Good Morning, Good Afternoon, Good Evening! Off-topic Thread

[Lizzie]

Hello everyone,

Following a great discussion elsewhere in the Community Center started by @Annette33, there appears to be quite a lot of support for a dedicated off-topic thread where we can chat together and go off-topic. 🙂

With this in mind, I thought to begin with I would start this thread, where we can live a little more in the moment! My thinking is that when we are here in the CC, we can say hello or good morning (this could be at different times of the day, due to our timezones) to one another to let each other know we are here, and in general share more informal conversation between each other. This could be discussing what we are doing this week or even what we are planning on having for lunch...

If there is a particular discussion which is particular popular for example pets, we might want to make it into a new topic completely, so that we can make it easier for others to join in and carry on in the future. 

Exciting times! Enjoy. 

Lizzie

[Mariann4]

'Afternoon all and @Lizzie

I just have my first guests since August! So my weekend has started focusing on getting the house in order. There are now two sweet young men sleeping in my guestroom, getting ready for a youngsters party this evening and night. A bit excitement going on about their behaviour when coming home early in the morning. But everybody need to get a chance to show who they are 🙂

I'm not watching the contest. The last two times I watched it were in 2009 and 1999 when I had two friends entering. One only in the national contest, the other one represented Norway in the finale. For me it has become too big and too boring. Eventhough it of course has had its nerve this year with the Ukraine/Russia/Krim-affair. I sometimes thought that world war three would occur due to this years finale in what we Norwegians call Melodi Grand Prix.

But a lot of people do like you do Lizzie: come together. Make food, drink whatever (often bubbles), dress up and party. I once went to a birthday-party when the finale was on. It was the year we won with Fairytale. The party was in a big family home were my friend lives in one appartment and her family (parents, siblings and in-laws) owns and lives in the other appartments in the building. But when having a birthday-party everyone agreed to not wanting to have a tv on. So all of the evening people were running up and down to the parent's appartment to have the score and then to come back and yell it out over the music. When it was clear that we had won there was no other songs playing than the Fairytale... (I never liked the song, but it's nice to win 😄 )

I have tried to upload some pictures from last weekend to show what I did, but Airbnb tell me that the files are too big. Maybe @Robin4 is savvy enough to tell me how to crop them? They are from a smartphone and should be small enough. But no 😞

Mariann 🙂

[Robin4]

@Mariann4 hey first, hi......how are you?

Photos, I can't speak for Apple, but for PC if you can find a computer with windows 7 open your photo thumbnail with 'Paint' and click 'Resize'. You will be faced with this box......

Click your cursor on 'Pixels' and the file size in pixels will be displayed. This image above shows a file size of 4608 x 3456 which equates to a 4.5Mp file which is way to big for the forum program to handle!

By clicking your cursor on the vertical value of 4608 backspace the 4 and substitute a 1. You will now have a vertical file size of 1608 and the horizontal will automatically adjust to about 1150. Click 'ok' and you will now have a much smaller file size of about 650Kbs which is ideal for inserting into forum posts. I suggest you then from the drop down menu top left of screen click 'Save As' and save your resized image with another character on the end of the file name so you will then have both the original image and the resized image. If you just click save you will loose the original photo size!

I use 'Paint' not just for resizing but also selecting parts of an image I want to crop. If I take a screenshot I get the entire screen but, by clicking 'Select' and dragging a box around the portion of the picture I wish to save and then clicking 'Crop' I can save just that part and I use this technique a lot here on the forum in posts.

Mariann once you have done it once it's a breeze, so do it, I want to see your lovely photos.

Hei, jeg håper alt er veldig bra for deg der oppe i Bergen, Mariann. Ville elske å høre hva du gjør og hvordan din hosting går .... Jeg håper du kan forstå alt dette engelske jargong jeg må gi for din instruksjon…….

Cheers.....Rob

Ps: That's it for me it is 12.40am Sunday morning here.....I am cold and I am going to bed....See ya

[Mariann4]

Thank you so much @Robin4!

