spring update

Yeah, I'm still alive and kicking and I'm still busy. Time is funny in the way it seems to go by faster the older you get. Not quite true, because if you add boredom into the equation, time stands still. That doesn't really change with age, other than having even more worries to think about when you're bored...

Go away, I'm sleeping. I hate my period, it steals away all the fun in the world











In short

• Marianne has been in heath
• I've suffered from rheumatism and psoriassis, but I'm getting better because SPRING
• Runar is still unemployed, but he's been to a few interviews and things are looking up
• Got the flat sale money/inheritance and paid debt and credit cards
• Started drainage work around the farm house and the field. The basement has been filled with water since last summer and Marianne is showing off "her special swimming pool" to visiting fourlegged friends, like she's bragging...
• I've started knitting again
• Simen is in the process of moving out. It'll be so weird and empty without any kids around...

This is how it looks like up at the farm these days. I'm working hard to convince myself there will be grass and pretty again...

See the huge rock at the bottom of the picture. We're going to try make it into a stone table. 

I've made this dress, but in a different color (sea-green)

Since I had left over yarn, I made a pair of socks and a hat as well. Probably will be making the mittens too. PS! I found a wonderful site that shows how to make pom poms in a much faster and easier way How to make 2 different pom poms - easy and fast

I've also made myself felted slippers and a hat, but I don't have pictures of them yet as they're on the drying rack

Peace out!

Ramble-ramble-ramble-nonsense-and-shit

Tick season has started over here. I need to get some anti-tick drops for Marianne (They don't make tick collars for St Bernards - at least my vet don't have any) I also need to get an appointment for X-rays and the 1-year-old check up for her. She'll be 1 year May 21st. w00t!





Marianne has been inventive() this week(read: Runar forgot to watch her) She managed to persuade Runar(read: she looked up at Runar and waggled her tail happily as normal dogs do) to take her to work with him. He had a meeting at his partners' shop and guess what she found? A whole mound of finely ground graphite - you know, the stuff pensils are made of  - and she gave herself a graphite bath.

Runar called home and warned me and told me to rig up the hose to give her a bath on the patio, because the black dust monster wasn't safe near anyone, or anything. Only thing is that the extra piece needed to hook the hose to our shower, had disappeared during winter(read: I'm afraid I threw it in the garbage during one of my frantic cleaning-out-the-damned-shed modes). It was either ice-cold water from the outdoor tap, or we'd have to get her into the shower. We chose the shower, because it's still cold enough that an outdoor shower in cold water would probably give her a serious cold. She's fine swimming in the lake, or sea, because her fur is such that it insulates from water getting all the way down to her skin, but as soon as you add soap/shampoo, that protection vanishes and they get wet and cold as us furless two-legged beings.

We barely got her into the shower. Runar pulled and I pushed and then forced the shower door closed. I had to hold the door closed during the entire shower ordeal, because Marianne tried to gnaw her way out.

I iz sowy










The shower got more than half of the graphite dust off her, but not all, so Runar volunteered(read: I was thiis |~| close to strangle the man to death) to take her down to the lake and get her to take a long swim. It didn't really help, but it gave me time enough to clean the dust off everything she touched on her way to the shower and to cool down a bit, so as not to stand ready with a cleaver when man got back. I don't think it did much good with the swim. She still has grey-ish spots here and there and it's been 2 days, 1 shower and 3 baths since she dove into the mound. At least it doesn't smear off onto everything else, anymore.

Helene ended up in the ER, yesterday. They suspected appendicitis and kept her over night, but her CRP levels was much better today and the pain was almost gone as well, so they let her home today. She got a note giving her immediate access to a hospital bed if she gets worse during the first 24 hours.

Runar has a minor repair job to do in Stavanger tomorrow, so I'm hitching a ride with him and will spend the day with her. I just have to see with my own eyes, that she looks okay.

 (yes, I admit I'm as hysterical as any other mom when it comes down to these things). I embarrassed the heck out of her. She gave me a text saying she was on her way to the hospital and that it was possible it was appendicitis, but that I couldn't call as she was out of power on her cell. Of course I called the hospital and got them to track her down and give her a hospital phone so I could talk to her. Duh! It's what moms do under such circumstances. Actually I was ready to steal a car and start driving, but Runar managed to persuade me otherwise.

