Tokyo when it drizzles

I love Tokyo.  I had to go there a couple of weeks ago for a short visit with Miyake-san regarding selling Digital Streams America.  Had I been able to go in the middle of April, I could have been there for Sakura (Cherry Blossom) time.  Here is what it would have looked like in mid-April:

View from Miyak-san's office window -- Ueno Park -- April 2010

Miyake-san's office is on the 9th floor and overlooks Shinobazu Pond, which is part of Ueno Park.  Wednesday through Friday the weather was beautiful -- crisp and clear.  By Friday night it turned windy and drizzly and the wet Spring weather continued through the weekend.  So it wasn't great weather for touring, but I still enjoyed a long walk through the park.  Same pond, sans blossoming trees:

Cherry Blossom Buds on the trees at Shinobazu Pond 

The trees are cherry trees.  The "weeds" in the pond are lotuses!

Part of Ueno Park

Street Acrobat in Ueno Park

Umbrella weather.  I think that's a plum tree in the background.

Food and touristy crap stands

Nice, broad sidewalk on one side of the pond. 

My hotel room was small, but efficient.  It included a traditional Japanese robe, slippers, TV, free internet connection, Japanese tub and bum-washing toilet. 

The view from my window.



I have no idea....



"As soon as your hands touch the floor, buddy, you are MINE!"



Sumo Madness!  Who needs NCAA Basketball?



The Chimney Police!

"Open up! Chimney Police!  Step back from the fireplace, sir, and put the poker down.  We don't want any trouble."

The Chimney Police

OK, not really, but Trondheim, and many communities in Norway have official Chimney-Sweep/Inspectors.    They are actually employed by the city's "The Chimney Sweep Department"  (Feiervesenet.  Feier means chimney sweep and vesen means department.  The et at the end is "the").  It makes sense.  Most houses here are wood-framed and have woodstoves or fireplaces or both which are burned daily throughout the late fall, winter and early spring.  The chimney sweeps clean the chimneys and inspect for fire-safety.

We received notice that Feiervesenet would inspect and clean here this week.  They would come sometime between Monday 8 a.m. and Wednesday.  If we were home when they came, they would also remove the soot from our woodstoves (we have two) and evaluate our stoves for efficiency and safety.  It is free (as a lunch!). 

We had one annoying little problem.  At one time, the homeowners association provided a steel ladder for each building (our building, as most in our neighborhood has 4 attached houses).  Over time, these ladders have disappeared.  So now, our building does not have a ladder.  Feiervesenet requires the homeowner to provide a ladder.  This would never happen in California -- the sweeps would not trust the ladder provided by the homeowner, would they?  Anyway, we planned on borrowing one of the other building's ladders, but, of course, we would have to wait until after that building's chimneys had been swept.  These ladders are heavy and cannot be moved or erected safely by one guy.

So Monday I stayed at home.  The sweeps got here around 12 Noon.  Not surprisingly.  They were dressed just like the photo I posted above.  Right out of Mary Poppins!  Chim-chim-a-nee, chim-chim-a-nee, chim-chim-cha-ree.  I went up to one of them (a  young woman) and explained the situation.  No problem, after they were done with the first building, I could move the ladder.  When?  Maybe today.  OK, but I'll need help to move it.  Just knock on my door when you're ready to do our building. 

They did the first building, then another one, then they left.  Hmm.  Monday night, Tove and I asked our neighbors (mother and teen-aged son) to help us move the ladder.  It took four of us.  The ladder is heavy and unwieldy. 

Tuesday came and went.  No sign of sweeper activity.  Wednesday morning I was home.  I was hopeful that I would be home when the sweepers did their work, so that they could remove the soot from our stoves.  No such luck.  I had a haircut appointment at 11:00 a.m.  When do you suppose they arrived?  11:00 a.m.  Our chimney is clean, but the soot is now our responsibility to remove. 

Winter into Spring

It's been the longest period between posts.  I have lived in Norway for more than one year now, although it seems like I just got here.  This winter was much warmer and shorter than last.  I am still taking the Norwegian class.  I enjoy it immensely, mostly because I enjoy my fellow students.  I think I should be much further along in my Norwegian skills, but those around me think that I am doing great.  My greatest shortcoming is vocabulary.  I am much better at hearing the actual Norwegian words, but I don't know what many of them mean.  It seems to take me a long time to incorporate new words into my speech.

I am going to Japan next week to help Miyake-san sell or close Digital Streams America.  It is sad, but the fiinancial situation is just not optimistic.

I got a job -- very short job -- very long story -- teaching business English through the "Folk University" (similar  to a community college) to the Brønnøysund Register (a department of the Norwegian government responsible for recording a variety of documents relating to businesses, property and marital agreements, etc.).  The short version of the long story:  We thought it was going to be a two-year job.  That's is what the Folk University thought when they won the contract.  It still might be, but for now, they just want to test the water with a one week course.

Tove bought a new car.  Her old one, a 1996 German Ford Escort, did not pass safety inspection due to extensive rust.  She bought a brand-new Ford Focus with a turbo-diesel motor.  I love it.  I'll take a picture soon.

Here are some pictures.  Stories to come later.

February 17 -- our biggest winter storm this winter.

Tove peeks out from under the trees.  The snow has blown against and stuck to the wall to the storage shed.

We spent an hour or so shoveling snow from atop the shed.  You can see how much snow by looking at our neighbors' shed roofs.

To get into our shed required some digging, too.

Our snow-obscured newspaper box and home-sign

Later in the day the sun came out.  The next two pictures are of the backyard.  The first was taken on February 17.  The second was taken in July 2011.  In both photos the backyard gate is in the "back-right" of the photo.

February 20 -- I go for a walk on a lovely sunny day.  It was really beautiful.  The sun felt warm.  In December-January, even if the sun is out, it is so distant and low in the sky that one doesn't feel its warmth as one does further south.

These next two photos show the difference in seasons.  The first was taken on Feb 20, 2012.  The second was taken by my daughter, Devon, last July.

And the next two photos show the difference, too.  The summer photo shows the same path as the winter photo, just a little further back from the frame of reference in the winter photo.  Devon took the summer photo.



These kids were having a  "blast" sliding down the hill at the school.

Last weekend we took a long walk in our forest behind our "rekkehus".

A month ago the creek was frozen.  The path on the right is a foot-path.

The Spring Thaw has begun in earnest.



This is a part of our wilderness park that we call "Bymarka".  Some of the ski trails are lighted for night skiing.  Remember, night begins early in December and January.



The skiers and the hikers have equal access to the wilderness:  in the center is the "trail" we walked along, but to the upper right of the photo one can see the ski trail. 

Hard to see from this photo, but to the left is a nice hill; this skier is gliding in a nice ski trail having just come down the hill.

Here, the hiking and ski trails run parallel.

The ski trail is a two-way street.  The woman is skiing down, while the man is using a herringbone technique to go uphill. 

The next photos again show the differences between seasons.  Same bridge, winter, summer.