Life with a seaview

Workin' Mama!!

2011-04-19T19:40:00.000+02:00

That will be ME! ThankYouVeryMuch!

I got a call last night at the very very end of French office hours and they offered me the job! Yooohoooo!

Can't get a better birthday present than that. Well, strictly writing, it's my birthday tomorrow but hey, I like looong celebrations :) On top of that I'm in Norway as of today, travelled with E all alone to see this part of the family for Easter.

All is just SWELL!

Happy Easter to all you internet Friends!

Spring!

2011-04-17T23:08:00.000+02:00

Mini Update

2011-04-13T10:42:00.000+02:00

The interview went quite fine. I initially thought that a first interview would be done by the agency and then the "real" one by the company hiring. But no. I was grilled in a 30 degree Celsius room but I think I came across quite relaxed.

Now it's the waiting game and trying to puzzle out a solution for Emilio if they decide to give me the job. It would mean going to the kindergarden everyday, and it depends whether or not they have the space to accept the change in the contract.

But let's first wait for a reply, then sort out problems later :)

Crossing All Fingers

2011-04-12T13:23:00.000+02:00

Minutes are ticking by and soon I'm off to a job interview! Cross all your fingers for me.

I got a call last week from an agency looking for... ME. I know they are looking people with my skills and apparently there are jobs in my neighbourhood. Could it get any better??? Yes, they could give me the job.

Since my last job my CV has received a lot of interest and I'm positively surprised and happy about that. Especially since my hopes for finding another job around here was ZERO. My super optimism took too many blows the first three years here... So before jumping onto job ads not really corresponding to what I want, I'll give this another shot!

Tuddelu, Ciao Ciao and cross those fingers!

When Flu Strikes

2011-03-20T23:19:00.000+01:00

So my little man got the flu and it soon became boring for both him and me to stay inside for a whole week. What we did?? We rolled up our sleeves and got our hands dirty, and hair, and clothes and filled the vacuum cleaner with half kilo of rice made cool with food colouring. E worked very seriously for about 30 minutes filling, pouring, touching before it all escalated and most of it flew onto the floor.

Since E's favourite word to say is "Kjeks", which in Norwegian means biscuit.... Nothing more natural than to make chocolate chip cookies. Between the three of us they were all gone by evening but the best part of cookie making is of course tasting the dough!! NamNam!

I also stole a tip of someone's crafty blog for making fun bath sponges for kids. Get normal sponges from the supermarket in as many colours as possible. Cut them into strips and attach the strips together in the middle with dental floss or a rubberband.

And voilà, the result! I kind of regretted it later as the became really heavy with water and REALLY FUN to throw around the bathroom...

Hello y'All

2011-03-13T17:47:00.004+01:00

I had good intentions to get back into blogging but then life took over again. But I'm still here and the blog post are continuously crossing my mind but they never seem to make the jump over to the my blog. So that means I have a storage of things to write about since November, right? Right.

So what have I been up to lately... quite a few weekend trips, updating my CV, putting off reading that book that makes me feel like the task ahead is like climbing Mount Evererst, discovering cookbooks and recipes I now can't live without, browsing creative blogs for things to do with E, redecorating, going to the cinema with friends, and latest news... getting a heavy duty cold.

The SHOULD DO & WANT TO DO list is a lot longer but lets not dwell with those.

So just 5 minutes ago I finished painting the hallway. Halleluja now there is light! There used to be a kind of beige wallpaper before, no company agreed to just paint over it, claiming it would come off. Meaning that they tried to get more money from us by "forcing" us to take it down first and then paint.

We were not willing to pay 3000 euros plus. So After 4 years in this house I decided I couldn't take looking at the dirty wallpaper and took matters into my own hands. A quick recalculation of the cost and it comes down to:

Paint           60 euros
Colour              5 euros
Ceiling profiles 40 euros
Paint roll    8 euros

So for a grand total of 113 euros I have now a new clean bright hallway. And the wallpaper is still sticking to the walls. Halleluja.

BEFORE with the contrast of the new paint:

AFTER: Et Voila!!

On Family Matters

2010-11-11T21:49:00.001+01:00

Thursdays are Home-with-Mum days and E and I had a lot of fun. Apart from a quick run down to Decathlon to find some good winter clothing we spent the day in the garden. He helped me carry wood-chips for the fireplace and I kissed the big lump on his head when he fell. Never a day without a bump somewhere! His will to get somewhere is faster than his legs. He chased the cat on the grass, walked on the crackling autumn leaves and just kept laughing, and said "Hrrrrrr Hrrrr HRRRR" when he wanted to go on the swing.

Today he also wanted me to read his books for him. Whenever he spotted his books he'd pick it up and find me. So cute. He destroyed all my wodden cube towers, played drums on all the empty milk cans and finally had a long bath with the elephant, duck and squirty crocodile. What made him laugh the most was seeing his mum doing a crazy towel chase of an enormously big fly. I hate flies and I wanted it dead and squashed under my towel. But that made E bend over laughing so I continued. Nothing is better than hearing him laugh!

The funny thing is that he now is learning to say no (which in norwegian is Nei). And after an X amount of times telling him to move away from the lamp and cables he gently stood up, looked at me and repeated after me: Ne Ne Ne and raised his index finger to prove my point. IT CRACKED ME UP!

He's learning very fast and just recently he struggled piling up the stacking rings. So he'd get frustrated and give up. He wouldn't even let you show him how to do it. Then out of the blue one day he assembled the whole thing and here he's posing for the photograph.

So I have a question for you readers, maybe you can enlighten me. If I didn't have a little creature who loves it I wouldn't care so unless you have children or just happen to know...

WHY are there NO SWINGS in french playgrounds?? Honestly. There are 3 main fun things in a playground and of which you would see kids queue up for - the swing, the slide and what's-it's-name that goes round and round. In and around Toulon, or even at day care centers there are none. WHY? Some strange safety measure? The baby seat swing was invented a looong time ago...

Then there is another issue that baffles me here. Though we rarely have frost here it gets cold. Like this morning with 10 degrees celcius and strong winds which would mean that the effective temperature would be lower. How would you dress your kid? Or wouldn't you take him out at all? I'd go for a HAT, SCARF, a good windproof JACKET, TROUSERS and (surprise?) a TIGHTS underneath for protection when he feels like inspecting some interesting object on the ground. Let alone that if the ground is wet I will put on a pair of padded waterproof trousers. Maybe I'm too Norwegian?? Honestly. If you are out having fun throwing about wet autumn leaves but suddenly start feeling a little cold then it would be less fun, right?

FACT: There are no tights for boys! I was lucky to find a light blue one and a grey one in the girl section (with the shoesize sewn in pink under the foot). When I asked the shopkeeper how you would protect a boy from the cold winds sweeping in under the trouser legs, she simply shrugged saying "Hopefully the socks alone would be enough". Bof. And if the socks are not enough??? E's socks are short and more often than not I see his bare legs when he runs around high and low.

PUZZLING STUFF so please share your thoughts.

Sweet Tooth

2010-11-08T23:05:00.000+01:00

We just came back from Milan seeing the family. The trip didn't at all turn out the way we had planned.

First of all it rained. A lot. Then E got a fever on top of everything else. Then he passed the bug onto me and my sister in law. We've both had better nights to say the least - fever and nausea. And now it's L's turn tonight.

And on top of it all, when we got home the cat had been sick all over the livingroom. Nothing better to clean up sick when you're not feeling so hot yourself.

Olé!

So now I'll dig out some aspirin for my husband and myself, snuggle up under the duvets and hope we're better tomorrow. And with that I'll leave you with a photo of E.

Crossing the Borders with Luggage

2010-11-07T23:01:00.000+01:00

Thanks for your comments on yesterdays post! Just after I posted it my husband came to me (unknowing of my recent post) and asked me if I wanted to see some stand-up comedy videos. So this time I laughed till I cried. A much better situation to be in! Topics are related... all about travels and situations we're probably all familiar with...

Hope you've all had a great weekend!

Crossing the (Expat) Line

2010-11-06T22:48:00.005+01:00

In the four years I've lived here I've been generally happy. Frustrated, yes, from the lack of service, efficiency, the constant "write a letter if you want ANYTHING done" etc etc. But nothing I couldn't handle. Until the other week.

Three weeks ago our internet access and phone disappeared overnight. After a number of phonecalls to the customer service, we established that the problem was on their side. To sum it all up our phoneline had been connected to another house somewhere in France. When you called our phone number another person would answer the phone somewhere else in the country. What happened to Privacy and why did it last for days?? Questions without answer.

As a small compensation we were told to pick up a free 3G internet key from one of the SFR shops until our line had been restored. Whatever SFR shop. In theory easy. And to shorten the story, I went to 3 shops and had to return to the inital shop because of errors on their part. It wasn't the lack of internet that brought me to tears but the complete lack of service from the staff! And the fact that nobody takes responsibility because it's not their job to find out why the services they sold are not working. "Call Customer Services". As if SFR here or SFR there are two different things. If it says SFR on the f 'ing shop window, well, it's SFR. To the client there is no difference.

I was completely demoralised by the whole experience. Tears burning in my eyes on the way home. I don't know if people are as unfriendly in the rest of France. But here I have crossed the first line of "I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE"!! Once at home I told L that that's it; We live in a beautiful house, a beautiful place, have a beautiful family but I can't take dealing with the bureaucracy, simple things turning always complicated, the lack of service, the mentality that it's "never my, our or the company's fault but the client's... I want to move.

During this SFR experience I met one, ONE, kind person. He went out of his way to help me. Then he said he'd lived in Germany (and in his words "where everything works well") for some time and understood my frustration. Just to try and do him a favour too, I'll write an email to his manager and SFR central too, and tell them about this skilled employee!

But isn't it crazy when that one person is the exception and example for good service and that I feel the need write a letter to his manager about it??? Just another reason to move.

I know I idealise Norway, Italy and everywhere else but at least the people would show a minimum of service and kindness.

Then the other day I read this well written brilliant post by Jennie and it was almost exactly how I felt. Wondering how an expat feels in France, or wondering about moving to France read that post first and have another think about it!!

Friday Crew Cut

2010-11-05T23:17:00.000+01:00

All weekend projects were all cancelled today as they rang from E's daycare and told me had been sick. He's been poorly all week but now he's got a gastro as well. That meant running there to pick him up and go straight to the doctor, and waiting a long 1.5 hours to see him, and then get the necessary medicines. I really hope he'll get better soon!

Our palm tree had a doctor's visit as well today. After the gardener made sure it was really under attack by the Red Weevil they proceeded to the full treatment. What do you think about the total crew cut?? The look of the tree now driving up to our house is rather sad or, as the Italians say, like a fist in the eye! For us the change is huge, the garden seem different and suddenly there are so much light! We'll have to calculate ca. 2-3 years before it gets back some of it's former grandeur.

Now it's time to get better!!

Digging Up the Past

2010-11-04T23:09:00.146+01:00

A few weeks back I saw a link on facebook to a genealogy webpage. A page allowing you to create your own family tree. At first I didn't think much of it but created a profile to see how it worked. So I added myself and started from there and got hooked. Because while adding a few grandparents and then googling a few of the names I suddenly found other people's genealogy trees which included myself or my very close family!! Funny thing is, I have no idea who these people are!

Image borrowed from http://pjm-web-creation.com/

It's a strange satisfaction in learning about my roots, my family's past, to know how and why we are where we are. I find it interesting knowing where my family came from, what they were doing and who they were. When I sat down adding the immediate family to my tree I realised I didn't know anything about my great grandparents, what they did for a living or where they lived.Well, apart from some juicy bits about one of my great grandfathers. The one who packed up and left his family and started a new life in the US.

A second reason I'm interested in knowing more about the family I've talked about here. It would be quite cool we could find another 'lost' family member! The only lead we have to find out anything else would take me on a trip to Rotterdam (Netherland).

At the moment though I'm looking into my father's side of the family. The part which doesn't seem to have been investigated by some unknown relative and published already. The comfort is that I can do that with my own pc at home because much of the information is available online in the Norwegian State Archives as scanned books and documents. Records of births, weddings, funerals etc...

Yesterday I got quite emotional discovering that my great grandmother had lost a baby girl. She was only 7 weeks old! And while looking at the records for deaths during the mid-1900s I realised that it was very common. Of those specific church records the majority of deaths were either babies or young kids. Google has so far failed to dig up the reasons for the high numbers of deaths but I can only assume that health care and nutrition were not of today's standard.

While looking into the past, I can't help thinking about the family researches of the future. They will have a monumental task! Travel is easy now. Couples are composed of different nationalities, often living in a third country. They are married in one place, living in another, the kids are born in different countries so birth certificates are dispersed...

But then again, I can't see facebook disappearing anytime soon so when I'm a great-great grandmother my great-great grandchildren can just dip into the (un)useful info there :)

Red Weevil... it Sounds almost Cute

2010-11-03T22:27:00.003+01:00

Our Palm tree

Autumn is here again and for the first time in our lives we're experiencing the Day-Care syndrome...E is flat out with teething pain, fever and a cold. L is flat out from back pain and a terrible cold. And I... I thought I was just getting rid of the previous cough and cold but I'm getting caught in the vortex too.

