Katy&Jack’s Wedding 22Feb2026

22 Feb 2026 –  Welcome Jack Wegmet to The Family

Have been mentally preparing and getting ready for this date 22Feb2026 since Sep2025 and air-tickets are purchased in Nov2025 but unable to attend the BridalShower.

Is it okay to post wedding photos on social media? Yes, but we ask that guests wait until the couple posts wedding photos before sharing to social media. ThankU for your patience to those who have asked – have been fun putting this post together while the wedding couple is skiing@ParkCity,UT/USA on their Honeymoon.

The Grove On Augusta,Gilbert/SC – perfect venue with Southern charm&rustic elegance ambiance for this beautiful young couple. Somebody has a good sense of humour  about 1897 – hahaha. Nothing may have happened here in 1897 but something very special happened on 22Feb2026. Most of the pix in this post by me and some by family&friends.

https://www.thegroveonaugusta.com/

Talented William/Katy’s cousin played the keyboard beautifully with his music choice and Katy’s uncle Chris officiated the wedding. Pix during the wedding ceremony have to be purchased and will be edited&updated here when they are ready…

Welcome Jack to the family and congratulations to Katy&JackWegmet – what a beautiful&big WeddingParty with Ellie/Maid of Honor&Sophie/BridesMaid+8 other BridesMaid, Jason, groom’s father/BestMan, John&James/GroomsMan+8 other GroomsMan.

FirstDance with the Groom and the Father of the Bride.

WeddingCake cutting and dinner.

Appreciations to niece Kat NY/USA and cousins Linda&Alfred+Irene CA/USA for being here.

6Grandchildren/#6-Olai,3John,5James,1Katy,2Ellie,4Sophie getting along and havling a blast – such blessings.

Caught in action with 3Grandsons

Linn/mother and Cindy/paternal grandmother of the bride in action with #5James.

CouplesDance: from Norway May&Bjørn/auntie&uncle of the bride; FL/USA Terry&Dee/paternal grandfather&step-grandmother of the bride; GA/USA Stephine&Jason/parents of the groom.

From MD/USA Amy&Mike; FL/USA Ramona(tkx for being such a great friend&support to Linn); FL/USA Rich, step-grandfather to the bride with Bjørn, #4Sophie and her friend Zack. Appreciations with thousand thanks to family&friends for taking time to celebrate this memorable day with us. Despite of the difficult lights to get good shots, a good time was had by all chatting,eating, dancing, etc…

Mother of the bride taking care of her baby getting her ready for her Honeymoon

Here is to wishing Katy&Jack all the best to a new chapter of their lifes together…

To be edited and updated as more pix are received…

Action&Drama Thru’ A Glass-Door

7 Mar 2026 – Cook&Share More Pots of Curry

Wed: #2Ellie spent the night as she has dentist app this morning before heading back to Clemson. Nice warmer weather to potter around the pots of plants on the porch. WedSushiDinner&FriedRice for #3,4&5.

Thu: too much action&drama this morning but have yet to find out what happened?? All kinds of vehicles with blinking lights including the SWAT-Team with firing arms. Stayed indoors with all the doors locked and heard the sirens with loud-speakers telling us to stay indoors. Heard cursing,shouting and shots – slightly shakened up, too close for comfort and praying that no one got injured!

Managed to take these pix thru’ the locked glass door, like watching an action movie, and ppl pay to see these kind of movie while this is happening life here! Just read this and it happened 19Feb, but do wonder if it has anything to do with what happened this morning?

https://www.uscrimeradar.com/columbia-sc/5042-24523_1771496605_ggvwltfo-man-with-a-gun-reported-at-yacht-cove-complex

A short walk up the road to talk with the neighbours later to learn about a very sad fatal ending to Eric who was well-liked and has lived in this peaceful neighbourhood for nearly the past decade – words from others are not always objective or reliable. Do not know Eric and was not there to see what really happened??

ChickenCurryDinner for this group of lovely teachers&friends of Linn’s and tkx Haley for these yummy starters.

