A Roll in the Universe

Ever so briefly, I stuck my nose out of doors today. Right after I blew it. Maybe I should be sick more often (NO! I didn't say that!) because my experiences on the bus today were rather sweet. Going to town, I was lost in a metaphysical magazine for a while, and when I put it aside and instead watched the other passengers, I noticed a lot of nicely dressed, rather active-looking elderly women. They weren't together, just a miscellaneous bunch of other humans I happened to see. They got my attention because they were dressed youthfully (wearing today's type of trainers will do that), they had nice hair, that although white was cared for and stylishly cut, they moved with energy, they wore nice make-up. It was like my focus was on anything that I could compliment - which isn't a bad way to go through a Saturday. I actually felt a bit stoned. Yay head cold! My nose cooperated for my visit to my hair dresser's, and the weather was beautifully mild and somewhat sunn...

Exchange text messages (and cyberhugs) with a sick friend Call boss and feel terrible about the work I'm not there to do Make myself pancakes Doze off to the radio Take extra vitamin C Don favorite lounging outfit and curl up in sofa Watch daytime TV (nothing much missed there) Reorganize DVD shelf Watch a Marx Brothers DVD (and wish for an entire DVD with just Harpo playing the harp) Solve a lot of sudoku puzzles Keep reading "Harmonic Wealth" and making an intention list Feel fever come and go Be grateful there's enough food in the house to make tasty, healthy meals Make said tasty, healthy meals Stay curled up in sofa …when not at computer Read about how cows always orient themselves to magnetic north Get phone call from boss saying work I wasn't there to do got done (which means if I'm still sick tomorrow, I can stay home without worry) Book a trip for September because colds don't last forever Catch up on recorded TV-shows (and ma...

Traditional wool dying Viking-inspired woodcarving Yours truly (see, I really was there!) Wordless Wednesday

Well, being home sick's OK, but it does rob me of opportunities to get something to write about. I have discovered that I miss the daily blogging (will try to fix that). At any rate, I felt well enough to go to work (after spending the night intermittently waking up to cough). On my way to work, I ran into a neighbor who was going the wrong way: Away from the bus stop. I greeted him good morning, then asked him if it was, since he looked like he'd forgotten something - why else be headed for home? Turns out I'm not the only sick one. After wishing each other a speedy recovery, we exchanged hugs and he planted a kiss on my cheek. In spite of that risk of germ warfare, I found myself grinning for quite a while afterwards. At work, everyone was happy to see me, as evidenced by all the teasing about how I caught my cold ("Been caught with your pants down, eh?"). At lunch I discovered what was on the employee cafeteria dinner menu for today: Meatballs with creamed ...

Sharp eyes (and maybe even some bleary ones) will notice that the blog template has been altered again. Nothing dramatic, but I was a bit frustrated with the layout of the sidebar and its spacing in Firefox. Instead of tweaking that, I just grabbed another template. I've also put my blog roll back. And, after being envious of Paula 's label cloud, I hunted down a recipe at phy3blog's and managed to get my own. I also want to get back to daily blogging, but something interesting has to happen first. Well, that is to say, interesting things do happen, but I haven't really thought of publishing them on this blog. But maybe it's time for Budding Yogini to come on over and roll in the universe here. (If you have an opinion, do chime in!) In other news: I have a sore throat. So I'll be spending this weekend in self-pampering mode and drinking herb teas and warm water with apple cider vinegar and honey. And watching the DVDs I just borrowed from a friend.

I do not pay much attention to sports. That includes the Olympic Games. I don't pay attention to them, either. I did have my fingers crossed for a local boy, who went and won a silver medal in the men's 100 m breaststroke. But earlier this week, I woke to my local radio station broadcasting the women's handball match between Norway and Sweden and it turned out to be a good way to start the day. So I started paying attention. Yesterday at work, during our afternoon coffe break, we monitored the women's semi-finale between Norway and South Korea, and it turned out to be one of the most exciting ends to a match, ever. Did Norway or did it not get that 29th goal and beat South Korea? I kept bouncing up and down out of my seat to check the computer screen for updates, constantly cheering the Norwegians on. My boss determined that I had finally converted, i.e. no longer an American. "I've lived here too long to know who does what over there," was my reply. Whi...

