Britt-Arnhild's House in the Woods

December 7th and a new door is open in the calendar

@brittarnhild

 

I am very sad to announce that I will probably post the last English Advent video on YouTube tomorrow. There is quite a lot of work to do these videos and only a few handfuls of people watch them. The Norwegian videos will continue.

 

December 6th. Hand knitted Oranges

@brittarnhild

Cute as an orange a button, or what?
Take a look in today's episode to see more of my hand knitted oranges.

 

 

December 5th. The most amazing Christmas cards

@brittarnhild

 

 

December 4th. Angels, what are they?

@brittarnhild

 

 

December 3rd. The sun rays on your face

@brittarnhild

 

 

December 2nd

@brittarnhild

 

 

December 1st, the first door is open

@brittarnhild

 

 

The night before the advent calendar

@brittarnhild

The corner up in my studio where I record my advent episodes.
The first episode, both in Norwegian and English, is ready, waiting to be published.
I can't wait :-)

 

Advent in advance?

@brittarnhild

It is too easy to fall in the "Christmas in advance - trap", but what about Advent too early?

We have a little spruce out in our backyard, and for the first time we put lights on it this year. This happened a few days ago, it was not meant to shine before yesterday, but as soon as the lights were up, Terje lit them. "Let us call them wintertime lights" he said, and I easily and happy agreed.

Then there are of course tasks which  have to be done early. Like planting bulbs, amaryllis ands hyacinth. I planted the amaryllis a couple of weeks ago, and now they are kept in a dark, cold room down in the basement. In a week or so I will carry them up in the light and the warmth, and hopefully they will bloom for Christmas. The hyacinths are growing slowly out in our cold hallway, already bringing joy every time we pass by. Still just bulbs though, so no fragrance yet. Together with them is a beautiful white hellebore. By the way, in Norway we call the hellebores Christmas roses.

Christmas Songs and Carols

@brittarnhild

Finally, the first Sunday of Advent is here. The Advent season has started, a period I look, if possible, even more forward to than the Christmas Holidays. In my world Christmas is still more than 4 weeks away. Now is the period for longing, for expectations, for peace, quiet, and of course also for all the traditional Christmas preparations.

With a mother who used to be a piano teacher, who has been a master player all her life, who still plays every day on her was towards 92 years of amazing life, I learned to play the piano from a young age. As soon as I started school, aged 7, I was sent to one of mother´s previous piano teachers, the lovely lady Åsta Buen. Finding beautiful music in the white and black piano keys never came easy to me, but I worked steadily, continued to practice and when I was 19 I could master Grieg, Debussy, Brahms. Peterson-Berger and many more of the great composers. Well, master is may be not the correct word, but I could play some of their pieces, even a couple of them quite good.

Then somehow life came in the way.
Studies, love, marriage, children, work.......and the piano was forgotten. Almost.

But every year, when Advent comes, it is like my fingers drag me to the piano in our living room, and I start to play the Christmas songs and the old carols. "Oh, you are playing the piano" Terje exclaimed, with sparkling eyes, after breakfast this morning. Yes, I was playing and his delight makes me want to continue to practice. Every day :-)

 

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Advent is here, and with it, my Advent posting. I hope to do a daily update here in the blog, and from December 1st there will also be (hopefully) a new daily episode on my YouTube-channel, Britt Arnhilds verden (Britt Arnhild´s World) I hope to see you along the path towards Christmas.