marley and me

I don’t tear easily, but something about the tale this book told and the simple but honest language really did it for me. Of course, being an animal lover doesn’t hurt. But the last time I looked, even Little Climber (who isn’t particularly keen on dogs at best, and was horrified when Large Climber petted some local pigs at the weekend) was completely engrossed.

A light read but no less a loving tribute to the world’s worst dog, and its family. Go to the official Marley page to see more pics of the dog himself and to read an excerpt. If you’ve ever loved a furry friend yourself, this book will surely make you smile.

the happy painter

Over the last week, we’ve been experiencing a third blast of proper heat this summer. By the time Mr. Snow and the Climbers got down off the glaciers and back to me in the South, the sun had been blazing all week. I took the bus out of town where the rest picked me up on a lonely highway, and off we sped for our climbing weekend in Telemark.

A couple of map-reading errors later, we passed through Brevik, with its narrow winding roads and a very pretty little harbour of the type I didn’t even know existed in Norway. And just before we ended up in the sea, we arrived in Langesund where we met up with the Happy Painters for dinner, while Kurt serenaded us!

The Painters were also kind enough to loan us their garden to camp and the guest room for the night, despite the serious home decorating efforts that were taking place. You see one of the Painters above, and the view from their deck below. Not a bad place for evening coffee, or breakfast the next morning. Any of you who are jealous of the house or the view (you know who you are), I’m sorry to say it looks even better in real life. I think we’ll be inviting ourselves back more often!

Coming up next: the rest of the weekend report, including meeting some grunty locals, climbing some hot rocks and swimming in a cool lake. I’m off to picnic by the sea for now!