Santa claus is coming to town....

Well, almost finished with the Christmas shopping......

The weather has turned colder and we have a wee sprinkling of snow.  Zizou was very confused this afternoon on our walk when he tried to drink from a frozen puddle!

Granny and Granda arriving tomorrow, yippee.

Mia's class put on a Christmas show last night then we had coffee and cakes in the classroom.  All the children were dressed in white and sang lovely songs.

Pepperkakehus/Gingerbread House

Look what we made!!  Yes that is a shark on the roof, or possibly a whale, we're not sure.

Bon weekend

We're back from a lovely weekend trip to Paris.  It rained but somehow we always managed to be inside during the rain showers.  Brunch at La Duree with Lotta was lovely.  Lots of shopping.......

Dinner on Friday night at Maison Blanche (view of the sparkly Eiffel Tower), see pictures of my starter and dessert (main course was not so pretty so didn't take a picture of that!).

Christmas tree under the dome inside Galeries Lafayette

Ben, Mia and Jarle are now all vaccinated against the dreaded swineflu.  Sore arms and tiredness are the side effects.

Off to Paris

tomorrow!

We are catching a plane to Paris in the morning.  Mia will be staying overnight with her good friend Pheobe then going to the holiday boutique at school on Saturday.  Meanwhile, we plan to shop and enjoy Paris, can't wait.....  Then Saturday night, somewhere nice for dinner I hope and Sunday, the world is our oyster, or at least Paris is!  Back to Stavanger on Monday.  Watch this space.

At Last

Our new furniture arrived, and we didn't have to make it ourselves, hurrah!

Raining? Just a bit!!

The weather is DISGUSTING!  I feel so sorry for Ben and Mia walking to school in the dark and rain and howling wind.  All the kids walk to school here so it is quite normal of course but I feel so bad for them.  It's horrible.  Mia is all prepared, even wearing rain trousers today and she has a fluorescent rain cover on her back pack.  I need to take little Zizou out for a walk but it is so horrible outside than I'm putting it off in the hope that the rain will stop for a bit, HAHA.  Oh I miss the days when I drove the kids to school in our lovely car and then walked Mia to her classroom......

London

Back from a lovely weekend in London, just the two of us.  The weather was warm and wet.  We stayed at a gorgeous hotel called The Landmark in Marylebone.  The wine event was in the hotel so not far to go from the room!  Saturday tasting was enough for me, started to get confused about what I was tasting after three hours......  Lots and lots of shopping, M&S are doing a roaring trade.  We met up with Lotta and 3 other mums from ASP on Sunday morning for brunch then shopping at Harrods.  It was great to see Lotta again, I do miss her.  Next stop Paris in two weeks time!!

New things

We finally got the chair that we ordered ages ago. It's next to Zizou's pen at the moment but we might move it. It is very comfy. Also we bought two bedside cabinets for our room. Been meaning to get new ones for a long time. They are "shabby chic", bought from a lovely French shop we found down town. They have lots of lovely housey things, candles, table ware etc so I will probably be back there sometime.....

Frost

Zizou admiring the view.

It was the first proper frosty morning today. Now it is sunny and there's no wind, perfect weather for walking the mad dog. His harness broke and when I bought a new one it didn't fit. A trip back to the pet shop found nothing suitable so we have been using just a collar and lead and it's a nightmare. He leaps around like a mad thing, all directions and pulls like mad, he chokes and splutters and his legs are nearly flat to the ground. What on earth is he thinking? MUST buy another harness, soooo much better, more control and he won't choke.

Ta Na!

Look no stairs

November!

A bit windy but we went for a walk to the lake with Zizou. Our lugs were dirling!

Met lots of dogs and cyclists and joggers, Zizou was a bit hyper but happy to meet another schnauzer which was 14 years old.

Halloween

Here is our little ghosite that enjoyed a spooky party at her friends house last night.

Morning

Just back from a lovely walk with Zizou. The fjord is completely still and there's no wind and the sun is shining for a change. Zizou is like a drooned rat now though as he loves to bound through the long grass and dip his paws in the sea!

Jarle's Birthday

It was Jarle's birthday on Saturday. I made (well it was a sort of packet mix but I did have to add things and stir a lot!) raspberry cheesecake which was rather good.

The weather was great, we even sat on the terrace in the sun. A first for Jarle on his birthday I think.

Endelig fredag or finally Friday!

Nothing much happened this week. We finished painting Mia's room and I put up the new curtains and bought new bedlinen. We just need to find the stencil thingies that she wants to use to paint blue things on the walls!

I also bought a few new things for the guest room to make it a bit nicer and cosier. Jarle's parents arrived yesterday for the weekend to celebrate Jarle's birthday with us.

Yoga today was lovely, lots of warrior poses so I should have strong thighs soon.....

Sunny today, see picture

Cabin

We are back from a lovely few days at the cabin. I forgot the camera!!!

Zizou loves it down there, especially paddling in the sea and trying to get into the stream that runs down the hill!