We left Ålesund, ready for a long day on the road. First we past by the tourist magnet Geirangerfjord , that is to say, the entry end of it (Hellesylt), not the fantastic inner end that is usually featured on postcards. Not long after we past Hellesylt, we entered the county of Sogn og Fjordane, which is broken up by several fjords. The "Fjordane" (Fjords) part consists of Nordfjord and Sunnfjord (North Fjord and South Fjord) which are made up of several fjords each. The landscape is especially dramatic in Nordfjord, with Stryn, a popular ski resort area, at the heart of the area. Other tourist attractions, like the Briksdal glacier which was a favorite of mine when I was a child, lie along this stretch, like a string of pearls. But you have to drive on a road like this: After having seen some roads first-hand, I came home to a series in the local newspaper about the road standard in Norway. The headline under the photo above reads, "This is a major highway i...

Wordless Wednesday This incredibly lifelike statue is in Ålesund

Stolen off of Paula's plate . 1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions. 2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten. 3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating. 4) Optional extra: Post a comment at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results. 1. Venison Reindeer, mmm good! 2. Nettle tea Overrated. Like drinking grass. 3. Huevos rancheros If I'm gonna have eggs, this is a good way to have 'em! 4. Steak tartare Another one of those overrated things. 5. Crocodile 6. Black pudding Yes, Paula, this is made from blood (sheep's blood) and it is bloody good. 7. Cheese fondue Oh, god, yes! 8. Carp 9. Borscht Didn't impress me. 10. Baba ghanoush 11. Calamari Not bad. 12. Pho (Thanks for looking this up, Paula!) 13. PB&J sandwich They'd better have these in heaven! 14. Aloo gobi (like Paula, I'm not into curry, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't try this dish) 15. Hot dog from a stree...

We arrived in Ålesund a little after 4 pm, and drove up the hill on charming cobblestone streets to our hotel. Skome of my fellow travelers had been in Ålesund before and suggested we walk up to Aksla ("the shoulder") before dinner and a shower because it would make us sweat. So we panted, heaved and sweated up 418 crooked steps, to the look-out point and restaurant for cooling beers and ice cream. What can I say? Any view over a typical Norwegian coastline is going to be gorgeous. What struck me were the gray roofs. In Bergen, they are red. After a shower and dinner, we wandered around the small city center. What Ålesund is best know for (besides getting more rain than Bergen), is the fire that totally destroyed the city in 1904 - and then the rebuilding of the city in fireproof art nouveau brick and stone. Wandering around the city was like being in a Disney movie about Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty. The gray building with the green spi...

The clerk was already ringing up my groceries when I realized I had no wallet. No cash, no debit card, no credit card. I was asking if the stuff could sit and wait for me, for 20 minutes, because that's how long it takes me to get home and back. Suddenly, a co-worker who happened to be a couple of people behind me in line, stepped up and offered to pay for my groceries. It was NOK 720, no small amount, because it was some major weekend shopping, but she whipped out her wallet and paid for it all in cash. My angel. Tomorrow she gets her 720 back - and that hug I meant to give her today.

Wordless Wednesday Me and my camera's lens cap picking blueberries by the Atlantic Highway

It is Day 4 of my trip to (and from) Trondheim, and we set off in a westerly direction. Our destination is what Norwegians call the north-west coast. Let me give you a regional geography lesson by stealing a picture from Wikipedia: First of all, most of Norway is "west coast", but we don't call all that coast "west coast". Our long coastline has regional names, usually based on historical use. Since a lot of today's Norway was not part of historical Norway (i.e. the part the viking kings fought over), there is no "west coast" north of Trondheim. The west coast of Norway is, by definition, the coasts of the counties of Rogaland, Hordaland (my home county), Sogn og Fjordane, and Møre og Romsdal (yes, two counties have double names). (These counties are 11, 12, 14 and 15, respectively, on the map; my trip also included counties 5, 16 and 17.) So, we are on our way to the county of Møre og Romsdal, specifically to the part called Romsdal first...

