Posts Tagged Home
A good start
For once I was home the whole month of January (apart from a quick visit to London). It’s been nice, but the weather was so-so for my taste – very, very cold. Once again I confirmed that I’m not made for Nordic winters.
Being home it’s been quite interesting to follow the changes in the river running past the house. One evening it was just amazing to listen to the crackling ice. I wish I could record it for you all. I haven’t heard anything like it.
February is off to a very good start. Work is busy and interesting. Held a lecture at an event organized by the Embassy of Canada in Oslo on Wednesday and two days later I was at Cambridge University, holding a lecture at Judge Business School. The event in Cambridge was very rewarding. The passion, the interest, the curiosity, the participation, in general the vibe in and surrounding the different colleges is very inspiring and if I win the lottery something I would love to get better acquainted with. £50K is not something I just have laying around… :)
After a nice dinner with friends on Saturday night I enjoyed Oslo from its best winter side, cross-country skiing in Nordmarka with my dad and brother. On days like these I forget all about what I wrote earlier. It’s one of the best places to be. Sparkling white snow, bright sun a clear blue sky.
No pictures this time around, but I’ll make up for it in my next blogpost. In five days I travel again – going back to the more “natural” life of being here and there.
King winter has been kind
Less than a 20 minutes drive north of Oslo center you find Nordmarka, a haven for anyone with an inkling of the outdoors in his or her soul. Lakes and rivers surrounded by forested hills is the perfect backdrop for skiing of all kinds in the winter and fishing trips, hikes or a bicycle trip during the rest of the year.
Citizens of greater Oslo are very found of Nordmarka and spend a lot of time with open-air activities. Not surprisingly, Sundays are packed and on beautiful sunny days there almost queues on favorite paths. Today was not sunny, it was in fact quite the opposite, but with the heavy snowfall the past two days a lot had found their cross-country skis and set forth to many serviced cabins. It was very nice to ski with my father, brother, sister and her boyfriend earlier today. Now, a few hours later it feels well deserved to relax in the sofa – being very aware of my joints and muscles…
The heavy snowfall has clad Oslo in a beautiful white blanket. Looking at the all the people struggling with their cars, I’m happy I sold the red one last month. I’m also very fascinated by the changes in the river running next to the house. The picture below is taken before I went to bed last night, around midnight. I used my compact (G10) and set it to a 15 second exposure. It’s amazing how much light the camera finds in the white snow. I have a plan of setting up a camera in the window, taking one picture at noon everyday. Maybe for a week, month or year, we’ll see how patient I’ll be.
Lensbaby Yea, Smalahove Nay
Posted by NN in Personal, Photography on 090126
This post is really about the Smalahove, but I didn’t want to leave a post with only that image burning into your retina. So I decided to share the first picture I took with my new toy, the Lensbaby, taken from my living room. Tilt shifting is so much fun.
Deep in the Hardangerfjord on the Norwegian west coast you’ll find Voss. Not the home of the fancy artesian water VOSS, that’s from another part of Norway, but of the scores of the extreme. Many will think of sports, but I’m thinking of something much more dodgy. Namely a traditional dish called Smalahove, nothing less than a boiled sheep’s head served with rutabaga and potatoes.
A very good friend hails from Voss and every year he invites friends over for a proper Smalahove feast. With bottles of Aquavit at the ready we sat down around the table and mentally prepared ourselves for the heads to be served. Some like it, really look forward to it, I’m not one of them. I ate quite a bit once, quite a bit meaning a lot. But that was then, when my head was spinning with Aquavit. I’ve learned. Now I’m enjoying the time with friends, keeping my head straight and the boiled one untouched. (I just had to convert to dark black and white, it looks “better” then)
Xmas and frames
Two weeks Christmas vacation was just what I needed. Spending time at home with family and friends. Time to exhale, read and relax.
There is definitely no place like home. =)
For a long time I’ve been looking forward to this time. To finally have some extra time to go through the many digital photos I have left untouched on computer hard drives. But my home computer is getting old, too old, making it next to impossible to work with photography. So instead I picked up the box holding my film negatives. Taking the time to sort, categorize and store the thousands of frames properly was long overdue. Hopefully I can share a few in the not too distant future. In the mean time I take one step at the time completing my photo project. The ever-growing photo project….
Happy New Year!! 2009 is going to be great.
A walk along the river
Posted by NN in Home, Photography on 080428
A few weeks ago the new pride and joy of Oslo opened its doors. The new home of opera and ballet premiered with pomp, circumstance and a firework display not known to man north of Skagerak.
