One aspect I enjoy of living on the coast of Southern Norway is the mild winters we have. Just enough snow and cold to let you know the season is the cold and white one, but for the most part not bad enough for it to become too unpleasant. A few months of -20C, darkness and heaps of snow may have it charms, but the biting cold, the lack of sunlight and the never-ending clearing of snow can be a bit much in the long run. We now seem to have a steady temperature just under the freezing point, an occasional fresh coating of snow to brighten the landscape and the days are getting noticeably longer day by day. Throw some sun and clear blue sky into the mix and it works wonders for my mood and outlook.
So, what’s been up this week? Well, a package arrived from Indigo Village, containing the first of the Norwegian made, mil-spec, deadstock cotton shirts I’ve had dyed in their indigo vats. And pretty cool it is too! Only 6 of them in the first run and after posting a photo on Instagram they’re almost all spoken for. There will be a second run in larger sizes, so if you’re a larger size, drop me a line to express interest and I’ll add you to the list.
And don’t forget, there are still a few of the hand-woven Indigo-dyed scarves available on the For Sale page.
I also took the opportunity of having my haircut taken up another notch last week. It’s such a joy to have found a local barber that fulfils my short list of requirements for cutting my hair:
- Understands what I am after, and can advise and improve upon my ideas
- Has the necessary skills required to implement the desired haircut
- Will not ask about my holiday plans in a bored voice, but can hold an interesting conversation
- Actually appears to enjoy his job
I think most guys can relate to this. How many times have you paid good money for a mediocre “short back and sides”, performed by a bored young girl interrogating you about your holiday plans in a gum-chewing voice? Much better to put some effort into finding a good barber and sticking with him (or her, I make no distinction in this case). If you’re living near Tønsberg, give Thomas the Barber a call and tell him I sent you.
This months variant is apparantly known as a full skinfade pompadour, which sounds very grandiose. The skinfade means the sides and back are almost to the skin though. There’s also a notch cut along the parting to accentuate this and make it easier to find when I’m bleary-eyed and trying to get my hair right at the crack of dawn.
Coming up next week will be part three of the tweed trouser review, essential reading if you have a hankering for wool strides. If you missed the first parts you can find them here and here. I’m also working on some new book reviews and other posts.
Almost 300 posts in and 2 years of running the blog!
The new haircut suits you. If I tried that I’d have no hair left!
Winter here in central Alberta is being a pain! By that I mean it has been to warm. The last week has averaged above 0C which means there’s a lot of water sloshing around. But, since we’re only in the middle of our winter, it will get cold again and freeze all the water solid making walking a dicey proposition at best.
Some months ago I wrote a post comparing winter temperatures in various cities around the world.
http://coldoutside.ca/articles/wintercities.html