It's funny, I've never viewed myself as a hysterical mom, but when things like this happens, the infamous mother-monster in me wakes up and roars. Loudly.




Messages like "I'm quite fine, you don't need to come". translates into "Oh, my god, I'm dying, you have to come. Right now!"  It's the same with messages like "I didn't do anything wrong, but..." They translates into "I've committed a terrible crime and will be locked up in prison for life" (When Simen calls and begins his sentences like this while out doing his russe shenanigans and has run out of money and needs help to get home.) I automatically interrupt him mid sentence and  half yell, "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE, NOW?!?"




Also, I have sadly reached the point where I have to start dieting. *pout* Damn 40+ Things really starts going downhill fast after 40. My mind tells me I'm still quick and flexible. My body shouts otherwise. And fuck! Kilos shows up in thin air and clings to my body for life. I expect to gain weight during the worst of the winter months, because I  take shorter and fewer walks and no hikes in the wood. I've done that every winter the last few years, but earlier, those extra kilos have vanished quickly enough when spring comes and I start hiking again. Not this year. *pout*

Okay, I still don't do dieting for realz, because my dieting consists of eating whole grain breads of various kinds and no chocolate or candy snacking. I still have a ton of butter on those whole grain thingies and I still eat normal dinners as always. Meh.

I have plans on starting doing yoga, but I still haven't found a youtube yoga session that I like. It's probably more a case of me  just not knowing what to look for. Halp, plz?


Oh, OOOOOHHHH! Guess what? Those pesky cottage neighbors actually PAID!!!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAH!

Uhm...it doesn't really give us any extra money to use on fun stuff, to be honest. We're in the minus after a winter of little, to no paycheck, so what it means is that we get to keep both our house and Vintland and escape bankruptcy. We are fit to keep on hanging in there.   HIPfuckingHURRAY!

I'm desperately trying to de-frost my freezer. I've got one of those combi fridge/freezer thingies. It is supposed to! be of the type that does these things automatically. After enough years and after enough incidents of forgetting to shut the door properly, the automatic-get-rid-of-excess-ice function, doesn't function. Ice was threatening to take over the whole thing.

I have a regular old fashion freezer too, so I moved all of the frozen wares into that and let the door open yesterday morning. The idiotic thing with these fancy automatic thawing wonder machines, is that when you actually have to do it manually, there is no way of turning off the power  for the freezer only. Options are spoiled food in the fridge, or thawing out the ice by leaving the freezer door open.

After 24 hours of open door thawing, the ice has been reduced by NOTHING!


Like this times 9.












Naturally, I've now done what is said you should not do. Ever. I've put a heating fan right outside the freezer door and it is working excellently. So there!
At least it hasn't started any fires...yet.  Patience issues much?!?

Since it's almost Friday I wish you a fantabulous weekend, guys!

Ho Ho Ho

Christmas. What a heavy string of letters. For so many years it was a  nightmare for me. You tried to keep up the spirit of Christmas and show a happy face. Play with the kids, even though your head was killing you and you were so tired you could barely concentrate.

These days we've gotten into a routine that works well for us. We provide the meat and take on roles as cooks, the inlaws provide the house, vegetables and beverages. They are also cooks in charge of the greens, taters, etc. The rest of hubby's siblings have spouses and alternate spending the Eve with us, or his/her family. Time always varies, because it is for the families with the youngest children, to decide what suits them best.  It's relaxed and fairly informal, although everyone wears suits and dresses.The small children are happy and loud, running around everywhere.


 I have to admit, this year I really enjoyed Christmas Eve. Even though Runar decided that Christmas Eve 2013, was the Eve we celebrated that our children having become grownups.

 The dinner was a success. So was dessert. Runar pulled a Spanish one and told MIL I had already made the  rice pudding. , the day before. I hadn't, but they like mine better than MILs.  I made too little, well, I didn't, but I thought 1 big bowl of it would be more than enough and left one bowl at home, because Simen loves it so much. Boy, was I wrong! They friggin' licked the bowl. And it was a big bowl, too.  Simen didn't get any at all. He had snuck off to wrap some presents and we didn't notice he was gone. Poor, overlooked kid. He knew about the full bowl waiting for him at home and took it in stride, though. That kid is so happy in love these days, I believe he'd let us off for murder. They look awfully cute together, the young turtledoves. It's almost icky.

