Illegal immigrants...

...or mice invasion. The war against mice is on up at the farm. I've sort of lost the battle in parts of the house. I've found a couple of places they come in, but the slim hubby has been too busy with his fishy business to close the mice-freeway entries. I can almost hear them dancing their way inside.
So instead I've emptied out the sink and cupboards in the hallway and installed mouse traps.


The traps need to be checked once a week as a minimum, but that's okay.Even though we don't spend that much time up there during the cold winter months, the place needs to be checked and looked after. Old cottages needs to be warmed up regularly. I'm not quite sure why, but it's what my dad always told me, so I go up there light the wood burner, take care of the traps, go for a hike while the house warms up and have a nice lunch before heading home again.

Slim hubby the hunter was out deer hunting this weekend. He brought his assistant, Marianne. She takes her job very serious and is absolutely pooped when they get home. She spent the rest of the day and night sleeping and hunting in her sleep.

I made scented candles and tea lights today. There is no snow around here yet and I struggle a bit getting into the spirit of Xmas. I figured some cinnamon/orange scented red tea lights would do the trick....except that apparently I don't do the color Red. Instead I do orange and/or pink. Go me?! At least they smell the way they're supposed to

Project; fixing up at the farm

We've gotten a good start fixing up at the farm. The cellar is DRY! Which means I can actually store things down there.

Runar is going to put in a water tap and I'll get a new hose. Now I have to use the indoor tap and have the hose running through the house, which is a bother, or I can carry buckets of water, which is heavy and a bother. We'll be storing garden stuff and furniture down there. Now we store those things in the barn and they get covered in goo and bird droppings...yuck!

The lawn is semi finished. Runar has put up a natural stone "wall" to enable a flat lawn in front of the house. We'll be planting red currant bushes, etc along it on the lower level and a hedge on top of the stones to shield against wind gusts. Also to enjoy sitting out there without staring the neighbours straight in the eye.

We're planning a masonry natural stone wall up against the barn as well. (to the left of photo, where Marianne is dosing in the shade) We'll have to wait until next year, to let the grass grow properly before driving on it with heavy machinery. Runar is contemplating putting in a natural stone bench - which he saw at some friends' house a few weeks ago. It was gorgeous looking! The reason we need a stone wall there, is to prevent the whole barn from gliding out.

Next weekend we're putting up stones and filling in dirt for a flowerbed from the steps along the house to the driveway. I'm going to see if I can get roses to grow up there. Because of the lower temps up there, not all flowers thrive.

We've finished with painting the upstairs hallway and stairway. The difference is huge and amazing. The 150+ old logs were old and blackened. The whole hallway was dark and scary. As you can see on the photos, they didn't use nails, they notched the logs and they insulated with EVERYTHING, like old newspapers, moss, sawdust, you-name-it. The 100+years old dry moss is hell to paint on. I vacuumed countless times, but we still had a hard time putting on paint on those old logs. The floor was easy in comparison.

 The other thing you'll notice, is that they used whatever planks and logs they had available. This cottage was built by folks who mainly got by without much real money. They bartered and swapped goods for favors, etc. There is a wonderful story about the former owner. I'll tell you another time.














Thomas and I had quite a job using wood impregnation with antiparacitics to get rid of the common furniture beetle that has been eating away on the house up there. It took a couple of weeks to finished the treatment, as we had to do a few parts twice before it helped. But, knock-on-wood I haven't spotted the fine sawdust anywhere afterwards. w00t!
(the photos are from before the second coat of paint)


Healthwise I kept it up until this week. The new meds arcoxia my doc has me trying out works wonders, but I can't take them for more than 4 days max. Neither can I use the ordinary anti-inflammatory meds Vimovo, while using the Arcoxia.  My arms and neck are killing me this week, so we're taking it easy. Right now I'm even having trouble lifting my cup of coffee without grimacing and it's so hard not getting low. Ugh!

Listening to audiobooks and crocheting when I can, watching netflix when I can't. Tomorrow I'll be able to take Vimovo again and hopefully I'll be able to avoid fullblown inflammation and fever happening.

No jobs for Runar, yet. The oil industry is starting to suffer and there is such an increase in unemployed people. With a decrease in available jobs, things are rough.

I'm on the last arm on the jacket I'm crocheting for Helene. It was supposed to be for myself, but I've sort of outgrown it... Here's a photo of the back, just to give you an idea of the pattern. I told you about it earlier. There were no pattern available anywhere for the kind of jacket I wanted, so I used the pattern for a wedding-dress bolero and just "invented" the rest of the pattern on the go


Oh, I proudly present....poppies!!! I dug up a poppie plant last year, from my garden here in Mandal and brought it up to the farm, just to see if it would grow. It did. 3 flowers happened this year. Who knows what'll happen next year

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!

