I know I have written about the selfie stick movement in this blog; not that long ago. But you know it’s bad when other regulars who frequent my cafe come in bitchin’ about how the tourists are ruining it for the locals. Something I have thought for a while now.

I think the biggest problem is that the world is being run over by them. Iceland has reached it’s breaking point as has other countries. Plus, thanks to airplanes and cheap tickets you can trek globally very easily & for cheap. I don’t think the world is that different anymore. You can find fastfood chains everywhere.

I heard a story once of a couple that traveled to Italy & all they ate while there was American fast food chains. Something that appaled me when I heard about it. They claimed that the local food wasn’t safe or was too expensive. Lame. When I was in Australia a few years back I ate kangaroo meat in Alice Springs. I ate like the locals. We found a great cafe that served breakfast that had a great vibe.

I think if you are going to travel this Summer remember that you’re traveling & eat the food from the region you’re in, if you’re not then you should stay home or eat on that ugly cruise ship parked in my small city harbor.

I recently purchased a dress I was super excited about from Patagonia; the design & dress was going to save a part of Hawai’i. Low & behold I ordered a shirt for my husband that fits him just fine. However, after ordering 2 dresses in a size 12 I realized that there was a serious flaw within Patagonia’s quality control, I was retold the measurements for a size 12 & if it had in fact been that it would have fit.

Patagonia is punishing me by telling me they will no longer ship to me internationally when the dress I ordered twice was a size 8 & my own mother couldn’t even fit into it. They had some clever come backs like it runs small, sure it does if you sow in the wrong sizes on the dresses you have.

I am flabbergasted, they are refunding me but won’t accept my orders in the future when I am sure I am not the only woman out there that has the same problem with that dress.

There is a serious problem in the clothing industry when companies won’t accept responsibility for what they manufacture & sell. Which is why I will go back to brick & mortar however it means that I won’t be a conscious consumer which is what I was before,

because it’s hard to do in the land of H&M. I will find something as good but I doubt I will purchase any Patagonia gear in the future even if it is brick & mortar that I am buying it from. The company let me down & that is something I won’t soon forget.

I just came back from the Arctic circle where we celebrated my grandmother’s 100 birthday! I can’t imagine living that long & experiencing everything she has. It was a family celebration & a majority of my family made it there expect a few cousins & distant family. She had gusto this year, celebrating for 2 straight days & her room was filled with flowers & greetings.

I loved being in my grandmother’s house, seeing pictures of my grandfather after he had gone hunting when he was young to the pictures on her wall. She will forever be the matriach of the family & her life & legend will live on way past her years. She traveled to Berlin prior to WWII breaking out & have pictures of Berlin with Hitler’s influence everywhere.

She traveled to the US several times to visit my family & traveled around Norway; she studied to become a teacher after she had, had children. Left my grandfather to fend for himself which he did not like. There is so many stories to tell from my trip but most of all I am proud to be her granddaugher. I ran into several people in the town who asked me when I was moving back home.

I feel lucky & exhausted to have such a great family, I even stayed up past my curfew & came home at 3:30am one night out with the relatives. I hope her legend lives on for 100’s of years. Because that she truly deserves.