Yesterday I was in a strange mood, it was as if my whole body was mourning the carefree summer days and getting ready for a new phase- call it autumn, call it work, or just routine. Whatever you choose to name it, I felt a big sense of loss and very little pleasure in anticipating what would come. To cheer myself up and because I had invited friends over for coffee, I decided to make some ciabatta to go with my wonderful home made apple jam. And it was so easy and delicious I thought I should share it with you! 😉
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Sunday
Counting my Blessings
Hi, how are you doing? I´ve been busy working, billing and walking Sammy boy. 😉 And then my parents came for a short visit with some friends of theirs and I tried my best to make them feel welcome, while still being a somewhat good doggy mamma and girlfriend. They were cheerful and loud, gesticulating and interrupting each other, like in an Italian mob movie, they scrubbed my casseroles and my microwave and scolded me for not being “womanly” enough as in washing and tidying up, not only wearing dresses and baking cakes 😉 Haha! (they had a point, though..)
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Urban Sunday
It took me many years to stop sighing for a bigger, more exciting city, like Paris, London and Berlin, and instead enjoy the cosy little Oslo we have. 😉 Yes, it´s a bit provincial, no, there aren´t as many good eateries or things to do as in a metropole, but you can get to the sea and the woods in 15 minutes, we have fresh air and pretty great neighbours (we’ve lived four places and definitely prefer the “rougher” East side, people are so much nicer!).
Sunday in Oslo
Last Sunday we both had a day off and thought it´d be nice to spend it outdoors since the weather Gods were on our side. 😉 We decided we should take a stroll along the Aker river with Sammy, so he could run freely and take a dip here and there. There´s nothing like a bath in the river to cool off this happy dog of ours. We were heading towards the Food Court- Mathallen, but then we saw Nedre Foss Gård, a restaurant I´d just tried a couple of days before and that appealed to us now, as well. The court yard was pretty and summery, all “dressed up” in orange. 😉 The service was great and so was the food!
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Sunday fun day
We´ve had amazing weather this weekend, it was warm enough to strip down to your t-shirt in the sun, so we´ve been working on our tan from different terraces in town, enjoying a coffee or a beer with good friends. Yesterday we hit the flea market and found a lovely antique mirror and today we met Irina and Stefan downtown for a chat. My father´s still in Oslo and he´s been enjoying the sunny days as much as we have. We´be been walking until our feet hurt, showing him some of the cosy places in town, admiring buildings and churches and smiling at people sunbathing in their bikinis in the park. And Sam has been with us all the time, of course. 😉
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Sunday mornings
Sunday mornings are holy. I seldom work during the weekends, but on the few occasions I do, like today, I make sure we have some quality time afterwards. So I was reunited with my man and Sammy at around 13:30 and after some jumping and smooches from Sam´s part, the three of us went to our neighborhood café to sit in the sun and sip some coffee. I had only eaten some blueberries by then, so I was hungry as a wolf. Soon after, Ryan, our neighbor, appeared with Emi, Sam´s girlfriend and we talked for a couple of minutes. We had bought a small beanie for their newborn girl and so we were happy to see them. Besides being boyfriend girlfriend, Sam and Emi are best friends and they show lots of affection in public. 😉 They play, kiss and lick each other non-stop. 😉 Just look at how cute they are together!
A Sunday with mom
My mom got home safe and sound today and the “kids” were happy with their gifts and the funny stories from the big “abroad”. The white bunny and the pink body went straight home with my niece, but the fur collar beat them all. I decided to give up wearing fur, unless it´s sheep skin, it makes me uncomfortable and my husband embarrassed. It doesn´t make things better by giving it away, but I can´t undo the purchase and at least they won´t risk getting sprayed on in Romania. Enough about that.
Derek Swalwell
I´ve done some laundry, decluttered the bedroom, read the newspaper and aired the house, now it´s time for some much needed inspiration and a nap before we go out for dinner. This evening we´re seeing John Legend in concert and we can´t wait. Meanwhile, I discovered Derek Swalwell, an Australian photographer whose work is stunning! Not only are the images beautifully curated, but they convey such a serene atmosphere I feel like jumping right in, like Alice in Wonderland.;-) Enjoy!
February
February started with a pang- a whole Saturday of training for the my oral examination in order to become a certified interpreter. We were three Romanian interpreters, two role-players and a certified English interpreter who volunteered to help us. It was really tough and I have to admit I had to swallow my pride a little bit at the end of the session. Everybody has stuff that need working on, but one never likes being reminded of that.
Sunday I was so beat I couldn´t lift a finger. I had to take a nap for a couple hours after waking up because everything was blurry and I was feeling both nauseous and dizzy. I was so exhausted I almost got worried, but today I was ready to resume my normal life course.
I had a day off and although I spent most of it on accountancy, I got to enjoy the rays of sun piercing through our window. And so did our cat. He was so happy observing the birds outside, probably sensing spring in the air, he wouldn´t move for ages, eating some leaves from my favorite plant (that makes him throw up) and warming himself up.
In the afternoon a friend dropped by for coffee and we found ourselves reminiscing about our youth over a biscuit or two. I´m now making mousakka ´cause I need to get rid of all those organic potatoes and eggplants. Meanwhile, I´m sipping some wine and looking forward to Californication. 😉 Have a lovely week!
My week
This week has been much more eventful than the last several ones, but it made me so full of energy! Among the many things that happened in the past days, I attended a Buddhist funeral, applied for a loan at the bank in order to be able to redo our bathroom, went to the movies, to a dinner party and hosted a small dinner party myself.
I saw Blue Jasmine by Woody Allen with a friend who moved out of town. Such a beautiful picture, I definitely recommend it! The subject was human frailty and the pursuit of happiness, but also the incessant seek for something more, something better, something else. And deceit. In all its forms. Including self deception. It was brilliant!
Cate Blanchett and her wardrobe were the star attraction, I swear I´d kill for every single piece of clothes she was wearing! After the movie date we resumed with a bottle of cava, chit-chatting about husbands and kids (pets on my part), everyday demands, work and colleagues and so on. About men who don´t do enough and who don´t appreciate everything we´re doing around the house. Sounds familiar?;-)
On Friday I attended a dinner party at a Danish friend of ours, we were five people and a French bulldog and had more fun than we´ve had in ages! We had prosecco and brut and regular wine and some more prosecco. And pasta Bolognese. Perfect gathering.
Yesterday I worked for a couple of hours, then I had to help out in the block´s back yard, because the Norwegian way is do-it-yourself instead of hiring somebody to save you the trouble. Mumbling my way through it, as frustrated as ever, I ran off after 40 minutes and went to the flea market with Sam. We weren´t that impressed, I only found a broad fur collar (like the ones you wear on top of a cocktail dress), but Sammy got a sausage and I had a waffle. And we had fun together since we´re best friends. 😉 It´s great having a dog, so much company and you don´t have to ring the whole telephone book to see if somebody´s free for lunch. He´s always willing to keep you company.
In the evening we had friends over for pizza and cake, they made the pizza, I made the cake. And I had to wash the floors, which is great, ´cause I don´t think I would have done it otherwise.
Today I´m having a day off from social affairs, just me, my man and the pets. We´re taking Sammy to the woods again and maybe we´ll see a movie this evening. There´s a festival in town- Film from the South and they show many independent pictures, but it´s almost impossible to find something that doesn´t run at 1 pm or at 9 o´clock pm.
Meanwhile I´m drinking loads of coffee and I´m almost dosing off in my dressing gown, happy it´s Sunday. I have a tiny bit of pumpkin in my fridge, maybe I´ll make some pumpkin pie?
life in a bubble 