What my brain spewed out...

...when I realized how long it had been since I last blogged and knew I only had tonight to do it. 



First, Marianne is back to her good, old self. The swelling went away the fourth day. She had her last pills today, thankfully. Dogs get as low-energy as humans when on antibiotics. Poor baby. She hasn't wanted to go near that field where she got bit, afterwards. Lets all cross fingers she's learnt.


This is when we got back from the vet and the morphine kicked in. She was afraid to lay down, since the mouth hurt so bad. I had to help her, in the end. She was out for several hours and when she woke, she felt a lot better and her appetite was back....or perhaps it was the drug-munchies?







We missed Simen

Tuesday we're off to her 1 year old check up at the vet. Should be fun. She really impressed me at the emergency Vet. She hadn't been to a vet before, but took to all the instruments, benches, noisy machines and other sick animals, like a pro. The Vet could do whatever she wanted to, but when she touched the lips(?) she cried out miserably.





The shark slippers are finished.













I had to turn down a visit from a friend. That really and truly sucked. With Runar having so much to do with his new business and his stress level being as it is, I just couldn't make it happen in a way that would be an enjoyable experience. He is a gracious and understanding friend, which makes it doubly bad. But, I have promised myself to get better at saying no, rather than forcing myself to manage more than I can handle. The visit will happen and when it does, I'll likely be happy it got postponed. I hope. Part of me fears there is a train that has left and will never return. I hate that little miserable voice in the back of my mind. Someone ought to find a way to permanently stomp that dude and tell the rest of us.


I got tax refund. I didn't think I would. Very pleasant surprise, that.

 Drought has stolen all the colours. This little fellow is usually pinkish purple



Tuesday we took the boat out and ate supper sammies on an island. The drought is making everything look rather sad, to be honest. It's crazy dry. My lawn is a yellowish-brown dried out joke. Simen, bless his soul, managed to keep my flowers alive. Mostly. I love that boy.

Tuesday night, I wanted to strangle him slowly to death a time, or ten.

He had forgotten a fish in a plastic bag on the floor inside the boat. You cannot imagine the stink. I had to remove the rotten mesh and dry it up. G.R.O.S.S. We had to leave the hatch open the entire trip and we left the boat open, making Simen go down to close up late at night before going to bed. He had to clean the boat a later day. Grrrowl!

This one hasn't sprung out and doesn't know about the colours having been stolen, yet. Crude awakenings to come. Å, Jah!









 Next week, Helene and her Runar is coming home. Juhuu!









I'm crocheting a new summer hat for myself. Like this, but white.












The big cousin get-together up at the farm, is happening August 1st. None of us sisters has had the guts to start any serious planning. Runar has already started dying. It can't be helped, he'll just have to die gracefully around me, or suffer the consequences. I'm working on my mean streak this summer.

I got my hair fixed, yesterday. And my brows. I thought they got too dark and tried scrubbing the colour off with eye makeup remover.

I now have very sore and very red eyebrows. They're still just as too dark. Nobody can see that they're coloured and that I regretted it, tried to fix it and failed. Miserably. Nobody.    
Snort!


My attempt at a selfie, showing off my new caps. My photographic skillz still suck balls.  

Bling-bling and other unimportant stuff

I haven't really done anything important, or particularly interesting while I've been offline, except from buying Marianne some bling-bling.

Ramble*Spoiler*
Part of my offline period hasn't been because I've been without a net. More a case of malaware that messed up my computer. I don't deal with these things very well, I'm afraid. I go totally diva and looses my will to live. Then I turn to threatening the computer with the city dumbster, going on to planning on going off the grid and ending in throwing arms in the air, argghh-ing a lot and swearing NEVER USE A DAMN COMPUTER EVER AGAIN. I need at least a day, or many to muster up the guts to start figuring out how to fix it. */Spoiler*

Runar nearly had a heart attack when I put it on her. He is convinced she's as embarrassed as he is. "Au contraire", I say, because I think she løøøves it!

                        Loook! I haz blings!










Runar doesn't understand that kind of humour, maybe. Marianne is so little lady-like in her behaviour, it is hilarious. She is her whimsical, happy self dirty as sin, or clean as a whistle. This thing screams MARIANNE! to me. The kids share my sense of humour and dig it.


