It's a cute movie, yadda yadda, entertaining, whatever.
So while I'm watching, I check out the lead actor on IMDB, a kid named Aaron Johnson. Born in 1990, so he's what, 20? A kid. I have socks older than him. But oh is he a cutie, that one. VEEEERY cute.
So I check out his personal life, as one does, and see a picture of him with his girlfriend.
Who was born in 1967. And with whom he just had a child.
So he's just 20 (met her when he was 19 on the set of a movie) and she is 43. Older than me!!!
All's I gotta say on that is YOU GO GIRL! Keep that flame burning for the rest of us. It's not just men who can have the fun youngsters!
This means that my particular favorite Daniel Radcliffe is open season (wtf is Melanie Griffith doing with her mits all over him)?.....I mean, he's a whole year older than Aaron!
So while I'm watching, I check out the lead actor on IMDB, a kid named Aaron Johnson. Born in 1990, so he's what, 20? A kid. I have socks older than him. But oh is he a cutie, that one. VEEEERY cute.
So I check out his personal life, as one does, and see a picture of him with his girlfriend.
Who was born in 1967. And with whom he just had a child.
So he's just 20 (met her when he was 19 on the set of a movie) and she is 43. Older than me!!!
All's I gotta say on that is YOU GO GIRL! Keep that flame burning for the rest of us. It's not just men who can have the fun youngsters!
This means that my particular favorite Daniel Radcliffe is open season (wtf is Melanie Griffith doing with her mits all over him)?.....I mean, he's a whole year older than Aaron!
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Dinner at Dyna Fyr
Pictures by Craig Morrison, with thanks. DINNER LAST NIGHT:
on the boat out: Cava. Masia Perelada Brut.
STARTER:
Pancooked foie gras with cumquat marmelade & elderflower sorbet.
Vin: Fritz Risling Gunderloch, Rheinhessen.
MAIN:
pancooked halibut with apple celery puré, wild mushrooms and apple redwine sauce. Vin: Cotes du Rhone Domaine Grands Bois 2008
DESSERT
.Chocolate and peanut butter pie with Leffe beer sorbet.
Vin: Capricho de Goya..
on the boat out: Cava. Masia Perelada Brut.
STARTER:
Pancooked foie gras with cumquat marmelade & elderflower sorbet.
Vin: Fritz Risling Gunderloch, Rheinhessen.
MAIN:
pancooked halibut with apple celery puré, wild mushrooms and apple redwine sauce. Vin: Cotes du Rhone Domaine Grands Bois 2008
DESSERT
.Chocolate and peanut butter pie with Leffe beer sorbet.
Vin: Capricho de Goya..
We had a wonderful evening out last night, a dinner at Dyna Fyr, this little lighthouse out in the Olso fjord. They pick you up by boat and take you out, on the boat you get an apertif (Cava) to sip while you enjoy the views. Luckily it wasn't too chilly. I was worried I'd freeze in my silk dress, but I was warm enough in the breezes.
The lighthouse was built in 1874 and has had 4 lighthouse keepers. One was a family with 4 kids (it's a tiny lighthouse) and there were some fun stories about how they lived. Like, the mom couldn't swim, so when her kids were learning how, she tied a rope around them and let them go out and if they ran into trouble, she just reeled them in from the balcony of the light house! Clever! And the kids had to walk across the ice fjord in winter to get to school. Sometimes the ice wasn't quite frozen solid, so they had to walk with long sticks kept lengthwise under their arms, so that if they fell through, the sticks would fall on either side of them and keep them from falling down into the water and they could hoist themselves out. Wow, I'll never complain about that mile i had to walk to go to school in Houston again.
The lighthouse is very charming, and the staff there are incredible. Norwegians are some of the most generous hosts in the world, and this was no exception. They nicely spoke in English for the little history lesson about the lighthouse ( there were only about 6 of us English speakers and 20 Norwegians, so they were very nice in letting us hijack their evening with our language). The people we sat with (it was just long tables) were very friendly and fun. (The one guy to our left worked for Nidar chocolate, which Dave should especially like as he is a straight line to SMASH, the crack of chocolate treats. We're gonna try to work a deal with him so that I can take a SMASH bath. Mmmm Smash.....)
Of course the food was excellent, the starter, for me, being the most exciting part. That foie gras and the mixture of elderflower sorbet and marmelade was exquisite, the flavors were incredible together. And the red wine with fish was an interesting pairing, they basically treated the fish as if it were red meat, and it really worked. That wine we had with the main was SO good. The refills came fast and furious (Norwegians are also very generous with the alcohol) and I was well hammered by dessert. The dessert was fabulous too, a chocolate peanut butter pie with a Leffe beer sorbet. Nom Nom.
We staggered on to the boat back to Oslo proper after dinner, happy, a bit red faced, and definitely sated. I'll remember that meal for a looong time. (Thanks to my friend Elaina for organizing for us! She's our Cruise Director, she is, always finding fun stuff for us to do.)
Friday, September 10, 2010
Sunday, September 05, 2010
Saturday, September 04, 2010
Fall in Oslo
It's a beautiful day outside. Clear, sunny, cool breeze (cold if you are in a shady place). I'll never get used to how fast the seasons change here. I mean, in Texas, we've got two seasons: Hot and Not So Hot. So living here, where the seasons change on a dime and you go from summer one day to fall the next, it's just a huge adjustment for me.
