Britt-Arnhild's House in the Woods

Which side do you show

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My sister in law has a song about a stone which is so sad because it is left with its most beautiful side faced down. No one can see its beauty.

 

Being in a reflective mood these days,
this follows me.

Which side of me do people see? Which side do I allow them to see? 
People belive I am strong, always smiling, optimistic, energetic...

....which is only part of the truth.

 

I fight hard not to give away my weakness, my ugliness, my faults.

My tears are only for those I love,
those I trust with the deepest of my heart.

 

What about you? Which side do you display? What do you want me to see? What are you hiding?

 

Or even more important,

which side of you do I allow you to show me?

 

 

You find my sister in law, Fabula´s music and lyrics here:

Fabula

 

Click on the small image with the trees, just over the eye, to find her lyrics.

 

Turn Me Around

There was this stone
Lying in the sand.
Waiting for someone
To give him a hand.
He said - my better side
Is facing the ground.
Won´t somebode come
And turn me around.

Waiting for that someone
to come my way
Waiting for that magic touch
That will make the day.

There was this shtone
Waiting for a chance.
Hoping that someone
would give him a glance.
He said - the real me
Is facing the ground.
And you won´t believe your eyes
If you turn me around.

Waiting fot that someone
To come my way.
Waiting fot the magic touch
That will make my day.
Fabula

 

Lingonberry Tea

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Today we get all the vegetables and the greens we need, no matter how long, hard and strong the winter is. Life has not always been like that, and for generations seeking green during the snowy winter months was essential, a struggle.

An old Sami once told me a tale from his childhood. He and his siblings loved the long winters, loved to play in the white forrests from early morning till late night. Every day though, their old grandma came out, calling for one of them "find me some green tyttebær leaves, will you"

The tyttebær/lingonberries stay green all through the year, even deep down under the snow. The old Sami women used the green leaves to make "coffee".
Drinking it, her body was offered much needed vitamins and minerals. 

There is no snow around our cabin now, faced south, it easily melts in the sun. I gathered lingonberry leaves, put them in boiled water, making myself a mug of tea. Sitting down, reflecting on generations of foremothers.

I am proud to be the bead in my long chain.

 

 

A Milestone

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Water soothes me.

Its stillness, its move, its sound

it find resonance deep inside me.

I calm down.
I let my mind wander. 

 

Peace
contentment
happiness

is often the result

 

 

I spent time alone the other day, letting water calm me down.
Reflections of life showered me.

I walken on, clean, refreshed, new.

 

A milestone born.

 

Today is another milestone.
Øystein, son #2 is 29.
Marta will be 17 tomorrow. 

 

Happy birthdays Øystein and Marta.

New Path on Mondays. My Extended Blog Family. And a book list

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We spent the weekend at our cabin.

While Terje was busy with his carpentry,
I drove in to the tiny little village with only 17 inhabitants.

The tiny little village with its tiny little vintage shop;
Tingstuo

Tingstuo's owner, Synøve, has a blog,
with the name Tingstuo, of course.

Synøve and I met through blogging a couple of eyars ago.
I blogged about a local late artist and an exhibition with some of her tapestries,
Synøve did the same,
and we met
in blogworld.

It didn't take long for a friendship to develop.

Saturday, as soon as Tingstuo closed for the day,
Synøve surprised us with a visit at our cabin.

 

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A few words about The Blue Studio reading Group's reading list:

The coming Sunday we are to discuss
A Month in the Country, by J.L.Carr,
suggested by Kay

 

 

I have not any other nominations for further reads,
but

Pondside has mentioned
The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje

Marily has mentioned
Eight Girls Taking Pictures, by Whitney Otto

Jane has mentioned
The Shomaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani

 

And myself I want to add
The Piano Teacher by Y.K.Lee
(a novel set in Hong Kong under and after WWII) 

 Add your vote in a comment, and I will set up a list of further reads.

You can also nominate a book, of course.

 

Donna Leon. Blue Studio Reading Group

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I am enjoying a cabin morning in Venezia, with Donna Leoan and Caterina Pellegrini. It is time to discuss The Jewels of Paradise.

(I post as I go today, starting already after one photo and just one sentence.......continuing through the day)

My first point:

- when I started The Jewels of Paradise I had absolutely no idea this was not another Commissario Guido Brunetti book. For almost 100 pages I told myself, when will my dear Guido arrive..........

I think I missed a lot that way.

- my second point:

I LOVE the book

My third point:

I can never resist books which dive deep into a special theme. Like this one and the erea of the baroque and the life of the composer Agostino Steffani. I have spent many hours googling and listening to his music on YouTube, and I even downloaded for my iPad Steffani´s Stabat Mater.

My fourth point:

Cabin breakfast ready......I´ll be back.......

