Britt-Arnhild's House in the Woods

Play the games, tell the tales

Benjamin, our nephew, is here on a sleep over. For the first time without his big sister. Last night he challeneged both me and Terje in chess. I collect chess games when I travel and have a lovely, colourful collection. But how often do I play?

Far from often enough. Chess, or other board cames. Why is there so little time for them any more.

I am reading The Desert and the Sown by Gertrude Bell right now (preparing for my upcoming week in Syria of course). Already from the first page I was stuck by Bell's artistic skills as a story teller. I always read with a pen, and believe me, before this book is finished it will be very colourful :-) Just listen to this, where she talks about the art of travel:

The gates of the enclosed garden are thrown open, the chain of the entrance of the sanctuary is lowered, with a wary glance to right and left you step forth, and behold! the immesurable world. The world of adventure and of enterprise, dark with hurrying storms, glittering in raw sunlight, an unanswered question and an unanswerable doubt hidden in the fold of every hill.

Gertrude Bell meets people when she travels, she listen to their stories and their tales. I am mezmerised.

Litteratur is a sorce where we find tales of life. So is art, music, theatre, dance....... For me, like it was for Gertrude Bell, travelling is an important source. The meeting of people, of places....

A few months ago we got a new corner at my job, with a sofa and a low table, close to the reseption area. A perfect place to sit down for a few minutes with a cup of coffee in the morning, before you start work. As soon as you sit down a colleague or two come with their coffee cups and soon you are sharing. Words. Tales. Laughter. Concern. Friendship.

Let us not forget to share the tales of life with each other. Let us not forget to knit up words of history to make coats of many colours. For ourselves. For our children and grandchildren. For generations to come.

Let us help each other to explore the world.

Blogging is one way of doing it? Do you have other ways?

Photos: From Bosnia and Croatia

Copyright text and images: Britt Arnhild Wigum Lindland

Preparing for travels

I hardly know what foot to stand on right now. An autumn filled with amazing travels, east of the sun, west of the moon is about to start. I woke with a bad cold this morning and is home from work today, in the sofa, wrapped in a colourful quilt, a huge mug of tea at hand and a stack of travel books, I hope the cold will leave as soon as possible.

The first travel coming up is a daytrip to Oslo. I make it a sleep over though, from Sunday till Monday, to visit good friends. Back in Trondheim again Monday afternoon, and then Tuesday I'm going up to Selbu, the land of the knitted Selbu-mitten, the Selbu rose.......which reminds me that I am still working on a pair of Selbu mittens for Marta. Started them last year and promosed, really promised that they would be ready for this winter. My fingers know what they have to do!

The book I am reading is Letters From Syria by Freya Stark. Freya is one of my favorite female travel writers. What a woman!!!!! I know I can never travel anything close to what she did, how she did.........but, wonder over wonders, in 10 days I am going to Syria!!!!

I have no idea if I will be able to blog during my week there, but when I am back home......oh, I must decide which basket to bring with me to gather travel tales.....

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Photos: a garden in Trondheim, from a Saturday morning walk.

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I am sorry I can't write back to you all thanking you for comments, messages and emails about my blogging. My thank to you all is my continuous blogging. Is that okay?

Defeated

Ok, ok, ok......I admit it. I am defeated.....by blogging. It is written, not in sand but in stone....this lady, or is it this madam (?) can't keep away from blogging. She is too curious of life, she has too much to share, and she loves the comments from her blog readers too much.

....too much to share......whoops, I don't mean to be rude....honestly....
....

I hope you enjoy these stones. They are photographed outside the Nidaros cathedral workshop early one Saturday morning a couple of weeks ago.

It is afternoon here in Trondheim. Marta and I had dinner when I came home from work, smoked salmon, scrambled eggs, vegetables and fresh bread which Marta baked in school today (Terje is in Denmark for a few days). Marta did the dishes, I had a nap, Marta started her homework and in a couple of hours I'm on my way to a parent/teacher meeting. But first I wanted to check the comments in my blog.......but then I remembered. I am on a blog break! Oh no. how could that be?????? No new blog post today, no basket filled with lovely comments from my dear readers?

It didn't take me very long to change my mind......and here I am. Blogging is my destiny. And I really hope there is no AB (anonymous bloggers) out there. If there is I know my family will send me there right away.

Destiny is playing with me.......

I know I told you I need a break from blogging, but I never said anything about a break from photographing, did I? So why wasn't my small camera in my purse today when I and a friend visited one of the bookstores in town where Cecilia Samartin was signing her books? Why wasn't my camera there when I bought her newest book Mofongo and also the great new food for the soul-book with magic recipes from the book.

It did help though that her charming husband was there to shot a photo of me and Cecilia, and he did promise that he would post it on Cecilia's facebook page...........well, I'll be looking.

1 - 0 to destiny.

