…is what we spent in the offiices of the Migration Board. Minutes during which the future for -W- was decided, essentially by someone who used to live in a city approximately 600 km (as the crow flies across  part of the Mediterranian) from his hometown. This in a country where there is little mobility from one region to another and where the dialects can differ very much even within less distances than this.

On top of that, I thought this interview had to happen in their offices because they needed to check our identities… Not so. I could’ve sent my 26 year-old neighbour and all she would have had to do is to say that she was me…. That makes me wonder why these things can’t be done via video conference since it would achieve the exact same thing  at a lower cost.

Oh – forgive me! Government Agencies are not supposed to do things the most efficient and cheapest way, because then everyone employed there wouldn’t have anything to do. Sorry! I forgot!

This picture is for Laurie, who asked me yesterday about my pictures.

This is what comes out of the camera on a setting called Auto. That’s when the camera tries to do it all – despite circumstances. I don’t use that very often, but it works well when the glare from the snow is too much to handle.

Because then I can create pictures like this just by adjusting exposure.

This kiddo is beat by now. 450 km driving and arguing with a teenager who wants stylish before sensible, took its’ toll today. He’ll be freezing some before the next trip to a bigger town – but that’s a choice he made.

G’night!

… and at the same time not!

Today there was a first meeting between county officials and union representatives regarding the new organisation. Management claims to have thought it all out very thoroughly, that their time plan is going to hold and also that this will be sooooo beneficial to us all. I’m not so sure about that…

Just a shot from this summer. I’ve always wondered who lived in this house with a kitchen and a small room at the back. Was it the “retirement home” for an older couple who had deeded the farm to their son and his family?

… and anyone else who is wondering what on earth is going on at my place of employment.

The county has been cutting down on staff every year over the past 5-6 years. Admittedly, at first there was reason to do so because there was definitely a few people too many in places – Grades 1-5 didn’t even need to hire substitute teachers when two teachers went on extended sick leave….  There were 2 or 3 Building Inspectors knocking about… The General Office Staff almost had to make up work to kill time… Those were the days!

Fast forward to 2009. All departments have been slashed and they are all beginning to approach a critical state, one way or another. The Tech Dept. have “only” lost one on staff since 2004 – but instead the systems have not been updated at the rate they should have been. New programs need a lot of “space” on the main frame, outdated PC’s can’t handle as much and need to be upgraded – not to mention and a lot of other technical mumbo-jumbo I really don’t understand.

In short – in some cases antedeluvian terminals,  a partways outdated system, staff shortages and space-hogging programs create a situation that drives us all mad!

This is not a good shot – but I just had to share the fantastic colours in the sky as I drove into my parking lot.

I really should have driven down to the lakeside to get some better pictures, but after 660 km in one day I just didn’t have it in me!

Oh, and the interview at Migration went fine! Or, at least both the lawyer and I think so but we’ll know more in about ten days.

Loki spent the day at the stables getting to know the horses and The Cat. He has crashed on the floor by my feet and is already snoring…. Give me 10 minutes and I’ll do the same!

Despite having both my knee and ankle bandaged, I ventured out to “my special place” to take some pictures. The weatherman is promising lousy weather the next few days, and I simply couldn’t wait any longer – or hobble around for that matter! Watching my step and taking it oh so easy, I made it all the way around the little pond – unscathed!

This is such an unassuming plant but I like the colour it gets in the sunshine like this. Notice the ant? I wonder how it got out onto the plant almost half a meter from land!

Oh, to have a little cabin on top of the rise! That will never happen as this is in the middle of a small Nature Preserve – but one should be able to stay overnight if using a camp stove… That’s something to do next summer!

*I haven’t been able to find a name on any map – probably because it’s such a small pond, so now it has a name:

Yesterday morning before work, I took Loki for a walk along the old stretch of a road outside town. The area is very popular with fishermen, and I saw one through the foliage along the old road. He was standing on the other side of the new bridge and I thought it would make a nice picture.

Well… In my hurry to make it to work on time, I didn’t check how the picture turned out until I came to the office, but I still sort of like the result.

The title stays, but I think I’ll skip what I intended to write about… Some things are better left until they have gone from a roiling boil to a slow simmer. I will however say this much – there is no known cure for Stupid, but it does seem to be a prerequisite for getting elected to our Board of Education.

I will try and write about the situation a bit later – in the meantime; Enjoy!

We finally made it to the second fall.

We had bypassed the first fall to avoid having to fight our way through a big patch of willows – besides which it isn’t all that big this time of year.

We came across this patch of Arctic Cotton almost as soon as we started walking along the creek. Notice the gnarled birch trees – it’s amazing they survive the harsh winters as well as they do!

My niece discovered this rock along the trail. How many others have noticed it and taken pictures, I wonder.

When you’ve travelled less than 15 km along the road on the Norwegian side, this is the view that meets you. The left top is an old volcano cone rising to about 1560 m above sea level – and it’s probably one of the most photographed views along this stretch of the road. My niece wondered if it was possible to reach the peak but after checking the map, we decided that a helicopter drop up there would be the only way…

Oh, and please don’t ask me for the pronounciation of the name… In Norwegian it’s called Solvagfjellet ( Sunwave Mountain???) and the Sami name is as above.

Yesterday was another beautiful day.

Too warm for driving anywhere, so I spent the day along the lakeshore.