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How many ways are there to cook sheep?

Category: Artic Living | Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 11:11 am

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Why would I want to cook sheep, or lamb for that matter. Bear with me on this. You'll find out in a few minutes. So lets start out with the question. Just how many ways are there to cook sheep?

We can start out basic and go gourmet. Okay we can boil it. Boring! But its a start. Then we can roast it, saute it, underground roasting, on a spit, in a pan, in a pot, sushi maybe? Nahhhh! Okay there is basically alot of way to cook sheep. Now why do I want to do this.

I have my fields over at Selnes. Veggies planted, of all kinds, in a field of such rich, nutrient happy land that just begs a person to stick a seed or seedling in it to grow. No one lives at Selnes, but it is used. Not good enough for Norwegian folks. Guess I better start at the beginning huh.

This winter past the sheep farmer who lives across the fjord from us, wanted more land to let his sheep feed and roam. Everyone went to the community meeting to vote on this. All the other people who live on that side of the fjord (not many belive me, its on the beast mountain side, you know avalanche territory) voted yes, as long as the sheep farmer fenced in the areas of land the sheep would roam. The catch. The good folks of that side of the fjord had to give up a section of their own personal land to do this or they would have to pay out of their own pocket to fence in all of their own land. The sheep farmer is evil,, plain and simple. He offered to pay for it all if they gave up some of their land. Stupid, stupid, stupid!!! Why not vote no, then the sheep farmer would have to just be happy with what he already had,,,,A WHOLE FREAKEN MOUNTAIN!!! Now with Selnes, because no one lives there he was going to fence in from the road and to the next neighbors land. What does that mean. All of Selnes would be open to the sheep, and they could not wonder to the sea is all. The house, the land, my farming, all for the sheep. Uncle who was given a time frame for a decision, let it lapse. He knew what he was doing, and didn't bother to tell us. I tilled, I manured, I worked over there. Its all gone. The sheep have eaten everything that has come up. Trampled all the work, and land is a mess. Thats the place where I got the biggest juiciest blueberries, tyttebær, cloudberries the size of a large grape. Not to mention a lot of the wild herbs. The reddest rhubarb you have ever seen. The elephant style garlic from just a little version of garlic. Everything grew double it was supposed to. Its all gone.

So getting back to how DO we cook sheep and lamb. I'm thinking on an open spit, invite all the good neighbors from across the fjord, expecially the sheep farmer, and just have one hell of a big party. Shoot I even have the homemade wine for it. Compliments of Selnes.

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My Husband, the Drunken Womanizer!

Category: Artic Living | Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 5:11 am

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He cheats! He steals! He got a slave woman pregnant! He gets drunk every night! He's a bully! And one heck of a rower on a ship!

Did I mention Kolbjørn is in a play.

Yep my loveable Viking man is in a play being put on by the Viking Museum. He plays a viking just like I described in the opening here. Only he's a single man who is one of the Chieftans trusted men. Sheesh. He plays a character from the neighboring island called Gimsøya, still called that today, and just to the south of us here on Vestvågøy. That chieftans name was Tore. My husbands character name is Kåre. He's also the comic relief in this very dramatic play.

The play is about 2 chieftans, who are very Norse in their beliefs, and the marriage between their children to set up allies because of the oncomming onslaught of other religions being introduced to the islands. Its also the story of Olav Tvennumbrunni, the chieftan of Borg (Viking Museum) and his lead up to leaving for Iceland.

Kåre is a fun loving man who loves his mjød, beer, his battle axe, a wild beserker, who loves a good fight. He also can't keep his hands off the women. His problem starts when he gets a little frisky with 2 slave women, who finally find out about the other. The confrontation takes place with the 2 women fighting and arguing over who is going to marry Kåre. Kåre in the meantime is passed out from to much merry making of all kinds, and wakes up to hear them fighting in the main room about who is going to marry him first. Kåre scared into sobriety, for the first time in his life is helpless, and trembling. The thought of marriage just makes him want to curl up and cry. As he tries to sneak out of the long house to hide on the ship, both women grab him and try to make him choose. Kåre runs for his life. You see these women are desprate. Their slaves. Kåre is a free man and marrying him would make them free also. So now the fight is on who is going to win Kåre, but Kåre is no dummy when he's sober that is, and takes off for the ship and finds a very cold and wet hiding place. Very fitting I would say! Cools him off completly.

Here is my drunken, womanizing husband, posing for the camera. The costume is one of that time period, around 900 a.d.


He also likes to bully the chieftans son here on Vestvågøy, and this is his partner in crime.


This is a costume of one of the women who plays the chieftans wife.


And the Saga


The first of 4 plays takes place on the Summer Solstice. The last is in August. The play will be played 3 times a day for those 4 different weekends. They row in on the Lofotr. On the summer solstice they hold a Blot, or ceramony for the Norse gods in the traditional style of the year 900. Everything will be done with as much authenticity as is known of the time. The recreation will take a person back in time to when the life as the Viking knew it was slowly changing, evolving into a stronger more Nordic Norwegian. The Northmen of the modern world, who takes their cues from their ancestors, learns from them, and comes out stronger with each lesson.

So here on the magical, fairytale island of Vestvågøy I asked my darling, lovable, modern Viking man a question.

So honey when do you get the new wife, I could use some help on the farm, you know.

All I got was a look.


I almost had to walk home.



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