Essay: How I Spent My Christmas Vacation

December 22, 2009December 22, 2009 ~ fishiefishies ~ 1 Comment

Really it’s a photo essay, as is probably already obvious.

So here I am all decked out in my late grandfather’s overalls, shirt, and gloves (and my grandmother’s socks), holding the gargantuan rake:

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(I’m TOTALLY posting this picture on LDS Mingle. Or I would, if I had an account on LDS Mingle. Which I don’t.)

As you can see from the piles behind me in the picture above, I had already been doing what’s in the picture below for quite a while:

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Then, the gathering and cramming into bags!

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Can you tell where I’ve been?

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Once one has bagged the leaves, one must carry the bags to a specified location:

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Forty-three bags in all. Thirty-five from today; eight from yesterday.

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My grandmother TOTALLY owes me. I mean, all she’s done is love me and help raise me for the past almost 34 years. And let me stay at her house and eat her food for free. And give me Christmas and birthday presents. And…

Scandinavia, part 2 (Norge)

December 11, 2009December 11, 2009 ~ fishiefishies ~ 1 Comment

More pictures from another beautiful, beautiful place:

Medieval fortress – bigger and more intimidating than it looks here.

Bryggen – the building tradition goes back 900 years. 900 years!

A Christmas store. Since it’s Norway, there are lots of cute trolls.

The road to the Hall of the Mountain King! (Grieg’s house is at the end. I loved these old, knotty trees.)

Grieg’s home – pretty much the coziest house ever. And so pretty!

Grieg’s back yard, part 1. I saw the inspiration for his music everywhere.

It’s a sewer cover. And it’s charming. Ah, Norway.

Another troll. Don’t know why it’s sideways…

Proof that I was there. I took the Ulriken (cable car) instead of climbing the mountain, ‘cuz I didn’t have much time.

Being vanquished by one of my ancestors’ cousins (my Scandinavian heritage is Danish)

A Thai tourist. I loved her adorable hat.

A tiny village at the edge of the water. Notice the lack of roads leading to said village…

See the tiny building? Look closely… Again, notice the lack of roads…

Hopping onto the Flåmsbanen for an amazing train trip up (and through!) the mountains.

In Myrdal, waiting to transfer after the ride on the Flåm railway. COLD. Modeling a hat bought just for the occasion.

Another beautiful village seen from the train. Looking at these pictures makes me wonder what I’m still doing in Boston.

It’s, like, a factory. But it’s a beautiful building nonetheless.

Scandinavia, part 1 (Sverige)

December 2, 2009 ~ fishiefishies ~ 3 Comments

Pictures from a beautiful, beautiful place: