Summer's over

This summer went so fast. Patti and Cornell went home and they took the sunshine with them. We have not had three days in a row without rain, which is what we need to get the rest of Arnlaug's house painted!
Still we have had some very nice days. Anne-Lise and Olav were at Arnlaug's for some days and we both had them over for dinner and got in a nice walk on the beach. It is always so nice to see them. Knut and I really want to visit them in Oslo soon!

Thanks to the two weeks of amazing sunshine earlier this summer, the red currants were ripe very early and we spent one whole weekend, first picking 40 liters of berries in the rain and making juice. It's delicious juice and we now have 30 bottles of concentrate. We mix it 4:1 with water.


One of Linda's major purchases this summer is her investment in a slack line. It's like tight rope walking, only the rope's not tight and it's more of a belt than a rope. It seems virtually impossible when first trying, but after a few times you can actually get your foot on the rope. I have managed almost three steps, Knut and Thomas are up to around 5 or 6 steps, while Linda has walked from one end to the other. She can turn around (most of the time) and her latest trick is drinking from a carton of milk, setting it down, taking a peanut from her pocket, cracking it open and eating it! Oh, she can also take off her sweater (over her head!) while balancing. She's amazing!


Arnalug and I had a nice girl's day together one weekend. We drove out to Fotland where there is a small mill that is now an art gallery. My girlfriend's sister is an artist in blown glass and she is showing her work this summer. She had taken a cast of my friend's face several years ago and now there were several peices with her face. It was really neat. The area was just amazingly beautiful and we had a very nice afternoon together there.
Some of the lamps made from the casts of faces

The beautiful falls around the old mill and power station


Then one of the high points of the summer was Jorunn and the girl's visit from Sweden. They were here for a week and for once we were able to spend lots of time with them - despite the weather! We ate together whenever possible, took some nice walks, played kubb in our back yard and generally spent as much time together as possible. We even managed to take Tore out to dinner for his 50th birthday which was months and months ago! It was a nice evening together.
Dinner at our house

Playing kubb in our back yard


We have also spent some time with our good friend Ragnar and his family. First we had a great afternoon at their summer home in Høle. Ragnhild had a grill dinner fit for a king (she never does anything less) and the weather co-operated perfectly! Linda brought her slack line, we brought kubb and the Holms and Haalands had a super evening together. Some days later - in the pouring rain we took a nice walk in spite of the weather. Still there were nice moments (one can't have too high standards weather-wise in this country!) and the pictures prove it.
Kjetil
Kristin
The gang on our way down back to Dale
Ragnhild doing what she does best

I also bought myself a new bike a few weeks ago and have already had several nice rides with my good friend and most bestest training partner, Thorhild. She has loads of experience compared to me and knows several nice routes to take. I am getting better at long rides, but am hopeless at finding my way. Thanks to Thorhild I get the best of both worlds, lots of nice trips and good training.
Thorhild and I


Last but not least I have to mention my voodoo plant that Dad sent me for Christmas. It's the strangest thing. It's just a flat bulb that sat all winter wrapped in moss. This March I took it out and placed it on the window sill. After some weeks this strange growth came with the most interesting flower.
later I planted it outside and now it's a pretty plant in a pot outside. just have a look.
The strange blossom this winter

The plant finally starting to grow
The voodoo plant with it's wreath of leaves

Well, I guess that when one writes all the happenings in a summer, the summer does not seem so short after all. Linda started school today, Thomas leaves on Saturday for 1 year of school in Seljord, I'm leaving in 1 week for Minnesota, taking Jorunn and Arnlaug with me and Viking just beat Molde 2-1 against all odds. Life goes on.

-Reb