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Grandma again

Category: Ramblings | Posted: Mon Jun 02, 2008 3:20 pm

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I just got the message, I'm grandma to a big, beautiful baby girl! She measures 51 cm/20 inches, weighs 4 kgs/8.8 pounds and has lots of dark hair. I think she looks very much like her daddy, but I haven't seen her in real life yet. I'm so happy everything went well, and I think I need to go hide somewhere and cry a bit.

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A trip through the fairy tales

Category: Ramblings | Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2008 7:44 am

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Once upon a time there was a man called Ivo Caprino. He built a fairy tale park near Lillehammer, and we went for a visit.

The trolls play a big part in Norwegian fairy tales. This troll didn't manage to hide before sunrise, and turned into stone. He doesn't look too unhappy about it though:



All proper fairy tales need a castle. Here's the one in the park:



All castles need a princess. This is the one who lives in the castle:



All princesses need lovely surroundings, of course:





And all princesses need a hero to rescue her from the three-headed troll:



A few of our fairy tales comes to life inside that castle. The princess nobody could silence:



Askeladden (the ash lad) and the good helpers:



The three trolls that shared one eye in Heddal woods:



The troll horse and the princess on top of the glass mountain:



Look at the crowd cheering:



This is depicting Edvard Grieg's music "The hall of the mountain king":



You can listen to the dramatic music piece on YouTube.

I think the sandbox is very creative:



Nobody played in it because there was cold rain coming down all day long. We had a nice stay despite of the weather.

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More of those mountains and gentler landscape

Category: Ramblings | Posted: Mon May 26, 2008 1:44 pm

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Since we live near the coast and smack-bang in the middle of those wild Norwegian fjords, we're used to the mountains surrounding us. They're there and we take them for granted. I like it when visitors comment on them, because it helps me to rediscover them too. On our week-end trip I tried to look at those mountains with a fresh eye. I'd like to share some of them, and the stories connected to them.

This one is about half an hour's drive from us. Every time we pass it, we tell the girls that a huge troll got so hungry he bit a large chunk off the top:



This place is notorious for avalanches. They're not big, and nobody's living in their way, but they're dramatic none the less:



This is Trollveggen, the Troll Wall, where lots of people from all over the world come to climb. They say it's a difficult wall to climb. I wouldn't know, I prefer to stand below and look up:



This is the wall to the left of Trollveggen. Can you see the chimney-looking stone up there? That's the exit point for base jumpers and/or paragliders. Such activities were banned in the 1980's because of threacherous winds and lots of accidents. The rescue workers had to put their lives atstake in order to fetch unfortunate people up there. Lots of base jumpers were killed too. The ban does not stop them though, and people are still killed in that wall:



We've also got gentler scenery. This fence is a traditional skigard, made from young trees and spare planks, and juniper bindings. Well, nowadays it's wire of course. The yellow flowers are Brassica napus oleifera:



This farm has sheep, can you see them dotting the green field?



Next year's beef and mincemeat:



Doesn't this look like a lovely place? But the tall mountains are looming right behind those houses, and I wouldn't feel safe here:



I've tried to put together a slide show with photos of mountains, rivers, waterfalls and other assorted scenery. Hope it works for you, click on the photo:



Last edited: Mon May 26, 2008 1:55 pm

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Hip hip hooray! May 17th celebrations and folk costumes

Category: Ramblings | Posted: Sat May 17, 2008 8:04 pm

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We have celebrated today, and the weather has been nearly perfect. The wind was a bit too hard, the temps just a little too low, but at least it wasn't raining. Let's start with the parade, shall we?

Lots of people milling about, it looks a bit disorganized, but looks can be deceptive:





And they're off:







The drill girls (we call'em that, I don't know the proper English words for them):



The school brass band:



And now the costumes, called "bunad". We've got a wide variety of them. Every island, valley, side valley, village and town have their own varieties. Mine is from my father's birth place. It's woven wool, no embroidery. I've got two silver brooches in front, and wear a head dress and jacket when outdoors:





These are from this region. The embroidery in front of the skirt is an apron. I asked the lady to pose for the stewbies, and as you can see she thought it a fun thing to do:



The woolen fabric can be either black or blue. The headdress is embroidered in black, and is carried by a married woman. Girls wear woolen embroidered bonnets, young unmarried women wear head dresses with colourful embroidery, and red stockings, to make them easy to spot for the bachelors I guess:



Detail of the back:



The men also wear costumes from their home place:





This is voted the most beautiful national costume in all of Norway, it comes from Hardanger. The front is pearl embroidery, and the silver is guilded. The apron is linen and done in a technique called Hardanger embroidery. It takes forever to do:



Some costumes use shawls instead of jackets or capes:





Some details from costumes I spotted on our walk. This belt is done in very small cross stitch:



This embroidery belongs to a costume from around the Lillehammer area:



I could have photographed and shown lots more, but I was a bit busy waving the flag, cheering, shouting and singing. Here's a link showing more folk costumes.