But it could be worse! And so it is for our beautiful Phoenix Palm tree. It's celebrating its 25th birthday this year with an infection of the Red Palm Weevil, a bug that has been in Southern France for about 4 years now and which kills palm trees by eating the heart of the tree.

The little buggers fly up to 7 Km during summer time to find new trees to lay their eggs. Each one can lay ca 200 eggs which turns into fat larvae which start eating their way into the watery heart of the plant until they develop into a fully grown Red Weevil.

Several neighbours have lost their palm trees but we're still hoping to save our tree by cutting off all the leaves, and thus killing all the small devils. But before subjecting it to this drastic haircut the gardner will make 100% sure it is infected.

The funny thing about this insect is that you can't see it without digging into the tree, and often the tree doesn't show any symptoms before it's too late. There are subtle signs like drooping leaves, or the lack of a central stem of new leaves which seems to be our case...

I'm so glad a professional is coming to have a look at it, and that will do whatever is necessary. I still have nightmares from the two times when we've been trimming the palm tree ourselves. Though the leaves look soft from afar I can assure you that those inner leaves are lethally pointy and hard like steel knives. And they can cause serious infections if you prick yourself.

When we first moved in we wanted to remove the palm tree but now we want it just where it is, creating a lovely shadow during hot summer days!

Star Performance

2010-11-02T23:18:00.002+01:00

Being in the sporty mood lately I tried the latest fashion within fitness classes - Zumba. Zumba is a mix of latin dances and aerobics. High tempo and lots of wiggle-wiggle of body parts (it's evident I'm not a natural born dancer, isn't it). As a former football (soccer) player I prefer collective sports activities mainly for two reasons a) It's more fun and b) You don't think about how hard it is and c) it helps the motivation when the teacher is good looking.

I've been looking for classes in my area for ages and now as the last city in France, it's finally available here too! On Saturday mornings... but since the arrival of E, that is no longer be a problem. But I digress.

At 9:30am at the Palais du Sport the whole group was ready and in comes this guy, just muscles and turns on the music. He was witty, quite good looking and the teacher. Off to a good start :)

The room had one wall with mirrors but we were all facing the one without. I was amazed by the teacher's fluid and rapid movements, the quick steps, coordination and the choreography. No doubt that this was not a beginners class and no doubt he was a professional dancer rather than a whatever fitness teacher.

As the class progressed I felt I didn't do so badly. For sure I got my moneys worth as I haven't been so pumped for years. And I even felt I managed to do the smooth dance movements. Woohoo...

BUT THEN, the group turned to face the mirrors on the long wall and suddenly I could compare my moving self to that of the the teacher! And would please someone have mercy on my non-dancer's soul...

The word that comes to mind is : Staccato (which would be describing me!) and which the dictionary define like this: [composed of or characterized by abruptly disconnected elements; disjointed].

What a Star Performance! And what comfort to see that we were a whole class of stiff staccato robots struggling to keep the pace :)

Sporting Revolution

2010-11-01T23:31:00.002+01:00

Holidays are a bit like New Year resolutions for me. Now, I've never been good at making New Year resolutions but come summer holidays and I'm full of inspiration, plans, motivation and creativity. For me the new year was equivalent to a new school year. And it seems to stick despite having left school a long time ago.

It must be the complete relaxation that stimulates my little grey ones and push them into action. And maybe the distance to the normal routines...

This summer was no different.

With my optimism for finding an interesting job around here withering with the speed of light, my mind was set for finding something I could look back on and seeing tangible results. And all these ideas came while out oxygenating my lungs and body... But while out walking I realised I should also add some sport to my life and I did. And for those who know me and won't believe this, I'm taking up running. Well, that sounds a little too fast. Honest as I am, it's more like jogging. Me. Jogging. Seven weeks have passed with regular walks which has turned out to regular jogging sessions.

And today my new friend (Hello Linda!), insisted that running in the rain was good for the skin. The only certainty is that I got wet to the skin, soaking wet. But it was great and I beat my own record big time.

A little proud now.

Long Weekend & NaBloPoMo

2010-10-29T14:41:00.002+02:00

Finally Husband is back home and on leave! It's been since the beginning of September that he's working like mad and we only barely say Hi before heading off to bed, if at all meeting in the evenings.

But now it's Friday (...and I'm in Love as Blur sings so nicely) and we're on the sofa with two computers and a sleepy cat. And I can hardly believe I can just reach out for a little kiss. Seems ages ago since we could just be lazy together.

Emilio is at the crèche and is having fun. He's now walking faster and faster, he gives us lots of hugs, he's started to hide when he meets new people and is generally just fun to be with. That is, when he's not hungry. He'll definitely let me know way in advance that he knows at what time he is supposed to eat and makes sure I don't forget to prepare anything. Just like his mum. Not fun to be around if left hungry for too long ;)

There are so many blog moments passing through my head during the weeks but I struggle to get them on the blog. As I seem to struggle to finish any of my projects lately. They all eventully get done but it takes time, a lot of time.

However, I just signed up for the National Blog Posting Month! That should get me typing and posting.
Are any of you faithful readers joining me in this challenge??

Do you have Teeth Down There?

2010-10-05T23:12:00.000+02:00

So after an X amount of time I've finally been to the dentist. I'm too ashamed to say how long but I quite haven't been prepared to try and fail with dentists, like I did with gynecologists here in this town.

So I went to the biggest office I knew, in the newest building I knew and hoped for the best. First impression was very good... clean, smart looking and clearly one of the dentists must be into photography judging from the magazines and pics on the walls, a good thing I decided.

I was then asked to fill in a form: Patient history...
I filled in First name, Last name, When I last went to the dentist, Medical conditions, The reason for the visit...

All normal stuff right.
Until the last two questions:

Do you use an IUD?

... Now imagine me staring blankly on the form.

I skipped to the last question: Do you use contraceptive pills?

... Now I was looking around to see if there were any signs of me having ended up in the wrong medical office... However they had asked me about my last DENTAL VISIT previously. All kind of weird questions were popping up in my head as to WHY ON EARTH a dental office needed to know what contraceptive methods I was using.

After a few more minutes I asked the No-Service-No-Smile secretary why this information was necessary and do you know what she asnwered??!

"I don't know... You know, it's just part of the form!"

HA! Now that was useful.

I then told the secretary with a little smile that, seeing her answer and since I don't have Teeth Down There, I'd just leave a blank answer there then. At which I got a shrug for answer and the opposite of a smile back :(

But from from there on the interpersonal exchanges got a lot better. The nurse and dentist were really kind and funny and they even gave a credible reason for the two previous unanswered questions. It was still a bit unclear but it had to do with patients who would be operated on, i.e dental implants and doses and types of medication a patient would be given.

MORAL: I've got perfect teeth despite a tiny, well long, OK, an eternal gap between dental visits! (Yay!) No need for dental surgery or implants and therefore no need to let my dentist know what contraceptive methods I currently use.

On a little personal side note: I can't help thinking that the nice and funny conversation with dentist and nurse was only due to the fact that they were not actually from here, but recently moved here from Northern France. All new KIND people I meet here are NOT actually from here...

10 Years

2010-09-14T00:26:00.000+02:00

Since our first ever KISS! Ten years since I fell for a charming Italian with his gentleman way of being, his long'ish dark hair and sweet words. That he also took me travelling with his motorbike was just an extra little bonus! Now here's a photo from way back then taken somewhere in Oxfordshire.

Looking back there has been a lot of laughter! A lot of love - love for the nature, love for the sea, love for family, love for a good sofa snuggle, love for travelling, love for friends and love for love! And tonight I'm taking a trip down memory lane by myself as L's away for work.

CinCin - Cheers - Skål for happy 10 years!

All Summed Up

2010-09-07T23:16:00.003+02:00

Last week was pretty busy and most of thoughts and energy was spent on Emilio and him going to the crèche. It was hard to leave him there among these people I had barely met, and even more so when he was crying big crocodile tears. He has managed to adapt well though and is having fun. The ladies taking care of him all seem very kind and capable though the info issue is still very much present. And me, the afternoons can't pass fast enough so I can go fetch my little angel again and see his huge toothy smile!

In one week he has become very good at hugging, and it's very clear when he wants a snuggle. I don't think there can be something better for a mum. And to celebrate this passed week I made muffins with lemon glaceing. (I'm also secretly researching a birthday cake for Emilio but more one that project later).

Citron bio - delicious!!

Yesterday I took E to get his first ever ~~hair~~ crew-cut, but not before I had cut a few strands of that blond hair for memory (see E's hair before). The hairdresser was little impressed with my haircutting techniques and didn't charge one pence for her services. (I guess she took pity in my little boy who had been taken out in public with a chunk of his hair missing) She did however add a little gel in E's hair for extra coolness, but by then E's patience had gone wafer thin and (judging by the crocodile tears) he was not impressed.

When romance is gone

2010-09-04T14:16:00.000+02:00

The wind ruffles through the palm tree branches, making a soft characteristic clicking sound when the long fingery leaves touch. Below, the soft green carpet of grass shaded by the harsh rays of the sun. The fruits are hanging heavy and ripe from the trees... the roses are sending out the most wonderful perfumes. Under the lemon tree the cat is rolling around lazily...

NOT!

Kitty was just taking a break from the stressful days work of killing whatever there is to kill around the house before leaving their mutilated corpses under the lemon tree for someone to pick up (where are you lovely husband??).

And, another mouse bites the dust... RIP!

Bonjour Buongiorno God dag !

2010-09-01T20:31:00.000+02:00

It was E's first day at the crèche on Monday! How exciting and my little boy has grown so much, he's no longer a tiny little baby... It went well, probably more so for E than for his mum aka me.

Getting the feathers ruffled...

I don't have any first hand experience of how a kindergarden works but the first thing that struck me was the lack of information. The first day we were shown into a room and E was supposed to play and intergrate with the other kids. Fine.... and stop. Nobody introduced themselves, there were no explanation of how this introduction week would proceed, no information on how a normal day would be for E. And so the list goes on - I have so far no official papers on regulations/rules/prices etc. Is thhis normal??

Of course I started a bombardment of questions but shouldn't those answers come automatically from the Direction before I need to ask? In the end I also had to ask for the list of things E would need when staying there too.

Today is day 3 and I told the Director my thought and feelings about our rather confusing welcoming. I felt rather embarrassed to do it but I couldn't NOT say anything either. There was no apology but rather an half- hearted attempt of finding excuses and a promise of talking to the other staff. We're in France so I don't know why I actually expected a "Sorry about that", that would be to admit a fault! And that doesn't happen around this corner of France!!

Faced with the challenge of teaching E three languages and confiding E to this (so far) disorganised crèche makes me want to pack my bags and move to Italy. The fact alone, that there are no kindergardens here with experience of multilingual kids makes me want to move... so let alone fussy answers and leaving your kids with a bunch of nameless people (Update: I now know the name of three out of four team members)!

At the moment we have no other alternatives so he'll be continuing for a while longer but I will put E on all waiting list for the other crèches. The problem, as with everywhere, is the lack of available places. Sigh.
As you can gather I feel A LITTLE upset right now but as with most things, it will pass.

Summer Love and Autumn Splendour

2010-08-20T22:40:00.000+02:00

I know you all probably think I'm done with blogging... but no no no. Back from holiday today and I am full of energies and plans for this autumn. The original plan was to blog throughout the holiday but bad internet connections thwarted that plan quite easily. At first I had some withdrawal symptoms from lack of internet but then I got strangely used to it and it feels good to have had a break from all electronic connections.

So how have you all been doing these last months?? :) I'll soon be catching up on your blogs to find out!

As for myself the past 7 months, I've been busy with family life (enjoying watching E learn new things every day), henparty planning and it's execution, a wedding speech, a christening, visits from friends and family, holiday to Italy and here we are now - ready for the summer to fade away into autumn splendour!

A Little 3 month old Waterbug

2010-01-19T22:37:00.001+01:00

This little boy makes make heart explode with love. Today his voice reached new levels, new tones and he had his first giggle when I tickled him with my long hair. His smiles and laugh makes me forget lost hours of sleep and tiredness.

Little E is treating us well, very well. He sleeps and cries when he is supposed to, he plays independently and smiles at everyone around him. If I could be sure that my next children will be the same I'd get cracking on creating them already!

Mamahood has taken me with storm. I LOVE it! During the pregnancy I feared how I would be as a mum as I have never been around small or big children - always feeling awkward around them... But this is MARVELOUS and FUN! I even find myself singing songs, and for those who have read this blog for a while and for those who knows me well, know that I don't really sing unless high on champagne or alone in my car... What a transformation we as a family have gone through these last three months. But at the same time, as L said to me one day, it feels like E has always been here with us. It all feels so strangely natural.

And who wold have thought... Little E's got my colours, blue eyes and fairly blond. With L being very Italian and no blue eyes in sight in that family, that came as a surprise! :)

2010-01-10T22:40:00.000+01:00

THANK YOU ALL for your sympathy! We've managed to sort out the house now, and we've done the police- and insurance paperwork... and then we were waiting and hoping that the CSI squad that swabbed for DNA and fingerprints would call us with good news.

But this week came and went and NOTHING.

