corner view bergen, norway: my true self

my friend working the seam ripper, getting her outfit ready

the rune pendants she makes from elk bones


we're off for our yearly viking adventure in gudvangen.

and whereas someone's only job was to check that all the abba songs were in her player....

...i did the frantic packing. i've taken my true self out of here, and leave you only with an imprint of myself in those last minutes before departure.

see you next week!

more corner views:

jane, ladybug-zen, ian, bonnie, esti, sophie, cele, modsquad,caitlin, joyce, ani, kim, a day that is dessert, natsumi, epe, kaylovesvintage, trinsch, c.t., jeannette, outi, schanett, ritva, francesca, state of bliss, jennifer, dana, denise, cabrizette, bohemia girl, dianna, isabelle, amber, a girl in the yellow shoes, mister e, janis, kari, jgy, skymring, elizabeth, audrey, allison, lise, cate, mon, victoria, crescent moon, erin, otli, amy, ida, caroline, lisa, dorte, kimmie, la lune dans le ciel, nicola, malo, vanessa, britta, virgina, april, b, kyndale samantha, karen, kristina, dorit, goldensunfamily, sophie, janet, mcgillicutty, desiree, di, travelingmama, aimee, sunnymama, amanda, ali, jenell, guusje, britta, juanita, pamela, inna, daan, myrtille, cris, ibb, susi, jodi, lily, gillian,
jeanette, athena, pienduzz, latisha, clairette, satsuki

inspiring!

this is the ultimate example of starting right where you are, instead of dreaming up some idyllig space for the life you want to live 'if only this and that' first. go dervaes!
ps - louise; i can't get to your blog because your profile is hidden!

corner view bergen, norway: places of reflection

the weather cooled down, we even had some rain. the earth was screaming for it!

this week's corner view theme is places of reflection, places to just be...
for me, that is the great outdoors, all by myself. and it is a luxury i no longer have.
my husband nicknamed me 'the librarian' very early in our career as a couple, and yes, i am an introvert who needs more quiet and time to think than most people (and now you know how we see the stereotypical librarian!). i need to be left alone, to not be disturbed, to be able to finnish my thoughts and have a sense of being at home in myself.
add to that the hilarious fact that i've been blessed with a very high spirited family - husband, son, daughter, the whole bunch - they're all very talkative and fond of music turned up real high - and the obvious reveals itself: there's no way i can think, contemplate, reflect or 'just be' around these guys. not in the sense that i used too, anyway - i've had to rethink the whole concept. and there's no way around it: in these busy years of my life i don't manage to both spend time outdoors with my family and tend to my own needs for contemplation and communication with nature.
so i have periods of time where i stay up late instead.
i go outside on the verandah and soak up the solitude in that last precious hour when everyone else is asleep an no one can disturb my thoughts, or lack thereof.

and this is why i have pictures of our sunsets and sunrises all in the hours between 00.00 and 04.30 a.m...


p.s. be sure to check out the gift sertificate in my previous post!


other places of reflection around the world:

jane, ladybug-zen, ian, bonnie, esti, sophie, cele, modsquad,caitlin, joyce, ani, kim, a day that is dessert, natsumi, epe, kaylovesvintage, trinsch, c.t., jeannette, outi, schanett, ritva, francesca, state of bliss, jennifer, dana, denise, cabrizette, bohemia girl, dianna, isabelle, amber, a girl in the yellow shoes, mister e, janis, kari, jgy, skymring, elizabeth, audrey, allison, lise, cate, mon, victoria, crescent moon, erin, otli, amy, ida, caroline, lisa, dorte, kimmie, la lune dans le ciel, nicola, malo, vanessa, britta, virgina, april, b, kyndale samantha, karen, kristina, dorit, goldensunfamily, sophie, janet, mcgillicutty, desiree, di, travelingmama, aimee, sunnymama, amanda, ali, jenell, guusje, britta, juanita, pamela, inna, daan, myrtille, cris, ibb, susi, jodi, lily, gillian, jeanette, athena, pienduzz, latisha, clairette, satsuki

a visit up the hill - and a gift certificate for you

this is where she lives...

my friend lives up here on this hill. she bought the house when it was just a small cottage without a bathroom and toilet, and has rebuilt it into quite a palace. there's no road up to this house, only a steep forest path. she actually gave birth to her daughter up here, before it was rebuilt!

on the way up, we were greeted by a deer and her child.
oh, and these cuddling slugs.

so - on to the mystery gift certificate:

i was contacted by a sweet lady at whoogaboots, who wants to give you all a gift sertificate worth 30 dollars to use at the whoogaboots store.
All you need to do is visit their website and enter the code EARTHANDLI into the cart. they ship to all countries and there are no conditions, but the certificate will expire in two months. so if you fancy a pair of genuine ugg boots, made from merino sheepskin, to wear both in the summer as in the winter - head on over!

the days of slow walking

too hot for blogging right now.
we walk slowly.
stopping at every lake we see.
not sure i'll make it for corner view on wednesday - i'm too busy spending time in recreational places :)

this flower is smaller than the smallest of my fingernails.

corner view bergen, norway: staple foods

sorry i'm so late, but i've been a bit sick today. feeling better now, although 'food' isn't really a high priority right now...
if you ask for the most typical food here nowadays, the answer will probably - and sadly - be this:

yup, frozen pizza.
if you ask for traditional food from western norway, you might regret you asked. if you're sqeemish, don't scroll down, or you might feel a bit sick yourself.
although eating this particular dish is mainly kept for enthusiasts (and some brave tourists), smalahove is probably the one thing you'll hear mentioned most often when asking about western norwegian traditional food. it scares the shit out of foreigners and most norwegians too. smalahove, - literally 'sheeps head', is an old tradition from these parts of norway, from back when one had to be frugal to survive. formerly a poor man's food, this is today considered a delicacy.

i picked the least scary picture. just go ahead, google it, and enjoy the photos of it in various stages of being eaten. like, when there's nothing left on the plate but the scull and the teeth.

smalahove is usually eaten in the months before christmas, and yes, you eat everything. including the eyeballs. for some, eating this has become some sort of test to show how brave you are. but i think this is limited to your first try, as most people discover that it's actually just salty lambs meat and quite good. perhaps except for the eyballs. i wouldn't know, i've never tried it and i'm not particularly tempted!

(at least, i was decent enough to wait till you'd had your breakfast :) )

bugs

alive bumble bee

can you eat the small yellow lumps of pollen that are stuck on the hind legs of a bumble bee? after it's dead?

dead bumble bee

sure you can. at least that's what my daughter did. she didn't ask beforehand, and yes, she's still alive! as a matter of fact, she shared one of them with her father. they said it tasted very sweet. she's got a thing for bumble bees. she loves to stroke and fondle them. 'so soft, mama. so soft'.
it seems she's constantly collecting small animals, and i wish i knew more to give her some advice on how to feed them and just generally keep them alive. yesterday she brought home three bumble bees in a glass jar. sure, she had punched holes in the lid, and intended to pick some flowers for them, but they seemed so 'sleepy' that i slightly panicked inside and decided they had to go or they'd die. i wish we had a lisa closet - a closet with a lisa we could bring out everytime we had questions concerning bugs!

like these worms she collected from a tree. i have no idea what they are, but they were weaving this intricate and beautiful web in their jar. they didn't turn into something else, so we decided they were 'tree worms' and let them out. probably no where near their own habitat.

oh, and the occasional getting out of our car after we've picked her up at the kindergarten experience: 'oh no! where's my worm? i put it right there beside me!'