ONE WORLD

Quino-done                                                                                                        Quino

 “LUCKILY THE WORLD IS BURNING ON THE OTHER SIDE!”

LOVE / HATE GARDENING

blomster - Kopi

Photo: Kristin Bae Mysen

When it comes to gardening I would say that we can divide people into four categories;

Group one: The ones who hate their garden, and want to move into an apartment as soon as possible

Group two: The ones who want a garden, but don’t particularly like to spend much time working there. They like plants that take care of themselves, and do the gardening the same way that they do the laundry or other kinds of housework that need to be done.

Group three: The ones who like flowers and easy-living, and therefore have three flower boxes planted which they move around on the lawn depending on where they are seated.

Group four: The ones who want to stay outside working in the garden all summer while they bore their surroundings with a non-stop talking about seeds and perennials.

Speaking of us in the last group, we tend to never get done with our gardens. I guess the main secret for garden lovers is that we don’t want to be done. The trick is, every summer to have new projects going. For example two projects of mine this summer are to plant a poppy field with California poppies, and then make one part of the garden into a space where everything there is edible; berries, fruits, vegetables and herbs. Being a garden freak I also have fun writing a summary on what I did accomplish every fall, and what the plans are for the coming season. It is a fun memory board, and great to read during the coldest and darkest parts of the year. However last week I ordered a new binder from the German Herlitz for my notes. I love their colorful design, and in September last year I wrote a blogpost about another of their binders as well.

EASTER MARZIPAN 2015

Marsipan-for-2015

Photo: Kristin Bae Mysen

Like most Norwegians this Easter/Påske I fell in love with the Norwegian brand Hval sjokolade. After great scores nationwide on chocolate and marzipan tests, many of us had to try it. After spending some hours searching, I was finally able to locate this box. Great taste !!

Being addicted to marzipan during this time of the year, I do have two types of marzipan on my table now, this type and my favorite Anthon Berg’s marzipan eggs which I wrote about last year.

If any of you in Norway have missed out on this, they do sell Hval’s products at Plantasjen, Nille and Europris. And for everyone else, their products can be ordered from here.

BACK TO ARTS AND CRAFTS

hakking-web

Photo: Kristin Bae Mysen

Last week my sister told me about her birthday wish for her coming birthday party; a big, red, woolen blanket. She explained that every guest would have to create a square in 15 x 15 cm in whatever technique they chose as long as it was in wool and a colour red.

I haven’t been doing any needlework in ages, and this was the challenge I needed. Years ago I learned the Tunisian crochet (hakking) method  which is a cross between knitting and crocheting worked on a long doubled ended crochet hook. So I decided to go for that. By the help of internet, it was really easy to pick up. I like to work with bamboo material, and I found these three hooks (above) which are produced by Solvor Hofsli. They  can be ordered from this email hofsli@online.no

This is the video that made me remember, but for those of you who already know how to do this, maybe you would like to go from here and work with more than one colour.

At the moment I am really hung upon this project. It is the first thing I do when I get home from work, and the last thing I do before I go to bed. It is quite promising for my sister’s blanket.

BLÅ HESTER I GUDS HAGE – OM Å VÆRE TIL STEDE I EGET LIV

Bla-hester

Å FINNE EN GOD HVERDAG

Har ikke livet mer å tilby enn gjerrige dager med små marginer og store krav? Dager hvor jeg slåss med klokka for å rekke alt jeg skal gjøre før sengetid?

Kan det være lov å ønske seg sjenerøse dager med uthvilte smil og bedre tid? Dager som oppleves som mine, fylt med aktivitet, men også pauser og lek.

Selv om svette feriedager er deilige, byr også hverdager opp til dans når jeg husker å leve og ikke bare eksistere. Når jeg setter pris på gledene jeg har rundt meg og godtar at ingen dager er perfekte.

Og når de tunge dagene kommer, vil jeg ta fram den store styrken min, kjempe for livet, og vite at før eller siden går det over.

Som dine dager er, skal din styrke være.    

5. Mosebok 33, 25

Dette var et utdrag fra boken min, og det er veldig hyggelig å kunne informere om at Blå hester er tilbake på markedet igjen i tredje opplag etter ni år borte fra hyllene. I disse årene har det strømmet inn med oppfordringer om å trykke den opp igjen, og jeg har fått høre fine historier om hvor mye boken har betydd for mange lesere. Det gjør meg veldig ydmyk, ikke minst fordi boken ble til i en periode av livet der jeg selv var nødt til å stoppe opp å gjøre noen nye valg.

