With August coming it is time to lit candles at night again. The Nordic summer always light summer nights are over. Kind of bittersweet, I can smell that the season is turning, but when I go for a walk late at night, I love to watch my house, knowing that if I was a stranger passing this house, I would want to stop, know on the door, wanting to be invited inside.
The not so late night is still light enough to eat homemade pizza directly from the grill out on the kitchen veranda though,
with a salad fresh from the garden.
During the day I enjoy tea and knitting breaks out in the garden, knowing that the darker nights have a promise of long hours of tea, knitting, books and music indoors.
I go for a hike in the woods and know that August, like every month all through the year, is a favourite month.
It is the time of the year when the woods are filled with berries, ready to pick, all for free.
We fill a thermos with coffee, wrap some sandwiches, pack our rucksacks and hike the short distance up the hills behind our house.
Blueberries, vaccinium myrtillus (the wild, Norwegian type) are our main goal, but we also seek the gold of the woods,
the cloudberries :-) When we find them and fill a bucket, I send a message to our son Øystein and her Silje, "do you want us to bring cloudberry cream to the name day party for your little yet unborn?" They do of course, cloudberry cream, the traditional dessert for very special events.
Terje is much better picking berries than me, so after a while I sit down with a cup of coffee and a book.
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I took some footage of Terjes berry picking. You can watch it in my most previous YouTube video:
I know where the gate to eventyret (the fairytale) is. It is not always easy to find. Some days it is there, right in front of you, other days it is hidden, you can search high and low without finding it.
Once you find the gate, don't be afraid to walk though it. Make sure to leave most of what you always carry behind, bring good shoes, open eyes and a beating heart.
And start walking.
The world behind the gate is a world of magic. A world to stir your imagination, your creativity.
The very strange thing about this world of eventyret is that though you can't bring anything with you in there, you can always bring things out. The gate is like that. A magic gate.
Time is of no importance in this land behind the gate. A minute, an hour, days. No matter how short, how long, the land of eventyret always have its gifts to offer you. To fill your mind, your body, your heart.
You have never found that gate, you say? Are you sure? Well, I know it is there, not right in front of you, but take a look over your shoulder, no, not the right one, your left shoulder. Can you see it? Yes, I knew you could :-)
Why not go for a hike there just now. Leave your chores and worries behind, go searching for the adventure.
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I took these photos the other day, right behind our cabin. The gate to eventyret can be anywhere of course, eventyret, where we can heal our body, soul and heart.
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My latest YouTube-video (in English):
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An updated list of my active blogs:
Akeleiehagen - The Blue Garden (click on the picture)
Fløy en liten blåfugl - my birding journal (click on the picture)
maskerade - my knitting journal (click on the picture)
Britt Arnhilds dagboksblader - my online journal (click on the picture)
Nederst i hagen - my greenhouse diary (click on the picture)
Britt Arnhilds naturdagbok - my nature journal (click on the picture)
Hytteliv på Rastarbo - cabin life (click on the picture)
Terje have had 5 weeks off work this summer. It has been lovely weeks, partly at home, partly travelling in Norway, partly at the cabin. This is the last vacation weekend, Monday morning Terje is going back to work. Since March and almost till his vacation started, Terje worked from home because of the corona lockdown, but from Monday morning he will bicycle down to his office early in the morning, bicycle back home in the afternoon. Everything as usual.
For me nothing will be as usual. For the first time I will not go back to work after the summer vacation, but stay at home as a retired.
My last day at work was April 2nd, then I had April as my vacation time, which made May 1st the start of my new life. Then Terje was still at home, everything was so strange because of the lockdown, so much happened even though we spend most of our time at home. The pandemic is still a threat for the whole world, but for the moment the situation here in Norway is almost like normal. Of course we must take care, wash our hands, use antibac, keep distance, we can't go to Stockholm to see Torgeir, Torgeir cannot come here, but still, our every day life feels quite normal.
And in the middle of this almost normality, my life will not at all be the same. Of course none of us have any clue what life has up in its sleeves for us, what the view around the next corner will be. But I hope that the days, weeks, months, hopefully years ahead will be good ones, where the road rises to meet me.
As society here in Norway is slowly opening up, and we are now allowed to meet 20 people together, as long as we wash our hands, stay one meter apart, no handshakes, no hugs, my colleagues decided it was full time to arrange a feast to say thanks to me for my 20 years working for the diocese. I had my first work day there Mai 1st 2000, the last work day May 1st 2020.
We started just after work ended, with a two hours long walk around town to look at old trees and a few gardens. Sure, my old colleagues know me well and knew that this was something I would love.
A glorious day, glorious people, glorious trees. I let myself be filled and walked around with a smile on my face. Like in so many other cities, Trondheim has a huge amount of old and also some new trees. Many of them, well, I guess all of them, have a history, and yesterday afternoon we were told the history of many of them. And their names.
I am often wandering around in the city, looking at houses, birds, flowers, but never have I walked around focusing especially on trees. What an eye opener.
I knew the name of a few of the trees already, I learned a few more yesterday, but I still have a long way to go. And I will start walking that road right away :-)
The walk ended up in a restaurant downtown where we had dinner. My food was sprinkled with so many nice words, I could fly home on blessed wings.
