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.

Today at Oslofjord

Today at Oslofjord, originally uploaded by karlakp.

Autumn.

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.

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!!!!!!

Dining room flowers

Dining room flowers, originally uploaded by karlakp.

The sun was hitting the flowers on the dining table so prettily I just had to take a picture of it.

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!

just a post to say....

.... I have absolutely fucking nothing to say.

Thrilling, no?

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..

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.)

Dinner

Dinner, originally uploaded by karlakp.

Will be here tonight.

Wilderness

Wilderness, originally uploaded by karlakp.

Norwegians enjoying the solitude of the Great Outdoors.

Sognsvannet

Sognsvannet, originally uploaded by karlakp.

A sunday walk on a lovely fall-ish day.

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.

1966

1966, originally uploaded by karlakp.

Wine tasting of reisling from Kloster Eberbach. A 1966 reisling and a 1991 eiswein that explodes in your mouth when you taste it. Wow.

second post of the day! I'm on a role!

Ok, ladies.

READ THIS ARTICLE.

I have long said that the reason skinny girls are in and curvier women are not is fear. Fear of womanliness and all that it means. Flesh, sex, fertility, curves, nature......

Read this article, it is SO well written. This is exactly what I have been saying all along. .

nifty

Rich is back from the US, he went on August 2nd, so I hadn't seen him for three weeks, almost. It's good to have him home.

He brought me back a new iTouch for my birthday, my old one was freezing up and slow and getting too full. I LOVE the new one ... it's so much quicker to the touch, and faster, and with bigger storage and has the external speaker so I can watch the occasional YouTube without having to find earbuds. He also brought me a new cover for it and some screen covers. He's really good about that sort of thing. I just bang the shit out of my stuff until it looks disreputable, normally (you should see my other iPods) but this one might survive my bonking it around. (But I will say, he's Anal Boy, always worried about scratches or stains, and I am Disaster Girl, always scratching something or spilling stuff. I figure, that's what washers are for so no big deal, and dab at the coffee on my shirt with whatever's handy, while he's busy using soda water to clean spilled water from his clothes!)

So, anyhow, I've been upgrading my apps, downloading more tv shows, and upgrading all my iTunes music to the DRM free versions, which is cool because it was annoying that I couldn't share my own music if I wanted to. And so I've been enjoying my new, faster, spiffier iTouch and am thinking I am so cool.

Then my coworker showed me his iPad.

Dammit. Now I want one. I swore up and down I didn't want one, that I didn't need it. (And, honestly, I don't NEED it.Who needs any of these things?) But. I. Want. iPad. Oh how I want.

Dammit.

Meeting People

Well, as I've mentioned, there was a blogger gather in Oslo this week that I was not really able to attend due to me being so damned busy I didn't even have time to eat most of the time. Couple that with having been sick, it was a fairly insane week. (Oh and I got another year older on Wednesday. Blah.)

However, I did manage to join the 'closing night' of the blogfest at the Dubliner and got to meet some of the people from the blog gather. And, might I say, they were awfully nice.

It seems to me that the ranks of bloggers are thinning. When I started blogging in 2004 (was it really 6 years ago?) blogging was building up rapidly. Within a couple years most of my friends had blogs too. I loved that, because I could keep up with them and read their blogs with their voices (oh so missed) in my mind. But then Facebook rose in ascendancy and now it seems most of my friends have abandoned their blogs, which has actually been a little hole in my life. I miss their stories. Facebook is just soundbites.

So, last night, it was SO GREAT to meet people who still keep up their blogs, many of which I have read (though another sad fact is that I don't have time to read blogs much anymore, much less post to my own). I always find it interesting to meet a person who I 'know' via their written word. Does the person match the literary voice? Or is the blog more of a persona? (Apparently, and perhaps not surprisingly, people who meet me after they've read this blog tell me that I am pretty much what they expected me to be. I guess, with me, what you read is what you get. (This probably explains why I'm a crap actress. I'm just me. Not so good at being anyone else.))

Anyhow, I met Michele, and Mr BB and Caroline and I re-met Corinne and then, of course, is the man who planned it all, Renny BA.

• Michele and her husband moved to Norway without jobs or knowing anyone here, just for a new life, which I find incredibly brave.
  
• Mr BB is incredibly erudite, and has a way of drawing people into a conversation with his gesticulations and his infectious enthusiasm for a multitude of topics.
  
• Caroline is a gorgeous mom of three from South Africa with a very calming way about her.
  
• Corinne, who I met before at the Obama inauguration party at the Hard Rock, is now my little sister. She adopted me. (Hey, Sis, I didn't say bye to you last night!).
  
• And Renny BA is one of those people who knows everyone and is a fulcrum for networking and gathering people from all over the world.
  

