The last of the Harry Potter films and the end of an era

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Fantasy, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings

I was able to see the last Harry Potter film while visiting my in-laws last week. This truly is the end of an era. The last film of what has become a heptalogy, or is it now an octalogy as the last book was made into two films? I read the first book when I was fifteen, and have continued to read every book and also see every film. I have not waited for neither films nor books, but, because of a younger brother-in-law, I have been to the premieres of a few of them. I have always been able to plough through the book before seeing the film.

 

To me this isn’t just the end of the Harry Potter era, but the end of the fantasy era. I waited in line for the Lord of the Rings films and made sure I had tickets to the premieres of every one of them. I also stood in line after midnight to get the last Harry Potter book a few years ago. I never dressed up or went to any extremes (except losing sleep on a school-night) to attend these events, but it didn’t cost me anything to attend either. Being of my generation I saw it as my duty, as long as I was already fascinated by and interested in LOTR and Harry Potter, to take part in what was going on at the time. I had, and still have, an image in my head of me some years from now, sitting with my son on my lap introducing him to these books. Not only will I introduce him to the wonderful worlds of Tolkien and Rowling (I do favour one over the other), but I can also tell him about the worldwide mania relating to the premieres of the films and the publishing of the books, as a first-hand witness to it all.

The History of English

Tags

History of English, Language, YouTube

These videos have been circling in some language related blogs during the past months. As my blog now seems to get a lot of hits from people searching for the history of the English language (after I posted this) I thought I’d add the link to these for your enjoyment.

There are ten videos, which could have been made into one, all lasting about one minute.

…and, you might learn something 😉

Only the fool writes his name…

Tags

Carvings, Initials, Language

Let me take you back to the castle I wrote about a few days ago. The castle has a built in church, like any other castle. But this caught my attention. It actually caught my attention to the degree where I let Son about for a few minutes unsupervised. I am not a very religious person myself, and have while growing up often found myself counting the lightbulbs or dots in the ceiling. This church has been visited by a number of individuals who have felt the same restlessness as I’ve felt so many times, and the evidence of it is still visible in the wooden planks and railings inside the church. A few initials, the first part of a first name, or a group of male names carved into the wood made me forget everything about the present.

I ran my fingers across these carvings. The dates are incredible (they may not be legit, but that doesn’t matter. I’ll praise the person who fooled me in that case and got my head spinning). The fonts, or handwritings, are wonderful. I let my fingers run across them, I studied then in detail. I took a few pictures of those which at that moment had a few rays from the sun resting on them and thus required no flash.

How many were caught carving? How were they punished? And what was the priest/minister talking about while these boys carved their names in the wood for me to find centuries later? Look closely at the window sills, window, walls, and carvings throughout the castle and there are many, many more to be found.

Frederiksborg Slot (Castle)

Tags

Castle, Travelling

Continuing on the stories from our travelled path around Copenhagen, Denmark, I have to mention Frederiksborg Slot. A friend recommended a visit to the castle. I was very skeptical about bringing a two-year-old to walk in and around an old castle, but my two-year-old loved it. Of course it made it easier that he was the only (strawberry)blond little kid  on the site. I think by the time he left a japanese fan club had been established, he had talked to close to a hundred people, and had equally many photos taken of him, both of him alone and him posing with Spanish, Portuguese and American tourists.

The castle is not at all an ideal place to bring a toddler or wee child, unless the child is quiet, social and very eager to meet new people and knows the meaning of ‘don’t touch’. The water fountain outside can be recommended though, I don’t know if there’s always a fire-trucked parked just inside the castle gates, or a bus load of Japanese tourists greeting you when you enter the gates and wanting to play in the fountain with you, but these were definitely the main attractions for Son. After running about the castle for an hour and a half, the ‘børnemuseum’ (children’s museum) in the basement was a nice place to calm down. Son spent some minutes drawing while correcting one of the guide’s language, her Danish pronunciation differed from Son’s Norwegian pronunciation, which he did not approve of.

 

I solemnly swear I am up to no good…

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Secret plans

Plans are made in the dead of the night. No, not really at night, but still in the evening. The nights are long and it doesn’t go dark until very late in the evening. The setting was thus not mysterious in any way. It was chilly, a little windy but the sun was still up. But the plans! Oh my, they are dark, mysterious, hilarious and, most importantly: secret. I’ll tell you more in a while.

Summer breakfasts

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Breakfast, Food, Recipe

How wonderful summer breakfasts are. They help you eat those ‘five a day to keep the doctor away’ and lift your spirit, help you wake up in the morning, and, with a table spoon of sunflower seeds, also keep the nagging hunger away for quite a few hours.

Mango, cherries and blueberries with a topping of sunflower seeds

Eat with a good cup of fruit-tea or a huge glass of iced water. Enjoy the wonderful summer days and spend as many of them as possible outside under the warm summer sun. The breakfast is of course best if eaten outside (however, eaten inside while the rain is hammering on the window can for a moment bring the sunshine inside).