 

 

Niobe, which Caterina Pellegrini found on YouTube
Not exactly my favorite music

 

My fifth point:

Catarina Pellegrini walks around in Venezia/Venice just like commissario Brunetti. They have different eyes though, see different sights.

I love both their walks.

 

My sixth point:

In the Silece, I wonder if you and me are the only one who have had the time to read Donna Leon this week........

My 7th point:

I have tried all week to find a way to contact Donna Leon,
without luck.

 

My 8th point:

Jane, I agree with you, I do miss the fantastic meals Paola serves.
What I find in this book and not in the Brunetti ones though, is the visits to the library and the searches done. I love that!

 

And you are right Jane, about the cost of coffee at Florians.

 

Cross country skiing in imperfect conditions

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Cross country skiing conditions have been perfect lately.
Perfect snow.
Perfect weather.
Perfect tracks.

We have the tracks just outside our livingroom windows, and Terje are out skiing several times a week.

I am not.

I have been missing it though,
and yesterday the time had finally come.

We had an opportunity to take the day off, we decided for a weekend at the cabin, and planned to stop on the mountain pass. Skiing &sun.

 

We woke up to rain,
and temperatures around zero Celsius.

 The worst conditions for waxing skis.

Ok, may be the conditions could have been better.
And I know my skis could have been MUCH better, or was it my skiing technique?

 

We didn´t mind.
I didn´t mind. 

In our backpack we had coffee, pastries and chocolate,
the weather was......weathery

and we had a perfect day.

 

 

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How is your weekend?

I am reading........

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I am reading my latest Donna Leon;
The Jewels of Paradise,

 and I am totally transformed to the city which fills every corner of my heart
(doesd a heart have corners?)

I am walking the calles,
smelling the water from the canals,
listeing to the hustle and bustle of the vaporettos,
stopping for coffee.....

I have almost finished the book,
and look forward to discuss it on Sunday.

I will not reveal any secrets now,
even though it is hard, oh so hard,
not to tell you that it actually took me
almost a hundred pages to discover that..........

......oooops,
there I almost told you anyway.

 

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I do wonder though if I am the only one in The Blue Studio reading Group reading Donna Leon just now?

 

 

 

Stop, will you, please

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We drive the same road every morning.
Except when we take to bus or when we for some reason stay at home.
It is close to our home.

Usually Terje is driving, I, the morning bird, is still tired.
But can´t stop my eyes and my mind to swim in the beauty of a new day.

I always have my cell phone with a camera,
and a small pocket camera at hand.
Some days even my best friend Nikon.

 

This morning the cell phone and the pocket camera shouted out from my bag:
"hi, get us out, we have a mission to complete!"

And I had to ask Terje; stop, will you, please!

The cell phone and the pocket camera have different eyes.
They help me see the world from different angles.
Using different palettes.

 

 Where the one focus on cold, crisp blues,
the other paint the world warm.

Where the one focus on details,
the other shows a sky pointing towards eternity. 

 

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I need them both in my life.

And as my heart, as always in the morning,
fills the prayer basket with concerns and love for my kids,
my body fills with a warm feeling of thankfulnes.

 

You are here with my God.
Always.
Whatever.

Later I park the car,
Terje´s office is just outside town,
and I drive alone the last couple of kilometers.
Filled with the beauty of the morning and the day,
I walk over to where I have my work.

 

In the middle of here,
in the middle of now. 

Never an ordinary day. Or Carpe Diem.

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Of course there is never an ordinary day. I must have been very tired yesterday when I thought so. What a miracle to start every new day fresh, with open eyes.

Yes, I was tired yesterday morning. Me and my sinuses had had another bad night. I was still tired, I wanted to go back to bed. When I opened my computer I got an email from a friend who is now on the other side of the world. He share my complicated sinus affair, and he wrote: "Nothing takes the joy of life from me! I have had my sinus problems since childhood" (My friend is 70!)

 

Nothing takes the joy of life from me!

 

My friend's words followed me.
And all of a sudden I knew;

A bad night, a few bad nights, several bad nights......
......of course it can't take the joy of life from me!

Never!

 

 

 

It is my choice, isn't it?

Carpe Diem

An ordinary day in an ordinary life

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Woke up by the alarmbell at 6.30.
Quite ordinary.

Had breakfast with Terje and read the paper.
Quite ordinary.

 Drove downtown with Terje.
Quite ordinary.

Parked the car and walked towards my office.
Quite ordinary.

 

Then I met this charming guy, in one of the parks in Trondheim. He blinked to me, he smiled.....

....and all of a sudden I knew that there is nothing called an ordinary day.

 

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Now I am curious to see what this quite unordinary day has up in its sleeves for me.