It was wonderful to have Helene home, which is such a cliché, but it was. and it was really nice to get to know her Runar better too(It is very confusing, having two Runars in the house). I like him. If we measure him by how well and happy Helene looks, he scores well high.

We got home fairly early and everyone being in good mood, we brought out the aquavit, the JD and the beer. We then proceeded getting our kids so drunk they puked and Simen even needed to be helped to bed.

(My) Runar was pleased. "Now the kids know us, they've seen us with our guards down and we have showed them we view them as grownups. We've let Runar know he is welcome -AND! (here he held his index finger up) We all went to bed happy. Well, some were perhaps a bit on the sick side, but still."

He is right in many ways, but I'm not so sure it is a good thing to get drunk with your kids. Maybe it is my upbringing. Maybe it is all the lecturing on this, everywhere. Maybe I just need a bit more time before I completely can accept that my children are no longer children. Besides. Alcohol is a scary monster and always plays a tricky game. It doesn't always work out that well. Sometimes it works out downright bad.  There is also an inner voice screaming at me that this can lead to bad things, that they'll end up as alcoholists, or worse.

I beat him down, that voice, yesterday. Because, I know that sometimes it works.

Runar parents got us puking drunk when we were young. We discussed difficult subjects and embarrassing subjects. We laughed and we cried.  We were drunk-honest and we over-shared. But we were still on good terms when we went to bed.

I loved his parents for it, then. I really got to know them well, that night and we've had a good relationship up through the years. They made me feel welcome and I still do.  It's easy to ask them for help and it's easy to go to them for advice.

I don't know if this will be the case with our kids and their chosen partners, but I do know that was hubby's goal.  And mine.

Regardless, it was a really nice evening until the puking started and by then it was waaay late and time to go to bed.

This morning I woke up to Marianne having pooped on the living room floor carpet and after I had taken her out, she came in and immediately started throwing up on the bedroom rug. I threw out the rug and immediately went back to bed. When I got up an hour later, Helene and Runar were already up. Helene greeted me with a grin, asking me how I was holding up and after seeing my hangover face, they both burst out laughing. I choose to take that as  a sign they had enjoyed themselves. I later overheard Simen and Helene discussing their elegant exits the previous night. Helene triumphantly declared herself winner, as he puked first. It's good to know some things never change.

It was the first year, celebrating Christmas Eve with grown up kids. It has been one of the best Eves in my life, if not the best.

I hope yours were  good ones, too. Merry Christmas.

Hang in there, guys.

Christmas will come and even if things didn't turn out quite the way you dreamed it, it'll probably be a good one, regardless ;-)

So, how goes it with your Christmas preparations? I score a big MEH this year.

 I completely and utterly failed at getting the Christmas box ready for my family in Ohio. I ended up doing the last minute panic solution, that shouldn't have happened, but did.  I promised myself last year that this year I'd start getting it ready in August, but that didn't happen. July - December this year was quite the tricky solitaire to puzzle together financially. Everything that wasn't an emergency got put on hold. Each day was a puzzle and each week needed careful planning. It took up all of the creative space in my brains. The various car emergencies didn't exactly help. Still, it's really no excuse. It's not about the money, it's about creativity and making my American mom something personal. This year I just haven't been able to pull the creative me out of hiding. Except from the knitting, I haven't made stuff this fall.

Even though I haven't finished with the gift shopping, I'm not stressed out. I can't quite decide if that is a good sign, or a really REALLY bad sign, but I'm going to pretend it's a good sign, until the opposite has been proven. Christmas will come and I know it will be a good one. There will be good food and laughs and happy family. I am not going to stress out and become grumpy just because, you know, it's not worth it!

I'm counting down days to Helene coming home. I miss her and wish I could fast forward time. On the phone the other day, she told me she had her Christmas gifts taken care of. How did I get so well organized kids?!?

