The new back door is not as charming as the old one but it works and the old one had snow coming in. The new one is a standard “cheap” one though insulated. An ugly design compared to the old one but we are under budget. We had the frontdoor made special but was delivered 180cm high not 190 as ordered. Hopefully we will get a new copy of the frontdoor before christmas.

At this point in time I am actually finished with the windows and two sections on the right side is insulated with supporting structural work. The most demanding work was the masonry not visible. The concrete holding the rock fundament was completely dissolved and all that held the wall together was gravity. I had to do repairs section by section and to tell you the truth I was not sure I could do it but I did:)

 Using a sledgehammer and some aggression 1 meter at a time I removed any loose concrete. Then I pulled out any large rocks that would come loose and remounted them in B30 concrete. It is such a forgiving house to restore:) Anyway the structural integrity of the wall seems ok and it is now draft (uncontrolled) free. Further repairs is necessary, a couple of cracks and aesthetics:) 

They are building a new hospital on the other side of the street. As a beginning they are changing the water delivery and sewage all the way up the street. The old steel pipe at the bottom of the picture might probably be a piece of water line. Sewage to the house is originally ceramic pipes which are prone to infiltration by tree-roots. We changed all the way to the outside (1-2 meters) so there is not many meters left for the new connection.

I’ll be back to my beloved house by the end of October. We are changing the front door (the backdoor is changed:)) and finishing the short wall towards the hospital. 

Today in Oslo I felt for the first time as a proper student. UIO Blindern Campus is extraordinary! Reading facilities are great, lots of large screen computers but I didn’t find the library. Bought half of my curriculum at a ludicrous price but the shopkeeper informed me that those books were especially usefull. The science of society.

In Oslo for my studies in cultural sociology. It might not be a good idea but society wants a Bachelor then perhaps more from me. I got this old drill from my grandfather because he told me it was scary strong and would easily pull your wrist apart if not carefull. Perfect for blending concrete for the weakest wall of the house. A beautifull piece of old machinery that the ancient man probably payed a small fortune for. I`m living in a small bedsit due to ambition that might backfire. I have a fresh new bed though.

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A pile of cut wood. Mostly pieces pulled from the old house. I got a contemporary art feel from the pile. I’m thinking it looks like an installation. I could send it to China and have it cast in bronze:)

My spouse knows her way around a hammer, torque and a paintbrush. Everything bellow was done by her:) The pink post it is due to the limited height of the doorway. We sometimes slam into it on our way to the fridge not visible.    

I am only semi-able to finish work but great at starting out. I’ll be needing a personal assistant before I’m 40. We are planning to finish off the kitchen this Easter doing the ceiling and opening up to the mini-kitchen on the left. I’m posting how it looks right now. Not your streamlined Italian type but it does it’s job and we like it. I like anything with potential more than anything finished anyway. The sun has returned to the valley of shadows but you won’t believe the amount of snow. I’m going out to move some:)

So we have been back in Vesteraalen for almost a month now. Could not resist posting our view from the hotel room. The king was in the palace. It set the atmosphere for our stay. I can’t believe I hadn’t been in Oslo since I left 9 years ago. Completely preoccupied with art and what have you. Oslo was dark and cold yet fun. Besides looking in on the galleries I was looking for a small vacant shop somewhere. I’ve had this dream of starting a very small gallery with a workshop in the backroom. A gallery of drawings. My compact drawings in shelves from floor to ceiling in the front room and a studio in the back where I could draw and put new titles into frames. Maybe at some point when my collection is big enough and I’m a old man with nothing to do but to draw and go on holidays with my famous paintress spouse. 

Not allot going on here at hopplahey.com. I’m rebuilding www.cskagen.no with Wordpress so hopplahey.com is reverting to fun and games or whatever I’m doing at the time. My spouse had a big birthday this weekend so we were so lucky as to get a trip to Oslo. I have not been here for 9 years but I found Oslo much the same:) We’re taking in the galleries to look at potential opportunities here in Oslo. We have so much work in stock and we have to move the work out to collectors somehow. A challenge competing with everything in the market so we have to stay open and positive. Statistics from cskagen.no are looking good so I’ll keep the push going.