Blogger's block

Who knew such a thing existed but it's alive and well and currently slothing around in Hestnes. I'm blaming (a) the time of year, (b) the weather, (c) middle aged hormones, or more likely (d) all of the above. Either way, inspiration has been in short supply since the festive season and I was recently reminded that…if you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything at all!

So here we are in 2014 with another raft of New Year's resolutions made and just waiting to be broken. I've taken to making loads of them, with the notion that I might at least have a 50% success rate and therefore some sense of achievement. There's logic there somewhere!

So far this year I've discovered that January can be a very tedious month no matter which country you live in. It seems to have gone on for ever and still isn't done. That said, there's more and more daylight each day and we're currently basking in glorious sunshine albeit accompanied by sub-zero temperatures…..brrrr.

If I tell you that one of the highlights so far this year has been a 'grocery shopping orientation', you'll get a window into my world at the moment! Nevertheless it was a very worthwhile exercise and we got to taste numerous delicacies about which the locals are passionate…brown cheese (sweet…ARGH), fish balls (err…no…just 'wrong'), fresh shrimp (fab), cod roe (also fab), potato bread (yum) and knekkebrod (dried bread…crispbread to you and me) to name a few. It's fair to say the traditional Norwegian palate is fairly plain with the emphasis on tasty local food albeit with minimal spice/seasoning.

I've also recently enjoyed a guided tour of the magnificent 'Konserthus'…no prizes for guessing what that is. A relatively new addition to Stavanger, it's located right down by the harbour with the most amazing views. That is, until a cruise ship parks outside and all you can see is a wall of steel! In fact it's built on the site of what used to be the ferry terminal for ships going to Denmark and Newcastle. It boasts two state-of-the-art performance theatres, one designed for symphony orchestras and the other for rock concerts. It's a fantastic venue and if you come visit (hint hint) we'll go and have a coffee there and drool over the  view…below.

Needless to say the architecture is also quite stunning.

Grasp of 'norsk' is getting better. So much so that a trip into town last week involved a visit to the drycleaners, the farmer's market, a coffee house and the supermarket…without a single word of English being uttered! Progress. Most people are quite good at giving you the opportunity to try and speak the language unless you're clearly in difficulty, in which case they'll intervene and rescue you. When this happens, there is only one thing to say…'beklager' (beh-klaager), meaning 'sorry'! If I've made a really obvious mistake, I'm always tempted to follow beklager with…jeg er dum (I'm a numpty)!

The resident katten continues to be the focus of some close attention from next door's nemesis. It's winter coat is now clearly fully grown, rendering it even bigger than before (gulp). I took a picture of its footprints in the snow but foolishly didn't place anything beside it, to give it perspective. Trust me…it's big…and I think I can count almost 10 pads in that print…

That said, when you're languishing in your owner's warm bed, washing your tail, there's nothing coming over you…is this the face of concern??

And on that note…vi ses!