Skiing Queen light

During the Christmas weekend I got the chance to put my skis on for a little trip in the sunny, but cold weather (approx. -16C). 

It is not bad when you can just walk out the door, put the skis on and off-we-go!

Ok, I wasn't born with the skis on as some Norwegian are (poor mothers). 
I did grow up with a lot of skiing, but the few skills I had disappeared after moving to town and not practicing it anymore. 
Anyway, it is good fun to test it out, but must admit I get more and more chicken as the years goes by.

Luckily, I had my camera with me so took some photos for you to enjoy.

Jewelry sale is on

Check out jewellery for sale as I have certain items selling for 1/2 price.

Sale end 22nd of January.

A weekend in Oslo

Last weekend my friend N. and I went to Oslo to visit my friend J.
This has been planned for weeks and guess who was looking forward to a weekend of indulgence in shops, restaurants and a late morning in the hotel.
We did!
We arrived Oslo on Saturday noon to icy roads and a lovely lunch at Bølgen and Moi, known for its very delicious food and I must say interior as well. After our blood sugar levels were back on track, we went to the hotel to put our bags into storage - and then it was straight into shopping heaven.
The selection of shops in Oslo are great and it is fun to have a look around. Not that we bought a lot. Shocking, I know, but I think we were a bit overwhelmed from the selection of brands.
Nevermind. We had a good time anyway. 
Ahhh...the lovely food at Olivia. I have to check the address, cause everyone who is visiting Oslo, should go to this lovely place.

On Sunday we visited Vigelandsparken. For those of you who have been there, will probably only remember all the naked sculptures. Actually 212 of them. This is the biggest sculpture park in the world where the sculptures are made of only one artist. His name is Gustav Vigeland (1869-1943). He was also designing the park itself and the park was finished between 1939 and 1949. Isn't it lovely and peaceful?
The most popular sculpture is "Sinnataggen" (the angry boy). You can see him in the background of the picture of my dear friends N. and J.

Thank you Ms. J for being a fabulous guide!

Ms. N and Ms. J - a lot happier than Sinnataggen

King Winter has arrived!

King Winter has arrived. No doubt about it.
I had a trip out after work the other night and hoped it would be enough daylight to take some photos.
The days doesn't last long these days - it is dark when I go to work and almost dark when I get back at 4 p.m. Big differences from the summer when it is daylight until 11 p.m. or even 24 hours a day up north.
It has its positive side though - hibernation, chocolate and wolly socks....
Wake me up when it is summer again!

Santa "train" in the forest

If you had a chance to visit Jegersberg in Kristiansand this weekend, this is what you would have seen.
About 100 small children with fire logs walking in the forest. This is a yearly tradition arranged by the local Tourist Association (web page in Norwegian only).

I am sure this is a nice break from all the hustle and bustle before Christmas.
Aren't they cute?

Candle holder made of snow

A little taste of Auckland

I came by this beautiful presentation of Auckland on my search for medication for my travel bug.
Isn't it great?
A good mix of beaches, sea life, sailing, city life & restaurants and magnificent nature.
Where's my ticket?

All made by Tourism Auckland



I think you may be able to handle this one as well...

Great Barrier Island is a remote, tranquil and untouched paradise 90km north east of central Auckland. Located at the edge of the Hauraki Gulf, Great Barrier Island is one of the most unspoilt places you'll ever find. From tramping through native forest, to sea kayaking around coves and inlets, there are endless ways to explore this stunning adventurer's paradise.

Also featuring a look at the Medlands Fishing and Longboard Surfing Competitions on Great Barrier Island.

Coldplay - Christmas Lights

Coldplay's (my favorite!) new single is out - even a Christmas song!
It can be downloaded from your local iTunes Store, just click here
Enjoy!
Have a nice weekend!

Christmas in town

I took some photos on the way to the cinema tonight. I haven't gotten the Christmas spirit yet, but think the lights in town are beautiful.

Winter reality

Woke up from my warm summer memories and realized winter is still on.

I had a trip to Mandal (approx 45 min west from Kristiansand) to visit my friend Nina today.
The weather is freezing. The wind make the temperature feel like it is -15C and it is not refreshing any more.
I can tell you that. This weather make you appreciate the heat inside your house.