Freia the dog remembers that jumping&sniffing is not for me, a dog named after my favourite Norwegian chocolate must be an intelligent bitch – hahaha! Appreciations to HiHills for these exclusive Fran’s chocolate – looking forward to tasting them.

https://madeinwashington.com/collections/frans-chocolates

Fri: #3,4&5 were over for leftovers TacoDinner from the wedding and we had a few rounds of RussianPoker.

Sat: #3 on break from work and guess if he is hungry – always such a joy to feed him who eats&finishes whatever we put on his plate without any complains.

DaylightSavingTime/DST will begin at 0200hrs on Sun8Mar2026. Clocks will be set forward one hour, so sunrise&sunset will occur an hour later. Tonight we will be losing an hour of sleep and also means that we are exactly 12hrs behind SIN. A reminder that time is a human construct — and we’re not very good at constructing it!

The European Union voted to end it, Canada is debating it, and here we are still arguing about farmers who haven’t manually milked cows since 1952 – Frustrated citizen 2025

Hello&Welcome ‘AT Friends&FellowHikers’

3 Mar 2026 – Once-in-a-generation Planet Alignment

Sat: sad to start the day with this news – World leaders split over US-Israel strikes on Iran as Canada, Australia back action while France, Spain condemn escalation risking wider regional war – pix downloaded

https://www.foxnews.com/world/world-leaders-split-over-military-action-us-israel-strike-iran-coordinated-operation

Tkx to Linn for this yummy coffee Häagen-DazsIceCream&TalentiSorbetto which would usually have taken me just 2-3days to finish but being so busy these has taken me 2weeks to finish – what a treat to taste&discover this non-dairy product. The mini-dafford plant is amazing, still blooming and here with a double bloom like the 2Dendrobium/Den blooms(received for Bday) fused together. Learnt that DoubleBlooms occur when a flower develops extra petals beyond its normal number, creating a layered, often more showy appearance. This trait is the result of a genetic mutation.
One of my favourite to dos here is grocery shopping, – unlike SINs crowds, here the space&choices make grocery shopping a pleasure. Today@Lowes,SunsetBlvd,Lexington where there is a bakery,bar,cakery!&deli within – Linn could sit with food&drinks while waiting for me, no crowds even on a Sat morning.
Total savings – US$62 including US$38 on the LindtChocolates at the clearance section.
Buy2 get 1free for the ArgentineFrozenShrimp US$44 saving US$22

The sky will host a rare planetary parade, with Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus&Neptune all above the horizon during the same evening. They won’t form a perfect straight line, but will stretch across the sky in a wide arc after sunset. The brightest ones — Venus,Jupiter&Mars will shine clearly to the naked eye. Saturn&Mercury may be a bit lower and trickier, while Uranus&Neptune will need binoculars or a small telescope – pix downloaded.

Thought I will never get to see this but the sky cleared towards evening and the moon was so bright despite it not being quite full that it overpowered the other planets in the pix but we could see how bright the other planets were with the naked-eyes – Linn downloaded an app that even explained what planets as she took her pix. Moments like this don’t come often. The next time this many planets sharing the sky in one evening, will be more than a decade from now. One solar system. One sky. One unforgettable night.

We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the Universe. That makes us something very special – Stephen Hawking.

Sun: morning grocery@TraderJoe’s/Harbison and beautiful day@YachtCove
Welcome to CandyAsses- HiHills&EagleEye/NC, MissWiggy/VA, Pokey/DC, Lizard/VA+MoFo/SC(to arr tomorrow)  –  nice to have #3John,4Sophie,5James+Zack over for FriedRice dinner and to meet my hiking friends. The ladies are staying with us@YachtCove(appreciations to LInn) and the guys will be@HamptonInn/Harbison.
Enjoying this lovely bright moon-lit-night in good company who also know how to appreciate and be with nature.
Mon: thankU for lunch@BlueMarlin for my favourite She-Crab-Soup.

The late RevJesseJackson’s body is being housed at the SC-StateHouse today, gave up the idea to visit but drove past it and saw the lines of ppl. Tkx to Franklin for driving in their new EV – another trip to Lowes before CurryChicken dinner@YachtCove. Grateful to have this AT-Hiker-group to be still crossing my path for the past 2decades.