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The May 17th celebrations - Constitution Day

Category: Ramblings | Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 5:07 pm

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On this day in 1814 the Norwegian Constitution was signed at Eidsvoll, and the celebration of the Constitution Day started a couple of years after this. Our poet Henrik Wergeland is awarded the honour of having organized the first children's parade around 1820. Since we were under Swedish rule at the time, the celebrations weren't very big or organized, because the King just didn't like it at all and tried to curb them.

In 1864, the first big children's parade took place in then Christiania (now Oslo), and May 17th has been saluted, paraded and celebrated all over the country and even abroad ever after, barring the years between 1940 and 1945. Liberation Day is May 8th, and we mark the day by flying flags, but it's not a national holiday. That's reserved for May 17th.

I'd like to tell you about how we celebrate around here. We decorate the houses with birch twig bouquets and flags, and many have planted up a pot or two in red, white and blue. The day starts at 07.00 when we're shook out of bed by the early morning salutes up in the surrounding mountains. Then the brass bands divide themselves up into smaller units and «play the day in» on different locations in their community. We didn't have any music here last year, so maybe we'll have some this year.

The TV-coverage of the big parade in Oslo starts early too, and we usually leave the TV on to listen to the music, hear the children cheering and to check out what the Royals are wearing this year. There are also reports from other places in Norway, to show what their day is like, both weatherwise and celebration-wise. Since Norway is very long, the temps might be summer-like to the south and the snow plow might lead the parade furthest north.

We get the national costumes ready days before. The special blouses are given a wash and iron, and the costumes are aired out and brushed. The silver accessories might also need a bit of attention. When the time for our school parade is nearing, we put on our finery and stroll over to line up. All primary schools organize their own parade in the afternoon. Some of the schools also participate in the big morning parade in town before heading home to their own parade.

Back to the line-up. First and foremost, the big flags carried by men and women from the community who's been helping to arrange the parade. Then the kindergartens from the area flying their own banners, then the school brass band, and then the primary school children neatly divided up into classes, and every adult and child not otherwise occupied carry their own little flag. The children also carry different noisy toys, no May 17th without a small trumpet! And finally, the rest of the community join in and make up the tail end of the parade. Then we all walk from the primary school to the high school, singing, cheering and shouting all the way. It's not very far, but it's nearing an hour to get there because of all the people in that parade.

Foreign guests comment about how our celebrations differ from other nations' celebrations. We've got no military parade, no show of arms, very little political talk, and everything's focused around the children and having fun. The Royal Guard is allowed to participate in Oslo, but they only show their drill and marching skills. After the parade the children are generally spoilt rotten. There are games for them, they get to eat as many hot dogs, ice creams and pieces of cake as they want, and drink all the sodas they want too. Normal weather for May 17th here is cold wind, partly dry but lovely even if it's pouring.

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The hedge monster

Category: Garden | Posted: Sat May 10, 2008 10:31 pm

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When we moved in 12 years ago, the border hedge was three meters tall, that's nearly 10 foot. The neighbour wanted to trim it, so I asked him to start on his side, and I'd follow up on our side. Only thing was, we didn't have an electrical hedge trimmer, and the hedge is about 38-40 meters long, that's 41-43 yards. So I took what we had, a chain saw. Since I'm short, I had to lift it over my head in order to get the proper height. The cutting part was easy, I just walked slowly, chain saw above my head, all the way from one end to the other. The cleaning-up part was far worse! The hedge is a kind of Spirea that blooms white in spring and looks good when untrimmed with the hanging, blooming branches.




It's got lovely scent too. Right now we're arguing with the next-door neighbour about that hedge but I think I've told you all about that before. I just wanted to show the hedge. It starts where I'm standing and goes all the way to those tall trees in the distance.

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Border overviews

Category: Garden | Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 2:56 pm

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We've got three flower borders that look nice, and three more that look like disaster areas. They're up for a change, and I'm not showing them, but I'd like to share the other ones with the Stewbies.

This is the big border to the west. It currently holds 12 peonies, a multitude of Aquilegia, lilies, primroses, crocus, Arisema, iris and other assorted bulbs and perennials of all sizes and flowering times:



This border is further to the east, but still on the west side of the house. It's two years old and everything in it is still small. The top is the herbs area, but also has a magnolia and a peony. Further down are 14 auriculas. In between we've got sedum, sempervivum, Oxalis and other small alpine perennials. Nearest area has Monarda, Haquetia, lilies, grasses and geranium:



Then it's the south-and-east monster, where the acid soil plants live. We've got roses, peonies, hostas, more hostas, lilies, larkspurs, trilliums, ferns, astilbe, meconopsis, woodland anemone, primroses, rhododendron and some evergreens and more besides.