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An updated the list of my active blogs:
Akeleiehagen - The Blue Garden (click on the picture)
Fløy en liten blåfugl - my birding journal (click on the picture)
maskerade - my knitting journal (click on the picture)
Britt Arnhilds dagboksblader - my online journal (click on the picture)
Nederst i hagen - my greenhouse diary (click on the picture)
Britt Arnhilds naturdagbok - my nature journal (click on the picture)
Hytteliv på Rastarbo - cabin life (click on the picture)
We are election a new little baby in the family, a new grandchild for me and Terje. Our son Øystein and his Silje will have a little girl. Leaner is 4 1/2 now, Milian is soon to be 1 1/2, I am thrilled to know that I will soon be able to cuddle a new little baby.
This time there are quite a few knitters around, so all I have made so far (it might be more) is this cute little cardigan, in stripes, the off white is final from Rauma, the pink is a caddied yarn for a local indigo dier.
Like everybody else I have always been told that being a grandparent was something very special and something completely different from being a parent. And I can sign this, sure it is. We are lucky to have our two grandsons living just a 10 minutes drive from us, and the new little girl will be even a bit closer.
My old biskop, bishop Thor, once said: "Of course God is still here in the world, here among us. As long as he keeps the uteruses open, He is here." Yes, He is.
These shells, believe it or not, are made by glass. By my dear friend Mauro in Venezia. Wonderful pieces of art, aren't they :-)
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An updated the list of my active blogs:
Akeleiehagen - The Blue Garden (click on the picture)
Fløy en liten blåfugl - my birding journal (click on the picture)
maskerade - my knitting journal (click on the picture)
Britt Arnhilds dagboksblader - my online journal (click on the picture)
Nederst i hagen - my greenhouse diary (click on the picture)
Britt Arnhilds naturdagbok - my nature journal (click on the picture)
Hytteliv på Rastarbo - cabin life (click on the picture)
I feed the garden birds almost all year round, which rewards us with quite a lot of different birds. Among our favourites are the great spotted woodpeckers. They are at our cabin also, and some times we even see European green woodpecker there, and even from time to time some of the other woodpeckers which you can find in Norway.
I had breakfast out in the garden this morning when this guy came and had his breakfast together with me. Yes, he is a male, something I can see from the red spot on his neck.
It is a lovely summer day here in my corner of the world today. I plan to spend it out in the garden, mostly weeding, sorting out a few plants, enjoying the beauty of it all. A privilege now when I am retired.
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The book in the above picture, A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier, have you read it? I love it and will talk more about it another day. Now when I am back to blogging, I have so many plans.......
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An updated the list of my active blogs:
Akeleiehagen - The Blue Garden (click on the picture)
Fløy en liten blåfugl - my birding journal (click on the picture)
maskerade - my knitting journal (click on the picture)
Britt Arnhilds dagboksblader - my online journal (click on the picture)
Nederst i hagen - my greenhouse diary (click on the picture)
Britt Arnhilds naturdagbok - my nature journal (click on the picture)
Hytteliv på Rastarbo - cabin life (click on the picture)
My dad had an appointment at the hospital last night. I drove him there, but because of the pandemic I was obviously not allowed to come with him indoors. I knew about that and had packed my knitting and a book, planning to sit in the car while waiting.
The day had been cold and wet, but just as I left my father at the entrance door, the rain stopped.
This weather is perfect for a walk, I told myself, and off I went. First around the hospital park, then further on, to an area with old, beautiful villas.
I bought myself a new cell phone last week, with a very good camera, and of course I could not stop myself photographing a few of the charming houses.
I used to come here from time to time when I was young, now I have not walked these streets in decades.
As I walked around, enjoying the charm, shooting photos, my mind wandered to my House in the Woods. It is such a long, long time since I have taken you somewhere at all around my lovely hometown, Trondheim. And I took some extra photos.
So here I am, with some great photos for you. What do you think? I might even open my blog Trondheim Through All Seasons again :-)
For some years I have had an account on instagram called TrondheimTales. When I opened it I connected it with my work email. Now, with this new cell phone, I am unable to get access to it, so I don't know what will happen. Probably it will just stay out there just as it is, with no new photos. I know I will miss posting Trondheim images, but I can always open something new. What about @trondheimhouses :-)
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A few days ago I uploaded episode 18 in English on YouTube. I am so proud of it, my English is flowing better, the filming is so good with my new cell phone camera and the tales I tell are lovely to listen to (in my opinion, >blush>)
Here is it:
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An updated the list of my active blogs:
Akeleiehagen - The Blue Garden (click on the picture)
Fløy en liten blåfugl - my birding journal (click on the picture)
maskerade - my knitting journal (click on the picture)
Britt Arnhilds dagboksblader - my online journal (click on the picture)
Nederst i hagen - my greenhouse diary (click on the picture)
Britt Arnhilds naturdagbok - my nature journal (click on the picture)
Hytteliv på Rastarbo - cabin life (click on the picture)
Summer has finally arrived, and we spend many weekends at our cabin. In this week's video on YouTube I sit in our freshly started rhododendron garden at the cabin, dreaming back to my visit at Frances Mayes´ Bramasole, two years ago.
All texts and photos by Britt-Arnhild Wigum Lindland
About me
About me
I am living in a red house surrounded by a blue garden near Trondheim, Norway. I love everydays and post about my steps through life. Britt-Arnhild's House in the Woods is open to everybody. Welcome over!
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