Danica has a really good influence on Simen. I gave him money to buy a new pair of pants that could work for family dinners and parties that didn't involve a dress code(suit+tie) and I hinted that maybe he could get himself a nice shirt, too - half expecting him to growl at the suggestion. But whaddayaknow. He came home with a black shirt with a silver tie and a pair of dark blue jeans that DID NOT sag to the knees. I was speechless. All I could get out was a silent W.O.W. Turns out Danica had the same idea as I had and went along to help him pick something out. Apparently, she told him that he needed to look nice when she introduced him to her family. *giggles* She also gave him an intensive course in how to appropriately greet grownups. *laffs* I'm beginning to like this girl more and more!

Tomorrow, Hildegunn and I are getting my parents Christmas tree up and the house decorated for Christmas. We'll also take care of an old Christmas tradition my dad has kept since we were little kids. Comic books are big over here and each year they have a special Christmas edition. We've gotten one comic book each, together with a lollipop and candy. It's something we've all looked forward to and when the dinner and presents are finished on Christmas Eve, we sit down to relax with the candy and comic books - we swap them after we've done reading our own. This year dad told me he was getting too old and confused about who got what comic book. I made a deal with him that I would take over the baton and continue the race. It's such a feel-good tradition. It can't end.

Hildegunn will drive me up to the farm afterwards. This means I won't be able to join your chat, guys, which is sad. I love the video group chats. Mucho funn'o! I will, however, be able to greet Runar with a cosy warm cabin and a nice meal when he finishes work. He really deserves it.

That man has been busy lately. I am impressed at how well he copes with things waaaay outside his comfortzone. Last week, they attended a business meeting in Sweden and closed a really good deal with a German company that has had a Swedish company as sole agents in Norway, Sweden and Finland. Now Runar's firm will take over as agents in Norway. That deal alone will be enough to keep the company floating, plus salary to both of them. 

This week he's been in Austria visiting another big company together with a client and he's already made plans for another trip down there in January.

The guy is wearing suits on a daily basis. He is traveling by plane and whatnot. It's pretty amazing. I am falling in love with my old husband all over again. Nice!




This is going to be a baby hat when it's done. Nope, I can't make heads or tails of it, either. Yet. It's a new pattern I'm trying and Ellen says the hats come out very pretty when they're done. Time will show! [in Norwish accent (tee-meh vill sjåvv)]

The two finished baby hats. My niece, who is studying to become a doctor, is part of a project where they try to do something about the high rate of infant deaths in Ethiopia. She'll be going down there in January and will be bringing the hats with her.






Hope you guys have a fantabulous weekend!

I crashed...

Big time. Not like it wasn't expected. We got the last of it painted Wednesday evening and Thursday I had to clean the house, because hubby had arranged a business meeting to take place at us. I was so worn out by the time I was done I barely knew my own name anymore. I was ready for bed at 4: 30 in the afternoon. Instead hubby persuaded me to take the dogs with me up to the farm. He would be coming in the semi-broken car, later, but late. I realized that perhaps it would be best if I removed myself and the dogs from the house, so that nothing would interrupt the meeting and agreed.

I cried most of the way up and continued to cry all evening. (When I say cry, I mean tears were running and I couldn't do shit to stop them) Marianne was absolutely crazy. After a week of having to behave and being a lot alone, while we painted, she was in a frenzy. She vented on Georg and when I took her away, she snapped, growled and tried eating me... It was not funny. It was your classical melt-down scene.

Sometime after midnight the hubby arrived and paled when he saw me.

I have known I would crash. The hectic pace since spring and especially after I got my cortisone shot and let the gang know I could now move my arm again, has been ridiculous. People getting serious ill, but only two of us know it and we aren't allowed to tell ANYBODY. The new puppy. Hubby has been rather manic, because so much has been going on in his life - changing jobs. New job heading toward bankruptcy. Starting up a new business with a colleague. All the jazz that goes with all of this.

I knew I had to have a serious chat with him, but there never seemed to be a good time. He's a bright guy, he would instinctively know when he'd step on my toes to the point of explosion and would take measures to  prevent that by either accusing me of something, throwing me off with a new crisis of some kind, hand me a new job I absolutely had to do RIGHT NOW!  You name it.

