Finders keepers

I was going to post this picture on my photo blog Shutters in Time since I haven't been too active over there lately, but I had to share it here to be safe. I came across it while going through some food pictures for work and wasn't sure if I even took it myself! It could be Lars' work...

All I know is it pretty much sums up a typical day in September... sun, rain, wind, clouds...you name it, we had it.

And I dig it.

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I can read!

I finished two books recently that I can recommend wholeheartedly: Shanghai Girls and Dreams of Joy.

It took me a little while to get into the first of the two books (probably because I had to travel back to 1937 and pre-war China) but once I was in, I was hooked. Lisa See is good. She developed several tangible characters that really came alive for me. She also impressed me with her portrayal of family ties, and especially the sisterly bond between Pearl and May.

I liked how Jane Glenn Haas put it:

"Basically, Lisa See writes about families. Love themes. Mothers and daughters. Children and parents. Romance. Love of country. Of place. The story itself must be so strong, so enthralling, the history helps it to play out."

Also, I don't remember the last time I was seriously taken aback by a literary development. Part of the conclusion of Shanghai Girls blew me away. I seriously did not see THAT coming. Dreams of Joy was absolutely not predictable either.

I couldn't put either book down (or my iPad I mean, I read them both with Kindle) and truly enjoyed these reads. They took me on a journey...that kind of journey that's a big bummer when you turn that last page.


What do I read now? Suggestions?

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Statistics Norway

Yesterday I received an official looking document from Statistisk Sentralbyrå (Statistics Norway) which I was obligated to answer. It looked kinda serious but turned out to be just a survey collecting information about immigrants' education levels. It took me about three minutes to answer it online and now the state is aware that I am an educated person!


Now that they know I've got a degree...maybe I'll get recruited? ;)
Haha, I'm not holding my breath.

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Offensive headdresses

 Something a good friend of mine posted on Facebook got me thinking about Halloween costumes and unfortunately political correctness as well. Being "pc" can seriously be a pain in the ass sometimes. Or maybe "being pc" is the wrong term to use here since politically we still recognize Columbus Day but I digress...

What I am asking is this: is dressing up as a Native American offensive? Check out this link from what Colleen posted and think on that:

Your friend's Halloween costume:
Face it: You're likely to have at least one non-Native, non-thinking friend decide to go the headdress route come Halloween this year. Speak up and let them that their costume is not cool—and let the retailers who sell these costumes know how you feel too. You can start with Costume Craze and their "Adult Super Deluxe Indian Woman" outfit:

Type in the coupon code INDN45 and save 20%! Seriously.
Contact Costume Craze here.
Again, these are just a few examples of the Native appropriation happening RIGHT NOW on Columbus Day. Share yours in the comments, and use your day off to call out some of the exploitation and racism that's been a part of this country since 1492.

Is it offensive to dress up as Hitler? Bush? A geisha? A pimp? A hillbilly? A suicide bomber? A Jehovah Witness? A Mexican? A jailbird? A ninja? The devil? Harry Potter? A sexy nurse? A nun? An Amish person? The typical "ball and chain"? A fairy? A ghost?

I am sure that all of these costumes could offend someone...some of them more than others of course. Some of them offend me, and some of them don't--I think it tells me a lot about where my passions lie and what is important to me.  
Where do you draw the line?

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What's the forecast?

It's understandable that weather is the go-to conversation topic for Norwegians...it really does determine a good deal of life here.

A good example is of course Lars and I having to take the train home from a weekend visit in Tynset because suddenly the heavens started dumping snow and we hadn't switched out to studded winter tires. It would have been RISKY to drive the 3 hour trek back to Hamar with two to three inches of new snow covering the ground and evening setting in.

The weather can change at a drop of a hat!

Check out this picture I took outside our house in Hamar on Thursday :

 
And this picture I took outside Lars parents' house in Tynset just a few days later:

Talk about contrast, right?
The worst thing is, is that Tynset on Saturday didn't look a whole lot different than my Hamar picture from Thursday (maybe less leaves).

Also, Norwegians don't let the weather get them down. After all: det finnes ikke dårlig vær bare dårlig klær! (There is no such thing as bad weather, just bad/the wrong clothes!) So the impulsive snow storm did not stop us from watching Tynsets mens team's last home game on Sunday, oh no! We found the appropriate attire and out we went!

Norwegians are weather champions!

In other news, I had the entire weekend off from work (besides thee phone calls and multiple text messages!) and it was glorious.

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