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Happiness is…

03 Sunday Feb 2013

Posted by Anne in Babbling, Cosiness, Good Life, Home

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Baby, God life, happiness, mess

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Happiness is waking up, not being awoken. Having slept enough hours and only having been up a few hours during the night. Completely obliterate to the state of house (the clutter, the mess, the dirty dishes – the list goes on). Having a quick but quiet breakfast. Having time for a cup of tea, before the tea is considered iced. Stumbling across a soothing album by Andrew Bocelli on Spotify. Dancing across the room guided by by a mellow Italian male voice and a joyful beat with a smiling baby in my arms.

The baby tired and was places in her crib giving me a chance to share the moment. Now a long shower awaits.

I hope you all enjoy a calm and quiet Sunday morning

New year, new life…

27 Sunday Jan 2013

Posted by Anne in Babbling, Cosiness, Good Life, Home

≈ Leave a comment

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White dowry – Løv tea from local shop Greenbay Bridge

We are already a month into the new year and life has changed a lot since last time I wrote. For almost two months my life has included a one more person more dear to me than life itself. Already in early December, four weeks before our due date, our gorgeous daughter decided to make an appearance. She was wee bit in the small side, but fit and ready for life without the restraints of an umbilical cord. And who can blame her for showing up early? The weeks before Christmas is a time I wouldn’t want to miss!
The past weeks have been wonderful, but of course also hectic. All my time has been spent with loved ones and catching up on things I haven’t been able to do for the past eight months (pregnancy utterly and completely crippled me!). Now I’m back to my old self, and although life is returning to normal, we are still experiencing a few minor hiccups in dealing with our new life. Life is good though, in fact I would go as far as calling it fantastic!
And tonight I sit cuddled up on the sofa with a big cup of tea while immerse myself in feelings of utter happiness and satisfaction. I hope you’re all having a wonderful evening!

Elderflowers and ‘saft’

09 Thursday Aug 2012

Posted by Anne in Cooking, Good Life, Home, Nature, Norway, Norwegian Cuisine

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

Domestic goddess, Elderberries, Elderflowers, Food, Saft, Squash, Summer

For the first time ever I managed this year to take advantage of the many tress with elderberry flowers in the area. So I made (what I think at least in Scotland would be called) squash. A sirupy drink containing quite a lot of sugar, which is made to be rather strong, but is added water to before drinking. We call it saft (we also have ‘jus’, ‘nektar’, and ‘sirup’, which are all similar but not the same).

After trawling through dozens of blogs and cooking sites online, I finally found a recipe I was willing to try. Many called for what seemed to be extensive amounts of sugar, only to be balanced by quite a lot of added citric acid. After reading up, I set out with my own recipe made up after comparing many others.

What I used was:

about 50 bouquets of elderberry flowers

4 lemons (washed well and preferably organic)

1 kg demerara sugar

2 litres water

I picked the flowers while visiting my parents, and thus simply froze them to keep them from wilting completely. That resulted in a ball of brown flowers that were lumped together so much that I did not manage to rinse them. I imagined the cold would have killed of most bugs, and the forthcoming heat would kill the rest, so I simply shrugged and got on with it.

Then I measured up two litres of plain, good, cold water and added to a large pot with one kilo of demerara sugar. I’m not a big fan of white sugar, even though that makes the colour of the ‘saft’ a lot nicer, so that is the reason for the brownish colour of my drinks. I brought the mix to a boil and let it simmer until the sugar had dissolved. Meanwhile I sliced (I lie a bit here, it was actually a friend of mine who sliced the lemons, but I think he would prefer to keep that a secret, so shhh!) the lemons and added them to a big bowl with the ball of intertwines flowers. After the sugar had dissolved I poured the water over into the bowl.

Now, as you can see, this process is easy peasy, and takes no effort at all. I was so impressed with myself, I was keeping this old tradition alive, feeling like a domestic goddess, and it was no hard work at all! But then on to the final part 😉

Take the bowl and cover with plastic, a lid, or something that will keep away yucky things that are attracted to sugar. Then leave somewhere that is not too warm (out of the sunshine!) for about three days. If you manage to stir it once a day, you’ll do a better job than I did!

After those three days, sift it through a muslin cloth (or similar) and either freeze in smaller boxes (glasses, etc) or add to sterilized jars or glasses (I froze boxes of ‘saft’, so much easier).

To one part ‘saft’ add about two parts water.

I found the saft to be a little too sugary. Next year I don’t want to add more lemons as the taste of the lemons can easily overpower the delicate taste of the elderflowers. I was so pleased having made all organic saft this year, but might have to turn to powdered citric acid next time. Unless you have a good idea?