Dum Spiro Spero = While I breathe, I hope – Official SC-State Motto

Tue: until we meet again, safe drives to everyone up North to NC,VA&DC except for John/MoFo who will be heading South to FL for visits(heard it thru’ the grapevine that the hotel door was heard opening at o3.30hrs this morning!!) before he heads back to Charleston/SC.

Appreciations to all for taking time to drive here, will miss not going to TrailDays.

She introduced people to the A.T., and at the same time she made the thru-hike achievable. It didn’t take fancy equipment, guidebooks, training, or youthfulness. It took putting one foot in front of the other—five million times ― Ben Montgomery

Grandma Gatewood’s Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail

Concert@IrmoHigh – was told that it was a PractiseConcert for their next month’s competition.

Proud of #4Sophie playing a cello solo piece and #5James with viola in the orchestra – ending the evening with Italian-fastfood dinner@Fazoll’s.

Mar family Bdays:

2Mar – ArleenUAMLI
3Mar – LAM JungZni George
4Mar – Brenna LAM-KENNEDY
6Mar – LindaTAY
9 Mar – LEONG SueLyn
11Mar – KenTAN
13Mar – RobynKAWAMOTO
14Mar – EllieHALL
15Mar – DanielWONG
17Mar – LEONG Pat-Lynn, BethYEOH, Happy St Pats
18Mar – LinnHALD, LAM YiSheng
31Mar – JosephineLAM

Happy Mar Bdays to: Alex, Anthony, Gel, John Lim, Natty (SIN); Soakhoon (Malaysia); Hannah (Germany),;Simplicius,John (Australia); Paul, Steven (Ireland); Thomas (Norway); Al, Cee, Janice, Marcella, Warren (USA).

Post Wedding

27 Feb 2026 – A Stunning Senior Moment

Tue: WinterOlympics2026 over with Norway topping the total of 41medals – what an amazing team.

Now with a total of 446medals since the WinterOlympics started in 1924, Norway is still one of the few countries I like to visit&re-visit and feel at home there – blessed to have my Norwegian family&friends there.

Enjoying these goodies from DC&MD – tkx to the Jensens and to Rachel for her yummy homebaked sour-dough-bread.

Left0vers from the WeddingDinner all boxed, marked,sealed and into the freezer – just need to remind Linn&kids that there is food here!

Wed: NationalWeatherServiceColumbia,SC issued a CodeOrangeAirQualityAlert because the ArmyCorps of Engineers controlled burns across our area, affecting people in different ways. Not going anyhere outside, keeping all windows&doors closed today – tkx Linn for the text-warning

Niece Kat got back to NYC last night safe&sound and happily reunited with her kids and half the now has melted there. Appreciations w tkx to all who have been sharing many amazing WinterWonderLand pix from NY,NJ,RI – hope&pray that ppl are safe&warm. Pix downloaded.

Cleaning&clearing up, getting ready for AT-hikers friends to arr this weekend – thankU washer&dryer. #3,4,5 here for Wed-SushiDinner.

Thu: another frightening BigBang like the one felt&heard a week ago and thank goodness nobody hurt(as far as I know), no power loss considering all the food just packed into the freezer! A magnitude 3.0 earthquake struck today 12.17hrs about 3.1 miles west‑southwest of Irmo/SC according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

Just had another earthquake shook whole house this time in Lexington, South Carolina. We haven’t had one for at least two decades, and now three within the last month,’ one local shared on social media..

