HUNG UP ON PHONES!

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Photo: Kristin Bae Mysen

Hung up on phones! The turquoise from student life way back in time, and the red one found at a market in Sweden this summer. Now one is seated in my office and the other one in my living room.

TURI-DESIGN RETRO FROM FIGGJO

I am very proud to finally have these three vintage Granada tv plates for decoration in my kitchen. They are designed by Turi Gramstad Oliver, known as Turi-design, who started to work for Figgjo in 1960 and was in charge of some of its most iconic designs.

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Photos: Kristin Bae Mysen

After searching for a long time they’re finally mine. The plates are from the 60s from the time when television was launched and people tended to watch television a lot. What could be more handy than a sandwich and a cup of tea on a tv plate placed right in your lap? There are actually three cups that belong to the plates, but so far I haven’t found them.

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Photos: Kristin Bae Mysen

FIGGJO AS, Norway was founded in 1941 near a local clay source and is located at Figgjo, a place near Stavanger on the west coast of Norway. In 1968 Figgjo took over STAVANGERFLINT – another Scandinavian favorite.

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Photos: Kristin Bae Mysen

Read and watch more from her and from here. Norwegian only.

CONGRATULATIONS, MOM!

MUTTERN

 Foto: Kristin Bae Mysen

Gratulerer mor med kjempesalg på den nye boken din “Barndomsliv på Vinstra”! Dette er en perle av en bok, en spennende beretning om en barndom helt fri for sikkerhetsnett og overbeskyttende foreldre, fra en tid som aldri kommer tilbake. Kjøp den, les den og eller gi den bort til noen du er glad i. For noen blir det å mimre, for andre å dykke ned i spennende historier fra den gang da. Som min datter på 25 uttrykte det da hun var ferdig med boken; Åh, tenk å kunne ha vært barn på den tiden !!

Bestill den direkte fra nettsiden her ved å klikke på boken, eller stikk innom en bokhandel. Mer om boken her !

Les intervjuene av min mor, Ruth Sønsterud Mysen i avisene DølenSmaalenenes avis og Gudbrandsdølen

For all my readers who don’t understand Norwegian, I have published a book that my mother has written about her childhood. The book sells really well, but unfortunately it is only written in Norwegian. If you would like to buy it, press on the book on the right hand side, and it will be shipped abroad. More about the book here

DOUBLE DELIGHT

 

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Photo: Kristin Bae Mysen

A favorite rose in my garden at the moment is the Double delight which has finally unfolded its petals. It is such a beauty and has the best of fragrance.

It has actually another name as well; the Tudor rose. And thanks to the former king Henry Tudor VIII of England we are able to enjoy this red and white rose today. The background was The Wars of Roses which were civil wars between the two royal dynasties House of York and the House of Lancaster.  The House of York had a white rose as their symbol whereas the House of Lancaster had a red rose. The new king Henry VIII was from Lancaster origin, and by marrying his cousin Elizabeth of York, the Wars of Roses finally culminated. To make a final end on a long conflict, he created a rose with both red and white colors, the Tudor rose. King Henry VIII restored stability of the English monarchy and reigned nearly 24 years from 1485 – 1509.

The Tudor rose badge has been used by every British Monarch since Henry VII. Here it is.

PEER GYNT

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Photo: Kristin Bae Mysen

Today I finished reading the dramatic poem Peer Gynt by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen. After I read it I had to search for my old brooch made of pewter that I remembered from my childhood.

I haven’t been reading the poem for years, but I was once again taken by its fine blend of realism, folklore and fairytale. Peer Gynt is the egocentric Norwegian lad from the countryside who is happily daydreaming his way through life. He finds commitments hard, travels to the supernatural world of trolls before he chooses to encounter the real world in order to make fortunes. But who is he and has he learned anything of life? These are questions he asks himself by the end of his life journey.

It is one hundred and forty years since it was written (1876), but still it has current interest. I guess we all feel a bit like Peer from time to time. Apparently in a conversation with a friend, Ibsen should have said that he didn’t think the play was well suited for acting. Funny because Peer Gynt is actually one of the world’s most widely performed plays accompanied with the music by the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg.

The most authentic way to see the play is the outdoor version by Lake Gålå high up in the Norwegian mountains where the original Pe(e)r came from. Lake Gålå is seated in Gudbrandsdalen which is my favorite part of Norway, and the best part is that I am going to see this play together with my daughter and mother this coming weekend.

Enjoy the outdoor play from here, and listen to “Morning mood” ( Peer Gynt Suite no. 1) by Grieg, here played by Oramo*Berliner Philharmoniker.

Visit this website for more information.

ROYAL FOR A DAY

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Photo: Kristin Bae Mysen

Last weekend my husband and I enjoyed being tourists in our own capital Oslo. Visiting the Royal Palace on a guided tour was really interesting, and the best part of course was standing inside by the palace balcony viewing the whole of Oslo, and knowing that right there the Royal family are exchanging waves and greeting to the people. I was glad that I had taken the time to do a bit of history reading before visiting such as;

During four hundred years Norway was a part of Denmark from 1380 – 1814. Unluckily Denmark-Norway was on the losing side in the Napoleonic Wars and Denmark was forced to give Norway away as a present to Sweden which was a country that had been fighting Napoleon all the way. The prince of Sweden at that time was the French Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, known as Carl III Johan, who then became the king of Sweden-Norway. He was popular in Norway mostly because he accepted the Norwegian Constitution dated 17. of May 1814. He often visited the country and therefore initiated to build a royal palace in Oslo. Today he is proudly seated on the horse in front of the the Royal Palace, and the main street of Oslo, Karl Johans gate, is named after him. More of the Royal history here.

Watch the film or just the interior pictures from the castle here.

DALA HORSE

dala horse

Photo: Kristin Bae Mysen

I am visiting Dalarna, the  central province of Sweden together with my mother and sister. It is considered more Swedish than ABBA and IKEA combined, with its beautiful red-colored cottages, glimmering lakes and deep forests. I have of course bought myself the symbol of Swedish heart and soul, the traditional carved and painted wooden Dala horse. It is made out of pine and its pattern is about 150 years old.

Way back the horses were highly valued in Sweden and were a symbol of strength and courage. Wooden horses were therefore carved by men working in the forests during long winter evenings and brought back to the village for the children to play with.
Even young children had to learn to carve wooden horses after returning home from school. In the little village Nusnäs the children of the Grannas Olsson family started a small business in 1928, and their children and grand children are still producing the Dala horses to this day. Their Dala horse is considered the authentic one. Watch this !