I iz sad panda

                    ...no! Can't. talk. about. it

Daddy doesn't think I'm pretty.











Poor, little Marianne feels unloved, I'm sure.


In other news
Runar is helping a friend cutting down some pine trees getting too big, messing up their garden/house. 

Saturday we're going to Frida' and her mother's birthday party.

This means we'll be spending a weekend at home, for a change.

Runar plans on going up to Vintland on Saturday evening, but I have a hunch the tree-cutting project isn't done so quickly as he expects.Time vill shåvv! (Ominous music) - We've been watching Colombo on netflix with English subtitles on. I love the explanatory text parenthesis.

I HAVE BEES IN MY GARDEN, but I will never be able to live off my photography,

I know that very well. It's a mystery why I keep at it...but I do.

I HAS BEES IN MAH GARDEN!

Suddenly I love my messy old garden. It may not be pretty, but at least the bees like visiting and that ought to mean something, doesn't it?

As I said; I'll never be a photographer
You can nearly see half of her

Yes I know it's a she-bee*



*expl. will follow




It's a bee!

It looks like she's flying without wings, even though she's obviously carrying big yellow bags.


 It is living proof of bees still exist and the world isn't going to end. At least not tomorrow.

These are rose leaves. Interesting. Below them and in the background, you can barely see a bee. Do-it-yourself-zoom-in-style

Notice how I also broke the Don't-take-standing-pictures-rule? Skillz. Pure skillz.













Oh, see, a cut rose stalk. Fascinating.

I'm a big fan of impulsive clicking.    Uncontrollably.     You can always trust that method. Nothing good, or interesting ever comes from it.








Honestly? I'm terrible. I don't know how my phone camera works. Half the time I can't find the zoom button. I just can't seem to dig up the interest of learning it. I'm having a classical old-people-archetypes moment with everything regarding cellphones.


This is me while experiencing a crash course of camera functions given by Simen. He is clicking the button just when I'm exclaiming; I can see me!

I am really trying here, peeps. Can you see all that enthusiasm? I amaze me sometimes.














I really should learn how to take better pictures.



PS! I apologize for incessant use of sarcasm.

PPS! ...not really.

Well, hello there, 2014.

Christmas is over and January is here. Back to the grind and all that.

I got all of the Christmas deco put away and the house cleaned, yesterday. It was my first whole day here at home, since last year (that sounded rather dramatic). I also bought two new lamps for the living room. When we bought the book cases at IKEA, we also bought book case lamps. Don't buy lamps at IKEA, guys, they're crap! I've used a fortune in those little halogen weird bulbs and to no use. The lamps just don't want to function more than 5 minutes, before they start going out. I've talked to others who have had the same type of lamps and they say it's the same for them.

I was with my sister looking for lamps to her new cottage and fell in love with these. I bought two. They give a soft light and are perfect for when you watch TV, or movies, or you know, when you don't feel like having the bright glare of the ceiling lamps. The picture doesn't do them justice, but that's just because I'm a lousy photographer.




Dad got hospitalized today. I was there, yesterday to take my mother to her annual Parkinson checkup and he told me that he was feeling a bit under the weather and his legs were swollen. He was sitting with one leg up on the table and while we looked at it, it leaked fluid. I kid you not. By minutes his trouser legs were soaked. It's the freakiest thing I've ever seen.  I made him call his doctor and they decided to bring him to hospital and try fix it with medication. He is on a truckload of medicine and some of the side effects is that his body gets filled with fluid. He takes meds for this, but apparently they aren't helping, or not helping in the way they're supposed to. Hopefully they'll figure it out and get it fixed soon.

My mom's entire world falls apart immediately. She refused to go to her workout today. This is just physical therapy for old people at the local nursing home, with tea/coffee and cookies afterwards, so it's as much a social event as physical therapy that does her much good. And it means my dad gets a little break from her twice a week. Today she'll be sitting in a chair staring into empty space, waiting for my sister, Aslaug to visit her and let her know how things are with dad. Whether or not she manages to take her meds, depends on how sorry she feels for herself. She has always loved to be a drama queen, but with the parkinson it's gotten worse. Well, I'm not sure it's the parkinson, or something else, or just a way to get attention, but whenever something happens to my dad, she needs to feel worse and she acts out in various ways to make sure we give her the same attention... I wonder if she'll blame me for the freak-leakage?

The cold in the States is something, huh!?! I think you got all of this year's winter. And Wizz, minus 50?!? Yikes! That is ridiculously cold. I hope you manage to stay warm.

