School's out! 22 Jun 2012 12:20 PM (12 years ago)

My girl at the Summer Concert.

misty morning 9 Apr 2012 11:54 AM (13 years ago)

visiting with dear friends in the countryside

happy vests 14 Feb 2012 6:27 AM (13 years ago)

some nice and soft alpaca baby vests, in my itty bitty tiny shop.
love, love, love the colours! now all i need is a baby to model them...

green gift 31 Jan 2012 10:55 AM (13 years ago)

not all goals are accomplished in time. this jacket for a 3-year old i know was meant for x-mas, but didn't finnish until yesterday. i'm sure it will be appreciated anyway.

pattern and yarn from Nøstebarn (pattern no 1921, Voksejakke - norwegian only).

a gift 29 Jan 2012 5:49 AM (13 years ago)

you're maybe thinking that you've seen this incredible box of magic before? i know i have, right here. i just had no idea that i was the lucky friend to receive it. the leaf pattern is made by - well, leaves, plant dyed. this is a repurposed, reused, thrifted, ecologically sane and skillfully decorated treasure box. i so adore it. thank you, mona!

****

mona is a clever and innovative plant dyer and a maker of many things. you can see some of her work here, here and here.

and so it happened 13 Dec 2011 10:17 AM (13 years ago)

- i got ill and had to quit my old job
- i got depressed
- i found a new job and was happy
- i started wearing pretty clothes and jewellery
- but am still ill
- so i quit blogging
- quit making dinners
- quit tidying the house
- quit making school lunches
- quit pretty much everything
- but loving
- and marvelling at the brilliant and sad beauty of this world

- i got a tattoo
- i possibly, and probably, suffer from CFS/ME
- but i will definately get another tattoo
- i just opened a microscopic shop here, even though it was way too premature
- and today i opened up my blog again

corner view: through the eyes of a child 20 Jul 2011 9:00 AM (13 years ago)

..."the child" being the photographer (me) :)

ps - i'm away for a while, this post was 'planned' but didn't post, so that's why i'm late for cv. might post randomly for the next couple of weeks - or might not ;)

corner view: postcard 12 Jul 2011 11:58 PM (13 years ago)

I used to collect postcards. Here are just a few of my favourites - all old ones. The humorous nr. 1 is my absolute favourite :)

We've had mainly rain here so far this summer, resulting in lots and lots of indoor activity, but finally we had a pocket of sunshine. Just enough to enjoy more of all that green stuff out there - before it started to rain again ....

The kittens are now down to six, as the tinyest of them died the next morning. Our daughter sits in front of their 'cage' most of the time, naming them - and naming them again. Deciding who looks like their mother, who might be their father(s) (and oh yes, we believe 'him' to be in the multiple), who's argumentative, who's submissive and who's just sweet. (All of them, of course). Our son is having his yearly vacation (staying with his best friend just outside town for a week), and hasn't seen them yet. He's thrilled, and I suspect we'll stay clear of the usual argument on when he'll come back home this time.

corner view: before and after 5 Jul 2011 11:46 PM (13 years ago)

Once more, Nature provided me with a trick for this weeks cv. Here's our cat a couple of days ago (after the littlest woman of the house adorned her with a veil and fake roses):

And here, yesterday:

Not one, not two, three or even five kittens, but EIGHT!!!
On of them were still born, so now we just hope the mother has enough milk for all of them.
And should I mention new homes for all seven....
Happy corner vieweing at Francesca's!

viking life 4 Jul 2011 2:15 AM (13 years ago)

It looks like we won't be going on our yearly viking adventure this year. A bit sad, but we're working on replacing it with something possibly even more rewarding.

Anyway, I realized that last year, I didn't show off much of the viking side of life - so here's some photos from 2010.

As for this week's CV, I'm completely stuck. The themes are getting more and more challenging!

corner view: box of tricks 29 Jun 2011 2:39 AM (13 years ago)

On a day that started out as an emotional rollercoaster in our home, and everyone needed a change of scenery...

....a bourgeois patch of well tended grass, benches and ponds turned out to be just the trick we needed. After we crossed the bridge, that is.

A forgotten bicycle helmet at the other side of the stream (on the tree stump!)...

A drum set!

A waterfall..

A colosseum in the making...

A tin roofed birdhouse...