After experiencing two of them despite no shaking but the bang sounded like some bomb explosion is more than enough me for! Has this anything to do with the once-in-a-generation Planet Alignment?

https://www.newsweek.com/earthquake-south-carolina-columbia-lexington-sc-today-11588978

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-15596299/south-carolina-earthquake-brevard-fault-today.html

Completed watching The Staircase/8episodes on Netflix, an American biographical crime drama television based on the 2004 true crime. The series stars ColinFirth(one of my favourite actors) as MichaelPeterson, a writer accused&convicted of murdering his wife KathleenPeterson(ToniCollette), who was found dead at the bottom of the staircase in their home. So was it accidental death? or murder?? or is there such a thing as accidental murder??? or am I overthinking – hahaha!

https://www.forbes.com/sites/monicamercuri/2025/12/09/where-is-michael-peterson-now-the-bizarre-true-story-behind-the-staircase/

Fri: in contrast to last overwhelming weekend, the past days gave time for the mind to reflect with hopes to gain more perspectives&wisdom to continue with this wondrous life journey – pix downloaded…

According to my PC which is in SIN-time, it is Fri27Feb2026 despite here being still Thu26Feb2026 and it has been wet wet the past 2days, perfect for cooking and watching movies…

2026 Wedding Weekend

23 Feb 2026 – Pre Wedding Events and Happenings

Fri: TGIF and a good weekend to all. A calm morning with the trees and this lovely GelsemiunSempervirens/CarolinaJasmine before guests from out of state to arr for the pre-wedding events and the wedding.

In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they’re still beautiful — Alice Walker.

Thrilled to see #3John’s new car and what a car – DodgeCharger and such a nice green colour.

A beautiful day to be@Clearwater/LakeMurrayShelterCove – blessed with serenity to be with the family enjoying our peaceful moments with the birds in nature all to ourselves.

Appreciations with tkx to Stephaine&Jason for hosting last night’s welcome-kick-off to the wedding@Aloft,Columbia/SC.

Delighted that cousins Alfred&Linda+Irene from CA/USA are here, the Jensens from MD&DC+the bride-to-be’s family&friends and a pleasure to meet with the groom-to-be’s family&friends.

Sat: thank you to Stephaine&Jason so much for the wonderful RehearsalDinner@CarolinaRoom/CapstoneHouse. The last time at this location was 2014/12yrs ago to celebrate Linn’s 40th-Bday. Amazing view where #3John could point out where all his lectures are held.

The bride&groom-to-be enjoying their meals and their last day being singles with her newly bridal manicure nails, a wedding gift to her and her bridal party from her mother.

Many entertaining speeches+slide show including short&sweet speeches from Linn,#2Ellie,#3John,#4Sophie(unable to capture her pix).

Yummy Southern food and first time tasting BeefBrisket. Poor #5James was under the weather and did not tempt fate to give him a hug  when the immune system is not at its strongest!

It meant so much to share this special evening with with kindness&thoughtfulness making an it a memorable night, and we feel so blessed that #1Katy will be joining with such a loving family.

Sun: tkx to Cindy for hosting this delicious brunch at her house – #6 was pleased to see a MO/MissouriCarLicense plate and I happy to discover that you can order these mini-bite-size sandwiches.

Kat&#6@CapitalClimbing@Cayce/SC – fun to wtach them climbing like monkeys…

Sun: The Grove On Augusta,Gilbert/SC – perfect venue with Southern charm&rustic elegance ambiance for this beautiful young couple. Somebody has a good sense of humour  about 1897 – hahaha.

Is it okay to post wedding photos on social media? Yes, but we ask that guests wait until the couple posts wedding photos before sharing to social media. As per request from the wedding couple, a special post just on the wedding will be posted later.

https://www.theknot.com/us/katy-hall-and-jack-wegmet-feb-2026/q-a

Mon: guests from CA,DC,FL,MD,NY/USA & Norway all heading back and hopefully Kat will find a way to get back to NY with all the cancelled&delayed flights due to heavy winds&snow happening now. Tkx to cousins Linda&Alfred+Irene/CA for lunch@RoxannesMarket and Kat/NY for dinner@Bonefish – hope that she can get on her way home tomorrow. Appreciations with tkx to family&friends for taking time to be here to share&celebrate 1st Grandchild&daugher #1Katy&Jack’s wedding – a very specia&unforgetable event in this life journey.

Welcome to the 2026/Year of the Fire-Horse

19 Feb 2026 – 恭喜發財  Kung Hei Fat Choi

Mon: Federal holiday here in USA and the Norwegian family took off to Charleston on this beautiful morning. Tkx to Linn, got my Walmart shopping more or less done and the CNY platter with a red flowering plant/PersianCyclamen ready for tomorrow. Could not resist these mini Daffodil&Hyacinth.

