Let me share

my adventure at Otternes,

a cluster of houses

clinging to the mountain side

between Aurland and Flaam,

located in Sogn and Fjordane, Norway.

The cluster includes four
separate farms,
with their land connected.

My daughter took us here

this summer,

and it was well worth the visit!

A couple of my grandkids
came with us as well.

My grandson Hallvard 
fits right in to his surroundings

 

It is like going back in time.

I believe that the last person

to actually live here

was in 1996 or 97.

Looking out the window

from one of the houses,

we are pulled away
and lifted high above, 

fast moving traffic,

from the road below.

Cruise ships have visited these fjords

for many years,

and it creates quite a clash

of an old and new world.

We learned that people up here

also maintained a grassed area
on the other side of the fjord,
and possibly buried their deceased
on a piece of land there,
facing Otternes, their home.

Generations worked here,
they had their children here,
and they lived and died here.

Before we left for
our more polished lives,
we got to enjoy
porridge made out of sour cream,
sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon,
very good!
Served on the side
is salted meat and "flat bread".

If you happen to be in the area,
I suggest you take a visit!

This link might offer you 

some more information.

Norway in my heart

So I had another trip 

to my country of origin.

Norway is so easy to love,

with all its beauty.

Our very good friend invited us

to her summer paradise.

  

I have no idea what took us so long,

but this year we made sure

to mark it on our travel route.

No complaints!

What a wonderful place!

 After a couple of busy weeks,

meeting with friends and family,

this place was heaven sendt.

So quiet and peaceful...

My heart is there more often

as years go by.

I wrap my thoughts around

moments and memories,

friends and family,

and also loved ones lost.

Our lives change,

for good and for bad.

Someone once said to me that 

God will not give us more than we can handle.

Sometimes I wonder about that,

I guess we are not supposed to 

understand it all...

A blessed day to everybody...

 

Cairo Shawl

A lot is going on in my house 

at the moment.

Not to mention that we are actually moving 

to Egypt for a while,

I have been working

to finish the Cairo Shawl pattern.

At the same time

I have been concentrating on a larger

embroidery project.

Until this project is finished,

knitting is put on hold.

However, 

the Cairo Shawl has just been test knitted

by Liv,

and can now be bought 

at Etsy and at Ravelry.

At Ravelry it will be automatically downloaded

after it is purchased,

and on Etsy it will be emailed to you

manually by myself.

  

This shawl is pretty much straight forward.

I worked on it watching TV.

After a few inches, 

the patterns is easy to memorize. 

I used Heritage Hand Painted Sock Yarn 

from Cascade.

I really like this yarn,

and have used it in the Bestemor Shawl also.

It make the shawl nice and cozy

and give it a little weight.

The shawl has a good size,

personally I like a shawl 

to be on the large side.

Upholstery of chair...

What did you do for Easter?

This is what I did...

I bought this chair at a consignment store,

thought it had good "bones"...

In a way it was OK,

but I already had some other plans for it.

Not really knowing what I was doing,

I started to rip...

No way back at this point...

Many layers of staples,

and ripping them out took hours!

I decided to leave the old fabric in place,

after making sure it wouldn't show through the new.

At the back I put in a small design,

making sure to center it before attaching.

It shows our initials in capital letters.

A few tools,
and a big mess...

A small foot stool was also covered,

and I am pleased with the result.

Visste nok ikke helt hva jeg la ut paa

da jeg angrep, 

og trekket om denne stolen i helga.

Men resultatet ble bra synes jeg.

Designet i ryggen er malt paa med tekstilmaling.

Designet bokstavene paa computeren,

og skar dem ut med skalpel = sjablong.

Ha en fin dag!

Introducing my newest shawl

...and it was pretty easy going,
a pattern that you memorize quickly.

In fact I might call this pattern 

Easy Going Shawl.

Perfect for bringing along
in the car,
or visiting with friends.

 I used Heritage Hand Painted Sock Yarn

from Cascade,
and 3,5 mm needles.

It is in fact the same yarn as I used

making the "Bestemor" Shawl.

The size is great,

it is pretty large,

about 32" (ca.82 cm) from the tip
to the neck line in the back,

and about 80" (ca.2 m) measured at the widest,
across the shoulders and down om each side.

I love this light blue color,

great for the summer,

and together with lighter colored clothing..

Even though I live in a rather hot climate,
I often get cold across my neck and shoulders,
so I bring a shawl.

Happy Easter!

Soyoko

... from Japan,

contacted me

with this cute idea. 

She used my miniature mittens

as a book mark.

I love it and I think it looks great!

Some years ago

I made several pairs of these tinyest

mittens for a store in Thailand.

The owner had 

a few Scandinavian customers,

and she thought they would appreciate

them as Christmas decorations.

 

This pair of mittens

found its way to Sapporo, Japan.

Soyoko and her sister

have an on line store,

where they sell vintage items

from all over the world.

You can get the mitten pattern here.

Soyoko fra Japan 

sendte meg disse bildene.

Syntes det var en glimrende ide

aa bruke vottene som bokmerke.

We are blessed...

with  this great weather.

All two legged and four legged are out enjoying it.

My back yard is home to many Anoles.

They are green, or brown,

and they are everywhere...
I love them.
My daughter tries to catch them,
sometimes she is lucky..

I am not sure if the squirrels or the birds eats them,

they might not manage to catch any

since they move so fast..

Eini sure knows how to make herself comfortable,
watching the squirrels from her cahir.

And comfortable we are,
with a little sun on the body
and with a knit project in hand..

The last few days I have discovered
Monarch caterpillars on our Milkweed plants.

It is so exiting to see them grow,
and with their enormous appetite eating the leaves,
I will probably have to "emergency plant" some more.

We really enjoy this beautiful creation!

Down by the creek
the turtles are sunbathing as well.

But they don't like to be disturbed,
and dive in the water if they get disturbed.

I think its time for a cup of coffee.....