bike trainer

Finally got my "*" in gear and started working out on Husbands bike trainer. He got it all set up for me and nagged at me until I changed into workout clothes. The trainer is set up in the attic guest room, which is a nice cold room - ideal for training (no worries future guests, we have an electric panel heater there).

Emergency in the psych unit

I've been wanting to blog about New Years Resolutions, past and present and it says much about the state of affairs that it is 2 1/2 weeks into January and I haven't yet done so. One of the present ones is to start working out. I haven't worked out in 6 months, not since we returned from vacation, decided to move, decided to sell the house and cancelled our membership at the gym. My aim is to build up slowly: first pilates for minimum 15 minutes 3X a week and add on from there.

Yesterday I found a new motivation to start some cardio workout. The ruscusitation alarm went off in the ER and the designated rescusitation nurse looked at his beeper and asked someone to come along. I had time so I volunteered. The emergency was in the psych. ward. My colleague shouldered the backpack with the defibrillator, I grabbed the clipboard and the oxygen canister and we took off running. The psych unit is a long hike away from the ER. Our path took us through the ER, down 2 floors to the basement, along half the basement corridor, and into the culvert, an underground passage that connects the main hospital with the patient hotell on one hand and the building that houses psych on the other. Once there we had to run up a flight of stairs again to the locked door of psych. My colleague is an athlete. Only one of the physicians on the team who had a kick bike was able to keep up with him, the other two and myself were definitly dropping behind. I was winded when we arrived, and thought: I really need to start working out!

It all went well. As the psych personell unlocked for us, my colleague asked: is it an arrest (cardiac)? No was the answer, and we knew we could slow down. I never found out what had happened, but the patient was sitting on the floor and anesthesia, who had gotten there before us were already working on him. The attending medical doctor stayed with the anesthesia nurse, the rest of us were dismissed.

New Doctor, Old Problems

The old problems are relating to that time of life called "overgangsalder" in Norwegian which roughly translates to "age of transition". To deal with these I was put on a 3 month regimen of HRT (hormone replacement therapy). This caused my emotiotional life to become like riding a roller coaster (and I don't like roller coasters!). Stuff that I am usually able to take in stride either sends me into a rage where I have been known to throw broccoli or dishtowels at husband or despair, where I cry for hours. Sometimes I am overwhelmed by black depression, it is as if I am looking at the world through a black veil. The only way to keep my self in hand is escape: listening to an audio book for example. It helps me, but is no more helpful to husband as I become unavailable, with my attention focused on the story. Audio books do have the advantage that I can do some work while listening, as opposed to reading, which is just as effective an escape, only I get nothing done. The last time I was on the roller coaster I recieved the following application from husband:

(Norwegian speakers can click on the picture to enlarge it, for non-norwegian speakers and english translation follows):

Application for good mood.

Dear you

Would be very happy if you were in a little bit better mood tomorrow, because then life would be so much easier to live for both of us. It is very tiring all the time to have to look back over my shoulders to check that that there is no flying broccoli etc coming after me.

Smile to the world and it will smile to you.

hugs from your husband who is nervous about flying broccoli.

(posted with permission from husband)

The new doctor, though trained as an MD, also practices homeopathy and natural medicine. He has given me a number of homeopathic drops and powders. So here's to a more natural "Age of Transition"!

Exploring

Sule bridge, a part of the ancient Kings Highway. It is about a half hours walk from the farm. A nice place to sit and look out over the farms and fields, and the Hobøl river meandering through them.

Sule bridge rest house. It is up the hill from the bridge, just where the track from the farm emerges from the woods. A museum, it is closed for the winter.

Mjuke bridge over a tributary to the Hobøl river. A stone bridge from 1800.

Dog meets Dog

There is already a dog at Holden Farm, a little danish/swedish farmdog, very territorial. How all the dogs would get along has been our biggest (our only, actually) worry. On our first day here, I met Anne Sofie in the wood shed, and she shared some concern regarding the dogs. Apparently Kaisa had been bitten by a visiting dog a couple of years ago, and has had a tendency to react aggressively towards strange dogs sinced then, especially on her own turf. Topsy has never really gotten along with other dogs, though she usually will avvoid them. Lucy takes her cue from Topsy, and tends to be aggressive, especially when Topsy is around, so I had planned to seperate them for their encounters with Kaisa. This however was not to be.

They first met a couple days after we moved in. I had just opened the door to take the dogs for their walk when Kaisa ran right up to the front step. As a chorus of defensive snarling errupted, I scooped Lucy up in my arms, pulled Topsy back inside and shut the door.

The second meeting came the day after we returned from Folldal. Husband was walking the dogs, and as he passed the barn, Kaisa came barrelling out of nowhere and went straight at Topsy's throat, which immediately resulted in an all out dog fight between the three of them. Kaisa doesn't wear a collar, but eventually the kids were able to collect her, while husband got a leash on Topsy. Lucy was already on leash.