Should be more or less ready for tomorrow 1stCNYday – bag of chips from Dublin-student-days also here for whoever wants to play BlackJack,Poker, etc

Tue: Happy Chinese/LunarNewYear – welcome to the Year of the Fire-Horse and these are the Cantonese phrases heard&taught to say thru’out growing up days:
恭喜發財  – Kung Hei Fat Choi – Wishing you Wealth&Prosperity
身體健康 Sun Tai Gin Hong – Good Health
出入平安 Chut Yup Ping On – Peace&Safe Wherever You May Be
大吉大利 Dai Gut Dai Lei – Good Luck&May Things Go Smoothly
年年有餘 Nin Nin Yau Yu – Surplus Year After Year

Its also FatTuesday/MardiGras, the final day of feasting&celebration before the Christian season of Lent begins.

Family dinner@LunaKitchen for the LunaNewYear – delighted that the owners are Cantonese, again too busy eating to remember pix. The last time we were all together was 2014 -12yrs ago to celebrate Linn’s 40th then! Tonight is for teaching the bride-to-be and her bridemaids Chinese/RussianPoker.

Wed: in 7thHeaven with my whole Norway&USA flock together – enjoying every moment&cheering on TeamNorway that continues to separate itself from the pack at the top of the medal count after Day11 of 2026WinterOlympic competition. JohannesHoesfloKlaebo, the Olympic history maker is the first athlete in WinterOlympics history to win TEN gold medals – Heia Norge!

Appreciations to Christy&Todd for hosting this homemade delicious dinner at their place and special thanks to Erin for the wedding cookie. So nice to meet with Linn’s running friends and their family. What a lovely group of ppl and grateful that she has this group of friends to give her some moral support which is an important force that can help to uplift&empower individuals, especially during challenging times. All the support from all my families, all my friends over the years  have been appreciated. Maturity is learning to walk away from people&situation that threaten your peace of mind, self respect, values, morals and self worth.

Good moral character is not something that we can achieve on our own. We need a culture that supports the conditions under which self-love and friendship flourish — Aristotle

Thu: getting outfits ready for pre-wedding events and wedding while the Norwegian family is out. Also preparing the condo for more guests arriving tomorrow. So proud of #3John who has worked&saved to buy this car, congratulations on his first car – looking forward for him to giving me a ride.

Hello USA 2026

15 Feb 2026 – Cook & Share A Pot of Curry

Thu: dark&early on the road with beautiful light as we headed to the airport. Thank goodness with time to spare to discover that my flight was not the same flight as the rest of the family and was seated where boarding at the rear end out in the open was a short cold experience on a short ~1hr flight from OSL-CPH.

No worries as we caught up and had time in Carl’s@CPH-airport for brunch/the Danes are good with their Smørrebrød=open-face-sandwich before boarding to ATL.

Another lucky flight with 3seats to stretch out for myself with amazing views on the screen over Greenland – decent chicken dinner with plenty of food, watched 2movies but do not remember what they were about.

Smooth ~10rs flight arriving into ATL on schedule with not too long lines at immigration(one of the shortest time spent in US immigration ever!). Took ~30mins for the schuttle to get to the ThriftyCareRental and there ~another hour with some confusion to get the car.

Fri: tkx to M&B for driving safe from ATL/GA-SC ~3+hrs drive despite getting stop by the HighwayPetrol for being in a turn lane and not turning. Got to YachtCove past mid-night and we were all ready to crashed. TGIF on this first Fri13 for 2026 – up early ready to do errands starting with the most important one, Bank of A to discover that the LakeMurray branch has been closed for the past year and had to go to HarbisonBlvd for the nearest branch. Brunch@Chick-fil-a which was conveniently located across the road from the bank and shopping@TJ-Maxx while the guys took a drive to LakeMurray by the dam for bird-watching.

