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Growing old

2022 has been a bit more stable than the previous two years, and yet still very much under the influence of the pandemic. The “hibernation” we all went into in 2020 is hard to wake up from. For example, I rarely want to go the grocery store in person like I used to. Instead, I […]

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Live, play, and dream

As the involuntary hibernation of the pandemic starts to ease up, go away, take a back seat to normalcy, I also realize that I need healthier habits at home. Not many years left until sitting at home day after day is the new normal, so I want to fill that normal with something better than […]

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Moss

Mossy rocks in a stream. Moss has its own scent, a bit musty. Moss, by its nature, must grow where there is plenty of moisture, and that usually means a rainy area or where a stream splashes onto rocks. Moss on rocks, moss on trees, moss on fences, moss on logs. Dark, green, cushioned, moist, […]

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61

I’m in my 60s! How strange! But I honestly am excited about this decade I have soundly joined. Oh, there are changes. One eyebrow has started to hang intermittently. The body just isn’t as firm or flexible as it once was, but it’s still healthy and does what I need it to do. Honestly, I […]

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Limbo

It is now 6 months since I last actually worked at the office and not from home. All these months of different routines, of exception, of waiting, have lead to a sort of lethargy. Perhaps some other things, too, have played a part, like it simply being winter. The lengthening days and warmer sun do […]

Aprils past

This April is being spent at home, mostly indoors, away from loved ones, away from strangers. 2 meters apart indoors, 1 meter apart outdoors. Riding in cars and buses is limited or not doable at all. So, I invite you to Aprils past. The following photos are from various earlier years. Kvarven On the point […]

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Clearing out

I think I’ve mentioned Daily Om before, a website that offers life affirming essays and online courses. I’m currently taking a course on clearing. On any other website, it would be called decluttering, but it’s not just getting rid of stuff. It’s the why we hang on to things and how it feels to have […]

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Spring magic

This year I seem to be more aware of budding trees. At this point in the season, where nights are still cold, although days are warmer, growth is slow, careful. I woke up to frost this morning, but now, as we approach sunset, my balcony is baking at a whole 26C/78F in the sun! Won’t […]

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The battle for spring

Of all the seasonal transitions, the one between winter and spring seems to be the most violent. I’ve tried to predict weather using astrology (astrometeorology). The starting point are the seasonal ingress charts, i.e. the charts for the equinoxes and the solstices or the cardinal signs. For the spring equinox the chart is made for […]

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Apples, APP and another abbreviation

Apples makes me think of the old gold mining town of Julian in Southern California, a charming and tiny place that today specializes in apple pie. Warm apple pie with cheddar cheese on it is a wonderfully delicious combo! Lasers make me think of when laserium shows were new. There were shows in Los Angeles, […]

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Seashells

So something a bit shorter today, rather than the lengthy letter home of yesterday’s two blog posts (wherein I mention yoga). I can’t ever seem to go to a beach and not want to pick up a seashell or smoothed rock. Bad habit, really. It sadly just becomes clutter because I’ll never do something fancy […]

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Elevenie "Darkness"

Inspired by Paula’s “elevenie” poem (“Elfchen” in German) ending in darkness, here’s mine about the end of short winter days: Darkness Occupies daytime In the winter Until a climbing sun Returns An elevenie poem has 5 lines with one word on line 1, two words on line 2, three words on line 3, four words […]

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Paved versus cobblestoned

The charm of Bergen is its old streets and equally old houses. The classic tourist photos look something like this: An old residential street So I thought I’d show you the less charming, more modern side. The side of the city I usually see. Honestly, I like this part, too. It’s just not the most […]

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90, if you want

A friend commented on another blog post of mine about how we’re told that loneliness shortens a life span like a smoking habit does. Her married parents are now within waving distance of 90; she doubts she’ll get to that age. I have a theory, or maybe it’s just a good ol’ opinion about longevity […]

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Golden

If you follow me on Instagram, you will recognize some of these photos. Leaving the good stuff only to IG isn’t fair to my blog only readers, so here you go! First up is from earlier this fall, in the neighborhood of our university, at Øysteins gate. I think Øystein was a king. We have […]

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Lisa’s Eleven

A little musing and sharing via eleven questions thought up by Lisa and found via Paula. 1) Socks? Love them or hate them? Handknitted socks a co-worker made for Secret Santa. And I won them! They keep my feet toasty in rubber boots. — I have cold feet. Socks, please, and they have to cover […]

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Help

The spring of 1969, I traveled across country with my grandma and grandpa. Just before leaving California, I had heard The Beatles song “Help!”. The movie had been showing on TV one evening at my mother’s. I liked the song and I remember singing it in Maine, where we’d stopped off at Grandma’s son’s place […]

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26 questions

I stole this from Paula’s 2 x 13 questions (which had me thinking about one half of a deck of cards, and the fact that the Norwegian alphabet has 29 letters, but I digress). Current profile pic from last year. Heh. 1. Share your profile picture.Shared. 2. Who are you named after?Nobody. My mom saw […]

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Fjord flashback

Here’s a blast from the past (September 13 2008). I love the play of shadows and the blue reflecting in the water. Somewhere-north-of-here fjord I actually did not recognize where the above was until I looked at some of the other photos from the same day: This was from an overnight trip with my then-department. […]

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A tale about teeth

Norway has been good to me, dentally. My grandpa was also good to me. Orthodontics are subsidized but still cost out of pocket. So the year I had no cavities I started wearing a retainer. One thing Norwegian children have been through together, is the school dentist. In my part of Norway, the school dentist […]