Britt-Arnhild's House in the Woods

Changing my mind.......again :-)

@brittarnhild

I am changing my mind again....... This knitting blog, which originally was in English when I started it a little more than two years ago, on the 8th of March 2017, became part English, part Norwegian, then it became all Norwegian, but now I am changing my mind yet again.......into English :-) There are actually a couple of reasons for this. First, most Norwegians are able to read and understand English, very few not Norwegians are able to read and understand Norwegian, so to make the blog readable for as many as possible.......well, English is the best language. Second, I am quite active on my podcast these days, much of it is about knitting, and for the moment I speak only Norwegian in the podcast. I know I have a few followers who do not understand Norwegian, so I am thinking that I can write here about what I talk about.

.......I might do something with the podcast as well, texting, speaking some English in between, or..., but so far it is in Norwegian only.

So.......what I do talk about in the last episode of Britt Arnhild on YouTube:

First, there is an introduction, the same as I use every time. Talking a little about myself.......I am Britt Arnhild, 60 years old, married to Terje, living just outside the Norwegian city of Trondheim, in a red house in the middle of a big garden. We have four grown up children, the oldest one living in Stockholm, Sweden, the three others in Trondheim, we have children in law and we have grandchildren. I am an ordained deacon, I have worked in several churches in Trondheim, but since 2000 I have worked in the diocese administration as an advicer. When I started the vlog or the podcast, I planned it as a garden vlog, but I have so many other interests beside gardening, and soon realised that I wanted to vlog about this and that. Like birds, hiking in nature, our cabin, food, travels, books and knitting.

Then I continue to talk about the rainbow calendar of Lent, and the third week of Lent which is yellow. Here comes a few childhood knitting memories.......I might write them down some day :-) The video with all the yarn is from a knitting shop one hour outside Trondheim, Garnbutikken Fortuna. 

After the knitting memories I talk about the knitting I am working on, the rainbow shawl, where I knit colours according to the weeks.......and, listen, I do speak a few sentences in English, especially for Mardelle :-) 

The yellow socks are part of a KAL I do with Garnbutikken Fortuna and the mittens are the Trondheim Mittens by Sofia Kammeborn, and in my show and tell section I show you something I made for the girls when they were small.
The reading is a legend I wrote myself a few years ago, "When the Yellowhammer learned to count to seven."

The last piece of music, First Tango, is a piece of music composed by my Icelandic sister in law, Margrét Kristín Sigurðardóttir. You find her webpage here: fabula.is

 

Here is the actual podcast episode:

 

Longing for Gotland

@brittarnhild

The summer of 1978 I went to Sweden with a Christian Youth Group from Norway. First to Lund, then to the island Gotland. Terje took the same tour, and it didn't take long before our eyes started to meet, again, and again. Two years later we were married <3

When I saw the pattern for these socks, Longing for Gotland by Sofia Kammebornia, I knew I wanted to knit them, and at the cabin this weekend I did.

I especially like the rose pattern. In the pattern they are knitted in one colour only, but I wanted to use different shades from my left over yarns, and love the way they turned out. As soon as the socks were finished I started a cardigan, making up my own pattern, but using Sofia Kammeborn´s roses.

 

You can see more, and also some films from our beloved cabin, in this most previous podcast:

 

 

Between winter and spring

@brittarnhild

For an hour or so the sun shines, Snow melts. Then we can see another snow shower coming and everything turns white.

Or it starts to hail. Tiny, soft balls playing hide and seek with some early flowers, curious to see what world in March looks like.

March in Norway is never boring.

 

Inside the old farm

@brittarnhild

The old farm has been there for generations. A croft (that's the word google translate gave me), with quite a few tales to tell.

For animals originally,

but this winter a friend of mine has transformed it into her art studio.

An art studio with a view you can only dream of.

Or search east of the sun, west of the moon to find something just as good.

A place to create. But also a place to invite a friend (me) over for coffee and talk. Words between friends are the most precious.

At the foot of the mountain. Where inspiration is.

 

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Terje and I are spending our first weekend this year at the cabin. I breath blessings.

 

Here is my lates podcast (the next one, which will be out next week, will have filming from the cabin):

 

 

The reason why I am so quiet here

@brittarnhild

.......well, one of several reasons I should say.

You see, for the moment I am spending every quiet moment knitting. When I am not working, or cooking for my family, or smelling the top of the head of our new grandson, or playing with, baking with, reading for Leander.......

Well, then I am knitting.
And purling.
And knitting some more.

 

 

I have made two knitting podcasts since I last shared one with you here.

 

Both in Norwegian, but this last one has some lovely folding and photos from my recent visit to Iceland in December, and also some beautiful music with my very talented sister in law, Stina. You can find more of her music at www.fabula.is

 

I have also decided that, at least for the moment, my knitting blog will be in Norwegian only. But I will try to do some knitting summaries here from time to time. My last post over at maskerade was of these half mittens, or fingerless gloves. They are designed my Erica Heusser, I bought the pattern at Ravelry, a paradise for knitters. Can you see that they will be perfect as photographing gloves :-)

 

 

The old Coastal Line Ship

@brittarnhild

The annual opera festival is going on in Kristiansund, the small coastal town not far from our cabin. As usual Terje and I are here, this  year we have tickets for Rigoletto.

We left Trondheim some time after breakfast, had a short stop with Ingrid and Marius just to smell and cherish the little newborn Milian, stopped for a lovely lunch along the way, had coffee and a sweet treat, svele, on the ferry, and arrived here in time for stroll along the harbour before heading back to the hotel to change for the opera.

One of the old, and with that I mean really old, hurtigruten, coastal line ship has anchored at the Kristiansund harbour. A beautiful vessel. With a million tales to tell.

Nordstjernen, the North Star.

Like a queen. And believe me, we were not the only ones there with cameras.

Then one of the new ships came in. A stop in Kristiansund on her way from Bergen to Kirkenes. Next stop after Kristiansund is Trondheim.

 

When time flies too fast for me to hang on

@brittarnhild

Leander and I was out in the garden after church yesterday, playing in the snow. The snow was not wet enough to make a big snowman, but we manage to put together a little gnomy one. A flat stone for the nose, or is it the mouth, the two stones for eyes refused to stay, either they fell off or the head split into a mess.

Both of us were satisfied with the result though, and after placing the little gnome, or whatever it is, on the table next to our front door, we went in to help Terje with dinner preparations. It was mother's day in Norway yesterday and four generations were coming for dinner. My mother 89 next month the oldest, little Milian, born February 5th the youngest. 10 around the table. Torgeir in Stockholm but calling in though messenger, Milian sleeping on our sofa.

 

Time flies too fast for me to hang on. Life has its challenges, but my og my, what millions of blessings.......

 

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I opened the garden blog for the season today:

The Blue Garden/Akeleiehagen

my dream is to post in my nature journal every day. I do not, but I also have a facebook page with nature photos, and here I do better :-)

Britt Arnhilds Nature Journal

Britt Arnhilds nature photos on facebook

 

 

 

 

Whooper swans

@brittarnhild

I went back to the river yesterday, and was lucky. The swans were close by.

I was busy with m y camera,

and had great fun.

Whooper swans are beautiful, aren't they?

 

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Today I havde finished and posted a new podcast. Sorry in Norwegian only, but the first part is a walk along the river Nidelven downtown, and you need not understand Norwegian to see enjoy the beauty.