Because I am worth it?

On danish TV they keep showing a commercial for l'Oreal wrinkle-cream!

There is this american actor - Andie McDowell - with a slightly stiff facial expression (due to something other than l'Oreal cream, I believe) who is talking about "You know, these lines, that you can actually feel!" while touching her own forehead with her fingers.

Oh the horror!! Wrinkles that you can feel with your fingers! Well, that IS the end of life as you know it, that is obvious.

I checked, and I definately felt something on my own forehead, and around my eyes.

Still, the earth didn't tremble underneath me, as if it might open and swallow my poor, middle aged, wrinkled self. But on the other hand, I make a living from what is inside my head, and not from my outside, my looks ...

...that I actually am quite fond of. Oh well, there is more than miles from Hollywood to Fredericia.

And yes. My face shows that I have done my fair share of smiling and laughing. That kind of behaviour is bound to leave a trace.

So sue me. Not that I'm worth it. :-D

Summer vacation is here!

Today I started my summer holiday!

For the next three weeks, I will not be found at Bankdata, my home away from home. (If you are english speaking and press the link to my workplace, just click the little Union Jack on the top right of the page).

Because - my summer holiday is here!

Well, actually I woke up with an awfully full bladder very early this morning, and while visiting the downstairs bathroom, I realized I'd forgotten to write an email this friday, to a costumer that is participating in the project I am currently heading. Making a mental note of it, I went happily back to bed and slept on - but I just had to sign on and WRITE that email to be able to fully enjoy this first real day of my vacation.

The going-downstairs-to-pee-situation actually changed today! Bruno installed the toilet, so now we can both shower and go potty upstairs ... things are really looking up! Tomorrow he plans on installing the mirror light-and-cabinet and the drawer-thingy that will hold the sink, and then - lo and behold! - we will have a fully functional bathroom, only lacking details like paper holder, towel racks etc.

About time - we took down the old bathroom in the beginning of april. But then, we have done all sorts of things up there - changed the tiles, put up new wallpaper, painted, put in a new door, and changed everything from the shower cabin and up.

This is what the functional part looks like right now:

Nice huh??

In case you wonder - and if you can't tell from the pic - we painted the walls grey. It looks good!

A day of sports

Today is a fantastic day - sports-wize.

Probably not to most americans - because even though both pro-cycling and soccer has grown as sports in the last couple of decades, they are still minor sports compared to football and baseball (tiny, almost non-existant sports in a european mind).

But today is not only the World Championship final of the sport we call football (soccer, to americans) - it was also the first real mountain stage of the EPIC cycling event of the year ... the Tour de France.

I have been semi-watching todays mountain stage most of the day, turning on the tv every now and then to check on the event, doing the ironing while watching, and finally sitting down to watch the last 50 km. (oh ... 50 km ... equals in the area of 35 miles, I guess...)

The funny thing about a stage in the TdF is - the main thing is really not who wins the stage, even though it is a big thing. No, the main drama is ... how do the favourites end up? Does Schleck manage to take seconds from Cadel Evans and Contador? Who gets rubber legs and end up losing minutes? Who shows strength, and whose team can hang on to help their captain all the way?

Most danes cheer for Team Saxo Bank. It is a danish cycling team, led by once TdF-winner Bjarne Riis. This year we have no less than 4 danish riders out of 9 on that team - not riding as captains, but still! The captain of the team is a young guy named Andy Schleck. He is a huge talent, and today he actually managed to take seconds from the other favourite, and take the stage win as well!

So I am hopeful - he might yet climb the other favourites into the ground. And he has to do that, because he is bound to lose seconds on the time trial later in the race.

GO ANDY!

As for football, or soccer, if you wish - as a dane, I should cry (Denmark performed miserably and exited early), but as a european, I can snicker in the smuggest way. The final is - of course, I might say - between two european teams, Holland and Spain.

Problem is, I really don't know who to cheer for. They are both great teams playing lovely ball, so it is difficult.

Holland could be my favourite - just because Holland is a country that is very like Denmark. Not very big, quite flat, and with a very liberal and open mentality in a lot of ways. Dutch people are a lot like danish people, I believe.

But Spain ... Spain is kind of close to my heart too! My son loves Spain and all things spanish, and the language is just SO much lovelier than dutch (that actually sounds like a german with a throat disease - sorry, dear dutchies) - it is a gorgeous country with great food ... and the wine ... *sigh*

So I guess it is a tie, and no matter which team wins, I will be happy.

Sunny days

The weather is being quite un-danish at the moment.

Hot days, tropic nights, breakfast in the shade outside, and long, lazy afternoons in the sun in as little clothes as possible.

Watermelon wedges straight from the fridge, ditto white or rosé wine, long evenings spent outside reading or talking.

The sun goes down around 11 at night, and comes back up before 5 in the morning. Blacktops melt and people go for ice cream and lounge at the beach.

I SO love summer, when it goes all south european like this!

I don't moan about it getting too hot, or long for an overcast day or rain.

But then, I have a number of things going for me ...

1. I live in an old house with double walls, that stays fairly cool
2. I work in a nice airconditioned office
3. My garden provides a choise of shade or sun, at any time of the day
4. And I guess I do have this inner latina that just makes me thrive in the heat.

So bring on some more of this tropic summer heat! I can take it!