I know I told you I need a break from blogging, but I never said anything about a break from photographing, did I? So why wasn't my camera there when I left my office in the Archbishop's Palace this afternoon, just as our king, King Harald of Norway entered the same palace. Was it may be because I already have these great photos of Marta and Crown Prince Haakon?

2 - 0 to destiny.

BUT, WHY CAN I NOT SEE THE PHOTOS OF MARTA AND THE CROWN PRINCE WHEN I FOLLOW THIS LINK. ONLY A KIND OF CROSS WHERE THE PHOTOS SHOULD HAVE BEEN???????

3 - 0 to destiny

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Okay, okay, I might make by blogging break short, I might even give it a dead end right now.......and start blogging again (well, did I ever stop.......)

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Blah to destiny

10 - 3 to me!

Not back yet......

My lamp still needs oil. Several drops came in the mail today and I greedily poured it over to my dry oil lamp.

From an unknown blogreader I got a beautiful card of sympathy because the death of my dear friend. With the card was also a letter containing words of love and friendship.

Thank you dear reader.

Time for a break

I have a few things to do......

....like finishing my travel diaries for the past years....

....working on my writing....

....reading about Syria....

....dreaming about Syria....

...write some letters...

.......do some thinking.......

....and about 1001 more things....

See you......later.

The cathedral at all hours, almost

Last week we had a three days meeting with church workers from our neighbour dioceses in Sweden and Finland. We stayed at the Pilegrimsgården, next door to the cathedral. One night we had a prayer in the cathedral, and on our way there bishop Tor took us around the amazing building, sharing stories and anecdotes from the cathedral's 1000 years of history.

I am closely knitted to the cathedral, has been so almost all my life. For more than 10 years now I have passed the cathedral morning and afternoon on my way to and from work, still it feels amazingly new and overwhelming each and every day. Often I do a walk around the church just to feel the closeness, the mightyness.

Our nightly walk continued inside the huge cathedral. Dean Ragnhild showed us around. Here we are in Johanneskapellet (St.John's Chapel) and Ragnhild is about to open a new art panel by the artist Håkon Gullvåg.

 

I can look at the panels, the shrines again and again. Every time they have something new to tell.

We ended our visit with a prayer at the main altar.....

.....before we walked out into the dark night.

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Terje and I drove downtown last night for a late cappuccino, something we often do. Last night we chose a coffee shop near the cathedral. We parked our car and on impulse I said: Terje, let us walk around the cathedral before we have our coffee" So we did. Hand in hand.

PS: I'm sorry the second photo turned out so dark. It doesn't look quite like this in my photo file.

We reached the goal. A mountain hike

Mother Nature is changing her palette. Warm autumn colours are spread out on a whim, welcoming us to come and play. It was Saturday morning, and Terje and I were ready for a hike. Our goal was to climb one of the mountains we see from the cabin terracce, come up from the back side and then hopefully see the cabin, far, far away.

Our hike started through the forest. We looked for berries and had brought a bucket just in case, but did not find many enough to pick.

Not many enough for the winter supply, I mean. Terje always finds enough to eat. he loves berries. Sometimes I wonder if he could live out in the wilds, drinking water, eating berries.

Halfway up the mountain we passed a sports cabin. The key was there for everybody to use, but the weather was nice so we sat outside, having our lunch. Bread with Birkebeinerskinke ( a kind of smoked ham), eggs, yoghurt, water and coffee. A perfect hiking meal.

But we needed to go on. Would we reach the top? Would we see Rastarbo, our cabin?

More berries. I use these in my cooking and have almost run out of them at home, but picking must be for another day.

We had no map and no idea if we would reach the top where we could see Rastarbo. The path was easy to find though, marked all the way with red sticks or red paint on stones.

The beauty of nature was immense. Sometimes I had to stop, the sights made me dizzy.

The top was not far away now. In one direction we could see the ocean. But still some way to go to know if we would be able to see Rastarbo.

Terje walked ahead of me, and suddenly I saw him waving. Yes, it must be the goal. I can't say I ran towards him, the hike had been long and steep, but his enthusiasm gave me the extra strength I needed.........and then I was there also.

I reached my goal.

I like you....

I like you, not only because who you are, but also because who I am when I am together with you.

(words read on facebook this morning)

Photo Britt Arnhild Wigum Lindland, somewhere on the border between Bosnia and Croatia, two countries with a lot of forgivness lived in their history. Let us praice forgiveness and friendship today, not hatred and reprisal.

Shadows.............and the migration of a secret

Text and photos Britt Arnhild Wigum Lindland

Crisp, sunny autumn air. A day out in the countryside. Visiting an old manor. The sun did her best to enlighten the shadows of life lived here through the centuries.

One day last week, then again yesterday, I have spent the day at Ørlandet, one hour by boat west of Trondheim. Both days we've visited the old Austrått manor

Yesterday I took an extra break during the day and sat on the front stairs, in the sparkling, burning sun. Playing hide and seek with the shadows.

Yesterday's secret.......remember it is autumn time. The little bird already migrated south for the winter. It brought the secret with her.