Outdoor Salsa concert

And today was the big day, the opening of Sandvikafest!!
I was supposed to be there around 13-14 for sound check and maybe some go-through of the music. I turned up around 13.30 and found no-one from the band. I found a stressed sound engineer, and a very smiling car rental guy. What to do? My sweet Rob was there to calm me down in the middle of all the confusion; *Thank you!!!*
I ended up calling mum to get hold of some phone numbers (lost all of them when I had my little phone-in-the-toilet-incident.) and tried to call Hector. He was, of course, too busy to even notice my calls and frantic sms... After a while I met the incredibly happy bass player and the violinist, so it all came down to be quite calm. (phew)
I got a short sound check and no go-through...
The festival starts with a parade that goes through the whole city, and ends up 1 hour later in the park. There everybody can relax, buy something to eat and/or drink and look at the band and the dancers. (Pretty tired after 1 hour parade-dancing.) The whole thing was pretty chaotic, but still very nice!

Sorry Nee-chan. I didn't dare to bring Banki even Robi would have held him the whole time. But he's got a full resume!

Cars...

Yesterday mum left with this car:




and came home with this one:


Isn't it cute?



...and Robs car i leaking oils again. Annoying!!!

Salsa rehearsal

Sunday evening, my school-orchestra conductor came to visit my mum. Since mum was not home, it was me who ended up doing this little gig. There is absolutely no money involved, but what don't you do for your old school-orchestra?? (string orchestra, red.anm.)
I have got no music, didn't know exactly when it was or who it was going to be with. I knew where, but not where "where" was located. Did this make sense? (Sandvika Vgs. red.anm.)
I was picked up outside my house around 18, and we were supposed to start 18.30. A violinguy and me found the salsa guys in a dark classroom, and were sent to the gym hall for a string rehearsal before joining the band. It turned out to be a cooperation between the music school, the teachers there and some professional salsa guys. It was great! I thought at first it would be, sorry to say, a typically Norwegian salsa. No groove. These guys knows their stuff! The rehearsal was filled with quite a lot of smalltalk between band members, until one of the more quiet ones said:
"Silence, I KILL you!" -link no.1


Now, this band with all its eccentricities, can be experienced Thursday in Sandvika Bypark. It's the opening of Sandvika Byfest (a festival!) with Bolivian salsa to start off with. A parade through the city starts around 15. Enjoy!!




www.sandvikabyfest.no -link no.2


The band (almost all...) Some of the stringplayers

Location: In bed
Listening to: Sequences of fifths
Mood: Sleepy but happy

A normal day, so to say

Mum is always on the run. It's either students, work, errands for the grannies or shopping of some sort. Today was no different. This was our schedule:

• Breakfast, then did the dishes (no washing machine!)
• Planned tomorrow with my grandma, who is going to have an eye-operation.
• Went to the opera to buy some tickets. Here we took our time, running through the house. I found my first payslip from them so I got very exited! and then I was exited again when I visited the public toilets
• Ran up Karl Johan (our main shopping-street) to get a book I've ordered.
• We managed to stop by some of the more expensive shops to have a peek at the things for sale, and mum bought a very sweet dress. For work. 70% off and *hepp* she has a designer dress from Karen Millen for what you usually pay for a dress form H&M! I found a really nice winter jacket, woolen, with a great cut! I feel Ive been shopping a little too much lately but my mum said "I'd buy that straight away". Thank you mum!!
• Home to make dinner, checked out the car policies and then she ran off to have students before work.
• I'm home, practicing a bit, and now sitting in the kitchen (wireless broadband. Fancy!) drinking tea and writing.

Ah, and I'm quite frustrated with the high-tech mobiles!!! Why, why can't I download another language for my phone?? Just because it's not a "smartphone" (like any phone can be smart...)
Arrrgh! I'm struggling to write Slovak messages (with a language not much better than a 1 year old) through the Croatian T9. How fun is that?


Here's the fantastic toilet at the new opera house. It's small, but still great. The tiles at the walls are actually art!

Location: Home in the kitchen
Drinking: Green jasmine tea
Mood: Content but annoyed
Listen to: Cello-music in my head
Tribute to Helene!

