Of pigs and lobsters

The inside of the container

Yesterday I decided to head out to my storage unit. I was sure there were still summer clothes there, I just needed to find them. Which is easier said than done as nobody was present at the unit itself when the movers moved everything in. It's all higgledy-piggledy in there. But, most of the boxes and crates reside close to the entrance.

Mind you, having them reside near the entrance doesn't mean that much. I knew that the clothes I wanted were in a box, not a see-through crate, which meant that I didn't know which box I needed. I never labeled them when I moved, just threw stuff in willy-nilly. Until it was full and then I closed it. To be opened again at my new abode, whenever that may be. 

The hat in question. Didn't help me from not getting red in 2013 either

I had to drag all the boxes out. Which is no easy feat as the temperature inside the storage building was high. Made all the worse for the work I was doing. I was certainly not transpiring, I was sweating like a pig! I opened box after box, finding a hat (which I stupidly didn't take), a bath mat (which I did) and several other things that I took. The clothes were untraceable however. 

Then my eye fell on another area. More boxes. Oh goodness, and behind that, even more boxes. Well, in for a penny, in for a pound, I got going. Fortunately the first of those boxes hit the jackpot. There they were. My lovely summer clothes. Which turned out to be fewer than I thought there would be. But, in the bag they went. The boxes were closed and put back and I made my way back outside.

Not a clue what this flower is, but I had the same colour
See also the photo above this one

The weather was glorious. Not too hot, not too windy. Perfect to make a tiny detour as I was cycling home. It would only be a kilometer or so more. Until it wasn't. Until it was about 5 kilometers longer. It doesn't sound that much. But as I said: the weather was glorious, which meant sun. It mightn't have been too windy, but there was wind. By the time I got back I looked like a lobster. I should have taken the hat...

Once I was in a chair and had glugged a lot of water down, the redness subsided. Turns out it was just the exercise. Today I might just take it a bit easier. Go grocery shopping. Run a hoover through the place. Make sure the place looks nice again for the parentals when they get home this afternoon. 

Sunday afternoon

When I first started the swimming for the triathlon, my main problem was my breathing. Trying to breathe in under water is apparently not good for a human being. So, I needed a bit of training. Which I had plenty of last week.

But on Sunday afternoon I made my way over to a colleague's place for some more training. One that would hopefully help me even more. And it didn't disappoint at all. She told me to try and keep my head as low as possible and I tried to do that. It actually worked. We then swam all the way to the rocks on the other side of the lake, which must be close to 200 meters away. 

I didn't do it in one go. I had to stop twice because I was swallowing mouthfuls of water, but I made it to the other side. And then we had to swim back of course. She was willing to get a boat and row over to get me, but I felt fit enough to swim. So, I swam. 

Once out of the water, we changed in proper clothes, I covered my very sunburnt arms with a towel and we had strawberries and cream and chatted and chatted. All in this lovely place, not disturbed by a single siren, car or people. 

There are many ways to spend a Sunday afternoon. This was one of the better ones!!

Summer is nearly over

Living in the country means I am getting my fair share of 'knowledge'. Yesterday I knew it was going to rain today, just by smell and today I realised that the summer is coming to a close. First you want to know how I could smell today's rain. Which is easy. 

In order for the farmers to have a good crop of grass/hay for their animals, they need to fertilize their fields. They fertilize with cow dung here and they do it the day before it will rain. Doing it while it is going to be blazing sunny and hot, will only cause chemical burning of the field, making the field useless. Yesterday several fields were fertilized which I could smell. (The fact that somebody had told me that rain was expected for today, is neither here nor there)

This morning as I looked out the window I saw a lot of swallows. I know there are quite a few swallows summering here, but this was a larger amount than usual. It was of course the youngsters trying their wings and making sure they will be strong enough for the trek south. They may not be leaving for another couple of weeks, but the sign that summer is coming to an end is there!

During the height of summer I can do without light in the middle of the night to get around my home, since it never gets completely dark. However, now I need a flashlight or I will be stumbling around like a blind person. Having a cat slinking her way around your legs while fumbling for a light switch is not good either! And before you ask: no, I can't turn the light on downstairs and turn the same light off upstairs. Which is quite a pain, but I have gotten used to it by now. When visitors are here during the winter, I will leave a light on in the stairwell, so I won't find a mangled body downstairs!

The first geese have moved south already as well. I saw a gaggle making their way south a few weeks ago, which I thought was very early and then another gaggle just last week. Yep, soon it will be autumn!!

