We have a plan......

Traditionally friday afternoons should be about a round of golf, a drink in the pub with work colleagues, networking with contacts.......well in fairness  i don't play golf, never drink with the office and networking....well that seems to mostly happen on twitter and Facebook nowadays! ......or there is the blog!

I/we haven't cranked out a blog post for a few months, not because we don't want to, but a tweet or a Facebook share sometimes to reflect what you want to say is just so much easier and quicker! Anyhow, i don't  believe the blog is dead, but Friday afternoons seem a good blog time! which, whilst I mention it, if you love Norwegian things and the joy of Norway then follow the Norway Times blog on here or their twitter/facebook feeds - It's written by a lady called Gill, who I have no idea who she is (hello if you reading this...now that's a test!) , but i do know one thing, is that she pretty much nails some of our own experiences on life in norway!.......so drop in and check it out.

Now, back to the plot......"there is a plot?" I hear you say, there surely is.......

I'm back from a father /son weekend away at the house, where I assumed the role of son for a change, albeit when my dad  accidently left a few things behind at security on the table before heading through the scanner and then apparently got locked in a toilet at the airport on the way home, it felt like I was being the dad again (in an eye rolling way)....... (i know my dad reads this ...so hi dad  and happy fathers day for sunday :) ) .

A photo taken from our trip to the lake at Øyungen

We visited because major works on the house are now pretty much now complete. We have water, drainage, electrics, a new roof, repaired foundations, a bathroom, bedrooms and a kitchen and rather excitingly some new windows! Now these aren't just any old new windows, but beautifully made triple glazed traditional windows made in Røros (from Røros vindu og dører) which were fitted by the gents at Bergstadden Bygg and look fantastic. But more importantly (and don't laugh) .....they actually open! Which is a big thing for our little house which has had sealed windows for who nows how long!

The master bedroom nearing completion;

The conservationist in me was quite against the idea of replacement windows and I have become a bit of geek on window repair and restoration over the last few months, buying a few books, looking at some new tools (always need new tools  for a new job right? or is that just a man thing.....a bit like always needing new shoes........; ) ) I even asked the builder to keep the old windows for when I get time to try and repair the others that are left.......we have 20 windows on our house, so it might be some time! ( albeit one of my favourite houses on the drive from Trondheim to Ålen has about 50 windows on so i'm quite glad i could never afford that house!)

We were also really pleased to be successful with our application to obtain a grant from the Norwegian culture fund for emergency works to repair the large barn. This included roof repairs and removal of the loose foundation stones and propping of the corners, where the large boulders have been removed. It's great that the country is actively seeking to promote the preservation of their built culture and realise it's importance. Our house and the large barn are on the Sefrak register for buildings of historical value, and whilst our little barn isn't, it forms part of the traditional 'Trondelag' layout of the central farm house with 2 barns perpendicular forming an open courtyard.

I'm glad I wasn't on the roof doing the repairs!

So with our efforts at easter and my dads help at the weekend, we now have a master ensuite bedroom almost ready for occupation and possible letting for guests in the future ;) and more excitingly and the reason we haven't blogged or done much else recently since easter, is that we  have pretty much bottomed out the design (and costs) for the conversion of our little barn to a hytte. We are super stoked that this looks like it will get off the ground towards the end of this year and be ready for use in 2017, because it means we then not only have the house for use, but quality accommodation in a fantastic location (on the side of our little bit of mountain) to  rent out for guests in Norway. So hopefully in 2017 will be Vilkommen til Nordic Snø for anyone who wants to experience this place also!  Watch this space............

The little barn in summer & winter;