Small Cottages in Norway

 

I was so impressed with the simplicity of Norway.  The small, sweet, neat and clean homes had lovely gardens.  

The curtains in the windows and potted flowers make the entrance to this cottage look so welcoming.

Of course, being nestled among these waterfalls makes for spectacular sound effects.  The negative ions in that area are so powerful.  It was a very healing setting. 

After a glorious hike, we headed back to our home, The Norwegian Prima.

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Traveling in EuropeTo Celebrate Turning Sixty

 

Our London tour group enjoyed a delicious lunch upstairs, at The White Lion.  I chose the most flavorful meat pie.  It tasted oh so British, with a divine buttery crust and brown gravy.  

The bathroom was just gorgeous.  I loved the hand painted sinks, carved framed mirrors and attention to detail.

Look at that wallpaper!  The tiles and doors were so pretty, too.  That was my first time eating in a pub.  What fun!  I would say we started at the top.  

I have more photos to show you, but am having issues uploading them, so until next time…

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I Love London

 

While visiting London last month, I took a three day tour pre cruise with some of my fellow passengers.  

We all stayed at The Raddison Bleu Hotel.  The tour bus picked us up each morning and took us to various locations.

I met with my  friends to celebrate our birthdays.  They have the most gorgeous flat in London!  I took the bus there from my hotel, and really enjoyed the scenery.  The view and dinner that we shared were both spectacular.  Osky made the delectable lamb, garlic rice, and beans, and Richard baked us our scrumptious from scratch carrot cake.  I ate every bite.  It was so much fun to see them.

We had spectacular weather!  I was expecting rain, but the sun was shining, and we never needed an umbrella.

My sweet friend Sara from our MGM days met me for dinner the night I arrived. She is so reliable and dependable.  We had a fantastic conversation, as we always do.  We met backstage over forty years ago.

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Footage From The Bridge Fire in Wrightwood, California

 The Washington Post did this excellent story on The Bridge Fire in Wrightwood, California.  This shows the magnitude of the blaze.  Those are the hiking trails where I take my dogs.  

Seeing the Damage from The Bridge Fire in Wrightwood

 

This morning I took a drive up Highway 2, to see the damage on the west side of town.  The road was closed  off for weeks.  Seeing those mountains was devastating.  I was shocked at how barren the land looked.  Once filled with trees, birds, and wildlife, it now reminds me of a graveyard.  It was sad to see the beautiful homes and wide spance that had burned.  What used to be green, lush, and healthy is now filled with dry skeletons of trees, or just nothing.  Ground zero.

This is a mailbox in Iceland.  They are a land of knitters.

The timing of being in Europe during the fire and evacuation was divine.  I was able to visit a beautiful part of the world and get together with old friends.  It was eerie to read the updates on my iPad and study the progression of the blaze on my cameras.  Since being back home, I have been watering my oaks and pines, raking up more pine needles that blew around during the fire, and taking loads of trimmings to the local dump.  The birds seem happy and relieved when they arrive and rest in the greenery.  I’m sure they are in shock, too.

The one thing I learned from this wildfire is to be as organized and on top of chores as possible.  It helps to look at your cabin from a fire fighter’s point of view.  The more we care for our homes and gardens, the easier it is for them.  I am continuing to create more defensible space.  The deck and balcony are swept each day.  An evacuation can happen immediately.  You may not have any warnings or time to pack.  Many of the locals expected more notifications.  Fire is not logical.  It can move like a freight train, especially now.

I have an app called Watch Duty that alerts me to all the fires near me.  It is so helpful.  Leaving early that morning made it much easier because I could take my time packing, take care of the dogs, drain my indoor pipes, light up the house, and drive with without being surrounded by smoke or traffic.

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Settling Back Into Cabin Life After the Fire in Wrightwood, California

 

The above photo was taken in blue Iceland.  The nature there is stark and memorable.  The homes are small, simple and uniform.   It gets very cold!  People live very simply and are happy with what they have.  

Speaking of cold, I finished my Nicole Shawl!  It is very warm and cozy.  It will be a lovely wrap to wear in Wrightwood during our cold winters.  It kept me comfortable as a lap blanket on my flight home, too.  I can’t wait to show my knitting teacher and the ladies who helped me on Ravelry.

Norway gives off a fairytale like quality.  The mists made it feel dreamy.  I love that little house on the edge, by the water.  The views from my balcony were breathtaking.

Cruising through the fjords was a spectacular experience!  It was so clear and bright.  We were very fortunate with the weather.  I would love to do this cruise again someday.  It was far more than I had expected, on every level.

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