Then friday afternoon opening the letterbox, we find a letter, standardized letter, letting us know that we could appear before the court in a civil lawsuit against Miss X and Mr Y, born here and there in 1992 and 1993... And first thought: THEY ARE effing MINORS!!??

It was THEM who drank two bottles of pastis and emptied half of it on our sofa?? THEM who touched even the baby milk powder?? THEM who didn't leave a single drawer untouched?? THEM who bent the new gate outside and broke the garage door? THEM who even stole L's clothes (I guess I was slightly bigger than the Missy going through my stuff)??

And that was it. The letter didn't say anything else. And of course, the commissariat couldn't answer any questions on a Saturday.

So tomorrow it is monday and we'll hopefully get an answer to our questions:
Have they found my car, and in what state since they can't yet have a drivers license? Have they found my necklaces and other precious valuables that my grandmothers gave me? And what will happen to these criminal kids?

AND, IF we go through with a civil lawsuit, should we be afraid of the family of these kids? Of vengence? After all it seems like they are from the surrounding areas...

Important Notice!

2010-01-02T21:57:00.006+01:00

TO ALL MY FAITHFUL NON-THIEVING READERS: I wish you all a WONDERFUL NEW YEAR and lots and lots of happiness!

AND TO THOSE WHO STOLE EVERYTHING and messed our house up badly:
May you be sad and miserable for the rest of your life and afterlife, and may your AFTERLIFE come real soon (but not in my car which I'd like to have back, thankyouverymuch!!)

Mock You!

2009-11-25T09:09:00.000+01:00

As I said in the last post, I've kept France and the French language at an arms distance. And therefore I also sometimes do elementary mistakes in French, especially when I switch between Norwegian and French. The other day, during my moms visit, a shop attendant actually mocked me and my language mistake in French by laughing out loud, IN MY FACE.

And it wasn't one of those friendly laughs that normally translates into "I appreciate your efforts" kind of laugh which I take with a smile and a laugh as well.

The mistake? Instead of asking about a wrist watch on display I used the word clock. Silly I know but I wonder if that cow can speak a word of English, Italian or Norwegian? And if that isn't the case, which is highly unlikely, I'll should have MOCKED her too!

I do much of my Thinking

2009-11-24T10:36:00.008+01:00

...alone in the car. Mind you, while driving. I'm not actually sitting in the garage...

I was returning from Nice airport after having dropped off my mum and while my thoughts were skidding from one thing to another I suddenly realised what the difference is between many of the expats in France and me or us as a family is.

While many of the expats in France came because of a fascination for this country, a dream of living here, learning the language etc. We didn't. We came here because of a job opportunity and not because France held a special something in our hearts. It was all suddenly so clear in my mind. I'm keeping France at an arms distance because I don't WANT to fall in love with this country, I don't bother to perfect my French because I don't want to live here for more than the strict necessary time. It's sounds silly as I write it... I should rather sieze the opportunity, right?

Somehow I've never put words to these feelings. But they've always been there as I recall us saying things like: I hate the fact that our son will be born here and will be a French citizen or Do you remember that pink house in Sestri, wouldn't it be great to live there? or When we move we'll just sell, move, buy... We've never let us believe or think that we would stay here for good!

Don't get me wrong, France is treating us well. We love our house (our Italo-Norwegian retreat when France is poking sticks into our wheels), we have an income, it's sunny and warm'ish all year round, the bread is the best, the croissants are to die for and for now there are no other alternatives for us out there. So I'm not complaining, it's just that since we decided to come here in 2006, I've also decided that it was not going to be FOREVER. Forever is a long time and the thought alone makes me want to pack my suitcases straight away.

Let me Introduce...

2009-09-30T21:31:00.000+02:00

EMILIO

In pure Ferrari style, he was in a bit of a hurry and decided to show up two weeks earlier than anticipated. He was born on Saturday 26.09.09 @ 16:09PM weighing 3250 grams and 52 cm tall.

*** More to come later as I'm pirating someone's wifi connection by the hospital :) ***

On getting a Femme de Ménage

2009-09-24T10:44:00.006+02:00

Letting someone unknown into our house is not a pleasant thought, and leaving the house keys with said person is even worse. Both L and I are quite reserved and we like to maintain our privacy. But with the baby on his way and with family and friends, especially family, so far away we've decided to look for a Femme de Ménage. A cleaner, to help us out at least for the first months after the baby's arrival.

Since we don't know anyone who could give us any references we've decided to go through an agency. This means that everything is declared, and at the same time we're a client instead of an employer. It also gives us (in theory at least) huge advantages, as we avoid insurance costs, rights to change cleaner if unhappy, to end the contract when we want, and having a point of reference and customer service center etc.

The most interesting part is the crédit d'impot. This means that you will pay one sum per hour (ex. 18 euros) throughout the year for the cleaning service. By the end of the year the agency gives you a declaration to send together with your income tax declaration, and you will be reimbursed 50% of the costs. This means that the actual cost per hour for a cleaner = 9 euros!! Just a little over SMIC (8 euro 64 cents I think) which you would have paid a privately hired person.

Add that to the other advantages of not hiring a person directly and you have a winner! I have taken a few RDV, appointments, with local agencies so we'll see if we find one we feel we can trust.

Anyone having experiences with hiring a cleaner? Are there any do's and don't's?

Help! We need Suggestions...

2009-09-21T11:22:00.000+02:00

My pregnancy is drawing to a close. Just three more weeks, unless the little one decides he wants to come a little earlier, which the Doctor said that was very likely...

In these weeks of preparation through courses and getting the babyroom ready I have so many mixed feelings. At the same time as I look forward to holding our baby boy, I also don't know how the future will be with a little creature in the house... What do I know about babies?? Absolutely nothing at the moment. I 've never changed a diaper in my life, I didn't even play with dolls when I was a kid... Will my instincts kick in and take care of everything? Will I become a more patient person?

I have to say I've had a dream pregnancy, no nausea, no cravings (until the last weeks serious lust for sugar and consequent trips to McDo drive-in for McFlurrys ice cream with choco chip and caramel sauce) and no medical issues so far. The baby is bouncing and kicking and is getting closer to 4kg by the day. L and I are not small people and the baby will not be a small one either apparently.

At the last scan in August the doctor said: "Oh my, does he have a big head or what!!"
Followed by a: "A well propotioned baby indeed".
My face had turned white at the first sentence and the only thought in my head was: "That BIG HEAD needs to come out of me! Heeeeeeeeeeeelp!!!"

Oh, and I'm still stuck at that thought.

Then midwife tried to convince me that having a big baby is easier than having a small one during a natural delivery. Her arguments sounds logical but she didn't manage to convince me. Not even a wee little bit. Statistically a smooth pregnancy is also an indication for how smooth the delivery will be, according to my doctor. Hmmm, lets hope so!

Our lives will change and I hope it will all be for the better. And I'm sure any doubts I'm having at the moment have been felt by mamas all over the world... so I have to take one day at the time and just make sure that at least the logistics are in place to eliminate any unnecessary stress once we're returning from the hospital.

Now over to the real issue: We need help! Or at least some suggestions for names... Nine months have almost passed and we have eliminated some names but finding boys names are so difficult! The problem we have encountered, as so many of you have known I'm sure, is that it must sound well the the respective countries (Norway and Italy), and should be also easy to pronounce in France for when he goes to the kindergarden.

In Norway the legisation gives you 6 months after the birth to declare the baby name, allowing you time to get to know the baby. I'm not sure if this is a good or a bad thing... what would you call your kid in the meantime?? Anyway, in France you have 3 DAYS! This means we need to find out soon what his name will be as I can go into labour any given moment from now...

Any ideas for names? Any tips on finding the perfect one?

Looking Back on the Summer Holiday

2009-09-16T15:36:00.002+02:00

Our holiday to Norway and Italy was great! And as usual we tried to squeeze in as much as possible in the time available. I will not give you lots of boring details but rather post some photos to look at which more or less sums up the main events.

After a few days at home we, together with my friend H, drove down to Stavanger to meet up with A & O who have just bought a house and refurbished the interior all by THEMSELVES. We were so impressed. In the afternoon we went to the Oil museum, since Stavanger is the capital of the Norwegian black oily fortune. It was very interesting and fun (No I really mean it A! :)

The following day it cleared up and we played some croquet (Not to brag but I WON!! :)) followed by the very Norwegian traditional waffles, marmelade and coffee. Our hosts spoiled us with the most delicious things to eat and drink...

****

Once back in Bergen we just repacked the car and dove to the family holiday home north of Bergen. This beautiful, and partly 200 year old wooden house, is carrying the image and soul of my dad. It was the place he loved the most I think, and he loved spending time doing small repairs, putting out crab-pots and fishing. During Christmas 2008, a year after he left us, we spent a few days out there. It was peaceful and quiet but emphasized the terrible void he has left behind. But at that time we also noted that we needed to carry on the works my dad had planned, which was to repaint the boathouse before the wood became to deteriorated by the salty northern winds. And that we decided to do this summer.

We spent one happy week with my mum out on the island. I just love this place. It is so peaceful there and you cannot do anything but relax because there is absolutely nothing else to do there. You are cut off from the mainland by a ferry, surrounded by nature and a (sometimes) hostile northern sea. And between painting and a few cool showers we also had time to go fishing a little bit. Both L. and I look like we are covered in fish blood but it is actually paint stains covering our clothes. L. got lucky and caught a cod while I got a haddock, which were later prepared by my expert mum for dinner. Fresher fish than that is not possible to get!

Below you see a panorama taken from the ferry, us fishing and then the finished boathouse:

****

After two weeks in Norway it was time to see the Italian family and we headed down to Sardinia. Sardinia is always less eventful because we mainly just go to the beach, eat, sleep and party. This year with my belly being filled with a precious little creature we slept even more and took it very piano. I even felt quite old because we kept on taking afternoon naps :) We spent time with our friends and family, went out with the boat and played with our gorgeous nephew on the beach. Everytime I pointed my camera at him he kept running towards me with his little index finger stretched out... so cute and so difficult to photograph!!

SFR

2009-09-14T14:19:00.005+02:00

Can I just say that I have a very strong dislike for every Service Clients any phone company is offering? Especially the one offered by our current provider SFR... Arrrgh. Don't ever trust them to take notice of what you have actually said and written in your "recorded and signed for" letter canceling your contract. And by all means DO NOT believe they will send any further information to the correct address... It would be foolish to actually tell your leaving client where to return the equipment, right?!

And lastly, do not expect an apology from them admitting that they actually did a mistake!!

I have a I hate the French day.

... and not that I think they will be any better but I will now proceed to change phone and internet provider! I had two contracts with SFR, I cancelled one and now I will cancel the other one too. That's not going teach them anything but I will feel better, much better!

Sweet... Confiture de Lait aka Hapå

2009-08-24T17:18:00.005+02:00

During my round at the gourmet section in the supermarket today my eyes caught the sign of Confiture de Lait together with all the other fresh cheese products. In a spur of inspiration I thought I'd try it out.

It looked strangely similar to a sweet caramel tasting spread I used to eat as a child. So with the nostalgic memory buzzing in my head I bought some... and to my surprise and pleasure it was exactly like Hapå only fresher and better.

I have now finished this wonderspread on slices of fresh baguette, and I'm glad I only wiki'd the ingredients afterwards as my sugarfree diet is not so sugarfree after all :)

If you fancy something sweet with immediate energy supply, try out the Confiture de Lait!

Picture n° 1: Borrowed from the site Cuisine et Saveur
Picture n° 2: Borrowed from the site E24.no

Looking Back

2009-08-19T15:52:00.005+02:00

Wow, the last post I wrote was the day before my last day at work, the day before I moved all my things out of the mountain apartment to rejoin my husband and cat in our beautiful house. And only a few days before we set off on our 4 week long holiday, the usual one, to see see family and friends in both Norway and Italy. I better write about everything in several installments :)

The last day of work consisted of clearing up my computer, saving files and writing instructions for the newcomer. It was kind of sad as I've worked with possibly the best colleagues ever, however I was also happy about returning home.

The evening before the last day my colleagues and boss had organised a farewell dinner, which I found really touching and sweet. They had clearly appreciated my work and presence, which means a lot to me having tried to find a job for so long. At the moment this huge research facility doesn't accept part-time workers but I left hints all over the place that if that change I would love, absolutely LOVE to come back working for them.

The experience as a weekend commuter was strange and OK. I've now had a taste of the life my father had been living for so many, many years. I still don't know how he managed to do it.
I guess it also became a bit amputated by my pregnancy making it a little harder living up there by myself. Mainly because I was so tired in the evening that in the middle of the evening news I was already sleeping with my head on the chest and the remote control still in my hand. Thus not going out exploring the surroundings.

However for the first time in three years in Provence I have now seen the lavender fields!! Articles and TV documentaries make you think that they are all over Provence but you will not find them along this part of the coast. On the postcards they are edited into the images of Toulon and the nearby villages - such a obvious lie when you have lived here for a while :)

Sweet Vengence?

2009-07-09T16:39:00.005+02:00

I bet all of you who reads this blog have had problems with airline companies at some point. You never got refunded, the right service or other wrongdoings were done to you and your luggage - Visit Dave Carrol on Youtube (or see the video below) and read his great TRUE story about United here!