The third meeting occurred today. I was returning from our walk when I saw that Kaisa was outside by the barn. I clipped the leash on Topsy, but let her drag it and we walked slowly by making a show of avvoiding the barn. Kaisa followed hugging the barn walls. However as we started up the driveway, Kaisa following a ways behind, Topsy started growling and wanting to hang back. I took her leash and while continuing to feed Lucy to keep her attention on me as I had ever since we saw Kaisa, we made our way to the house. Kaisa just went to her own house and sat down on the front step. It looks like, with a little encouragement from us, the dogs can be prevailed upon to avvoid each other. They seem to have started to understand that Kaisa has her house, our dogs have theirs, and thet the yard is more or less divided between them. The area around the barn will likely be the biggest bone of contention.

New Years Eve in the ER

Over the new years weekend I had 3 night shifts. My first time working from the new house. I am driving now, instead of taking the train, and taking a winding country road that skirts Oslo, instead of the highway that goes right through it. I figure the country road, while taking longer, will be more predictable, as I don't have to worry about rush hour or tunnels being closed due to accidents.

At one point somebody said: "it's Midnight!" and we all trooped out side, nurses and physicians alike to stand on the ambulance ramp and watch the fireworks. People were hugging each other and texting their family. The mood was happy and expectant. We had all brought something for a potluck which we set out after the fireworks. There was turkey and salmon, waldorf salad, swedish meatballs, lunch meats, scrambled eggs, bread and homemade lefse. It was quite a feast!

It was a fairly predictable night for New Years Eve. In the beginning it was mostly fireworks injuries. Seems there were some defective sparklers out there, and we got 3 cases of 3rd degree burns in the hands from sparklers that had ignited and burned right down to the hand in a flash. Later it was the intoxications. They started pouring in at 2:30 am. At one point we had several John Does, all unresponsive, as well as what seemed like most of the Romerike police department trying to contain the patients that were conscious.

It had started snowing at midnight and continued snowing heavily all night, so I thought it probably would be best to take the highway through Oslo home. Early New Years Day I didn't expect much trafikk, and it would surely be well plowed and salted. Boy was I mistaken. Shortly after I got onto the highway, I ran into a convoy of 4 snowplows driving abreast, with quite a lot of traffic behind them. In spite of their efforts the road was covered with a layer of icy mush, very unpleasant to drive in, especially in heavy traffic. Also the convoy was only moving at 30 - 40 km/h. When I saw the sign warning of the upcoming toll booths I thought: "forget this! I'm not paying to drive at 35 km/h in this mush, when I can drive the country road just as slowly and with less traffic for free!" So I got off at the next exit and went back to where I had got on. The country road had proper winter conditions (snow, not slush), practically no traffic at all - I think I met all of 2 cars - and once I got into Østfold it was even properly plowed. I was able to drive at pretty much normal speeds all the way home.

Our New Home

The mailboxes at the end of the driveway, with the barn and the silo's behind. The sign says "Holden" which is the name of the farm.

The birch lined driveway. At the top you can see the barn on the right, the woodshed/toolshed/shop straight ahead, and on the left our house (behind the reddish bush) and the farm house behind that again.

Our little house is 300 years old, and used to be the bake and brew house on the farm.

Looking right from where Topsy sat on the front step you see the barn: a loafing barn for 45 milk cows + calves, bulls and heifers. The milking is done by a Delaval milking robot.

Looking left from the front step you see first the Stabbur, or storehouse.

After the storehouse comes the machine shed and then the Forge, which we are using as a place to store garden tools, bicycles etc.

Our house seen from the Forge.

Also seen from the forge, the main farmhouse which is actually directly across from our house, maybe 30 yards from front door to front door.

Christmas in Folldal

The Julenissen coming in the back door!

Wednesday we had woken to snow. On Friday, however, the weather shifted to above freezing and all the snow rained and melted off, leaving the farm dark and wet. We left early on Christmas eve and drove the 4 ½ hours to Folldal, gradually moving from mild and and wet to old snow, not yet melted and then in the mountains and in Foldal, beautifull winter with 10" of new snow and frosty mountains towering white over it all. We spent a hectic day visiting all the Folldal in-laws. It was pleasant, and especially gratifying to know that just being there was the best gift we could have given Father-in-law.

Husband with Peach

Lucy opening her present

Early Christmas day, right after breakfast we left for home. The roads were empty, and we made good time with husband speeding along the empty roads at 120 km/hr. He did get caught by at least two photo-boxes set up to catch speeders, so I fear the 30 minutes we saved came dear. In Østfold it is still well above freezing. The cats had gotten out of the hallway, but not for long I believe, as the Christmas tree was still intact. We put on some Christmas music, lit the Christmas incense and the candles on the tree and enjoyed Christmas with cookies and gløgg in our own home.

