Am waiting for familiy to arrive for coffee and cake intake (actually, when this is posted, they have already been here and left – they arrived as I wrote the first bit..)

Great weather, a bit nippy in the wind, but stay in the shelter and it’s nice and warm.

Ordered new camera and southerner ordered a lens for me for my birthday! My old camera seems to overexpose most pictures, and they come out saturated and not very good at all. So it was perfect timing that I ordered a new one. It is the Canon EOS 350D, with the kit lens. Can’t wait until it arrives. Have already “booked” JE&T’s unborn baby for a session after he’s born. T’s thrilled, and so am I!

So tired, and it’s my own fault. Too little sleep, too long days. Yesterday I got up at 5.30am and didn’t come home from Oslo until 11pm. My feet were killing me by the time I got on the plane, and like hypnotised I sat and just stared out of the plane window, stared at the amazingly beautiful sunset. The clouds were like cotton-ice balls, floating silently around in the sky, and the sun was all the tones of warm pink and orange you can imagine. Up above the clouds can really be a moment of just beauty, inviting to quiet reflection. Like when I flew over Northern Territory and didn’t see any towns or houses, just red soil and flat land. I couldn’t stop staring out, it was just so beautiful.

I will call it a night now; work is busy and I need to get an early night. Haven’t been taking any new photos lately, so I’m posting an old one of my southerner,

I got a Mother’s Day card on my email today, from my stepson. “To the best second mum in the world”. How can you not melt at that? If you’re reading K, that was so special and made me so happy! 

Looking forward to a short week at work, with one day spent in the capital city. I am going for work, but am most looking forward to spending the afternoon with S, as I probably wrote in my other blog. Better book those plane tickets, actually.

Twice this weekend I have found myself in a situation with an ungracious senior.

Episode one occured when I was out shopping with my grandmother (who, by the way, is the sweetest woman). We ran in to one of her and grandpa’s friends, and they started connecting the dots like older people often do when they meet someone for the first time (the dots went from how this woman knew my other grandparents, to through such and such she managed to place me, or rather categorise me, in less than five minutes). Here’s how it went: After a short conversation, grandma finishes “…and she lives there with her australian friend” [on the side: note the use of the word friend. As long as you're still living the sinful(?) life as defactos, your partner will always be reffered to as friend among the older generations here.] When grandma has said her bit, the other woman, loaded with older generation judgement, says: “oh, yeah.. So that’s You…”. I manage a stiff smile, “yeah…that’s me”. That’s me…?

Episode two: My friend walks in to a room and reaches out his hand to greet one of the men in the room. My Friend says to him (in Norwegian) that he doesn’t speak a lot of Norwegian, and tells him his name. And the old man answers, in Norwegian: “That is a strange name”. And repeats in Norwegian when friend tries to explain that he doesn’t understand what he said. He repeats it in Norwegian again. Strange name.. And not said in a particularly friendly way either. Who on earth says something like that to someone you’ve never met before?? The whole thing is followed by my dad and grandpa stepping in, trying to save the akward moment by explaining that it is in fact a very normal name and that it is quite alright to be named that. I walk out to the veranda to draw breath before any of the people present sees the red flushes on my neck, but when nobody’s watching, I look at my mum, she looks at me, and I think I see her mouth form a little “I know…” smile, when I roll my eyes as I shout abuse at the old man, quietly, on the inside, with a stiff smile on my lips.

It is so tempting to just blog about all and nothing, and most of the time that’s exactly what I do. I do, however, want to challenge myself to write topical posts. So I’ll start a project where more posts will have to be topical than before. And I will keep adding photos, of course.

I’ll write about Australia, as the longing for a life down under again is a constant craving for me, a dream we can make come true. And the thought makes me feel incredibly happy. Timing is the issue, it should fit with family life, work and house-selling/buying. I guess the days will come and go and before we know it we’re sipping chardonnay on our new deck in the warm breeze of a Queensland summer night. In the mean time I promise to enjoy here too. At least as long as the sun shines.