Old Fashioned Mail

2009-07-06T23:35:00.012+02:00

Email is the new letter. The mobile phone is the new telephone. How did we get by before this new and faster technology came along? Where it's unacceptable not to be available all the time? Where did the romanticism go with all the progress? The waiting for a surprise and nice words to fall into the letterbox?

I hardly write any letters anymore. Only my grandmother receive long letter and postcards from time to time. However the whole family seems to read them on their visits so they are all more or less updated on my life.

The last postcard I received came from Iran where my brother stays from time to time. A country with great cultural history that maybe one day I can visit too.

When was the last time you received a letter or a postcard from someone? And where did it come from?

Intruders

2009-06-30T19:15:00.002+02:00

I just came home to my little rental flat and noticed that the flat was not the way I left it this morning. Nothing was missing but doors were closed shut and the blinds were down. Hmmm... I suddenly felt the anger rising and I soared out of the door heading down to the landlady.

Yesterday she had asked me if I agreed to let someone look at the flat. I agreed under the condition that I was present, if not, no. A big no, as in not at all. She said she respected that and that she would have felt that way herself.

Obviously not.

The potential new locataires came this afternoon and she let them in without even calling to say so. The very least she could do if she didn't respect my wishes!! According to her there was no point since I wouldn't be able to tidy or be there anyway... My chin dropped to the chest! And I was even more angry with this old wrinkly lady. I told her about respect, or the extreme lack thereof and that she had no right to invade my privacy, what if something got stolen - my jewlery was right there on the table etc etc. In the end she apologized after I kept cutting short her bad excuses and why's it had happened.

Arrrg, I was so angry but at the same time so happy I went down to talk to her otherwise I would have stayed fuming in my flat for the rest of the evening. And as well, I have proved to myself that I can now keep a heated discussion in French!!

The baby agreed with me because he kept kicking my insides as if he wanted to come out and kick landlady's tiny bum! Good boy!

My Birthday Present has Arrived!

2009-06-22T20:30:00.008+02:00

This painting is my birthday present this year from L! I love it, and it's something that will last and move around with us wherever we go. So diretly from Brazil it was delivered at home, now I just need a frame to hang it next to it's sibling.

We already have a painting from this artist that my parents in law bought personally from Mr. Andrade in Brazil some years back. Then out of curiosity I looked him up on the internet and found another painting I loved and looking at it it's like being at the fishmarket.

Summer Planning and Guests

2009-06-16T16:36:00.001+02:00

Sneaking in a few excited lines from work...

I just confirmed with our friends, another international couple, from Scottland that they'll come and visit us in August. I can't wait :)

They came here two years ago, then we went to their wedding last year in august and now we're having another winefilled (they will anyway) weekend together this summer. I have no idea how we, Lorenzo and I will have time to get ready for the arrival of the baby because the summer and early autumn is fully booked already with family and friends and work colleagues and redecoration of our bedroom and so on and so on... Nevermind, we prefer seeing all our favourite people than doing boring housy-things!!

And soon it's holiday for me too. Counting down the days to the 10th of July while reading about French regulation in french...Zzzzz.

Line Up and smile Duckies!!

2009-06-09T21:34:00.004+02:00

A celebration of life :)

Taken on my evening stroll along the river.

Life, Flowers and Boobs

2009-05-25T23:09:00.004+02:00

The summer heat has come and what is better than waking up in your own bed, balcony door open and hearing the seagulls talking loudly?

I'd say nothing. (Well, almost if you don't count the new chocolate addiction. Fine, the re-appearing chocolate addiction that I'm trying to drown with healthy foods like strawberries covered in healthy sugar and a dash of healthy whipped cream.)

This weekend has been marvelous. We've just done many chores like cleaning the boat, putting up the new wooden fence around the house, shopping for boxes in IKEA so I could rearrange the wardrobes... but it's been hot, sunny, jazzy and I've had a handsome husband to look at all the time.

I'm not taking many photos lately as my inspiration goes as far as to study the next meal menu and finding curtains, gadgets and pushchair for the baby. For those of you who know me, please don't panic, I'm still me!! I think... Is this what they call the nesting syndrome?? I'm not sure it's a syndrome but I'm glad the inner brain knows what to do because my conscious self is not so confident in all these changes. And this sounds very superficial but...

...I just had to buy a size 44 trousers. Nothing shocking apart from this being 3 hip sizes bigger than what I'm usually buy. Bye bye body, I hope you will return to your former self one day.
BUT, a major good news is that for the first time in my life I have a cleavage - Cleavage!! Me!! My mama who created and made my national Norwegian dress when I was half this age, reassuring me that she had to leave some extra space around the bosoms seeing how the family heritage was fortunate on this point. You guessed right, I apparently took everything from the other side of the family :) Lol... I should have enough to fill it in now though, and a little more.

Anyway, life is good with this growing belly, new clothes, a job and a flower explosion happening in the garden... and with some cutting of branches we'll be able to see the sea again from our balcony. And soon I'll get some pictures back into this blog. That is a promise.

PS:
I don't even dare think of what google hits I'll see the next few days with this post up...

And the Point is...?

2009-05-18T23:04:00.004+02:00

Sometimes I have so many things I'd like to say but when I get to the empty post page my brain goes blank. Totally. My pregnancy books say I can blame anything and everything on the pregnancy and that's why I'm now walking around in new beautiful leather sandals with a matching handbag...

So back to the point, or lack thereof...

I just realised that it's been over two years that we are sleeping in the only room in the house which has not been repainted. Well, I tore down the awful wallpaper when we moved in and then something happend - the motivation ran out. We've done the kitchen, livingroom, laundry room, bathroom, guest room, toilet and left our bedroom looking pretty grim. Not very Feng Shui I'm sure.
However, realising that we won't have much time over the summer to do these things I have now called 3 companies to gives us a price estimate for doing it for us. Finally. Realistically though it will be done in August, though I would have loved for it to be finished in June.

And speaking of renovations: I CAN'T BELIEVE I MISSED THE EUROPEAN SONG CONTEST!! Norway won with this song while I had ate Chili con Carne with some friends. I'm a bad Norwegian expat, especially since they aired the whole show on french TV. For Italians this would be like the San Remo festival, for non-europeans have a look in wikipedia.

Thoughts thunk during the day

2009-05-12T20:51:00.004+02:00

I spent the afternoon with the long lost twin brother of the previous Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi! Incredible how much he looked and behaved like him. Twins separated shortly after birth??

French food is just average.

Anti road rage campaigns are useless unless the French learn how to drive first... Some days you just meet "cons" on the road. I have to admit that after some provocation yesterday I didn't behave very ladylike.

Got some sad news over the weekend. I'm sad it's happening again.

Baby is kicking!! It took some time to realise that the strange feeling I had was actually our little "micino".

Two days down, three to go before the weekend. Home sweet home is some much sweeter when I can't be there all the time :)

French Doctors

2009-05-07T08:54:00.000+02:00

Spring is here with nice sunny warm days! It's about time as I'm fed up with the rain and all the people complaining about the weather - including myself!! :) But the spring brings the pollen which brings the itchy nose and strings of sneezes. Long live my allergy specialist who gave me a new prescription without an appointment. He's Italian which I believe is the reason for his generous service.

While I had taken some days off last week I also had made sure to book yet another gynecologist appointment - the 4 this year!

I don't see myself as very fussy but I never compromise on hygiene which seem to be the case with all my so far chosen doctors... I'd love to hear other people's experience on this.

When I go to the doctor I expect a clean and uncluttered office, a doctor who use gloves and disposable equipment whenever possible. Not unreasonable demands I think.

Gynco no 1: had clean, new offices but a bucket full of used equipment from previous patients in plain view. I will refrain from any other descriptions here...

Gynco no 2: had an office so old and unkept that the wallpaper was falling off the walls, and had no modern equipment. The gynco chair must have been from the 50s although the doctor was fairly young. And she had used surgical equipment from preivous appointments in a bucket under my chair.

Gynco no 3: had a new office, with great equipment but turned out a little racist. That's what my French friends told me after I told them about the visit. And he kept all the patient files on the floor. ON THE FLOOR!! How hygienic is that?? There where piles all around us, though in that moment he seemed as the most competent so far.

At this point I was loosing hope of ever finding a decent doctor. Then I had to do a check-up in a different medical facility and I asked the doctors there for advice on a gynecologist and they sent me to Dr. L.

Gyneco no 4 : I booked an appointment for last week with Dr. L. It was a relief to see his clean office, a drawer full of disposable equipment and new and modern facilities. And after having talked with him for 5 mintues I almost cried. He took his time to explain and to listen to any questions. He was reassuring, caring and he came across very competent.

I was so relieved! So far I have learned that by waiting over a month for an appointment means that the doctor is popular. A popular doctor charges more but I couldn't care less. Don't stop looking for a doctor you feel you can trust with you health. And never compromise on hygiene - the decent doctors are out there somewhere and they are hiding but sooner or later you'll find the right one.

The One with the Announcement...

2009-05-05T21:35:00.004+02:00

It's taken some time to get used to this news that I am about to tell you. So many years of avoiding this, fearing this and suddenly it happened and we felt lost, in shock, happy, weird and all other emotions possible.

L. had such a shock that he had to lie down on the sofa while his thoughts eliminated his future plans. I couldn't stop my hysterical laughter. Then we calmed down with an apple cake and cappuccino, took another test and another cappuccino and started realising that OH MY...

... we're going to be parents in October!

Image is taken by and belongs to Daniel Hurst Photography

Norway - the Capital of Sweden

2009-04-25T10:44:00.002+02:00

Normally I never read anything about Norway in the international press. Though when I'm in Norway the media present our country as the bellybutton of the world, as the centre of the universe and that we make a HUGE difference to international life and politics. It's highly annoying! Especially when you go abroad and someone asks you if Norway is not the capital of Sweden. Charming.

The last couple of weeks I got some news popping up on my RSS feeds from BBC and various other sites and what do I find?? Some person acting not so professionally by calling clients "Brats" and a car driver doing some special joyriding with his girlfriend...

So much for pretending and believing that Norway is known outside it's borders for our continuing mediation in Gaza... Or getting credit for donating billions to save the rainforest in the Amazonas.

Nope. The BBC decides that our international political efforts are insignificat (which they mostly are) but that an experimental sexually motivated car trip is better to write about.

Learn Norway! Learn!

Did you say Friday?!!

2009-04-24T11:58:00.006+02:00

That means I'll be going home to Toulon. Home to my husband. And the cat, she stayed with me this week, will go home to her garden. She has deliberately kept me awake the whole week as a punishment for the two hour long car ride on Monday!!

In the middle of the night she decides to sharpen her claws on the madress I'm sleeping on. Find a plasticbag that she can roll around on and make as much noise as possbile. Deside she's hungry and tell me, OUT LOUD. Or she feels cold and wanted to get under my covers, only to decide a minute later that it was too hot. Play with the metal tap in the sink in the bathroom - bascially she lifts it up with the paw and then drops it with a nice PLONK! - then repeat.

Needless to say - she will stay with papa next week, and the next and the one after that...

But folks! It's FRIDAY and WEEKEND so enjoy it :)

Morning View

2009-04-22T10:18:00.003+02:00

The Touching Thirty...

2009-04-21T12:50:00.002+02:00

Last weekend I went to Bruno. He's my hairdresser and a really good one too. After the shampoo massage by the kind girl, Bruno placed me in the chair and looked at me with expectation asking what I wished to do. Clearly he was hoping that I would say I'd cut it all off but, I said that I would maybe prefer to make my hair lighter this time (I have a lot of hair, heavy and straight), cutting it up front to back. A bit Jennifer Aniston style - not a novel thing but it works for me.

So he looks at my hair and then he says in his nice southern French:

But you know, that style when you're touching 30 is a bit on the limit...

He lets the words hang there for me to absorb. And first thought was... but how does he know I'm rounding 30?? And do I look like I'm that old?? Did some wrinkles pop up around my eyes??
In a second I was flabbergasted then I just took it all in and felt old and unfashionable!!

Bruno stands there smiling with his perfect hair, then he starts laughing...

Then I realised, he was just taking the piss out of me. He's got all my client details on the computer and he knew that the Big 30 was coming up. And we both started laughing but I tell you, those seconds were the only bad ones I've had on turning 30!!

My Hair is just the way I wanted it and a little bit better :) And now I'm going to add a kilo or two to my lines by finishing up the birthday cake from yesterday!!! Nam!

No Longer in My 20s

2009-04-20T15:08:00.003+02:00

Happy Birthday to Me!!

Today I'm 30! And so far it has been great. I've been treated to a breakfast chocolate mousse birthdaycake, a resturant birthday lunch with birthday presents from my wonderful colleagues. I'll be really sad to leave these nice people in July ... But also happy to move back home again :)

Of all days I managed to forget my mobile phone at home in Toulon so if I don't answer sms or phonecalls that's the reason... For those of you on facebook - my workcell is posted :)

**Lot of happy smiles** :)

Addictive Power Trip

2009-04-06T21:21:00.004+02:00

How many times haven't I called the Service Clientele for either the phone, electricity or water or to have the oven repaired and most often getting the most lousy service, but I feel helpless and find myself being sugarly sweet when I'd rather have that person's neck in between my two hands in pure Simpson style?? The answer is many. Very many. But logic says that if you're not being nice they will not be very nice back so... I stay calm and polite and then tear my hair out afterwards.

