Happy New Year!

I wish you all a Happy New Year! 2010's last photo was taken a few years back, fireworks above Nedre Eiker!

Frost

It is still cold, even though it is "only" around -10 here in Eiker. It has been twice as cold and colder for so long, so -10 feels like zero degrees about now, yet these frozen branches tells the truth about how cold it really is..

Snømannen Kalle

I'm no engineer, but I'm pretty happy with the making of this snowman! Looking at it now, I can see it looks a little sad. Maybe it's because he's got one eye smaller than the other? And yes, I know I'm (supposed to be) grown-up, but I'm allowed to make ONE snowman throughout the winter!?

Snow Graffiti

It is not that there has been a lot of snowfall this winter, it's only about 30-40 cenitmetres. The abnormal thing is that the snow came in early November and because it's been so cold for such long periods (between -15 and -20 for weeks at a time), the snow is still here. Today's photo is of a wall covered in patches of snow, making a nice pattern. It's decorative and harmless, but when patches like these cover up whole traffic signs along the road, it's a different case.

Romjulsdrøm

The days between Christmas Eve and New Years Eve are called "romjul." Traditionally, the romjul lasts from the 3rd day of Christmas (today) until the 13th (the 6th of January). The name derives from the norse word "rúmheilagr," meaning "that do not need to be kept strictly sacred." Romjul is for many a quiet, peaceful and relaxing time at home, for others a busy week of visiting family and friends eating left over Christmas food. My romjulsdrøm (romjul's dream) is to do as little as possible, only with breaks of some acitivity, preferably cross country skiing or bandy. As the famous norwegian singer and writer Alf Prøysen put it;

"En skulle vøri fire år i romjul

da julelysa brente dagen lang
og væla var et hus med fire vegger,
der saligheta var et bessmorfang"

If you have got Spotify you can listen to Alf Prøysen singing his Christmas song here.

SSK-MIF

Boxing Day is the day for the annual derby between Mjøndalen Sports Association (MIF) and Solberg Sports Club (SSK) in bandy, a winter sport similar to ice hockey. This year, the match will be played at the ice in Solbergelva, whilst today's photo is from last years game at Vassenga, in Mjøndalen. I'm cheering for MIF as it is my home team, but I suspect that SSK will win. For those of you who are not too familiar with bandy, check out this video.

Gnomes need food too!

When you read this, you might be chock-full and sick of Christmas food, but have you thought about the little gnomes that might be living in a barn close to you?? There might be a little gnome or Santa Clause living in this barn, if so, I hope someone have put out a plate with traditional "risengrynsgrøt" (rice porridge) and a glass of special "tomtebrygg" (santa beer) to him.

God jul!

My favourite Christmas window display does not belong to a fancy boutique in one of Eiker's main streets and it can't be found in the shopping centres. This display, these Santa Clauses, can be found close to home, as they belong to my grandmother and sits in her living room window. I want to wish all of my readers God Jul, a Merry Christmas! In a few hours my family and I will enjoy our Christmas dinner; pork ribs, sausages, sauerkraut and more Aass Christmas beer, before opening our presents! I hope all of you will have a lovely Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!

Mølje

For those of you who don't know what mølje is, read my post about the annual Møljefestival. Today, on lille julaften (little Christmas Eve) the tradition in my family's house is mølje for dinner (and Christmas beer from the local brewery Aass on the side), hence today's photo! Velbekomme and enjoy your meal!

The battle for the scissors and tape!

With less than two days to Christmas Eve (the day we Norwegians open our Christmas presents) there is a battle for the scissors and tape at my parents' house. Every year my mother complains that the rest of the family borrow and lose her scissors and tape, so it made me chuckle when I saw this year's solution to the problem!

Ciao!

I have gone to Italy and back, in just the time it took to eat this italian styled waffle at Kafé Elvebakken. On Saturday, my mum and I went to see Pushwagner's exhibition at Gulden Kunstverk (see earlier posts), and afterwards we had lunch at the café next door. As I have shared in an earlier post (see link above), they serve a norwegian speciality, the waffle, with a twist. On Saturday they had an italian styled waffle on the menu. It contained ham, crème fraîche, pesto and salad. Yum!! I'm definitely going back for more! Check out their menu here!

The artist

Remember "The Cadillac"? This is another photo my mother took on the opening of Pushwagner's exhibition in November, a photo of the artist himself (the man on the right). Read more about Pushwagner here.

Christmas holiday!

Three exams in less than a week have taken their toll on my blogging. I now have a month of (Christmas) holiday and I am celebrating it with this photo, the seasonal window decorations made by the pupils at the local elementary school

Juletrefangst

A favourite Christmas memory from when I was a kid is the day that my family and some family friends went to the farm, Klunderud Gård, at Darbu, Øvre Eiker to "catch the Christmas tree." The picture Eagen Daily Photo posted on the 29th of November is spot on recounting what we used to do those days, except that we also sledged down the hills we climbed to get far into the forest in our Christmas tree hunt. I spotted this sign some days ago, apparently there are plenty more farms in the area that offer their forests and trees to those who don't want to settle with catching a tree at the local petrol shop or a buying plastic tree from the grocery store.

Stenseth

I have fallen in LOVE!! With my dad's new camera, the beautiful Canon Eos 500D, with a perfect 18-200 lens!! This is a very zoomed-in photo of the little area called Stenseth, "belonging" to the village Krokstadelva. I have yet to explore the camera's settings more, but so far I like what I see!

Brrr

To all of you out there, whether you are somewhere else in Norway or in France, in India, Australia or Canada, I’d like to give you an insight of how being in Eiker feels at the moment. I only need one word to go with my photo today: ”BRRR!” The temprature has been down to 20 blue continuously the last week and a half. Usually this cold period comes around New Years Eve, but this year, the winter hit Norway and Eiker early! I wonder how long it'll last..

Advent

Today is the second Sunday in the season of Advent. As it is a Christian season, I think a photo of Nedre Eiker Church is an appropriate photo today. The church dates back from 1860 and were drawn by architect Wilhelm Hanstein. The church is a "langkirke" which means that its nave is elongated to symbolize the sacred way (via sacra).

A mother's love

I have posted a photo of this deer family earlier (this post here), but I couldn't resist posting this photo too, that I took yesterday morning. Ever since I moved here in August, I have seen them every other day, but never so close to the house like this. They defied the dangers by crossing the fields in search for food closer to people, still the mother (on the right) took her time to pet and take extra good care of her little one.

JULAnissen

Since we're now in December it's about time to be all "Christmassy." The shops have been all about the jolly season since late October or something, but I always try not to get in the Christmas spirit until December. Today's photo is of JULA, a retail warehouse that recently opened in Mjøndalen and their choice of Christmas decoration, a huge Julenisse, Santa Claus on top of the roof.

Time

The blue colour and the coldness of this photo gives me the feel that time stands still. Yet, the white line in the sky made by an airplane so far away you can’t even see it, tells me that time does go on.
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