Your jargong is completely understandable! I'm not afraid of computers and learn easy. And Im used to read "how-to" in English... And this was a really easy way to do it! How could I not have learnt this before...? I have to memorize this! Its just sad I cannot post directly when taking pictures but have to go home, email the picture to myself and then edit it. But well. I learnt something new today. That makes it a good day 🙂

As for my hosting... well... where to start? I think this time I broke about all the "rules" in how an experienced host should behave or what to accept. But I had to follow my gut feeling.

In Norway we have a kind of bizzarre tradition. The graduating students from high school celebrate BEFORE they even have their final exams. It starts with a "baptism" in the end of April were they get their names for the party and end up on our national day/constitution day on the 17th of May were exhausted (and sick and drunk) youngsters join the parade in the city or village before they head into bed. Then they have their exams from the 19th of May, depending on the calendar and weekends. Its three consecutive weeks of partying! And school during the day... We call it being a russ

So I have a booking request from a young boy. Telling me he's coming with his friend to this event. I had to Google the event since I had not heard of it. In the request he was straight forward about them going to have "a few" beers before heading out. And that they would come back early the next morning. But also stated that they were quiet and decent. And if it was possible with an earlier check-in-How I felt about having them?

I replied that I did not enforce any specified hours on when my guests could leave or arrive, they would have a key. As long as check-in was respected, please give me an estimate on when. I also stated that I expected them to behave when arriving at that hour in the morning: no nachspiels in the livingroom or no trying to make fancy meals when drunk.

Then I just hoped I had made a right decision in trusting him...

They arrived. Were as polite as they could! Tired after last night. Had a snack/late breakfast and went to sleep. Asked if I could please wake them at 4pm if they were not up: they needed to have a shower and eat before the evening. When awoke the co-guest came and asked if I had showergel... They had some food and we ended up chatting till it was time for them to leave. I was also going out so I ended up giving them a ride to the event (it was in a remote location in regards to getting there with a bus, but close by my place). I went to my friends and had a good time.

At 4.12 am I woke up. They were quiet! But I live alone and of course they made some noise that I was not used to. I knew I had to boys as guests. But I was sure I heard a female voice also... OK! I gave them the benefit of the doubt and fell asleep again.

Waking up I went to my hallway to check. And sure enough: There were three pairs of shoes present... One feminine pair... I went back up, pulled out a fresh toothbrush from my cabinet and made myself some breakfast. After a while they started to wake up also. And I was full of giggles! Soooo curious! But sat put and texted with some friends. All curious too 😄

The first one came in. Tired with nausea. And nervous! I simply said good morning and asked if the three of them had slept well in the 140x200 cm bed...? He was a bit perplexed but had to admit: it was a bit crowded and VERY warm! They had slept, but on and off. If I were angry? I explained that they had taken a risk. That in a different space they could have been kicked out during the middle of the night. But that I felt it was best to have a talk to see what had happened and take it from there.

It turned out: the girl was a friend from where my guests were from. She was also joining this event with her girlfriends. They had had a disagreement. She was locked out of the place they stayed and she was in a strange city with nowhere to go. My guests were in Bergen on impulse. She had called them to hear if they had decided to come. Then my friends decided to take her to my place so that she would be safe and warm. They had thought about sending me a text, but were afraid to wake me up and decided to put hope on me not snapping in the morning.

To make things worse: the students wear a special suit all three weeks. All day. Every waken hour. This girls suit had torn completely! The right leg of the suit was torn all over the mid of her bum on the backside. She had her entire cheek visible. And she had no extra jeans or pants with her since this is what they wear. Because of the disagreement she lost her ride home. Well actually she was the driver, so her friends are now in quite a squeeze. But she bought a planeticket to get home. She could not leave the house like that! They would not have allowed her on the bus... So this morning I sat and tried to sew it together well enough to make it last for her to get home. I can NOT sew...! And felt VERY adult...

I also sent an alteration to my guest to pay for the extra guest.

So now Im curious about what to expect in my review.... I know high maintenance=bad reviews... But well. I did my best. And I am mostly very happy to see how young people take care of their friends when they end up in trouble. They are fragile! Young and inexperienced. Far away from home. Drunk. Poorly dressed. And in this case a girl completely alone. It warms my heart that they helped her the best they could. I knew I took some risks accepting them. But they were polite, my room is spotless, they cleaned all the dishes they had used. And I think they deserve the chance to try life... I have to remember that I was a calf myself.

