Sometimes when I haven’t posted for many weeks and a lot has happened during that time, I put off posting because I feel sort of overwhelmed as I try to figure out what to write, where to begin. Let me just plunge in and see where this goes…

The deer ended up eating all of our strawberries and all of the little flowers on the bushes that become strawberries, so we don’t have any strawberries this summer. Bummer but oh well. (My neighbor said she saw the deer one day with two fawns. Awwww, sweet!) The raspberries, cherries, and blueberries are coming in, and the arugula is ready to be picked. The potatoes are out of control; we’ll be up to our necks in ‘taters in October. Too bad the deer doesn’t like potatoes.

My job in the kindergarten ended for the summer in the middle of June but immediately my old boss called from the cleaning company where I used to work and asked if I could help out by covering for vacationing employees. So I’ve been cleaning a bit here and there, and will continue to do so for the next month. The work keeps me in shape and allows me to practice my Norwegian, which I really need, so it’s super for me.

I managed to finish some projects around the house that have needed doing for ages. I painted the guestroom upstairs---finally got rid of the yellow color I never liked---and finished repainting the kitchen, a job I started last summer. In both rooms, I went with a creamy white color. Boring but safe, and after making too many mistakes with color (and wallpaper!!) in the house, safe feels good. I also cleaned out a whole room in the basement; I opened boxes that had been sitting down there since we moved in four years ago. Better late than never, I guess.

The very best part of the last few weeks was getting a visit from my friend, Andrea, who is traveling around Europe and arrived in Norway on July 9. It was SO awesome to finally get to see her in person instead of on her blog, where I’ve been following her travels since she departed Vancouver in April. Secret: Andrea and I had never actually hung out before. We met on line in a mail forum---I’m not sure, maybe ten years ago?---and have stayed in touch ever since. I was really looking forward to meeting her and I cannot begin to describe how wonderful she is! We clicked instantly and, actually, I don’t think we stopped talking for five days. It was really, really cool.

Andrea chronicled our time together better than I can, so please click over to her blog, read her posts, and check out all of the lovely photos she’s posted there.

Besides meeting Andrea, the highlight of her visit for me was our trip to Bergen. Neither of us had been there before but we’d both heard and read so much about it and were excited to see it. I am happy to report that Bergen did not disappoint---we loved it! It is a funky, fabulous city surrounded by some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen. We took one of the Norway in a Nutshell tours (ridiculously expensive but worth it) into the famous Sognefjord, where we gasped in wonder at the mountains and waterfalls and tiny, isolated, little villages that seem impossible to live in. Simply amazing.







Here is a picture I took of a glacier we saw on our 9-hour train ride from Sandefjord up and over the mountains to Bergen. I'd never seen a glacier before!



The city itself reminded me of San Francisco with its steep hills, colorful houses, trendy shops and restaurants and people, and just the general beauty of the place. It’s more expensive than San Francisco, though, and apparently rains a lot more; the woman who owned the B&B where we stayed told us, on the day we arrived, it had been raining continuously for two months. That’s a lot of rain. Andrea and I must have brought the good weather vibe with us because we got a day of full sun and warm temperatures while there. Excellent!





A true treasure we found in Bergen: 44 kroner beer at Dr. Livingstone's pub. 44 kroner! That's absolutely unheard of in Sandefjord, where 66 kroner is considered cheap. I love Bergen.



Andrea left a few days ago to travel to Stockholm and I went back to work, so everything is back to normal here. And it’s raining hard today. I hope Andrea has the good weather vibe wherever she is!