And here is, btw, where I found most of my inspiration.

Spring is here!

24 Saturday Mar 2012

Posted by Anne in Good Life, Home

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Growing, Herbs, Sprouts

Spring has arrived! The temperature has now reached a two digit number, the days are longer, the leaves are popping out and the world is slowly and carefully coming back to life. We has just returned from a short trip to London, which was fabulous, and life is good! To complain a bit: I could do with a better immune system, and I’m behind on work because of lack of energy and oh-too-many days spent under the duvet due to various flu-like viruses. But time will take care of it all and I should soon be back on my feet.

While still only longing for spring, after seeing but a few, discrete signs that winter was letting go, Son and I decided to kick-start spring inside. A few empty milk and juice cartons were remodelled slightly to serve as beds for newborn herbs.

After only a few days green sprouts dotted the black soil, and already before they had reached a centimetre in height, the herbs already gave off a delicate scent and a promise of what’s to come. Son has been tenderly watering and checking on his plants every day and is very excited to observe their development. 

The Beach

02 Friday Sep 2011

Posted by Anne in Good Life, Home, Nature

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Beach, Family outing, Nature, Norway, Sea

Husband, Son and I were sitting around the table eating when Husband turns to Son (who was not very keen on eating) and says: “Take one more bite and we’ll go to the beach afterwards”. I was a little surprised, but what a wonderful surprise!

We have often said that we ought to go to the beach. We only live a short drive away from some amazing sand dunes and really have no excuse not to go. But we have just never kicked ourselves in the butt and walked out the door.

The scenery is just wonderful. Long, sandy, beaches and a fresh ocean breeze coming in from the North Sea. The afternoon was rather cloudy, but we had no rain until a wee drizzle surprised on our way back to the car.

Son loved it, of course, and so did we. I had time to play around with my camera. Toying with the manual setting, which I am trying to figure out and eventually master. I shot some beautiful pictures of us all together, but I also managed to capture the view in, what I consider, at least a presentable way. I hope you like them. 

Berries in the backyard

21 Sunday Aug 2011

Posted by Anne in Good Life, Home, Nature

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

berries, Black currants, Garden, Gooseberries, Norway, Red currants

As mentioned some time ago, my parents live in a rural town not too far from here. They still live in the house I grew up in, which is surrounded by quite a big garden. I’m not talking farm-size, but big enough for some fruit trees, bushes with different types of berries, a small play-house, and more than enough space to roam around.

Black currants

Every year around this time the garden is full of berries. I tell myself every year that I will take advantage of this and gather the fruits and berries. But for some reason it is never first on my to-do list when the season comes around. This year I have a few gooseberries in the freezer, as well as a few red currants, all picked my parents. Time will show what I’ll use them for.

Red currants

Plum season is here now, which is a true sign that summer has come to an end, and autumn is taking over. We bought, and ate, almost a kilo of them today. Opals, the best kind. Soon the fruit vendors in the city will display a vast variety of delicious plums and apples. I can’t wait.

Gooseberries

Garden design

20 Saturday Aug 2011

Posted by Anne in Home, Travel

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Cracow, Gardening, Interior design blogs, Lions, Poland

Interior design is popular these days, that much I have noticed. And especially in this area, the dominating style seems to be shabby chic, French country style, or something similar to a palette of white and pastels having exploded in a room, together with loads of lace and linen.

Now, I don’t mind the style, it’s just that too much of it makes me barf. I assume there’s absolutely no reason to, but I pity the kids I see dressed in pastels in order to match their parents’ (read: mother’s) interior design. I thought of doing the same to Son. Dressing him up in white, pale blue and light shades of grey. Shoot many photos, before taking him out in the forrest to pick blueberries. Now, that would be a sight!

I have posted about my kitchen earlier, and I probably will again soon (if Ikea will do as they’ve promised). And I have mentioned my bedroom, which I will probably also do again. But except for a few things every now and again, I promise I won’t turn this blog into an interior design blog. And especially lace will be a rare sight! However, there are a few things I would love for my garden. I have spotted a few things while out travelling, and I just have to share them. So instead of going all interior blog on you, I’ll go exterior blog on you! Because I think this would look brilliant in my garden:

Now, this isn’t all that unusual, and doesn’t really stand out (well, it would in my garden as it would cover the entire front lawn). But take a look at this peaceful lion’s wee brother:

Now, that would make a statement! Don’t you think?