And it continues

On Wednesday

The summer that is. The summer that has no precedent in Norway. At least not in the last 130 years. Did I ever tell you I liked the cold? And that was one of the reasons for moving North? Well, my bedroom is a balmy 20-22 degrees at night. Outside the temperatures go up to about 25-28 degrees. In other words: it is warm. It is summer. 

I spent last Wednesday in my garden. Sitting on my new garden furniture, reading books, wearing a bathing suit, getting sunburnt. The last was not wanted, but it happened nonetheless. Today we had been hoping to do something like going up a mountain while sitting on a trailer pulled by a tractor. Unfortunately we should have booked in advance. So, no luck. Instead I cycled to the supermarket for my bread and then decided to mow the lawn. 

Of course mowing the lawn means getting attacked by every flying creepy out there. Plus with the temperatures being what they are: getting thoroughly drenched. It's a good thing I am wearing so little. And then, when I was trying to cool down a bit (inside), I heard something ticking. And I realised it was raining. Well, no point in wasting good water: I went outside and stood there with my head turned to the clouds getting a small smattering of drops on me. Enough to cool me down somewhat before it stopped again. Short but very very sweet.

I will continue with the lawn today, despite the flying creepies and at some point Pepperfly and Mr Pepperfly will arrive again. And we will relax in the garden. The best way to spend a summer in Norway.

Summer

Whoever said that Norway was a cold and dark place to live, should be coming over for a visit right now. Because it's fantastic weather. At least where I live. If you were to go up to Longyearbyen (capital of Spitsbergen) it would be just above freezing. However, that is not where I live, I live a lot further south and here it is beautiful. Sun all day long, warm all day long. Heck, warm all night long as well. 

It certainly makes work a challenge at times. Keeping the bus cool and with that the driver can be a challenge. Making sure we are not overheating in the staff room. Trying to get enough fluids in us without having to run to the nearest toilet, yet still be hydrated. It's a fine line!

Fortunately, after a work weekend, I now have a couple of days off. A couple of days in which to do some work. Like the laundry. I was fast running out of dry stuff to wear. The grass will probably need cutting again, it always does. And then of course I will be picking up Pepperfly and Mr Pepperfly today. They will not be staying with me, but I hope to be able to see them on occasion. And this week, those occasions should be able to happen, since I only have to work two more days this week!

Anyway, summer in Norway. So far? Loving it!!

My life 1

Me in 1991

How do you feel about seasons? Do you enjoy one? Or two or four? Personally I like to live through four seasons in one year. Starting with winter, then spring, summer and autumn. And if I were to ever end up on the other side of the world: summer, autumn, winter and spring. I don't want to leave anything out however! Because it's the spring and autumn that make a year even better. 

In 1991 I worked for Club Med on Sicily. It should have been somewhere in Spain, but my passport needed renewing, so it became Italy instead. I didn't see much spring, because temperatures of 18+ Celsius (64+ Fahrenheit) meant summer to me! Little did I know that summer would see temperatures of well over 35C (95F) on a near daily basis. And I am sure it soared up to over 40C (104F) on several occasions. 

The water and fire show

The temperatures being so high, it meant that going swimming in the absolutely humoungous humungous humongous huge pool was only nice when the temperature of the water was a nice 33C (91F). One degree lower and it felt cold! How spoiled was I??? 

I got used to the temperatures though. Yes it was hot, but I only had to wear a bikini to work. Which meant that I got a really nice tan! All over! The only thing I really missed was the rain however. Sometimes the clouds would move in. And it would start to rain. And some of my colleagues would actually feel the rain on their head. But by the time it should have fallen on my (lower) head, it had already dissolved. 

I've got a thing for redheads and he was so cute!!
He was from Australia and so nice. 

The season lasted all the way up to October and early on in that month I got a phone call from Antwerp (my handling office). And they had a job offer for the winter season. Somewhere on an island in the Carribean! Were they mad? No thank you, I would much prefer to have a winter season! So, that's how I found myself on a TGV to Albertville only two months later. To picked up from the trainstation and taken to Tignes in the High Alps to spend a winter season in the snow!

Summer

I spent a few of my summers in countries other than my homecountry. I spent a few weeks in Belgium in my not quite youth. I can't remember it raining once. Then I spent a summer in Yugoslavia, where it rained every Tuesday it seemed. A summer on Sicily, where the only rain that fell was so-called ghost rain: you could see it fall, but it was so hot that it would evaporate before falling on our heads. And then, a few summers in England. Which wasn't as bad as people usually say it is. At least I can't remember it being so. 