Then at work I had the roles inverted and I was the person with the power. I was the client with the big contract, the hard cash and this particular client (Me!!) wasn't too happy with the recent developments and treatment received from company X.

So after one month of numerous delays, 'unexpected' problems, no answers on the phone and other annoying faults and fact I had Mr. Responsible on the phone and I hammered him... and now, this is the best part... IN FRENCH!! I'm really proud and WOW! it felt marvelous having the power for once. My colleague and idol when it comes to well-founded reproaches even told me that I had done quite so well. Coming from the Queen of hard talk that was quite a compliment :)

And what did Mr. Responsible do? Crawl. For me.
Aaaah, it was a glorious moment and it was as if I had revenged all the phonecalls done to the Service Clientele in the past.

Just when it's Needed

2009-03-30T22:33:00.006+02:00

As you might have gathered from my last post I've been feeling a little down lately. There are a few reasons for that but none of which I'd like to share here. My blog is personal enough at times and sometimes I wish it had stayed anonymous but hey! too late for that now. Maybe this post will fit into the bigger picture later on but for now I'd just add a few other lines.

It's been the usual Monday. Like Garfield I'm not a big fan of Mondays (and there was no lasagna for dinner either!) and The Cure thinks they're both blue and black... but Fridays... I'm in love.

After working overtime I finally sat in the car, driving towards my mountain flat. The light was quite beautiful and I felt grateful we had turned the time one hour ahead. Nothing like a bit of sunlight to cheer up some sombre thoughts. The car radio came on automatically and as usual I started the search for the channel that worked on that part of the road (I told you I live in the middle of nowhere!! :) After some crackling a beautiful voice sang her heart out. Listening without listening, the words seem to find their way into my mind and suddenly I started laughing and crying and laughing again. The last two verses were of the song was all I heard but it was as if it was meant for me in that instant. Thank you Universe!

After some googling I found Pascale Picard and her song " Smilin" on YouTube so I could share it with you.

The Balance

2009-03-23T21:06:00.003+01:00

Maybe it's because I'm tired or because it's Monday but the moral is pretty low today. Driving home to the apartment after an hour of overtime I realised that the balance is not right now either.

For three years I just wanted to find a job! I really wanted to work, to have a job but staying here away from the home where I have my life, my hobbies, husband and cat doesn't feel right either. I want both and not having to choose between the two. I've been here two months, and tonight I can't imagine another 4 here. And I'm fully aware that 4 months doesn't sound like much, that's why accepted the six in the first place but...

I can't help thinking how much nicer it would be to come home to L., tired yes, but making dinner together, watching a film or reading a book. And to have time and possibility to do things after work. The fact of going to the doctor is becoming difficult, going to the shops, doing errands... cramming it all into the weekends is just stressful.

On the positive side the evenings are getting brighter and its easier to plan a little walk along the river. Hopefully the next three evenings I can get out of the office earlier and take some photos of the springtime.

The Scent of Childhood

2009-03-19T22:41:00.005+01:00

I've been time traveling this this afternoon. In crystal clear flashback and I was standing on the sloping hill leading down to the sea. The same road I would walk to school not far from Bergen where my parents used to live. It was the exact same perfume... mixed with the smell of green and newly cut grass. I wish I knew the name of the tree with those white flowers but I do know one thing; when the sweet perfume is in the air, it's springtime!

Aaah, life is beautiful!

You Better Stop. Please.

2009-03-18T10:38:00.003+01:00

Now this advert is the most annoying ever!! I wanted to say something about the singer too but after some research I found out she's a real singer with a band, having toured with famous people so I'll leave that out. She is surely good at what she does as long as she stays out of my TV screen in the morning during adverts.

To me there's a reason one sings in the shower and in the car. It might come as a surprise but NOBODY can hear you. That's the trick and let's leave it that way! Pliiis?

As one of the commentators said so elegantly on YouTube:

Elle meneeeeeeeerve mdr

Where to Start?

2009-03-16T19:23:00.009+01:00

I know I had a lot to say when internet was a far off dream, something that would only happen to the "regular" French people. Two months passed where I, when nobody was looking, was sneaking into my igoogle to peak at the blog headlines, looking at my fav photoblogs wondering when I'd have time to go outside and take some of my own.

January was cold and dark. The mornings started at 7am, and it was dark, I went outside and immediately uttered some less nice words about the temperature which most often (and still is) below zero degrees celsius which meant scraping the ice off my car. The second week at work I was placed in the archives. If you haven't been to a storage archive before then I can tell you that they are normally placed in the less attractive parts of the buildings and most surely have no windows. I enjoyed it though and it helped me getting into the job more at ease. Getting to know people little by little. And when I was let out in the evening the sun had set and I had no energy left but to go to bed early.

You have no idea of what a pensioner I have turned into. No actually, I'm sure the pensioners around this village have more fun than I do!!

February was the month I finished the second part of the first project and was allowed to get to know my office. I knew I had a desk, colleagues and a great office chair but it had seemed far off when I first was stuck with 26 cubic meters of paper to handle in a windowless archive. My social life outside work had improved too. My landlady, a young spirited pensioner, invited me for dinner together with her friend, who again brought her locataire, a dutch girl my age. And after that we got into a the habit of having weekly dinners. The two local ladies, C and J, are the most welcoming, open and charming french people I've met in my three years in this country. Maybe it's the fact that we're away from the touristy seaside. Or maybe it's the size of this little town that makes them more open, even though this village is surviving on tourism as well.

And the weekends?? Come friday afternoon and I can be seen racing in the car, vroooming along to loud music, singing my heart out. I honestly can't wait to get home on fridays. To my little monstercat and L. Lorenzo, who since january has been preparing every weekend down to every detail. Once I walk in the door there are wonderful parfumes coming from the kitchen. All I have to do is sit down and enjoy a succulent dishes and good red wine. This gets repeated for the rest of the weekend until I once again race off in the car monday morning listening to the news and not singing a single note. But what more can I ask for? Nothing! :)

March is here and I'm permanently at my desk, at least for now. It's a slow moment as my office is putting in place procedures and building foundations for future projects. So that leaves me with moments where I invent very important task like looking for tickets to Norway or browsing google earth dreaming about beautiful places.

It's strange (and wonderful) how much you appreciate the things you had but suddenly don't have anymore, or at least not so much. Before I got this job I couldn't wait to get out there, and now I can't wait to get home, to go to Italy, to jump on a plane to Norway, go sailing... and the list goes on. There's another taste to life when you have to look forward to something, need to plan it, to wait for it. I wouldn't trade it for anything - well not yet... We'll see when I'm getting closer to the end of my contract ;)

Houston, we have a...

2009-03-10T19:31:00.003+01:00

CONNECTION!! I am actually writing this from my little mountain flat on my new laptop.

*Happy sigh*

And suddenly all the planned posts I've had in my head seem to have disappeared but hopefully my brain will connect too after this initial euphoria of wireless internet and illimited phonecalls to 80 countries around our beautiful world.

Coming out of the Dark Age (?)

2009-03-10T14:44:00.004+01:00

The internet box have finally arrived at the Point Relais.

Web sweet web, I will soon surf you again... *Smily sigh of relief*

I've Got a Phoneline

2009-02-10T13:06:00.002+01:00

...and I can now order the internet/phone package to be installed in my flat. It's taking forever because my situation is, as usual, not regular and thus nobody knows the procedures. But this afternoon I should be able to order it which means in 2 weeks (?) I'll have my connection up.

I can't wait to be online again and have the freedom to blog, to surf and to read all your blogs. Imagine the countless posts I've missed these 4 weeks already! Weekends go past in a haze normally and I don't use the internet but try to spend time with L. They are definitely more special when we're not seeing eachother all the mon-fri.

I also need to answer emails - a bunch of them. Estelle, Seema and Amerigirl, I haven't forgotten about you and promise an email soon :)

It's Crazy how a Chair makes all the Difference

2009-01-30T15:02:00.005+01:00

So the logistics guy in my building, whom I had hassled to move 59 carton boxes weighing tons into my humble archive, took pity and gave me a chair today. A PROPER office Chair. With wheels. It's over two weeks I'm standing straight up and down to my feet's dispair. Putting my laptop on shelfs. Sitting on trolleys. Sitting on boxes or putting the laptop on boxes. Very comfortable.

Then this marvel of a chair was rolled in here and now I can be seen rolling happily among the shelves, and even if someone wanted to, they couldn't make leave this memory foam chair ever again. EVER!

Aaaah, LIFE IS GOOD in this chair!

Monday Blues is Coming

2009-01-25T19:13:00.005+01:00

The weekend is over and tomorrow I'll head back to the apartment and work. It's exciting and fun, but also so tiring. It's all positive though because it really makes me appreciate where we live now, by the sea, and not in some mountain village where I'm scraping the ice off the car in the morning and being in company on the roads with crazy speed-loving french locals. Mammamia, we need organ donors but I hope it's not going to be me yet.

Digressing... At work I'm currently working with my Italian boss with whom I speak Italian. I speak English with my Australian and English colleagues and French with the security personnel etc. So I get to practice all three languages which is great. It's the perfect in the way of being international. However, we have people coming from all over the world to work there so we're not lacking cultural diversity!

This weekend we have seen the sun, finally. It's been an unusual harsh winter here (all being relative of course) and we've missed the sun. That meant we ran out this morning when we woke up to a hot and bright sun. With the sneakers on we headed to the forest and decided to walk along the beaches - what is usually the nudist beaches in the summer. And just when I was thinking that we wouldn't be seeing any naked people a man appeared in front of us with a sweater on, boots and nothing in the middle. I had to suppress a loud laughter but what can I say, everyone have their very own pleasures.

Our trip was cut short though as L. was caught by a monster wave as we were rounding a rock. I had saved myself climbing a bit higher and when I turned around and saw him standing there wet as a cat, I started laughing so much I couldn't move. He was soaking wet from the neck down with the mouth wide open in surprise and shock. Then he started laughing too. Needless to say we returned home straight away.

I hope all of you had a nice weekend too :)

Stopping by to say Hello!

2009-01-21T12:52:00.002+01:00

Thanks for your kind and encouraging comments in my last post. I'm currently at work and of course in my lunchbreak. Wouldn't want to blog or other such things in the working hours... :)

I still have no internet in my flat but I am working on it. The USB internet key was a good solution until I discovered that the town isn't in a good internet commication zone. Anyway, just popping in to say that as soon as this is sorted I'd be blogging more often.

As for work:
First week was mind-blowing - as in I had no mind left when the weekend came. I rolled home in my car, parked and was placed at the table where Lorenzo had put down a nice pastadish with tuna and capers and then he served me homemade tiramisu for dessert. The perfect recipe for a long nap on the sofa.

During the week though I had moments of euphoria feeling like real career woman. I got my own laptop, I was walking around in smart office clothes instead of comfy slacks as I usually would and I was placing internal orders for stuff like a mobile phone etc. Quite cool. Then I had also those low moments where I was thinking, "Gosh, I'll never get my head around this organisation and it's structure and will I even be capable of doing my job properly??!" And had the urge to get myself in the car and go home.

Now I'm in the second week and I'starting to get a glimse and feel of what is expected of me. And it's just to get cracking with the job because I've got a deadline on monday I'll never manage to keep. Hec, it wasn't me doing the planning and if they want to to finish they better send me some renforts.

So gotta go but I hope to be back soon!

The One where I'm Going Offline...

2009-01-11T14:23:00.003+01:00

It's been a busy week. I have visited and found an apartment to rent and prepared everything for tomorrow morning, my first day at work in a looong time. I'm a little tense and it'll be strange sleeping away from L. most of the week.

I'll be without internet for a week until I get a clé 3G, wifi, connected to my new laptop. I'll be a lot online for the next 6 months so soon there are no excuses for being slow on my blog posts.

The apartment? The first one I saw was so smelly I almost gagged walking in. How can anybody let something like that out??? And the owner seemed ever proud to show it to me! No thanks! The second was spacious and clean. The third was a "coup de coeur" with a fabulous bacony and he one I accepted. It's a well done studio (30 m2) on the top floor with a nice view of the village and the valley. Maybe closer to spring I'll bring my bike to exercise a bit and to find nice spots to photograph - having already seen many along the main road. I will have 4 nights a week to dedicate to myself and my hobbies so I should manage to be quite productive. I have already met my neighbour - a lovely old lady I'm sure I'll spend some time with in the future. She's already invited me for coffee and cakes.

The job? I know nothing yet but I've took advantge of the sales and bought some office clothes.

Lorenzo? He's being just lovable and have done foodshopping for me for a week - but will probably last me two seeing the quantities. We're planning on exploring the area in the spring. Gorge du Verdon is not far and neither are the lavander fields we've only seen on postcards but never in costal provence.

So with this I'll sign off for now! If I can sneak a moment in my new office during the week I'll keep you posted on how it's going :)

SNOW

2009-01-07T11:35:00.004+01:00

This morning Marseille woke up to this and I'm jealous. I've missed out on snow in Norway and Milan and now Marseille which is only a few KM away!

