Oh goody

Me and my mum getting silly

Last week I had written a whole post about what I had been up to during the last few weeks of 2021. I couldn't put any photos in however and there was something else impossible, so I decided to publish and go back to it. All that remained was the title! Nothing else. As it had hurt badly already, I gave it up as a bad job and haven't looked at my computer until now.

Space saving for all my films

As you may recall my sister arrived finally (it was the sixth attempt) and she stayed with me almost the entire time. Plenty of plans were made: hairdresser, family visits, theater, going places. We managed to get to the hairdresser just in time as only a few days later the country went in lockdown again. *sigh*

'Sjoelen' on New Year's Eve. I lost.

For Christmas we did go see my brother and his family and New Year's Eve was spent at my parents, together with some friends. Other than that no family (apart from our parents) or friends, no shopping trip, no going places. The latter might still have been an option, but the gammy knee was not cooperating. 

Decorating cookies

Instead we watched Christmas films, read, watched some more television, baked, cooked and watched a bit more television. She spent three weeks here, before returning home again last week. Hopefully she will be able to come over again in May. I am counting down the days.

Since the start of 2022, I visited several health thingies. The first one was to get my booster jab. This one didn't hurt at all (unlike my second vaccination, where some numpty just aimed and thrust), but that was short lived. Later in the evening, the area did start to get very sore and by the next day I was feeling a bit worse for wear: a bit nauseous, a bit queasy, a bit shivery. Nothing really bad, but noticeable nonetheless.

'Gourmet' dinner'

Then two days later I made my way to the plastic surgeon again. Despite the wound healing a treat, it is still a bit red and swollen. It was not that however that saw me see the surgeon instead of them tackling my left hand (which had been the original plan). I had had severe pain in my thumb/wrist prior to the operation and it returned the minute the anastacia (you know my problem) wore off. Had the operation gone wrong?

Stout jelly, trifle, chocolate mousse and key lime cheesecake

In short? No. I got treated for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and that was successful. The trouble with the thumb is related, even similar, but different. It is the De Quervain Syndrome and it's painful. Especially as you use your thumb for just about everything! It can be caused by so many things, including manual work like housework, knitting and a host of other things. The main trigger was most likely the recent move.

There are (like with CTS) three main ways to combat it: rest, corticosteroid injection or surgery. The first would mean not being able to use the hand at all and hopefully it will get better over time: many many months. The second would involve a nasty injection right into the most painful area and let that do its work together with hand therapy and a custom made splint. The third option is when nothing else helps, but contrary to the CTS operation, it is a bit more dangerous due to the location.

There was a ban on fireworks. Hahahaha!

Rest was not really an option as it would take too long. The third was not really given as an option, so the second it was. And I can tell you it was a very nasty injection. I even kicked the doctor, for which I never even apologised. It took a while for the pain of the injection had gone (several hours) and then I was pain free. Not for that long though, the pain did come back, although I think it's not as bad. At the end of this week I will see a hand therapist and get a splint, until then I try and wear my old wrist splint to keep movement to a minimum. 

So, that has happened recently. I will try to get back to my computer a bit more regular now, but as the hand is still not quite cooperating, it is not the easiest. 

2022

I have been absent a bit lately, enjoying my sister's company and the Christmas period. I will be back in the New Year, but I just want to wish everybody a great 2022. Filled with good health, love and all other good things you might want. 

See you next year!

2020

A very miaow 2020 from Miss O

First of all I want to wish everyone a very happy, healthy and good 2020. May your year be filled with fun and laughter. And may it be filled with people helping you through the not so fun times. Remember there is always someone out there with a listening ear, a warm embrace or a glass of wine!

For my part, my year should hopefully be filled with more blogging hours. Last year was frankly atrocious: my lowest number of posts ever, not counting the first year when I only started in August.  There are a couple more things I really want to get done this year: find a proper job and find a place to live. I will need the first to get the second, so fingers crossed.