My nephew and his family got stuck in Pittsburg a week longer than expected, due to the cold. They were all on the plane, but the cold ruined something on it and they had to get off again. Their luggage, on the other hand, did get sent...yeah, I don't know how that is possible, either. His wife had to go shopping clothes and necessaries at Target.

 We're having the warmest winter in years. We're also having the wettest winter ever. This weather weirdness is really getting overboard. Enough, already! Whoever it is that is  P'ing off the weathergods, stop it!

UPDATE:
My father will remain in hospital over the weekend. There is fluid in his lungs and he is still on IV meds to reduce the excess fluid in his body. He'll be having various heart checks, etc too. Please keep him in your thoughts.

This is why smoking is such a bad habit and why I am quitting!

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!

A good week

This week started somewhat poorly but all in all it's been one of the better weeks for months.

Last Thursday my mom was rushed to hospital. She had a fit. She lost her balance on her way to the dinner table, sat down and proceeded to shovel food into her mouth and then kept asking my father when they were going to the Christmas dinner party for work. He called my sister, who's a nurse, who immediately called an ambulance. By the time the medical personnel came, she was back to normal, but didn't remember anything of what had happened the last few hours. At the hospital checks were done, but nothing showed. They suspect a minor stroke, or blood clot in her brain. She was released and came home from hospital the next day and all is well now.

According to my sister, she told the doctors at the hospital that the reason for the blood clot was because she had been so stressed out with all the work of preparing and packing of the moose meat... I was there the day before and cut, minced, packed and divided the meat with my dad. Mom was snoring on the sofa most of the time, but she did ask if she could help by the end and she did dry some of the bowls and knives we had used that I had washed. We thanked her profusely and she was very proud of having helped. I am no longer allowed to visit more than short periods and under no circumstances stress her out...   Gosh I'm such a troublesome daughter![/end sarcasm]


Monday morning started with a close encounter with a rocking chair. Result; a smashed toe and the loss of a nail. Well, the nail is still on, partially, it's just blue. And there is leakage. Gross! And Pain! I guess the fact that I had to force the foot into a boot and spend all day walking on it, didn't help much, but it did grant me the next two days where I couldn't do much other than knit. A lot. Whee!

I've been knitting woolen baby hats for a project I was asked to help my niece with. They're sending a load of hats down to Ethiopia. I've finished two and if there is time, I'll be doing one or two more. I'm beginning to really enjoy knitting baby clothes. They're so quickly finished and I'm learning new stuff and new techniques. F.U.N. 

Tuesday Simen had Occupational-Booth-Day at school, which meant he had to attend school from 3 - 7 pm (his stand won, by the way and he got his picture in the local newspaper) and had the opportunity to chauffeur his old mom around all day, or that is, he drove me up to see Brit(MIL) and she gave me most of her button-collection, because she knew I was going over to my friend, Ellen's that evening and she thought perhaps we could make use of some of the buttons for the things we were knitting. Ellen was ecstatic and we both agreed that I have one helluva MIL. Ellen is drowning in work, btw. She has her own net shop that her oldest daughter is managing and she's been taking orders like crazy -  that are to be finished and sent out before Christmas - because she's quit smoking and is majorly p'ed off, Ellen says, but that is just Ellen talking cause she's p'ed off with the work and her daughter's lousy mood. here's a link to her page. Her work is amazing. She's made up half of the recipes herself. The name Mormor og Mia translates to Granny and Mia (her granddaughter's name)

Mormor og Mia

Runar's new firm is doing quite alright, but even if they are selling goods and making money, they are still in phase one of the whole business-starting-cycle and there hasn't been enough money for paying wages, yet. That means we are now down to zero, financially. Suckage! Runar has assured me there will be enough for half a months wages by next week, so that we can pay our mortgage and the rest of the month's wages will be paid the week after, so that we can afford to celebrate Christmas.

Update: 
forgot link to site - only in Norwegian yet, but you can see what machines++ they're dealing with Kstek.no

Marianne is doing great. She's getting so big. 40 kg here's an "action picture" of Runar and her - I love Google for this -  and a few of Simen and her. How Marianne greets the boys when they get home.

Marianne loves Daddy
  

 

And she loves Simen just as much. This is what normally happens when he gets home from work in the evenings after having been gone since early morning. 

PS!
Best news of the week: HELENE AND BOYFRIEND WILL BE COMING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS!!! They won't stay for long, only from 23rd to 25th, but it doesn't matter, because they'll be spending Christmas Eve with us and that makes me ridiculously happy! ^__^

PPS!
Oh, note to Helene's friend, Maria. I will send you your scarf today. Promise! 

