Winter never came this year and everybody was so disappointed except for me- haha! One less thing to worry about- falling on ice with a big tummy! And freezing my butt off on top of that…But then it started snowing on Sunday evening and yesterday it was winter wonderland for a couple of hours or so. And so I took Sam out in the woods, disregarding my excruciating pelvis pain, and with my camera on my shoulder on top of that. 😉 It proved to be poor judgement since I fell on the ice the first chance I got. Being the good doggo that he is, Sam jumped on top of me “to save me” and so I ended up in an even worse state than the one I was already in. Laying there on the ground and alternating between “Mother of God” and “Fuck me”, I found myself crying, laughing, moaning and giggling, all at once. Continue reading
winter
A weekend getaway
I’ve always loved a short getaway before Christmas and this year we were so lucky as to be invited to one by F’s work- a spa hotel half an hour away from Oslo. 😉 We left by train on Friday afternoon just after two and returned yesterday after lunch, meanwhile making good use of both the spa areas and the comfy bed with a sea view. 😉
I did try to get out with my camera for a sightseeing round and I did just that for a quick 5 minutes, but as it was raining, I sought refuge inside with a cup of tea. 😉 Continue reading
Reflections
This week has been so busy it’s a wonder I’m still alive! Apart from working full days in court, I had Sam to walk in the afternoon and photography courses Tuesday and Thursday after hours. 😉 And if you think that interpreting in court for a whole day is like working in the office from 9-5, think again! People can’t even be bothered to turn on the microphone, they speak without exhaling and they generally lack any sign of professional courtesy. So imagine your head spinning with legal sections and subsections, slightly hungry and fedd up the world and then trying to sit still in class and socialize a bit during the breaks, too. Y-ha! 😉
A Weekend in the Mountains ‘
In Norway, having a cabin is like having a grandma in the countryside in Romania. Everybody has it, except for us, the newcomers. And since I have a dog and no kids, I seldom get invited anywhere- at this cabin we can’t have dogs, at the other we’re going with the kids (no thanks!) and so on. Oh, and I forgot to mention that I don’t ski, I have a tendency to complain at times and I can be quite a pain in the ass if not in the mood for company. Beat that!
Long absence
There’s something wrong with my WordPress (or my Mac) and I have 0 technical skills, so I’m trying from my phone. My long absence is due to a long sick period- the flue followed by throat infection and a general indisposition- as well as a “fuck the world” attitude on account of this 5 months’ winter! I’m not kidding you! 5 months and it’s not yet over! 😫🙈 Apparently this weekend is getting cold again, but I don’t care, since I’m escaping to Amsterdam and then Romania for the Protestant Easter. And maybe NY or Fuerteventura in May!
Another Year
From being a city girl from my fingers to my toes, in just 6 months, I can’t even imagine my life without a spectacular view anymore. Although it takes a while to get to the city centre and I can no longer walk everywhere, I simply love living here, not to mention Sam, who’s delighted in every sense of the word.
That being said, we’re still looking for a bigger place, it would be nice to have a spare room and throw a party every now and then without feeling that we’re literally sitting on each other’s laps. 😉 But either we can’t really afford whatever is out there or what’s out there is way under our standards.
Pre-Christmas Days
Hey, peeps! How are you? I’ve been way too busy for my own good lately, but now that the weekend is here I have little plans to do anything else than relax, bake a little, clean the house and buy a cute Christmas tree.
Sammy turned 5 on Tuesday and since that day was horrendously hectic for my part, he only got a longer walk and some liver pate as a treat. But yesterday we finally bought him a new toy and he was ecstatic, he carried it around everywhere and asked us to keep it, so he could pull it from our hands. 😉 haha! You should have seen him! So cute!
I’m done with the gifts, except for one last extra present, now I only need to bake a bit, fill up the cookie jars and wrap the presents up. What about you? Are you “en route”? Have you done the Christmas baking, too?
These pics are from our neighborhood, where I’m taking Sam for walkies three times a day, listening to Sidney Bechet, Nat King Cole and Madeleine Peyroux. With my condition, I cannot overwork myself, or else I come crashing down and lose my will to wake up, so I need to plan a day off here and there or a couple of half days, to cope with the pressure. That’s exactly what I did yesterday- after wrapping up a couple of things with the accountant and delivering some small presents, it was just me on the agenda. I had a Prosecco with a close friend, then a couple more on my own, under the pretext of feeling sorry for myself on account of the pain ( apparently you need a couple of vaccines for Morocco). 😉
Yesterday evening we went out for pizza and beer, just me and my boo. It felt like ages ago we did anything together, just the two of us, and it’s oh so important. The town was teeming with drunk people already at 5 o’clock and again I felt ashamed of this stupid Christmas party tradition here where people seem to lose all common sense. Do you have the same wherever you are?
Leaving you with a couple of endearing pictures of Sammy boy, guarding the neighborhood. Fancying a bath with a glass of cold Christmas soda. 😉
xxx, Alina
Winter is here again
Last weekend we went to the mountains at this ski and spa resort. Don’t worry, I still don’t know how to ski and I doubt I’ll be learning very soon, since my significant other couldn’t care less about that activity, either. We did a little bit of the spa bit, though not the completely over the roof overpriced treatments, just the swimming pool, sauna and the jacuzzi: “This is boring!”, someone said about the latter. Haha!
There was some snow, the first one we’d seen this year and it made us pretty excited. We had a hike with all the clothes we’d brought on and still it was a bit too chilly. On Saturday we had a couple of drinks in the library bar and dinner at the restaurant downstairs, dressed for the occasion. 😉 They only served buffet and it seldom tends to be very exciting, but it wasn’t bad, either.
A Sunday Well-Spent
Saturday it snowed all day, it was grey and gloomy and a perfect day for baking. I and Sam didn’t do that much, we made some cinnamon rolls and then snuggled up indoors. But I’d promised him a walk in the woods on Sunday and, to our luck, the weather proved amazing just for that! I’d thought about going around lake Songsvann, just the two of us, since F was working all weekend, but then I remembered Gordana lives by another lake- Nøklevann- and there’s both forest and a café and all that, so why not ask her if she wants to join? When I called her she was baking bread, so I said we’d be there around the time the bread is ready to be taken out of the oven. 😉 
Continue reading
Cinnamon Rolls
Listening to Summertime by Ella Fitzgerald when snowing outside says it all. Just had coffee with my friend Merete and while watching the snow flakes fall, she blurted out: “Oh, I’m going skying! Yey!”. And while probably feeling the same tingle of magic, my reaction was totally different: “Yey, I’m baking cinnamon buns”! 😉 Haha!
life in a bubble 