The past two weeks have been filled. First there was the Eurovision concert that me and Pepperfly visited. It was brilliant!! There were a few who decided that they wouldn't sing live, which was a shame, but most of them did and I would much rather hear a note off-key than a voice that definitely didn't fit the face anymore. Honesty is important, in music as in life. The little video is off Katrina (without her Waves), who did sing live and who was fantastic!!

Then after my last week at work, I prepared for my holiday. I was going to stay at my sister's in Northern Ireland for a week and a half. We had planned a lot of things to do: theater, watching television, eat, sleep, breathe, read, crochet/knit, eat some more, drink some. Basically nothing was planned (apart from the theater) and we would just take it the days as they came. I will elaborate a bit more in days to come.

My sister and I baked Christmas cookies, this being my batch

And now I am back home again. The Christmas stuff was taken down this morning, the laundry is going full blast and I am enjoying the last few days of my Christmas break before going back to work next week. 

Happy 2019

First things first: HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Right, and then back to business. It's already been more than a week since I last posted and even that one was a pre-post. No, I haven't been working, they managed to get me off, but I have been on holiday. And Brom decided he wanted to have a holiday as well, so that meant neither of us wrote. We don't feel sorry at all for that. We just wanted some nice time with my sister.

On Saturday the 22nd we made our way to my sister's. Miss O was NOT amused by the journey, especially when I turned the radio up during a nice sing-along number. But, once at my sister's, she was okay. On the Sunday we went to church for a service unlike any I have ever seen. But, according to friends of my sister's, neither had they! After church we had to drive back to mine, to pick up some forgotten things, but after that we relaxed. In the evening we went to the cinema: Fantastic Beasts part 2. I liked it very much and can't wait for number 3! 

Taking Lego apart. It took an afternoon.

Christmas Eve saw me making my Dronning Maud pudding. Yes, the Norwegian desert that is so scrumptious and yummy, I couldn't resist making it again. We watched television and did nothing special. Christmas Day dawned and we were going to have duck. Which we did. I had managed to persuade my sister to get me some sprouts (I love them, she hates them) and the whole dinner was exactly as we wanted. Yum. With a severe amount of left-overs though, we had several more days of food. 

Boxing Day was left-over food, more relaxing, more television. I read, my sister crocheted, Miss O slept. During the days that followed, we cleared out some cabinets in my sister's kitchen, resulting in a trip to the second hand shop (I had some stuff too) and we made sure we got rid of the old electrical appliances we both had and were gathering dust and being in the way. We needed to rent a van to do that, since we also needed to move her bed back. 

A new project, to be on sale from November

Then, the whole show went on the road. An empty suitcase, a cat, a litterbox, food and drink. Everything had to move to mine where we were going to be spending New Year's. Once here, we did more of what we had already done: relaxing. Watching television, reading (Gera), knitting (me), sleeping (Miss O). Oh, and we listened to the radio. The Dutch radio always has a top 2000 of the most favourite songs ever starting at Christmas, so we listened to that. 

On New Year's Eve I made oliebollen (oily balls, the forerunner of the donut, but much better) and we sang out the old year listening to the radio, reading, knitting and sleeping. New Year's Day dawned and I started getting some things sorted. We had taken an empty suitcase from my sister's and that was going to be filled with summer clothes. As I don't know how long I will live with my parents before finding my own place again and I don't want to get caught out again, I decided summer clothes needed to come. 

The plan had been that one case was meant for the summer clothes and the other for the winter clothes. There was a slight problem however: I don't have anywhere near enough summer clothes to fill up a suitcase! So, in with the winter clothes as well and the second case would be used for yarn. Priorities and such(!) you know. Boxes were also filled and taken down to the garage. I only have a month left before leaving (three weeks until my stuff gets picked up in fact), so I need to get a move on. 

At the end of the afternoon my sister decided she wanted to go home again, since she would be back at work today. I think it had something to do with the dishes she didn't want to do again... I stayed here, knitted some more while Miss O slept some more. Today I have another day off, but tomorrow it's back to work: the Glasgow run again, both tomorrow and Friday. I did the dishes, will soon sort out the boxes that have been filled and need to go down and will tackle some other stuff as well. 