I took these pics with my mobile phone on the way home this evening.
The Christmas decorations are out and it looks pretty cosy. I will try and get some more pictures from the main street later.

This is from Skippergata, one of my favorite streets in Kristiansand.

Christmas decorations in a shop window

Summer memories

The boxes have gone (and yes...they will end up with dear Mrs. M until we have our own place - see her cheecky comment on my last article), my shoulders feels way lighter and the apartment is very empty.
Winter has arrived here, -10C at the moment. Freezing...Yes....

My thoughts are with you all out there in the cold wherever you are in the world. It is painful to be cold. We need warm memories. That's why I hereby send you some warm thoughts with the help of my pictures from Auckland last summer.

Have a cup of tea, get your blanket, close your eyes and think about your favorite beach, white sand, blue skies and summer music.
Are you there yet?

Devonport, Auckland

Ready packed (almost)

It's been a bit quiet from my side lately and it has its reasons.
I am packing stuff that is going to New Zealand soon. Tuesday is the day for shipping and everything has to be ready by then. Then it takes about 7-9 weeks before it arrives - approximately the same time I arrive.

So that's what I have been doing this weekend. So boring. I can't wait to have it done.

This is what it looks like when a room is full of boxes:

4,5 years of stuff

Dear Mum

Mum had her birthday on Tuesday and we are going to celebrate her on Saturday. Everyone in the clan is getting together at my parents' place for some good food and laughs.

I made this Pearl Twist necklace for her on her big day and it should match the bracelet she picked out from my bracelet stack a few months ago. I know she has used it a lot and wanted something that she could wear with it.
The color is as vibrant as she is and should match her good mood and chic style when she is at the local cafe with her friends.

At least she is ready for the summer (we just have to get through the winter first...). The sun will be returning soon though. It can come now. Mum is ready.

Happy birthday Mum!

Pearl Twist necklace made of turqoise chips, swarovski and glass beads

..and here is the bracet it will be worn with...

It's a wrap!

You may remember a while back that my husband went to New Zealand and I was all about no jinxes and only hopes.
Well, it worked.
Now we are moving there. In January.
I am all excited and a tiny bit scared. It is far away from my home.

Anyway, I am sure it will be good to settle down for a while. We have had about 12 years of travelling + - with some longer stop-overs in between.

I am dreaming about my own garden with an olivetree, tomato plants and my bird-of-paradise back in place. Still hoping for a cat....hints....haha...(if I could make the word blink, it would....)

PS: If you by any chance are moving to Kristiansand, Norway (where I live now) and need furniture, have a look here (all in Norwegian). Please send me an email if any questions.

The Viaduct, Auckland

A lovely pohutukawa tree

View towards Devonport

A good enough presentation of my home country

This is Norway! Some think this is a joke, but it is not. Fish and potatoes it is.

Thunder Buster / Staying Alive in The Wall

What do you get when you mix the two songs "Thunderstruck" and "Ghostbusters"?
You may never have had the thought before, but this sounds better than expected. Believe it or not.

Check out these mixes by WaxAudio (whose name is Tom and lives in Sydney, Australia) and if you want to hear more of his work or read more about him, this is the place to go.

AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" mixed with "Ghostbuster".



Staying Alive (Bee Gees) mixed with The Wall (Pink Floyd)

Win Matua Valley Wines with Maxshop

The competition is now closed.

We like competitions, don't we?

This time you & your office can win one of six cases of Matua Valley Wines Sparkling Pinot Gris by emailing Max here and answer this question : Where does Matua Valley Sparkling Pinot Gris hail from?
and you my dear could be the most popular girl in the office!

To read more about the competition, check here and you should cause there are more information you need to know :0)

Good luck!

Picture borrowed from www.maxshopcom/nz

October in the Northern Hemisphere

I really love October and its freezing mornings. A tired face will easily disappear on the way to work as the air is so cold and crisp (free facelift haha!).
I think we are extremely lucky to have the four different seasons and the weather that follows it. Though it sometimes can be a bit too much rain here in the south during the winter.

However, this met me an early morning last week. I just had to walk out onto the terrace to take a picture of the lovely colors and take a deep morning breath to wake up. Happy October everyone! Some of you are going towards spring. That is a lovely time too!