Frightening biggest bang ever hear after an early dinner while we were discussing about Katy’s accidents. USGS reports a 2.8 magnitude earthquake about 3miles WSW of Irmo,SC happened around 18:43hrs. Thank goodness, no injuries or damages. Here at YachtCove by HollywoodPoint near the junction of River/N-LakeRd POPsMart#612 is where we are located and where the center of the BigBang.

Sat: early Publix morning grocery for Valentine’s+ReunionCurryDinner – too busy for group pix but a fun time was had by family&friends who also shared a pot of curry here in 2019.

https://amylamsg.com/2019/10/13/cook-and-share-a-pot-of-curry-2019/

Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead – OscarWilde

Sun: the man who rewrites history -the greatest cross-country skier of all time. JohannesKlaebo Norwegian cross-country skier became the first Winter Olympian to win 9gold medals when he led home his country’s 4×7.5 kilometre relay team today. What an achievement.

Wet day but no worries when driven everywhere – another TJ-Maxx shopping and this time in Lexington. Tex-Mex-Lunch@Moe’s with more than enough food to take away for dinner. Could not resist dessert@ColdStone/Coffee+DarkChocolate was yummy.

CNY goodies are ready for Chinere/RussianPokerNight with the #3,5,6.

Winter Olympics 2026

11 Feb 2026 – Repacking For USA

Sun: quiet morning to get my thoughts together while family is out skiing. 2022WinterOlympics with Norway topping the medals with 16/Gold, 8/Silver, 13/Bronze – 37total. Norway never fail to amaze&impress me with their winter sports, especially when their pop ~5+mil, like SIN&SC/USA, places where I visit and stay for longer periods. Having lived in Norway for over a decade, do feel their connection with winter and the snow. #6 (now 14) who is born&bred here was probably given his 1st pair of ski when he started to walk!

2026WinterOlympics currently happening in Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo/Italy between 6-22Feb. Since the first WinterOlympics/1924 and as of 6Feb2026, Norway total medals 405: 148Gold, 134Silver, 123Bronze – official data InternationalOlympicCommittee/IOC. Pix downloaded.

Norway’s medals count for today is 6 and its only the 3rdDay today, still as amazing&impressive. Even Ginny is ready for her Sunday’s outing to pull one of the family on ski but it will be tempting fate if this grandmother here ski at this stage in life, especially not having lived here since 1985!

Skiing is the ultimate escape. You’re out in nature, and you’re free – Bode Miller

Skiing days are a past activity for me! Pix from 1960s-1970s,Skittenelve,Troms and 1980s-Kolsåstoppen,Bærum/Norway as a reminder – been there, done that and have enjoyed it thoroughly while it lasted. Looks like equipments&clothing have come a long way compared to what it was…

Mon: tkx to Mette for catching up with a cuppa – convenient with Eckers directly next door to the neighbourhood KIWI grocery just 5mins walk/in the summer and 10mins now in these condition. A chicken salad lunch+coffeeNOK200+/S$27+. Congratulations to Tage/Mette’s son who recently married his 28yrs cohab-partner.

Really 75% off – cruising days are also over, hopefully Mette can use it(with applicable T&C). The last time on a ship with her was on StenaLine in Aug2011. Not sure why ColorLine is offering this to me?? https://amylamsg.com/2011/08/26/frederikshavn/

Tue: beautiful day for a short walk around the neighbourhood, last time here in the winter was 9yrs ago and could not really walk after the heart ablation procedure but have walked around here many times during summers.

Road names like Eventyrveien=FairyTaleRd and BukkenBrusesVei/NorwegianFairyTale do add character to the hood.

Still one of my favourite houses in the hood, especailly with this location not too near the road and still easy access to the bustop on Sognsveien/JohnCollettePlass. The old telephone booth is still there as a mini library.

Food shopping to fit into the suitcase for USA except for the Fisksuppe+Fisk which are for tomorrow’s dinner. #6 homemade NaanBread for his HomeEd homework will hit the spot with the soup.

Wed: this country is certainly geared&ready for these winter conditions, early morning road clearing –  tkx Ingrid for taking time to  catch up@Eckers.

