getting our feet wet in Oslo

Figuratively and literally, Oslo was were we got our feet wet, braved the storm and hit the ground running (how's that for mixing metaphors er... idioms er... cliches). I don't believe in easing into a trip or allowing myself some time to get over jet lag - to much to see and precious little time to fit it all in.

During our day and a half days in Oslo, we went to the city hall where they present the Nobel Peace Prize. (We didn't get to go in because they were setting up for a special awards ceremony for Aung San Suu Kyi who was awarded the peace prize 21 years ago but has been in prison and unable to accept the prize until now. We were also in Norway at the same time as Lenny Kravitz, which I'll tell you more about later.)

Murals at City Hall depicting Nordic myths.

We took a ferry to a peninsula where many of Oslo's museums are housed including the Kon Tiki and Fram museums which led me to believe that Norwegians are kind of crazy and oddly ambitious. Odd in that they take on some pretty bizarre projects. I'm just saying, a 3 year trip into the artic would probably discourage me from seeking out the South Pole but not this Norweigan dude Nanson. (btw, it's driving me crazy that this computer won't let me do links, maybe I'll have to come back and edit this post later.)

Later that day we went to the ski jump, Norwegians are pretty serious about their skiing.

The next morning we headed out to the Norsk Folkemuseum where we saw this impressive stave church.

More stave churches and lessons I've learned along this trip to come.

Greetings from Denmark

Well, Norway was breathtaking - though a little damp we saw some incredible sights and are now drying out in Copenhagen. I had been to Copenhagen once before but as my visit was only about 4 hours long, I only knew that I wanted to come back. Top on my list of things to do in Copenhagen: eat danishes and visit Tivoli (a Hans Christian Andersen themed amusement park). I am happy to report that neither have failed to delight. More details and photos to follow.

Hej hej!

London layover

We opted for a long layover in London so that we could see a few of the sights and so I could eat some mushy peas. A few of the highlights pictured below: lovely English garden at Hyde Park, changing of the guard, the Tower Bridge and St. Paul's Cathedral.

Next stop Oslo.

my bags are packed

Maybe you've heard but I'm going on vacation. I leave today and over the next two weeks, I'll be visiting Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland. That's right, I'll be on the move, soaking up of that midnight sun and doing my best to avoid getting soaked in the inevitable rain. From experience I know that there may be more rain than sun, but I'll take it.

I'm going to do my best to post pictures along the way - wait a second, whose blog is this?

I know I'm not much of a posting pictures kinda blogger and of late I haven't been a post much of anything kinda blogger, but I bought myself a fancy ipod touch for the trip and plan to make use of it. It's kind of like a pocket ipad, it has a camera and I can blog from it and chat. I'm hoping it was worth the investment because I'm having a hell of a time getting itunes from my old computer to sync with it - ugh computers, it's all smoke and mirrors to me.

Stay tuned. Tomorrow, 10 hour lay over in London and we're going to do our best to make it count!

marching for marriage equality

As a single girl, marriage is something I'm all to apt to dwell on. So, I figured it was about time that i got over myself and did something for someone else for a change - I donned my new Sunday dress and my cutest walking shoes and made my way to my first Pride Parade.

Yesterday I marched with the Mormons for Marriage Equality group at the DC Pride Parade and it was one of the prouder moments of my life. There were tears, hugs, looks of shock and amazement, cheers, high-fives, kisses and heart felt exchanges. I felt the love that God has for all of his children - when he said that he doesn't look at the outward appearance but on the heart, I believe he meant it. And I experienced a lot of heart along that route.

There are a dozen reasons that I support gay marriage and most of them are deeply tied up in my Mormon faith and heritage. I know that this puts me at odds with some of the leadership but I felt confused when I said nothing and I experienced joy, love and peace when I marched.

Plant ALL the plants!

I had great ambitions for this weekend. I had such great dreams for my little mess of a yard. Okay, really, my goal was simple plant all the plants that were sitting in the weed patch that I like to imagine will someday be a real live vegetable but for now is over run by this vicious weed could surely eat me alive should I be taken in by it's lush foliage and tiny purple flowers. But I will not be fooled by it's quaintness. I've learned my lesson. What starts out cute and lovely gets all kinds of ugly mid summer (I almost spelled that midsommar - guess who's excited for their Midsommar in Scandinavia?). So I dug and pulled and dragged and transplanted and I quickly went from this:

to this:

Btw, if you haven't read Hyperbole and a Half, stop whatever you're doing and go there right now. 

You're welcome.

I had 2 flats of annuals, 3 perennials and 2 tomato plants were in desperate need of being put into the ground and while I only got half of the annuals and both tomatoes planted, I did move a bazillion rocks out of what I imagine was once intended to be a rock garden but had subsequently turned into weed patch with dozens of cobble sized rocks looming at various depths beneath the surface. And because I'm a sadist, I bought another tomato plant at wholefoods in the afternoon, because, summer just isn't worth living without sweet 100's, right?

While I'm feeling a bit defeated about my silly little yard (remind me to never buy a house), I did manage to fold ALL the laundry! A small victory as it had started form a small mountain of rumpled clothes that threatened to block the door to my room. I'm going to go back to planning my vacation now.

stay tuned

I've got all these ideas and thoughts swirling around in my brain and I haven't managed pin any of them down yet. But rest assured, I've got so many things to talk about that when I finally figure out how to say them, they may prove interesting. How's that for non-committal. For now, I leave you with this video which sort of blew my mind and got me all sorts of excited for my favorite summertime event, So You Think You Can Dance - which is NOT like the Bachelor. Not all reality TV is smut. They're called standards, people. 

Iron and Wine, "Boy with a Coin" with Flamenco Dancers.