Merry Christmas to Family and Friends!

dare to be diff-erent

Elisabeth has a new hobby - swimming in the sea at least once a week. She was inspired by her friend Siri who has formed a group in Holmestrand on the Oslo fjord. Their group is called "Damer i Fri Flyt" (DIFF for short) which translates literally to "Women Floating Free" (as opposed to "Free Women Floating").

So in August Elisabeth formed the Rogaland Chapter of DIFF. To become a member you have to pass a few tests:

1. Be a woman.

2. Swim at least three strokes in the cold sea with a witness.

They have some other rules:

1. No swiming alone after the 1st September.

2. No swimming if you have a fever.

3. No hats (see below) to be worn from May until the end of August.

Members that show dedication by attending at least three or four sessions get presented with an ugly woolly crocheted hat; made with no pattern and lots of inspiration and enthusiasm.

After their swim they enjoy an old fashioned chin-wag over a cup of hot cocoa from their DIFF cups.

bit windy today

With a seven meter swell and winds of over 60 kph, we just had to take a short break from the Xmas shopping to experience the weather at Bore beach. We were not disappointed, it was wild.
Sitting in a café now, using a double espresso to rinse the sand out of my mouth.

Merry Christmas to Family and Friends!

surf camp in the algarve

As Elisabeth wakes up to her first day in Barcelona, Esben is waking up to his last day in Portugal. He has been on a surf camp in the Algarve (Carrapateira) for a week now with his class, enjoying better waves, less wind and warmer temperatures than we have had back home.

He sent me a text last Sunday:

just got back from the beach, surf owns! Shorter boards, a lot more manouverable :-)

He sent me another text a day later which made me giggle. It was the classic "having fun, send more money". Hope to hear more reports from him after his return to Jæren (via Oslo) tomorrow.

girlie trip to barcelona

After aprox 15 years of talking about it, the very serious club "the needle's rest", is about to take on a new adventure. We're going to Barcelona, for some of us it will be like coming home and for others it will be a first visit. Our plans are to have fun and not to have too many plans... and loong lazy breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Not to mention enjoying a cafe con leche at a cafe and do some people watching. I hope to re-visit the Picasso museum and see the wonderful works of Antoni Gaudi again

The weather forecast is promising - sunny and +20. Time to dig out some of the summer wear again...

watch this space..

Elisabeth :O)

surf school

Today was Elisabeth's turn to have a go at surfing, with me as her instructor. I think she did very well given the low quality of instruction and the pathetically small waves.

I think I can spot the problem in the first shot: the surfboard is facing out to sea!