This has been a lovely weekend. I think my state of mind has definitely changed for the better. For one thing, we didn't have any major shopping to do, which always reduces my stress level. For some reason I was able to enjoy hanging out with E more than usual. We watched lots of winter sports on tv (cross country skiing, downhill skiing, and biathalon, my three favorites). We built lots of fun stuff out of Legos. All of the Christmas decorations are gone, thanks to KE. I got most of our laundry done. I heard birds chirping this morning. I unraveled the black shetland thrift store sweater without incident. I got a lot of knitting done on Miss Honeychurch. KE and I played Passport, a geography board game that's like Trivial Pursuit. I don't know why we stopped playing board games, since we both really love them. They're perfect for geeky competitive types like us. I got to watch most of the last semifinal for the Norwegian Eurovision Song Contest competition, and it was deliciously dreadful. I even read Trude Marstein's colossally boring Ingenting å angre på for a full hour today without totally hating it or falling asleep (I have been hating almost every page since starting it about a month ago). Then this afternoon E's friend A and his dad stopped by unannounced and hung out for a couple of hours. I really love having friends who do that. Makes me almost feel like a normal person!
What's not to like about a weekend like that?
Showing posts with label Eurovision song contest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eurovision song contest. Show all posts
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Maidager
Lots to report!
1. Eurovision Song Contest: Much to my surprise, Norway actually won the entire competition. It was quite a smashing victory, with the highest point sum ever scored. I'm still a bit perplexed as to why that particular song appealed so broadly, but whatever, it was fun to watch all the hoopla.
2. Syttende mai: Sunday was the Norwegian constitution day, and we had a lovely time. We watched and marched in the local children's parade, went to festivities at the local Steiner school (we took the opportunity to check out the atmosphere there, rather than at the regular school, since we're considering sending E there when he starts school in a couple of years), and then went to a really nice party at E's best friend A's house. We met and talked with a whole bunch of people. The weather was spectactular, and they heated up their hot tub (with a wood stove) for the kids to play in. Very nice. My favorite snapshot from the day was this woman with a national costume and dredlocks:
3. Sweater number six for the year is done (the reknit of sweater number two), and I'm very happy with the result:
4. I've started on sweater number seven, the "Whisper Cardigan" from Interweave Knits Spring 2009 issue. I'm using the Knitpicks Alpaca Cloud yarn that I ordered without knowing what I was going to do with it right before we moved. It's nice to find an appropriate project, since I'm still not quite there on the whole lace knitting thing. Interested, but just not ready to dive into a lace shawl yet. Of course my friend T just emailed me a really wonderful pattern for a garter stitch laceweight shawl with a lace ruffle that I'm seriously considering making... Here's the first sleeve for the Whisper:
5. Archives! Today I went to the Norwegian National Theatre archives for the first time ever. It was great. I found all sorts of relevant stuff in the material for the seven Når vi døde vågner productions that they've staged. I'm starting to see my article on the productions take shape, and an end is definitely in sight.
6. Yesterday I had a really long day, with interviewing two candidates for a PhD position here and doing an hour-and-a-half MA exam for a student back in the States by phone. In between I got a start on the paper for the NorLit conference on Erlend Loe's Volvo Lastvagnar.
So, all in all there's a lot going on right now. E continues to develop and change with leaps and bounds. Still very stubborn, very needy, but gaining lots of independence.
1. Eurovision Song Contest: Much to my surprise, Norway actually won the entire competition. It was quite a smashing victory, with the highest point sum ever scored. I'm still a bit perplexed as to why that particular song appealed so broadly, but whatever, it was fun to watch all the hoopla.
2. Syttende mai: Sunday was the Norwegian constitution day, and we had a lovely time. We watched and marched in the local children's parade, went to festivities at the local Steiner school (we took the opportunity to check out the atmosphere there, rather than at the regular school, since we're considering sending E there when he starts school in a couple of years), and then went to a really nice party at E's best friend A's house. We met and talked with a whole bunch of people. The weather was spectactular, and they heated up their hot tub (with a wood stove) for the kids to play in. Very nice. My favorite snapshot from the day was this woman with a national costume and dredlocks:
3. Sweater number six for the year is done (the reknit of sweater number two), and I'm very happy with the result:
4. I've started on sweater number seven, the "Whisper Cardigan" from Interweave Knits Spring 2009 issue. I'm using the Knitpicks Alpaca Cloud yarn that I ordered without knowing what I was going to do with it right before we moved. It's nice to find an appropriate project, since I'm still not quite there on the whole lace knitting thing. Interested, but just not ready to dive into a lace shawl yet. Of course my friend T just emailed me a really wonderful pattern for a garter stitch laceweight shawl with a lace ruffle that I'm seriously considering making... Here's the first sleeve for the Whisper:
5. Archives! Today I went to the Norwegian National Theatre archives for the first time ever. It was great. I found all sorts of relevant stuff in the material for the seven Når vi døde vågner productions that they've staged. I'm starting to see my article on the productions take shape, and an end is definitely in sight.
6. Yesterday I had a really long day, with interviewing two candidates for a PhD position here and doing an hour-and-a-half MA exam for a student back in the States by phone. In between I got a start on the paper for the NorLit conference on Erlend Loe's Volvo Lastvagnar.
So, all in all there's a lot going on right now. E continues to develop and change with leaps and bounds. Still very stubborn, very needy, but gaining lots of independence.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Melodi Grand Prix
Just a quickie to say that my Mom is visiting from the states (yay!), that I finished one of the book reviews, and that I'm almost done with my reknit sweater. Should finish seaming and crocheting the edges tomorrow It will need a thorough wash and block before I can wear it though. Very exciting, as I really like the fit so far.
So we've now watched both semi-finals of the Eurovision Song Contest (Melodi Grand Prix in Norway for some reason). At some point I'm going to have to write an essay about it. As an American, I find it simply one of the strangest phenomena on earth. I think that Europeans must have a somewhat tortured relationship to popular music, especially since the US has been so incredibly dominant throughout the whole postwar period. This contest appears to me to be an annual shaming ritual in which each country desperately wants to be perceived as cool by the others. It's all about who has worse taste than you. On Facebook one of my friends was commenting on what a giant cultural divide there is between former Warsaw Pact countries and the rest of Europe. As a Western European he refers to the East Bloc as Badtastestan, which is actually kind of fitting, given the incredibly vulgar entries from Hungary and Ukraina. Yet all five of the Nordic countries made it through to the finals, which is kind of interesting too.
My favorites so far: Moldova and Portugal. Stay tuned for a full report after Saturday night's grand finale.
So we've now watched both semi-finals of the Eurovision Song Contest (Melodi Grand Prix in Norway for some reason). At some point I'm going to have to write an essay about it. As an American, I find it simply one of the strangest phenomena on earth. I think that Europeans must have a somewhat tortured relationship to popular music, especially since the US has been so incredibly dominant throughout the whole postwar period. This contest appears to me to be an annual shaming ritual in which each country desperately wants to be perceived as cool by the others. It's all about who has worse taste than you. On Facebook one of my friends was commenting on what a giant cultural divide there is between former Warsaw Pact countries and the rest of Europe. As a Western European he refers to the East Bloc as Badtastestan, which is actually kind of fitting, given the incredibly vulgar entries from Hungary and Ukraina. Yet all five of the Nordic countries made it through to the finals, which is kind of interesting too.
My favorites so far: Moldova and Portugal. Stay tuned for a full report after Saturday night's grand finale.
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