Hiking Trip to Skausnøya

Skausnøya or Skausen tour is our one of must hike and must see for us here in Lindås in Alver kommune (county). It’s been almost two years since we moved here and to think that we’re just two minutes drive from this hike makes me think that we’ve been either the laziest persons here or just the busiest. Hmm.. I think it’s the latter. There had been an attempt though during the first year, but I was 9 months pregnant, I was too heavy so we just turned around.

Anyway, there are many options to where one can start the hike to Skausnøya, but I think the easiest way is to start from Vågseidet and park the car along the side of the road by the bus stop. From Bergen, it only takes around 45 minutes drive. From the bus stop it takes around 1 to 1.5 hour to the top.

This hike is a special one because this is the first time we went hiking with our toddler. My hubby took the honor to carry the little one to and from the mountain top. 🙂 Everything went fine until we reached the top. LO started complaining. But, what can we expect? LO is just a toddler and sitting on the carrier the whole hike is sure boring. So we resolved this by taking more breaks as we decended from the top.

As for me, I wasn’t in my top form during this hike. I had to walk slower than normal because my right knee started to ache and I was exhausted because of lack of rest. However, that didn’t stop me from finishing the hike. Just had to take longer breaks, though.

Half way through the top, there’s a stop place where anyone can take a break, sit down on the bench and enjoy the scenery.

There are also small rivers along the way. The water is safe to drink. How do I know? Well, I forgot my drinking bottle, so I had no choice but to drink from here. Yet here I am still alive and writing! 😀

The paths are easy to spot because they’re marked, but there are many steep areas. I’m glad that I have a good pair of hiking shoes because this hike is not an easy one. Some areas could be muddy, wet, full of snow or dry.

After the narrow part, I thought that I’m just a meter or two away from the top. But, wrong! There’s still more to go. I was about to give up but my LO and hubby were waiting for me on the top. Then there’s the snow that concerned me a bit because there might be a thin layer of ice under which means slippery. Thankfully, it’s not slippery!

After 10 or 15 minutes, I finally saw my hubby and LO. It’s a very nice feeling to be able to reach them after the struggles that I had on my way up.

The view from the top. The fog was quicker than us and has blocked the magestic view!

Skausnøya is 363 meters above sea level. Not that bad but there are steep paths to consider. Nevertheless, every thing is beautiful here. I must say that it’s worth every struggle.

The Driving Force

Motivation is one of the most important things that helps me get a certain task done or pursue my goal. It applies of course not only to me, but for everyone. Its intention is actually good. That is when it is around, when we have it. However without motivation, life could actually be boring and meaningless. I think that the word motivation is often misunderstood and misused, because many uses it as a reason to just wait for the right time or timing.

A friend of mine who is a psychologist find motivation both positive and dangerous. Positive in the sense that it helps someone to find purpose in life and dangerous too because it can paralyze someone’s ability to act. It’s like, hello, it’s alright to feel unmotivated in gloomy times too, you know!

I admit that I’m guilty of using the lack motivation as a reason to procrastinate. But later on I found out that it’s not motivation that I lack, because I have plans, goals and the reason to execute these goals. What I actually lack is nutrients that my body needs on order to function properly. So yes, sometimes food is just the perfect solution when I feel that the muse is not around!

Back to Campus Bergen

I’m officialy back to school after the maternity leave and the extended leave. I must say that it’s so good to be back despite the fact that I’m not joining my batchmates anymore because I’m a year delayed. I miss them though.

Not feeling it yet

Christmas is just around the corner. Colorful blinking lights, jolly Christmas songs and cardemom scent in the cafes. Do not also forget the busy shopping streets and alleys downtown and at the mall, which all tell us that it is that time of the year already. I have also started decorating our home for Christmas. So that I’ll get the Christmas feels already. Because to be honest, I still cannot feel the Christmas season. Maybe this is just the effect of the gloomy days that we have here in Norway.

I was also thinking that maybe the decors are not enough that’s why I’m lacking the Christmas essence.

This is one of my favorites. A dachshund with a crown.

How about you? Can you feel the Christmas spirit?

Voracious Eaters

Sometimes, I wonder where on earth do the food balls go that fast because this weekend I placed 6 pieces of bird food balls and then by Monday, it’s totally gone! So, yesterday I bought a pack of balls again and put it on the feeder. I know and I’ve seen before that small birds eat those kind of food but not in that rate. Imagine, only 2 days and it’s gone!

Then yesterday also, my hubby suggested that I take pictures of birds from the window. So, that’s what I did earlier today. At the same time, I wanted to find out how many birds come and eat on the feeder.

Behold, the Eurasian Jay birds! They are bigger than the Eurasian Blue tit (blåmais) birds that I usually see here. No wonder the food is not enough but I’m glad that our humble backyard is attracting beautiful birds though.

Trying Out EM1X- part II

The purpose of trying out the EM1X is to see what it is capable of because I’m considering an upgrade. As I mentioned on the previous post, this is a campaign of Olympus. You get to borrow a camera for a week or two, then you get 3000 kroner off on the EM1X or you can also do a swap then just pay the remaining amount depending on the value of your camera. This is actually a good deal. What I really like is that I learned a lot from the consultants not only about the settings but also what to do or not to do with some of the buttons and techniques we can do on the camera plus they explained it in a simple way. It was a very informative course.