OK, it was back to work today. Not a bad experience. (Heh.) But I do see that I need routines, and work - that is getting up and going to it - is one of them. I could spend all day in bed with a book if there was no reason to leave the house. Not a good habit. And staying in bed as long as possible is what I tend to do even when it's a workday. So, today was my first stab at a change in morning routine, which includes getting up to listen to radio in kitchen while I eat rather than stay in bed listening for a bit before rising, which just makes me late(r) for work. And with any new habit, it has to be kept at for at least three weeks in order to actually become a habit. For that reason, I cannot sit at the computer any more this evening, so meatier stuff will have to wait till tomorrow.

My vacation is over. Tomorrow I go back to work. That's going to be a challenge after all these lazy days. I do have a bit of vacation left to blog about, though, and that rather extends it. Nice! Summer feels like it's ending, too. The heat left and rain moved in last week, with cooler nights. But sometimes summer still shows up, like Friday evening in Bergen. It was a glorious evening in spite of a north wind trying to pester us a bit. I snapped the fountain in our octagonal city pond as I was going home from a Meat Loaf concert. I went to the concert on impulse, and got a back row seat, but that was fine. As usual, a crowded ladies' room provided its own entertainment, like this exchange: *panicked knocking on a stall door* "Did I leave a beer in there?" "Yeah." She may have forgotten her beer, but she remembered which stall she used. Not bad.

Before I leave Trondheim, I want to share some more photos of the Nidaros Cathedral (Nidarosdomen) with you. The main entrance to the cathedral in the daytime was a door in the north wall. This is where we entered for sightseeing and vespers. A rather cute (and snake-like) dragon over our entrance. The dragon was typical of romanesque decor. Next to the main north entrance was another entry, with some fancy detailing of its own. Sharp eyes may notice that there are two building styles going on here: Romanesque , with rounded doorways and windows, on the east end (left on photo), and newer gothic details with pointed windows and doorways as we move west. This is because the cathedral was built in stages and adapted whatever was the fashion during construction. Above the doorways on the north wall were some creative water spouts. Another water spout. And isn't that copper roof gorgeous? I ignored our local guide and instead ran up to the top of the bleacher...

My story continues. In case you're a little bit confused by the timeline, Day 1 was en route from Bergen to Dombås, and days 2 and 3 were in Trondheim. So what follows is from day 2, and is what we did between our lunch time and evening time visit to the sunny side of Nid. We arrived in Trondheim a little after noon, which meant our rooms weren't ready. We stored our luggage and, after foraging for maps and having some local brochure thrust at us by our guide, we set off to explore the city. As we sat with some cold drinks on the floating restaurant in the river (we just had to have the experience, even if they had no food we liked), we started looking more closely at our map and the brochure. The brochure turned out to be the complete schedule for all musical events in Trondheim that week in connection with "Olavsdagene". So we timed our sightseeing according to when various musical events would be happening. So first we found a place to have lunch, and we ende...

The get up and go got up and went (the fire went out, in other words), so today you guys get these: Your Element Is Earth You excel at planning and strategizing. You could be a champ at chess or Survivor. Well grounded, you are able to be realistic and rationalize. On the inside, you have a hard core. It's tough to phase you. You are super productive, and you are able to think anything through. Focused and super charged, your instincts are a good guide for your next step. What's Your Element? I do have a lot of Earth in my astrological chart. You Are Wind Strong and overpowering A force to be reckoned with, no one dares cross you You have the power to change everything around you You are best known for: your wrath Your dominant state: commanding What Type of Weather Are You? My favorite weather? Windy days! Especially with clear skies and a bit of crispness to the air.