And they called me syyyyyygt snill (would not translate but something in the lines of insaaaaaanely kind) 😄

They will get a good review from me.

Mariann 🙂

[Robin4]

@Mariann4

Good girl, you gave them a chance....what a completely bizzare hosting though. I guess my time will come for something like that and after all the stories I have heard from other hosts I will most likely not be surprised when it comes.

Glad the resizing advice worked out! You can resize in 'Photo gallery' but I use paint because there is so much more that you can do in Paint. You can photoshop and remove features that detract from the image, you can even write over it! I find Paint more versatile but then again, I am still a bit of a greenhorn, others may disagree!

Enjoy your spring and summer Mariann, the cold is starting to bite here, it was 4c here this morning, but I have booked myself on a cruise and I am going to see the Northern lights this year and I am putting my thoughts into looking forward to that.

Love your photos, can just imagine you sitting on that lawn come Autumn!

Cheers.....Rob

[Mariann4]

Two days after 20C in Bergen they had 10-20 cm of snow in Oslo this week... What's predictable about spring is how unpredictable it is...

But cruise, @Robin4? Where to? And who with? How nice for you! 🙂

Mariann 🙂

(I got a good review 👍🏻)

[Mariann4]

Well here it is! My big job in the garden. I got the soil on Tuesday and Wednesday. Had a good job on spreading it out after work. Then I spread the seeds on Saturday. Now I'm watering and fertilizing and hoping for a good result!

Then on Sunday I finally had the time to head uphill and spent some good four hours hiking with a friend. We didn't remember to take our phones out because we were busy chattering and walking. But we had a lovely hike!

The view is spectacular even when we have a small fog in the ocean. On a good day we can spot Great Britain! (Not really, but mild exageration is a native toungue in my city.) This photo is from the area were I was born and grew up.

This is the view we would have if we would have walked the path I intended. I guess people can understand now what I say when I say I want to go to the mountains to breathe? 🙂

And then this is an atempt to have a panoramic photo of the area in which I live in now. I managed to have a short hike with my sister on Saturday morning before we started to work on the lawn 🙂

Mariann 🙂

[Mariann4]

Evening!

I said in my previous post that our constitution day is coming up. And when ironing my shirt for the occasion I thought I could show you a bit of my costume for the day. 🙂

In all parts of Norway we have different local suits and dresses that we call out national costumes. We only use them on big occasions. And we wear them with pride. Our politicians wear them when opening the parliament, when they visit the king and queen. We wear them in weddings, some even marry wearing them. We wear them to baptisms and graduations. And of course we wear them on the years biggest event; our National Day.

Girls often get them as a gift from their parents or grandparents when they go to confirmation the year they turn 14. Boys tend to not be finished growing at that age and are often late in getting them. They are handcrafted and, even for wealthy Norwegians, extremely expensive. Mine is one of the rather simple ones and therefor cheaper. But still, if I were to buy mine today it would cost about 7000 AUD, 4600 Euros, 4000 £ or 6000 $. With todays rate in currency.

The neck and sleeve of my shirt.

The purse for my dress. The lock is not silver sterling, but some kind of silver. It hangs from the waste of my dress. If I were married it would hang from a wifes belt. The embroidery is to picture local spring flowers and the colours are accurate.

The silver that I put on when dressed. All costumes have different local jewlery. Someone might remember that I told about Bergen being the most rainy city in the world? Well take a close look and you will see the umbrellas and the raindrop hanging from it 😉

And finally. Me wearing mine at a confirmation 4-5 years ago. I shy cameras so I couldn't find a full figure picture of me in it. But down on the skirt the same embroidery is sewn all around it. When outside I can wear a shawl that is alike. But I have a cape on my wishlist. The shawl tend to be a bit too little to wear on cold days. The dress itself is very warm to wear on a warm day. It is made from wool. Luckily our local costume have a silk skirt under the wool skirt. It makes it feel a bit cooler when warm 🙂

Mariann 🙂

[Robin4]

@Mariann4

That is amazing, we do not have that culture here....we are a collection of people from Italy, Greece, France, the old Yugoslavia, Romania, Ireland and of course England. There is a well known saying here in Australia, but really it is said with great affection....