I had the camera for two weeks. Since I live in the countryside, my shots are mostly of nature and landscapes.

*Used standard 200mm zoom lens here. Fixed the lighting on Lightroom.*

So what do I like about the EM1X?

Well! It is surprisingly easy to use! It only looked intimidating at first sight because of the size and the unfamiliar buttons (because I’m a Sony user). Then, I love that I could take this camera out on rainy days because it is weather sealed. At the same time it is very robust and solid so it can take a beating or two.

Since it is a mirrorless type of camera, I could take a shot of my baby sleeping without waking her up and also I find this very useful when shooting birds. Thanks also to the extra quick shutter speed!

*Flirting with each other. Too bad, I was too far from them.*

I also find the EM1X good in shooting in low light conditions. I was also surprised that my portraits turned well with only natural light on a gloomy day.

*Due to the baby’s privacy, I’m only showing half of the portrait shot.*

Did I purchase this camera?

Unfortunately I can’t afford this one. Only the camera house itself cost 33000 NOK ( 3,599.97 USD)!!! Even if I use the discount coupon, it is still too expensive for me.

However, I did enjoy having this camera with me. It’s not hard to be creative with this one. So, I encourage everyone to try the EM1X. 🙂

Flea Market Finds

Last Sunday, there was a flea market at Hundvin’s “ungdomshuset” (youth house). The proceeds from this event will go to the school’s music program. Lots of people went to the event which was great not only for the cause but also for the environment. Because, you know less trash is good for the environment. Besides, a flea market is a good place to find anything vintage, nostalgic and unique for a good price. You can also see and meet people with the same interests as you too!

If you’re a follower of my blog, then you know that I love drinking tea and I collect teawares. So yes, I bought a teaware set at the flea market. I fell in love with this dark coated Japanese tea set but I was not sure at first if it was worth to buy because the cups aren’t ceramic. Only the plates, teapot, milk saucer and sugar cup are ceramic. The cups are made of tin. The set originally costs 350 kroner but I got it for 250 kroner. I’m not bad in haggling after all. 😀

_DSC3985 — The tea set consists of 6 plates, 5 cups, 1 teapot, 1 milk saucer and 1 sugar cup. Took only pics of one plate and one cup.

_DSC3990 — The plate for me looks like a tile stone. It’s quite big for a cup saucer plate but this one has space for both the tea cup and a slice of cake.

Then of course I didn’t forget to get my little one something too. I bought her children’s books! 🙂 New books cost much, like for instance, Disney books can cost at least 150 kroner or more. But at the flea market, I got the Cinderella book for only 10 kroner!!! The rest costs 10 kroner each as well.

I only paid 40 kroner for all of these books!

In total, I used 290 kroner in this event. Cheaper than getting a haircut! At the same time these babies found a new home. I hope that everyone do the same for the sake of the environment.

Work and Pleasure

One of the perks of working as a home nurse assistant aside from meeting new people is the opportunity to see new places. That’s why I’m grateful for this job of mine even though it’s exhausting and the salary is not on top.

A month ago, I applied for extra jobs near my new place. Out of 10 applications that I sent, I got 50 percent feedback from the companies. Not bad but it would be nice if they let me know the reason why they won’t consider hiring me or bother reading my application letter. They just told me that they appreciate me considering them as my employer/workplace and blah blahs. However there was this one company who sent me an email after 4 weeks asking me if I’m still interested in the position as a home nurse assistant in their county. I replied right away and got scheduled for an interview just a couple of days after.

To make the story short, I got the job! I’m so happy. 🙂 Now I have 2 jobs in 2 different places which is the city and the countryside.

Today’s my first day on the neighboring county and I had a blast! Imagine being paid for these car trips. I feel like an influencer! Haha! Don’t get me wrong though. The job can be tough both physically and mentally. So, this is not a flawless job.

Trying Out EM1X -part I

Disclaimer: I’m not a professional photographer nor paid to write for Olympus.

Olympus is one of the big camera brands in the market today that has been in the market since 1936 ( that is the year Olympus’ first camera was introduced according to Wikipedia).

Last month, I was fortunate enough to have been given the opportunity to test their mirrorless camera. I saw the Olympus ad on Facebook about their mirrorless cameras ( which are the EM1X and the E-M1 Mk2 ) that they are borrowing out to people who are interested in trying out Olympus cameras. So, I immediately filled up the form and since it’s Olympus, I didn’t have a huge expectation because for sure there are hundreds or thousands of people who would like to put Olympus cameras to the test. To my surprise one of their consultants emailed me and asked some information about me and what I usually take pictures of. He informed me that I could borrow a camera of my choice but the waiting time is long because there are lots of people who showed interest in the ad. I was also informed that this is also a project that he is working on (will do a seperate post about this).

I chose the EM1X and I asked for a telephoto lens. Unfortunately, I got late and I got the telezoom and a standard lens instead. I’m not complaining though.

Here are a couple of shots that I took using EM1X. Fixed the lighting on LR.

Introducing Føllet Bolle. Føllet is Norwegian for foal.

That would be all for now. Till next post. 🙂