Red Pearl Twist bracelet

A new red Pearl Twist bracelet is born. This time a more wild and crazy one than its little sister. The sister has now gone to a new home so it was about time to get another in.

This one is made of round and teardrop shaped glass beads. For more info, have a look here.

Tommy Tokyo & Starving For My Gravy

Tommy Tokyo & Starving For My Gravy was playing at our local pub "Kick" on Wednesday.
My friend, Linda, was the one who knew all about his music and was kind enough to ask me to come along.
I hadn't heard about him and his band before so I didn't really know what it was all about.

The singer, whose real name is Tommy Lorange Ottosen (born in 1971), is a father of four from Fredrikstad, Norway.
He learned to play a guitar in 1995 and started his first band fours years later.
I thought this was an Irish pub band and was very surprised when I realized he was a fellow Norwegian.

He is known for his lyrics and voice. Listen and be amused over the way he play with words.

Check in to listen to his music.

Take action this October

The Pink Ribbon Day Street Appeal is The New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation's major fundraising activity and will be held on Friday 8 October, 2010. Throughout the country Pink Army volunteer collectors will be out and about collecting gold coin donations in exchange for pink ribbons and other pink products.

If you're keen to volunteer on the day simply fill in the online form or call on 0508 105 105.

Picture and text borrowed from www.nzbcf.org.nz

Baked to Last Eye Colour from Body Shop

I went to get my monthly refill of Olive Body Butter from Body Shop yesterday and was introduced to the new Baked to Last Eye Colours by a friendly and service minded shop assistant.
What a find. I am always a bit sceptical to too much shimmer on the eyes after the years have gone by, but this one seems to last and doesn't end up like a scary Alice Cooper look-a-like I take this back! The shimmer shadow does actually turn into a sweaty stripe after a long day at work. So be a bit careful where you use it on the eyelid if you have any lines (some call them wrinkles. I like lines better. Even wisdomlines will do). On the other hand, the dark shimmery shadow is excellent as an eyeliner. - And it still doesn't end up like powder on your cheeks either. Bliss.

So many choices, so little time.... Picture from www.bodyshop.no

If you leave me, can I come too?

...and then my dear husband left to go to the land of the long, white cloud.

Let's hope he will have a good time with family and friends and something positive will come out of this trip.
Won't say anything more.
No jinxes, just hopes.

Eat, Pray, Love - Max Foundation Movie Event

The movie has been and gone (for this event anyway). I hope you liked it. I did...

For all you lucky women who are in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch or Hamilton mid October.
Max is arranging a night with a movie, fashion show, nibbles and drinks.
Have fun! Tickets: NZD 45,-.

For more info, read here.

A trip down memory lane

Last night we went to A-ha's farewell concert. After 25 years as a band it was time to call it a quit.

Their most famous song "Take On Me" ended up as no. 1 on the Billboard chart in the US in 1985. In 1987 they had their first concert in Norway - here in Kristiansand. I guess it must have been a bit strange for the audience that saw them 23 years ago to see them again after all these years.

Magne, Morten and Pål during the concert in Kristiansand. Photo: Kristin Ellefsen

A wet day....

Not the best weather on a Saturday morning with an outdoor concert coming up in the evening.

This is the view from our terrace today. Wet is the word. Rain gear and wellies - here we come!

Chrysanthemum in full bloom - but wet..

Standup comedian Kristian Valen

This is a video by Kristian Valen who impersonate BeeGees, Bruce Springsteen, Garth Brooks and David Bowie. Kristian Valen is a Norwegian stand up comedian and an expert on imitating voices.



This is Kristian Valen doing a parody on Morten Harket in A-ha. It is Kristian who is singing, not Morten if you were in doubt. Pretty good. And then Morten turns up himself! Hillarious!



By the way, we are going to A-ha's Farewell concert on the 11th of September. Yippi!!!

Morten Abel with Tore Tang

It's time you get to hear our good, old pub song called Tore Tang. It is about an old man living by himself, old, poor and lonely. The song is sad, but makes everyone sing along when it is played. The song was made by the band Mods where Morten Abel was a vocalist way back in 1981.

Here are some of the lyrics:
"Tore Tang ein gammal mann,
heile byen kjenne han.
Han som leve av gammalt brød og vann.
Kor han komme fra, vet bare han
Tore Tang"



Another hit from Morten Abel and his band The September When called Cries Like A Baby (from HuggerMugger 1994):

"Autumn Dusk" necklace

New necklace has arrived in the collection!

This time I have made a necklace of 7-8mm freshwater pearls (antique look), murano heart pendant in gold and brown and purple seed beads. A few glass beads is added to it as well. Lock and extension chain in silver color.

For more information, have a look here

Also, I have now added Paypal as a payment option. Have a read here if curious.

Understanding the Danish language

Hi all,

I thought I would share this funny you tube video from a Norwegian program called "Uti vår hage" (outside in our garden). This time they have made fun of the Danish language. The thing is, even though we are all Scandinavians, they are really the hardest to understand for the Norwegians and Swedes (exluding the Finnish of course).

In this video, even the Danes have problems understanding each other and are making up Danish words since they have forgotten their own language. The Danish words you may hear is not really Danish either.... most of them are just made up.... Confused? Come to Denmark....

Have a laugh!

Savannah jewelry set

It's no way out of it. The autumn is on its way (and my oh my do I look forward to cool down a bit - yes!).
We have had 24C here today, unbearable, too muggy, way too hot and so on.
So I have been hiding behind the blindes doing some beading....and I have even used some autumn colors to welcome the chilly mornings. I think it works as well. It is supposed to rain tomorrow...

Firstly I have made a statement necklace. It is made of brown, autumn yellow and grey glassbeads and freshwater pearls. Some purple seed beads have been used as "spacers". As a focal point I have used tiger eye triangle beads and glass foil beads. The lock and extension chain are silver colored.

The Tall Ship Races

A couple of weekends back we had visit from The Tall Ship Races. It was the first time for Kristiansand being a hosting town for this great event. If you don't know what it is, think old fashion sailing boats, young people learning to sail and great chances to see new places and big ships competing against each other. The ships are sailing to different European cities and this time it was Kristiansand's turn to arrange the big event in Norway. Other cities the ships had visited was Antwerp in Belgium, Aalborg in Denmark and Hartlepool, United Kingdom (which was the last stop-over during the race).

The container harbour was cleaned and food stalls, restaurants and market stands were placed in the area. The whole town changed, heaps of people visiting and about 80 concerts during the weekend.

The weather was as usual not supportive. It was raining quite a bit during the weekend and in the end we surrendered to the raingear to see some of the concerts on Saturday. Sure it was a funny sight, us in full raingear sitting outside on the wet benches drinking coffee and watching local bands playing. It turned out to be quite a nice day. Later the same evening we went back to see other concerts.

Matching jewelry

Hi again!

I have done a bit of "marathon beading" this weekend and below is what I made.
All the jewellery are matching the last pearl twist bracelet I made.

See more info here

Illusion necklace with moonstone pendant

From Norway with love

Mother-in-law had her birthday in the end of July and I sent her this set of jewellery.
The beads I have used is Swarovski, glass beads, Czech beads and gold colored metal spacers, caps and lock. The beads are knitted in a spiral inside the pendant and bracelet.
The wire is black only on the bracelet and both black and purple on the necklace (pendant).
I hope she will like it. Happy birthday Jill!

Double Spool knitted pendant with purple and black glass beads, Czech beads and gold colored caps and spacers.

More Pearl Twist...

New Pearl Twist bracelet is ready. This one is made of light blue mother of pearl glasspearls, plum colored "Grønnlandspearls" and white pearls. I am also thinking of making a matching necklace for this one.

For more information, see here

My own shop on the net

Hi all!

Since last time I wrote a lot of things have happened. I have started in a new job (just short-term, but still a job in the aftermath of the credit crunch times), we have been in the greatest ever wedding up north in Norway (great people, food & drinks, nature and the biggest moskitos - ever) and my friend, Anne, and I have celebrated our 40th - again (for me anyway). Hopefully I have some more pictures soon.

I have also joined a net shop in Norway called epla.no where I can sell the jewelry I am making.
My address is: http://epla.no/shops/smykkeboden/
You can find all kind of home made items and vintage pieces here, but unfortunately for you only for people living in Norway. If you want to order something from my shop, please send me an email first so I can give you the correct price in requested currency and also the correct postage. This way you can change the total amount yourself at PayPal and I will send it as soon as the payment is registred.