A tree covered with sap filled 'warts'...

Hard work getting rid of the sap...

Forgotten pathways...

The Mother Tree of the Forest (click it, then click it again, and imagine yourself up there)...

An avine aquaintance...

The inevitable empty beer cans...

Not bad, huh? That Mother Nature is full of tricks.

And they work - we left for home feeling at ease, happy, loved and loving.

For more tricks, check out the comment section of Francesca's box of tricks.

green grass of tunnel 28 Jun 2011 6:46 AM (13 years ago)

corner view: positive thought for bad moments 22 Jun 2011 2:29 AM (13 years ago)

This is it. A blank page in a notebook. Because I have no positive thoughts for bad moments. I simply sink into the swamps of negativity. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to reading everybody else's cv's today - go ahead - encourage me. I'll be sitting here, notebook in lap, ready to take notes!

(P.S. See that little piece of yarn on the floor? It's attached to a ball of yarn, which is attached to a sweater I'm knitting for myself. Well, there's a positive thought. Being creative, in some way. And oh, there's so many ways :) )

rite de passage 20 Jun 2011 3:25 AM (13 years ago)

In Norway, as in many other countries, teenagers go through a coming of age ritual to mark the leaving behind of childhood. In the old days, this was a ritual to mark the entrance of adulthood; a 'passage' from childhood to adulthood.

That was before James Dean cemented the teenager into our culture forever; a period of time which seem to expand (in both ends) with each new generation. People don't seem to become grown-ups anymore.

Anyway.

The jewish Bar/Bat Mitzvah, the hindu Upanayanam, the christian Confirmation, the japanese Seijin shiki, even the U.S.' Sweet Sixteen; within different cultural contexts, they all mark the same transition. In Norway, there are two options; the christian and the humanist, which both take place the year the teenager in question turns 15.

Our soon-to-be 15 year old son chose the humanist ceremony. Once a week for 6 months he met up with other teenagers and a group leader to discuss all kinds of subjects related to ethics, humanism, human rights, alcohol and drugs, immigration and class, sex/abortion/homosexuality etc.

The whole thing culminated in a solemn ceremony, and a family party. Speeches were required. So I took the opportunity to tell my son how lucky he is to be born here, now, and receiving applaud, gifts, and cake, instead of all the other things he might have had to endure were he born in a different culture or at another time. For instance (and yes, some of them are hard to believe, hence the photos - they were all shot during the speech):

He didn't have to get undressed and cover himself in ash.

He didn't have to spend several days and nights in a cave, deprived of food, sleep and water.

He didn't have to be attached to a pole through hooks penetrating his skin, and he didn't have to drink the blood of the male elders of the family.

He didn't have to cut his private parts, or otherwise receive the power of manhood through means one would be imprisoned for in our culture.

He didn't have to get tattoos or get tied down in an anthill.

He didn't have to kill a lion or sleep naked in the snow.

We have lost a lot between the blood drinking and the cake. Comfort is not one of them.

corner view: on my wall 14 Jun 2011 11:57 PM (13 years ago)

shadowplay on my bathroom wall; the light coming through the lace curtains.

i've joined corner view again. hopefully, this will inspire me to get back on the blogging track again, which i kind of fell of somewhere along 2010.... a list of participants will be added to my side bar soon.

nightmare + book = dress 7 Jun 2011 5:27 AM (13 years ago)

she woke up before dawn, crying; a nightmare. dead tired, i grabbed a blanket and a random book from the shelf and tucked her in close to me. an hour later, she'd looked at each and every one of the pictures in the book, and 'decided on this one'.

ooops! i'd handed her mark ryden's 'the tree show'. some of the images in there are quite disturbing for little people. but she never mentioned any of that, only The Dress.
alright. i didn't have a pattern or an even remotely similar fabric, but that didn't get me off the hook. she dug into my fabric stash and found one of her old sweatshirts, size 6 (repurpose, you know!) 'so there's no problem, mummy!'

she decided on another fabric that she liked, and i spent the entire day trying to stitch the two pieces together without loosing it. my conclusion is, that as with knitting, a pattern is required. if no pattern, then at least a plan.

i managed to make it appear like a dress, all in one piece, at least (or, should i say, so far). and she's happy. and i want a pattern for a real 50's dress.

