SMALL JOYS

I'm getting up in less than six hours and I haven't even gone to bed yet! How's this for voluntary torture? I'm catching a plane at 6.40 a.m, which means I have to leave my house at 4.15 at the latest. I don't know why I keep flying at these ungodly hours, but anything to get to a place further south! Hmmm.... I'm a migrant bird, just like the birds who flood Perpignan in the months to come, before they set off for even more southerly shores. As I wish I could do too - really. Still - half-way transit is good enough for me.

Not to deny the fact that the weather here in the Northern Hemisphere is glorious at the moment - an Indian Summer in fact. At this time of year Norway would usually already be inundated by cold winds, rainy days and early signs of autumn, but this summer has been exceptional. I went for a long walk yesterday - it was magic. On my way I met my new next door neighbour, whose name is the same as mine - a bit old fashioned and very Norwegian, though she could be my daughter (hah! - these names are coming back)! She'd given birth to her baby daughter on Sunday and was already out walking with the pram - and the baby's name? JULIE! Wasn't that a lovely sign? Kjersti + Julie, Kjersti + Julie.

Perfect hiking outfit - short skirt and sandals

The woods of my urban neighbourhood

Beautiful flowers in the "rich" area - have they got their own gardener, I wonder? (AND the flowers change with the seasons)

Oh, those small everyday joys! My daughter Johanne was babysitting a friend's daughter today - a little 1,5 year old who simply adores my granddaughter Mira. Johanne and Iben came to visit, and she spotted a photograph of Mira - which she just wouldn't let go of! She hugged it, kissed it, fed it her pacifier - such a beautiful expression of her love for Mira - a girl six years her senior. Eventually we had to distract her to make her let go of the photo. So we gave her a seashell. Oh yes - the small joys...

Iben loves Mira - THE photo

My daughter Sophie told me the other day that Mira had seen a photo of Marilyn Monroe and asked if it was a picture of me. Oh my, oh mama, oh Big Mama! What a boost. I adore that girl, my granddaughter. And she meant it too. Or was she just squinting? Well, I honestly don't care... Another small everyday joy ticked off.

I dragged my husband along today to buy some DVDs - yes, they still exist - so that we can catch up on our lazy movie habits while in France. He wants the action, I want the French stuff, the dramas and the psychological thrillers. I think we compromised?

(By the way - no films are dubbed in Norway - there are only subtitles. This is one of the reasons our English is so good. Scientific research results - truly!).