Our tree at home: the smallest one on the lot!

Getting Settled

I spent monday morning laying down good routines for the dogs: the walk behind the tool sheds to potty. Seperatly and on leash. Lying in their bed / crate in the house so as not to get underfoot. Playing recall games. My goal is to get an outstanding recall from Lucy, before letting her loose in the woods and yard. Kaisa, the farm dog has has a bad experience with visiting dogs a few years ago so I want to prepare their aquaintance as carefully as possible, but also to avvoid deer and cow chasing.

The moving truck came about noon on monday, right on the heels of Husbands arrival. Pretty soon the house was full of boxes. By some miracle we have found a place for all the furniture. Spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking: I concentrated mainly on the kitchen. By the time I found the frying pan and spatula we were starved and I fried up eggs and bacon for dinner.

We slept on the sofa bed in the living room, as the bedroom was full of boxes. We tried to sleep that is. The cats after snoozing in the furniture all day, suddenly became active as night fell. They kept jumping onto the bed to lie on our pillows or feet, hissing at each other when they got to close, or wandered around meowing and jumping on all the furniture. We really didn't get much sleep at all.

Tuesday we started to find out things like how to get milk from the tank, where to get firewood, and how the recycling system works. Also I drove to the nearby village of Spydeberg, to do some shopping. I was dissapointed in the lack of organic produce and dairy at the Mega, which is the supermarket I got so many good organic stuff from at our old home. But I discovered a large sports store, a pharmacy, a book store and a bakery right around the Mega. There were two other large supermarkets as well and I intend to have a look around next time I go shopping to see whether there is organic produce there. I did get a tree and a Christmas sheaf while I was there, and husband got to work hanging up the bird feeder. We have finished unpacking the kitchen, and made the bedroom presentable so that we can sleep away from the feline tyranny of last night. There are still a lot of books and clothes to unpack, not to speak of all the boxes we stowed in the attic. Might not get to those until after Christmas.

Somehow, during the day I have gotten rid of the last of the boxes (by stowing them in the attic). Well the books are unpacked and organized – only a whole box of books is missing. Also 2 matresses. I can't figure it out. You'd think if something was still on the truck the moving people would have called, or if it was still at Fjellhaug, the cleaning guy would have mentioned it. The books must be in the attic. I just couldn't find them when I looked, but matresses can't just dissapear, can they? I also found places to stow all the clothes, so we didn't need to buy a new dresser after all.

Finally ready to decorate our new home for Christmas on the 23^rd Below is our home with the tree trimmed and the advent candles burning in the kitchen. I had wrapped a Hutzelbrot for our new neighbors, thinking to hang it on their door handle when we left on Christmas eve, but in the evening Geir knocked on the door to deliver a Christmas gift of their own: a lovely bunch of tulips, so I was able to hand over their gift in person.

Moving with Cats

Yesterday we packed the animals in one car and all their stuff + the house plants in another. Lucy and the bird in his carrier crate in the back, Fenris was protected from draft, both by his carrier and on 3 sides by the back seat and side of the car and the crate with car stuff. The cats in their crates were lined up on the back seat, with a couple of boxes with kitchen stuff on top. Tucked next to the cocao and the instant coffee was Blubbulf the fish, in a jam jar, his half full bowl on the floor. Topsy curled up on the passenger side floor with my back pack and stuff on the seat.

At the new house we plugged in the cat feremone diffuser and waited an hour before opening the crates. Funky, who hates being crated and had been protesting loudly the whole time, and made frequent attempts to claw his way out, immediatly left his crate, and found a corner under a table where he could sit and regard his new surroundings. Piril came out, took a short walk of exploration and then went into Funky's crate to have a nap. Puseline just stayed inside her crate sleeping or looking out while we walked the dogs and husband assembled my new desk and hung up curtain rods. Piril and Puseline eventually started exploring after husband left, but Funky stayed put in his corner. Not until evening did he come out, loudly complaining and obviously looking for something. I lifted him onto the sink where I had put their food dishes and sure enouph, he was hungry.

At bedtime I made up my bed on two matresses with a dog bed at each end. I was immediatly joined by two happy cats: Piril and Funky, who settled down on my pillow and feet respectively. This lasted until midnight when I was woken by something landing in my bed: it was Topsy. Something had frightened her (possibly Puseline). That was it! I put the cats out of the bedroom, calmed the dogs back in their beds and tried to go back to sleep. For awhile I lay in bed listening to Piril scratching at the bedroom door, while Funky kept up a steam of loud complaints, until I'd had enough (didn't take very long). When I put all the cats out in the hall and closed the door, I finally had some peace.

