BLOOD

This is not one breakfast...but two (I eat a lot for breakfast, but not that much). They were both DELICIOUS and they both contained one of my new favorite things; freshly squeezed orange juice ( it's so good ..and nutritious ..and perfect since we can never finish a carton of juice because we only drink juice during weekends, and then only one glass). In both cases the juice was made with BLOOD ORANGES ..or red oranges that they seem to be calling them these days. I don't get it, or I kind of get it; I guess store owners are afraid that people might be GROSSED out by the word BLOOD ..but I still don't agree ..because I think that the name Blood orange is way cooler, more exciting and even more descriptive than just red orange.. since the orange itself isn't really red when you see it in the store.. it's more the juice that is red.. which is kind of the blood of the orange.. so I really  think people should stick to the old name. 

Writing of blood and food made me think of this other thing. I consider myself fairly relaxed around the word blood ..also when it comes to cooking. Still my relaxedness was challenged some weeks ago when I went to SOLHEIM KJØTT, our local butcher, with Erlend. It was not exactly EARLY in the morning, but it was before lunch ..and I could still feel the taste of tooth paste in my mouth. I knew why we were there, but I was still kind of thrown when E placed his order ..out loud, to the man behind the counter: 

-Two liters of pigs blood (adding the question; It's fresh right? The butcher confirmed with a nod.)

-2 kilos of speck (which is fat)

-and five meters of intestines ('tarmer' for my norwegian readers)

Some of you might think, why would someone buy this? For me.. a long time fan of BUFFY the Vampire Slayer, the answer 'because your husband is a modern vampire' would seem fair. BUT, to more RUSTIC food lovers, older people ..and the butcher ..I think it was pretty clear; my husband was there to buy the ingredients for blood sausage..or as the french call it BOUDIN NOIR. Even though I like boudin noir (it was one of the specials at our favorite restaurant in BERLIN; CHEZ MAURICE) ..and I NEW that we were at the butchers to buy blood I was thrown when he said the ingredients out loud.. I think the fresh part... and the the word intestines just became a little too much. I can eat almost everything, but I have realized ..and come to terms with.. the fact that if I want to continue to enjoy certain kinds of foods... I can not be present ..or participate when those things are being made/ prepared. I can also not eat it when I am way too hungry and have low blood sugar ..but that story I will save for later.

IN 2013 I

_______Spent the first month of the year in New York_______

 

_________Went Ice skating in Central Park_______

________Said goodbye to NYC and our friends there_______

________Ate a lot of delicious food while visiting my sister and Frode in Trondheim______

_______Loved spending time in their apartment_______

______..as well as the view from their window_______

_______Appreciated the Norwegian winter, partly because I hardly had any________

________Photographed CRUBA by Mira Becker AW 13 lookbook in Berlin______

__________Spent almost all of February in Andalucia_________

_______..where I fell in love with orange trees_______

______..and sherry wines, especially the ones from Fernando de Castilla______

________Ate delicious homemade tapas on our balcony in Seville__________

_______Spent time with some of my favorite people while home in Bergen_______

______Tasted sfogliatelle for the first time (really good)_______

______Spent two weeks at Lipari, one of them in this house______

 

_______Watched my husband have his morning coffee on the porch______

_________Went on beautiful hikes around Lipari_______

____________Ate a lot of delicious local food_________

_______Picked my own lemons_______

__________Was charmed by this blue little truck_________

_________Met these two while out on a walk_______

_________Had the ocean, Etna and Vulcano as my rooftop view for one week_______




____________Watched the sun set from the same rooftop_________

________Got to see how the beach cities of Sicily can look like when it's way out of season______

_____Ate a delicious 15 course 'straight out of the ocean' seafood meal at Sakalleo ..where 7 of the dishes were raw ________

_______Visited Occhipinti________

 _______ ..as well as COS______

_________Was stunned by this amazing temple in Agrigento__________

 _______Experienced Danish spring on our drive from Våler to Berlin_______

_______Spent  most of May in Berlin ...loving the green, the canal and the sunsets______

_________Lived in Lars' cool Berlin studio_______

___________...and Lina's beautiful apartment ________

_________Got to hang out with old friends and meet new ones_________

__________ Just made it to Berlin to see the cherry trees blossom_________

________Had my photos used in the exciting app magazine The innovation Effect ______

________Photographed the Ninetimesthree box_______

 

________Watched sunsets through my side view window_______

________Visited the Venice biennial_______

_________Made a short stop at Cascina Collina, our favorite vacation spot these last years_________

_________Loved this cherry tree_______

________Spent almost all of July in my parents house at Bønes______

________Realized the cruel reality of Bergen summer_______

________Had one really great Bergen summer night________

_______Spent beautiful summer days at our family cabin______

________.. where I ate shrimps and drank white wine_____

_______...walked to Ilogen to have a swim ..in all kinds of weather_____

________..ate self caught fish________

________..drank rhubarb cocktails on a 30 year old sun bed__________

________and made this flower crown ..loved it, but it gave me allergies_________

_________Photographed this amazing couple's Oslo wedding_______

_______Missed living in Oslo, like really really ..for the first time since I moved________

_________Met this cute little guy______

 

_______Moved back to Bergen, and into an apartment that I  love________

______Ate the best homemade burger .. ever________

__________Experienced  the beginning of fall in Trondheim_________

__________Celebrated our two year wedding anniversary________

 

_________Explored my new neighborhood________

__________Wished that I had more lunches at Kranen_________

_____Photographed the outdoor area around DNB Nor Solheimsviken by Svein Basson AS_______

________Enjoyed lazy Sundays_______

________Had a nice weekend at our cabin in the mountains________

________..where I also took this picture of Erlend hitting a branch of snow with a snowball_________

_________Photographed Ninetimesthree's annual scarf__________

_________Ate a lot of delicious home cooked meals made by my fantastic husband_______

 

 

_______ Treasured every ray of sun Bergen gave me________

_________Found a perfect Christmas tree_______

_______Ended the year with a five course home cooked meal, champagne, good friends and fireworks______

I go for better late than never this year. I have always LOVED making these posts and this year was no exception.. it was just slightly delayed due to a lot of different things, I guess also called normal EVERY DAY LIFE, something that I kind of have not had since I started this blog. E and I moved back to BERGEN the last week of August, or I came back that week, E was still in OSLO ..but then within that first week we found an amazing apartment ..and then we suddenly needed money ..fast. When I came to Bergen that week I had kind of IMAGINED a month or two of looking for apartments and a job to pay the rent, staying part time at my parents house, part time at our cabin. But then boom we had an apartment and suddenly I also had a job working in a clothing store. And like that, I suddenly had moved to Bergen and gotten myself a completely NEW LIFE, a very different one than the one I have had for these last couple of years. It has its ups and downs. I think I'm still getting used to it.. but as I do get more used to it I will try to find a way to make this life fit into this blog.. or the other way around..

It's strange for me to look at this post, realizing all the different things that have happened this last year, but that is also why I do it. Time travels so fast and it's truly amazing to have pictures to remind you of all the beautiful things that have happened. Hope you enjoy it too!