Summer stresses me out a bit, actually. I spend ALL YEAR looking forward to it, I ache through spring just waiting for the day when I can sit in the sun in a tank top and get those first rays of sun. Then I spent all summer counting down the days until August 24th, the Day Fall Arrives (summer is only about 60 days or so, really). And of those days, the percentage of warm sunny days is really quite few. Think about it....you are up against rain and clouds and cool fronts and all sorts of summer-stealing weather, so each rainy day you resent and then the sunny days come and you feel you MUST be outside, you MUST take advantage of it because God only knows where the next good day is coming from. And it's a bit stressful, because some sunny days maybe you don't WANT to go out for a walk or to the park, maybe you have a cold and you want to just be in bed and mope. But you can't, you know that this beautiful sunny day is one of maybe 20-30 you will have ALL YEAR so you have to go out in it whether you want to or not. See what I mean? Summer is stressful.
Then the weather suddenly cools off, and you can't wear your sundresses or sandals anymore and it's only September 1. Most of this is societal pressure, honestly. I still am wearing sandals, but then I get people always asking me if my feet are cold. They stare as if I am from another planet, and they have never seen toes before. Norwegians are obsessed with keeping their feet warm, the whole society is built up around warm feet, warm shoes, warm bathroom floors....it's like if your feet get cold, you've been failed by the Norwegian system. (Toes are just not exposed after September 1, you might as well walk around with your nips out.) My feet are ALWAYS cold, always have been cold, whether they are bundled up in socks and boots or not. I'm so used to it I don't even notice anymore, so for me, wearing sandals when it's 50F outside ain't no big thang. (I appreciate British people in this, they wear their flats with their dresses or leggings sans socks in all weather, I think they just have hardier feet or something. But then, British houses are not near as warm and køselig as Norwegian ones.) I have been known to wear winter sweaters and jeans and sandals. As long as my arms are warm, I'm fine.
So Rich tells me last night it was 39F. Brr. In this old building we live in they don't turn on the heat until October 1. I'm pretty sure we have some very chilly nights ahead of us. But today? Today was sunny, and so I put the pillows out to air, and changed the sheets on the bed and opened windows to get some of that lovely breeze around the apartment. The house smells fresh and clean and the bed smells of sun and warmth, and I hope it lasts for a few days, because soon I won't get to put the sheets out to dry in the sun, and it will be too cold to put the pillows out to air, and the balcony will become a place to store firewood and not a place to barbecue.
But not just yet...I still have some bbq plans up my sleeves for a couple of weeks yet.
Summer stresses me out a bit, actually. I spend ALL YEAR looking forward to it, I ache through spring just waiting for the day when I can sit in the sun in a tank top and get those first rays of sun. Then I spent all summer counting down the days until August 24th, the Day Fall Arrives (summer is only about 60 days or so, really). And of those days, the percentage of warm sunny days is really quite few. Think about it....you are up against rain and clouds and cool fronts and all sorts of summer-stealing weather, so each rainy day you resent and then the sunny days come and you feel you MUST be outside, you MUST take advantage of it because God only knows where the next good day is coming from. And it's a bit stressful, because some sunny days maybe you don't WANT to go out for a walk or to the park, maybe you have a cold and you want to just be in bed and mope. But you can't, you know that this beautiful sunny day is one of maybe 20-30 you will have ALL YEAR so you have to go out in it whether you want to or not. See what I mean? Summer is stressful.
Then the weather suddenly cools off, and you can't wear your sundresses or sandals anymore and it's only September 1. Most of this is societal pressure, honestly. I still am wearing sandals, but then I get people always asking me if my feet are cold. They stare as if I am from another planet, and they have never seen toes before. Norwegians are obsessed with keeping their feet warm, the whole society is built up around warm feet, warm shoes, warm bathroom floors....it's like if your feet get cold, you've been failed by the Norwegian system. (Toes are just not exposed after September 1, you might as well walk around with your nips out.) My feet are ALWAYS cold, always have been cold, whether they are bundled up in socks and boots or not. I'm so used to it I don't even notice anymore, so for me, wearing sandals when it's 50F outside ain't no big thang. (I appreciate British people in this, they wear their flats with their dresses or leggings sans socks in all weather, I think they just have hardier feet or something. But then, British houses are not near as warm and køselig as Norwegian ones.) I have been known to wear winter sweaters and jeans and sandals. As long as my arms are warm, I'm fine.
So Rich tells me last night it was 39F. Brr. In this old building we live in they don't turn on the heat until October 1. I'm pretty sure we have some very chilly nights ahead of us. But today? Today was sunny, and so I put the pillows out to air, and changed the sheets on the bed and opened windows to get some of that lovely breeze around the apartment. The house smells fresh and clean and the bed smells of sun and warmth, and I hope it lasts for a few days, because soon I won't get to put the sheets out to dry in the sun, and it will be too cold to put the pillows out to air, and the balcony will become a place to store firewood and not a place to barbecue.
But not just yet...I still have some bbq plans up my sleeves for a couple of weeks yet.
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