I also got to spend more time with Karen, a hilarious Scot I've met before at my other favorite bar, F&B.And a whole bunch of other people were there, some people came from Spain and France, as well! It was a great time.

I ended up having yet another 2am night out at the Dub, I finally walked home, as the trams weren't running anymore. I always enjoy Oslo late at night (early in the morning?) as it's like a huge street party, people everywhere, dancing, singing, vomiting, walking. I felt a bit unique in my long flowing peasant dress (with cleavage, natch) and cowboy boots when every other woman out was wearing either a mini skirt or short shorts with incredibly high heels. It was like 'dress like a stylish hooker' night. (My dress was probably more 19th century hooker, I guess. hehe.) Many of the poor girls were walking very gingerly and painfully in their absurdly high heels. Don't know about you, but if you are walking like an 80 year old, all bent over and stiff legged, that defeats the purpose of the sexy outfit, no?

Me? I'll stick with my boots and long skirts. I walked comfortably home, long, tall and sure of my footing. In confidence and self assurance, there is sexiness.

Caca?

Caca?, originally uploaded by karlakp.

Bad name for a cake decor shop!

bloggers

There's been a big blog gathering in town this week. I unfortunately have had to miss almost all the festivities, but tonight I at least get to catch the last part of it, and will meet some of the Norway bloggers I have been curious about.


Looking forward to meeting you, guys!

best birthday card ever!

A coworker of mine drew me this for my birthday. Isn't it awesome? And, of course, I am happy to still note that I am easily caricatured.....now with bike!

Nasty

Is it possible to call in disgusting to work? Because I shoulda done that today.

I ended up leaving early because the snotty coughing and wheezing I was doing was actually making people avoid me in the hallways.

I'm home now, tucked up in bed in my jammies and feeling distinctly sorry for my nasty self.

I WILL be better tomorrow!!!!!

Random notes about my bike

• I took my bike out for a ride today. It's a glorious day, and while I would rather have stayed in and nursed this shitty little cold I have, I decided that days like this will be all too rare from here on out, so I better take advantage of it.
• I believe I have mentioned in the past the fall comes on August 24th in Norway? Yeah, so an 80 degree day on August 15th is not to be ignored.
• Anyhow, bike, ride, outside.
• I went over to Bygdøy for an hour's ride today, and it wasn't all that fun, because there were too many people. There were too many little kids on little bikes who can't go in straight lines. Too many cars. Too many slow bike riders and fast bike riders and there was no where for me to go with my still wobbly bike riding lack of confidence. I need to go somewhere where there is no one and practice curbs and stopping and so on.
• I'm kind of a wimp on my bike. The whole time I'm riding, I'm a bit afraid.
• Like, here's my thoughts while riding:
  
• "CURB! There's a CURB! Do I go over it?..oh shit, KID! Little kid! Stay there kid, don't let me hit you...MOVE it! BUS...BUS...BUS!!...Oh crap, fucking pedestrian, move the fuck OVER! Crosswalk! Ride it or walk it? Ride? Walk...shit, walk."
• See? Wimp. I almost spend more time walking the bike than riding. Just not sure of the routines yet.
  
• But, that being said, I AM getting better.
• Like, going uphill?
  
• KILLED me the first few times.
  
• But now, I can feel it getting a little easier. Not easy, mind, but easier. My breathing is levelling out better. (Though my lungs hurt today from this cold. I mean, they HURT. Like, burned. Ow.)
  
• My legs don't hurt anymore and my butt bone must have hardened up a bit, because I don't have saddle ass anymore either.
  
• So, there's that. Some small successes, at least.
• On Thursday I got to ride home from work with my basket filled with roses I bought. I felt so European and a little glamorous.
• Today, I rode home with toilet paper and onions in the basket. (we were out).
• You can imagine how glamorous THAT felt......
  
• BTW, my new nerd glasses are AWESOME as sunglasses! LOVE them!
  

nerdy cool or just nerdy?

Got my new glasses today. They look AWESOME as sunglasses (they have those lenses that become darker in the sun?) But they are pretty nerdalicious as glasses. Hmm.....

London, fashion, and random

I'm back from London and back to work.

I went to London alone as Rich went to the US to see his mom. Since I just went home, I couldn't justify another long trip. And I save my time off for Thanksgiving in November, as that is the best time to go back and my favorite holiday.

Anyhow, my trip to London was nice, if very specifically oriented towards shopping. London has great summer sales. And I have been there enough times that I don't have an overwhelming need to do the sights or museums...been there, done that. Plus Rich wasn't with me to drag me to anything cultural....

I got there Friday and for some reason was just exhausted. Dead tired. Like, jet lagged dizzy, dangerously out of balance tired. I took a nap in the hotel when I got there, got up, wandered a bit around Spitalfields, ate something (was STARVING) then went back to the room and was in bed by 8:30. Yeah, go party girl, woohoo! I liked my hotel room, it was like a posh oversized garret.

