I spent the day in Winterwonderland! Perfect skiing conditions! 
Running all the way in the new snow was a little bit heavy for Cherie (who was very upset about me calling her ´tiny little` in a former blog post..), so she got a lift in Elin´s backpack part of the trip.
How I have missed this! About 25 kilometres of skiing is good work out, and now I really deserve some chocolate :) 
Tiles in the entrance hallway.
Open kitchen layout.
Bathroom was nice and clean.
A large bedroom in the attic. Two bedrooms downstairs.
Time to bring in some of the moving load. 
And then Dad unpacked the microwave oven and dished up with a coffee and a delicilous packed lunch -
- specially packed for me :) 
Nice view, and a big veranda with lots of sunshine. Some time in the future we might be able to spot the cabin from the road, somewhere in the forest below the moon...
"Paint it all black" is a saying I once heard. Don´t have too high expectations, and you won´t become disappointed. Well, I was prepared for some grey, foggy, wet, and freezing days, but I did not expect all this nice weather! Not much black at all - the moutainsides were rather colourful and bright, the autumn season about to end. Extremely beautiful scenery!! 
We also had to cross some large, shiny white parts of new snow as we were trekking from one cottage to another. Quite challenging as the scree underneath could be slippery, and we also had to be careful that our feet did not sink deep down in between the rocks. I was happy to have poles, and despite the challenge I really enjoyed some real snow after four years without!
Amazingly large, sweet, and juicy berries! Some extra energy...
I am really impressed by the Norwegian Travel Association and how well they run the cabins. They are so nice and cosy, so clean and well fit out, and the firewood is lying there just waiting for hikers to heat up and occupy the cottages. There are also stores of a variety of canned food that you buy, so you don´t have to carry it all yourself. When the the backpacks aren´t too heavy you enjoy the hike even more! 
It actually snowed the last night, and the Christmas feeling wasn´t far away... This country isn´t too bad after all :o)
What a beautiful season! And what a privilege to be able to enjoy it! After three months of trying to adjust myself back to living in Norway and six busy weeks of teaching and , it´s time to relax and breathe. Schools are having a break, and we have been blessed with wonderful weather. A three hours´ stroll in the forest today is hopefully good enough preparation for some days of hiking later this week...
After two extremely busy weeks of school I finally got a little bit out of town yesterday. Refreshing! The trip to one of the beautiful lakes in the forest just outside of Oslo was short, but then it was possible for Isak (4 years) and the two tiny little dogs to walk all the way by themselves, and it was also possible for me to join just for the afternoon. I would have stayed for the night if I could, as I really miss camping!! But since my choir was going to sing in church today, I had to go home by bus later in the evening. I was happy for the few hours I got to spend with my friends, though, walking up in the afternoon, putting up their tents, and looong hours of barbecueing. Great food and wonderful weather (as a typical Norwegian is very concerned about..) ! Only the toughest had a swim - I was not among them... 
And also - since they say that one of the dogs are snoring, my own bed was probably the best place to stay last night anyway...
The summer is over, and tomorrow I´ll start working again. I am looking forwards to going back to my former working place, Kampen Skole, but it is weird that I am not going back to Nairobi, back to Rosslyn, back to the Norwegian compound, back to my friends in Kenya. I miss it a lot.
The summer has been good, and here is a brief look at what I´ve been doing since I came back to this beautiful country up north:
* A few days in another cottage, belonging to my aunt. Myself and all the people mentioned above met my sister and her family, and we stayed 11 persons in a cottage with 5 beds. Nice and cramped.
* A couple of weeks at Jæren in the west, eight hours drive from Oslo, where my sister and also my youngest brother live with their families. Quality time with my eight nieces and nephews! Tropical heat the last week I was there, and a lot of sunbathing and swimming in small lakes. No morning baths, though :o)
* A visit to some Kenya friends at the idyllic south coast. We spent a wonderful day, sailing to a small island where we stayed all day together with their friends and family. 
* Meeting the Kiplesund family in Tusenfryd Amusement Park today, my last day of vacation. Great to see them again! And the children dragged me into all kinds of roller coasters, which made me quite dizzy for my drive back to Oslo... Still - a wonderful way of ending the summer vacation. From tomorrow it will be work, work, work....