This is to be found btw in the city centre of Cracow, Poland

The Descent

13 Saturday Aug 2011

Posted by Anne in Good Life, Home, Nature

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Forest, Hiking, Mountains, Nature, Norway, River, Water

The bridge crossed the river and led me to a smoth, rounded, rocky surface. A few puddles could be seen here and there, and I immediately ran over the first of the larger ones. Close to the surface swam a few tadpoles. Their legs have started to show, but their tales are still long.

The wee tadpole

I left them in their bubble of a world and continued on.

The wee climb before going downhill for the rest of the walk

A small climb waited for me first. Along the path, and in the path, were endless amounts of blueberries and bilberries. The first definitely being the favourite.

After the small climb I turned right an continued down a well thread and wide path. While going steeply downhill I met people. Norwegians are said to be cold and maybe a little shy. Give someone a big smile without talking to them and you’re almost guaranteed not get one back, instead you’ll get a look which will make yourself doubt your own sanity. In the mountains, however, we ignore all social conventions, and greet everyone as a friend. I was thus met with big smiles and friendly and quite loud (according to Norwegian standards) ‘hello!’s. I only met another two people on my way down, and they too greeted me as if they had known me for years.

The water looks still, but it in fact did run pretty fast. I drank just outside the picture to the left, and the water was good!

A small stream crossed the path, and I found myself jumping from stone to stone in order to cross without getting my feet wet. I stopped on a rather large stone in the centre of the stream bent down, ladled water in my hand and drank a few mouthfuls. Any other time I would not have thought twice about drinking more. But this summer there are reported diseases coming from certain rodents infecting small mountain brooks. Not all brooks and streams are longer completely safe for quenching one’s thirst. I decided to wait until I found a suitable place in the big river. A few metres after crossing the wee stream, another brook had changed its course and now ran IN the path rather than next to it. Tip-toeing and jumping back and forth I still managed without getting my shoes soaked.

Following the combined brook and path... I believe I was quite a sight jumping from stone to stone

The path continued (also splitting every now and again) down to an old farm. Huge old oaks used to dominated just above the farm, but for some reason many had now been chopped down. It was a sad sight to see the open landscape filled with branches and cut-offs from the trees. I am sure they have been cut down for a reason, and new ones will be planted, but there and then the scenery looked like a scene from Saruman’s neighbourhood.

The land of Saruman

View from the old farm

Just below the farm I walked off the path and down to the river. The river had split into three, one was still large and wide, but the other two were small and often still, and thus more likely to pick up bacterias and the like. I took off my shoes and waded through the first two.

Shoes placed neatly on a rock in the river. Notice the slippery, scary, green stuff

The rocky surface where the water runs is often covered in green moss, and is very slippery. Where there is no water, the surface is dry, but with many larges stones. I jumped from stone to stone, stopped to wade, before jumping further.

The waterfall in the top right corner was where I deemed the water safe to drink

When I reached the main river I waded into the center and drank as much as I wanted. I scooped the water up with my hands and drank mouthfuls. I am very picky regarding water. When out traveling I have learned to read all labels, as long as the alphabet used is latin, on water bottles to find water I am able to drink. The water in the river is fresh, there’s no chloride, very little calcium, but probably with a mineral content you’d find in no bottled water. Very refreshing, tasting a bit of rocks and forest ground (no mud taste), and perfect temperature.

Perfect place to quench your thirst

I regretted not bringing my bathing suit. As the water was warm enough for a swim (that means just above 15 degrees Celsius, if at all that warm…). After quenching my thirst I returned to the path. Soon after my parents called, wondering where I’d gone. I thus had to run down to the waterworks where they picked me up with their car. While crossing the river on a small bridge I turned and took a picture of some kids bathing where I used to go when I still lived with my parents. Memories came flooding back as together with feelings of love and respect for the gorgeous nature.

Perfection

The Climb

12 Friday Aug 2011

Posted by Anne in Good Life, Home

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

berries, Forest, Mountains, Nature, Norway, Path, Raspberries, Walk

My parents live in a rural town of about 6000 inhabitants. I was raised in this town and spent 19 years of my life there before leaving it behind. Naturally we often visit, as both my parents and grandparents still live where they ‘always’ have. It’s only an hour and a half away from here.

They’ve had Son visit them alone for a few days at a time the past weeks, as I have started work and Husband is offshore. I spent part of the weekend with them before taking Son home again. While there I made time for a hike in the mountainous area surrounding the town.

