12 Years Ago…

… I Finally Said I Do

We were the quintessence of "The 7 Year Itch"!!!

Thanks for all the adventures

Happy Anniversary, Love

Double the Rain...

...Double the Rainbows

and one is a full half circle!

My lens wasn't wide enough to capture the whole thing!

the second one is hard to see on the picture but I promise you there was a second one!

really... look closely

LBD & Rain Boots… …

...A Real NO-NO Or A Maybe YES-YES?

The ONS* is in town this year (it alternates with Aberdeen) and besides having horrible traffic jams (ok for Stavanger nothing compare to China!) and having Kevin Costner in town (he is a founder of the companies Blue Planet Solutions and Ocean Therapy Solutions and will be giving a presentation during the ONS Conference), I’m in a dilemma because we’ve been invited by Schlumberger to a dinner in town and I’m not sure what is the dress etiquette when the weather is really shitty not cooperating:

Can I wear rain boots with my LBD?

Classic style    or    Stavanger style?

Little explanation:
“ONS is the world’s leading energy industry expositions”: I know my life is so exciting!!
I didn’t know what O.N.S stand for so I did a quick search and had a few options to choose from:

• Office for National Statistics (UK)… nope
• Oncology Nursing Society… no attending that one yet
• Office of Nuclear Safety… wrong field
• One Night Stand…Hum, hope it’s not that one!
• and Offshore Northern Seas… I think that might be this one!

I did pay a visit to the actual exhibition too.

Jeffrey playing with the giant ipad on 'his' stand:

I really liked the display on the Schlumberger stand... all the different type of oil. I do the same with sand!!

We Are Ahead Of Schedule…

...Summer Is Officially Over

Well at least in Stavanger!

I’ve been wondering where I had put away my rain boots… and rain coat… and umbrella and I’m now on the verge of thinking that owning a rain suit might not be such a fashion ‘faux pas’ after all. If it keeps on pouring this much I might also start building a Noah’s ark. I know we live on top of a hill but with this kind of rain the sea level could go up pretty fast… and I’ve been evacuated once this year.

Rain, Rain go away, we don't want you anyway

Planning picnics (or any thing outdoorsy) is a challenge in Norway… well unless you are Norwegian and in this case you don’t even notice the rain and keep on doing what you were supposed to do that day.

comics.com

Why Everybody Goes Dutch…

...At The Bar In Norway

I’ve been telling you that life is expensive in Norway and drinks especially.

Apparently the band Iron Maiden was in Bergen this past week and they found out for themselves how much it costs to chucked a beer or two or… 78 pint of Guinness, 32 draft Heineken, 57 Hansa beer, 27 slippery Nipples shots (?!) and 7 Olden Natural Bubbles….

Bar tab came just a little over 20,000 Kroner.

Aftenposten

Kite Surfing &...

...Flying Kite

Day at the beach this weekend for the Suiter.

No, no, no we haven’t moved or hopped on a plane to an exotic destination. No bathing suit were involved, trust me, more like wind jacket!

But some kite surfers were enjoying the wind:


And Chloe & Jeremy had to hold on tight to their kite or they could have easily fly away too

Turning Into...

…Martha Steward

We have a red currants bush in our garden.

Ready to be picked

I’ve got some berry pickers at hand.

Chloe & Jeffrey in action

They’ve got the tool.

The berry picker...so Norwegian!!

They were way too much fruits so Chloe decided to treat some of our neighbors.

Would you like some?

Last year we picked the fruits just a few days after we moved into the house and we froze most of them.  This year I was a little more prepared and I decided to go all Martha Steward and make some jam. Well actually my mom used to make tons of jam and jelly when I was growing up and we would enjoy them all year round at breakfast. Not sure my two batches will last the whole year (or if it’s any good even) but it’s the thought that count, doesn’t it?

Ready for some serious breakfast 'tartine'

Patience Is A Virtue…

…In Norway More Than Anywhere Else

A few months ago (January 28th to be exact!) I posted this picture:

Bye bye Tamron Lens

And I explained that it was the last picture my 18-270mm lens took as it was taking a plunge to its death.  Well I’m happy to report that it survived the crash and I finally got it back…

Welcome back home 17-270mm.