Neighbour’s backyard under construction for a new house to be build, glad to be flying off tomorrow but will probably be hearing construction noise upon returning in Mar! But for now to pack and anything for distraction. This lovely bonquet of Astronomia, with the buds finally fully open to wish us a safe journey ahead tomorrow – tkx for its cheeerful company the past few days.

To me, the most worrisome part of traveling comes before any of the traveling actually occurs: the suitcase-packing process. It’s a challenging and anxiety-filled process – I am caught between wanting my suitcase to be light and worrying I am going to need every single item in my bedroom – Laura Marano

 

Hello Norway 2026

7 Feb 2026 – HEL-OSL

Wed: perfect flight having a row to myself despite of a nearly full plane, first time not watching any moveis on a long-distance flight but slept since lying down was possible and timing was about the time normally in bed. Arr into HEL with a beautiful full moon slightly earlier than scheduled.

Thought with nearly 2hrs there should be no problems for the connecting flight to OSL but lo&behold it was not the case. Looked like groups&ppl from the PRC had Auroras in mind and HEL-immigration being so undermanned got me running for my connection to just make it in time. Heart was pounding like it was pouncing out the rib-cage when finally on board, thank goodness could still breath despite of issues with asthma. Obviously this airport is not equipped to deal with such crowds but the airlines,immigration&airport need to communicate&coordinate better to prevent a situation like this.

Arr on schedule safe&sound into OSL despite being warned that there might be some technical problems after boarding, like it was not enough of a nightmare nearly missing the flight! Nice to be met, especially with more luggage than usual and thankful that the box came thru’ OK. Calamansi plant indoor like me enjoyed the warm cozy fire while watching the light snow flurries floating peacefully down – needed this after a literally HEL-immigration, even the tiniest snowflake makes the world more beautiful.

Thu: a decent night sleep and time to venture out for groceries. Beautiful morning light but have not walked in these conditions since 9yrs ago. Talking it slowly at the pace of a sloth to the annoyance of everyone who overtook me – hahaha. Welcome back to Norway and to Norwegian prices NOK500/S$63 got me these. Made 2 meals from yesterday’s leftovers ChickenCasseroleChickenFriedRice & ChickenPotatoeSalad, like cooking for the family, they are so appreciatative&grateful.

It’s not leftovers that are wasteful, but those who either don’t know what to do with them or cna’t be bothered – Baggini

Fri: -9°C cloudy with some winds, do not mind the cold, but not a fan of the wind in these kind of temp. No intentions of going out except to the mailbox and as it is, takes me ~10mins to get all the layers on. Such serenity to be able to stay indoors reading amongst these luscious plants against the snow white background outside.

And in good company with these quiet feather&Lego friends – hahaha!

Sat: shopping@Ullevaal Stadion at my favourite bakery for my favourite Norwegian baked goods@BakerHanson for 2Napoleonskaker/NOK100/S$13, 2Skoleboller/NOK74/S$9.70, 5KranskekakerRinger/NOK140/S$18.37 total: NOK313/S$41. 

Seafoods&snacks@RemaNOK559.69/S$73.50, NormalNOK199/S$26.11, MesterGrønnNOK140/S$18.37 for a bonquet of  Astronomia.

Packed&Ready For Norway&USA

3 Feb 2026 – Hello February

Sun: Happy Thaipusam to those marking the day, a festival dedicated to HinduGod SriMurugan. Here it is one of the most significant Hindu observances, drawing thousands of devotees who walk the procession route from SriSrinivasaPerumalTemple/SSPT to Sri ThendayuthapaniTemple/STT@LittleIndia of course will not be found alive there, hahaha – pix downloaded. https://thaipusam.sg/

Hopefully this will give ppl the incentive to recycle, even my youngest grandson has been doing this to earn his weekend goodies since he could count and now he is 14 and still recycling. 2022 posting below and now finally in 2026, 4yrs later it will be a reality here in SIN as I head back to Norway to check if it is still the same as it was when last there = pix downloaded.