The two I miss!

My sister went to Japan.
I really admire her for actually going there! (Dad says he's not too happy about it, but I bet he actually feels very proud!) We can all follow her journey through her blog, and I feel I'm part of it even though I'm not there. Helene, now you can see what I do too!
She has a little friend that she cares for more than any of us can ever understand. Banki. She is so anxious about him that she made me promise to babysit him - and give him a lot of cuddles. He has already found my little Bass, and they are having an afternoon snack - apples and sugar peas from our garden :)


Aren't they adorable?

Anyway, Nee-chan is off and I'll long for more pictures like these:



And the other one I miss is Robert. He's still in Slovakia but will drive home (!) during the week. I'll have him here for only a short time I'm afraid, because he'll go back to Stavanger and his old job. Changing jobs every 1/2 year is not very stabilizing... I'm really glad we had a great and long summer together (although separated a few weeks because of Ingvilds wedding and me going to Dads cabin while Rob had his apartment-project.)


In Spain, the two of us..

*Stay! COME Stay! COME*
And don't forget to phone home!!!
Love you <3

Home, sweet home

I had to get up a little too early yesterday to manage to do my packing AND enjoy the breakfast at the hotel before the bus left Kristiansand 08.00
As a musician I'm NOT used to such early hours... (especially not the day after a concert)
The bus travel was actually really exiting, thanks to the Olympic-final in handball between Russia and *tadaa* Norway. The bus-driver put the speakers on so we all listened to it.
I was pretty tired when I stepped out of the bus with cello, bag and rucksack with computer and clothes, but heading off for my a "hot-dog-birthday-party" (pølsebursdag) at Ingvilds place. Her son turned 1 and me and Robert were invited. Rob being in Slovakia still had some problems showing up ;P
They had decorated their backyard with balloons, tables with paper cloths and a big hot grill. They served hot dogs, cakes and jelly. It was so nice to see all the guests - family and friends (both with and without children) gathered together. And the wasps. I also managed to proof that yes, you can actually buy friends (with candy...).

When I finally came home I was totally dead. Struggling on and off buses through Oslo with all my stuff - especially my cello - is not easy. The local bus was crowded, and it's quite narrow. Of course there was a baby carriage there too. I ended up pretty jammed, and had to move my cello out of the way every time someone entered the bus...

Just now, I'm so happy to be sitting on my mums homemade terrace (she made it herself!) looking at the way-too-old apple trees who thought the burden of the summer rain to be too heavy and writing this new entry. Mum is soon finished with todays "Porgy and Bess" and Eivind is going to pick her up. He came home on a short visit, which took us completely by surprise. We were on our way up to Østernvann (you know Norwegians, always out for a stroll on sundays!) when he called. The whole family minus Rob will be home for dinner!
Home, sweet home!


Mum by Østernvann. It was a lovely day for "tur"


The terrace!


Here are the two unfortunate apple trees. I'm so sad because it's "åkerø" trees (they taste delicious!)

The First One!

Sitting in Hotel Caledonien in Kristiansand and writing my first blogentry ever. And I feel quite nervous! I feel more nervous about this than the "sing-along"-concert we're going to do in the Cathedral here 19.30. Psalms with full orchestra, (well, it's a small one, but still), organ and hopefully the whole audience.

I have spent my few last days here with Lene (hornplayer). She is the second reason why I have started to blogg... (she is Frøken Aadalen in person) We have practiced, had lunches, visited sweet cafés (our favorite is a cuban one. There she eventually had her first real coffee! I'm wicked!!), gone shopping (she's quite wicked too. Especially when it comes to shoes...) listened to concerts - from DJ's to baroque. In other words, enjoyed ourselves.

An absolutely lovely pair of shoes I never thought I'd buy.

We played a concert on wednesday too. "The Paradise and The Peri" by Schumann. And there was a convention afterwards with "finger-foods" ,wine and speeches. We had opened the the international church music festival.. (www.kirkefestspill.no) I got the conductors flower! It has been a great detail in my hotel room!! Thank you :)