Miss Oswin pros and cons the new place

Miaow

It has been too long since the MBC in the WWU had a say here, so I plan to rectify it immediately. And I will tell you all about the new house. Or apartment as Mara calls it. 

First I will list the pros. There aren't that many of them to be honest. In fact, I can hardly think of a single thing that is better here than in our little house. Oh wait, when I look out the window there are more people to look at. Well, sometimes anyway. 

Now for the cons. The first one is that I am not allowed to go out. Mara says it's because of the traffic, but there was traffic back home as well and I was alright! Not going out means I cannot chase mice. Or birds. Or go running around in the nice green grass. Or climb trees. Or go visit the sheep and the cows. See how many negative things there are? And I am not finished yet either.

Not only am I not allowed to go out, I am not even allowed to go upstairs. Because there are other people living there! Don't they know I am the MBC in the WWU? An asset to every single household! Those people living upstairs make noises as well! They walk and move and when I first came to live here, I was very scared of that. But Mara told me I had to get used to that. Which I did, but I still don't like it very much. 

Another con is the view. It's not very nice. Not very nice at all. I want to see more than a single tree I can't touch. And grass. And animals. But here there are houses and apartments and people and cars and a lot more other stuff. Plus the sounds. There is always a sound. From the sirens of ambulances and police cars to the normal cars driving past to people moving upstairs to everything. It Is Never Quiet!!

The last big con is this: Mara isn't even looking to find another house for ourselves! How can that be? Does she want to live here?? Does she not know how a cat, especially the Most Beautiful Cat in the Whole Wide Universe needs space and open air and mice and such? I will just have to ruin her chairs a bit more so she will understand a tree is better to sharpen my nails on than any chair can ever be!

Help me readers! Help me get out of this place!!

Photo on Sunday 2016-25

It's been way too long since I posted a photo of Miss Oswin, so here it is. Oh, and next week, she will have something to say for herself as well!

Remember...

When I was 12, the world was about to end. It was 1983 and talk of nuclear weapons, nuclear attacks and the world ending were daily occurrences. Radio, television, newspapers. You couldn't get away from it. And when they started haunting my dreams it was made very real.

The plane that flew over, the bomb that dropped. It was terrifying and my last week at my old school (we were about to move to a new town and that probably had a lot to do with it as well) was not good to say the least. Nor were the first few weeks at the new school for that matter. The fear I had felt and that had kept me from sleeping and eating was now replaced by something else. Something else that kept me from sleeping and eating. A boy called Willem. He was nice. He was the first boy I fell in love with. And I was terrified yet again. Because if the result of being afraid and being in love was the same: not sleeping, not eating, fretting all the time, I hated it!

The bomb was never dropped, causing a nuclear holocaust. The Dutch dykes never broke, causing a flooded country. The end of the eighties and the beginning of the nineties saw some positive signs in the world. The wall was torn down, uniting a country that had been separated since World War II (Germany in case you need a reminder). For the first time ever in its history, all citizens over 18, regardless of colour were allowed to vote (South Africa). The world was on the way up!

And then somehow it got ruined. Over the past 20 years it seems as everybody tries to outdo each other. A will bomb B, B will flatten A. C gets in the mix wanting a piece of the action. And after a while, all the other letters of the alphabet (including Æ, Ø and Å) join in. Because they can, because they feel threatened, because of whatever. Millions on the run, hunger, devastation, violence. Lost children, lost parents, lost everything. 

And that 12-year old? Sitting in her room right now? Fearing another idiot with a gun/bomb/lorry/suitcase? Invading her dreams and turning them into nightmares? Let's just hope that soon she dreams of the normal stuff again. Horses, flying bikes, butterflies. And boys (or girls)! 

Klauv

Do you know I never had tasted blueberries before I moved to Norway? In fact, I can't even recall seeing them in the supermarket back in the Netherlands. But, once I moved here, I have eaten lots of them. Mostly foreign (from Poland and such), but on the weekend I had Norwegian ones. Picked by yours truly on my way to that mountain top. 

And then today I went blueberry picking. Together with a new hiking partner, who almost flew up the mountain. I was quite jealous, but then again, she had four legs and I only have two. Lotta (as this little dog was called) took her owner along and the three of us made our way up the highest mountain in Haugesund, a staggering 246 meters above sea level (Valhest was 313). 

That's Valhest in the distance

Along the way there was mud, more mud and even more mud. And blueberries. So many blueberries. Fortunately I didn't have to handpick them, my friend had a gizmo for that. I managed to get to the top with my blueberries and I managed to hold on to them on the way down as well. 

Mmmm, blueberries with vanilla sauce for dinne dessert tonight.

Photo on Sunday 2016-24

On the way to Valhest yesterday, I saw some wildlife. This frog...

And this caterpillar. 

Valhest

At the top

Living where I live, means living close to a lot of beautiful nature. The sea on one side with several islands (I really need to visit them some day) and mountains on the other side. And for about three weeks I had been wanting to do a hike to a mountain top called Valhest. Weather, other training and work got in the way, but today was the day.

