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Today is that unique and special day in the year when one day makes a whole year difference; we turn the imaginary page of time tonight and after celebrating it we wake up in a brand New Year. By then, page 2014 of the ‘book of life and the world’ has been completely written, and we have stored all experiences of the past year in it.

The year of 2014 has been a year with many ‘firsts’; I established my own company, saw the Northern Light, made trips to London, Ibiza, Mallorca and Macedonia (though the last one was mainly work related), enjoyed a splendid summer in Norway, Misha turned three and the big little boy now experiences the next phase in kindergarten/pre-school (in the group of 3-6 year old)…it has all in all been a fantastic year, and as always, a continuous process of letting go of past and getting to know the present and future possibilities…highs and lows are all balanced in the end.

It is good to know that all the 2014 experiences are stored in a safe place; in my heart and my memory…I can look back, laugh, cry, read, learn, and all of that without any regrets!

Writing things down and then turning the page of time also means that things can be put to rest…it is a good moment to go on and look forwards towards everything that future offers, 2015 here I am, woohoo!!

Time…it is o-so relative…I wish everyone a splendid life in the Now, filling each moment with unconditional love, sharing it and passing it on…

Rick Pitino: “When you build bridges you can keep crossing them.”

Here is a really useful trick just before the year ends; how to avoid steamy windows! It is a trick that can really come in handy, though there is, in ‘certain’ circumstances, a kind of romance to having your windows steaming up… 🙂

Ernest Hemingway: “When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.”

George Bernard Shaw: “You are going to let the fear of poverty govern your life and your reward will be that you will eat, but you will not live.”

Dame Rose Macaulay: “At the worst, a house unkept cannot be so distressing as a life unlived.”

Sydney Smith: “There is one piece of advice, in a life of study, which I think no one will object to; and that is, every now and then to be completely idle – to do nothing at all.”

Salman Rushdie: “A book is a version of the world. If you do not like it, ignore it; or offer your own version in return.”

Latvian Proverb: “A smiling face is half the meal.”

Merry Xmas everrrrybodyyy ho ho ho! 🙂

Warmth, Light and LOVE to you all you angels out there!

Tonight is Julaften (Christmas Eve), traditionally the biggest event around Christmas for Norwegians (it is bigger than 1st Christmas Day, which traditionally is THE day for the dutch) so we celebrated it Norway-style with Christmas gifts under the tree and a traditional Christmas dinner food (fantastic cod). Ho, ho, ho, the Christmas tree has its lights on, there are a zillion candles in the house which looks like Charles Dickens from the outside and we topped it off with ‘The Sound of Music‘ LoL! 🙂

Wish you all a Lovely Happy Merry Christmas! 🙂

John Wesley: “Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can.”

Jeff Bezos: “A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well.”

Hugh Macleod: “The best way to get approval is not to need it.”

People around the world have the most amazing talents and quite often one finds the best (/most obscure 🙂 ) ones out on the street. In this case, have a listen to ‘a’ glass harpist performing in the streets of Prague, his name is Petr Spatina…I am speechless!

Just in case you think a mere 8 minutes of vibrating glasses is too long for your concentration span, get a grasp of it and watch the shorter 3 minute version below:

🙂

Christopher Reeve: “Either you decide to stay in the shallow end of the pool or you go out in the ocean.”

The magic white stuff has finally fallen, at least some of it; I do expect a LOT more in the coming weeks, but am very happy that Xmas will be white! 🙂 )

Now that the world around me turned from green to white, the Lysdammen lake ‘autumn-style’ header graphic needs go, residing happily in the header graphic hall of fame (aka. archive). Winter wonderland is here, and here to stay…for months to come, yay! 🙂

This picture was taken at the back side of the Lysdammen lake, less than a 5 minute walk from home, a beautiful piece of nature! In order to fit the header graphic width&height, I had to cut some of the magic of the original photo and in order to compensate for that compromise (me not like), I included the original photo at the bottom of this blogpost…ain’t it BE-AU-TI-FUL here? 🙂

And here is the original photo:

 (click to enlarge)

Henry Miller: “Every moment is a golden one for him who has the vision to recognize it as such.”

Lord Chesterfield: “The knowledge of the world is only to be acquired in the world, and not in a closet.”

You know when snow came to town when…you find your colleagues’ shoes piling up in the wardrobe in the office LoL! 🙂 It might make you wonder; what is everyone wearing IN the office…well, that varies; mostly comfy ‘indoor’-shoes, a regular pair of sneakers and well, some are walking around on their socks uhhh 🙂

Actually a pretty smart move when you think of it, and typical for regions that are known for two types of seasons (white, and non-white 🙂 ); you avoid ruining your ‘good’ shoes when coming to the office, and still you don’t have to wear those big and warm boots inside.