After my speaking test tomorrow I shall "slapp av" (relax)
I got some super cheap plane tickets for one kroner (about 12p!) so I shall pop across to jolly old England for some quality mum time and a bit of good old British shopping. I cannot wait!
(Last few pics from the cabin, Henriks favourite (odd) ice cream and the weekends fleamarket finds)

A long Monday

Sooooo, I took norsk prøve 2 today. Hmmmm, I'm not sure how it went. There was a writing portion where I had to write about a typical week in letter form to a friend and another where I had to write a note to a neighbour about looking after my home whilst on holiday. This was not difficult.
Next I had to read (and understand) 4 different texts and answer questions with a short sentence or a one word answer. Again, not too difficult.
The difficult part was the listening task. This was a disaster! Oh my god. They spoke too fast,with difficult accents and so many words I don't yet understand.
I tried my best and whether I pass or fail I come away knowing that I have achieved something. After only 16 weeks of classes I can now speak pretty good norwegian and I have made wonderful friends on my course. You can't really ask for much more than that!

The weekend

We have been at the cabin for the weekend so I could study without any disturbances (although I did disturb myself on both days for a little fleamarket visit!) Apart from all the studying we did have a lovely time and as much as I rely on technology (and love it) it is sometimes nice to get away from it (and use a toilet that incinerates your poo!)
I love that we have this little cabin to escape to now. I'm very lucky. Lets hope I will be lucky with my test tomorrow!

I seem to have lost my blogging mojo for the time being but hope to be back on the ball after my exams next week. We are off to the cottage this weekend so I can cram in some last minute intense studying- no internet, no tv- just many hours of trying to get this bloody norwegian grammar in my head! (Oh, and of course I will be taking a Fleamarket break!)
God helg/ Have a good weekend folks!

I hate that I rely on technology so much. My camera is incapable of taking a picture that isn't blurry, I still have that damn spinning beachball of death taunting me and now our internet has reverted back to 1997 dial up standards. If there is one thing that infuriates me it's not having internet (Okay maybe the lack of manners in Norway annoys me more, but no internet comes a very close second!) I need Skype. I want to blog. I want to read blogs.I need to e mail.
Maybe it is a blessing in disguise. I should have my nose buried in a book getting ready for my test....
p.s Pics from a Saturday walk around Oslo. The rest of the weekend was spent cleaning the cabin (and not being on the internet)

Nice things

Today feels like a Tuesday so I'm pretty happy it's actually Friday tomorrow!
I have new material to make into cushions and 4 beautiful new cards from the super talented Francesca from Mrs Eliot books. Love them!

Hej Sverige!

Pictures from a recent trip to Sweden. We just crossed the border with no plan. Followed the coast, stopping if we liked the look of somewhere. I like days without a plan (although it must involve an ice cream near a beach!)

Monday

The weather was grey and wet yesterday which forced me to stay indoors and study (after a few morning fleamarkets,of course!) for my norwegian test on May 31st. I'm not a natural studier so I get easily distracted (Oh, is that a Woody Allen film on TV? I need to watch that!) and need Henrik to keep me on track (luckily for me he has become rather strict about this language learning and is keeping me to task plus giving me huge amounts of help)

Thank you for all your nice birthday greetings. So far being 38 is okay!
Having my first birthday in Norway made me realise I have made some lovely,caring friends here. When we first moved to Norway I remember crying to Henrik telling him that one of the hardest things was not knowing anyone and having nobody care about me (apart from him of course, but sometimes that's not enough!) Yesterday I felt cared for and it made me realise I have come a long way in 8 months.Those 8 hard months, full of frustration,starting my life from scratch,homesickness and wondering why the hell I came up with this foolish idea to move to this odd country have finally turned around and being here feels pretty good!

Today I am 38! Thirty friggin' eight!!! I thought at 38 I'd feel grown up, but nope!
Still feel like a kid! 38!!!

Sunday

Hello! Not been taking many pictures this week. My camera is at deaths door and my mac is teasing me with the "spinning beach ball of death" so I have tried cleaning it up a bit (getting everything from i tunes and i photo off) but that damn ball is still spinning away! Any advice?
In other news the weather here is amazing, like summer (I keep being warned by norwegians not to get too comfy in my sandals because we could still have snow!!! Nooooo!)