The starting point for the hike

Five minutes from my parents’ front door I find myself at the foot of the mountain. Up a small hill and I’m in the middle of the forest, junipers, birches and grass dominate the landscape as well as smooth and often slippery roots. The path is not very well thread, I wade through high grass and often have to climb over knee high rocks to continue on the path. The first part of the walk is steep. I realise the treadmill I use to get my heart pumping is nothing compared to the real deal. I can feel my pulse, I pant and increasingly find myself leaning my hand and upper body on my knee as I climb the largest rocks. After a few minutes I find myself on the first plateau. I stop to catch my breath, sit down and eat a few blueberries. The proper kind of blueberries that make your tongue and teeth blue, while the fingers are left with purple stains. I enjoy the scenery and fresh mountain air before I get up again and walk towards a clearing at the edge of the plateau.

The view from the first plateau

The town is stretched out beneath me. I call my father who takes Son out in the garden to wave at me. We then hang up. Son calls me from the porch. His voice carries all the way up to where I stand. I’m amazed at how well the sound carries. I raise both my hands up in the air and wave the best I can for him to see me. He claims he did.

I turn off the path and continue along an even less thread path than the previous. I again wade through high grass, climb rocks and even fight my way through tall junipers. I scratch my arms and sting my fingers on the needles. I’m not sure where this path ends up, I have been in the area many times before, but the paths have been wider. The path suddenly comes to a halt in between two tall junipers. I am about to turn, in doubt about whether I have actually found a proper path. I am reminded of a song by the Proclaimers, one line goes “do you want to follow paths or blaze a trail”. I smile at myself. I’m no quitter at least. I barge through the bushes and continue in the same direction. I hear the river roam somewhere in front of me and thus would always find my way, even if my own sense of direction would abandon me completely. I am headed for a narrow, country road, I’m not sure where exactly on the road, but I know I will find it soon.

The tall grass covering the path, the path got worse, before it got better

After the path had widened

The sun is high in the sky, it’s warm and I am now on the narrow road. The air is drier than in the forrest, and there is no shade along the road.

Tourists often complain about the speed limits in Norway, as do many Norwegians, but I've never seen a tourist drive according to the speed limit on this road. There's a reason why there are many good rally drivers from this country 😉 (btw, the sign sets the speed limit to 80 km/h - about 60 m/h)

I’ve left my bottle of water at home, and am now getting thirsty. I eat a few wild raspberries. The quality and taste is the same as those found by the sea. There are more of them here, outside the city.

Wild raspberries

The scenery around the road is different to how it was last time I was here. Many trees have been cut down, and a large water pipe has been removed. The forest is still very much the same, and has not suffered much. In fact the changes might even be good for the fauna.

There have been waterworks in the area for many decades. These are now rebuilding and changing their location slightly. I pass an old English looking house. The house was built at the same time as the first waterworks as Brits assisted with their knowledge and a bit of work force in the initial phase.

A taste of England in Norway

I continue along the road. Climbing. It is longer than I remembered it to be. I turn right at another dirt road, and soon find myself by the river. It is dammed, but there is still a proper river running down the mountain and hills towards the town. A new bridge has been built. I cross it and find myself in a different world. The descent will follow tomorrow

The bridge

A stroll by the sea

10 Wednesday Aug 2011

Posted by Anne in Good Life, Home

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

Coast, Nature, Norway, Sea, Walking

I suddenly felt the urge to walk here the other night. I needed to get out, get some wind in my hair, feel the breeze, the cool (or almost cold) summer air and soak up the last rays from the sun before it set in the pale blue sea. I only have a five-minute-walk to get to the sea, and there are some wonderful paths along the coast.

I walked through the neighbourhood, it was quiet and few were out, despite it being a summer evening and the sun was still up.

I walked through the neighbourhood, down to the main road and along that for a minute or two. I stopped to pick a few raspberries. They were pale pink, firm, and the sweetest berries of its kind that I have tasted this summer. The berries I get in the shop are nothing compared to these. These raspberries grow wild.

I crossed the street and entered onto a graveled path. The salt water air blew in from the North Sea. I filled my lungs and stopped to look at the scenery in front of me.

I thought about Tes while walking here. She showed some beautiful pictures from a beach during the monsoon season (see here and here) and thought maybe she would find my pictures from my home town as I found the pictures from the area she lives in.

I found a place to sit down and sat for a minute watching a man fishing, and a man in a boat just off the shore tossing out fishpots to catch crabs. I sat there and only watched the world. Lowered my shoulders, breathed the fresh air and felt utterly and completely at peace with myself and everything around me. There is nothing more relaxing than fresh air and beautiful scenery.

I got up and continued walking. The pat looked like this most of the time:

There are pink clovers breaking up the usually monochromatic green of birches, junipers, and grass. Every now and again there were also patches of bluebells and various other flowers and plants. The colour combinations were lovely.

A few more photos


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