My Life in Oslo - the kitchen

Since Easter is just around the corner, or has already began for many Norwegians, we have been making an attempt at spring cleaning. It is pretty good timing for this blog, since I am able to get a few birds with one stone - clean house, reasonable photos, blog entry material, and less to worry about when we get back from vacation. Last night Rolf took on cleaning the oven which I had been perpetually putting off. I have to admit, he is super handy for those tasks that I don't have the patience for!

So today, I scrubbed down the last bits of the kitchen to photograph and share. The kitchen is probably what sold us on this apartment. Granted, we are only renting, and it is probably a good thing because an Ikea kitchen may not be the best clencher for buying property.. Still, I love the clean surfaces and the fact that this simple cabinetry hides (from the right to the left in photo below) a refridgerator, freezer, dishwasher, ventillation hood and lots of cabinet and drawer space. I'll admit that most of those top cabinets are empty because I cannot reach them, but it is good to know the space is there if needed. 

The table is something we threw together on the cheap with some legs and a desktop from Ikea. I stained and sealed the wood top myself and the piece has become a huge part of our lives in this apartment. Asides from a dining table, we use the space for food prep in the evenings, Rolf irons his shirts there in the morning and it is my office desk the rest day. It is rare that the table is so empty, but it looks nice when it is. I'll admit that I tossed my reading and sketchbook over to the couch to take these photos this morning.

The windows and painted hardwood floors were other major attractions when we first saw this apartment. It is not a great view out into the courtyard, but we get a great deal of sunlight coming in during the day. Enough sun that I've managed to keep a few plants alive. It is still early in the season, but we have a chilli plant from last year (one surviving from 4 originally seeded) with a couple peppers nearly ripe on it, plus some grocery store bought rosemary and an orchid that Rolf gave me as a gift our first summer together (almost three years ago if you can believe it!). Last year we had a basil plant that grew and produced far beyond my expectations, so we may consider starting one of those again after Easter.

We leave tomorrow to stay at Rolf's parents' for a week. Where they live (by the arctic circle), winter has not yet ended. While we've had 50-60 degree (F) days and sunshine in Oslo, they've acquired another foot or more of fresh snow. So we'll be hoping for sun, in order to partake in the Norwegian Easter traditions of cabin visits, skiing in teeshirts and sun worshipping in the snow, eating oranges and "Kvikk Lunsj" chocolate, plus sausages and coffee made over a fire. Happy Spring to all!

My Life in Oslo - Part 1

I haven't been keeping up with my blogs.. Honestly, I have recognized a bad pattern of starting projects and then slacking on the follow up, but here I am to work on that. Granted, I should actually be writing on one of a series of articles that are due fairly soon but are a bit less interesting to me at the moment. I'm sure there are a dozen other tasks I am also procrastinating from just now, but I had the idea to begin a small virtual tour of my life here for anyone interested - but especially with those in mind who can't come and visit so easily/cheaply.

I'll start with the living room of the apartment Rolf and I share. Our apartment is technically only two rooms, the bedroom and the main room which is half a living room and half a kitchen (/everything else) in use. There is also a bathroom and small entry foyer, but those aren't especially interesting. Standing in the entry foyer you can see the whole apartment, the bathroom would be in front of you and turning your head left is the main room, right is the bedroom. It's not a huge space, but it's comfortable for two people, centrally located, and we like it plenty for the time being.

Our furniture is a bit of a hodgepodge of Ikea products and pieces of Ikea products that I've redesigned in some fashion. The coffee table is an awesome hand-me-down that Rolf's parents gave us (they had had it since the 60s or 70s) - it has a funky pattern on the top which I love. The wine bottle in the center of the table repurposed as a candlestick holder. It would be more interesting looking if the candles here were the kind that made drippy wax, but mostly here candles are dripless - somehow evaporating as they burn. I've learned to appreciate the quality of candlelight, especially during the long, dark winters here. Still though, between the two of us, Rolf is the more candle-romantic one.

The wall on the left of that photo is intentionally left blank. We have a projector which we use in lieu of a tv - mostly to stream the news from the internet or watch movies/series from time to time. The last wall in the living room I've left to Rolf's new hobby of painting (photo below). Somewhere between the size of the pieces and the old, not-completely-level walls in the room, none of the images are quite straight, but I think this will be resolved as he fills in more of the space. The central frame on the wall is his first published interview, where his company's national publication deems him "Young and Promising" as the byline.

The cornerpiece is a real wood burning stove - likely from when the building was first built in the 30s. It's quite lovely and functional though we haven't used it. Appropriately, when I took this photo there happened to be a ball of yarn in the floor - remnants of another project that I haven't quite completed just yet!