(yes, i did ask her if she wanted me to do something about those, but she opted for the spaceship look)

so there it is. inspiration moves in mysterious ways.

blue 5 May 2011 1:25 PM (13 years ago)

she loves blue. i don't. imagine the annoyance when i decided to make her a sweater from stash yarn only, and that 'only' contained a large amount of blue and only a small portion of other colours. it took me a while to like it. but i'm pleased with the result. still have enough of that blue to make her another sweater, though.

may is here, and so is my son's big day; the rite of passage, leaving childhood behind. big family party, quite solemn the whole thing - and this mum is trying to wrap her head around unfamiliar things like damask table cloths, silver cutlery, matching napkins, candlelights and so forth. how much i didn't know! and how much i didn't care! and how much i still don't care! no, it's not true that i don't care, i just don't care for common etiquette. but i'm getting the hang of it now, i feel i'm bonding with my inner, conservative, traditionalist soul, and it's actually fun. we're doing it this way because i discovered my great grandparent's wedding table wear, inscriptions and all. i just HAD to use it, it's beautiful.

off to do some more planning....

crafting for a friend 10 Mar 2011 1:38 PM (14 years ago)

"who, me?" 27 Dec 2010 12:50 AM (14 years ago)

happy new year to everyone!

gift making 18 Dec 2010 2:21 AM (14 years ago)

little ones on their way to their new owners.
the little doll with the hat is about 16 cm (6") tall, and the other one is about 33 cm (13").
i haven't made these kind of dolls in several years, and i could definitely use some practice.

more for the market 25 Nov 2010 3:04 AM (14 years ago)

a couple of crowns, some magic wands, some more snowflake dolls, one more egg baby. i think i'm done now. the market is on sunday, i won't even get to see it because i'll be on the train for the big city by then. 10 days away from home, and i really do not want to go - my head is filled with ideas for x-mas! i have to make sure i write them down before i go. i love it when my head and body is bursting with creative energy - gotta savour it, some times there's drought.

that time of the year 18 Nov 2010 3:39 AM (14 years ago)

when your kids are attending a waldorf school, there's one time of year that gets especially crafty - and busy! i'm talking about the x-mas fair, a long standing waldorf tradition. there's a lot of meetings, planning, and making going on. fifteen years ago, i didn't particularly like the waldorf seasonal dolls and all that goes with it; they were simply too cute. today i'm a born again waldorf toy fan, and i love making them. these days, i'm up to my neck in half finnished projects for the fair. some are getting close to finnished, though:

i've attached ribbons to some of the leaves, so that they can be hung around the neck.

then there's the eggs we're making, i haven't been able to take any decent photos of mine so far, except the one on top her.

the most fun part of this is finding new things to make. i'm currently working on some magic wands and seasonal dolls.

hope you're enjoying this time of year too, and don't get tied up in all the x-mas stress out there! i'm doing my best to avoid it :)

the down side to compulsiveness 4 Nov 2010 1:01 PM (14 years ago)

well, one of them, at least; the 'knitting arm'. the pain that follows three weeks of intensive knitting, and leaves you with a knitting and computer ban for weeks and weeks, as they both hurt like hell. and with that comes the shivering, the shaking, the agony and sweating of withdrawal. but there's no way around it, but to go cold turkey.

but hey, i finnished it! in three - 3 - weeks! i have to admit, i'm rather impressed with myself. the bonus is i got rid of my facebook addiction - temporarily, at least.

i still don't know whether it will fit my husband. it's just a bit too big for me, but the he's not that big either. and knitwear is stretchy. i'll keep my finger crossed.

and try to wait just a little bit longer before i start my next sweater project - for me, this time.

(did i just do that? yes, i did. i erased the mess from the background in picture no 3. pathetic. hirr.)

hey hey, my my 7 Oct 2010 1:24 AM (14 years ago)

... it's starting to look like a sweater!
My first big knitting project ever, and my first knitting-from-an-english-pattern project ever. (Ok, I admit it, I've had some help translating it. Takk Lise!)
Luckily, I don't have to knit this in secrecy; I'm knitting it right under his nose. He wouldn't notice if it had his name written across the chest.
It's going so fast, that even if it turns out too small (which I am afraid it will), I will have time to knit a bigger one in time. Yay! Compulsive works. Another bad news story now and I'll have one ready for my son by x-mas too.

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