Busy in November

It's been a while since I updated. There are two main reasons, which seem somewhat contradictory. The first is that I've been busy, and the second is that nothing has been going on. Another part is that I had some pictures from a brunch I went to with some American women that I had been meaning to upload, and never got around to. I will soon, but they are somewhat boring - more sculptures and art, blah blah blah.

November has been a busy month at work. We got a big shipment of food in from Ramstein AFB in Germany (that's where I order most of the food for the store I manage in the Embassy). We hire a huge 20' container truck with a frozen compartment. With this shipment I had to order everything for Thanksgiving and Christmas - turkeys, stuffing, pumpkin pie mix, etc. I have been through this enough to know what I'm doing, and the procedure runs pretty smoothly - with a few exceptions.

In addition to the big shipment from Ramstein, I was expecting a huge shipment of wine from California & the Pacific Northwest. I ordered the stuff in late August/early September, expecting a two-month delivery time. The Marines ordered some wine for the Marine Corps ball, which was last Saturday, the 17th. The shipment arrived on the 15th. Talk about cutting it close, pulling out my hair, and turning the remaining ones gray!

As if that wasn't enough, about a month ago I took some of the people from work to the "troll shop" - a man who sells Norwegian souvenirs wholesale opens up his warehouse to us periodically. The first time they tried to deliver the goods, the driver of the truck got a parking ticket. Of course, he didn't want to come back. But he did - the week after the wine came.

In between the heavy workload at work, I've still been trying to be social - although not very well. I had a nice Thanksgiving lunch with the American Women's Club, another nice lunch at work, and got to take home some leftover turkey to eat on Thanksgiving. That with some mashed potatoes, cooked carrots and a little "gravy" was my Thanksgiving dinner this year. And the day after, while most Americans were rushing about the stores getting trampled by blue-haired ladies racing towards the last Bumblebee Transformer, I was relaxing at a day spa, getting a massage.

I hope everyone reading had a great Thanksgiving. Drop me a line and tell me about yours, and if you braved "Black Friday".

More adventures in Oslo (part 3)

More pictures from my walk last weekend.

There are a lot of trees behind the police station. The little wall in the center holds a secret...

.... a spiral! I don't know why, but this really attracted my attention.

There was a little bench in some random place, and it looks like someone left some snacks behind. It is a lemon and some chili peppers. Takes all kinds...

Down the street from our apartment is the Mosque.

On the way back home, I saw this street sign. Very important information to have!

This is the view of home from the police station.

And the view of home from the pizza sign.

Autumn Walk in Oslo, part 2

On the way back from Vålerenga, I walked through the park behind the police station. This little sculpture park (for lack of a better word) was a neat little treasure I found.

The wall has elephants in it.

Another elephant. There were a number of them, and some lions, which gave the area a real Asian feel.

Two views of the entire area, from opposite ends.

One wall had some interesting Buddha heads on it.

Yes, I said Buddha heads. I don't know if this is some sort of prayer area for Buddhists, or just some of the art that is all over Oslo.

Autumn walk in Oslo

I went for a walk today. It is really nice to get out in the crisp, cold autumn air. Here are some of the places I visited.

Some older houses, in all the beautiful colors old houses in Oslo are.

Vålerenga Kirke (Vålerenga Church), built in 1902. Somewhere nearby there is a cozy cafe, but I didn't find it.

The sun was shining, so I couldn't get a picture of the back side of the church. But I took one of a tree in the church yard.

Across the street from the church is Vålerenga Skole (school).

These pictures are of the prison and the wall surrounding the main police station, which is very close to our apartment. There is a nice park surrounding the prison.

The pathway leading up to the main entrance of the prison.

The doorway to the prison.

Funny ball sculptures lining a pathway.

The old fence and the new?

The prison wall. If you look closely, you can see the two towers of the Mosque in Oslo. The mosque is NOT inside the prison, ha ha. I have more pictures of the Mosque and the park around the prison next time.