Britt-Arnhild's House in the Woods

The Sunday Gardener. Impatience.

@brittarnhild

Middle of March. Frost during the nights, but the days are lovely, making us long for May and proper spring. I love this time of the year, love it deeply, though with a mixed love. I want to make time stand still. I want time to move fast to make the garden grow.

To help nature and time a little, I have put some glass domes over some of the bulbs, wanting them to grow faster.

I have no idea if this works, but it makes some nice spots in the garden.

 

I have spent hours outdoors in the sun today, enjoying Vita Sackville-West´s book about Sissinghurst.

 

 

 

The Blue Garden blog is open now, with almost daily posts, and I am sharing garden photos both on instagram @akeleiehagen and snapchat username: akeleiehagen

Welcome over.

 

A soup made of funny fruits

@brittarnhild

Can you remember I wrote about funny fruit? The concept where our local grocery store (chain) sell fruit and vegetable at a reduced prize because it doesn´t have the standard size or shape?. You can read my first post about it here.

I continue to buy funny fruit and funny vegetables, and I continue to let it inspire my cooking.

Today I used carrots, red onion and garlic to make a fresh soup for lunch......

.....a soup which we ate out in The Blue Garden, together with still warm homemade bread.

It is only March 14th, and The Blue Garden is already open for the season. This must be record.

 

 

The Ethiopian Taxidriver

@brittarnhild

The taxidriver who drove me home from the airport this afternoon originally came from Ethiopia. He has lived in Norway in 9 years and spoke fluently Norwegian.

We spent the whole drive talking about Ethiopia, and the driver´s smile got broader and broader when he learned how much I actually know about his country. As I sat beside him, in the front seat, I couldn´t actually see his smile, but I heard it in his voice :-)

Now I long to go back to this amazing country, lovely people. If when I do, I will bring some ping pong stuff, to give away to all the youngsters playing along the road.

 

More sculptures

@brittarnhild

I was out near the coast yesterday, an hour by boat from Trondheim. A work meeting. Before going back to the city I had some extra time and had planned to visit an exhibition with tapestry made by the late artist Hannah Ryggen. She has been a favorite artist of mine for many years. Many of her big tapestries are here in Trondheim, and last Sunday Terje and I went to a lecture in the Art and Craft Museum here where the theme was the political messages in Hannah Ryggen´s art. Now I was looking forward to see more.

Unfortunately the art gallery was closed because of some water leakage. So instead of more Hannah Ryggen art I decided to go for a walk. As soon as I was outside the building I met the first sculpture (the first photo), showing Hannah Ryggen, her painter husband Hans and their daughter. And as I walked around I found more.

I knew very well who the artist was. Astrid Dahlsveen. In her first marriage, before I was born, married to my uncle John, my mother´s brother. Astrid and John´s son is my first cousin. I have known her art for years, well, all my life, and love her sculptures.

I walked back into the art center, asking if they had any information about Astrid. Unfortunately they had not, so I continued taking photos, and posted some of them on my facebook page.

I am trying to find more information about this artist, and today Her grandson Sune wrote me to tell many years ago he made a catalogue for one of her exhibitions, and in it he added both pictures and information about the artist.

......so, I might have my curiosity satisfied :-)

Nora dancing

@brittarnhild

Last summer, or may be it was almost two years ago, I had the pleasure of walking thorugh Trondheim searching for statues. The well known ones, but also the remotes, the hidden. As I found and photographed them, I blogged about them here at Britt-Arnhild´s House in the Woods.

The other day, when I was out walking, taking a detour from work to a meeting, I happened to pass a statue I had never seen before. It was beautiful. I seaked into the garden where it was and took a couple of photos, and posted them today on my facebook page, askinf if anyone knew anything about them.

It didn´t take long before the first comment came, and now, a few hours later, I know a lot more about this lovely statue, which is Nora, from Ibsen´s Doll House, dancing.

I must make this detour again I think, to look closer.

 

The Sunday Gardener. Cleaning the Greenhouse

@brittarnhild

I know it is a bit early for our latitude, but with the nice weather and springlike temperatures we´ve had the last couple of weeks, I woke up this morning with a strong urge to spring clean my greenhouse.

So with a warm coat, red wellingtons and a broom in hand I stafted the task. Dead leaves and spiders, dust and a lovely smell of soil and coming spring, I worked for a couple of hours.

At one point I sat down in the comfortable chair I have out there in my tiny little greenhouse, dreaming of the summer which is ahead, and also thinking of how different Terje and I are. While I was out there longing for spring, he was out in the woods, cross country skiing, wanting winter to last as long as possible.

Our differences is the perfect growth of deep love.

Tidying and cleaning encouraged creativity, and soon I was busy planting and sowing.

 

I have not finished Andrea Wulf´s The Brother Gardeners yet, but in between reading about the men in the 1800th century who gave Great Britain so many new plants, I am deeply enjoying a completely new book about the garden at Monk´s House, Virginia Woolf´s Garden.

 

I want to stop the time

@brittarnhild

Today was the day for my mother´s 85th birthday party. Her birthday was two days ago, and then she celebrated with the closest friends. Today we were family gathered.

I was up early to finish the cakes I had promised to bring. To make a card to go with our gift. To finish the last minutes things we had promised to bring.

My mother´s two sisters were there. And so were two of my father´s sisters. My parents´closest friend, who we count as family, have done so all our lives, though they are not so by blood. Two of my brothers. A sister in law. My parents´grandchildren.

The birthday girl and her "baby son" played Grieg.

We ate. We talked. We sang. We played. We ate some more.

At one point I almost started to cry. I don´t want this to end. I don´t want time to go on.......

 

World Day of Prayer

@brittarnhild

Today, the first Friday in March, is World Day of Prayers. This ecumenical day started in the US is 1887, by women who looked around and saw the needs.

In my praying book I have written down a name today. A little boy, who needs prayers. No name mantioned here, but God knows him, loves him.

My duty, duty of love, is to embrace this little motherless boy in my prayers. Today. And in days, weeks, months, years to come.

 

 

Three flowers

@brittarnhild

I have been picking flowers today.

In between.

First flower is tickets for the film Salt of the Earth.

Second flower, tickets for the theatre, a Norwegian performance,
Oskar og den rosa damen.

Third flower cod tongues from the fish market.

 

The bouquet looks lovely, and makes an ordinary day very special.

The photos are from a garden in Funchal, Madeira in 2011.
I know the photos and the words don´t actually go together,
but I wanted to share anyway.

 

My first deacon stole

@brittarnhild

Can you remember I wrote about deacon stoles in the church of Norway some months ago? You find the post here. For many months, ever since before the summer, I have been planning today´s special servive, when all the deacons in the diocese would have their stole put on their shoulders by one of our two bishops.

The special service is today. As a matter of fact it is just now when I write these words. My green stole, made by my best friend Solveig, is finished, I should have been in the cathedral, but here I am, recovering from a nasty stomach bug.......

Well, you never plan your stomach bugs do you? And when they come there is nothing you can do........or actually, there is something I can do. I am reading the embroidery on the back side of my stole, invisible to anybody else, seen by me and my Creator. Words from Paul´s letter:

and now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.