The Goat

Yet to do...

I live in a house in the Norwegian countryside. Beautifully located, with views over fields and the sea. But I also have a garden. A big garden. Now, you may remember that when I lived in the Netherlands, I also had a garden. A small garden. Which was too much for me! Well, that's not really true, it was plenty small enough, it was just that I don't like gardening. 

So, when I told people about my new house with the big garden, for some reason everybody told me to get a goat. Not a sheep (although cutting the fence was mentioned once or twice), not a cow, a goat! In Norway I have a colleague who thought it was the perfect solution. In the Netherlands an old colleague came up with the same idea. Then my mother (who should know better by the way) and a friend. All with the same idea: a goat!

Goats bleat (I think, they might make a different noise). They eat everything, including the stuff you don't want eaten, like sprouts and strawberries (which by the way I don't grow). They poop. They climb stuff which means I have to goat proof the whole area. I DON'T WANT A GOAT!!

Done (well, the strimming part anyway)

I bought a lawn mower instead. And a strimmer as well (for the mountain). But the grass is so high, I need to strim the lawn first and get it down to a lawnmowable lenght first. I've done one third right now. It took me nearly three hours and my hands and arms are aching. 

I am reconsidering not wanting a goat!!

(PS: I don't know why goats make me think of Ginny Marie. Perhaps she can shed some light?)

'Wheels'

On May 17th there were a lot of different groups going past us in one of the three parades. The second parade especially was filled with clubs and teams and stuff and one of the clubs was a motor club. The rider in the photo was just coming down on two wheels again, after having done some little stunt or other. 

This is my 56th entry for Photo Theme for Thursday. Why not join?

Groceries

I've never been one for the Monday blues. Especially if I'm on holiday and have the whole week to myself. But yesterday was different. Yes, I still have the whole week to myself, but for some reason my body had decided to throw a spanner in the works. Presenting me with.... (drumroll) a headache. Which I certainly don't want to have while on holiday!!

Not that it stopped me from getting what I needed: groceries. As stated in yesterday's post, the food I can get in my home country the Netherlands is different than the food I can get in my new home country Norway.  Especially when it comes to bread and more specifically the things you put on your bread. Norway is a haven for jams and they have chocolate paste and peanut butter and stuff like that. But nothing beats 'hagelslag' in all sorts, shapes and sizes. 

Of course you now wonder what 'hagelslag' is exactly. Well, it's like the hundreds and thousands you can get in the UK to use for cake decoration. But where it costs an arm and a leg over there, over here in the Netherlands it's really cheap. There are several versions now: the ordinary chocolate sprinkles (the hagelslag) in white, milk or pure chocolate, chocolate flakes (vlokken), fruity sprinkles (and I discovered a new one: strawberry raspberry sprinkles) or aniseed sprinkles/powder/mice. The last one is used whenever a child is born. The white/pink one for a girl and the white/blue one for a boy. Basically it's the whole aniseed coated in sugar. Very often the tail is still visible, hence mice. 

Something else that's difficult to find is Dutch syrup waffles. Monique over in Canada has it easy: she makes her own, but I am not that lucky and I depend on the supermarket shelves in the Netherlands. Which I cleared of this particular brand of 'stroopwafels'. Which are my all time favourite. I did get some other biscuit/cookies as well though (see photo).

Besides all this I got liquid syrup in a squeeze bottle, aniseed blocks (lovely in hot milk on a cold night) and some other things that are typically Dutch or very hard to find elsewhere. I won't be taking everything with me now (apart from the stroopwafels), but my parents are due to come in a month's time and they will take that and what I will be writing on my grocery list regarding potted vegetables. 

Now I just hope I won't be stopped by Norwegian customs!!!

Food, glorious food!

Having grown up in the Netherlands with Dutch food all around me, it's very strange to move to a different country and finding out that they don't have the same types of food there! Yes, I can find potatoes and salad and stuff, but other food may be a bit more difficult to find. If not impossible. 

Kroketten with a little mustard on white bread. Mmmmm

So, my first port of call on Friday was a snack-bar as we call them. Nothing to do with a bar, everything to do with snacks. The fried version that is. Like fries and frikandellen (see photos on Saturday). Yum! On Saturday my sister and I went shopping. She needed something, I needed something, so we had decided to hit the town. But we did need some fortification before we would strike out and we ended up in a small lunch-room. Basically a small restaurant where they do lunch service only. There were only a few choices for us of course and in the end we both settled on 'kroketten op brood'. 

Then yesterday we had our family day, great fun, good laughs, some cheating and of course food. Like soup and rolls for lunch. Like the 'oranjekoek' (orange cake that is not orange) with our morning coffee. Like the salt sticks and crisps and nuts with our pre-lunch drinks. 

