Friday Fling!

Happy Friday!

Got the day off again - yeah! I love not having to go to work on a friday. Just taking life easy and relaxing. In fact I like it so much that I never get anything sensible done on a free Friday. Though at the moment I'm comtemplating whether I should try to attempt to do something but sit in the sofa. It might be a bit ambitious... However, the sun's out even though it's a bit cloudy, and I'm planning on getting some fresh air soon. Perhaps I should take my camera with me in case I come across something interesting?

Going to a farewell-party to a good friend who's moving back to Mandal this sommer. Going to be great and sad at the same time.

Other than that I'm working in the bookstore tomorrow afternoon, and a full day in the restaurant on Sunday. Thinking green - as in money - is what's going to get me through the weekend. I need cash for shopping in Crete! Haven't got the roster from the restaurant yet, so don't know how much work there'l be... I hope we get it soon so I can plan the rest of the summer!

Have a fabulous weekend!

Green fingers

Horrible weather today. Cloudy, gray skies as far as the eye can see. I was hoping for a sunny day so I could get a kick-start on my tan before we hit the beaches in Crete (the way this is going I'm almost certainly going to be lobster-red after five minutes outdoors). But it was not to be. So to bring a bit of sunshine into my life, here's the update on our window-sill garden, already promised last weekend.

The photos were taken early Saturday morning before I work. I'm glad I decided to document the development because it's really exciting to see how much they've grown since the last photo session. And you really wouldn't believe how much they've grown since these photos were taken! There'll definately be another update along really soon - the snow peas are starting to flower, so I want to show it off!

The tomato plant: I was pretty sure that this one had hardly grown an inch since I bought it at the flower marked on Stortorget in the end of May. But when I looked at the previously photo I discovered that it in fact had almost doubled in height! I was totally surprised! The plant support has been extended with some duct-tape and a few wooden skewers. And we'll hopefully have our first taste of home-grown cherry-tomatoes before our holiday as he little yellow flowers are starting to open.

Snow peas (sukkererter): "Jack, you're bean-stalks ready"! It's scary just how much these have grown the past month or so, and since this shot they've grown even more! According to the discription on the seed bag they're going to be no taller than 50 cm. Puh, lucky! Supporting a taller plant would be a bit problematic. As mentioned above, pretty, white flowers are starting to show!

Basil in a pot (basilikum): This one is starting to fill out nicely. Looking like the one's you buy at the grocery's, but much better! I'm hoping it won't wither & die like all the one's I've bought in the shop, becaue you either water it to much, to little, or it's already half dead on the inside. Just look how much it's grown (P.S. Check out the difference in the snow peas since end of May)!

Leaves a delicous smell on when I run my finger tips over the leaves. According to wikipedia basil is very beneficial to your health as it's oil has antioxidant, anti-cancer, antiviral and anti-microbial properties. Fun fact, according to F's dad it's wiebacterialHealth-wise it's full of beneficial Fun tip: apparently basil is widely used in Crete as a method to fend of mosquitos, and most balconies have a planted hedge of basil.

The garden nasturtium (blomkarse): Last time it was bearly a stalk with leaves on and now it's crawling up the window. I love just love the large windows in our flat - and as you can see the plants do too! They're really thriving on all the sun light coming in (hurray for the greenhouse effect). Now the nasturtium really needs to be re-potted soon, well actually, several weeks ago. It's getting a bit big to handle and soon it will engulf it's neighbours in the seeding box. The problem is that I haven't been able to get hold of the pots I want. They're sold out at the hobby shop, so PLEASE let me know if you've come across terracotta pots anywhere in Oslo - I beg you!

Chilli: There's only one thing to say about this photo: HOT! I can't wait to these babies grow up and we can use home-grown chilli for cooking. I'm a big fan of chili, and I basically use it in everything I make. Hot & spicy, just how I like it!

The baby-strawberries (markjordbær): Coming along nicely, and looking a bit more substantial now compared to the small flecks of green on black back in May. The leaves are actually looking like real strawberry leaves now. I don't know how many put into each compartment, but there's still seedlings coming up regularily. But still no chance of strawberries this year...

! SURPRISE REVEAL !

Sweet pepper (paprika): RememberI told you I planted a few seeds from a red sweet pepper bought in the shop? It was sort of a experiment and I didn't have high hopes that it would work. Though amazingly enough out of the four seeds I planted, two have sprouted. Just look how big this one is! Now I'm just wondering how big a pepper plant is, 'cause this guy is already taller than the chilli...

21 days is a terribly long time to wait

...but then I'm off to sun, blue skies and beautiful beaches! Yours truely with my better half are off on our one week vacation in Rethymnon on Crete on the 13th of July. In fact, we're leaving on my beau's birthday. Now that's what I call the right way to celebrate!

Ooh, I can hardly wait! Hope we'll be seing some nice weather here in Oslo before that so I can work on my tan. Don't want to get burnt on the first day out in that southern sun! And I really have to do some shopping because summer wear is really lacking in presence in my closet. I've got like 2 pairs of short, a few T's and singlets, a bikini, and a few light summer dresses. Besides, it really doesn't help that the airline lost most of my summer clothes back in December (the family emergency in South Africa)... ah, I hate practical shopping!