It is icy this morning, bit of a shock. I'm just back from a walk with Zizou and it is a lovely still morning. He is walking much better now, no hesitating on the steps and refusing to walk. Fingers crossed we are past that phase.

I need to do the second coat of paint in Mia's room today and then put up her new curtains (need a quick trip to Ikea for curtain rings and hooks!)

Bob the builder

Yesterday the joiner/builder man who fitted our kitchen came round to see what we would like done to the house. The list is quite long..... We wait to see what price he comes up with.

The garden man has not got back to us yet......

p.s. the pizza was very good

Haircut

Zizou got a haircut on Sunday. Poor wee crater, he cried. It was a bit traumatic actually. Not sure if I want to do that again.....

So now he has lost some of his puppy look. But of course he is still gorgeous.

Pizza night

So, JC, Ben and Mia have volunteered to "make" pizza tonight. Usually I buy frozen pizza or we buy from the Pizza Bakery near our house. BUT they are going to make it from scratch......

Looking forward to relaxing on the sofa with a glass of something nice.

No suitable picture so here is yet another one of my little twinkle cutie pie (and Ben).

Weekend in London

Yesterday I got busy on the internet and booked a trip for me and Jarle. We are going to the Decanter Magazine fine wine event in London in November. I booked Jarle for the two day event but decided that one day would be enough for me so I can fit something else into the second day instead (i.e. shopping!!).

We are staying at the Landmark Hotel where the event is taking place.

http://www.landmarklondon.co.uk/index.htm

Cabin

View from the side of the cabin

We spent a lovely weekend at our cabin. The weather was really good on Saturday, we even ate lunch outside. It rained a lot on Sunday but it didn't matter. We took a short trip to Mandal for essential supplies (wine) and Zizou joined us. He is all over the place on the lead and even pulls his head out of his collar sometimes. A bit worrying in a busy town centre.....

Weather forecast???

Off to yoga in a few minutes.....

Then this afternoon we are driving down to the cabin for the weekend. The forecast according to yr.no (try it, it's in english too, worldwide weather) is good, so fingers crossed. Mind you, "good" is 14 degrees and not raining (oh be quiet about the rain Elaine!).

Anyway, we will have a lovely cosy time I'm sure, and Zizou will have a fine time.

Picture of Mia's catch of the day last time we were at the cabin.

Must stop complaining

about the rain. Guess what? It has hardly rained at all for the last week.

This week we hired a container to put the hedge in (did I mention that we cut it down?). What we thought would be a five minute job turned out to more like two hours plus raking the lawn afterwards. Bits of hedge everywhere, including inside the house as Zizou thinks it is great fun to carry twigs around and then leave them wherever he is. Anyway, job done. We plan to replace the fence with a lovely stone wall......watch this space....

Meanwhile another "project" of ours is to get new stairs inside the house. We had a stair man round to measure up and he said our stairs are far too big and we don't need a landing halfway. We can have much more modern and smaller stairs which will give us more room downstairs. Off to the showroom we shall go, to look at different models. p.s. we didn't get a price from the stair man yet.........

Sunny Weekend

We had lovely weather yesterday and managed to get out of the house by 10.30! We drove to a place called Arboret which is a managed forest with rare and unusual trees. There are lots of tracks and little ponds and picnic areas, it's very pretty. Zizou had a wonderful time. He was soooo excited he was shaking and whimpering when we arrived. He walked happily for about an hour and met lots of people and dogs. No wonder he was exhausted the rest of the day.

Then when I was out later poor Zizou got stung by a bee. Apparently he came in from the garden looking for Jarle and he was crying and pawing at his face. He seemed fine when I got home and I couldn't find a red or swollen area so maybe it wasn't a full sting. The bee was examined and seemed to still have its sting so not so bad after all..... oh the drama of owning a dog!

Windy on the beach

Having trouble getting Zizou to walk. He just wants to sit down and eat grass! Usually he perks up when we get further from the house. Down at the beach yesterday afternoon he enjoyed chewing seaweed for a change and dipping his feet in the water.

It was very cute when we met another schnauzer. It was a black and silver one and it looked just like him but bigger. Zizou is very keen to meet and greet everyone and every dog that passes us when out walking. Unfortunately not everyone wants to stop and admire him, I just don't understand it.

Om Shanti

Off to yoga this morning.....

Old picture of me and Mia practicing yoga at the cabin.

Nothing much

happening this week. It's raining a LOT. Zizou met his vet yesterday and was quite happy with the experience. Mia is off to a birthday party at one of those noisy indoor play gym places (hope it's better than Ludimax!).

Cabin

Quick trip to the cabin at the weekend. It rained a lot! What a surprise eh?

Zizou loved the cabin, especially all the long grass he could romp about in. We were pleased that he felt at home there.

We have hired a car to use until we get a new one as the Saab is just too sad to drive around in. Jarle will be ordering the new company car through work this week but the delivery time is 4 months or something ridiculous like that. We have decided (somewhat wishy washily) on a Toyota verso in dark purple, groovy colour or what? It looks almost black really, sort of very dark aubergine colour.