And a yummy desert at the Greek restaurant

I still have today and tomorrow to get my fix of Dutch food. And in my suitcase will be quite a collection of Dutch goodies as well. Like stroopwafels and custard powder. The shopping list for my parents is getting longer and longer by the minute as well; they will be visiting in June and will arrive by car! Plenty of space...

Photo on Sunday 2013-10

It was difficult. It was hard. It was the best decision I could have taken. Because I've decided he's not coming with me to Norway. Mr Pepperfly and Peppermaggot are overjoyed! They had already been plotting several things: like changing the locks, moving, bolting the door, hiding him. In the end there was no need. I made the decision on my own. 

There are several reasons for my decision. First of all is his age. He is 15, which is older than most outside cats ever see. Second (and related to his age): do I really want to uproot him again. And to a home with no other playmates and no other humans beside me. And third: did I want to get him because I wanted to give him a better life, or just because I wanted him with me? And the answer was I wanted him with me. 

He has a great life. He has a playmate called Mickey, another called Linette and three humans who love him to bits and were not pleased about loosing him (hence the plotting against me). He can go outside and watch the bunnies. He can come inside after only 10 minutes. He gets to sleep in a bed and basically: he's happy. 

So, I will be going home again cat-less and a little sorry. But in the knowledge I have done the best thing. 

Day 2

The first call of course: frikandel speciaal and...

Being on holiday is great fun. Especially if you have the use of one white little car that can whizz you anywhere in no time flat. Well, it takes a bit longer than that, but still. It's nice to have a car. 

Yesterday I used said little white car to whizz to my old hometown of Emmeloord. I needed to close some bank accounts and I wanted to pay a visit to my old hairdresser. Well, the bank accounts were closed and the visit was paid. But even though I wanted to have my hair cut and dyed there, it turned out that through some fault which was entirely my own, I didn't have enough money in my bank account and couldn't pay for it. I went back home.

patatje met.

After having sorted the bank account I finally made it to a Dutch (and therefore cheaper) hairdresser and had my hair cut and dyed. It looks great again and I am very happy with the colour. Photos to follow soon. 

Later that evening I had a small party with my former colleagues. I had instigated it and it was great fun. I arrived last and left first, but then again, I was the only one who had nearly 45 minutes drive to get home! All the others live quite local and in the case of one: was home!

It was great to see them again though. The old stories came out again, we talked about what everybody was up to, what I was up to and it was good fun. There was good drink and good food and I enjoyed the evening very much. I don't know when I will see them again, because I am not planning on returning to the Netherlands after this stay for quite a while. 

Anyway, that was day 2 of my holiday. Today my sister (who arrived yesterday from Outlandia) and I will go shopping. Get the stuff that is unobtainable or very expensive in either Northern Ireland or Norway. Do some window shopping as well. And then tonight a dinner with Pepperfly and C and of course my sister and me. 

Forget Jennifer Aniston, this year it's scarecrow!

Bring it on...

So...

A first class traveller

So indeed. After five days off, I had to work yesterday. An evening shift finishing at 1am in the morning. It was long, it was boring, it was late. And it became even later, since one colleague wanted to talk to me. Plus I had to pay in my earnings. So by the time I finally made it home, it was nearly 2am. 

I still had to sort of pack and I had to do the dishes. By the time I had done everything I had needed to do, it was almost 3.30am. I went to bed. My alarm went off again at 5.15am. I never heard it. Fortunately it went off again 10 minutes later. I still didn't hear it. Ten minutes later I finally heard it. I slumbered for a further ten minutes before I finally got out of bed. Two hours after I had gotten in. 

View over the Oostvaardersplassen National Park

But it was a special day today: I was going back to the Netherlands. Only for a one-week stay with family. Because it's family day again. Every few years a family day is organised. Basically so we won't loose touch with each other. It's always great fun. And since I would be in the Netherlands anyway, I thought it would be nice to meet up with my former colleagues as well. So, a week back in Dutch speaking country. 

A quarter past six I took the bus to the busstation in Haugesund. Where I took another bus to another busstation: this time in Stavanger. There I took yet another bus, this time to the airport. After that it was a plane to Amsterdam, a train to my friend Pepperfly and I drove her car home to my parents. 

It's all flat!!!

I've had dinner (with ice-cream for afters) and right now I am quite awake again. Later on however, I will probably collapse. But I am looking forward to this stay here in the Netherlands. 

Now you know!

'Weather'

Last Friday was the national holiday here in Norway. The day they celebrate the first constitution written for Norway back in the early 19th century. And where other countries celebrate in jeans and t-shirts, over here they do it in their finest. And a bit of rain? That won't stop them one bit!