I have also found a similare web page in the States called http://www.etsy.com/ and that made me wonder if you have anything like this in New Zealand? I would be very interested in joining a New Zealand web page as well. This makes it very tidy with both the prices and postage added to the items I sell and the buyer chose the payment (the seller has to pick two methods of payments).

If you have any information about a New Zealand page, please leave a comment (anyone with a google account can) or send me an email (link to the right).

Thanks!

Lovely Copenhagen

Last week we left for a trip to Copenhagen, Denmark. Life had gone a bit quiet at home and the RC-44 cup was on in Copenhagen which meant catchup's with people we know and a bit of shopping and dining for us both.

Copenhagen is a great city...and I know you like to read the facts, so here we go:

Facts from http://www.visitcopenhagen.com/press/statistics_and_facts/about_copenhagen "Copenhagen, Denmark's capital and Scandinavia's liveliest city, lies within the Øresund Region, which encompasses Scania, on the Swedish side, and Zealand and the island of Bornholm on the Danish side. Copenhagen has a population of around 1.7 million; the Øresund Region has a total population of 3.664.000 million".

Christianshavns Kanal/Channel

As you can see, Copenhagen is big enough to get lost in and to do a bit of exploring.
It is approx. 10 years since we last time visited the city so we needed a bit of exploring (with the help of a map) to find the main street called Strøget and to get our bearings again.

Flash Mob Dance : Madcon : Glow

Here is Norwegian band Madcon who made a special song called "Glow" for the intermission at the Eurovision Song Contest.
Probably the best song during the whole song contest...haha
A film crew travelled around Europe to arrange a "Flash Mob Dance" where people get asked to meet a certain place to learn dance moves and then they make a music video of it.
The last time I saw this was Black Eyed Peas at a Oprah show.
Very cool! Well done! Hamburg and Dublin rocks!

By the way, Germany won the Eurovision this year.

A-ha's farwell tour

This may not be of interest for you, but I thought I would write about it anyway as this is their farewell tour in Europe and some of you may be here to reach a concert during the summer and autumn months.

A-ha is traveling around Europe, Japan and Russia performing their farewell concerts in several cities after 25 years as a band. How sad... On the 11th of September they will be here in Kristiansand and I really hope we are here to see it.

I found these pictures from their farewell concert in New York in May.
Photographer : Janne Møller-Hansen. Have a look: http://www.vg.no/lydbilder/forsiden/vis/id/313

...and here is their touring list: http://a-ha.com/tour/

and we also need a little starter. This is "Foot Of The Mountain" from their last album of the same name. The main and dessert will be at the concert...yum...

Threading

While traveling the world, I sometimes end up testing new services within hair, skin and whatever else comes my way. I thought I better write about it....

In Spain I had my eyebrows bleached instead of colored darker...oooops....language problems I guess or maybe just assumptions from the hairdresser that blond hair = blond eyebrows.
Once I had my hair bleached at a school for hairdresser's in Auckland. I think the products were old fashion (and cheap) as they made the skull really, really sore. After the coloring, I had a tough head massage while tears were threatening to run down my face while smiling to the girls for the superb treatment and a wet back after the hair wash.... Another experience I guess. Bliss....Pampering....Yeah right...but the girls at the school were very sweet and loved the experience to bleach my hair. I guess it didn't happen too often (this is probably 10 years ago).

More Pearl Twist bracelets

Two new Pearl Twist bracelets are born!

This time I have made one turqoise and one in a pink, grey/white mix.

For more information, go to this secret place

Turqoise Pearl Twist Bracelet

Pearl Twist bracelet in pink, white and grey

Eurovision 2010

You may have heard about Eurovision Song Contest...or maybe not. This is a song contest for several European countries where the competition is just as much about the costumes, dancing techniques and looks as it is about the song itself. Sometimes it is just about shocking people. Watch Lordi below and you will understand what I mean.

In younger years I remember sitting in front of the TV with a simple tape recorder, recording every song while the family were talking in the background. We didn't have a lot to be proud of as we never won and was on the bottom of the result list several times and even got 0 points four times. The Swedes however had all the good songs. Remember ABBA with "Waterloo" in 1974?

