Fruity Keiko Oslo is in full swing!

Finally at long last i have a moment to write about our latest endevour. Fruity Keiko has it's latest incarnation at Riddervolds Plass in Oslo. We are in a great neighbour hood and we have nice and well established neighbours!
We opened our doors officially on the 19th of November and have been going strong ever since. I have been getting great feedback on all of the colorful things in the shop and how fun it is to have something "different" in this area of town.
Lots of times here in Oslo things get broken up into "areas". The ethnick area, the funky area etc... maybe that is the way of bigger cities in general. But anyway we have bucked the trend and people seem to like it. But then i have said many times if you can't get people to come into your shop at Christmas time you are doing something wrong. So i guess we are on the right foot here at the beginning at least.
We had a fun party on the opening! Lots of folks showed up to have Pink Punch and tost the night away. It was great and a good luck start for Ms Keiko.
It has been super cold lately, as in 10 degrees f. I desperatly need another heater in the shop. For the moment i am so swathed in sweathers that i can hardly move! But hey, I'm warm! I was having visions of putting in a fireplace in the cellar and just sticking to it like glue till sping. But i don't actually think that is an option!
I meet lots of nice people everyday who are willing to converse with me in some seriously funny Norwegian (mine!) Tusen Takk! The only thing that is missing is all of our wonderful friends from the Hotel in Troncones!

The Container has arrived in Oslo!!

On Thursday our container arrived from Mexico: Yea!! We have been waiting for it for the last two months. It has been delayed several times along the way and we have had a huge, sometimes painful, always patience-taxing, learning experience.

But, in the end, good things do indeed come to those who wait!

The truck arrived in the afternoon with a light dusting of snow swirling down. As the now somewhat rusted seal came off the container and we gazed at its long awaited contents, we were actually a bit amazed at how many boxes there were! We knew there were 112 of them, but . . . !?

By the end of the afternoon, we had moved each one of those boxes many, many times. We unloaded the truck about 100 meters away from the shop on the other side of the street. It added another "leg" to the unloading, but it was by far the best place for the truck to stop space-wise. Once the truck was unloaded, we then "two-wheeled" the boxes over to the front of the shop.

Once there, we had to get them through the surprisingly narrow-seeming front door and up the 2 inside steps into the shop proper. From there, they had to be carried down a long-ish flight of stairs, across a small tri-level area, and through another doorway into the storage room. There were only 3 crates we couldn't physically fit into the shop. We took those apart outside on the sidewalk and carried the merchandise inside by hand. The crates were rather full of styrofoam peanuts though and with a stiff wind blowing, we had a fair amount of cleanup to do all down the street.

We hired two men to help with the unloading & moving. We called a telephone number on your basic streetlight posted moving service flyer and were very happy with the worker's performance. Jim referred to them as our "Eritreans", but we don't actually know where they were from. Only one of them spoke some Norwegian and we never stopped moving long enough to cover our personal histories! Our moving guys needed to break to pray at one point. They did their ritual ablutions at the sink in the back and prayed right in the front of the shop. Jim really wanted a picture of that for the blog, but, you know, we agreed that should remain their private business.

It was a fair amount of toting all told, but from start to finish we got everything into the shop and almost all of it into the downstairs store room in just 3 1/2 hours flat. The 3 hours of wages for the workers only set us back about $350.00 (!). Eva (my mom) & I worked on unpacking on Friday and Jim & I did more unpacking and cleaning up packing materials (35 large black plastic trash bags full of balled up &/or shredded newspaper alone?!) on Saturday. When we left the shop last night there were just 5 more boxes to open! We hope that we may be able to start on displays by Thursday.

There's rather a lot of final & touch up painting & cleaning that needs to be done now though, so we will see, never-the-less we will be working to make it happen.

Fruity Keiko Oslo here we come!!

We are open for the season!!

Hello Everybody! Eden is open again for the season! All of the Eden team have worked their harts out to get it together in the most beautiful way. Special thanks to the ever wonderful and hardest working guy, Pedro!! Thank you Pedro!! Then to all the "Ladies" Suzy, Vicky and Maria, Thank you! An none of this would gel if it weren't for our fantastic Management team Eva Sedlak, Mariana & Alejandro! Yeah!!
We started off the season with Jennifer Etners wedding party. Mariana co-ordunated the wedding and apparently it was wonderful in everyway! (waiting for photos!) The shop has come together as well after a whirl-wind week of shop preperations from Sherry and Iris. Christian and his team have got the restaurant in top knotch shape (one week early no less!!). Chocolate sprinkle cake anyone!
Yesterday Mariana and the Ladies put together the day of the dead altar. It is deffinatelly the best alter that we have ever done. Thank you to the creative force of Mariana, and the nimble fingers of Suzy, Vick and Maria. It looks marvelous. A couple of sad additions to the alter are our much loved and missed Chef, Duane Mae, and former nanny and "Lady"herself, Berenice, both who passed away in May this year. Duane and Berry i hope you see the lights we have lit for you.

Sweet warmth!

