ok, 2022, let's start this off right

it's been a lovely start to the new year. i slept in, then husband brought me a cup of tea and then we went for a long walk in the cool, still, foggy first day of the new year. we went down to give plantage, only encountered a few other people who all said "godt nytår" and then walked back home via the gravel road. it was 10km in total, precisely. then, i made us fresh juices (carrots, oranges, beets, apples, ginger and turmeric) and we had some lunch. 

our mutual resolution is to keep to the 350 grams of meat per person per week that's currently advised by people who care about the climate, but yet are not prepared to go vegan. i want to further resolve to only buy the products the grocery store discounts because they're close to expiration or from the too good to go app. we will buy essentials like milk, olive oil, butter and cheese, whether they're "mad spild" or not. 

i signed up for some challenges through the conquerer app. i'll admit that i'm a sucker for an instagram ad. but, i find the notion motivating - you virtually walk routes like route 66 or yellowstone or mount everest and you earn medals. the 10k we walked today put me closer to macchu picchu, since i chose the inca trail as my first challenge.  i won't have time to walk 10k every day, but even 2-3 will make a difference and i feel like this app and the challenges will motivate me and make me get out there and move, even when the darkness or rain makes it difficult. 

there was even time for a bit of rest and bonding with the kittens before dinner, which was an easy carpaccio (110 grams of that alotted 350). i got a bunch of lemons in a box this week, so i preserved them with chili and salt (inspired by this recipe). and i made a massive stuffed bread with all the leftover cheese i had in the fridge and the excess of eggs coming from the hens (we're getting 4-5 a day, despite the darkness), plus some bacon and leftover spinach. it's still in the oven and will be for a surprise outdoor picnic tomorrow in copenhagen for the corona-stricken birthday girl.  

in all, it's been a good start to the new year. i even managed to start fresh on our novel and write 438 words! yay for 2022!

jonesing for juice

i went to oslo on wednesday night and came home on friday night. that was a little over 48 hours away from my juicer. not good. i could feel my cells crying out for the direct hits of vitamins to which they had grown accustomed in just a few short days. on thursday afternoon, i did manage to find a juice bar where i got a fix, but even that wasn't quite the same as feeding carrots and apples and other yummy things into my own machine. i wonder if they make a portable model that would fit in my suitcase?

other than jonesing for juice, it was a good couple of days in oslo. oslo strikes me as, strangely enough, more city-like than copenhagen. it could remind a bit of glasgow (which i mean as a compliment). there seemed to be more visible diversity on the streets than there is in copenhagen. copenhagen is crawling with "foreigners" too, but they're all swedes. the danes have better shoe fashion than the norwegians tho', i have to give them that.

it's always interesting, going to a new city and learning your way around. i always have a strange feeling that i don't want to learn it too quickly. i want to retain that feeling of anticipation of something new around the next corner. i like it when the city keeps some secrets from me that i can discover later and be surprised by. but it do prefer that the public transportation is easy to figure out, that's one secret i don't want a city to keep. the things i like to discover slowly are restaurants or wonderful shops full of colorful, unusual things, or parks or tucked away cafés serving chai lattes and sandwiches stuffed with brie and peppery rocket leaves.

i always think about how the discovery can happen only once. there is only one first visit to a place. you have only the one chance for the first impression. after that, it's over and it's somewhere you've been. somewhere that you know something about.