Before the movers come I will put them back in their crates, and stack them, facing the wall in the bathroom.

Done Packing - Ready to Move

Puseline having some water laced with Rescue Remedy

I've been puttering about all day, packing up the kitchen, the food, every last minute thing. Actually I'm a bit of a veteran. Between 1989 and 1995 I moved 6 times! To tell the truth, I find it fun! Especially since we decided to pay someone to clean the house afterwards.

Husband just finds it stressfull. Not to speak of the critters. This morning when we took out a bunch of furniture that we are getting rid of, for Husband to burn (the new house is much smaller than our present home), the dogs just about went crazy. They see we are getting ready for a trip and they are afraid we are leaving them behind. The cats are reacting too, though that seems to be mainly because we closed off the cat door and aren't letting them out anymore. While the dogs had to be ordered into their bed / crate to keep them from running around attacking the cats and each other, the cats are spending a lot of time meowing in front of the door. I had to dig into the box at the bottom of which I had packed my Bach Flower Remedies to make up a bottle of rescue remedy with which to dose the animals and Husband.

Anyway, we are done now. After breakfast tomorrow we are packing the animals into one car and all their stuff pluss whatever we have room for in the other and are heading down to Østfold. I will stay at the new house. Husband will return. The movers are expected at 8 am on monday.

We don't know when we'll have our internet hooked up in the new house. Hopefully on monday, though I fear it might not be until the new year. I sincerely hope not. We gave the company about 2 months notice, but it would be typical. Anyway, I'll be back with a new post as soon as we have internet. Below: a picture of the kitty crates ready for the trip. I was hoping the cats would be curious and explore them, but so far, no luck.

Lucy posing in her crate, kitty crates stacked alongside.

Packing

Dancer beside the wedding tree

We've had 2 sparkling frosty clear days, with moon bright nights. I wish the moon would always shine in winter. Together with the snow, it really lightens things up!

Spent a quiet day packing (and dog training). We are pretty much caught up. There are a number of open boxes around, waiting for some final stuff before we close them up. We really are living out of boxes now.

Movie night

So today, obviously I was really tired after getting home at 1 am and waking up at 6:45. I rarely sleep past 7 am. Really only if I am utterly alone at home and there is absolutely nothing clamoring to be done.

Spent the day packing up the bathroom, training and walking the dogs, shopping etc. Talked to Irene on skype. Husband went running for 4 hours and then to work, so by evening we were both tired.



Last week I had listened to the audio recording of THE HELP by Kathryn Stocket, and then downloaded the movie, so we watched it tonight. It was very good, though, as usual, the book was better.

Team admissions

They called me from work, just before I was leaving to catch the train for my 12 O'clock shift. Asked me to come for the evening shift at 3pm instead. Gave me 3 extra hours to do stuff here at home. Even if it meant I wouldn't be home until 1 pm. Right now, on the train home I can hardly keep my eyes open.

It turned out to be a busy shift. 3 team admissions. That's a lot in one shift. A surgical team is called for an MVC or other accident requiring trauma assessment, but also for unstable patients such as leaking aorta aneurisms etc. A medical team is called for unstable medical patients. We also have stroke teams for patients that are candidates for thrombolytic treatment, pediatric teams for critically sick children, and birth teams for patients entering the ER on the point of delivery. A team admission means that the relevant assisting physicians are present as well as interns and residents, anesthesia staff, and 2 experienced ER nurses. Depending on the team a surgical nurse (trauma), pediatric nurse (ped and birth) and midwife will be part of the team as well.

Tonight the teams were:
1. a motor vehicle accident: an 18 year old had slid off the road and the car overturned in the bad weather.

2. A 13 year old who had been kicked by a horse.

3. An elderly lady with difficulty breathing

Christmas shopping

We hadn't been to Løiten Lys in several years, so husband and I decided to do our christmas shopping there this year. They make the most beautiful candles! I mean, they are nice to look at anyway, but the real beauty is when they are lit. Løten Lys is in the old aquavit distillery. There is also a whole little indoor village of shops with home-made soaps, candys, antiques, used books, handwork, and a cafe. These akevit distilleries are to be found all over this area. It was a good area for growing potatoes, which is what the aquavit is made of: potato liquor, basically. Another piece of trivia about aquavit is that it hasn't been properly aged until it has crossed the equator. I quote from Wikipedia: "Peculiar to the Norwegian tradition are Linje Aquavits (such as "Løiten Linje"). Linje Aquavit is named after the tradition of sending oak barrels of aquavit with ships from Norway to Australia and back again, by that passing the equator twice before being bottled. The constant movement, high humidity and fluctuating temperature cause the spirit to extract more flavour and contributes to accelerated maturation."



Later I went to the post office to send packages and cards for Christmas. There's only one more which I am delivering by hand, and then our christmas present shopping will be officially concluded.