Copenhagen

Tags

Copenhagen, Travelling

Son and I visited Copenhagen. We stayed with my brother who lives a few minutes outside the city, but we did spend a few hours walking around in the city centre (not to mention the hours we spent driving in and around the city). It’s my first time in Denmark as a mum, and my first time in a big city all alone with my son. No plans were thus of the certain type. We had a wee list of things we wanted to see or do, and did what felt right there and then. One afternoon was spent walking up and down Strøget – probably the best known pedestrian shopping street in Denmark.

Famous buildings are not nearly as interesting as a water fountain when seen through the eyes of a two-year-old

We didn’t shop though. We walked about looked at things, people, buildings and, most importantly, dogs. We visited the few toy-stores we found (the lego shop being a bit of a disappointment) but had to give up the project of finding Son a pair of new shoes.

The weather was great and Son is the most patient two-year-old I have ever met, however, his obsession with birds was a bit straining at times (whenever he sees a pigeon he wants to pet it, which is rarely what the bird wants). We stopped for ice-cream and simply enjoyed each other’s company. A good day out.

(the three pots that constitute) My Herb Garden

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Chives, Gardening, Herbs, Indian Cress, Oregano, Plants, Survival, Thime

After a year of packing my daily schedule to the brim of what’s possible I now find myself with quite a lot of time on my hands. My bones ache and I definitely need the time off. My head won’t let me relax completely though. I’m going Martha Stewart on the house and find myself constantly planning and starting minor projects.

The kitchen project, which I wrote about here, was started many months ago. Now it is nearly done, but due to a certain’s warehouse inability to read my mind and automatically know what I want and when I want it, a few things are missing and the photos thus have to wait. The colour, I can inform you, is white.

My herb project started last year. I planted a few herbs, killed most of them by ignoring them while on holiday, and let the rest to fend for themselves. The plants in my house, and also those outside that are not part of Husband’s well tended garden, are sturdy plants. They have to be or they’d never survive. In the explanation of a person with green fingers, I’d be the antonym, the exact opposite. But, the plants that I do manage to grow can survive anything. I grew chives and oregano last year, but left them outside through one of the worst winters I can remember, still, both came back this year. The pot they were planted in did not survive though…

The chive and oregano that can withstand anything

I planted some more herbs this spring. But many died while I was working on the last part of my thesis and my husband was at work. The few that survived was tested again when Son and I went to Denmark. Two survived when I came back, a small, but not weak, thime and some indian cress. I think both will survive, but never grow as strong and sturdy as they would have been in anyone else’s garden.

A fighting thyme

I won’t spend as much time at work this year so my wee herb garden will have increased by this time next year. I hope the strong, green, little, miracles will still be with us then. (The indian cress however will not survive, it only lives for one season and I have no plans of trying to achieve the impossible!)

The Bridge across the Belt

Tags

Bridge, Construction, Denmark, Storebælt, Travelling

Son and I spent a few days on the road earlier this month. One of those days we spent driving through Denmark. Son is a dream to have in the car, except that he talks non-stop from start to finish. However, for a few minutes, while crossing the bridge connecting Sjælland and Fyn, the Storebælt Bridge, Son was silent. Silent except for the occasional “Mummy, look!”

The bridge is an amazing construct. I’m always amazed by such man-made marvels which a bridge of that size is. Now, driving across it is still not something I would consider worthy of writing home about. Except for this time.

The bridge is long, very long. The first and tallest bridge is 6,7 km long, but not more than 65 metres above the sea (I have no idea whether that is far above or not, but it didn’t feel very far above).

Our crossing was very windy. I could feel every gust of wind on the car. Going 120km/h at what felt like very close to sea level was quite an experience.

Obviously I did not have the possibility to take any photos while crossing, so the images are found on various websites. The first is found here, the second here, and the third here. 

A date with melancholy

Tags

Babbling, Melancholy

I’ve known for a while that I’d need a day like today. One is enough, or I’ll need another in some time. Today I took a long walk. I let the wind chill me and sweep the melancholy over me. When I came home I was weary. My blood sugar was low, I was quite dehydrated and at my lowest. It was done intentionally.

Now I’m wrapped in a big blanket, I got my cup of tea and a wee bit of bitter chocolate. I am taking a day off, off from everything and everyone. Tonight I’ll only think about myself. I’ll only care about myself. I’ve immersed myself in melancholy and I’ll stay until I wake up tomorrow morning.

I’m not sad, my life is good. But today I will let everything that has been less than ok for the past months linger inside my head. I will relive every painful moment, deal with it and let it go. I’ve worked hard and I haven’t achieved everything I wanted to. I still have a long way to go and a steep hill to climb. Some things I have to let go in order to move on. For certain things I didn’t get the closure I wanted, tonight I’ll close them on my own.

I’m born with a good dose of determination. I have enough inspiration to last a lifetime. I have a few cans left of motivation, but I’ll wait until tomorrow before I open them. Tonight it’s just me and my melancholy, a big blanket, a cup of tea and some mushy songs.