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May 17th Parade and Stuff

Category: Ramblings | Posted: Sun May 17, 2009 5:00 pm

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Well, that's over and done with for this year then. We're sitting here, too full to move, and too tired to attempt to move if we weren't so full. Our feet are hurting too. *whimper*

The day started out with glorious weather, and it stayed glorious all day. The sun's still shining, it's 18.45 now.

Here are a few photos from today.

The parade is beginning to form in the school yard. Looks pretty chaotic to me:





Some will stop at nothing to film the parade:



There were lots of spectators along the route, cheering with us:



Can you see the parade stretching off into the distance?



And no end in sight either:



Now some details. The men with bunad are allowed to carry knives. The handiwork that goes into them is wonderful:



This little girl even decorated her braids:



Lots of the bunads have little pockets, and of course with a silver decoration and embroidery:



Many also have silver belts, like this one:



And the brooches are special. Each type of bunad use different ones:



I wonder how long this took to make:



This is standard accessory on men, women and children on our special day:



All in all a delightful day full of brass band music, happy children, songs and shouting.

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In a Country Churchyard

Category: Ramblings | Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 3:28 pm

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Whenever I visit my grandparents' graves this song by Chris de Burgh churns in my head. We've got the ravens, the overgrown graves, no church but a small chapel, and a lovely beach with the wonderful sound of surf on sand. Come with me to the island of my childhood.

The ferry isn't very big, but then the trip isn't very long either. About 20 minutes if we get the direct route, or 35 minutes with a stop on another island.



My old, battered car here:



And there's the mountain of "my" island:



The chapel:



The memorial dedicated to all those lost at sea:



The newest half of the graveyard looks nice and shiny:



The next-door neighbours:



Just look at this fabulous sand:



And the lovely colour of the sea:



One could think this was on a tropical beach, but turn around and your illusion is dispersed:







On days like today I could be tempted to live there, and especially when I look at all the exciting tracks on the beach:



But when the storms are bad in autumn and winter I know that I really would prefer to stay in my own home. So home we went. Maybe next time we go we will have time to explore the old caves on the other side of the island.

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Can drive, can't speak English

Category: Ramblings | Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 12:09 pm

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I found myself bundled up on the floor this morning, laughing my head off. The reason for this was our rally ace Petter Solberg's spoken English.(Wikipedia link) He has driven for Ford and Subaru and has done very well for himself so far. Now he's without a contract and I have a feeling he ought to concentrate on his English, just to be on the safe side.

Here are a couple of his language "pearls":

"I'm driving around the corner and crash in the christmas tree."

"I had bad pigs in my dekk." (Tr.: My tire studs were bad.)

"There was a moose in the engine." (Tr. There was a mouse in the engine.)

"It was so much dog on the window." (Tr. The windows were fogged up.)

"It's not the fart that kills you, it's the smell." (Tr. It's not the speed that kills you but the impact.)

And finally, my favourite:

"But-but, it's not only-only you know!"

I give the chap credit for speaking English anyway, despite him mixing in Norwegian words, and for his big, hearty laugh and his enthusiasm for his sport. At least he doesn't lack courage!

However, I'm still laughing.

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The last day of January

Category: Ramblings | Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2009 8:03 am

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January ended on a rather mild note. The ground is frozen but the sun was out, and it gave some nice heat too. We took the horses out for a drive and ride, as we have done for the last Saturdays. Here we are:



Little Gabriella is a very pretty pony, isn't she:



Here's Truls. I usually let this girl ride him on our Saturday trips, since I can't both ride and drive at the same time:



We've got no colour outside, bar that purple hellebore and the single snowdrop, but we've got a bit of colour inside. This is my youngest girl's amaryllis:



We bought six lovely primroses last week-end. Four of them collapsed promtly, but these two are still going strong:





The mornings have been very nice lately. I like the golden clouds:



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Bye-bye Christmas

Category: Ramblings | Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 4:30 pm

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Tomorrow is the 20th day of Christmas, and if everything hadn't already been cleared away, then that was the day to do it. We were busy tidying away and getting back to normal on Friday, so no stress for me.

We've still got a blooming Amaryllis, can't tidy away that:



During the last snowfall our robin came to visit. He's very good at making lots of noise to let us know that he's running low on food:





I think the robin is one of the most christmassy birds, but I'm not tidying him away either.

As I harvested the Christmas tree, I took a few photos of the ornaments. Here are the paper hearts that we make:



Different ornaments:









The holly one is my favourite. Only 11 months to go until we unpack them again.

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When fed up with shopping I misbehave

Category: Ramblings | Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 2:12 pm

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Yesterday my mother had to go Christmas shopping. I hate shopping in all forms, especially in December. People seem to leave their manners at home, and sort of throw themselves into the shops, hair on end, teeth bared, fists flying, elbows sharpened, and they're all equipped with either steel-capped shoes or very hard heels!

Some shoppers are in rather poor health, but my! do they use their shopping carts to their advantage. My hips, back and legs are full of bruises because of those people who sneak up from behind and suddenly ram the cart into me, full speed.