The photos show the high street of Haugesund. Normally filled with shoppers. And on May 17th it was heaving! I had never so many people there before. The rain didn't stop them, umbrellas and rain gear galore. But then the heavens opened for real and most tried to get undercover. And for a moment the street looked like it normally does on a good dry day. As soon as the rain slacked off again, folk came back though and it was a massive throng of people again. 

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Eurovision 2013

Ever since 2004 (since semi-finals started), the Netherlands have done awful at Eurovision. And for the last few years one very popular Dutch singer had said that she would like to be the one to sing at Eurovision, convinced that she could make it to the final. This year (after several awful entries), she finally got her chance and she had to put her money where her mouth was. Which she did...

She made it to the final. And then performed her song in the final and she was good. No frills, no sparkles, just her and her song. No, Anouk didn't win. Nor did she come in second or third place. But from the start she was on the left hand side of the result board (the best place to be) and she finished in a very nice 9th place. I am very proud and I am happy that my two votes helped her to that spot.

My favourite didn't get to the top either, but also ended up in the higher regions of the result board. It was Hungary's ByeAlex with Kedvesem (a lovely lovesong). One of many songs this year that was not in English but in the language of the country they came from. Anyway, Hungary ended up just below Anouk in 10th place.

This year we missed out on Russian grannies baking cookies, unicycles with clowns and sand artists. However, there was a guy in a glass box mirroring everything the singer did, apart from sing. There were two different countries sending people who were raised in the air wearing ginormous dresses (one of which a classically trained male opera singer), there was a bride from Finland, free alcohol from Greece and a singing doctor from Malta. Oh, and something that looked like giant condoms hanging from the ceiling!

And of course there was the winner. This year it was the Danish entry that came out on top. She had been favourite for a long time, but you can never tell until the results are actually in. It's like politics. Or a chicken coop with a lot of eggs. It was a bit run of the mill if you ask me, and I certainly didn't spend any money voting for it. But the rest of Europe did.

Of course after the contest there is always a lot of bickering about the voting. About how English always wins and other languages end up really low. Well, the English entry ended up really low (Bonnie Tyler ended 19th), as did Ireland (26th and last of the final) and Greece (Greek) and Hungary (Hungarian) ended up in places 6 and 10. Perhaps the countries complaining about it, should just send a better song.

Also there are always a lot of comments about how one country will vote for its neighbours. That is true. To a degree. Because if it was completely true, it would be a tie nearly every time and it never is. Plus, if you live in Sweden, chances are, you have already heard the Norwegian and Danish entries. Making it familiar. And when it's familiar it's easier to vote for! Then again, there was only one country out of 39 that didn't give any points to Denmark and that was the principality of San Marino (in Italy). Besides, I know for a fact that Denmark doesn't have 37 neighbours...

By the way: the Norwegian entry was the best beside the podium: they came in fourth! So, a good night all around!

My new home...

A house with a view

Now, even though I love living in the country, I have always lived in a town or village. I've always lived in a place with indoor plumbing. Houses made of brick and/or concrete. And then I moved...

A small house in the country side. Uninterupted views towards the sea, the occasional cruiser or ferry going past in the distance or even a plane landing or taking off. My nearest neighbours are sheep and gulls. The nearest people are over 50 meters away, meaning I can play my music as loud as I want. I have a basement which could also be described as a spiders' nursery. I have a sloping floor in the kitchen and living room, meaning my fridge is tilting backwards and my tv is tilting sideways. 

My toilet

My bedroom is big enough to hold my large bed and my side boards and once I get it up here, my dresser. But I can also lay my hand flat on the ceiling with my arm bent and my feet flat on the floor. I have a walk-in closet, but I can only walk in for about 10 centimeters before I bang my head. The small bedroom is small. I can go a bit further in before banging my head, but still. I do have plenty of closet and storage space up there though. Although it might also be a haven for spiders, I have yet to find out. 

The kitchen is big enough for me to cook food in (like pizza and apple pie) and I have a view over my own little mountain. And then there's the bathroom. A washing machine, a sink, a shower and a toilet. Sorry, I should have said: a washing machine, a sink, a shower and two toilets. Yes, two as in double as in more than one! It shouldn't be two, there should only be one and for the first week there was. 

And then... trouble. I could flush, but it wasn't going anywhere. It was clogged. I tried some chemicals: no luck. I tried some weird looking metal contraption: no luck. Well apart from scratching the bowl itself. And then when I had friends over last night (it was Eurovision night), they couldn't use the toilet and if they did, they couldn't flush. The one male used the chicken coop. And he used a little stick to unclog the toilet a bit. 

My spare mobile toilet!

So, now I have a camping toilet in my bathroom. Until Tuesday. When they will come and empty the sceptic tank. After that I have to occasionally take a looksie into said sceptic tank. To make sure I won't have to use my second toilet again...