Time for a little medley for those of you that are curious...

First of all. This is my childhood heroes. Jan Teigen and Anita Skorgan was competing in several Eurovision shows, but never won. I don't know why. Both had (and have) beautiful voices and really good songs. Here is one called "Friendly". PS: This is not from a Eurovision show, but too good to leave out....

Stein Roger Sørdal : Moving Clouds

I thought I would share a song from Stein Roger Sørdal's (local hero from Kristiansand) album "In Fort Knox with a Penny" (2007) . He is a guitar player, vocalist and songwriter in his own band and also in the band Angel Motel. He also had Thursday concerts with other musicians in Kristiansand during the summer months last year. Yey! Well, he did last year anyway. I hope it will be repeated this year.

Stein Roger Sørdal : Moving Clouds



I also would like to share a couple of songs from a band called Green Carnation. This is a progressive rock/metal band from Kristiansand, Norway who had their first album made in 1990. The band has changed their type of musical genre several times during the years. Stein Roger was a guitar player and vocalist in the band for many years.

Spring....

We are heading towards spring here, though it seems to only be on the calendar. The wind is cold and the spring flowers are still inside the apartment.
There is hope though. We are in May and the national day is on the coming Monday. Every school will be participating in the parades with flags and songs, orchestras will be playing and the weather will be great. Yeah right! At least it is a day where we can eat as many hotdogs and ice creams as we want.....(don't tell me it applies to kids only!!!)

Here are some photos from previous summers from both the south and north of Norway.

Søgnefjorden, south, summer -04

Søgnefjorden - the red houses are just for boat equipment...I think...

Lollies on a string

I have been really efficient today and made another Pearl Twist bracelet!
These calming colors reminds me of lollies or berries...yum.... could almost eat it!

I have used pink, brown and burgundy colored freshwater pearls, rose quarts and amethyst chips and heaps of different beads that fitted in.

For more info, check: this

Pearl Twist bracelet in berry colors

New Pearl Twist bracelet

You may remember the statement bracelet I made a while ago - if not, check the picture below...
I have now made another one with the same type of beads, just another color.
The last bracelet was a bit short, so I have made this one a little longer.
It is very chuncky, but not really heavy. I guess you can call it a statement bracelet (you don't need to wear any other jewelry when this is worn)....

I will make some more, so there will be more to come.

For more info, see here

Pearl Twist bracelet

Same, same but different :0)

For a reminder, se this link

How to make a kiwi love you

Yesterday evening I was making some foccasia breads and asked my husband if he wanted to have olive or sun dried tomatoes inside them. "Surprise me!" he said - so I made him Vegemite swirls!

Never heard of Vegemite swirls? I am not surprised. I am more surprised that there are not even a Vegemite ice cream to find in a country where Vegemite is so popular. Or chocolate covered Vegemite lollies? Vegemite crackers.... you name it....

Anyway, I put some small Vegemite swirls on to the tray (made the same way as pizza swirls or cinnamon swirls, just with Vegemite spread instead of sugar, cinnamon and butter or pizza ingredients). Roll them up and cut them into pieces and into the oven on approx. 200C.

Earning brownie points

Shabby chic necklaces

In Scandinavia the spring is slowly arriving - though you sometimes may forget it. It has been a freezing cold day here today, cloudy and a little bit of rain. Due to the bad spring weather, I thought we could need a bit of inspiration.
I have made these shabby chic / romantic looking necklaces which would look good with light summer clothes while running through the fields of grass with a bucket of blue berries (self picked of course). Oh...that was a long sentence...but you get the picture I hope...

Betty's beads

We are back in Norway again to an early spring and cold wind. There are a lot of hope around in the streets. Some are even wearing summer clothes even though the temperature is just around 9C! Crazy.

The balconies are full of flowers again though we are a bit weary. The nights are still a bit too cold so the fragile plants have to be moved inside during nighttime.

Anyway, I was not supposed to talk about springtime in Norway, but the beads I got to use at the farm while visiting. Mother-in-law had been taking care of some of her mother's old necklaces and I was lucky enough to be allowed to use the beads for new jewellery! I felt like a 6 year old with a treasure box in front of me. 

The treasure box

Sorted beads - new and old