Friday 30 October 2009: Sarah's kid goes goth for Halloween...

My kid has gone GOTH for Halloween this year! All she really did was put some black hair spray in her hair and some dark makeup on but it sort of suits her in a scary way! She's growing up!!!! Ahhhhhhhh! Now that is really scary!

Devil or cat of some sort? Punk or Goth?

The eyes, the eyes, the eyes.... She's so perty!

Watch out! She's going to get you! Boo! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Below you can see some more window work shots. You can see before and afters of two windows in the living room. They aren't finished so it's just to give an idea and show the changes. I will miss those squares of colored glass but it would have been way too expensive to get them made that way again and we had to replace all the single glass. A section strip will be added as well. And of course we'll have a lot of finishing work to do too to make the frames around the windows complete. I have to say that the house was already a lot warmer today than ever before? The windows and their double-glass are working well I am very happy to report as that is the whole point!

Thursday 29 October 2009: More new windows for Sarah!

No window to be seen above but lots of books! I really hope they aren't going to be too dusty!

It's coming along great! Still a lot to be done but when done it's going to look so much cleaner!

New window with changing image every moment depending on the light...

The tope floor is almost done and you might notice we replaced the missing stone finally!

Above you can see where we replaced the stone if you compare top before photo to bottom after photo. Today they will do bottom floor windows so those horrid boards above the bottom windows will finally be gone! Also - the strips will be added to the top windows in next day or two. Next week the carpenter will come and do finishing work inside. Exciting!!!

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday 26, 27 and 28 October 2009: Heidi and Sarah are together in a photo once again and new windows abound!

Sarah says: I see Heidi passing taking Yma to school almost everyday but I forget to take a photo, don't have time or don't have my camera with me. I was taking photos of my new windows this morning just when Heidi passed with Yma so it was the perfect moment to snap a shot. I see that Heidi updated Face The Day down below with photos from the last week so make sure to scroll down and check all those pictures she posted out! Yma is on the back of Heidi's bike in above photo. It's a funny one of her? She looks sort of uncomfortably suspended in mid-air! Man do I look tored in the above picture. I have been sleeping so poorly lately and then finally last night I slept through from 10pm to 5am yet still I feel exhausted. I don't get that!

Above photo is from yesterday - Tuesday the 27th. I am trying to show you the new "door" behind me that was a window when I left in the morning. Eventually - meaning in like 20 years - we hope to have a roof terrace on the flat roof above our kitchen. That's why we replaced the window with a door. Good planning for the possible future... It gives the room so much more light and space somehow. I love it! Too bad you can't see it in the photo. Better photos of the new windows will come in the weekend when most or all of them are done!

I think the above photo is also from Tuesday the 27th - with our new kitchen windows behind us! Once again, more light, more space - but what about curtains? We have to put something on the windows or everyone can see into our kitchen and watch us as we eat like zoo animals!

The above and below photos are from Monday the 26th of October. Above, I am playing in the new glass of our new living room window. Below, I am just happy with the results so far!

Above photo is from this morning - of our new door and top window up there compared with our old door and window in photo below. Nice change, isn't it!

Again - above is our new door up close and below is our old one. From shabby to clean!

The below photos are some more before and after shots. More to come soon!

I like the shot above of our new window reflecting the tree and church tower. There will be a sectional piece put in on the top of that window - like a cross. I think it will be lined up with the top gray stones that you see. The bottom floor windows are so large that they have to have a real frame that has cross at tope to hold smaller windows within. So we want the top windows to sort of match the bottom ones and that's why we'll have that eventual fake cross-like thing.

The above photo is an ODE to the old windows... Just look at that sad old window leaning agaisnt the wall soon to be replaced by a new one. Makes me sad! I actually liked our old windows a lot. Problem was that they weren't double-glass and that was bad for our house, the environment and our bills! The new windows are good double-glass and should keep our home a lot warmer and quieter too! See - I am already talking about the old windows in the past tense and they aren't even totally replaced yet! :-) More photos to come in the weekend no doubt! Or later in the week...

Tuesday 27 October 2009: Heidi shows sign of life (although not very alife)

Heidi says: I am so so tired. I have been working the last week and a half and it is so hard to be pregnant, not to have worked for a while, and then suddenly to jump on a bike, ride for 25 minutes and then to work all day long, sometimes till seven in the evening. I am very exhausted and I don't know why I am doing this to myself :-).

Friday, Saturday and Sunday 23,24 and 25 October: Face The Day is not being updated enough anymore!!! And Sarah is getting new windows!!!!

Sunday 25 October 2009 above sporting pulled-back hair on a sleepy Sunday full of getting house ready for major window work to come...

