The days are so sunny and bright, green and vibrant, awake.  It is hard to imagine that this landscape was once covered by a meter of snow.  Winter is a distant memory, almost forgotten.  It is only when I browse through my photos that I remember that life will change again very soon and all [...]

Large wooden racks called hjell are for drying fish.  They are a regular sight along the coast of Norway.  Cod are hung on the wood in the open air for about three months in the Spring.

Temperatures just above freezing is best for drying the fish.  If it gets too cold the fibers in the fish will [...]

You need to have a certain personality to survive Norway.  I’m lucky, I enjoy my own company and can amuse myself, so the standard isolation as an ‘immigrant’ is quite perfect for me.  However, others who need social interaction have a much harder time of it.  Below are some tips (well, more like humorous tactics) especially [...]

Being a dancer I go to a lot of concerts.  The locals here in Tromsø love to dance and often like to dress up for the occasion.  It was at this Swing dance party that I discovered an odd but ingenious method of dancing the night away without the ringing in your ears the next [...]

Some people think they can just pack up their gear and move to Norway.  They think that once they get a cosy apartment they will find a good job earning lots of money, make great friends and live happily ever after.  All I can say about this is: hmmm.
Over the past couple of years [...]

What does an opera singer, actor, hunting videographer, priest, rock ‘n’ roll wrestler, grandmother, folk enthusiast, gay games medalist, surfer and fashion guru, all from the US, have in common?  They are all competitors on a new reality game show called Alt for Norge.  This title directly translates to ‘All for Norway’, encapsulating the idea [...]

Sometimes nature does all the work for you.  This ready-made snowball is ready for throwing.  The fun thing is that on the farm with all the fence-posts, you always have a snowball-fight waiting to happen.

Birdseed!  On the farm we take good care of the birds, especially throughout Winter.  We have a couple of bird houses around the farm that provide shelter and food.  By Spring, it is really hard for the birds to find food so sometimes we grab an extra handful of seeds to throw out in the [...]

We love to hang in Farmor’s kitchen.  It’s the family’s meeting place.  Not only do you get good, hearty food but great company and fond memories.  When sitting in the kitchen you can’t help but notice all the things just hanging around.  Farmor’s kitchen is full of gifts and mementoes from family, friends and visitors, [...]

‘I’ll be away’ is starting to be a pain.  I’m organising a festival at the moment and to make a festival happen you need people, lots of people.  However, this time of year is the ‘I’ll be away’ season.  Spain, Brazil, Thailand, Africa, Sweden and France are just some of the places my friends, family [...]