SLUSH

This was Oslo today - rain and sleet on top of snow - everything becomes grey, dirty, dreary slush, mixed with salt! I parked outside the bakery at our local shopping centre to have some lunch and coffee with my daughters and Mira, my youngest granddaughter, and we had to wade our way through the parking lot. I was wearing my brown leather boots from Debenham's in London, and they were absorbing water like a sponge and getting white stripes from the salt, so I went home later and changed to Wellies. The only sensible footwear in this country! 

This afternoon I drove past the woods where Grete and I walked yesterday, on my way to my swimming club, and I took this photograph of the construction work on the new American Embassy:

It's going to be enormous, and it will certainly be an eyesore, planted as it is in the middle of a green area and eventually with high forbidding walls around it. Well - all the neighbours will have to learn to live with that, but the location next to a sports hall.... what on earth went on in the heads of the decision makers?  

On a lighter note - my granddaughter Jelena stayed with me Saturday and Sunday, and today Mira is here for dinner. It's half term school holiday, so we're not stressed about bedtime or homework. It's also very nice to babysit them separately once in a while - both for them and for me. At the weekend Jelena showed me some photographs that her friend had taken - they were so lovely!: 

Grete was inspired to take some photos of her yesterday too, so Jelena's eagerly waiting for the results to be sent to her. Very much the pre-teen now!

Before I went to bed last night I checked my Instagram account, and I noticed that Jelena had commented on a photo that I published there a couple of weeks ago, when I was in France:

She had written "Beautiful grandmother" in perfect English. How's that for a "thank you" after spending the weekend at my house? She certainly knows how to melt Big Mama's heart!

I asked if I could take a picture of Mira this evening, and she said "Oh Mimmi - you're just going to put it in your blog!" Nevertheless, she was a bit jealous of Jelena's photo session with Grete yesterday, and claimed that it was really her turn to be with Grete and me and go to museums and exhibitions with us. Wow! Cultural little girl! Well, we have taken her along before, and she's enjoyed it.

Mira with "Knerten" & "Karoline" last summer

I'm very excited today that I managed to buy two OVERLY expensive "platinum" tickets (whatever they may be) for the Fleetwood Mac Tour, which will be in Oslo in October. Yes!! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GN2kpBoFs4

I'm signing off now with a NICE winter picture from Oslo. Feeling a bit guilty about showing my hometown from its worst side. Winter-Oslo can be beautiful. (But please, dear weather gods, can the snow melt soon? PLEASE!!!!)