Location, location, location

The # 1 rule in real estate: identical homes can increase or decrease in value due to location. I wonder how much these houses along the river shore in Øvre Eiker will go for, if and when they are put out for sale.

Squirrel on the run

Last week, my mother and I spotted this little fellow in my parents garden. It looked a little distressed as it ran back and forth from the vegetable garden to two small cherry trees which it was trying to climb. After watching it for a while, we realised that it was on the run from a bunch of sparrows. Suddenly the squirrel had climbed the fire ladder on our neighbours house. It sat in the window sill for a little while, with the sparrows keeping an eye on it from the electricity cord. Finally, to our relief, it managed to climb back down, and with a little help (from me), it found its way back into the forest too!

Ship o'hoy!

Today I'm off on my first trip this summer holiday! As I'm going sailing with some friends, I thought this photo (although not of a sailboat) would be in place. This photo is taken on board of M/S Eikern, a little boat on the lake Eikern in Øvre Eiker. Unfortunaltely, the boat trip I'm setting out on today are not here in Eiker, but along the south coast of Norway, hence don't expect any photos. I will, however, give you more pictures from Eikern later on, since the lake is the destination of one of my other trips this summer.

Vanilje

At this time of year, peonies in all sorts of colours are in bloom. When I photographed these white peony buds it struck me how perfect they are. Their delicate round shape, creamy colour and velvety soft flower petals makes me think of two delicious scoops of vanilla ice cream!

Get to know Turkey!

Once a year, a Turkish fair is arranged in Mjøndalen's community centre. Three local Turkish associations, the hosts behind the popular fair, say they want people to get to know their country and their culture. At the fair they sell Turkish food, like kebabs, dolma, börek and different types of baklava and other sweets, and Turkish handicrafts, like the tablecloths you can see attached to the wall in the back. The food at the fair is really popular, so popular that some people, at this years fair, persuaded the guys who were selling the kebabs to come and sell their food at a private party after the fair's closing time!

VEST CREW

At the harbour in Vestfossen I spotted this tagging. I have no idea who's behind or "who is" VEST CREW, but my guess is a couple of local teenagers...

R&R

If I had to sum up my weekend with a photo, it would be this one. And if I had to describe my weekend in one or two words, it would be R&R, rest and recreation. Hope you have had a good weekend too!

SophistiCats

Whether this is your work weekend, your going away, or plan to play board games and drink wine with friends, like these sophisticated cats, I wish you a great weekend!

Opened, but closed!

Last time I visited Vestfossen, the chocolate shop was still in progress, but now it is finally opened! Unfortunately, when I was there on Saturday it had closed for the day, so you will have to settle with another exterior photo. Now, as I know their opening hours, I'll make sure that next time I'm in Vestfossen I'll come whilst it's open, so you'll get a photo from inside and I get a big piece of chocolate!!

Lyrikk

Last Saturday I went with my mum on a boat trip on the lake Eikern, in Øvre Eiker. On the boat, there were a few local writers who presented some of their work. This woman, read a few of her short stories and rhymes for children. For her rhymes, she said she was inspired by a Norwegian lyricist, Inger Hagerup, and one of her nursery rhymes in particular. For me it was funny to hear her read Haperup's rhyme, as I remeber reading it when I was little. It is called "Det bor en gammel baker" and it's from a collection of nursery rhymes from 1950. This is the first of three verses:

Det bor en gammel baker
på en bitte liten øy.
Han er så lei av kaker
og krem og syltetøy.
Men han må sitte likevel
og spise sine kaker selv.
For han bor helt alene
på en bitteliten øy

Versatile

Not long ago, there was a derby in football between Mjøndalen's team and the team in Drammen, a city nearby. Because of the match, Mjøndalen was mentioned in the evening's sports news, and the viewers were given a small guided tour of the village. I didn't see it, but one of my classmates did, and she pointed out a few of Mjøndalen's rather special shops. Like this one, a shop I didn't even know about, Kari's balloon & party shop. As you can see in the photo, not that many balloons on display. Reason for this, they also sell corsets and underwear.. Very versatile!