That's my new kitchen you see above! They surrounded me with plastic to protect the coooking area from dust while the window work takes place! Our whole house is transformed!

That's me above on Sunday saying so long to the old, pretty windows...

Above you can see me on Saturday the 24th of October with window preparations taking place behind me... Thankfully my husband's parents are helping us (as usual!). We couldn't do all this without them! They are amazing!

That's me above late Friday night the 23rd of October. It had been so long since I remembered to take a photo that I just took this shot - as ugly as it is!

I just can't seem to keep Face The Day up anymore! I think it needs some Viagra at this stage! No time! And as I said before - without Heidi it is only half the fun. I have to see that girl again and get a photo! I saw her this morning (Monday the 26th) but forget to take a picture even though I did have my camera with me! It's a pity!

By the way, the following name: "Flange Mulgorp" keeps popping into my head. I have no idea why! It keeps coming to me in my dreams. I wonder who this mysterious person is? Do I know her? It's a woman for sure! If anyone out ther can help to solve this mystery - please feel free to let me know!

Tuesday 20 October 2009: Sarah is getting ill and check out her kid's 5th grade photo and 1st through 5th grade photos! :-)

I'm getting ill! All sorts of aches and pains! Heating pad and milky, honey tea to the rescue!
My daughter got her 5th grade school photo today! Below you can see a bad quality photo of the photo and above you can see her from the last year of kindergarten to this year - 5th grade
She wasn't that happy about the photo because she said it showed some acne on her face. I know how she feels! But she is beautiful no matter what and she sure is growing up!

Saturday, Sunday and Monday 17,18 and 19 October 2009: Sarah thinks spaghetti squash + new bike + cross-traner - Norway food = weight loss plan!

Heidi says: Retro Partytaaaaaaam!!!

There above you can see my two new best friends. These friends are going to help me through the rain and wind and muscle pain and will lead me to losing weight... So far, I love these new buddies of mine. I just hope the friendship lasts a while! It's so easy to start something and never finish it - especially in the winter and dark... Fingers crossed, foot to the pedals. Go!
Above photo from today - 19 October 2009. I wish Heidi were on here! I don't like being on here without her all the time. It feels strange. Heidi - if you are out there and have any time - upload a photo or two :-)!
Above photo is from yesterday - Sunday the 18th of October 2009. A lazy day at home alone - hardly got anything I needed to done, but oh well! I was tired from Norway as you can see!
Above photo from Saturday the 17th of October - just after getting home very late from Westtalent. I a enjoying seeing so many bands at Westtalent. There is indeed a lot of talent out there. It's not easy being a judge. You have to forget about what you like and chose winners based on quality and many other things. It's a real challenge but I am glad to be taking part! It's exciting each week. Every Friday and Saturday night is a lot and makes me tired but I am still happy to be doing it! Am meeting a lot of nice people too and feeling in touch with the music world just a little, which is nice as I was afraid I would lose that connection by not working in the field anymore...
Two words for you: spaghetti squash! Try it! You'll love it and it is so healthy and easy to make. I am so happy that the Belgian supermarket carries it all of a sudden! I will it a lot of it until the season is over. That's for sure! Buy it and look up a simple recipe via google! Trust me, you won't be disappointed and you can impress your friends :-). Here's a tip - what takes more than an hour in the oven can take about 10 minutes per half in the microwave so you can opt for the easy way too! Just be careful cutting it in half! It's a bit difficult and dangerous. I cooked it and then just mixed a bottle of basil marinara with onions and red peppers and some spices - threw it all together - also with some ricotta cheese - made sure it was all warm and then added some fresh basil and Parmesan slivers at the end. Delish! When the squash is done, make sure to scrape it out with a fork to get the real spaghetti effect! Enjoy and report back ! :-)

Friday 16 October 2009: Sarah leaves the beautiful Norway and returns to Belgium...

I love what you see from an airplane! I was so very excited to see Norway from the sky! I saw fjords and I dreamt of a future boat trip through the fjords! It will happen! I will do it! I have to! There is something about Norway that captivates me! I MUST return!
pretty clouds that look like water almost...
The above photo is actually right as we were flying into the Copenhagen airport. I wonder what that green stuff is?
Clouds and fjords... Nice combo!
I have to return to the above site on boat and travel through fjords. I will take a boat trip for a week from south to north along the cost. It might take me another 20 years before I take such a trip - but I surely will! It's a dream of mine to do it! I could so imagine the vikings navigating through those fjords way back in the day! They must have been some seriously daring and strong people fighting the elements and exploring. They must have had no fear or have had no room for fear anyway! I wish we could look back and know how it all really happened back then!

This link should bring you into my photo album of Stvanger with all the new fjord photos added to it if you are interested...