I have now moved to Norway. Live in a lovely cottage in the Norwegian countryside (I might have mentioned this before). And it's summer. Summer as in summer in Norway. Nothing like the 40+ degrees we had on Sicily, or even the 30+ of Yugoslavia. Summer in Norway is 17 to 23 degrees. Day time temperatures not changing that much during the night. But just because the temperatures are summery, it doesn't mean the weather necessarily is. 

Last week we had a few glorious days. Which ended on Sunday with some heavy rainfall. Then yesterday a lot of wind. And this morning a massive thunderstorm, which actually shook the house! But inbetween the weather is nice. Sunshine, nice temperatures and racing clouds. Plus an occasional day where you can sit in the sun and enjoy summer. In Norway!!!

Baby, it's cold outside (shamelessly stolen from AC)

Well, AC used a slightly different title, but since my home is nice and warm and I have a full head of hair (although I have been told I have my father's hair, which is worrying, since he hasn't got all that much left) and it's very cold outside (Breathe!), I thought I would show you some lovely photos of me. In a bathing suit. To show that it could be done. At some point. Waaaay in the past...

Right, not the most flattering of photos of myself and I look decidedly white, but I promised bathing suit in summer so you're getting bathing suit in summer! Taken in the summer of 1994 while living in England (hence the milkbottle legs probably).

What can I say? I was in a funny mood! Malta 1999. Red hair in pig tails in a knot, snorkel, awful bathing suit and a gorgeous lagoon. Nothing more to ask for...

Thin, tanned and did I mention thin? This was taken at the end of the summer in Club Med Kamarina in 1991. And if you're wondering about the hands holding my knees: I was on top of a pyramid!

And the photo at the top was taken in 1987, while on holiday somewhere in Austria or Germany I guess. Not quite sure. It might have been somewhere else. No it can't. It was either Austria or Germany. Yes.

Funny feeling

Sunset in Hörsten, Germany

That's what I have. A funny feeling. A funny feeling that summer is over. I should have known with the sniffles a few weeks ago. And of course the amount of rain causing soppy socks last week was also a big omen. Yesterday I put my sweater on for the first time in months and last night I put an extra blanket on my bed.

I like the autumn. Really I do. It means a stop to the unbearable heat of summer, beautiful autumn colours and fresh winds. It means thick socks (dry if you please), sweaters, extra blankets, hot chocolate with marshmellows and Christmas around the corner. But it also means rain, wind, cold and difficulty to get up in the morning.

*Sigh*

The melting pot

Remember that snow we had at the beginning of this year? That snow that brought out the inner child in me? That made me make a brilliant snowman? Which stood until March by the way. Before it finally melted down and disappeared into the earth.

Well, I feel like that snowman right now. Not the January one mind, the March one. Melting and disappearing into the earth. Or the couch. And even the rain doesn't cool anything down.

Mind you, this might be the perfect weight loss program!

As promised

While I worked for Club Med on Sicily during the summer of 1992, this was my uniform. A bikini and flip-flops! Most of my colleagues within the mini-club wore shorts and t-shirts, but since the temperatures regularly rose to over 35 degrees Celsius and I was out and about with small children all day, this was my option. And the big boss never complained, even though he had a slight preference for short and chubby (I'm neither short nor (in this photo at least) chubby).

That summer saw me grow up fast. When I arrived I spoke hardly a word of French and was quite happy to share my room with a German girl. After a while the children started arriving and my French improved a great deal because I had to use it every day. In June I was asked by my boss to become the head-honcho for the Shoopy Club. From then on I had to deal with complaints, programs and shows regarding the 4 and 5 year old children. I loved it. There were three of us constantly at the Shoopy Club: me, the Italian Monica and the German Jochen. We had so much fun together and I unfortunately lost touch with both of them quite soon after leaving.

As I said I also had to deal with the shows. Every week there would be a Mini-Club show held in the big top (circustent) and the children had to perform between one and three small acts. And as long as I was told how to teach those acts I was okay. As soon as I had to think of them myself, I was rubbish, resulting on one occasion to being cussed out and yelled at in front of about 20 colleagues and over 100 children! I roared back and from then on, I was never spoken to like that ever again. Tell me in private or don't tell me at all!!

At the end of the summer I left: very thin (I was probably a bit underweight as you can see in the photo), very tanned and very grown-up compared to when I arrived. It was a good summer and I do sometimes miss it quite bad: the camaraderie and togetherness of everyone being in the same boat, singing REM songs at midnight while eating spaghetti with a teaspoon and despite being constantly tired, the amount of fun we had.