bergen. pilefletting. and yes it is getting dark; stop asking.

It's been a bit busy the past few weeks. I took a work trip to Bergen (the second largest city in Norway, in the south west), where I had a two day meeting conducted entirely in Norwegian Sign Language and spoken Norwegian. It was very productive. And, if I may say so myself, I did relatively well considering I've only been in the country for 4 months, AND they speak a different dialect, AND write in a different language there.

Also. I met a troll. A friendly one.

When I got back, I took a pilefletting class and made this!

I weaved this basket by hand using dried strips of tree parts. It took only six hours. And I only almost cut my finger off with a pair of plier-scissors.

Let's just say that while it was fun and I had visions of becoming a great basket weaver, renowned across Norway and the world, my practical side says that this is probably one of the last baskets I will ever weave. It's not sad though. I have this one. And it is pretty big, you could probably put like 20 onions in there. Or as I told Anna, at least 6 bottles of wine.

With those adventures behind me, I look forward to the next month which holds a trip to Copenhagen, a few company parties, and Christmas in Oslo. And apparently I am going to learn how to ski. On snow, frozen water. In the dark.

Because yes, yes, it is getting dark now. This photo is from today at 4:30 pm, and actually makes the sky look lighter than it was. Think middle of the night dark.

Hm.