The English introduced to Australia, Rabbits, foxes, and.......themselves!! And more lately we have welcomed all Asian countries. We are now truly mulicultural. Our state governor was a refugee from Vietnam when it was overthrown by the Pol Pot Kmer regime in the early 70's. He has gone from refugee to the highest office in this stae of South Australia....where else on earth could that happen?

But we do not have a 'hand me down' culture of our own nationally, and in a way, when I see costumes like yours, that is sad!

Mariann, such a beautiful costume and a lovely tradition, and also can I please say what a beautiful picture of you. I have been responding to a silouette with arms outstretched on top of a mountain for months now not realising the beauty behind that picture! Don't be shy of cameras, in a world full of rocks.....you are a diamond Mariann!

Cheers.....Rob

[Mariann4]

AAaawww @Robin4!

You sure know how to make a girl blush...!

Thank you! 😘

Mariann 🙂

[Marit-Anne0]

I have had my first dip in the Med this season - lovely !  Cool, but nothing at all for a true Viking !  😉

[Mariann4]

ÅÅÅÅååå @Marit-Anne0!

Det hørtes bare helt nydelig ut! ❤️

(That sounded lovely)

[Robin4]

@Marit-Anne0 @Lizzie @Mariann4 @Andrea9 @Annette33

@Marit-Anne0.....Oh my god, you are a brave girl....I must be something of a whoos!! Even when it's 40c it still takes a bit to tempt me into the ocean.

Hey, I must tell you a funny story though. One summer about three back we had a week of 40c days and one afternoon I thought I would go down for a dip in the ocean in a beachside suburb called Glenelg. I took the dog (Betts) with me and she loved it froliking in the water with me. After a while Betts and I walked up the sand to a waterside hotel where there were hundreds of patrons and I bought myself a beer! As it was a hot day and I did not have a bowl or water with me for Betts, so I got a beer for her as well! I struck up a conversation with this guy and he marvelled at how the dog and I got on together and we talked for about twenty minutes. He said..."Can I buy you a beer" to which I said great....he then looked at Betts and said, "Can I get the dog one as well"....to which I also said great! I can just imagine this guy when he got home scratching his head saying to himself.....'Did I actually buy a dog a beer today'........True story!!!

Keep up that good Viking spirit! cheers.....Rob

[Mariann4]

The question is: who drank the beer?? 😄

[Robin4]

@Mariann4

All three of us. Two major problems came out of that. Betts is not a good drinking partner...she drinks too fast, and secondly, she didn't buy a round!!

And I guess if somebody wanted to get overly picky.....she was definitely under age!

Cheers.....Rob 🙂

[Lizzie]

Hello @Mariann4, @Robin129, @Robin4, @Marit-Anne0, @Andrea9, @Annette33, @Bruce43, @Rachael26

Mariann, it sounds like you had an eventful weekend, it is great to hear about it and I am glad it all worked out well. 🙂 Your garden looks like an exciting project, do you re-seed the lawn every year? I have a friend who is really into creating an impressive pattern from mowing it (like on football pitches), this could work well here...although with the view you have I don't think it need! hehe 🙂

Love your story Robin with Betts. 🙂

So as an update from me (sorry I haven't posted this sooner). I decided to cook something from Norway (apologises to Mariann and Marit Ann), so I tried to bake a Rabarbrakake which I believe is a Norwegian Rhubarb Cake. I absolutely love rhubarb and as a child the soil in my parent's garden was perfect for growing rhubarb, so I think I have been hooked ever since. Well here is what it turned out:

My friend who loves to cook and was hosting the gathering baked something from the Ukraine and she made a very impressive Kiev cake, which includes lots of sweet yummy things like chocolate, hazelnut meringue, sponge and pastry cream...

After about 7 other food dishes to enjoy during the night, I can safely say, I found it hard to walk afterwards! hehe

🙂

How are your weeks going?