Tag Archives: Easter

Happy Easter

Blog, The Vet Who Came In from the Cold, Yorkshire Dales, ,

This is going to be a brief post. Thursday was spent in the new house getting Wi-Fi and a washing machine installed and with an insulation assessor, measuring up for several hours. On Friday, we did the big move – removal men for the big furniture, then clearing the last of the stuff and cleaning the remaining kitchen cupboards and floors and carpets that hadn’t yet been done. I hadn’t really slept much in the two nights leading up to it as there was so much to juggle and yesterday morning I was so exhausted, I decided to take a break from blogging.

Andrew and I came down to Yorkshire after we were finished on Friday. Anna and Lauren came up from Winchester to join us. Triar cried with excitement when he saw them, which was nice because he’d been very obviously stressed by the signs of another major shift. He’s moved house five times in his life, but hopefully this will be the last.

Yesterday, I got a couple of other things done that I’ve been putting off. I’m going to Norway in May, but hadn’t bought tickets home, so I got that done. Now, hopefully Mum will be able to book me a dentist’s appointment when I get back. Apparently all the dentists in Dumfries have massive waiting lists and my back teeth are gradually crumbling, so keeping on top of tooth care is important.

I also finally sorted out my Norwegian tax return. That one has been playing on my mind for weeks and I thought I was going to have to call them, but I found a video about how to add my UK earnings and tax. I’m going to have to fill in a tax return for the next three years. I only found that out after I’d left. Moving internationally is more complex than I could have ever imagined. Going out to Norway, I guess I was lucky, partly as the UK was in the EU, and partly because Charlie went six months before me and the children, so he had already sorted a lot out before I arrived.

Anyway, I only realised how heavily the tax form had been weighing me down after I’d done it. The feeling of relief was unexpected, but for the last two nights, I’ve also slept better and though there is still a lot to sort out, I feel I’m over a big hump. Hopefully it’ll all be downhill from here and life will gradually settle down.

Anyway, I haven’t many photos to offer you, but here’s another from Mum and Dad’s garden yesterday morning, when Triar and I went out to greet the new day. Spring is really here in Yorkshire, which is wonderful when I’m used to having to wait for May or even June.

Happy Easter to you all.

Road Stop

Blog, In Darkness and In Light, Life in Norway, Vet, , ,

Sunrise/sunset: 05:44/ 20:00. Daylength: 14hr 16mins

Easter is a big deal in Norway. The first year we came, we were looking forward to the Easter break. The children were off school and work stopped right through from the Wednesday afternoon until the following Tuesday. Thursday morning dawned bright and sunny and I recall we headed into Stavanger, thinking we would go swimming in the outdoor swimming pool. We were disappointed to find it was closed. Who would close a swimming pool in the school holidays, we wondered, in our quaint British ignorance? Many swimming pools in Norway, we have discovered since, close during school holidays. That still seems bizarre to me as in the UK they are thought of as an entertainment and teaching venue and a useful and healthy one at that.

But the realisation that it wasn’t just the pools that were closed but also the shops was the real show stopper. While we probably had enough in the freezer to get by, we had assumed we could buy Easter eggs and all the celebratory food during the first day of our break. It wasn’t our finest hour.

Nowadays I am a little more prepared. I spent Monday out on a visit with Thomas and Tuesday at the abattoir. Charlie had originally been due to arrive on Wednesday, but due to coronavirus the planes continue to be erratic, so in fact he came on Tuesday evening. I had already planned for five days of dinners. Not for the Tuesday itself though, so Charlie bought us a meal from the local Chinese restaurant, which we ate at home due to lockdown regulations. Travel around Norway wasn’t recommended, but as Charlie hadn’t seen John or Anna for months, both our region and his have low infection rates and the planes were already booked, we had decided to go ahead, but take extra care to avoid contact outside the family while he was here.

Because he had arrived early, we were able to take a trip around Senja on Wednesday. We were lucky with the weather. It has been snowing on and off most of the time here, in between massive almost daily thaws, but there was an oasis of calm on the far side of Senja island and at one point, the sun even came out!

We made a stop at Steinfjord rest stop, a sandy bay at the end of a short fjord. The tiny village of Steinfjord nestles right at the base of the steep mountains. It’s a beautiful place.

Triar was, of course in his element, though he did have to wait patiently with his ball as Charlie spent some time taking drone footage of the surroundings.

The drive back was also beautiful, though as we rounded the north end of the island, the snow set in and after one final picture of another mountain range receding into clouds, I didn’t get any more worth sharing.

The end of Triars day was not so cheery. He had rolled in something or other back at the beach and so when he came home, he went straight into the shower and emerged, clean but not delighted.

And so for now, I will wish a very happy Easter to you all. See you again soon.