First snow of the season

I woke up to this view the other day:

Just a little frosting on the top, but still... A new ski season is coming closer!!! :-)

PS, can you believe this is the view from my bedroom window!? How lucky am I!??!?!

Fall is coming to Haukeliseter

Today it has been raining elephants and zebras! But yesterday was a beautiful day with comfy temperatures and no wind. The mountain is starting to get it's fallsuit on, where the colours are going from summergreen to bright orange and yellow. I love this time of year!

I paddled out to a little island in front of Haukeliseter with some colleagues where we let the dogs run around freely for a long time. We were lazy in the sun and the fourlegged were having a blast.

Ally at Hardangervidda

Last week, the Beard and I had another mini trip with the Ally canoe in Ståvatn. We packed tent, some food and sleepingbag and paddled to an island west of Haukeliseter. The wind was from West on our way there, so I struggled a bit to make speed. The Ally canoe is very lightweight, and even with the tent and food, the Beard and other stuff in the front of the canoe, it is still difficult to paddle towards the wind, especially when I'm paddling alone. But we made it to our destination after a while.

I put the tent up in a little bay facing south towards Kvanndalen. This is away from the road passing Haukeliseter (E 134) and you cannot hear or see the cars from this side. Makes me feel like I'm faaaar away, but still we're close to home if something happens. Which was good the day after...

The view I woke up to the day after:

With no wind of waves, I took my time cooking breakfast and enjoying the peace and quiet. Unfortunately, I enjoyed myself a bit too long, and by the time I had packed all the gear and got the Beard and myself in the canoe, the wind had picked up quite a bit. And now it was coming from East, which was our direction back to Haukeliseter...

After I had struggled for quite some time without making any progress, I decided to paddle across the wind and waves and head to the mainland near the road North of me. Then I had to call a colleague to come and pick us up up in the car and take us back to Haukeliseter. I felt a bit stupid (especially with the canoe sticking out of the car), but if I had kept on paddling I guess I had spent all day trying to get back, which was not exactly good for work. Haha...

Canoooooing in Ståvatn by Haukeliseter

This morning, the Beard and I took a short paddle in Ståvatn before work. We, no I, paddled to the biggest island in the lake west of Haukeliseter, where we had a short stop before we returned to Haukeliseter and work. A really nice start to the day! :-)

When we got close to the island, the Beard was ready to get on land, and all of a sudden she jumped and swam the last part. I wasn't prepared and almost lost my camera overboard...

As usual, a little bath in shallow waters.

The Beard was not very interested in going back to the canoe and paddling home...

Summer 2014

This has been the laziest summer I´ve ever had! I´ve spent it lounging on a sunbed with a book at our summerhouse and lounging on a sunbed at a small island in Greece. No sailing (so far) and hardly any hiking. What is going on?!?!?!?

The summer has been extremely warm - which I think is great! But the Beard has been a bit over heated at times. Good thing she can cool down in small lakes when we go hiking - here from a trip towards Vesle Nup. She looooves to mud bath, which I´m not too fond of, as she often has to shower when we get back home...

I´ve had one short trip to my cabin, which of course was great! 

And I carried up new shutters for my windows, so these are ready to be put in place (not by me obviously!!). They are made by the same model as the old ones made by my great grandfather, with the small hearts on them. And only recycled wood is used. I love them!! Can´t wait to see how it will look when they are put on.

The old shutters still in place, the new ones on my back!

I hope the autumn will bring some more activities than the last few months - stay tuned... :-)

Fourlegged office assistants

Today it's raining cats and dogs outside, so my two furry friends are with me in the office. They are often here, but usually they sleep on a blanket under my desk. For some reason, they are both ON my desk today instead...

Just at the entrance, there is another window, but the Sausage is too small to look out. I'll give her cred for trying... :-)

Saudasvingen in Røldal

"Saudasvingen" is a popular area for great offpiste skiing in Røldal. You take the lifts all the way to the top and ski across the mountain on the southwest side before you get to the area that takes to down to the winterclosed road to Sauda. Now there is also a bus going back up to the skilift, which makes it easy to take several runs during one day.

Over Easter there was also a cross country track going on the snow covered road to Sauda, so we decided to try this on a lazy day.

A bit strange to go skiing along roadsigns...

View towards the new development in Røldal with cabins and flats. I got my own flat here this winter and I LOVE it!!