So, that's us. A lovely Christmas break that was very much needed. 

Nearly there!

It hasn't officially started yet, but the job I was due to do today was cancelled, so you could say it did anyway: my Christmas holiday. A bit of a scare two days ago when I saw they had me working four days next week (!) when I had asked for time off. Money wise it would have been a better move, but for half a day more pay... It got sorted though and I am now off until past the New Year.

We are not expecting snow and if we do get it, Miss O will not be going out!

My sister also got time off for the week and we are spending it together. Tonight or tomorrow morning (depends on whether I get everything done by tonight), me, Miss O, Brom (and Mouse) are heading over to her to celebrate Christmas with Gera. Yes, Miss O is coming as well. She will hate the journey over of course, but she won't mind spending time in Gera's house: windows to look out of!

My sister is a church goer, so I will accompany her. You never know, it might do me some good 😀.  We will watch some Christmas television, there will be plenty on. But of course we will also have some food. We were getting goose which according to my sister is very good and she had had a few years ago when my parents came over. They ate the whole goose in under two days she said. Well, the packaging around the goose said 8-10 people and I doubt we will be able to eat that within two days, so we opted for duck instead. 

Dronning Maud Pudding

We will also be making some other things: filled speculaas (mmmmmm) and the Queen Maud Pudding I learned about in Norway. I am salivating as is! We will probably make more than that, but those are the things that are certain. 

Oliebollen

Then, sometime between Christmas and New Year, we will all move to mine to celebrate New Year's Eve over here. More goodies are expected, like the Dutch oily balls which will be made in the garage to try and prevent the cooking smell to permeate the whole place. 

Part of Dunluce Castle

If the weather is nice during the holidays, we will finish our big tour we started last February: the Mourne Coastal Route. We have done two thirds now, but still have the last bit left. And if that goes faster than we think, then we might continue on the Causeway Coastal Route, which takes in the north coast. We have done some bits of that route already and visited some places (like Dunluce Castle and the Giant's Causeway), but there is plenty more to see. 

January 2nd

Isn't it amazing how soon Christmas and New Year's celebrations seem to be forgotten and 'real life' kicks in again? Of course real life went on during those celebrations as well, but it has a sort of surreal feeling to it. Suspended in a family holiday.

If you are now thinking: oh my word, it's only two days in and she is starting with the difficult sentences: don't worry! It will not last long. It will probably last until this afternoon when we will go over to my parents and friends to say goodbye (and pick up leftovers and such). They will be traveling tomorrow morning. Or it might even last until tomorrow, when I take my sister to the airport at a 'real life' time of 6am! 

After that however, it is back to real life proper. Making the place look nice again without all the Christmas stuff (the tree will be coming down today, the rest can wait until tomorrow). Laundry. Possibly even more laundry. And then on Thursday it's back to work as well. Making this holiday that I have enjoyed so much an immediate thing of the distant past. 

Only seven weeks to go until my next break!

Christmas holiday part four

A very bright flash
And we stick to that explanation!!!

On Thursday we took an easy day. I had to see the physio and after that we wanted to some light shopping. And believe me: we managed to keep it light!! Well, apart from the woolen tops/underwear we both bought, but that is more of a necessity than an extravagance. The afternoon was spent relaxing and not doing much. Perfect.

Friday morning the alarm went off quite early. Because we were going to Bergen! We drove to the bus station from where we were to take the long distance coach and all piled on. A little over three hours later we had arrived. The first thing on our list to do was visit the Fløybanen. I had been there before, as had my parents, but the other three had not. It was cloudy we were told, but we were going up anyway. 

It's a funicular track that goes up the mountain, so we took it a bit easier than the cyclists did back in September (World Championships cycling took place in Bergen). Once at the top, there was indeed cloud covering, but it kept opening up, giving us glances at the view. 

Once we had negotiated the troll and the view we decided to take a (very) short stroll. And all of a sudden my sister saw something: a squirrel!! I grabbed my camera and actually got a few shots of it, before she said there was another one. I got some photos of that one as well, before it ran off into the forest. 