It is truly a magnificent building. Set in one of the dreariest places in town, it’s a white hope of what to come. I’ve seen the building plans and I can’t wait to see and feel the difference it will make to my dear hometown. It will be great… in ten years time.
What difference a little sunlight do. After a fairly grey winter we got the taste of spring last week. People were smiling, eating ice cream – I had one every day last week, I took my bike to work and all was well. The past weekend I followed the river running outside my house down to the city center. A 30-minute walk, and what a walk it is. Anyone visiting should join me for a stroll.
Den Norske Opera & Ballett
A walk along the river from my home to the center of Oslo
Listening to: Explosions in the Sky / First Breath After Coma
After the knife
Some of you know – a week ago or so I was under the knife and *snip-snip* my tonsils were gone. I was anxious the day before my visit to the hospital. What would it feel like when I woke up from the anesthetic?
Goodbye, welcome
Four Celsius and rain. Welcome to 2007.
This would be a great time to review 2006. A good year. True, with its ups and down, but all in all, a good year.
But. I’m one of those people who can’t sleep if I have any caffeinated drinks after 7 – 8 pm. Why is this important? Well, I had some coffee and a large glass of coca cola (I know – yuck) at the end of new years party. The result. I didn’t fall asleep before 7 am and while I was laying there I had my own review.
As I said. It’s been a good year. =D
During the holidays I must have set yet another world record eating chocolate, chocolate, chocolate… But hey, that’s what the holidays are for. Well, that as well right? But now I need a couple of white months. =)
I also did the annual cleaning out and organizing the home office, budgets and went through some plans and ideas I have for photography in 2007. Can hardly wait. It’ll be another good year, of that I’m quite certain.
Wishing you all the best. Let’s make it sparkle!
I want snow
It’s December. My neighbors are raking leaves in the garden. I can hear seagulls down the hill near the sea. The sound of seagulls reminds me of summer. Make me think about the last days of school – with a full summer ahead.
But it’s not. It’s less than three weeks to christmas. Christmas, supposedly white. I realize a lot can happen in three weeks, but looking out, the wet ground suck up the little light a dark December day is willing to share. The temperature is the same as in late September…
I looked at a map in the newspaper today. On this day, last year, 80% of Norway was covered in snow. This year, less then 5%.
I miss the snow.
Up, up and …
Posted by NN in Home, Photography on 061014
With my backpack on I was walking down to the local store. The fridge was pretty empty this morning and I had to hunt food for the week to come. As I was walking, thinking about what to eat, I suddenly lost my train of thought. Mew, playing on my iPod took over. Filling me with a dreamscape of sound. I walked down a path through the trees, surrounded by autumn colors and fresh cool air. I cursed silently for not bringing my camera (who brings a camera to shop food anyway – well, maybe me – but I didn’t have it with me now). I took a few shots with my mobile phone.
Picture to be uploaded…
I placed the camera on a stone in a tree, turned on the self-timer and continued walking. By now Maná was flowing through the headphones. With the sound of “Tengo Muchas Alas” I couldn’t help myself. I had to jump up and fly. It was a lucky shoot. I only took one. And I’m flying – maybe not very gracefully but I have my wings. =D
Sports night
I am, undoubtedly one of the worst cooks in the known universe.
You may think this is a very odd start of a blog named “Sports night”, but it is really a necessary diversion from the dreadful meal I just created. Did i eat it? Yes… I’m fortunate that way. My stomach can take pretty much anything.
It is weird in a way. That I don’t excel more in the kitchen. I do love food. I really do. I love it so much I usually don’t know when to stop. It’s an “illness” I share with my brother and sister. We call it being unwell and happy. Meaning, you eat to you know you’re full, yet you just have to continue because it’s so good. Neglecting the “suffering” bound to kick in after half and hour or so.
And I like to create. Trying to use my means of creativity. Should have thought that that would lend itself perfectly to a decent interpretation of haute cuisine. Grand meals with finesse. Pleasing for the eye as well as the body and soul. Nah! I have no patience when it comes to cooking. I just want to enjoy food. Good thing I’ve got a decently high metabolism.
But the title of this blog is not completely off. It has been a true sports night. Kicking off at work. A colleague from down under had obtained a copy of the grand final in Australian rules football a while back and invited us heathens to watch the game. It was really great fun. After a few minutes we had a grasp of the rules of the game and with beer in hand it was very entertaining. Looking forward to the next match.
Plus, Spain and Argentina is playing tonight. I’ve been waiting for this football game. I’m writing this blog at half-time, it’s a tied game (1-1) after 45 minutes. I am, of course, rooting for Argentina. =D