Images borrowed from PC Circulation Marseille

Social Cluelessness

2009-01-04T15:41:00.000+01:00

When did you have your last gaff moment? Or have you even had a gaff moment someone told you AFTER the whole event and you just didn't realise you gaffed up?

The years abroad in a smaller social circle of friends, as in no uni and no workplace have left me feeling inadequate, less social intelligent and sometimes saying things that I hear in the very same minute was not supposed to be said. And what do I do? Kick myself in the leg thinking - how did I end up here?? I was the one who usually made fun of the people lacking social intelligence.

It's frustrating and I blame my years abroad for this. If I had stayed in Norway surrounded by a whole big network of friends this wouldn't have been an issue. But of course if I stayed there and avoided going abroad I would have been lacking a whole lot of other qualities I've picked up on the way... like the excessive TV series addictions, a language confused brain, unemployment and shopaholic'ness (makes you feel better on a bad day) just to mention a few.

Now I hear the question - so what have you done now? Well, I have done a few embarrassing gaffs in the last few months. None have cause major damage but enough to make me blush by the thought. Worst was it when my friend rang me and told me I had made a gaff and I hadn't even realised. In this case I don't care about the actual gaff but rather that I hadn't realised I had made one. Oh well, shi* happens and I can only hope my future 6 month job will rectify some of the damage done to my self image!

Happy Holidays

2009-01-02T18:22:00.003+01:00

Happy New Year everyone!

I've thought about blogging during the holidays but it remained just a thought as we've been busy having a great time in Norway. We even had the time to spend a few days in the wood cabin on the island far out in the sea - imagine fireplace, tea, music and a brand new pack of Dominoes and it's instructions. We tried to go fishing too but my fishingrod disintegrated at the first try. But that was just as well because it was raining and absolutely freezing cold. So we went back to doing the tea and domino activity.

Now we're back in Milan and we've already done the yearly shopping. It's the sales and when I said to L : Let's go to Santino he squirmed like I had proposed to pull his fingernails out! This shop does all year discounts and at the sales even more. So not only have L reinvented his wardrobe but we've spent a lot less than what we would have in France AND it only took 35 minutes which meant that my dear husband was happy. That shop has just everything from wedding dresses to sporty clothes, handbags and shoes - all styles! So what did I get? A leather jacket - elegant and perfect for spring.

301 Posts and One Job Richer

2008-12-19T21:41:00.003+01:00

Thursday: I didn't realise that the last post was my 300th! A milestone in my blogging career!

So I mainly celebrated that in the car, then in a ugly office in a ugly place south of Aix, then in the car getting lost, then on a infinite motorway to nothing, then in a newly built office in the middle of a valley with a magnificent view of snowcovered mountains. But I was not thinking of any of this.

After 20 minutes in the valley office I got back into my car and raced home with music filling my ears and kicking myself for not having added an important aspect of my career to Mr. Head of Office and the RH lady. Overall the interview went well - I did well even on the tricky parts. But it will be far and costly working for them - a cost in terms of time, petrol, péage (motorway fees) and the risk that the long stretch of motorway brings. Seeing a weird accident on the way home just confirmed the latter. (Southbound lorry loose a tyre which bounce and rolls, crossing three lanes, and from the it jumps the barrier causing two northbound cars crashing into one another).

Seeing the distance and calculating the costs made me rather depressed: a great well-paid job and a great opportunity but. But. BUT. I wasn't feeling happy about it. I realised that I need to sacrifice a lot if I they offer me the job and honestly I just wanted to cry. It all seems too difficult.

Friday: I slept very little. A combination of packing until 01.00 am and being anxious for the feedback. With one unhappy cat in the cage and presents in the booth of the car we started off at 06.30am. Left the cat at the hotel and continued to Milan for a pre-Christmas celebration with the Italian family. Every time the mobile phone rings I'm jumping, an instant cramp sets in the stomach and I feel like throwing the thing out the window.

Friday afternoon: A lovely lunch prepared by MIL soothes many things... Until the phone rings and I see the name. Somehow I wished that I wouldn't be offered the job so that I didn't have to think about the difficult decision but I was. And all I told Mme G. was "wow" - and I felt like vomiting. The family here was very happy for me but couldn't bring myself to tell anyone else because I wasn't sure if I wanted to accept the offer or not. And I still needed to be sent the contract and salary expectations before I would even consider saying 'yes'.

Friday evening: Mme G. called me back with the salary info. Better than any other job I could expect to be offered in the South of France. But I'm still waiting for the contract - I need to know the conditions. And I still haven't officially said yes.

Later that evening: L. and I discussed it a lot, a lot more than a lot actually. And after a few hours I was feeling more relaxed and felt a hint of excitement. Since it's only a 6 month contract I have decided to become a weekend commuter! I'll find a furnished studio that I'd stay in from monday-friday. It's 40h work week which would only allow me to come home late (8 + 3h on the road), tired, eat and go to sleep. This solution will get me the experience I need to find another job closer to home! (For reasons I already know about there is no chance I'll ever be able to get a fixed term contract with this company. I could possible get an extension but this is uninteresting if there's not a future prospect in sight thus making it uninteresting for us to move closer).

Then I sent an sms to everyone making it 'official' to myself and my family/friends that I had been offered the job and that I will I accept it (99% sure if the contract is OK) ... and then went to see my nephew. He put on a big smile and show just so I could see him take his first wobbly steps :)

In This Moment...

2008-12-18T14:58:00.003+01:00

...I'm starting my interview now in this minute so cross all your fingers and toes for me.

And to a very special girlfriend: HAPPY BIRTHDAY & Grattis med Dagen AB!! I hope you get to keep your birth day to yourself ;-) KLEEEEM!!

The Dutiful Citizen

2008-12-17T17:18:00.002+01:00

...calls the police when necessary. So I did, and I don't think they cared about what I had to say. Never mind, I did my duty.

On my walk to day, cut very short, I noticed between 10-20 boxes thrown into what had become a river after the last days of rain. It didn't look at all like rubbish so I went to have a closer look and found that about half the boxes contained medicines destined for medical offices, there were toys, bags and who-knows what else in the other sealed ones. It looked like the post office van had dumped it's load there - packages with names and addresses, letters etc.

I first didn't know what to do and since nobody was drowning it seemed a bit excessive to call the emergency numbers. So I found the owner of two of the boxes and rang them and they rushed there to thank me and pick up their stuff. It was about then I saw medicines and medical equipment and called the police.

The police asked me if I could pick the stuff up and keep it safe. And that made me almost laugh out loud - if that stuff was stolen and then dumped there would it be wise for me to keep all that at home??? I don't think so! I've seen way too much CSI for that ;) Anyway, it was too much for me alone to pick it up and soaked with water. Nope, I thought - pick it up yourself Monsieur Flic!

Gasp!

2008-12-15T16:14:00.004+01:00

I have another job interview!!! On Thursday. I'm so excited ... and nervous. I'm sure it'll be fine though. What makes me even more nervous is not knowing the place thus risking not being there in time because I'll get lost somewhere around Aubagne or Aix en Provence. Which is why I'll be leaving home early and having time to get lost and re-find my way. But I never get lost because I've apparently inherited some of my dad's sense of direction which means I'll probably be there 1h30 ahead of time looking like a person not having better things to do than sit stationary in a parkinglot while waiting for my appointment. This is standard procedure. And I'm rambling because I'm nervous.

The interview will be in English this time (sigh of relief) which is an advantage I have over my French competition. At least I'm capable of pronouncing "TH" for what it is and not some hazy "Z" - but for the more important aspects like skills we'll see how it goes.

I Love Santa!

2008-12-15T10:00:00.008+01:00

Gabriele: 1 year old and the cutest Santa ever!

It's been a lazy weekend at home. On Saturday we went to Toulon to buy a few presents and I'm really proud of my L who didn't complain a single time. The absolute worst I can do to L. is take him shopping on a Saturday, add Christmas and a zillion more people and I'm getting close to a divorce. But he was calm as a Saint and it was actually quite cozy under all the Christmas lights in town.

Sunday we woke up to thunder and rain, a lot of rain. And compared to saturday L. (and I) had a dream sunday! Rainy and grey, fireplace, hot cups of tea, homemade cinnamonrolls and snooker on BBC - what more can you wish for?!? Mind you that I had a book in my hands and only partially followed the snooker...

This week will go by in a flash of preparations for the holidays. On thursday we'll pack the car and go to Milan to spend three days with the family there before we fly to Norway where we'll spend the rest of the Christmas holidays.

It Actually Works!

2008-12-09T16:35:00.005+01:00

So far I have thought that leaving my CV on different websites was just a waste of time. However I have always done it though, being the optimist that I am. And today, a lady from an angency called me about a job! Who knows where she found me, but I'm glad she did. She asked for my CV in english and after spending an hour updating it with the new layout I've sent it off.

This job too is at some distance to my house but it's all motorway, etter paid and no work in the weekends AND it's in English! It's a 6 month temp job but that will buy me a lot of photo equipment I can use when the contract is done!

Now all I can do is wait and see if I'm selected for an interview. These are all positive signs. Here the whole of Europe goes into recession and suddenly now things seem to brighten up on the job market for me....hmmm

Weekend Recap

2008-12-08T10:18:00.002+01:00

A long weekend in Milan! Left friday morning and was home just in time for lunch, prepared by mother in law. Yam!
Helped L choose my Christmas present :) Normally I like surprises but this wasn't planned so I just have to fake a surprise while opening it on Christmas day.
Lots of family time - our nephew has new two teeth now and can walk with a little help from us! It's a shame we're missing out on so much of his life and growing up. He's a very willing model though and my sister in law had asked me to take some Christmas themed photos of him. And they turned out really well :)
Got a taste of my favourite italian savours : Pizzoccheri, Pandoro, Stracchino, homemade gnocchi, olive ascolane etc.
On the way home we stopped in a tiny village for lunch. The great thing about Italy is that you're almost always lucky in the choice of a resturant or a trattoria - all you need to do is exit the motorway and find the nearest village. We stopped close to Ovada - searched the GPS for the nearest trattoria and we ended up in a hilltop village with great views of the snowy hills around. We had fresh ravioli with a sauce made from meatroast juices and tagliatelle with eschalot sauce. Divine! I'm mean, it was jsut about the best ravioli I've ever had in my life. As a main dish we had rolled rabitt roast and duck in honey and tabasco. Needless to say that I fell asleep shortly after in the car while Lorenzo took me safely back home.
The cat was offended that we had left her at home but couldn't help herself and purr'ed once we had got comfy on the sofa.

Moments

2008-12-06T15:06:00.003+01:00

It doesn't happen often but when it happens it's like having found a treasure. A treasure not to be shared but kept safe and enjoyed like a newfound gem.

It's going to be difficult to explain. This is because these moments, which could be anything; a meeting, a conversation, a realisation or even a revelation etc. (you name it. What is special for each one of us is is completely different...) feel so prescious, and if you share it with someone it will be less worth in some weird way. Or it might be misunderstood, dissected or rationalised until the beauty disappears.

In the last 10 years I have had two moments like this - two very different moments. I still remember the first as if it happened yesterday - a strange "Sliding doors" moment which left me quite confused like a pawn in a chess game. It was a long time ago and now the beauty has faded and I have actually told a friend about this some time ago - and confirmed the fact that it was better to keep it to myself.

And the second happened a few weeks ago and I feel more tranquil and happy than I have in a long time.

For the record :
No I haven't been recruited into a sect/religion, nor am I mentally unbalanced (though I'd probably say that even if I was :) but I'm sure a lot of internauts out there are safekeeping special moments that meant a great deal at some point in their lives too.

I'm just so grateful for this particular 'moment' that I felt like blogging it out loud.

Friday : the Day that Disappeared in a Haze

2008-11-29T10:22:00.005+01:00

Nablopomo - I'm out. Does sick leave exist??

After my last post on Thursday night I got worse as I had to retaste all the meals I had had during the day. Wonderful.

Yesterday morning we had to get up really early as L's colleague had a flight to catch in Marseille at noon. I showered and got dressed, and felt quite well all considering. I even manged to eat a little breakfast thinking that the worse had passed. Now that was an erroneous thought.

The five-hour car trip home was quite uneventful, I slept and only woke up every time L opened the window to pay the motorway fees. Brrrr...

Well home the cat was so happy to see us! Well, that's my interpretation of her ignoring us completely but doing a light stroke around our feet. The house was absolutely freezing cold. I had of course put the electric heaters all wrong before leaving on Tuesday.

At this point it was all going downhill. I started shivering again, put on a fourth sweater, crawled underneath the woollen thick blanket on the sofa and stayed there until L had prepared lunch and lit up the fireplace. And then I fell asleep only to wake up with nausea, a bad headache and more fever. I never actually moved from the sofa the whole day. Apart from when my brother rang me but I had to hang up because the dinner wanted to come back up again.

So even though I knew I had to blog to stay in the nablopomo I just couldn't find the force to tap a few words. Sweet L even offered to write it for me :) but I couldn't gather the force to guide him through the passwords and tell him what to write. It's been fun and I'll try again next year.