Friday Fling!

Happy Friday! 7 days gone and here is my update:

I've been working, working and working a bit more. Working this weekend too, so there's my plans for you! I'm hoping the weather gods are on my side so there's less to do at work (full restaurant + rain = a stressed-out Sheki).

Other than that I've still got a cold. I'm fed up with the sniffles, coughing and sneezing, blocked nose, runny nose ... you name it! Can't believe I've managed to get a cold in the summer - again. Enough I say, enough!

F & I took a trip to Ikea earlier this week to get hold of some stuff for the flat. Survived the ordeal (a full stomach helps as we both get a bit short-tempered when we're hungry), happily we scored most of the stuff on our list. A beautiful, big, new bookcase in the living-room, a butchers block in the kitchen (good for extra working space), a lamp for our bedroom (yet to be installed), plates & noodle-soup bowls, bedding, a lavender plant and much more. Now there's no excuse for living among boxes & bags anymore!!! The extra shelving is a winner as quite a few of my possessions will be store there. We're talking cocktail "collectables", coffee-table books & glass-ware worth exhibiting.

Had an appointment with the hairdressers earlier today. Got rid of quite a lot of hair - it was really worn & tired looking - and now I'm sporting a fresh & shorter do for the summer!

Hey - and I'm finally going to get round to taking photos of my little green friends. No, we're not talking Marsian her, just my window-sill garden. All my plants are really thriving in the new flat and I can hardly believe how much they've grown. Photos coming up one day this weekend!

The past week in my life

I completely forgot to write up my "Friday fling"-post, or truth to be told, I just couldn't bother. So instead of boring you with the completely uninteresting happenings this weekend (no plans, just work), I'll bore you with the just as uninteresting happenings of the past week instead. Lucky you!

The days are sort of flying by, and it's already summer. As you know, the BIG move was last Sunday, and most of my stuff has been successfully moved from Grünerløkka to Grønland. 3/4 loads - yes, I do have a lot of shit - which isn't bad considering that both licence plates on the car where stolen Saturday night/early Sunday morning, which resulted in us taking the safe option and only moving 2 loads illegally. Monday evening we moved the third load, and by the time it was Tuesday and we were supposed to take the last, we were to knacked to carry any more boxes & bags up 3 flights of stairs... I knew we should've had big, strong, hired men! It might cost money, but it sort of would have been cheaper anywas as we had a minor accident with the car. Not good...

Now, we really ned to get sorted. We're literally living with boxes and bags in almost every room (except the bathroom, naturally and our new bedroom). That means I need to dig deep, find an ounce of self-discipline and start unpacking. I haven't got that much spare-time in between all the work, so I need to make it work. .Besides it's sometimes quite fun unpacking boxes I haven't seen for 2 - 4 years, loads of surprises inside when I open them up. Books I didn't even now I had, that once highly favoured piece of clothing, or funky kitchen-ware.

At work it's been really busy latelyIt's been really busy and I've been tied up on the phone infront of that computer ( <-- ). Time just flies by when there's so much to do and before I know it, it's time to go home. Plus all the working ultimately means more money, which is a great thing as we need quite a few things for the apartment. Storage is a major issue that need soritng out quickly, and then there's the hunt for a table and chairs for the kitchen. The one standing here now belongs to F's former room-mate, and we've got our minds set on a 50's/60's teak dining-room table with 6 chairs. We've seen quite a few, but just not the right style yet. In any case, a trip to Ikea is a must in the nearby future.

Anything else worth mentioning? Yes, I met up for coffee with Marte Tuesday afternoon. Haven't seen her in like forever. Great to catch up + she generously let me inherit a barely used pair of champers which she didn't fit properly. Lucky me - thank you very much Marte, I love them!!! My childhood friend, Kristian, came to stay this weekend even though I'd warned him that the flat was mess. He just wanted a taste of big city living, and I think he had a nice time. The crazy guy's driving al the way from the south, so I've forced him to help us move the last load this weekend - need to take advantage of the weels! I also want to post some photos of my window-sill garden soon, the plants are looking wonderful, and there's a few surprises!

Finally, a complaint. I've had a cold since Tuesday and it's progressively been getting worse. I've spent the first few hours of work trying to make my nose stop running and stop coughing, and I'm quite sick of being ill. Really bad timing and I don't need this right now! ...or ever!

Friday Fling!

Happy Friday! Knee deep in boxes and stuff - almost! The Move is approaching faster than lightning and today is basically the only day I have to pack. Have been trying to do some packing all week long, but it's been sort of difficult. Arg, there's just too much stuff happening at the moment! And the weekend is no different. Working tomorrow, and then going to a birthday party. Yeah! And, Sunday's the day - so better get back to those boxes and stuff. The count stands at 2 1/2 ready-to-go-boxes at the moment...

ARG, I've promised my self a number of times that the next time I'm moving, I'm hiring big, strong men to do the job. Have I done it this time - NO...

Have a happy weekend! ...and have some fun & enjoy the sun for me too!