Am I really that old?

I must be, because yesterday my youngest got his driver's license. He is 18 and now legally an adult. I think back at when I was that age and I remember thinking my parents were ancient and oh-so-OLD! Now I'm the ancient one. Yikes!

I'm still a baby!

Marianne is getting bigger. And bigger. She's also getting more cunning. She'll jump out of any fenced in areas. You won't believe how high she can jump. It is impressive. It also means we can no longer just let her out in the garden to play, when she's bored.

This week she harassed one of the neighbours again. That is, I'm not sure she harassed him, but when he brought her home, he told me she was "very playful". Yeah, translated into normal speek, that means she was jumping them and scaring the living daylight out of them. *groans* They were changing tires on the son's car. I bet she wanted to help. She is very! helpful. She'll happily hold all your tools. She's particularly helpful in grabbing and holding on to the things you have in your hands already...

She's not yet caught on to the trick of barking/whining when she needs to go pee while we sleep. Instead she'll stare at us and silently scream her head off. Does it wake us up? Not so much... I've washed the rug in the hallway so many times it will be worn out within a year if she doesn't stop, or if the boys don't learn to let her out before they go to bed. Apparently they think I can sense when they go to bed in my sleep and get up to let her out. Do I? Not so much...

She's very attentative when we're out on our walkies, though. It's usually a very relaxing and pleasant thing to do - walking her. I need to take her to town and walk her in places where there are a lot of people. I haven't done so that often and that needs to change, because I can't have a hyper 70 something kg dog wanting to say hello to everyone she meets. Just thinking about it gives me nightmares.

Taking the bus to my parents' today to part and prepare the moose meat today. We used to have two cars and two driv

ers, but somehow only one car in working order. Now we have two cars in working order and 3 drivers. Guess who's always without a car? Yeah...funny how those things work.

Runar shot a small cow last weekend and they are going out to hunt with a dog this weekend as well, so cross your fingers they'll be getting another one. This is their last chance to get any, as moose hunt season is ending 21st. Seems we'll be spending Christmas Eve at Runar's parents and this year we'll be many. As usual Runar and I will be the cooks and moose roast is on the menu.

My psoriasis is flaring up again. Not fun. My joints aren't too bad, yet, but my bad shoulder is getting worse rapidly. Not fun either.

Finished with the dresses, this is the biggest. 3-4 years old, the other one is for 3-6 months old.

Marianne and knitting update

Marianne is such a daddy's girl. She'll be the same when she's too big, just wait and see ;)

Marianne is getting bigger and bigger. She's now over 30 kg (60 pounds). She's a good girl, most of the time. The other day, while I was at my sister's, Runar was letting her out to do her business while on the phone. Yeah...she ran off.

No place like daddy's lap

Since it was in the morning at the time the kids are on their way to school, naturally she found some nice girls to follow. Luckily one of the grocery store ladies recognized her and brought her to the store, where Runar found them. (he was out looking by then)


 I met the girls the next day. They have decided they are now Marianne's BFFs They also informed me that they were 10 min late for school that morning...ouch!

Helene's lap is nice too

Helene was home for a weekend visit. It was great seeing her again. Maria came up Saturday and we had beer(the girls) and whiskey. Soo much fun! They both ordered a scarf.










I finished the poncho. Made some socks, feltet slippers and scarves too. The scarves are fun to make as they're so easy. I've also started on a tunic/dress for Nova. I'll probably make one for little Frida as well. My sister Nora is knitting for the other two girls(her granddaughters).




 





 Maria's ruffle scarf. (the fly was a puzzle Runar got from a sales person at work. It wasn't supposed to be in the picture, but if I lift it, it falls apart...)







Oh, I found wordfeud. Sooo hooked. I'm cara_1969 if you want to play.

Yeah...

I had planned to write an update, but there's been a time thief at large around here. I live, Marianne lives, the rest of the gang live. Oh, and it's Friday

HAVE A FANTABULOUS WEEKEND!

Some days

Lorin, I stole that expression from you and decided to add some Marianne, because it so completely fits how I feel these days

R.I.P. Georg

This weekend we had to say our good byes to Georg.

He was without question the most gentle and patient dog I have ever met.

I choose to believe he is now in the eternal dinner hall where Laika and Doris welcomed him with his favorite dinner. He'll be watching out for us and waiting to meet us again.

In loving memory

You will be greatly missed

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