Britt-Arnhild's House in the Woods

Guess what we saw :-).....a musk ox.

Terje ran 21kms on Saturday, Birkebeinerrittet, while I enjoyed a lovely day at Lillehammer. Driving home afterwards took us about 5-6 hours, over Dovre mountain, and since the sun was shining brightly and the temperatures very nice for the season, I shopped for a mountain picnic. We reached the mountain while the sun was still quite high, and though the temperatures were falling fast up in the thin air, we enjoyde our bread, cheese, grapes and water.

I was the driver, and when we drove on I gave Terje my camera; "Listen, I have passed this mountain several times a year all my life, by car, by train, I have even biked over here. Every time I have looked for the musk oxes but never seen them. You have seen them once and this isn't fair. Today I am going to see them as well, at least one of them. Here is my camera. Please keep it ready! Today I know they will be here!"

Terje smiled at took the camera but said nothing. He knows me too well to try arguing, to talk about sense......

"Hey Terje, you are not supposed to talk in your cell phone now, bragging about your running. You are supposed to look for musks for me. Can't you see that as long as I keep on looking, my driving is not safe enough!"

.......and then it happend. A car had stopped along the road, the passenger window was open and we could see a camera. "Stop the car" ordered Terje, "there must be something here."

I stopped, I grabbed the camera and I almost ran out of the car. Yes. I could see one single musk ox. Far away, still quite clearly. I ran in the moss, as far as I could, untill a river stopped me, Terje stayed at the car, smiing. And I started to shoot. Not the best photos in the world. But the evidence I need. Now I have finally seen a musk!

I am thrilled to be able to share these photos with you :-)

Dear Diary

Dear Diary.

I am at Lillehammer today, with Terje. He is running "Birkebeiner'n" and I am here to be the driver when we drive the 5-6 hours back home tonight. I have brought my notebooks and will work on my book, but first I had planned to write today's blogpost. I opened the computer and sat looking at the screen for a long time. Feeling blank. After amost 1400 posts, almost 5 years of blogging, ideas flowing like flooded rivers mostly, sometimes like dry creeks......well, today I felt totally blank.

I looked through my photos from yesterday in Stavanger. The day was filled with a meeting, but I was up early with the intention of giving myself a couple of hours as a tourist in this beautiful city. Instead I had to do some pressing work and was sitting in the hotel room, glued to my cell phone. Well, still I managed to squeeze in 10 tourist minutes, walking from the hotel over to where I found a taxi which took me to the meeting, and I got some great shots, the cathedral, the small lake Breiavannet, beautiful swans, the first autumn colours. I could make a blogpost using some of these photos of course, but still......I feel blank. I can't find the angle of the post.

Then I could make a post about the taxi drive in the afternoon from the meeting at The International House in Stavanger to the airport. The driver wondered why I had been in this special house and I told him about my work for the christian refugee organisation. "He looked at me and said; You know, I am a muslim. You know muslims don't you, the people who blow themselves up in the air in fantastic explotions?" He looked at my face, laughed, and continued; "No, I am no musim, I am a newborn Christian. Halleluja. Jesus is the Lord." Then he started to play some music for me, Elvis singing about The Man from Galilea, Elvis singing "O Store Gud" (oh my, what is the English title of this fantastic hymn?.....How Great Thy God....or what??????) We exchanged blessings when I left the taxi at the airport.

I could also make a post about the afternoon, the flight to Oslo, discovering a new author at the airport - Linda Olsson from Sweden/New Zealand, the train ride up to Lillehammer where I had a date with my lover. But from the minute my lover met me at Lillehammer station I could not write anything. That's for me and my lover, for me and Terje only.

Night somewhere

I came to the hotel late and counted between two options - go to bed or go out to look at life. Go to bed, my common sense told me. It is late, you have a long day tomorrow. My stomack protested noisily; "I am so hungry, you will never get to sleep without any food!!!!!"

So I went out. Bought a very unhealthy, but oh so good, sausage, and a bottle of water, passed a gipsy playing harmonica, stoppped, gave him money, changed smiles with the player and stood for a long time listening. The day, the night, changed, became an adventure........not a duty to stay away from my own bed because of a work meeting.

Afterwards I walked down to the harbour. Looking at life. It was a beautiful night, but made me oh so sad to see all the drunk people. grownups. On a Thursday night. Alot of laughter were heard, but the air was filled with sadness. with emptiness.....

God, creator of life, protector of life. Stay close, fill your creation with your spirit, fill your hours with your light, write your name in my heart, in the hearts of all your creation.

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Photos: Stavanger last night. I was hoping to meet my "little" brother, he is here this week to contuct Stavanger Symphonic Orchestra......but he had another appointment and when he was ready it was too late for me..........well, there will always be another time.

There is always a first time

Everything has a first time. Your first step, your first time to pick a dandelion, your first time to fall in love, your first kiss, your first time to write a book, your first time to create glass art in Venezia, your first time to travel to India...........

Yesterday was my first time to eat sushi!

My two girls and I met in town after work/school, destination Sushi Bar.

Ingrid tried sushi earlier this summer, in Amsterdam and in Barcelona, Marta had a little taste at a friend's home a few weeks ago. None of them could forget the heavenly taste, both of them have asked me again and again over the past weeks; Mamma, when can we go to Sushi Bar?

 

"Oh, it's your first time?" the waitress cried out, "then we will make a huge plate for you with everything on. You must taste it all"

Ingrid is aready an expert, with sushi, and with the eating sticks.

Dressed for the occation, or......

Little sister collecting memories of big sister.........

Big sister collecting memories of little sister.......while mother drinks every moment in like sweet, sweet wine.

 

Clever girls used eating sticks.......I had to ask for knife and fork.....