The plan that failed

2008-11-27T21:14:00.002+01:00

==== side note: not only is this a french keyboard but now certain keys don't work anymore. like the shift key... sigh. home tomorrow... hopefully====

how would you spend your second and last day in a girona? exactly. exploring. it has been very humid and very cold but as the cliché likes to state it - i'm from norway so this shouldn't bother me. aaargh.

camera and map in hand, i go to have breakfast in town, outside in the sunshine because breathing other people's smoke in the morning is quite sickening. a lovely day. i manage to even get some good photos of graffiti for this year's theme in the club.

then i set out for the old town. beautiful and full of history. i do the churches and walk on top of the protective city wall. this takes about 4 hours before i started to feel hungry for some tapas. yum. it was lovely.

and that's were my plan started to go all wrong. after lunch i was to stroll through the elegant shops in search for elegant things to wear, just the general elegant your find in spain and italy but that doesn't exist in toulon. i got cold. i realised that all the shops had closed for lunch anyway so i went to rest a little at the hotel. the shops were situated on the opposite side of the old town, ergo close by. i never got out of bed, i've been shivering like a leaf for hours and i still do. brrrrrr.... the aspirine seems to have no effect. is this the flu? i don't know but it's not nice. and not nice to get ill on holiday since i had a nice little budget for topping up my wardrobe. gutted.

i hope i feel better tomorrow as the car ride home might otherwise be extraaa long. crawling into bed now. i will be catching up on all your blogs soon. promise;

Sneak Preview

2008-11-26T23:24:00.006+01:00

On stolen minutes on L's laptop I'm blogging to let you hqve a preview of Girona at night. Night temperatures are around 4 degrees which to us, spoiled with the mild southern french climate is feeling rather harsh but not so much that bottle of Rioja wine can't take care of it :)

PS: if you find any Q letters instead of A letters in the words it's the fault of the french keyboard. It takes a couple of extrq neurons to work this out. The numbers are signs, the A is replaced with the Q. The M is a B and so on and on and on. Combine thqt with said bottle of wine and dry contact lenses and you have an excellent result!

Bestest Husband

2008-11-25T21:30:00.000+01:00

Do you see this baby to the left? That's the surprise my husband gave me when he came home last night! It's a nikon 50mm f1.8 lens and is great for portraits or any photos where you want a shallow depth of field. It's also fast which means you can get good shots in low light without using the flash. And then it's the sharpness of the photos too. (Happy sigh) Of course I ripped it out of it's paper and tried it straight away.

Hopefully I'll have some good examples to show upon my return from Spain :)

Conclusion

2008-11-24T19:07:00.005+01:00

All your well wishes did me well. Thank you! I was calm and had only two fluttering butterflies in my tummy instead of stuttering 10.000.

When I rounded the last corner and had St. Tropez in view, my instant thought was: I want to work here! The sun was low and lit up the old town and the port and I regretted not having brought my camera. Once parked I had a hot chocolate in a very fancy place in the port (the temperature hasn't exceeded 9° celcius today) it was almost worth the Euro 5.80! I spent for it.

Then I headed to the offices and first passed a language test. Sounds serious but I honestly spent 1 minute and 12 seconds with a lady, she then shuffled me out of her office saying I didn't need any sort of test. It was a bit funny though because we exchanged a few words in French, a few in English, most in Italian and upon leaving we were unsure of what language to use to say goodbye. It turned out to be something like Grazie, Au Revoir and have a good evening...

Then I met the Director and his co-worker. There was a very relaxed atmosphere. If the chair was softer and I had a cup of tea I would have felt right at home. They complemented my language skills, my motivation and told me I would fit right in... but I lived too far away. And they even hinted that I wouldn't see my husband all summer if I was to commute. (That wouldn't be good.) They did half offer me a translation job though... and they gave me names of people they knew who could further help my job search - and I could name them as references. How cool is that!?!

To summerize, I'm a bit dissapointed but the meeting went so well and I have definitely learnt from this so I'm more happy than sad. I'll now force the cat to stay on the sofa with me while I have an aperitif waiting for L to come home. And thanks again for all your support! :)

PS: The picture has been borrowed from this website!

Hola!

2008-11-23T23:49:00.003+01:00

A last minute decision will take me to Girona (Spain) on Tuesday. L will attend some meetings and I'm coming too, as I have to so many of his business trips this year. It will be a nice reward for stressing for this job interview tomorrow. And the best of all, I will get to see me friend E who after two years in Milan and two in Australia has finally moved back home to Spain and has just given birth to a gorgeous little girl. In December it would have been 3 years since last time I saw her and her husband. I honestly can't wait to meet them again. The wonderful thing about friends is that even though time pass and we change, the friendships remain. Well, most of the time anyway.

And for the interview, boh... I'm a little nervous but I'm trying to tell myself that I don't need to be. They simply want to know if I'm the right person for the job, and I want to find out if the job is right for me. It's a win win deal and it will be good training for my future interviews. So I'm going to be relaxed well knowing that the trip to Girona will take my mind of things regardless of the outcome.

PS: The dinner last night was great but I'm so not used to people smoking anymore. I'm sure I've passivly smoked 40 cigarettes last night! Anyway, 10 points for the ambiance, diner and décor.

Un Diner Presque Parfait

2008-11-22T23:30:00.002+01:00

For those of you who live in France you will know the progam which I think is called "Come dine with me" in England. That's what I'm doing now, only unofficial, together with some friends. We're having a great time.

Since I'm in nablopomo I'm just leaving this tiny message to not miss a day :) I'll tell you all about it passed midnight when I'm back home.

Hope you're all are having a great saturday night!

Beaching in November

2008-11-21T23:05:00.003+01:00

A long day that ended up on the beach. There were beautiful colours tonight and I grabbed my camera trying to catch the mood. I arrived at Brutal Beach after the sun had already set so I didn't have minutes to waste. The image might look peaceful but the wind almost knocked me over and the waves constantly meanaced my lightly dressed feet. I wish I had a few neutral density filters as it would have made the sky look better. Maybe Santa will bring me one or two?

Family

2008-11-20T23:19:00.003+01:00

I look forward to going home for Christmas. Home to my family and my second family - my girlfriends. (Ai - I didn't find any tickets worth buying for next week. A more careful planning should take me to your lovely new address soon though :) These photos are from Norway when I went in September, a trip I dreaded and looked forward to. In the end I had two lovely weeks and nothing in them to be dreaded at all. Only two sunny weeks spent with my lovely family. And below my beautiful nieses, happy to pose, in a typical Norwegian setting. However, in december there will be no green grass but hopefully a thick carpet of white crispy snow.

19. Nov. 2008

2008-11-19T21:53:00.004+01:00

Oh wow, I've tried to write this post three times now and I can't even fake a coherant post. It becomes a rambling of thoughts that I have a hard time following, so heaven help those of you who actually come to visit here. I'm going to do such an original thing as a bulleted list:

I've finally picked a new book to read. I'm complicated and probably a little crazy, but not before one of the unread books I see on my shelf jump out screaming "Pick me up! " - I don't. After a good book the next will dissapoint me, so I do the waiting game. Let the good book slide to the dark hidden corners of my mind and only then let myself be tempted by a new one. Now The Time Travellers Wife is waiting for me.
I've done some interview training today. It's more like getting to know some of the common questions and the rest seemed to be logic.
Samantha who? is a great show. Braindead humor and total entertainment. I'm not really a TV series person. I've been hooked on just a few shows in my life... hmmm... I'm lying. When I start counting them I realise I should probably take up another evening hobby or something.
I so NEED to make the Christmas giftlist and get the whole shopping thing out of the way. It could actually be quite fun if I wasn't constantly thinking that I also need to send out Christmas cards. Is it OK to do it all by email these days? Please say yes!
One of my best friends in Norway is having a baby in December. And it should all be happening the day before we get home. Well, unless the little guy decide to enter this world a little early. I can't wait to see them!
I guess I'll find my husband sleeping on the sofa now because I haven't been there to chat his ears full of the uninteresting bulleted facts of today.

Good Night!

Jobless? I might not be for long...

2008-11-18T11:58:00.004+01:00

I just had a phonecall coming in. A great phonecall! Next monday I'm going to an interview for a job in the tourist industry!

Me. Job. Interview!! :) It's a CDD (fixed term contract) going to a CDI (indefinite time) after 10 months.

There's only one problem... the job will be about one hour by car away and as I don't mind commuting it's rather the tourist traffic creating a problem to either get to the place or get home. And the nice lady made it quite clear on the phone saying that it was imperatif that I move closer if I want this job. Which is out of the question for me as we bought this house last year. Sigh.

I'll figure out a plan now on how to get there and then just try and convince them about it.

And then on to the confidence booster:

I thanked her for calling me and asking me to the interview and she answered: That was easy, you have such an interesting CV and so many experiences and languages, you were an obvious choice.

I was an obvious choice... Aaaahh... I can live on that alone for now!
:)

Sam Who?

2008-11-17T20:59:00.003+01:00

I'm stuck on a new TV series and it's so funny! If you haven't already seen it then here's a promo from Youtube:

I'm going back to the sofa :) I (almost) promise to be a better bloggergirl tomorrow. Almost.

Even Darth Vader must Eat

2008-11-16T23:50:00.003+01:00

After an afternoon with the real Star Wars film on ITV, I'd like to share with you the hidden life on the Death Star presented by Eddie Izzard and animated in style - Lego style.

Enjoy! - I did :)

No Thread Needed

2008-11-15T21:08:00.003+01:00

I got my photomagazine yesterday which taught me how to make panorama photos - stitching. Either you do it manually or like me the automatic way. If the outcome is the same why bother with the lenghty process? If you have CS3 and Bridge and this is a piece of cake. Select and higlight the photos you want to merge in Bridge, go to the Tools menu --> Photoshop --> Photomerge. Voilà, now photoshop will open and the image will be done. Make sure that the photos overlap well, do a little bit of cropping to get it straight and you should get something like this. And as always, click on the photo to see them bigger and better :)

Sardinia :

Horta:

Travel Excitement, where did you go?

2008-11-14T17:45:00.007+01:00

Lately I've been pondering about where the adventure-like feeling of travelling disappeared to. When I was a kid and only 7 years old my dad's company took us to visit him Korea where he was working then. I remember school finishing and the holidays starting, and I was told I was going to Korea. I didn't know where it was, only that it was a country far away from our Nordic roots. It was like going to the end of the earth, unexplored waters and I didn't know what to expect. It was the packing for the unknown - who knew if I was ever coming back, 6 weeks is a long time after all. Almost the entire school holiday!

I grew older and the going abroad was not so frequent as my dad only wanted to stay homeground in Norway. He was travelling too much and had no desire whatsoever to spend his precious time in some cheesy holiday resort in Spain. I didn't understand that when I was a kid though. Back then it was utterly incomprehensible NOT wanting to spend a holiday on a crowded beach somewhere down southern Europe. So we went on family holidays in our boat or wood cabin (by the sea) summer and winter.

As a grown up I totally understand what he meant - and now I'm more up for private quite holidays than a package holiday. (But don't get me wrong, if you offer me a holiday now, I'd accept anyplace anytime with whatever company!)

Then when I turned 15 my parents allowed me to go to summer school on Jersey. What a thrill and excitement! Four girls going and we were such innocent ;) teenagers. So many butterflies turning my insides out. Meeting new people. Traveling by bus through Sweeden and France. A stop in Paris and Euro Disney. The ferry crossing from St. Malo. Aaaah, such good times.

So where did this feeling of travelling to the unknown go? The feeling of adventure? The thrill of packing for activities you couldn't possibly foresee?

The last real feeling of adventure of going on holiday, I had when I travelled for three months in Thailand, Malaysia and Australia with a stop in L.A, San Diego, Tijuana and New York. I was 18 going 19 and had worked for a year prior to save money and argued with my mum who didn't want me to leave. Understandably. Though I felt quite grown up at the time. Ahhh, the naivité des jeunes. If anyone shows this to my future children there will be much punishment because I'll NEVER let them travel the way I did! Hypocritical I know, but it was a miracle nothing bad happened to us.

I digress... Arriving in Bangkok without the luggage seemed just part of the fun, not having booked an hotel in advance was just cool because we were free spirits roaming the world. Seeing the then untouched beaches of Thailand was like ending up in paradise. Meeting beautiful and kind Thai people taught us things school hadn't. Working on a coffee farm in Australia was a big but funny mistake. Getting stung by some Australian underwater creature, ending up with balloon-like foot could easily be cured by beer (miracle!) - stay in bed like the doctor said... Nah, had no time for that.

I never knew what I'd see next. A thrill I miss. Maybe it's the age the makes one wiser, more knowledgeable and more prepared. Clearly I wouldn't want to go somewhere now, without having read, researched and planned my stay - out of fear of missing the essential attractions, views or restaurants, or whatever it is that makes me want to go there.

(I've left out the travelling abroad to live because that opens up a whole other spectrum of thoughts - another post another day :)

I still love travelling of course, and I'm really looking forward to every trip but the adventure is not there. Now, the trip and holiday starts when I have reached my final destination and not while packing for the trip. If the airline looses my luggage on the way, I'll be upset. If my hotel booking has been cancelled by mistake I'm not smiling. And I know my way around already because I printed the maps at home...

