Walking!

Walking is really cool. I will never take it for granted again that I can use both legs.

So the foot is healing. What a difference two weeks has made. Two weeks ago I was still completely dependent on crutches. Now, I've given them up completely and I even lift up the small children in the house. I'm now in training to be walking into town and back a couple times a day by the end of the month. Not a terribly long walk, maybe 20 minutes downhill, but uphill is a killer, and takes much longer. Not to mention the ice and snow on the way.

Walking is really cool.

Planning Begins Anew

I still can't walk, really. But we are planning anyway. We hope to be in Greece by the end of July. That sounds ambitious, but it's a good way to start. I've learned a lot about aiming high and not feeling devastated when things don't work out exactly as planned. Maybe we will only make it as far as Sweden by July.

After Greece, maybe Turkey. Or Italy. Other places to hit over the summer: Germany, Switzerland, Austria? Or perhaps we will start by going straight over the water to Scotland and working our way south via the UK. That would mean a stop in Amsterdam. Oh, Amsterdam!

We are actively looking for house-sitting gigs, which also might change the direction we travel. If you know of anyone who needs a couple of former chamber-maid/stewards to take care of their place for a few weeks this summer, please send them our way.

And check out our new 'Links to Other Useful Sites' page!
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There's more to add. If we've forgotten something, please just let us know. More new pages are in the works.

If you've been reading our blog for a while, and know how we traveled last summer, it will be obvious to you that everything can change quickly for us. We totally had a plan last year, and only the major elements didn't change over the course of the summer. Something similar will probably happen this year.

And by the way: Thanks for sticking with us.


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What is Going On?

We are finally back on track! That's what's going on. We spent four months in northern California, unexpectedly, and a few weeks ago we re-booked our return flight to Norway. The snowy photos? Norway. The hats? Knit by me (gimpy). I'm figuring out hats.

My foot is still not completely healed. I am supposed to wear the boot, but I'm allowed to stop using crutches. Took a week, but now I can walk around crutch-free while wearing the boot. It still hurts, but in that haven't-walked-in-four-months way. My foot needs some serious training. Which it gets. Walking, standing, ABC's, and coming soon: walking in the pool. Now that feels good.

It doesn't look like I'll get to do any skiing, which means Joshua has to do double duty. He bought some used cross country skis yesterday at the 2nd hand store for 60kr (about $10) and today Anders took him on a little adventure. They were gone for about an hour and a half, and Joshua came back having crashed twice, tired, and expecting to be sore tomorrow. Good stuff.

It's 5:45pm, and still a little light out. Joshua just came in and is now lying on the rug in front of the stove. Not quite dark enough to turn on the lights, but very soon we will.

It is quiet.

Natalia and kids are not yet back from a trip to visit Bestemoor (grandma), but tomorrow the house will be full again, and a routine that starts at 6am will become regular.

We will be adding a couple of things to the blog in the coming weeks. Firstly, a section about planning a bicycle tour, including resources we used and packing lists. Then I will write a little novel about a broken foot, in case other people in the world are having the problems that I did.

Welcome back!

every day

around this time, I want to go out and take pictures of the mountains.







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snow is nice

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it has not been windy here recently

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