We're in the midst of an 11-day journey through beautiful places, and I'm nursing a cold in a (thankfully, very comfortable) hotel bed after powering through a day of sightseeing.
So, as my holiday offering, here are some photographic tidbits from the past few weeks, before I attempt to slip into a feverish slumber...
Snowy fun:
A pretty walk in the forest.
Another pretty walk in the forest.
Statues in the dark at 3:30pm.
They're also begging the universe to take them to the longer-days side of the winter solstice (which, luckily, we've now reached after the solstice yesterday!).
Holiday fun:
Ken, picking out our tiny, crooked, $25 Charlie Brown Christmas tree. And carrying it all the way home.
Andy, enjoying a traditional Norwegian holiday dinner (thanks to Linda and Inger!) and Christmas beer in festive attire.
A field trip to a big mall in the suburbs, where I was greeted by this frightening Christmas troll scene. Trolls legends are big in Norway, and apparently also involve Santa?
Nutcracker at the Opera House with a fun group of girlfriends.
Thanksgiving. Love these girls, and can't thank them enough for their fun, wonderful friendships over the past year. I love our little hang-out dates. They're gangstas in the kitchen, to boot.
This "holiday" involved the celebration of three Aussie birthdays with a pub crawl whilst wearing adult onsies. Everyone else invested in the fabulous Norwegian OnePiece, while I went for the cheap option of an H&M little girls onesie, that I had to keep covered with a sweater all night. Good times.
A visit from Ken's cool cousin Shannyn. It was fun to get to know her - thanks for visiting, Shannyn!
We also attended a traditional Norwegian Christmas dinner (called julebord), that was perfectly orchestrated by Silje (Pierre did polish the glasses, so kudos to him as well). Sadly I don't have any pics from the occasion, but thanks a ton S&P!
Crafty fun:
I've always wanted to learn to sew, and have had the opportunity to finally do it over the past few months. This corduroy skirt was my first project, and the construction was closely overseen by my teacher. We'll see how I do when I'm on my own some day...
Tamale-making with Hal and Alison. So delish!
Love, love, love the Baked recipe for brownies (here).
Sunny fun:
This winter has been SO much warmer than last winter. The sidewalks were covered with snow and ice for a few days, then it rained and warmed up, and it all melted in the city. So, I've been taking advantage of the freedom to run without ice. It was snowing when we left for our trip, so we'll probably return to a winter wonderland in the new year...
Early sunsets aren't too shabby when blue skies are involved.
Moment of Zen: Going to sleep before 11pm to hopefully shake this cold soon!
Happy Holidays!
