frognerseteren hike.

Josh and I were feeling a bit embarrassed that we'd been in Oslo for three weeks and hadn't gone on a real hike! Yeah, we'd walked around Sognsvann Lake and gone for lots of runs, but never a long hike.  And it's so easy here.  We're 20 minutes from downtown Oslo, but also 20 minutes from good hiking trails. On Friday afternoon we hopped on the Tbane (the metro) and rode about 45 minutes out to Frognerseteren.  We were escalating in elevation a bit so we got some incredible views of Oslo and the fjord.  We hiked for about three hours from Frognerseteren back to Sognsvann Lake.  A great loop, but a bit long for us. Since we've been sick we were pretty exhausted by the time we got home, but the fresh air and the trees were wonderful afternoon companions. 

We came upon a cute pond and stopped to relaxed.

Most of the hike was on narrow gravel roads, but some of the trails took us through the woods and into some muddy, swampy areas. My favorite hiking trails are the ones scattered with rocks and tree roots that you can hop along.  I think even as a kid I loved to hop from rock to rock while hiking.  We look forward to exploring more of the hiking trails here!  We also found out that the trail we hiked along is a common route for skiers in the winter. I'm really interested in learning how to cross country ski.  I think I might get might chance sooner than I want, though.  I'm slightly afraid of winter here.  

What adventures did you go on this weekend?

sognsvann lake

Discovering Sognsvann Lake was a sweet, sweet surprise.  We knew this lake was nearby, but did not know where and when setting off for a run one day we happen to follow the trail that led us here.  Since that first delightful run we have had a few more adventures at Sognsvann.  We have gone on a few more runs, we have hiked around the lake, we've picked the ripe raspberries on the surrounding bushes, we have sat silently to write in our journals and we've jumped into the cool, clear waters.   I've found this lake to be a place of refugee and renewal, a place to find peace and to clear my mind, and a source of joy.  It's not always easy to be here in a new country without close friends and family nearby, but in the difficult or lonely times we are reminding ourselves that this isn't just a tough year we have to survive or make the best of, rather it's a great opportunity in which we should rejoice and enjoy!  Coming to this lake makes it a pleasure to live in Oslo.  My great grandfather, Howard Zahniser, believed that being in nature can restore one's soul and bring peace and happiness.  My time spent at this lake has done exactly that.  

We've been blessed with some sunny days since our arrival nearly two weeks ago.  We were surprised to have days so warm that we could actually swim in the lake!  But we know this warmth won't last.  We've heard that in the cold weather people ski around the lake.  So now we're on the hunt for some inexpensive skis!

summer beats/beets

This post is mostly about beets-that awesome purple vegetable that stains everything the perfect purple color- but the pun was so good that I thought I also ought to post something about beats, you know as in music beats.  So here is a really cool song:

 

And now, for the beets.  I LOVE beets. I love their earthy taste and their purpely color. Plus, they are super healthy.  When I studied abroad in Costa Rica I learned about organic farming and more than ever before I began to care about the food I ate.  At that point in my life I was already a vegetarian, but after visiting farms and plantations, I began to care about eating food in season and eating locally grown food.  As a college student sharing food with four other girls, eating local, seasonal food is tough and sometimes expensive.  But as a college graduate living at home for the summer with a vegetable garden in the backyard, this is not as much of a problem.  A couple weeks ago I visited the local farmer's market and picked up many goodies including beets.  I like to boil them and eat them kind of lukewarm on a salad or just by themselves.  Here's my simple, step by step recipe:

Step 1: obtain fresh beets:

  
Step 2: cut beets into chunks:

Step 3: boil beets (covered) for 20-30 minutes until tender or the beets reach the consistency you desire:

 

Step 4: strain beets and run cool water over them several times:

Step 5: after beets have cooled a bit, peel off the skin with your fingers (it's easy!):

 Step 6: cut beets into smaller chunks if you want and enjoy!

Do you like beets?

What is your favorite summer veggie?

currently: late june/early july

 

 

enjoying nature + my new camera

nearly finished teaching for the summer

reading The Cloister Walk

eating summer veggies from the garden

loving bikes rides to and from work

harvesting a few tomatoes here and there

running despite the heat

watching the Olympic trials

looking forward to two weddings: Niquita's and then MINE!

our new garden.