Starting on the southside:





Looking eastward:



Furthest east:



And looking north:



It looks kind of boring now, with nearly nothing growing, but at least it shows the area we've got to play in. I hope you liked the tour.

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Spring flowering Primula and a bit more besides

Category: Garden | Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 7:48 pm

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I adore my early flowering Primula. They are colourful, they've got a lovely fragrance and they ask for so little but give me so much pleasure.

One of the Primula auriculas:



A double one with a white edge:



This one has a funny colour but I like it all the same:



These two were survivors from last year's indoor primrose shopping spree:





I've got three different Primula denticulata and I'm on the look-out for the pinker and more purple ones:







Another absolute favourite is the Fritillaria meleagris. I let them self-seed and have a big clump, but only one is blooming so far:



My last two Pulsatillas. I need to re-stock, I've lost a blue, purple, yellow and pink one.





The blue Anemone nemorosa:



I'd be lost without my spring flowers! It's still early and there are lots more under way out there. I greet each one by touching them, just to make sure they're for real maybe. Yes, I've probably got some diagnosis, but I'm happily ignorant and let's keep it that way.

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A new experience, but such fun!

Category: Pets and other animals | Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 6:42 pm

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Today was the first do in the new riding house. The Icelandic people rented it for their gait competition. Iceland horses have five gaits. In addition to the walk, trot and gallop, they have two more unique to them. They walk like camels moving both legs on the same side the same way at the same time. That's called pass. It rocks and makes you feel sea sick. Then there's the tølt. It's faster than trot, slower than gallop and so smooth you feel more like flying than riding. When tølting the horses lift their forelegs so high it's unbelievable, and it looks very elegant and energetic at the same time. The Iceland horse is very small, and is actually a pony, but they don't know that so we won't tell them.

I watched the preparations for the competition. It was very different from what I'm used to seeing. First they evened the track nicely. Then they put chairs and tables in the middle and defined the track width. Then they brought in big cars and drove around in there to make the surface hard and even. And then the show started, but not one by one. They started in groups from two to five participants. Here are a few photos to show what it looked like:

The three judges watching the contestants:



One of two participants from our stables:



The oldest:



The youngest:



Do my eyes deceive me? One group and all men!



One of the prize winning stallions and a world championship rider:



As you can see, both skill and age differed a lot! It was fun to observe how supportive the old hands were towards the young beginners. That's the proper way to do it to get new riders in. Our young rider managed a third place, which is very good considering it's her first do ever. We're very proud of her and the horse.

Here's a small film that shows one icelandic horse doing the tølt, for those who might be interested. flying pace

Last edited: Sat Apr 05, 2008 6:43 pm

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Easter in Norway

Category: Ramblings | Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 8:57 am

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Last week-end was Palm Sunday, and this week is called the silent week. Schools are closed all week. Monday and Tuesday are normal work days, but Wednesday is a half-day. Thursday and Friday are red days, the shops open briefly on Saturday, and both Sunday and Monday are red days. Many Norwegians take the opportunity to go away over Easter. Some are lucky enough to get to use some of their holiday and spend an entire week-and-a-half somewhere else. Others set out Wednesday afternoon, and most go in search of snow and fun.

The Norwegian mountains have lots of cabins, normally clustered together like a little village. Easter is the time of year when those little villages come to life. If you're not lucky enough to have someone to look after your cabin, you'll probably meet a huge pile of snow with a chimney sticking out, and then it's digging time. Once the front door's been found it's time to get the fire place started, unpack and head for the slopes or the cross-country trails. Not surprisingly, lots of cabin villages are located close to the slopes or prepared trails. People without cabins often rent one or stay in hotels.

To many, the perfect Easter vacation is hot sun, powdery snow and all the time in the world to enjoy it with family or friends. Imagine, sitting by the wall with the sun in your face, eating oranges and biscuit chocolate. Mmmm! And board games in the evenings. In order to make the most of the vacation, people get very stressed. Yesterday the police had speed controls all over the country and they fined a speeder every five minutes. That's a nice start to the vacation, isn't it? The Red Cross is very busy during Easter too. People don't stop to think that they're out of training before strapping the skis on, and subsequently lots of them get hurt and get to spend Easter in hospital.

For those staying at home, Easter is a good time to enjoy the family, make good food, invite friends and let the stress of everyday life evaporate. Lamb is popular food, and magazines have loads of tempting recipes. The chickens and other decorations are brought out of hiding, and most homes have a plethora of yellow around Easter. The children are looking forward to Easter Sunday, when the Easter bunny has left the big Easter eggs by their beds, filled with all kinds of goodies. And one for the grown-ups too, of course.


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