Britt-Arnhild's House in the Woods

The gate to who I am.

The gate to who I am is closed. The gate has several locks, several keys.

Family and friends have all got a blue key, sometimes one or two friends can borrow a silver one, the kids have both a blue and a red. My husband has a chain with several keys, the most precious one is golden.

Sometimes the gate is double locked, other times it can be pushed open - by force, by surprise, by care, by love......

I have a silver chain with a rainbow of keys, and I am learning to use them, one by one. Learning to lend them out, one by one. Sometimes it hurts, sometimes it heals, sometimes it makes me restless, sometimes it fills me with new strength.

Only God has the most precious key. It is made of glass. Glass which lets light in all fasetts shine through, even in darkness.

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Photo: a dear friend took this photo at Lindisfarne almost two years ago.

__________________KITCHEN TRAVELS__________________

I am overwhelmed by your friendly and loving responces to my kitchen post. Tomorrow I'll take you all to our cabin to enjoy an outdoor meal.

My kitchen is my heart

I like to compare the kitchen of the house with the heart of the body. The kitchen is the room where life comes from. Where food for the body as well as food for the soul are prepared and shared.

Readers of my blog know that I am an extensive traveller, and I feel especially blessed during my world wide travels when I am invited into the kitchen of the house.

During my few days in Roma after Easter I was especially lucky, being invited into the kitchen of two dear Italian friends. First into Annamaria's heart.....I mean kitchen.....when she prepared lunch for us.

Next into Sheri's huge, cosy basement kitchen where she prepared an Indian dinner for me and her family.

Sharing your kitchen and your food preparations is sharing friendship.

I am not very good at it. I want to prepare my meal in advance, before the guests arrive. And when they come I want to show them a clean and tidy kitchen.

I have been wondering if not this is also the truth about my life. I want to invite my friends in when I can present order, tidyness, my clean life.

I would like this to change.

I would like to invite friends into my kitchen to prepare the food together with me. To help me cut the vegetables, fry the fish, do the dishes.........

I would like to invite friends into my life to share.......to share what is good and to share what is difficult........

I am not good at this, but I can practice.......and I can start in my kitchen.

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Thank you Annamaria and Sheri for inviting me into your kitchens and into your lives.

___________UPDATE__________________________________

If you invite me into your kitchen I'll leave what I have between my hands and travel half the world to be at your doorstep........

The Music of Creation

Creation has its own music.

Praying is not only about seeing. Praying is about listening to The Creator's song. To The Creation's song.

Praying is to sing along.

Fill your glass to find your tune. Sing along in creation's choir.

Your glass might need refilling to keep on singing the tune God has given you.

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Photo: glasses not filled yet. Preparing our bishop's goodbye-party.

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An answer to Kitem's question: Bishop Finn Wagle is retiring. And he will be moving from Trondheim down to Oslo.

Thank you dear bishop

Today is the last service in the cathedral with our dear bishop Finn Wagle.

Thank you dear Finn for your 17 years as a bishop here in Nidaros.

Thank you dear Finn for the 8 years I have been given to work close to you.

A few memories:

Outside the cathedral

Coat of Many Colours

Gone Fishing

I am wearing my bunad today.

Prayers - with all senses

A life in prayers is a life with all senses.

God has created in us a richness to see, hear, smell, feel, taste.

To see......is to send a prayer to the Creator. When I open my eyes and see what is around I open my eyes to Him.

The Crown of Princess Madelaine Frederica. Another The Edges of The Blue Garden-story.

The sun is up early these days. A sun ray is creeping into an opening in the old stump where Troll Brother lives, finding its way to his bed. First it finds Troll Brother's mouth, then his nose and finally his two eyes. Troll Brother dreams about warm milk sweetened with honey, then he sneezes 13 times in a row, and finally the bright sun ray chases away the rest of his sleep.

He looks around in the bedroom. Troll Sister and Troll Mother are both snoring aloud, and Troll Brother knows that there will be no more sleep for him. As silent as possible with his heavy, clumsy troll body, he leaves his bed and sneaks out to explore The Edges.

Most of the snow has melted now. Troll Brother makes a snowball and throws it as far as he can. He follows the ball with his eyes, blinking in the morning sun. He blinks again. Something sticks in his eyes. What is this? Has the sun fallen down and is now shining up on him from the dark brown soil? This must be explored.

Troll Brother jumps over snow, stones, the first green leaves of a primrose, he bends away the bud of a daffodill. "What is this? A crown? Oh, princess Madelaine Frederica must have passed The Edges during the night, and lost her crown in the darkness."

Troll Brother bends down and lift the crown up in a standing position. Using all his strength he manages to roll the crown forward, slowly, slowly towards the stump.

Troll Sister is awake now, already out exploring new flowers and colours. A red Trolljuice Flower is full of sweet troll juice. She will tell Troll Brother and together they can come back with their straws to drink the juice. Blue beads seem to be growing directly up from the soil. Troll Sister bends down to get a better look.

Suddenly she hears Troll Brother breathing heavily, whispering as loud as he can not to wake Troll Mother: "Troll Sister, Troll Sister, look what I've found! Princess Madelaine Frederica must have passed during the night and has lost her golden crown. I have it here! Look Troll Sister, look!" Troll Brother was so eager, Troll Sister could hardly understand his whisper. But she saw the crown and knew that they were up for a great adventure. " Princess Madelaine Frederica's crown, here in their Edges. Oh, this was surly going to be a perfect day!"

A Life in Prayers

The light in the Tautra Monastery Church is never the same. Light and shadows playing. During the day. During the seasons.

The light in my life is never the same. Light and shadows playing. During the day. During the seasons.

God's light shines through prayer prisms. Sometimes a rainbow. Sometimes tears of grey and black. Other times a light too bright for my mind.

I try to learn about God's colours. The colours of praying. I am still a novice, but I am slowly learning.

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A much needed day at Tautra. A meeting with Sister Hanne Maria, prayers with the nuns, a barbeque on the beach. Prayers all through the day.

Tautra Monastery

Go before us in our pilgrimage of life. Anticipate our needs, prevent our falling, and lead us to our destiny. (Ray Simpson)

I am spending the day at Tautra.

My dreams

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Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
W B Yeats

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Thanks Mary for this poem. I am busy at work today and have no more time for blogging.

Along the Fjord

Around the Sunday morning breakfast table we started to make plans for the day. Terje wanted to make the most out of thew last signs of winter and wanted us to go with him up in the hills searching for snow for cross country skiing. Marta and I are more fans of spring, and when Marta got a phone call from her cousin and she asked if Marta wanted to go roller skating later in the day she decided to say no to skiing. And I really didn't mind.

Terje had a long cross country ski trip alone, while Marta and I drove down to the fjord for a walk there on her way to cousin Mathilde

We were not the only ones out this Sunday morning. We have recently been told that Norwegian as not as physically active as we used to be, but this Sunday morning alot of people were out - for walking, enjoying a spring morning, fishing, running, playing on the beach......

On our way, Marta and I stopped at "Sponhuset" for some pastries and hot chocolate. Sponhuset, this old house totally covered on the outside with wooden splinters is a charming place with a huge garden where you can eat your lunch.

Spring is on its way - near the fjord, and even gurther up in the hills where The Blue Garden is situated.

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Thanks for your poems. I plan to post a few tomorrow.