After our little trip up the mountain we took the train down again and had an absolutely scrumptious lunch. I had fish and chips and for afters an absolutely divine crème brulée. I think I can safely say it was one of the best I have ever tasted. 

By that time it had started snowing, which was very much not forecasted. So our little outing to the Bryggen area of Bergen became a wet affair. It was still lovely to walk around there, but it did become quite dreary after a while. 

So, we headed home. Me and my mum were lazy and took a taxi, the rest walked back to the bus station. The bus journey back was as eventful as the morning trip (ie nothing special). The day didn't end there though, because on our return home, there was a humongous stack of letters waiting for me: Christmas cards from all over. Well, apart from one which contained my new driver's licence!

Christmas holiday part three

After a lovely dinner with family and friends on Christmas Day, there was the clean-up left to do. We did move some of the furniture back again (I had a large living room table on my bed, not really good for sleep), but left the dining room table in situ. On it were clean glasses and plates that needed to be boxed again and put away in the cupboard. They could wait however.

On Boxing Day we did most of the moving and washing and clearing. And by the end of the day, the place looked quite decent again. Although for some reason the kitchen didn't seem to follow suit. Every time we cleared some away, new stuff appeared as if from nowhere! Weird that...

On December 27th I had some errands to run. First of all I needed to order my new driver's license. My current one was still good, but since I needed something else as well, it was decided to do everything at once. Fortunately the wait wasn't too long and pretty soon the money was paid and we were on our way to the next destination: the police. 

Here the wait was a bit longer. Apparently we had arrived at lunch time because there was hardly anybody about. But, finally it was my turn and I gave them the paperwork they needed so they could issue me with a new driver's note. Without it I am not allowed to drive a bus here in Norway. 

Then it was a quick stop at the office to get some bus tickets for me (more to follow later in the week) and then we got in the car. We wanted to see some nice things. Preferably white. So, we headed inland. And pretty soon the snow started. On the top of the mountains, occasionally a bit further down. But never much.

We drove through several tunnels and every time we were nearing the end we were wondering: what would we see this time. And every time we were disappointed: green/grey/brown! 

But then...

We got to the end of a tunnel and all of a sudden we saw white. And a lot of it as well. Gera immediately grabbed the camera we had taken with us and started snapping away. It was beautiful. At times a bit treacherous and even with spiked tires it was a bit slippery on occasion. But it was so lovely. We managed to get down to the waterfall we saw during the summer, where we took some selfies.

It was only a short stop before our feet and hands got cold and we made our way back to the car. As you may recall, we stopped at that very same waterfall in the summer and we drove on towards the Hardanger Plains. This time? We returned home. We had learned. The day had been a fantastic one however.

Christmas holiday part two

Christmas Eve started early for us. Several things needed to be made today: the oxtail soup, Yamini's pumpkin soup and a Queen Maud Pudding. So, we peeled and chopped, whipped and mixed and were quite busy all day. Of course no photos were taken during that period, but believe me: there was a fair bit of food at the end of it and the fridge was absolutely jam packed! We didn't have enough room in it to hold two large pans of soup, so those were put in the cellar. 

At the end of the day we decided to get ready for dinner the following day by rearranging the living room furniture. Normally the computer resides on the dinner table, so a solution had to be found. We wanted to put the table in the center of the room, but that is where the sofa stands. So, we had to push the sofa to the cupboard behind it (after first taking out all we might need: crockery, glassware and cutlery), clear the dining table and move that towards the center of the room. 

Then started the task of setting the table. First the table cloth I had made earlier this year. Then the plates, cutlery and glasses. Gera folded the napkins so it looked even better and finally the menus were placed on each plate as well. 

Christmas Day began even earlier than Christmas Eve had started. I was not nervous as such, but I was not relaxed either. We taped the list of things to do on one of the kitchen cabinets and off we went: the apple salad was made, the meatballs for the oxtail soup were rolled, the red wine sauce was boiled down. More peeling and chopping. We put sauces and creams in small jugs and pots. More rearranging of furniture.

And then the mishaps started. 