Today october 9th we lit the fire place (or is it a stove?). Now that i have done my research. We have a Jotun stove here in Oslo. It is from the first stove company to make stoves in Norway, starting back in the 1830's. It's super efficient, apparently. We heated the living room and kitchen for two hours with only 13 Kroner. Not bad. We can also make tea on top of it, dry our clothes by it and use it for getting rid of documents. I love it, multi functional! Apparently it is also easy in Oslo to get free wood from green grocers that get lots of extra crates and the like that they need to get rid of. What more do you want?!

Super Belated Birthday!!

Here was Jim, Evita, Eva and Elodies birthday. With a larger than life cream cake with a marzipan topping and fruit filling. Wow! It was awsome!! Of course the flaming candels pretty much took it...the cake that is!

Evita starts Ballet

Who can resist 4 year old ballerinas? They are sooooo cute! This is Evita's new dance class. They have a lovely teacher and lots of enthusiasm. We go once a week and it is definitely the best deal in town. Yeah!

Shopping in Tlaquepaque....

OK, so we have been back for a while now!! Sorry for the tardy blogging. I have started school here in Oslo and it kind of got me out of my game for a bit....so let me get back on track....
We had a great shopping trip in Tlaquepaque. (and we Shopped with a Mexican Queen too, other wise known as Diana Patino our general manager, doesn't she look great!!) We were also lucky enough to have with us my Mom who flew down from Tennessee and Mariana Sales the manager of Eden while we are here in Norway. Who could ask for a better group!?

Our motto for the trip was "out with the old, in with the new" we jettisoned some of our old maybe a little bit tired lines and were excited to find some new and exciting things. A beautiful line of leather bracelets, a new funky line of coin purses made out of hot pink and gold vinyl. (yes very cool) and some lovely new wrought iron, and painted tin (see last photo). Also some of our mainstays have added new and fun designs. Yay! I felt like the market was better than ever. More people better organized and generally well put together.

On the last day, My mom and i went back to Mexico city were we shopped at the local markets and Mariana and Diana went on to Tonala and found even more beautiful additions.

The orders started coming in last week, so if you are in Zihua come on in and see what we have that is fresh and Fruity Keiko!

Til Leie!

So, it seems like this is it! We're very excited!! After a couple of months of looking for shop spaces, we are going to rent the very first place we saw! Typical.

Renting (or "almost renting" as I have not yet actually signed the contract!) has been a funny experience. First of all, everybody, and I mean everybody, was on vacation for the entire months of June & July. I received neither return emails nor phone calls from any of the places that I was interested in: zero. Then, lo & behold, on the first Monday in August there was a flood of responses. Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of vacations & vacationing, but jeeze we're talking a looong time for whole real estate offices to just disappear from the radar. Anyway . . .

Jim & I saw this place way back in June. It is on the number 19 tram line that we ride a lot. The tram goes from the corner of our street to the other side of town. Along the way it passes all manner of interesting places we like to visit. We noticed the shop because, as the tram enters Riddervolds platz, there is a gradual bend in the tracks that momentarily puts tram passengers on a collision course with our shop to be! One moment you're sitting, tooling along on the tram, and the next, up pops the shop! And that's when it's empty: just imagine when it is full of georgous gifts from Mexico! But for me the "Til Leie" sign was just as interesting. For Rent!

We went back a few days later and talked to the next door neighbours at a nice shop. They stock many lovely things for the urban dweller: all super expensive and cute. It is a popular store. (yea!) The shop employee was very positive and said that we could talk to the owners once they got back from vacation. Luckily it was the first place we saw because in between that day and the day that the owners got back, I managed to see every (other) available space in Oslo under 50 sq meters. Whew!


After 3 weeks of no word, Jim and I had grudgingly concluded that the owners of the shop space were just trying to get rid of us but didn't know tell us "please go away now!". So, as we thought of the shop on Riddervolds Plass as "gone", I found another place that was much cheaper (although not nearly as well situated). We were considering this new spot when . . . the e-mail came!

Our Shabby contacts been on vacation, but now they were back & all looked good. They said they would propose me to the owner of the building as the new tenant. That was the 29th of July and I have been waiting for the contract since then! Jim is wondering how to say "poco a poco" in Norwegian!!

But things seem to be progressing nicely now. We love the space. it is tiny but beautiful! One day I might even be able to post pictures of the inside!!

First Central Jam-e Mosque

Sure a mosque in Oslo seems somewhat incongruent, but there it is! There are about 5 mosques of note in the city this is the second largest one. It was finished in 1995. The color in the photo isn't that great, it is incredibly bright blue. The tile is from Iran and spain and it is really something. Apparently the inside can hold 1500 members. Supposedly they have the call from the mineret on Fridays. But we have not heard it so far. The mosque is about a 10 minute walk from our house, on a small unassuming side street.

Fretex

Fretex is the name for the Salvation Army in Norwegian and it is big here! Fretex is the place where Ikea becomes even more affordable and those old dishes from Grama's house (my grandma anyway) are a dime a dozen. OK not exactly a dime, actaully maybe about 10 bucks, but better than regular price!