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/public-can-use-ez-link-card-to-get-10-cent-refund-when-recycling-drink-bottles-cans-from-april

Above posting from Apr2022 with informative info from today’s ST – even #6 in Norway has been collecting recyclable bottles&cans to trade in for his Sat-goodies since he could count! Good to know how to save with all these prices going up. Recycled beer cans save enough electricity to run a television for 3hrs according to DenisHayes. Note that being able to choose if I want to keep, donate or put in the value for some draw. Not sure how those new machines work nowdays?? Have not been back to Norway for 3yrs and alot of things can change!!

There is no such thing as ‘away’. When we throw anything away it must go somewhere – Leonard

Water activities, including swimming and kayaking, were halted at Sentosa’s Siloso,Palawan&Tanjong beaches, a day after a crocodile was spotted in the waters off SentosaCove yesterday evening.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/crocodile-sentosa-beaches-siloso-palawan-tanjong-search-5898686

Gold 財神 Caishen=God of Wealth ready to tell your fortune at the jct MC/MP-Rd. Decent HokkienMeeS$6.80 dinner @ChangChengMeeWah,MT-Blk59.

Red 財神 by MT-MRT-sta/Exit1 where the overall fortune is highly favourable, relationship is favourable, particularly attracting the attention of the opposite sex – hahaha!

Mon: BombCyclone wreaks carnage across SE of USA with worst blizzards in decades – concerns about the roads’ conditions for everyone there and feeling for the farmers in these affected areas. Frozen blueberry plants in Clermont/FL – do feel for their agriculture producers as these kind of produce do not take the freeze well and will be ruined – pix downloaded.  Memories when there was a severe freeze when living in Casselberry,FL and the citrus farms suffered a great loss.

https://edition.cnn.com/weather/live-news/winter-storm-bomb-cyclone-snow-east-coast-01-31-26-climate

Want not waste not, cooking up garlic,onion,scallion broth ready for the freezer and items to be pack…

Delivery of MaruMaru PineappleTarts – each piece is individually packed handcrafted with home-cooked pineapple jam, 2boxes/24pcsS$90 including delivery – pix downloaded. Have been getting these for the past few years, nice presentation and decent taste, best that they will travel well when individually sealed&wrapped – pix downloaded.

LuckyPlaza to pick up dress repairs that was not within my skill to fix.  Worn this for TraceeWorel/Craft wedding in FL/USA many moons ago. Tkx Clement for fresh CoconutWater, nice to hear about his recent HKG&China trip.

IMG_0237

LaSportiva/Gore-Tex (Italian) with the FrixionAT SoleSystemS$280 from Jul2016 new then from CampersC, now 10yrs later still good&ready for another trip. Usual footwear Chaco open-toes-sandels but now heading to weathers where toes will be frozened if not covered.

Tue: FinnAir from SIN(T1)-HEL/13+hrs with 1+hr transit in HELOSL/1+hr –  no direct flights from SIN-OSL, over the years of experience, the preference is changing in HEL/Finland, a smaller and less hectic airport compared to all the others – pix downloaded.

Edited: drama during check-in – had already paid extra S$170 for this old SIN-Post-Box packed with CNY goodies to be checked in and on one-side of the box it was printed that certain items could not be in this box with illustrations and due to that FinnAir could not accept it. Bought some tape to cover the illustrations, but still not acceptable. Eventually thankful that they helped with their strong self-adhesive FinnAir baggage tags and hoping for the best.

This horse is ready to gallop away from SIN for the next 3months and what an interesting&unusual horse when under the influence of alcohol – hahaha.

Feb Bdays+other dates:

2 – Happy Bdays Cathrine
4 – Happy Bday Kurt and Lawrence who would have been 92
6 – Happy Bdays Lettyand MariaTorres
10 – Happy Bday MeiYEO
12 – Happy Bday SK
14 – ♥ ♥ ♥Happy Valentine’s Day♥ ♥ ♥
15 – Happy Bday Guri
16 – Happy Bday Mike/LOON
17 – Welcome The Year of the Horse/2026
20 – Happy Bdays YatSoon, Jay and Henry
22 – Katy&Jack’s Wedding
24 – Happy Bdays Bjørn and CalvinT
27 – Happy Bday Cleo