Author: Peg

Origami Bunnies make me happy. They are a very forgiving model. But, sort of fussy about paper. And I am still learning about those origami balls. They aren’t so much fun to make. But they are fun to hold and toss around. 

I made a video today for our asylum residents’ website and it seems to be causing some issues on some iPads – including mine. So, I am going to stick it here just to see what happens. (I normally use Vimeo, but this is YouTube which is what our residents’ website demands.)

Asylum management has decided that we need more outdoor recreation. So, they have installed a pickleball court, a bocce ball court, and there will soon be a putting astroturf.

We had a basketball hoop. The first day it was up, one of the residents broke a finger. It disappeared. But, lots of money has been spent on this putting astroturf. It used to be the dog bathroom. Sort of wondering how this will play out. Big money on bocce ball too. 

One of my friends suggested that management was trying to kill us off. Another suggested that management would not want too many of us to die at the same time. So, she proposed that there should be Chief Culling Officer.

Nobody gets out alive. 

I don’t understand all I know about Gustav Vigeland. Like what’s with the lizard people. Whatever he was smoking, I want some.

And while we are thinking about strange Norwegian stuff. The Strindens Promenade Orchester doesn’t always color inside the lines.

Today, I was really running in circles trying to figure out how to get some data for yet another scholarly publication about covid. You know, this really isn’t how I imagined spending my declining years. But, it’s kinda cool. 

Trying to think about a long-scheduled trip to England at the end of May. And, the guy who I rented from last year in Kona wants a commitment for this winter. Too much for my tiny brain to process. Did you know that your brain actually shrinks as you age? Unlike your midsection which expands. 

If you think you are having fun then you are having fun,

Just a few images from Bergen. 

Felt sort of lazy today. So, I sort of indulged myself. 

Madelyn Albright died. I hate it when people my age die. It just drives home how little time I have left in the game. Death is the end only if the game is all about me. It isn’t.

For something different, The Asylum celebrated Persian AKA Iranian New Year tonight. The lamb chops were fine, the wine was flowing, the entertainment was colorful, the company at my table was excellent. 

My day was fine. Barre class didn’t happen.  Zoom yoga drove home the hard truth that at my age I should hit the mat frequently. I was able to log into the hospital system. And, of course, my stuff got to the CPA just fine. So, at this instant, life is good. 

I really liked the houses that were buried in snow. Today’s images are from my train trip from Oslo to Bergen. 

Think I have about worked the jetlag gig long enough. I attended to all of my essential record-keeping, accounting, bill paying, etc chores today. This is a wreckage of the future thing – but – I think that my tax stuff might not have made it to the CPA’s office. I put it in the mail before I left for Norway. Not I big deal. But it would be a major pain in the butt to have to get it all together again. But, this is wreckage of the future. I didn’t want to ask the tax guy about it until I was ready to deal with a possible “No, we didn’t receive anything from you” response. Tomorrow, I will ask. 

As usual, when I come back from a trip I am amazed at how much STUFF I have. Stuff. Piles of it. Stuff that doesn’t really add anything to the quality of my life. I ask myself. OK, suppose I don’t wake up tomorrow morning… What’s going to happen to all this STUFF? Well, someone, will come and send it all to the dump, the Asylum’s “What Not Shop”, or the Goodwill. So, why don’t I get rid of some of it now? 

I will do something with clothes. I have clothes for a life that I don’t live anymore. I have clothes that are really not age-appropriate. (Even with my very liberal age-appropriate meter.) I have clothes that I am keeping for “just in case”. 

The state of Virginia seems to have discovered that I had been out of the country. Who knew? And they sent me an email suggesting that today would be a fine day for a Covid test. Since the Old Bat Cave is well supplied with Covid tests, I tested myself and am still negative. 

This image happened with the Pixel 6pro. From the time stamp, I am pretty sure that I was shooting out of my window on the ferry. One thing is for sure, I could never recreate this image. Whatever happens, is what I planned.

Over the worst of jet lag now. Maybe tomorrow, I can tackle some tasks that require functioning brain cells. 

The food here at The Asylum is still unacceptable. For over a year, they have been testing a system to allow online ordering. Any so-called production system that is beta test for over a year is doomed to failure. And they keep serving things like kale and black-eyed pea soup.  We are a bunch of old people. We are not likely to even consider kale and black-eyed pea soup. 

Took about 2,000 pictures on this trip. About 200 of them with the GoPro. Got my first look at the GoPro photos today. There were a couple of interesting shots.

Yesterday I noted that my pack and tote weighed 20 pounds. Upon unpacking I discovered that I have 2.5 pounds of origami paper in the pack. I have a very hard time passing up origami paper. 

I did get my stuff unpacked and put away. Ready for the next adventure. 

So, what other shots did the GoPro catch?

Ok, short entry. 

1 train + 3 planes + 2 busses + 33 hours = Home. Gotta love IcelandAir. 

Note to self – return home weight 13 pounds backpack. 7 pounds in tote bag. Plus coat. 20 pounds is the absolute max that I can handle. 15 pounds would be better. Or, I could use wheels. I’ll do wheels when I get old!

Absolutely great trip.  And, return to a nice sunny warm day. Which helps with getting over jetlag. 

If you think you are having fun you are having fun. Nite nite.

 I found a place that only did Tavel Covid tests. I thought that would be better than going somewhere that tested people who needed a test for some other reason.  And, I passed. 

That was today’s only must do. But I will finish packing, and I will decide when to leave for the airport. And what to take.  Bus, cheap train, airport train, cab.  Cab is out of the question. The cheap train cost $6. The airport train costs $12. Think I will spring for the airport train.  It’s worth 6 bucks for hassle free.

it was cloudy today. But I went walkabout, just soaking up some last Norwegian goodness.

Whats not to love about Norway?

Flying out at 12:45 tomorrow. Supposed to land about 7pm. But Icelandair isn’t very reliable.  And, I have to get my Global Entry card renewed. So, I might be very late getting back to The Asylum. Don’t expect a blog entry. 

 I am feeling the years today.  Tired and suffering from a bit of vertigo.  But there was something I wanted to see. So, I womaned up and headed out. I wanted to see the good ship Fram. The Fram was a state-of-the-art polar exploration vehicle from early in the last century.  The Fram has been a museum piece since 1913. She fell into decay and neglect, but  is now nicely housed and presented in its own building nowadays.  

The Fram’s most famous voyage was to the South Pole  1910-1912 under command of Roald Amundsen.  Amundsen was an absolute fanatic for details. That’s why he beat Scott to the South Pole and lived to tell about it.  

On a previous expedition Amundsen lost men to scurvy and insanity in long arctic winters.  He stocked the Fram with 3,000 books, a piano, beer and wine, games and musical instruments.  The ship had electric lights. The power came from a windmill. And, it was diesel powered as well as sail powered. 

the audio visual etc makes for a rather realistic experience on deck. Of course my vertigo also enhances the experience.

The Kon Tiki, the adventure was grand, the science not so good. Think I will get back on the bus and come home.

 

6.66 miles of sightseeing today. Plus a couple of street car rides. Mostly pictures today.

Started out at Vigeland Sculpture Park..

A fine day. Oh, and when I was out looking for dinner, I was given a couple of boxes of DIY Covid tests by some official looking people. I said I wasn’t a resident. And they said “why would that matter?” I thought well,  Ok now I have 2 Covid tests. Wrong, each box contains 5 tests.