Britt-Arnhild's House in the Woods

Blue Flowers for a Brown Sofa

Both girls were invited to friends for the afternoon and the night. Terje and I met after work and walked over to the old docklands of Trondheim. There we had tapas in one of the new restaurants. On our way back to the car we stopped to buy some blue flowers as a gift to the new sofa :-)

Spring is on it's way, but so far only indoors here in Trondheim.

Memories gathered.

Guestbooks filled with memories through 27 years of marriage. Memories, a few sad ones, most of them filled with love, with joy, with friendship.

We have bought a new sofa group, after 27 years with the old one. The new sofa is one that I have had on top of my wish list for at least 10 years, and now it is here! Deep and comfortable with an extra seat for you. And The Blue Café has cakes and coffee to serve when you come.

Though worn almost to pieces I find it hard to let the old sofe go. It is filled with so many memories. I am looking through our guestbooks today, guestbooks filled with memories through 27 years of marriage - to a man and a sofa. Luckily the man is not worn out. Hopefully he will last for at least 27 more years.

The day continued.....

The backpack was finally packed and we went out skiing. People in the area around where we have our cabin had their winter break the week before us, so the contryside was quiet and ready just for us.

After a few kilometers of skiing we stopped for our break (the most important part of it all,lol). Terje made a fire, we grilled our sausages, Marta played in the snow and we enjoyed just being.

And I could never make up my mind if "the old couple" was watching us or if we were watching "the old couple".

What do you think?

A Day Named Perfect!

It was right after breakfast and Terje and I had just finished doing the dishes together. I was standing in the cabin kitchen waiting for the water to boil to make coffee for the thermos flask.

I looked over my left shoulder to where Terje was packing a backpack for our cross country skiing day - logs and an old newspaper for a fire, matches, a seating pad, hot dogs, bread, ketchup, water bottles, a knife to cut sticks for barbequing the sausages, oranges, chocolate. Careful to make room for the thermos flask. I looked over my right shoulder and out the cabin kitchen window where a huge male deer had passed just before. I listened to the humming from the bedroom where Marta was playing with some cheap figures, making them elves and fairies, inspired by a notebook and a birthday card from Gabi in Germany which had arrived the week before. (Kids never needs expensive toys, they need fantasy.....)

Every fiber in my body could feel the deep happiness of being where I was, right in the middle of life, right in the middle of love. It was the opening of another perfect cabin day.

And they lived happily together...

We passed his faithful old couple on one of our cross country ski trips during our cabin days.

Booktalk on a Sunday 5

The last days have been spent at our cabin, celebrateing a few days of winter break. The weather has been gorgeous and we've enjoyed outdoor winter life, but of course I always find time for my books. I took this photo this morning just after breakfast, sitting out on the terrace of our cabin. I wish the photo could give you the sound of the many birds praising the sun and the coming spring.

I have a deadline of my own book today, so we came home early to give me time to finish it. This means I will not have time for a long booktalk.....have alot of treats to give you next Sunday though, especially some great French books I have read lately.

I finished Five Quarters of the Orange during one sleepless night at the cabin. Not that I usually have sleepless nights, but I really couldn't put the book down. When I came home today The French Kitchenwas waiting in our mailbox, so this will be my "yellow week of Lent"-book, again a Joanne Harris. This books looks so great, I can't wait to start using some of the recipe, - my stomack is crying for food right now, and the smell coming from the kitchen where my dear husband is making a chicken dish is delicious....... I have another "yellow" book as well, which I read from every day, and which is decoration my orange and yellow table these days, Ray Simpson's Celtic Daily Light, A Spiritual Journey Through the Year, I bought this book at Lindisfarne in October after visiting Ray Simpson in his Open Gate retreat center, and I read from it every morning after my Bible studies.

Venezia

Marta had only one book in her backpack when we drove to the cabin, and she finished it already the first night. "Mum, I have nothing to read!" Have you heard it before :-) Well, luckily there are great bookshelves at the cabin, and  also quite alot of children's books. In between some others I spotted a Nancy Drew, and suddenly a flood of memories came to me. I loved Nancy Drew and at a certain age I could never get enough of her. Marta is coming to that age now, and I decided to let her try one. The book I found was not one from my childhood, but one Ingrid Elise got some years ago, when she had the right age. I had not read it myself, and you can imagine my surprise when I took it out from where it was hidden, and found a photo from Venice on the cover. In Mystery of the Winged Lion, Nancy and her friends is visiting Venice. What a perfect read for Marta now, 5 weeks before she will visit Venice for the first time in her life :-). Now we are reading it together.

I brought one Venice book with me to the cabin. One I already have read, but like so many others can be read again; Hanry James' Portraits of Places, which starts with a chapter of Venice writing. I love it when James writes: "Venice has been painted and described many thousands of times, and of all the cities in the world it is the easiest to go without going there". Or: "The only way to care for Venice as she deserves it, is to give her a chance to touch you often - to linger and remain and return" And a last one: "The place is as changeable as a nervous woman".

Our visit is coming closer, and redaing about her (Venice) makes my heart beat faster. Enjoy your Sunday.

My spring dance is still an ice dance....

March has arrived. Days are getting longer, temperatures milder, but March is still a winter month here in Trondheim.

We've had a few days with temperatures above the freezing point though, and walking home from work the other days I could hear the first ice drip, drip, drip melting.

This is the very first sign of spring for me, the second is the first green sprouts in the pots on the kitchen dresser. And looking very close I could see that today.

Spring will eventuelly come this year as it has done for thousands of years. I can feel it in my body, in my veins, and I want to scream out the Spring Scream together with .Ronia the Robber's Daughter Listen closely, and you will hear my scream of spring joy!

Charge the batteries.

Everybody needs a place to get ones batteries charged. We have our cabin near the sea, two hours to drive from The House in the Woods. A place filled with charm and simplicity. A place to feast on time and closeness. A place to praise nature and creation.

We are spending a few days of winter break there now, charging our batteries.

St. Francis.

There is a famous story about St. Francis when he was on his way to Rome and met a leper. The story tells that Francis felt love for and pity for the leper, walked to him, embraced him.

During my visit at Lindisfarne I heard this story told a little different.

Frans (the Norwegian name of St. Francis) was on his way to Rome when he met a leper. He met this leper with such love in his eyes and his whole body that the leper came up to Frans, embracing him.

The two stories are almost similar, but there is one important thing we can learn from the second story. The leper can feel that it's not pity he is given by Frans, but dignity. And because of this dignity, he, a leper, the lowest there is to come, dare to come tforward o this holy man, to hug him.

This is the agape love God wants us to show. The love to give people dignity. The love to lift up those who has fallen.

Thanks to all who has taken part in this sharing of thoughts. You have all taught me so much.

The photo shows Frans in our livingroom. A copy from a sculpture from the Nidaros Cathedral.(I work in the building with the red roof to the right of the cathedral).