Yes you counted right it’s been 7 months (well 10 days short). Who says that there is no customer service in Norway... You just need patience!  Of course since then I bought a couple of lenses. I also learned to zoom with my feet and my other babies are much faster, but I still like my Tamron zoom, it’s the easy lens, the lens I grab when I don’t want to haul & juggle with 3 different lenses.

My three babies

Back To School For The Kids...

...Back To 'Me' Time For Celine

After 2 months of vacations spent in 2 different countries we are back home and ready to start our 2nd year in Stavanger. Chloe will start 5th grade and Jeremy 1st grade. I used to joke that’s it was my turn to be on vacation once the kids finally started school in August/September but it’s not as true now since my jobs as an Ayi and Driver have been renewed  for another year.

We still had a Woo-hoo Coffee with some friends. That’s the happy version of the boo-hoo coffee when you leave your kids at school for the 1st time!

and a little comic strip...because that could totally be something Jeremy would say!

comics.com

His Majesty…

...The King’s Guards

We went to see His Majesty the King’s Guards perform their routine. They were in Stavanger a couple of days ago but we missed them, thankfully they were doing another exhibition of their talent in Sandnes, just a couple of miles south of us.



A little background:

Hans Majestet Kongens Garde (HMKG) (lit., His Majesty The King's Guard; the Royal Guards) is a battalion of the Norwegian Army. The battalion has two main roles; it serves as the Norwegian King's bodyguards, guarding the royal residences, and is also the main infantry unit responsible for the defense of Oslo. […].

The Royal Norwegian Company of Marksmen was established on 1 November 1856 to enhance security around King Oscar I in Stockholm. The company was renamed His Majesty The King’s Guard in 1866, and was transferred to Kristiania (now Oslo) toward the end of the union between Sweden and Norway. Since 1888 the King’s Guard has been on duty at the Royal Palace and other Royal residences 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

The changing of the guard ceremony in front of The Palace takes place at 1330–1400 hours every day. The dark blue dress uniforms have remained virtually unchanged throughout the regiment's existence. One noteworthy detail of the uniform is the plumed bowler hat, which was copied from the hat of the Italian Bersaglieri troops—a regiment that so impressed the Swedish princess Louise (the great grandmother of HM King Harald V) that she insisted the Norwegian guards be similarly hatted in 1860. The regiment's cap badge is a rosette in the national colours of Norway, with the royal cypher of the current Norwegian monarch on top. In addition to performing guard duty, the Guards is also on parade whenever important state events take place in the capital. These include the annual opening of parliament by HM the King, visits by foreign heads of state, or anniversaries of major events in the history of the nation.

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Check out at the 2.45 mark and around 6.07 mark!

We’ve Got to Go…

...Back Home

Or as Jeremy sighed this morning: “Back to rainy days”… You’ve got that right buddy!

It seems that it would take us 24 hours and 21 minutes and only require crossing 4 countries… ok I think we’ll opt for the plane.

I'll take you with me in the plane TomTom, don't you worry

My Back Yard...

...Back 'Home'

I was determined to take more pictures of my home town village and our new adopted village (distanced by 10km… You can take the girl from her small town but cannot take the small town from the girl!) but I got caught up with friends, lunches, dinners and doing nothing. So once again I forgot to take pictures of everything I take for granted. Well until next time, here are some pictures of the “Noyers” … Grenoble is the French Capital of Walnut after all!!

Between St Quentin/Isere & La Riviere

Walnut trees are everywhere

Rite of Passage…

...For Chloe

Chloe wanted to get her ears pierced for a while and I told her she could when she'll turn 10. She got her wish in France.

So proud of herself.  Another milestone

Take That…

...Norway

When asked how I like Norway, I mostly complain about the weather (not good for my hair and my sense of fashion!), the cost of living (how much did you say?) and the lack of cultural outing (that’s how cultural as it gets!) but I always end up by saying “But the country is very beautiful”. Well I tend to forget where I grew up… so take that Norway!

Serre Chevalier Valley in the background