A few hours back in Seattle and a snowy day (curses!)

Right now I have two weeks off from school. I should technically be working on my paper for my Norwegian class (5-10 pages of Norwegian goodness) but I seemed to always run out of time in the days before I get around to it. Weird. The research has been fun though since the topic is the jazz scene in Norway. Apparently, it is quite popular here and I have been to a few shows. The venues alone are way too cool. So what have I been doing to fill up the days? Not really too much. I have started searching for a job here. Today was probably not the most productive day I could have had though. I spent about an hour on The Stranger's website (a Seattle alternative newspaper) which helped to appease a few pangs of homesickness. I really miss NPR too.

The weather here has decided to be total tease. About a week ago, it really warmed up and the snow was mostly melted. The sun shone and we even saw some plants shoot up. And more people started coming outside to enjoy the weather. There were Norwegians everywhere! Who knew there could be so many? This was definately a good thing too seeing as they are generally nice to look at:) But then it snowed again. We saw some more lovely warm days. Then it was cold and rainy. Yesterday was really beautiful but this morning the sight that greeted my sleepy eyes was more snow. Almost blizzard-like really. However, I have it on very good authority (my friend told me that someone told her) that Spring will come in three weeks from yesterday. So I have marked my calendar and am merely waiting at this point. Yup, merely twiddling my thumbs. But seriously I cannot wait to go hiking! The mountains and forests here are so beautiful. And my chaco sandals are staring at me from my closet.

Well kiddies, that is about it for right now. Below I have included pictures of a what's really an Oslo landmark: the Grand Hotel Cafe, my cousin Tommy and his baby Rokke in the sun, the jazz club Blaa and the saga of Verdens Beste Kake.

Kim posing at the Grand Hotel Cafe (Ibsen's hangout) on a kultur day.

Spring is here! Spring is here! (Sort of).

A little crafts market next to the very cool blues club called Blaa.

Verdens Nest Beste Kake eller Litt Bedre Kake.

Carline and I have done it again! For those of you who don't know the history here I will tell you. Here goes. One day in class about a month ago, someone mentioned "verdens beste kake" (the world's best cake). Needless to say we were intrigued. That night we purchased a mix and attempted to bake verdens beste. I say "attempted" because the result was gelatinous pile. It was really quite ugly. The edges tasted quite good though and we fondly named it "verdens verste kake" (you guessed it: the world's worst cake). Underneath the laughter that this sorry excuse for a cake generated, we were discouraged as we are both quite fond of baking. We were determined to try again. So last night we did just that and the result was less disasterous. It was still a more difficult feat than it should have been with not the prettiest result but it tasted very very good. We are not daunted. We will keep trying until victory is ours!

Carline is thrilled!

Yes, the proud parents of a beautiful creation. Don't worry, I will keep you updated on the saga of the kake.