 

This spring a bunch of friends and I started a garden.  We built raised beds, shoveled horse manure, dug up the Earth and planted vegetables upon vegetables (all from seed).   Joshua spends a lot of time weeding, watering and hanging out with the plants everyday and I join in on the gardening activities about once or twice a week.  Friday was one of those delightful days.  Classes have ended so we spent a couple hours gardening in the sun. (Sidenote: I'm completely done with college!  All that's left is graduation in a week.)  We've planted squash, tomatoes, beans, peas, lettuce, beets, carrots, zucchini, basil, oregano, dill, and peppers.  So far we've harvested some lettuce for salads and basil for pasta.  I can't wait until the tomatoes are ripe!  Fresh, homegrown tomatoes are my absolute favorite!  That twine thingy you might notice in some photos is for the climbing peas.  Some are climbing, but some are dying :(  We're still learning how to make plants grow!

 

For Joshua's birthday we went to the Botanical Gardens in St. Louis.  Josh's favorite was garden was the vegetable garden (not too surprising).  We were impressed by how productive the botanical Garden's vegetable garden already was!  And for any curious readers, none of the vegetables in their garden go to waste (we asked). I thought this vertical garden was pretty cool too:

Enjoy the rest of this beautiful Sunday!

a sunny afternoon in the garden.

[beautiful backyard view// rapidly growing tomato plant that I transplanted from a pot to the raised beds//mesclun and buttercrunch lettuce planted from seed]

wendell berry love

I'm only two chapters into Bringing it to the Table by Wendell Berry and I'm already loving it. 

Here is a glimpse of the greatness:

"Of course, agriculture must be productive; that is a requirement as urgent as it is obvious.  But urgent as it is, it is not the first requirement; there are two more requirements equally important and equally urgent.  One is that if agriculture is to remain productive, it must preserve the land, and the fertility and ecological health of the land; the land, that is, must be used well.  A further requirement, therefore, is that if the land is to be used well, the people who use it must know it well, must be highly motivated to use it well, and must know how to use it well, must have time to use it well, and must be able to afford to use it well."

That is what I hope to do someday.  I aspire to be a small scale farmer, eating only what I grow and maybe being a regular seller at a farmers market.  That's the dream, anyway.

And, Berry sums up in a paragraph one of the main reasons I am a vegetarian:

"To concentrate food-producing animals in large numbers in one place inevitably separates them from the sources of their feed.  Pasture and barnyard animals are removed from their old places in the order of a diversified farm, where they roamed about in some freedom, foraging to a significant extent for their own food, grazing in open pastures, or recycling barnyard and household wastes.  Confined in the pens of animal factories, they are made dependent almost exclusively upon grains which are grown in large monocultures, at a now generally recognized ecological cost, and which must be transported to the animals sometimes over long distances.  Animal factories are energy-wasting enterprises flourishing in a time when we need to be thinking of energy conservation."

If you haven't read Wendell Berry, you should make a trip to your local library right now.  Seriously.

Me llamo Raquel. [mexico + some new stamps]

For six days I was in paradise.  My family went to Playa del Carmen on the Rivera Maya in Mexico.  We stayed at the Viva Wydham Azteca all inclusive resort and it was great.  As you can see, the beach was beautiful.  The sand was sandy and the water was warm.  Highlights include:  bike rides, swimming in the ocean, snorkeling, reading and relaxing on the beach, speaking Spanish, beach soccer,  and getting our pictures taken with monkeys.

 Also,  since I just had my birthday I have some new stamps to add to my collection.  My grandparent's got me these ones and I used some birthday money to buy some stamps from papertrey ink.  When I got home from Mexico this and this were waiting for me.  Here are some things I have made:

I really love making things out of old maps, because not only do the end results look pretty awesome, but they are also earth friendly.  In general I love reusing things that are just sitting in my basement or in the trash.  Now go forth and make something out of something else! 

p.s. click the photos to see them larger.  Some of them might be too small to see all the details.