My guard goat!

Off I go to the airport, leaving my guard goat to take care of the house!
Hope my neighbors goat and my goat are not having too crazy parties while I am away!

My last SJ morning in 3,5 weeks!

And what a beautiful morning it is!
Even signal hill has been decorated for Christmas!

Pepperkakebaking!

Når en pepperkakebaker baker pepper baker kaker, tar man først en m&m? Eller mange m&m!

Advent without an advent light?

No no, no advent without an advent light!
Regardless of continent, there is no proper advent without a Danish advent light!!

Hipp hurra for advent!

Xmas parade!

We have enjoyed two hours of Christmas parade! It was surprisingly nice weather, no rain, hail, snow or wind! Even the sun was out now and then!
And on the last float, Santa!!!!

Quiet after the storm!

And very beautiful!
This is my view this afternoon from the office! Going to miss this fantastic view when we move offices in a few weeks.
We are enjoying it to the fullest now!

1, 2, 3, Winter!!!

Woke up this morning and heard an unfamiliar soft whisking on my windows and the fog horn in a distance! Hmmm, what awaits me behind the curtains! WINTER!
And not just quiet snowy winter, no no, strong winds, snow coming "down" horizontally!
Looking forward to walking to work!!!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Last night after we had been out to a nice dinner, and had had pink bubbles for my moms birthday! (happy birthday mamma!) we came out to big snowflakes in the air!
And during the night it must have continued!
Woke up to a beautiful sunny crisp day today!

Can you buy happiness?

At least happy feet!
And do I need an excuse to buy a second pair of rubber boots in the foggiest, snowiest, wettest, windiest and gloomiest city in Canada?
Yupp, did not think so!

Travel light? Why?

When you can bring 3 pieces of luggage, why not bring an over-mattress? It's is so comfy! Can't wait to sleep like a princess!
My dad helped me wrap and tie it up, must say we did a great job, it arrived in perfect condition!

Here we go again! Canada here I come!

Had an early departure from Oslo, but at last in the big bird from London to Halifax!
And after a few hours of napping, pre-arrival snack is served!
Loooove my warm scone with clotted cream!

The view from my "cabin"

Since king winter has not showed up yet, I enjoyed a beautiful sunny day in my garden. The days are short now this far north, so at around 3:30 pm it was time to enjoy the beautiful view of the oslo fjord one last time today and head home down town!

Good morning from SJ

Time to change the view for a week and a half! Flying home today! Hurra!

A visit from the EU today!

Tyr docked outside my office window yesterday! Wondering what the EU Fishery Inspectors are doing here! Islandic vessel, so not too far away from home!

Happy Halloween everyone!

Today is Halloween here in Canada!

And Saturday was Halloween part day on George Street. They closed off the whole pubstreet, and had a big street-party!

So we had a little pre-party at Alex’s house, and went down to George Street to look at all the other costumes and to enjoy a beer or two and the concert!

Let's go Ice Caps let's go!

And today we won! And we enjoyed the game from a VIP box!! A great night at Mile One stadium!

Here we go again!

After 3 great weeks if summer holidays it is again time to head to St John's.
Let's hope hurricane Irene will bring some warm wind from the south!

I'm coming home, I'm coming home!

Tell the world I'm coming home!
Well, at least for 3,5 weeks!
Tonight I leave this foggy city and hopefully experience some summer in Europe! Anything above 12 degrees and fog is a big bonus!
I do have got myself a nice big fat cold. My head feels like this city, totally fogged up! I even have my own foghorn, slightly more pounding... But still pretty regular like my best friend the Cape Spear Foghorn! So I will hopefully make my way over the Atlantic totally drugged down and sleeping/comatosed! Home sweet home here I come!

Fredagspils i st johns

Finally summer and sun in SJ! We are enjoying life at the deck of Sundance on George street!

Sunny and warm St John's

Could not believe I landed in the right St John's! Over 20 degrees and blue skies!
This is the view from my window, while unpacking my suitcase!

My bed at terminal 3 in London

And I even had the whole 6 bed room for myself! The rest of the lounge was pretty full, but no one wanted some quiet time!! And yes, I use the bed backwards, then I can sleep on my side and stomach, flat down!
Now it is time to embark on the walk to the gate! LHR is packed, so I am bracing myself, breath calmly and do not let all the people wandering in all random directions and stopping for no reason irritate you!! St John's here I come!

My new summer home!

Breakfast is served!

Hanne walked across the street and picked up breakfast for us (in her PJs)! Breakfast in bed after a late night/early morning, perfect!

Dinner and dancing!

The girls have a night of fun, food and dancing in front of them! Floridita is the place to be on a Saturday night! Live salsa band and great venue!! Fun fun!

Eating again!

We made our way to Belgravia! The bride needs pumps for the wedding, and no boring pumps are allowed!!

But food is needed! Every two three hours!!

Real English breakfast!

After a night with drinks and Mexican food, a good breakfast is just what we need!

Mexican with great friends!

After drinks at Guadabara we went to la Perla to eat great Mexican!

Stolen bride!

On her way to an unknown destination!

Can you see the plane?

Did I mention fog? In st john's? Fog city is not just a local restaurant chain, it is also a fact!
Really hope this little bird you can almost not see is my plane to Halifax. Flights have been cancelled all day... Not good. Crossing my fingers!

The guilty party! Today's view from the office around noon!

I have found the source! 282 and 340. When 282 backed up today, and gave us a farewell salute-honk I had a startling flashback from 04:15. Both war ships have left now, so crossing my fingers that the civilian vessels in the harbor do not feel the need to use their horn as a fog horn tonight! However, the fog is as thick as last night... So I am a little anxious! Good night!