Anyway, raining again today. Trying to keep control of the puppy who loves to run away with socks, pants, well whatever he can carry really.......

Rain

Aggghhh it is not even September yet and the weather is so Autumn-like. It absolutely poured with rain all morning. Mia and Ben set off to school with rain jackets and rain cover for the rucksack. Poor Zizou looked like a drowned rat after going out to wee in the garden.

I hope I can cope with this weather, it will just get worse from now on. Lotta, do you need a lodger?

On the positive side, I have found a yoga class to join on Friday mornings run by a good friend of a good friend. I'll let you know how it goes.

Zizou

Can't get enough of him. Even when he wakes me at 1.30 am to go out for a pee!

Sun/rain/sun/rain

The weather is changing every five minutes, what am I supposed to wear?

Today we have borrowed a Toyota verso for a test drive. Hmmm I prefer the Renault scenic but the new version of that does not come out in Norway til October or something. We might check out Citroen too. Jarle and I ordered a big comfy chair with matching poufee (which Jarle has wanted for years) and a glass cabinet thingy in "old" white. This is the start of our re decorating the living room.......

Some more pictures from our holiday. The lovely small hotel we stayed in in La Morra in northern Italy. Very nice place indeed. A picture from Eze, a tiny walled village 400metres above sea level close to Nice. Then a picture from Cassis, near Marseille where we stayed for two nights.

Routine

Mia and her Danish friend Amalie on the beach at sunset.

Enjoying the pool!

Well, Mia has started 3rd class at the local primary school and Ben has started 9th class at the local inbetween primary and secondary (different system here in Norway). Jarle working his socks off in his new job and I am chief puppy attendant.

Zizou is doing really well. He enjoys little walks and is doing most of his business in the garden and not in the house. He still sleeps in his crate in our room but I'm not sure how much longer that will go on because his rumbling about in the night is waking Jarle........

JC is enjoying fresher week at his college and generally everything is fine. I am still trying to get some order in the house, we have too much stuff!

It is blawing a hoolie gale today but about 22 degrees so can't complain.

Here are some pics from our holiday in Antibes which seems such a long time ago now. Our flat is lovely, the area has loads to offer and the weather was wonderful. Oh and the wine cellar is stacked.

Elaine in Stavanger!

I need to change the name of my blog I think. We are all in the red house now and our number has increased to 6. Today we welcomed home Zizou, our 8 week old miniature schnauzer. Is he cute or what?

Antibes

Just a message from hot and sunny Antibes.

We are enjoying our new flat and especially the swimming pool. The weather is great, only problem is mosquitos at night. Poor Mia has an allergic reaction to the bites. We have mosquito patrol before going to bed and are taking all precautions possible, medicated wrist band, spray, plug in repellant.

Last week from Wednesday to Friday we visited the northern part of Italy. We stayed at a beautifully renovated and decorated small hotel in a tiny village in the heart of Piedmonte.

We are also still very excited about the new family member who will be joining us next month. He is now four weeks old......

Purdie

Purdie is the little Scottish Terrier that lives at number 3 of our street.  She likes to visit us when we are on our terrace and we welcome her very much.  She is sweet and gentle and we're going to miss her.........

But.......

We have reserved a little puppy which was born on the 10th of June and can leave his mummy and be with us mid August.  We are soooo excited..........

Fun in the pool

We had a lovely lovely evening round at the Nilssons yesterday.  Joan and Rachel joined us too.  It is still very hot here and I was very tempted to get in the pool with the kids!

Hot Hot Hot

here in Paris......

Jarle has been away since Friday, he is driving home the mini with our friend Mark for company/co driver.

So we have been throwing more stuff away and trying to get ready for the move.  Oh, and last night Mia and I went to see the Hannah Montana movie.  It was actually quite good.

Still to do, dentist, hairdresser, chiropracter, repair bike, repair sunglasses, pack, pack pack...

Counting down the days.....

(Just a typical French cafe in Montmartre, Paris.  On the street named Gabrielle.)

Time is flying by far too fast for my liking.

Last Friday Jarle and I went out for a lovely meal with Jonas and Lotta to the Maison Blanche. We had a table by the window with a fantastic view, good food and great company.

On Sunday we went to Le Village (for the last time.....) with mum and dad.  Again we had a lovely meal, thanks mum and dad.

So on Monday, Mia and I drove my parents to the airport and said goodbye.  Then on Monday afternoon Mia went to Pheobe's house to sleepover.  She had lots of fun and it was hard to say goodbye the next day.  Maybe we will see them again this year if we plan a trip to Paris.  (We haven't left yet and I'm planning on coming back!!)

Tuesday was the longest day of the year and we enjoyed dinner in the garden with Lotta and Wilhelm and Vida.  Purdie the scottie joined us too, and was fed rather a lot of sausage......

Last day of school & Ben's Graduation from Middle School

We are all sad to be leaving ASP.  I even took pictures of the car park (how sad am I?)

JC - Do you recognise the sculpture?