I am the worst arguer in two shoes. I can stand up for anybody else with a fierceness that scares the daylight out of most people, but I swallow camels on a daily basis to avoid confrontations with things regarding myself. Stupid! Old bible verse from my childhood jumps into my brain when I try to speak up for myself. "Let him who is without sin, throw the first stone", "Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own?", etc  I know! I open my mouth to speak up and these things threatens to come out instead. WTF?!?

I sat down and wrote a letter the other week, when I realized I wouldn't be able to keep it up much longer. I got all my frustrations and all the wrongs that had been done to me the last 6 months or so, down on paper. It felt great, but I couldn't actually send it before I had done some editing. Or so I told myself.

It didn't get sent, because I didn't ever have time to sit down and read it through, edit and send it.

I gave him the un-edited version this weekend.

I do a lot better in writing, than I do speaking out loud. Those written words hit home. Yesterday he put in a new water pump in the old volvo. He also asks permission to call his work colleague, but I'll let that sarcastic stab in the gut, pass unnoticed. The main thing is that he got a wake-up-call and he admitted that most of what I wrote was true and he knew it, just...I don't know.

Hopefully he'll be a grownup for a while and help pull the load with me and not add to the load and run away. Hopefully I'll be able to write him a letter more frequently than every 5th year.

Enough whining.

Pictures are better.







Morning bliss - yeah, I'm wearing my PJs and yes, my PJs is an old pair of karate pants. See what I use my iron board for these days in the background? We desperately need to get a stair gate...

Marianne weights about 14 kg here. That means she's gained 6 kg since we got her 4 weeks earlier...







Helene fell in love with this hat. Her boyfriend immediately bought it for her. Her boyfriend spoils her rotten! She still loves bunnies, although she is no longer into hellbunnies...

Marianne thinks Georg is nuts for bathing like this.



















It feels sooo good to cuddle on Helene's shoulder



















My poor garden suffered from lack of care, then got terrorized by a pup and finally my flowerbeds got raped by hubby's preparations for the paintjob...

I managed to save bits of it, at least.









The patio(?) painted, windows and doors painted. I can at least enjoy some sunny warm days down there this fall.
















My peace rose bush did survive. The buds are yellow, then they pale as the flower blooms and they get a pale pinkish tint to them.














I haven't done any knitting, or crocheting since Marianne arrived. The few moments I'm not busy with her, I'm too pooped to do any craft. I have knitted a pair of red felted slippers. They were supposed to have been made for a lady who approached me on my blog, then mail, but when there were talk about actual money, she went silent as the grave. I'm giving them to my kid sister as a bday present, instead. They are being felted as we speak. I'll put up a picture when they're done

work related parties and dress-codes

If you're like me, the head ache is happening already. Da hubby is in management now, which naturally means he can no longer dress as  what he himself calls "a sledgehammer mechanic". That also means that I can no longer dress as a sledgehammer mechanic's wife. Fine. I get that. I'm representing his job whenever I am attending anything work-related with him.

Today is the annual summerfest at his job. This year it is a BBQ party. It's at his workplace, meaning it is partially outdoors - in the parking lot - and partly indoor - in the goods-terminal. Which more or less is a drafty concrete storage hall.

His orders for how to dress. " Dress nicely, but it will be cold, so remember to dress nice AND warm. Don't be too butch, Eli, you ARE representing tonight. Oh, I like that cardigan, you know, the one with leather patches on the elbow? Oh, and those new boots. Those are cool. But, you have to dress up, like a nice blouse? uhm...can't you just dress warm and bring an extra change in case you stand out completely?"


WTF, man! The boots are cheap military look-alikes and butch as hell. The cardigan is about as dressed up as jeans.  I am going to wear jeans, a blouse + a nice scarf - for the dressed up nice part - bring the cardigan and a wintercoat in my bag and wear semi-nice black flat shoes. If I stand out, so be it. I will at least still be among the living come tomorrow. It's raining. It's FREEZING cold. I'll be stuck on a wooden bench and be uncomfortable the entire friggin' evening. And I'm not allowed to get drunk. Boo.

Fuck. All. Dress. Codes!