Jeg vet ikke helt hvordan jeg skal kunne klare å nå alle de som har bedt så pent om at den skal trykkes opp igjen, derfor hadde jeg satt utrolig pris på om du kunne dele share denne bloggposten med dine Facebook-venner eller de du tror kunne ha interesse av å lese den. Les gjerne artikkelen om meg og den tredje utgivelsen av boken her.

Blå hester i Guds hage er en gavebok til deg selv eller noen du er glad i. Den er ment å være en følgesvenn gjennom glede og sorg, forandring og forankring, avvikling og utvikling. Det er en bok som ønsker at du er til stede der du er i det du er, og det er du som leser som gir sidene liv med dine tanker og refleksjoner. Boken inviterer til sansing, nytelse og verdsettelse av det livet du har rundt deg. Og ikke minst ønsker den at du er deg selv, en blå og annerledes hest i Guds hage. To til tre tusen år gamle tekster fungerer som appetittvekkere til hver side for i min gamle Bibel fant jeg stor poesi, uendelig visdom og en kjærlig Gud.

Boken kan kjøpes fra alle bokhandlere i Norge eller bestilles fraktfritt direkte fra denne bloggen. Trykk bare på bildet av boken til høyre på siden og fyll ut skjemaet. Hvis du ønsker en personlig hilsen i boken, så skriv det på.

Tusen takk, og ha en fin uke alle sammen !!!

IT IS ALL GREEK TO ME

Gresk-for-web

Photo: Kristin Bae Mysen

This week I have been diving into the Greek alphabet. What a treasure trove !!! It seems like our whole civilization is more or less based upon it.

It is more than 4000 years old, and if you have a quick run through, you’ll recognize many words and symbols. From the first and the second letter ALPHA and BETA we have got the name Alphabet. From ALPHA which means “beginning” or “first” and the last letter OMEGA which literally means “great” but also “last” or “end”, we use the expression; “It is alpha omega” meaning the most important thing. In the Bible there is the famous passage (Revelation 1,8) where the Lords says “I am the Alpha and the Omega….”, the beginning and the end; symbol for eternity.
Most of us are interested in living a healthy life, therefore many of us take Omega 3, 6 and Omega 9. And isn’t the symbol for Swiss luxury watch Omega? More or less all the letters function as a point of departure for physics, chemistry, cosmology and mathematics. For instance all of us have learned about PI 3,14 at school, and being a language teacher I was thrilled when I found that THETA and EPSILON are part of the International phonetic alphabet. And last but not the least in 2019 the new Munch museum opens in Oslo and it is called LAMBDA due to the same shape as the eleventh letter.

Besides, being an aesthetic freak I also find the letters to have a beautiful design and now the alphabet is framed and is hanging in my office.

A CUP LESSON

kopper

Photo: Kristin Bae Mysen

A friend of mine who always drinks her peppermint tea out of a light green cup, taught me long time ago that each drink should have its special cup. In my case it meant that I had to have a cup for regular coffee, one for caffè latte, another for English tea, for my orange tea and then again one for different types of herb tea. I liked the idea although it felt a bit out there in the beginning. But now I have done it for  years meaning when holding an empty cup I associate it with a certain taste and fragrance. So drinking tea from a coffee mug is no longer a hit for me.

From the cups above I drink Pukka herb tea which is ordered from my favorite site for healthy products iHerb.com . These colorful cups are bought at Indiska which is a Swedish family enterprise that has existed for over 110 years. As many of us know it sells a mix of fashion and interior fittings inspired by India.

THE ROAD

Spor

Photo: Kristin Bae Mysen

“Wanderer, your footsteps are the road, and nothing more; wanderer, there is no road, the road is made by walking. By walking one makes the road, and upon glancing behind one sees the path that never will be trod again. Wanderer, there is no road– Only wakes upon the sea.”.

“Caminante, son tus huellas el camino y nada más;
caminante, no hay camino, se hace camino al andar.
Al andar se hace camino, y al volver la vista atrás
se ve la senda que nunca se ha de volver a pisar.
Caminante, no hay camino, sino estelas en la mar.”

Antonio Machado, Seville, Spain