"When thunder roars"

Photo: ask-alex.dk

Heard today at a National Geographic programm about people who were hit by lightening:

"When thunder roars, go indoors."

A few snowflakes

Today I haven't been out yet.
But outside my window, now and then, a snowflake slowly falls to the ground.
And melts.

Blood oranges become red oranges

When I was a child here in Norway, we sometimes ate Blood Oranges. These oranges looked the same on the outside, but were red on the inside, and rather sour.

Now I read that Blood Oranges in Norway come from Sicily, and that they have a fairly short season (January - April) and that they are not sour any more.

Norway used to import around 150 000 kilo of Blood Oranges.
Then the importer decided to change the name to Red Oranges.
Behold, that helped sales!
Suddenly they sold 255 000 kilo.
This winter they expect to sell even more.

Destressing on a day off

Photos I took in August walking along the shore of Mjoesa, Norway's biggest lake, in Hamar.

A day off work, like today, is sometimes very good for my physical and mental health.

How to destress?
An article in a magazine had a long row with ideas.

Here are some:

On your day off, sleep till you feel completely rested.
(I just did that - 7 hours of sleep!)

Learn to say no.
(I am getting better at that.)

Write down "This I have done"lists instead of "This I should do"lists.
(It shifts your way of thinking and feeling about yourself)

Journal 10 - 15 minutes every night.
(I try write down five good things that happened that day).

And some ideas I should use more:
Play some nice music.
Read a good book.
Email, phone or visit a good friend.
Watch a funny movie.
Visit an art exhibition.

Older ladies

I liked this quote by Cora Harvey Armstrong:

"Inside every older lady is a younger lady - - wondering what the hell happened."

But I also remember my neighbor's very old mother, telling me something like this:
"I look into the mirror and it is hard to understand how I who feel so young inside, look so old on the outside."

Injera in Oslo

On Sunday I was in Oslo to attend a cultural event and meet somebody I had only corresponded with through email.
On my way to the event, I suddenly saw a sign with RED SEA, which made me jump.
Then I saw it was a restaurant with Eritrean and Ethiopian food. I made a mental note that it would be interesting to go there for a visit one day.

Later that evening, as we walked along the street to find a place to eat, my companion took the chance when I suggested Ethiopian food.

So we ate INJERA and different vegetarian stews (WOT).
The Injera was not as sour as it often can be, and the stew not so hot as it can be. The injera was partly made with TEF.
It was a very pleasant experience for me, bringing back good memories.
Here is their visit card.

They had opened up two months ago.

Here are some explanations if you did not know the words I used above
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Injera

http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/bread/recipe-injera.html

A typical Ethiopian stew is the chicken stew - DORO WOT.
http://recipes.chef2chef.net/recipe-archive/41/220651.shtml

Looking for information about vegetarian Ethiopian cuisine, I found there is a vegan Ethiopian restaurant in Los Angeles......
http://www.vegparadise.com/dining75.html

Russell's teapot about Norway

My son sent me the following link from the States. I have shown it to friends and family here in Norway.

Now it is up to you to check if you find it funny.

http://russellsteapot.com/comics/2007/dra-til-helvete.html


PS. What Russell probably did not know:
In Norway there is a place called Hell, and Lonely Planet suggested you go there: "Forever after, whenever someone suggests you go there, you can honestly say you've already been there and it wasn't all that bad."