Half an hour later the waitress came back: You say you are beginners! You ate it all? Wow!! I'm impressed!

All three of us met her smile: We loved it. We will be back :-)

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Afterwards it was time for shopping......

There will be more mother/daughters' days. They are too precious.

Just doing nothing

My rocking chair, my sweet peas, my thoughts.....

.....add a little sunshine.....

......and life is good.

The great harvest of three plums

A few years ago we planted a plumtree in The Blue Garden. This year it gave us the wonderful harvest of three/3!!! plums. One for Marta, one for Terje, one for me. Terje picked them the other day and came in to share.The best plums we've ever tasted.

It takes some years before a plum tree carries a full harvest, may be ours can shower us with sweet plums next autumn? By the way, do you know that an olive tree needs 50 years to give fruit, more than 100 years to be at its best. Talk about patience!

The olive tree has a lesson to teach me. I am always so impatient. I want everything to happen here and now, or even to have it happend already yesterday. In Spain there is an old olive tree which is dated back about 200 years. I would love to sit down under this tree. I would close my eyes and listen to its tales. 2000 years of tales of life gathered in its branches, in its fruits. Can you imagine?

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The above words were what created the reflection, the story of life, I wrote on Saturday.

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If you were to listen to a story from an olive tree, what kind of story would you ike to be told?

I dream of an old tree in my garden, where I can sit down and listen to stories, where I can sit down and share my own stories. May be our plum tree can be such a tree.

Do you have a story tree? Which stories do you share?

Photos: the first one is from our garden, the two others from Costa del Sol, Spain.

The sound of glass music

We spent yesterday over at the northern side of the fjord. A "water day" at the museum Kystens Arv. After an outdoor service with the bishop, we were shown different "tablå", and when water and its music was introduced as the next one out, my mind flew right down to Venezia and my meetings with glass there, on the lagoon islands.

While waiting for the performance to begin, I remembered the sculptures from Murano.....

....and most of all I remembered my very first attempt to handle gass, with Mauro's steady hands helping me....

The theme yesterdays was the glass balls used by fishermen. Three local artists had worked together, making colourful balls, making instruments out of glass, making music.

A breathtaking "tablå". yes, glass makes music, glass makes colours, gass makes movements.

I took a video, and tried to post it here. Sorry, I didn't make it. I tried to post it at YouTube to link it here......no luck. So old fashioned photos and words have to do!

 

While visiting Mauro in June, Terje bought me a necklace in black and red. A friend saw it and told me she coudn't stop thinking about it.....the black beads representing the life and the love between me and Terje, the red threads are what keeps us together, and they are also my travels, friends I meet, the freedom our love gives us,the life I live and love......always spinned around the deep, intimate love between Terje and me.

One day I want, I SHALL go back to Venezia, and while there I'll visit Mauro's new studio. For a few days I want to be his apprentice, for a few days I want to sing the sound of glass music.

The words are coming again

Yesterday morning, after breakfast, I made myself ready for my Saturday morning walk in the city. Just before leaving, I put a Moleskin notebook in my purse; "may be some words willl come today?"

It was a wet, cold day, autumn has arrived. I took some photos but didn't really know what I was looking for. I wanted to visit a new museum in town, but I was too early, it wasn't opened yet.

I was in need of a coffee, but the first place I tried was also closed - not my day this! But then my luck turned. At Choco Boco at Solsiden, a coffee house I've never visited before, I got coffee, a glass of water and a quiche lorraine. And best of all, I got a quiet table up on the landing.........and the words came back to me.

Another chapter is written, read aloud only to Terje yet......and I start to believe in my project again.

You don't need to travel far to meet the world

You know, sometimes you don't need to pack a suitcase, hurry off to the airport, suffer long flight hours to travel the world. All I had to do last night was to cook an Italian meal, and soon afterwards friends from Eritrea, who are in town for a week, came, and also a Norwegian friend with her husband from Lebanon arrived a little later. Plates were also set for me and Terje, for Marta and Ingrid Elise.

How I loved listening to the music around the table. Mostly we spoke English, Rassan from Libanon could speak Arabic with Eritrean Zere and Tekie, Zere and Tekie sometimes spoke Tigrinia,Rassan and his Norwegian wife Astrid mosty speak French in between themselves, sometimes we had to translate something for Marta to Norwegian. Marta speaks very good English, though African English is a new challenge, and now she wants to learn French. She has had two lessons in school and could say a few words to Rassan. Rassan even had a fifth language which he shared with us after the meal - piano playing.

I found my two travel diaries from my Eritrean travels, 10 and 8 years old. We shared stories and memories.

When the house was quiet and the dishes were done, late, late, I read the travel diaries again. 10 years is a long time, it was like opening and reading a new book. When I went to bed, I knew that one chapter in my (if I ever write it) upcoming travel tale book, will be about Eritrea and my friends there.

An afternoon "travel" in The Blue Garden

Travels, long days at work.....it hasn't been much time for the garden this summer. And soon it will be too cold and too dark in the afternoons when I come home.

But still the afternoons are nice, and the roses overwhelming.

Every day is a day to enjoy beauty. The colours are from another palette than those at Costa Del Sol. Milder, a litte sky may be, white like a Nordic summer night, or like snow.....with a blush. I wonder what this rose is dreaming of. May be a reflection of a dream, a memory deep inside myself. A day, a moment to remember.

Ready to give, to share what you have, even though nature is moving towards autumn and darkness.

Around a corner I stumble upon colours with a Spanish reflection.

I am enjoying an afternoon "travel" in the blue garden. My mind wander, to people and places elsewhere......but I grab it back, looking around. This is here and now. This is my precious life. This is the ife I am given. God help me to live it as it is meant to be lived.