Yep, I fell. Into the mud. As if I hadn't been dirty enough already.

First I had to pick up two friends and then we drove to the parking place close to where the trail started. The first bit was quite easy: downhill on a gravel path and then a bit of tarmac. But once that was finished, we were in for it. Grass, swampy bits, stones, rocks, rivers (albeit small ones) and of course the mountains. 

Part of the view. The North Sea in the distance.

Since none of us had ever been there, we didn't really know what we were in for! We didn't know we would have to go up a nasty, steep, rocky, swampy (yes, all at once) path. We didn't know that once we had crossed that, we were still only halfway! We didn't know that we had to cross a mountain ridge, go down a bit and then up another ridge. We didn't know the treat in store when we finally made it to the top! 

It. Was. HEAVY!!!

Of course, once we got up there, we would need to get down again as well. Which sounds easy (you're going down), but can actually be equally tricky. Having to take care where to place your feet, so you won't go knee deep into the swampy bits. Or slide down into the mud (yes, I did). 

Bush, hand, mouth. It was that easy.

We started around 10.30am, we were back at the car around 4.30pm. What with breaks, me wheezing (not whistling anymore though) and us having to take a break every now and then to eat blueberries, take photos or just enjoy the scenery, I think it was a great day. Plus a great work-out as well of course.

Vanessa

Apparently a singer, Dutch Vanessa was more known for her... ahem... large boobs. And a few weeks ago I sent a photo of myself while getting my wet suit on to my friend Pepperfly. Who immediately realised the Vanessa content of said photo. 

I don't know how big her boobs actually were, but I do know about mine. I always felt they were in proportion to the rest of my body, and as I grew in size, so did they. But as I have begun this training thing, they did bother me somewhat. Running is not nice when you have two personal lifebuoys jumping up and down in your face I can tell you! I needed help.

Fortunately this internet thingy is perfect for getting help and soon I had a nice sports bra on its way. Would it fit? Would it help? Would it do the trick? Well...

Since I don't really run yet, I couldn't try it there. But I do cycle and every time I did go cycling, I ended up with a headache (lasting several days). I tried to keep my shoulders relaxed, I tried the shock absorber, I tried the sports bra. 

Guess which one works!

A new week

They were fit! (yes, in more than one way)

Last Sunday was a bit of an eye-opener for me. For starters, did you know how many good looking cute guys do those Iron Man competitions? And all those different styles of running? Plus all those people who just. want. to. finish!! 

And I stood there all day, handing back their personal belongings. Congratulating them on their achievement. In Norwegian, English, French, German, Dutch. They thanked me for volunteering. They thought it was so good to not having to look for their bag because it was already in their hands. 

I realised that I had been a bit slack. Yes, of course I had the excuses of ear infection and headache, but still, I could have walked! So, I decided that a real effort was needed now. No more dilly-dallying. No more excuses. No more tv instead of the gym. 

This definitely beats the gym

Today I was planning on swimming, but my colleague couldn't make it at the time I could make it. I thought about cycling, but then I saw my friend at work. How about a trip around Visnes? Oh yes please was the answer. 

Which is what we did. To prepare me for my triathlon in August. Fast pace from the get-go, slowing down a bit afterwards, but never stopping, no breaks, no 'I have to catch my breath now'. 

Photo on Sunday 2016-23

The personal belongings of the athletes participating in the Haugesund Iron Man. Nearly 1700 bags. It took close to two hours to sort them and hang them up in numerical order. We were about 20 doing this!

Every athlete that completed the Iron Man (and wasn't disqualified) got a medal. 

The winner: Norwegian Gustav Iden. He completed the course in just under 3h45m. 

Well...

The cake for the not special occasion: a 'vlaai'.
Not my favourite!

The things that happened this week. I went to a 'volunteer for Iron Man' meeting (I will be part of the finish line crew), I suffered yet once again from a four day headache (thanks to last Sunday's cycling trip), I baked two cakes (one for a special occasion) and I celebrated turning 45 (the special occasion).

Oh yes, I had a birthday. Which started by oversleeping, but then I found out I hadn't and had a shorter shift than expected as well. In turn that meant I had more time to get the apple pie done. I found the recipe I used the very first time, but found the amounts of flour were not that good, so had to add. And then of course they talk about a handful of raisins. Whose hand? So, I used about four of mine. Could have been five. The same with the cinnamon, which I love. But only a tea spoon of it? Not nearly enough, so I just shook that little thingy and then shook it some more. 

Well, if I am not using my training gear....

The cake was appreciated by colleagues and landlord and friends and most was eaten after the last ones left. I froze the remainder for a rainy day. The strawberries and vanilla sauce were all gone though. 

I got some lovely gifts as well. Some financial aid towards a gps/speed tracker for bike and such; how to knit mittens; a crocheting booklet with yarn; a lovely plant and "chocolates" (in the form of nectarines). And then I finally got my act together and started struggling with Amazon to get me a Kindle. For some dumb reason I can't get one in the UK, so had to buy it in the USA. It is (as I write this) on its way from Louisville, Kentucky, USA!

So, that was my week.