Since there was nowhere near enough room in the fridge for even a single bottle of wine, we had bought some ice cubes and were going to use a bucket. Fill the bucket with ice and bottles and a bit of cold water and hey presto. Until the bucket sprang a leak and the kitchen was nearly flooded! Fortunately I have a double sink, so one of them was used instead. 

Then I needed to put something in the dishwasher and accidentily touched a small knife. Which was sharp. I drew blood. Plasters were needed. By this time the ff-team started to arrive as well. They were plied with drink and sat down to solve a cryptic anagram bible quiz. In the mean time Gera and I continued in the kitchen. The main roast (reindeer) was put in the oven to cook and soon we needed to get the soups going. My mother helped with the oxtail though, so it tasted even better. 

Dinner was ready!

The soups were served and my father even liked the pumpkin soup (result thanks to Yamini). By this time the potatoes were boiling, the sprouts were on the go and the oven was on with the roast in. We took out the roast (to rest) and put in something else. The dirty plates went into the dishwasher and as we headed back into the living room to say it would take a few more minutes than originally planned...

The power went!

Oh no!! The cooker had been going all day and now the dishwasher as well. It was too much for the system and we had to have a forced break. Since I was the only one home, I had to solve it. With a flashlight I made my way upstairs, to find that it was indeed my kitchen that caused the problem. But the fuse box was on the warm side, so we needed to wait a bit for it to cool again before we were able to put the power back on. Fortunately the roast was done and so were the sauces and the apple salad. 

After about twenty minutes I turned the power back on (Gera had turned the dishwasher off) and we cooked the rest of our dinner. And even though it didn't come all at once, it wasn't too bad either. And there was certainly plenty of everything. But with six people around the table, most of it was gone by the time we were done eating. 

There was one pudding left over
Gera and I really enjoyed it on Boxing Day!

After clearing the table and waiting a while, we brought out dessert: Queen Maud Pudding*. Large portions, but very very very nice. By then however everybody was stuffed, so our final course never got its outing: the cheese platter. They did get to take it home with them though (with some left over roast, oxtail soup and several bottles of wine). It was a good day, despite the mishaps.

*Queen Maud was the wife of the first king of an independent Norway (back in 1906) and when she came on a visit to Haugesund she was served a dessert that she liked very much. It was then renamed Dronning (queen) Maud pudding in honour of her.

Christmas holiday part one

We needed raingear when she arrived, certainly not sunglasses

It started perfectly. Even though I finished late on Friday, I was still in time to pick up my sister from the airport. What neither of us knew however, was that two flights were arriving almost simultaneously. Both were of course choc-a-bloc full with people traveling to spend Christmas with their loved ones. But finally we spotted each other and after her luggage had been located we made our way home. 

We only spent a few minutes at home before heading off again. This time to see our parents and friends (the ff-team from now on) who had arrived earlier that afternoon and were staying in a holiday home about 20 minutes away. It was lovely to see them all again, but I was slowly starting to lag. Even though there had been no traveling for me that day, my alarm had been the earliest (4.15am) and I was done in. 

On Saturday we were going to hit the shops and the ff-team was coming over for lunch. I woke up bright and early and realised I had a migraine attack! Oh no!! So, I took a pill and when we headed to the shops, I was in the passenger seat beside my sister who was driving. Fortunately the head did respond to the meds, but I wasn't feeling the best. After we got in all the shopping, we went home again where I took a second pill. Normally I would sit on the couch and do hardly anything, this time I had been shopping and the day was still not over!

The ff-team arrived, exclaimed over the place and was pleasantly surprised by the (at least on the surface) tidiness. We had coffee, then lunch and it was a nice few hours. After they left, it was time to set up the tree. My sister Gera had taken it down earlier that morning and it needed decorating. Which proved quite difficult. I was tired beyond belief, I was dizzy and I realised why there is a big red triangle on the box with the meds in! But, after an hour on the couch, I did manage to get the rest of the lights in and Gera then helped me decorate. 

The evening was spent doing not much and we went to bed early(ish) again, since we would have to start preparing the first dishes on Christmas day.