Tuesday 6 May 2014

Blessings

This week I am blessed. Truly blessed. And here's why:

*After 8 (that is eight people, eight!) months, I finally was able to order my Norwegian driver's license. Bureaucracy gone mad, but not on the Norwegian side, since from the moment of ordering to the moment of receiving, it only took 2 days. Including a public holiday! No, the fault lay entirely on the Dutch side. The Dutch Department of Motor Vehicles and Driver's Licenses needed to confirm that the driver's license I had, was in fact Dutch. It took them two letters from Norway and nearly 8 (eight!) months! But, since last Saturday I am the proud owner of a Norwegian driver's license. Not as pink, just as valid! Yippee!!

*Debbie replied on my post about the pain in my leg that the pills I was given would knock me out. Well, she was not kidding! The first time I used one, I had only had two hours sleep the night before, so they not only knocked me out, the kept me out for 10 hours. I could have slept more, but I had something else to do. I didn't need one Saturday night, but last night I took one again. Slept like a baby. Great!

*Tonight is the first semi-final of the annual music extravaganza called Eurovision. People in Europe (and Australia, I knew those people had good taste) will be watching it 'en masse'. The polls say that the Netherlands will do just fine and I must admit, I quite like the number they have this year. On Thursday the second semi-final will take place in Copenhagen and then on Saturday the final. Joy!

*But, before the final of Eurovision on Saturday I will visit another music fest. The Norwegian Military Tattoo in Oslo. I am so looking forward to it! I already have the program and the cd, the plane is booked, the hotel is booked. I will be seeing a band that I used to drive on occasion while living in the Netherlands (The Royal Dutch Military Band Johan Willem Friso, say that three times fast when you've had one too many) and Japanese, Danish, Swedish, Russian, British, Finnish and of course Norwegian bands. Plus some gymnasts from Estonia and a very good American drill team. Toot!

*On Saturday I went out and bought a few plants. One forsythia, three raspberry bushes (stalks really), one blackberry bush and two redcurrant bushes. I mowed the lawn, planted my plants and was very happy with myself. Come this summer/autumn, I will hopefully have a few raspberries, blackberries and redcurrants to pick. About three each probably, but from small beginnings and such. Yummy!

*And then of course next Sunday will see the arrival of Miss Oswin! Now, you might be wondering a bit about her name, since Oswin is not the most usual name in the world. Well, you may know I love my Doctor. Doctor Who that is. And the Doctor always has a companion and right now it is Clara Oswald. But in some episodes she used the name Oswin. So there. If I would have gotten a male cat, he would have been an Oswald. Miss Oswin is staying in fostercare at the moment. She was found in a garage with a litter of kittens. Well, her kittens are now old enough (10 weeks) to be weaned and Miss Oswin will be coming to live with me. Bliss!

8 comments:

  1. Miss Oswin looks beautiful. Scruffy is giving us a hard time because he wants to go outside and chase lizards. I feel mean not letting him out but we have coyotes and large hawks, so it's not safe. I like your song but felt the background beat was too loud and I wanted to hear the words.

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  2. Love those pink boots, and I think I would love the Tattoo too.

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  3. Hari Om
    Many blessings indeed Mara and bless you for sharing them with us. Yes, I used to love watching the whole shebang in OZ - over here in UK it seems only the final is being televised... or I am looking in the wrong places.

    Steady on with those pals though gal!! YAM xx

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    1. I think they do televise the semi-finals as well, try BBC Three! With the comments of Graham Norton, whom I think is hilarious!
      The UK have a free ticket to the final and they abuse it really. Some countries have to scrape the money together to be able to go and the UK just sends a crap song each year. Or so it seems anyway! Such a shame, especially since there is so much good music from the UK!

      Now, I am presuming you mean pills and not pals? At least I hope so, otherwise I am at a loss as to what you're talking about!!

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    2. Hari OM
      yes - but it could have been Freudian as such pills sometimes become pals... sorry for the typo though.

      I did think it odd, but discovered this morning after doing a search that ESC is being shown on BBC4... a channel that didn't exist before my departure last century. Oh well.

      I think GN is great fun too and he is doing his best to 'talk up' our entry this year. Sadly, however I am inclined to agree with you. If you lined them up all in a row, there would be virtually no difference in the beat or tone. Only the lyrics change and even those are lame. Sigh. What does it say about the Great British public who supposedly vote for the things?

      ...YAM xx

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  4. Can't believe it's time for Eurovision again! My dad would love the marching bands. I love forsythia, one of my all time favorites and they are yellow. We don't have them in CA but I grew up with them in Illinois. I'm so happy your going to have a buddy to enjoy.

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  5. I was wondering is Oswin was a Doctor Who reference, or just a coincidence, Glad I was right!

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  6. So glad you had luck with the meds, a new kitty on the way and you rock the boots and mowing.

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Any weighty (and not so weighty) comments are welcome!