Britt-Arnhild's House in the Woods

Food travelling. (a repost)

All my thinking lately about food in connection with my food blogging, which easily can become a passion, sent my thoughts a couple of years back to two weeks I spent in Laos. I went there with Norwegian Church Aid, and among several travel guides I brought with me was Natacha Du Pont De Bie's "Ant Egg Soup - The Adventures of a Food Tourist in Laos"

When I travelled it was not as a traditional tourist, but as a visitor or guest of the people of Laos. We spent most of our time out in the countryside, and we ate lunch and dinners with the locals. The food was from their own land or bought at local markets. And good for us, most of the time we didn't exactly know what we were eating.

Natacha Du Pont De Bie writes about a most delicious ant egg soup in her book. We never got to try that spesific soup, but among my favories were roasted or fried bugs. I have travelled globally before and been afraid of eating unknown things, so this time I was determined to give everything a try. And believe me, the bugs was eatable, and the bamboo worms (in the first photo) were quite good :-). And our hosts could tell from my face that I liked it, which made them serve it, a delicatessen for them, again and again - almost to the desperation of the other members in my travelling group.

I will probably never go back to Laos, though who knows? But I will bring with me strong memories of the people I met for the rest of my life. And good memories of the food I ate.

I am enjoying so much fantastic local Norwegian food this week, and without much posibility to write a new post I am reposting this one.

Submitted

I made it. My writing is fullfilled, it is sent to where it should go, and I must wait, wait wait before I know if it is accepted.

My first Norwegian book is being printed these days, and now my first Englsih writing is finished. One step at a time I am impatient to see where this will lead me :-)

Thanks for all your cheers, hurrays and good luck wishes. I am where I am because of you all!

I am up in the mountains this week, on work commitments.....and will not be close to the computer much, but I will be back sooner or later with stories and photos, and great food tales. This guesthouse where I will be staying till Sunday has the best local Norwegian kitchen I have ever tried.

Miss you.......

Deadline is coming closer.....writing is almost finished.......

Some day I would love to do writing as a living...... Cross your fingers for me.....

A deadline.

I have a deadline to reach before September 1st, and several travels coming up. I need a break from blogging.

Will be back soon.

Afternoon in the blue garden.

The garden has been neglected for weeks now, time has been precious for other things. But yesterday I managed to leave work early and spent all afternoon getting to know my garden again. So many things are still blooming, and as soon as I had removed the weeds it actually looked quite nice. And we could sit down with our afternoon coffee to enjoy the beauty.

The Hollyhocks started to bloom this week. With most of the roses gone, the hollyhock is the queen in The Blue Garden.

I posted this over in my Blue Garden yesterday, and I can't have enough of the first photo. I spent most of the day after work out in the garden yesterday, which gave my little time left for blogging (I always write my entries in the night and post them the next morning). I know that some of you also read Britt-Arnhild's Blue Garden, but these photos can be looked at twice :-).

We are heading for our cabin right after work today. No electricity. No internet access. Alot of wildlife. Alot of family life. I will be back here Sunday night Norwegian time.

I was here, in the garden. An old woman

With green fingers, fed me generic names

Like Flower, or Tree,

As if nothing else mattered

But the garden, and having your own key.

Harry Clifton, b.1952. The Garden.

A Gardener's Year - August. A visit.

Oh, you believe that my travel tale is finished? Oh, no!

Leaving Selje, the island Selja and Amdam's gallery it was still less than two days since we left home, and we were to be away for a week.

A couple of hours in the car and one ferry - and we were in Sandane, the village where my grandma Ragna Josefine was born. I have relatives there still, and a cousin of my father had invited us to afternoon coffee in her garden. "Nice" you might say. "GLORIOUS!" I reply. Cousin Eli is a garden designer, and she has the most beautiful, charming, colourful garden I have ever seen.

I took a few photos, then we all sat down to enjoy fresh berries from the garden. Marta and her friend peeked around every corner to take the most fanciful photos while I waited patiently. I would take my photos when they were finished. Suddenly the girls came back to us - the cameras of both the girls had empty batteries, and my camera which Marta was borrowing refused to focus. We tried everything, but the camera was stubborn. I think it understood that this garden was something I had to see with my heart, not through a lense.

But Marta is generous, and still saving for her own digital camera, so here are a few of her shoots:

Reflections on friendship

* meeting a friend for the afternoon, walking around, shopping and chatting, sitting down in a restaurant for dinner and a long talk

* calling a friend just to say hello, I miss you, when shall we meet?

* organising a meeting with a long distant friend when I am in her town for work, being sorry that we have only one hour together, feeling blessed because our friendship is living beyong time and distance

* being quiet with my husband, friendship is one of the bright colours in our rainbow of love

* sending an sms with a photo to two friends saying thank you for a perfect day we spent together

* doing a solo travel knowing that I am a friend with myself

* meeting a friend unexpectedly, recognizing my own feelings in his eyes, knowing that our friendship has strengthened through challenges

Guessing Game

I have a challenge for you today.

__________________________________

Can you tell me more about these houses?

Whos feet ran on the wooden floors?

Can you hear laughter or cries?

Has the garden a story to tell?

What can be seen through the windows?

____________________________________

The "best" answer (it doesn't have to be the right one), will be rewarded with a story from my pen.

If you know where this place is, please don't tell right away ;-)

_____________________________________________________________________

Update:

Thanks for playing along. The correct answer will come one of these days, but I still am looking for more playing stories.........what do you "see" when you see these houses and the garden.......

The magic age.

18 is the magical age. When you are 18 you are of full age and legal capacity, you get the right to vote, you can have your driver licence, you are grown up.

All her life Ingrid has had two big brothers to look up to. Their world has always been a dream world and she couldn't wait to "be legal" as she put it, when she was 13.

Today is the magic day Ingrid. You are 18. You are legal. You are grown up. You are beautiful. And you are and will always be my little girl!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I am away today on Ingrid's special day.....sometimes work has to come first. But we celebrated last night with an Italian dinner at our favorite Italian restaurant - Terje and I, grandma Marta and grandpa Odd, sister Marta and boyfriend Marius. (One big brother is still in Australia, one was away with friends for the week-end)

A traveller's year - August. Part 4

I have just read a travel tale Sigrid Undset wrote about a visit she had to the island Selja in the 1930ies. She was fascinated by the Sunniva legend, and spent four spring days there with "the painter and his wife". The story (at least not the story I read) doesn't give the painter a name. But I was lucky to meet my own painter at Selje, on the mainland close to the island.

Kjell-Stig Amdam, and his wife Vigdis Wåge, who died last year, have created a painter's paradise on the coast, where huge windows are opened to the sea and the island. Amdam has lived in Selje since 1995, and many of his paintings and prints are inspired by the Sunniva legend and the wild west coast nature.

I know several people who have visited the gallery during the years, and I have seen several of Amdam's pieces of art, so when we were to pass by this summer the gallery was a place where we had to stop.

We had not made any appointments, but was greeted by the painter himself when we entered the biggest of his many houses. And it didn't take long untill we were in deep, friendly converstaion in the gallery cafe. After a while a blogging friend of mine also arrived, and we were all invited into Amdam's private rooms for coffee, fresh homemade apple cake, friends and more talk. Now one of Kjell-Stig Amdam's Sunniva prints is on top of my wish list :-)

Enjoy some of my many photos from the afternoon with the painter at Selje.