And maybe I've been spoilt the last ten years always travelling back home for every holiday but airports and airplanes carry no more magic for me. Not the same it did when I at 13 flew with my mum and brother through Heathrow to Spain to see my dad who worked there. The smells of the airport, mum rushing nervously to the other gate and hostesses pointing us in the right direction. Now I'm just relaxed, nonchalantly late and getting more and more afraid of flying.

Me in Photos... but not as you think :)

2008-11-13T20:41:00.005+01:00

I've seen this posted on quite a few blogs and I've always loved the beautiful photos that came from the searches. So here are my mosaic anwers to the questions below...

The Rules: you answer the following 12 questions about yourself (my answers are in parentheses after each question):

01. What is your first name? (Astrid)
02. What is your favorite food? (pinnekjøtt)
03. What high school did you attend? (Bergen Handelsgym)
04. What is your favorite color? (red)
05. Who is your celebrity crush? (ansel adams)
06. Favorite drink? (cappuccino)
07. Dream vacation? (Caribbean)
08. Favorite dessert? (pannacotta)
09. What do you want to be when you grow up? (photographer)
10. What do you love most in life? (love)
11. One word to describe you? (impatient)
12. Your Flickr name? (life with a seaview)

Want to play?: Type your answer to each of the above questions into Flickr's search. Using only the images that appear on the first page, choose your favorite and copy and paste each of the URL’s into the Mosaic Maker (4 columns, 3 rows)... Enjoy!

The photographers who shared these images deserves to be credited so here are the links to all of them:

1. Window; To infinity... and beyond?, 2. i give up, 3. Love is Magical, 4. Waiting for a moment, 5. happy birthday sarah!, 6. Sailing across the Turks and Caicos bank, 7. Lifeblood, 8. Airstream over the clouds, 9. APPLE & ICE, 10. houses of Bryggen, 11. Christmas eve at home, 12. lets travel to..

In the Other Person's Shoes

2008-11-12T16:26:00.006+01:00

If I was on the other end of the application process I'd look at my CV and think: Why the hell is this person applying for this job?? And then bin it.

But what have I to loose but a few hours - as long as I can cross off one of the many requirements, they're all getting my CV, cluttering their inboxes. Someone is doomed to see my brillance sooner ort later, right?!?

Long live unwavering optimism :)

UPDATE @ 22.48 PM:

The job ad that sparked my thoughts above just replied, well... the contact person just replied that is. Firstly, that is a positive thing, that he replied! Secondly, damn he was fast! Thirdly, I was right - he binned it but with a nice personal email. 2-1 in positive stuff. Next time 3-0?

Graffiti Love

2008-11-11T22:43:00.005+01:00

A light post coming tonight as I've spent the day cooking for L's colleagues. On tonights menu I had a 'cake aux olives', homemade mini sausage rolls, tagliatelle with ragu bolognese, a platter of french cheese and finally fruit for dessert. Written here it doesn't look like much but for me these things take a long time, and the ragu itself takes around two hours to simmer. I chose a menu that I could prepare everything ahead. That was the plan anyway, prepare it all and then look fresh and pretty for the guests. Instead they all arrived early and I was opening the door with my elbows, wearing a not-so-sexy apron. A nice evening though.

***

I thought I'd share with you a couple of photos I took at the beach of Sablettes the other day. It's the first time I've seen a love tag in France. Milan, on the other hand, is bursting with graffiti love declarations on every corner but then the italians are known for their affectionate culture and Ciao Bella's...

The Feeling of Home

2008-11-10T18:11:00.015+01:00

When do you feel home in a place, and why? What does it take to make you feel home?

I've packed my suitcases many times and I've never truly felt I've unpacked them in a definitive way. Because as a frequent flyer I've always been in the mood of repacking it under conditions like: If it doesn't work out... If I don't settle well... If the job is disappointing...

I've been a bit emotionally confused about this topic for a long time and have thought about it a lot lately. One evening I took my usual powerwalk up the hill. I like it a lot because as soon as you get up you have an amazing view of Toulon, La Seyne, Six Fours and Sanary - or even Hyères in good weather. Once up the sun was setting and there was a red and pink tint to the houses, hills and the sea. I kept looking at all these familiar places and for the first time in two years I felt these places were mine, my neighbourhood, my roads, my shortcuts, my place. It was a wonderful feeling of belonging and being in the right place, of feeling relieved and happy.

I don't know why I suddenly felt like that but the following day it had gone.

The following weekend we went to Marseille to a house warming party - Crémaillere. It was a huge party and we only knew the hosts. We were the only foreigners among 60 marseillais in what seemed like a village feast rather than private party. The whole day passed while we sat around a roasting sheep (No kidding! I'm not talking about cutlets. It was the whole animal on a spit over an enormous BBQ!), drinking Pastis and getting to know the friends of our friends.

On the way home I was in a great mood. I suspect the Pastis wasn't entirely innocent but it occurred to me that I had just taken part in something that made me feel home and belonging in France. The fact that we were invited as friends into a large group of other friends changed the usual "they are foreigners" attitude. It seemed to have no importance what so ever - and refreshingly so!

Ultimately you can create a house, a lifestyle with gadgets and hobbies but unfortunately the people around are players in the game too, the ‘settling in’ game.

The people I meet everyday have the power to make me feel like crap or that I have a place here too. The big life-changing challenges I'm handling quite well but it's the small things that throw me out of balance. Like bad customer service, ignorant people pretending not to understand me, the people trying to take advantage of me because I'm a foreigner... and the list goes on.

Or I might have a great day when I meet truly nice people like when the lady at the dry cleaners smiled at me, picked up my stuff and handed it over saying "Here you go Madame A", remembering my name even though I'm not a frequent customer. Or when the postman, a strange fellow indeed, makes me smile with his "Comment allez-vous Madame A?" Or when he makes a joke like the time L received a large parcel and the postman told me to give it to him AFTER Italy had lost to France in football that evening so it would cheer him up again.

It might seem insignificant but those 5 minutes, a smile and a joke makes my roots dig a few millimetres deeper. I belong somehow because I know someone and that someone knows me. It’s even confusing to me so don't worry my dear reader :)

I guess it's a process that is unique to each person. The perception of home differs and where you are in life too. But one thing is common, we all want to feel home and we would all like to belong - a process not always happening as fast as we would like it to.

I have read a few posts about this topic time ago but I would love to hear what home means to you.

The Seagull

2008-11-09T19:52:00.003+01:00

Click on the photo to see a bigger version of it.

A lonely seagull flies the winds

Majestic... soaring...gliding wings

A single screech sounds from the sky

Come fly with me... come here and fly
by Munda

Sometimes...

2008-11-08T23:12:00.004+01:00

...nothing is better than curling up in his arms in front of the fireplace. Nothing is better than the smile that makes words unnecessary. And sharing a great big bowl of apple crumble topped with vanilla sauce makes everything just sweet.

Jobless but Housetrained?

2008-11-07T21:09:00.006+01:00

My sewing machine decided to go crazy on me. And that was just BEFORE I had finished the hem on my new superslim cool jeans. Needles in, fabric folded and ironed just needed 25cm x 2 of seam and voilà.

I realise that I'm the unemployed here and probably the only one sewing anything myself so I'll spare you the details of why it doesn't work properly anymore!

Repairman n°1 was providing real French customer service (read that with a lot of irony), and spoke so slowly that he clearly thought I was not only a foreigner with a thick accent but that my head was kinda thick as well. He made me quickly understand that in his opinion sewing a jeans hem on my kind of machine was just as bad as having done a 'hit and run' involving 15 schoolchildren. It was "so obvious" that the fabric was too épaisse, thick, but not according to the manual and the needles the machine was delivered with...

He clearly had a fetish for his sewing machines and claimed he couldn't do anything for my poor Toyota so I'm off to repairman n°2 tomorrow. I hope his mental health is doing a bit better.

After this episode I couldn't help laughing! What happened to me? Easy: unemployment is what happened to me!! A few years ago this would have been unthinkable and yet now I'm turning into a (desperate) expat housewife and it's almost going unnoticed. A few days ago I bragged about my new homemade Roman blinds to a friend! I. Bragged. About. Making. Curtains!! I seriously need to get a larger group of friends here so I can rather sit about sipping wine and gossiping instead - I'm as far from a "sex and the city" girl as ever possible.

(Note to my dearest husband: don't get your hopes up. I still won't iron your shirts, a girl needs to draw the line somewhere and as I only buy non-iron clothes... do the math! I will make you a cappuccino in the mornings though :)

I'm still happy with my roman blinds and here's the proof. Now that I proved to myself I could do it, I'll probably never make such curtains again.

What a Day!

2008-11-06T11:07:00.010+01:00

A memorable day and not only because the US elected their first Afro-American president!

Topolina, our cat, laid down on my bathroom floor late last night, doing her characteristic superman style stretch and let herself be caressed whilst she loudly sang a purring song, it was like she said - "Yes I can! Yes I can - and it's even niiice...!?!"

And wow did she purr - 10 whole minutes (!) of purring out loud. For those of you who have had the chance of meeting Her Royal Highness will know just as much as me, that she has never been known to do that! Never in her 1 year and 6 months of life. We always believed we had a non-purring, nasty and biting but good looking kitty. More like a black ghost than a housecat that stayed just out of reach, never curling up in your lap and never, never purring. God forbid. And if you deared touch her you would feel her shap little teeth digging into your fingers - like she was saying "Stop being so annoying, dammit"! An example of the extremity is this: I took her to the veterinary when she came onto my lap and curled up 6 months ago! It turned out she had a 40°c fever and needed an operation!

The fact that she has never had a real voice made it difficult for us to hear when she wanted to come back inside. Topolina overcame this clear handicap by climbing the wooden crosspieces on the windows, or by breathing humid circles onto the window on darker nights when we couldn't see her in her black fur.

As caring cat-parents we never left her alone. Nope, she has been exposed to continuous hours of caressing (or torture according to her), buying her cat beds (which she in a dignified manner just ignored), played with her for hours with the stinky toymouse or the mind-destroying ball with a bell inside, made sure she came in at a decent hour at night and caressed her some more. A broken teen spirit?? Purr kitty purr! :)

A big Day

2008-11-05T10:13:00.004+01:00

Today is a big day for America. The American people wanted a change and they went out and used their powers to alter the political direction the country was heading. It's been amazing to wake up this morning to see all those powerful images and hearing McCain's and Obama's speech.

As all the political commentators said - 'a rocky path lies ahead for the Democrats' but I hope this election didn't divide the country in half but that the two parties will be able to work together on the big issues and create the best possible outcomes.

Congratulations Mr. President Obama and Good Luck!

Photography

2008-11-04T21:27:00.006+01:00

After a rather dissapointing photography course last year I found a great photography club nearby. I almost laughed out loud when the president told me that the yearly fee was 40 euros - which includes free use of the darkroom and free black and white films! Now how they manage to break even every year is still a mistery.

On a side note, I still haven't found an activity where the majority of the memebers are younger people. If kayaking and photography doesn't do the trick I'm not sure what does. As an ex-pat it would have been nice to network a little with people my age. However, to me that just confirms the rumour that the nearby villages to Toulon are just full of pensioners, either they come down from Paris for 6 months in winter or they relocate completely to the warmer south. However, the important thing is that they're all nice people, very nice. And they are probably mentally younger than many other people I've met around here :)

I'm more a digital girl than old 35 mm film though black and white is best from film onto paper. My Canon 50E SLR I bought 12 years ago during my first job in a photography shop in Bergen is feeling rather left out now that my nikon D80 has entered the scene. Oh, how I love, I mean looove my new-ish camera. The club has now gone a little bit more digital this autumn and we have Adobe photoshop/Lightroom seminars and discussions + 'sorties photo' regularly.

But the reason I joined the club was because they were active, active as in organising 2-3 exhibitons every year and we even post the dates in Reponse Photo (one of the biggest french photo magazines). It's nothing fancy, just local galleries and offices but that gives us a theme and a goal to work towards. At first I didn't think having a theme would make me take more photos but I was wrong. Now I'm constantly thinking of photography when I see something that fall into one of the 3 themes for this year. And I do think that makes me plan the photos better and giving me better results. As a beginner that might not mean much but I'm loving it... and photoshop CS3 is starting to unravel its secrets to me as well.

The Night before the Big Day

2008-11-03T23:21:00.003+01:00

There's a thing in the media that's been puzzling me lately. Every TV channel and newspaper has been talking about the US presidential election, analysing McCain and Obama in all directions but it seems like the European / French media are far from objective and is rather cheering on Obama. Now that is just fine with me - I'd rather see Obama than McCain in the White House! But that's not the problem - the problem being a very biased media portrait. I have the impression that if I sit down and count the gaffs and negative press Palin and McCain have received opposed to Obama, I'd see team McCain & Co win.

So what's the problem again? Well simple, I'm afraid that while we all sit around believing the latest polls reporting that Obama is ahead, the reality might be different. Take the example of the latest Italian election where Mr. Prodi won - the media was sure he would win by a large margin, so large that the party had set up party tents for an early evening celebration in the centre of Rome. It didn't turn out that way at all. Prodi won only by a few thousand votes which became clear only very late at night. So for as much as we want a change, I wouldn't trust what the media outlets tells us before all the ballots are counted and the numbers are official.

November 4th will for sure be an exciting day, and even more exciting for all of you out there who voted!