Fog fog fog

The fog came rolling in on saturday evening, and has stayed ever since. All day yesterday was pretty thick low fog. But during the night it must have been bad, because at 4:15 I was awakened by the local fog horn right here in the harbor. I can alway here the one from out on signal hill, all night long, like a constant hum. But the one that woke me up was really loud, and ever ten seconds... Had to get up, close my window, and try to ignore it!!

Screeched in!

I am now a proud honorary Newfoundlander!
I have consumed a bountiful taste of Newfoundland's finest rum and have performed the ceremonial rites associated therein (including kissing a cod....)!

Another great lobster dinner

Starting to really enjoy the local seasonal favorites from the sea!!

Fox Island hike

Monday was the day of the fox island hike! The sun was out, and it was a beautiful hike! We even met two black tail eagles!

In the picture: me, Chris, Minh, Bernard, Therese, Hadar and Pat.

Big Red: our new best friend!

Our best friend on hiking trips; Big Red!! Super-comfy to drive in, great seats, and super spacious inside, sits 6 persons! And great for beers on the pick up hatch!
The perfect car for a road-trip!

Hiking the Skerwink trail

A beautiful day in central Newfoundland! After a long night of monopoly (we gave up at 2am...) no one was winning! An early morning of great breakfast, we headed out the door of the Fisher´s Inn and off on the Skerwink trail. A 5.3 km coastal trail, but we did all the detours, so guessing we did around 6 km. It was a beautiful day of sun and wind, slightly chilly, but with good gear we were well prepared and did not freeze! Therese and I are taking a little "sun-break"!

The Fisher´s Loft

Our home for the long-weekend! A beautifully renovated complex of 5 houses. And great view, food and people! What more can you wish for on a long-weekend in the Newfoundland wilderness!

May 2-4

The longweekend has started! And this beauty is our vehicle for the weekend, her name is Big Red! She is huge!! You have to climb up to get in! But very moose-safe!

The view from my bedroom window tonight

The 68 meter long schooner Santa Maria Manuela docked along side our office buliding today. She is a beautiful portugese white 4 master, buildt in 1937 and was used for cod fishing here on the Great Banks. And she will be here all week long, taking onboard visitors on the weekend. So my plan is to go down Saturday and take a tour! But before 15, when we are leaving for our longweekend get-away off the Avalon peninsula, over on the main island.

Happy Norway Day!

Dressed up in red, white and blue, for a day in the office on the 17th of May! Feels a littlestrange to be working, when everyone back home is walking in a parade, eating ice-cream and singing songs! But we will leave the office at 16, to go home to Anders and Jacquline to have a little bbq and some champagne! Have a great constitution day!

Potatosack-race

A 17. of May is not compete without some games for the kids (of all ages)!

Hurra for 17 mai!

Well, it is actually the 15th of May.
A great day out in the park with about 70 Norwegians!

Lobster season has begun!

Today's dinner!
After a trip to Cape Spear (the eastern most point in North America) where all you can see is ice-cold blue-green ocean, we felt like eating some good local seafood. So Jill, Jorunn and I checked out the local diner cafe, with the fantastic name of K-Cafe! Freshly boiled lobster cad 24,99!

Local newspaper!

We made it into the local newspaper! Big day for the Norwegian Club! Looking forward to our 17th of May celebration on the 15th of May in the beautiful Bowring Park!

The fog has come!

And the locals say it will last all May! But at least today the sun won mid day!

Today's view from my bedroom!

This was my view this morning at 7:30 when I got up and looked out the window. Beautiful view! We got more snow yesterday... It was coming down pretty heavily. But luckily all the snow had melted over the last couple of days, so the new load did not stack up too much snow everywhere. Hoping it will melt soon, it is around plus 2, so I have my hopes up!!

St Patrick's day!

St John's is an Irish town! Most of the settlers back in the day were Irish, and we are actually much closer to Dublin than we are to Vancouver, so feeling pretty Irish today! And a day like St Patrick's days does not go unnoticed in St John's. The town has been practising a whole week!

I started the day with breakfast at one of the best Irish pubs in town! A great experience, live music, old and young, babies and pensioners. Almost full pub at 9 in the morning! After a couple of hours in the office, we found our way back to the pub and pretty much stayed there all evening! Green beer, great green friends and live music, what more do you need! Maybe a green wig?!

The Irish Loop!

This is the email Øyvind sent out! What is a girl to do, if not support the visible minority % (very important here on the project, we have to report all these facts to the local government)!

Roadtrip baby! The Irish Loop
Saturday or Sunday, depending on weather forecast. We'll do the famous Irish Loop, currently in Battarel's white American Impala car. http://www.irish-loop.com/

Alexander Battarel: Main driver and responsible for choosing accent on the newly bought Global Positioning System
Oyvind Bakke: Guide and DJ
Adam Todd: Canadian Regulatory Specialist for the trip. Knows what all the signs in Canada means.
Kristine Vik: Minority requirement (female), and expert if we have to deviate from planned activities.

Antoine Gregoire: Responsible for the Road Trip account and all common procurement done for the trip.

Split:

Canadian 40%

American 20%

Viking 40%

 

Conclusion: nice trip, a little long and a few of our members were somewhat hung-over... but all in all a great Saturday out in the fresh air!

Happy Birthday to me!

Had a great birthday on Friday! I got flowers delivered at the office! Three BIG flower-arrangements! They are so beautiful! Thank you so much "home", KZ and G+PØ!

The rest of the day was one great party! We stared out right after work with pizza at the Pi Pizza restaurant, and then went home to my new house and continued the party! DJ Graham served excellent music, and the boys made killer drinks! And mix that with a birthday cake and snacks, and really great people, it was a night to remember!