I much prefer the ones who throw themselves in front of me to snatch the last marzipan pig just as I reach for it. At least I can dive to avoid them. And I am humble with admiration for those who have managed to perfect their slide moves to such an extent that they take off at the beginning of the shelves and just pick stuff down quickly as they race smoothly by.

As for the people with prams, some of them have elevated the exercise "pram slalom" to a fine art. They avoid merchandise displays and other prams with a hair's width, but alas, not my poor toes. And mother kept going, no end in sight.

So when I had had enough, I stood myself in front of a lovely display, and spent a lot of time admiring it from all angles, camera in hand. Then I started photographing it. That at least provoked a reaction, and she finally managed to pick out the last few items she needed so we could go home. Phew!

Here's the display I photographed, by the way. They're all Wanda orchids, and they cost close to NOK 500,- each. That's something like £50,- or $72,-. I didn't buy one, but at least I've got the photos:



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Colder, darker and a bit of hot pink

Category: Ramblings | Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2008 7:48 pm

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We're nearing the time of the year when I really hate to live here. It's getting darker and colder, the snow limit is slowly but surely creeping down the mountain sides, and we're getting more rain, more wind and no flowers. The worst is the bare frost, when everything is frozen but there's no snow to play in. With snow the days at least have a semblance to brightness, and we can play in the white stuff. Without snow it's just boring, and I know our plants really dislike the unprotected frost.

If we have a nice snow fall, I can gallop in the fields and we can go skiing with the horses. We can make snow sculptures and snow lanterns, and the plants will have good insulation during their winter rest. Without that snow my patience is sorely tried. Our wet and grey winters are just so hard to get through, I often think about joining the starlings and move south for a few months. But being the home-body that I am, it's not a real option. *sigh*

On the bright side, my birthday is in autumn, and I got a nice present this year:



Inside that fancy carriage was enough money to buy a small wagon for Gabriella, which should keep me happy even if we get a snow-less, grey winter.

I have a small wish: Please post lots of colourful photos during our winter months! Many Stewbies have blooms when all of mine are gone, and to see them is a big help and a vitamin boost for me. Christmas isn't far away, and then it's just another couple of months before life becomes bearable again. I'll get through it this year as well. I'll get by with a bit of help from my friends.

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Learning to drive

Category: Ramblings | Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2008 9:28 pm

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This is what I'm struggling with this week-end. How to master a horse and a carriage. The worst thing was to sort out the harness. There are so many bits and pieces to it! I'm very glad I had good help. And I'm profoundly thankful that the pony knows what to do, because I most certainly don't! But I'm learning, which is the whole idea of this class.

We're starting, very carefully:



The patient instructor is giving us a few valuable tips as we go. My, we look very small in the back there!



I have been so lucky with this pony. She's very well-behaved and calm, and her confidence is rubbing off on me. Can you see that I'm enjoying myself immensely?



Tomorrow we're driving slalom at a trot. I can't wait!

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Rodos part V - flowers, critters and other bits and pieces

Category: Ramblings | Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 7:14 pm

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I saw a few plants and blooms in Rodos, and I actually remembered to photograph some too. Most of the time I forgot, because I was busy admiring them. Yes, hopeless, I know. The following photos are taken in the median of the main road into Rodos:













A few of the assorted blooms from here and there:

















This palm or fern really is something else, I've never seen it's like before:



A gorgeous Euphorbia:



Decorative pumpkins:



A trumpet vine at Captain's Garden:



Look at the ting, how it climbs:



This is a tree trunk, I love the colours of the bark:



More trees:







Probably a weed, but pretty:



Lots of Agave blooming:



We saw a few of these:



A lot of these:





The girls wondered what used to live inside these shells:



We found one, and had a closer look at it before letting it go:



A gorgeous butterfly:



And a looker of a beetle who had crawled inside an overripe fig:



These stick bugs (translated from Norwegian, sorry) jumped about in the dead straw:





Don't know what kind of birds these were, but there were lots of them:



One of the helicopters working the fire:



A very delicate bathroom in one of our favourite restaurants:



The little train that gives tours every hour:



Mouth-watering grapes:



Oh, how I miss the heat, smells and tastes already. *sigh*

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Wish me luck - I might need it!

Category: Ramblings | Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 9:32 pm

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This young lady was seven in July:



We never got round to celebrating her birthday before the holidays, so we'll do it this Saturday. We've rented the riding house, two extra ponies, an organizer and some extra help, and we've invited 23 children.

That means 25 children, four ponies, lots of hot dogs, a soda bottle for each child, probably ear muffs for the horses, a neighbourhood warning for the stables on both sides, ice creams, fun and games, and hopefully some very exhausted and very happy children when the two hours are out.

The last time we did this, I recommended hoovering the child outside and then put them in the shower before removing their clothing. *lol* The parents commended us for our "healthy" way of celebrating - no sweets or lots of fancy cakes, and lots of activity. Well, sweets are not needed. The horses are sweets enough, and the novelty adds to the celebration fun. It's an easy way to celebrate because of the very few preparations. I'm not very good when it comes to baking, and our house isn't big enough for so many children. This way, she can have all the boys and girls from her class sharing her special day.

It's going to be a tough two hours, but I'm certain it will be good fun. I'd still appreciate some good-luck-wishes though.

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