Up on Saturday, grabbed a Starbucks (a treat for someone from non-Starbucked Norway) and then headed over to the vintage markets around the Truman Brewery by Shoreditch. Found a great vintage sale, by the kilo, and got a nice dress and a really great Chanel-esque tweed jacket for 15 pounds. Then I headed over to Regent street where I found a great sale at Jaeger, and some good stuff at Cos, and some really cool pants at French Connection (thought I absolutely HATE their latest ad campaign. "This is the woman". WTF?And the dude looks like a homeless guy).

Then I ate at the new Chiplotle Grill on Charing Cross road (heaven!!!) and gorged on my favorite burrito bowl with chicken and black beans. Nom nom. Tasted like home. Just a lot more expensive.

I was back in the room by 8 and snuggled in bed, reading and luxuriating, by 9:30 after a hot bath.

Sunday I met my friend Hannah at the amazing Westfield mall at Shepherd's Bush, where I stayed from opening to close, and then I had dinner there too! That mall is huge and amazing, and the food is really good. What a mall. I didn't buy too much, as I was worried about carrying it all and my back was acting up, but what I got was good and stuff that I had been looking for anyhow. I got perfect black patent leather flats at Russell and Bromley for 60% off.

Monday morning I got up early and went walkabout the City, from Liverpool street down to St Paul's and the Millenium Bridge, then over to Holborn, and then the tube down to Marble Arch for a snoop around the lower end of Oxford Street. I've discovered that one of my favorite stores here, Noa Noa, has a branch in London in St Christopher's Place, and I can save up to 30% just by buying in London instead of here, due to exchange rates and lower tax rates. So I check that out when I can.

Then I splurged on a taxi to Paddington and the Heathrow Express to the airport, where I ate at Gordon Ramsay's Plane Food restaurant and was underwhelmed (severely) by the steak (rib eye, way too thin cut) but was really pleased with the chips, which were by far some of the best I have ever had. Still, overpriced all told.

Home by 9 last night, where I was treated to some very odd Christian interpretive dance while I waited for the tram outside Oslo S, crashed into my comfy comfy bed, and then to work this morning.

Now, some notes on fashion:

• I don't know what the British fashion establishment is thinking, but only going up to a size 40 (US 10) in many shops is just NOT on. I found some great stuff at H&M but they only go to 40 in the Trend section in the UK. Back here in Norway, they have 42 in Trend (though only ever one so you have to be the first one to get it) which fits me just fine. British women aren't exactly skinny, so why are they only offered such small sizes?
  
• WTF is up with the shops now adding all these hanging ribbons into all the clothes? The new thing is a long strip from one side of the neck to the other on sweaters and so on, to hold it on the hanger. I understand the need for shop neatness, but I can't begin to tell you how many times I got hung up in the damned ribbon and got my head or hair stuck. Plus sometimes it alters the actual hang of the item on your body. This is NOT cool. I cut those damned things out the minute I get home.
• Zara's origin/washing tags are entirely too big and scratchy and awful. It's like sandpaper in your shirt.
  
• Gap "perfect" trousers are so NOT perfect. They are crapulous. Hello Gap? We have ASSES over here!
  
• I can't figure out if my legs are too long or too short. It seems that depends upon the designer.
  
• My arms ARE too long, though, I rarely find jackets that hit just below my wrist bone.
• My waist is too small.
  
• And my boobs are too big. I don't understand why the media is full of huge tits, and then when you try on clothes, if you are bigger than a B cup, forget trying to fit into anything. Boobs not allowed. I guess that's what you get when clothes are designed by gay guys who only hang out with women who look like young boys (no offense to gay men but seriously! We have ASSES and BOOBS over here! Most women are not built like sticks!)
• I think I have lost a little weight from bike riding, actually. So yippee!
  

Named for me?

Named for me?, originally uploaded by karlakp.

They named a street for me!

Never

Never, originally uploaded by karlakp.

I never get tired of the view from the Millenium Bridge. Ever.

For Anne

For Anne, originally uploaded by karlakp.

Morning coffee at St Paul's cathedral.

Fancy

Fancy, originally uploaded by karlakp.

Fancy schmancy teeny tiny mexican food in London. Its all mini sized and yummy. Pretty spicy too!

Saturday in London

Saturday in London, originally uploaded by karlakp.

Breakfast of champions.

Round window

Round window, originally uploaded by karlakp.

Hotel room view, London.

Ah the good things that happen

Was just rereading some of my old blog posts (I used to write better, I was actually kind of humorous at times.... what happened to me?) and find this post.

Those were good times. I'd like to have that happen again.

Hallelujah.