Sunday, July 4, 2010

The Countdown Begins

Soon, I will be leaving on a jet plane. No, not to Italy. I'm taking a break from Italy. I've also taken a break from London, another one of the most wonderful place on the planet. It isn't for any protest or political reason. It is just that I really thought that with the recent spate of movies on Italy, a TV series and even TV commercials for tours of Italy, that 1) it was going to be even more crowded than it has been and 2) as I'm not eating bread and pasta (for the most part), I would have no resistance to homemade ravioli, cream-filled cornetti or a host of other Italian food. And, as I have now lost 36 pounds and still have a bit more to go, I don't want to get off track. So, I chose another country. A country not known for its cuisine nor food that I like. Norway. A beautiful country full of fjords. A country obsessed with outdoor sports. So, not only will I be not tempted by food, I will be out and about in the outdoors, hiking, kayaking and glacier walking. An exercise vacation! Oh, and in marked difference to other vacations I have planned, I also have checked out local gyms where I can work out!

I've got my reading material picked out, Kristin Lavransdatter by Nobel Prize winning Norwegian author Sigrid Undset (Tina Nunnally translation) and plan to read a few novels by Karin Fossum before I go. I checked out a couple of Norwegain quilting blogs and stores and have a list of quilt stores in Norway, in case of a rainy day. And, yesterday, I went out and scouted fabric stores in my area (I don't want to buy something there that I could have bought here, although, I'm sure a lot of fabrics there are made in China, with better quality fabrics from Korea and Japan, I'm hoping for a Norwegian design influence). I've always wanted to do a a quilt in browns and I'm thinking that I will do one with medieval influences. So, I can't wait to see the cultural and historical museums in Oslo and Trondheim will have.

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