Everyone in Norway shops at Fretex at one time or another. And you can see why, a fleece jacket at the local sporting goods store will set you back 150$, where one at Fretex will be maybe 20$.

Every neighborhood has it's local Fretex branch. This one is the mothership. It is outside of town a bit. We had to take a bus, but this is where all the stuff comes for distribution and sorting. It is huge, three stories, lots of furniture and big stuff. (in fact i think that i saw my Grandmothers entire living room set) We had fun, the kids got rubber boots and Evita even got rubber pants (apparently de rigur at the kidergarden!!)

Zihua Fruity Keiko is open again!!

Come one come all, the Fruity Keiko Store in Zihuatanejo is open! All of our wonderful staff from last year are still here! Diana, Rossy, and Sandra are there to give you a smile and make your day. We have lots of new stuff, many new lines of jewlery, new ceramic and glass, a whole new line form Cinta and more!

Coming to you from.....

http://maps.google.com/maps?t=h&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=59.908878,10.768174&spn=0.000264,0.000823&z=19

Norway is a funny place!

Viegland Park

The Viegland Sculpture park is one of Oslo's biggest attractions. We had a perfect day to go there, in fact we were chasing the shade around. The park has 212 sculptures by Gustave Vigeland, made between the 19 teens and the 1930's. I have heard that he was a fachist etc... but i get a general good feeling from the statues. The human condition that binds us is the major theme.

Here is a blurb from Wiki about the Monotith. (last photo) It is awsome!!

At the highest point in the park lies the park's most popular attraction, The Monolith (Monolitten). Construction of the massive monument began in 1924 when Gustav Vigeland himself modeled it out of clay in his studio in Frogner.

The design process took him ten months, and it is speculated that Vigeland had the help of a few sketches drafted in 1919. The model was then cast in plaster. In the autumn of 1927 a block of granite weighing several hundred tons was delivered to the park from a stone quarry in Halden.

It was erected a year later and a wooden shed was built around it to keep out the elements. Vigeland’s plaster design was set up next to it to give reference to its sculptors. Transferring of the figures began in 1929 and took 3 stone carvers 14 years to accomplish.

On the Christmas of 1944 the public was allowed to admire The Monolith and 180,000 people crowded the wooden shed to get a close look at the creation. The shed was demolished shortly thereafter. The Monolith towers 14.12 meters (46.32 ft) high and is comprised of 121 human figures rising towards the sky. This is meant to represent man’s desire to become closer with the spiritual and divine. It portrays a feeling of togetherness as the human figures embrace one another as they are carried toward salvation.

Loved.

Nettles!!

Well i know alot more about stinging nettles now! First of all they hurt like the dickens! And funnily enough they are very common in urban areas. Hidden dangers of city life! Go figure. We were on our way up to the sports center to see about Tae Kwon Do classes for August and we took a little short cut through the grass. MISTAKE! In this photo Evita is recouperated but she was stung all over her leggs. August and me too. He was a trouper. We take the path now.

More airline deals!!

http://travel.latimes.com/daily-deal-blog/index.php/two-day-sale-on-mexi-4641/

Now is the time to book, if you’re seriously contemplating a Mexico beach vacation sometime this summer or fall. Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air have announced a two-day sale, which began this morning, on the eight destinations that they serve in Mexico: Cancun, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, La Paz, Loreto, Los Cabos, Manzanillo, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta.
Deal: Book a flight online to one of these spots, and you’ll get 25% off.
Tested: Starting via the sale page, I found round-trip flights from Los Angeles (LAX) to Puerto Vallarta (PVR) in late June, traveling both ways on Tuesdays, for $264, including taxes and fees. This represents a $53 discount on the base airfare.
I checked the same flights on CheapTickets.com and the total there amounted to $317 — or, $53 more than the sale fare I could snap up booking directly with the airline.
When: This is valid for travel through Oct. 31. You have until midnight Tuesday, June 16, to purchase.
Caveat: Among the fine print: “One discount is allowed per reservation for up to seven people traveling together in the same reservation.”
Baggage note: You have until July 6 to get one bag checked free of charge. After that date, $15 will be charged for your first checked bag, $25 for your second.
Contact: Alaska Airlines / Horizon Air
- Susan Derby, Special to The Times

Some airline deals!!??

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/travel/2009-07-07-airline-cheap-fares_N.htm

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssIndustryMaterialsUtilitiesNews/idUSN0734299620090707

Ekebergrestauranten

A couple of days ago we took a small forest path at the edge of our neighbour hood up the side of the mountain. After only about 15 minutes of upish walking we were at the top. There we found the Ekeberg Restaruant, a deco building that has been recently restored. It was lovely! In fact we were so inspired that we splurged for a beer, while enjoying the view of the city. (and the opera house).

Here is a link showing the restaurant, (yeah, i forgot to take photos of it, how lame!) We didn't get to see the inside as only the patio is open in the daytime.

http://www.dehistoriske.com/restaurant/ekebergrestauranten/