Lake Mjøsa, Norway - view from Honne, Biri.
Lush, green, insects, flowers and grass, 21 degrees in the water, warm pleasant evenings, barbeques, scents from plants, bushes and the woods, misty air, burning hot asphalt, naked feet, nightswimming, high sun, the light on the horizon constant through the night, low voices from the neigbours´evenings, rolling around on the lawn, feet-dipping, ice-cream, green, lush.
Våren begynner å få tak. I dag kunne jeg sette ut en stol på terrassen, sitte ned og nyte sola en halvtimes tid. Dette er vel ikke tiden for løvetann å kvitte seg med det hvite sløret sitt, men jeg måtte sette inn et bilde fra i fjor sommer likevel. Nå er det snart påske - det skal bli godt med noen late dager. Mars har vært en travel måned på mange måter. Det er godt med travle måneder, men da er det også godt med en liten vårpause etterpå.
I ørene: Josh Ritter, Sufjan Stevens, Cowboy Junkies, Bob Dylan (Live 1966)
På nattbordet: "On Beauty", Zadie Smith / "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman", Haruki Murakami (jepp, den har blitt forbikjørt av flere den siste tiden, så den ligger der fortsatt)
Sist leste: "Vi, de druknede" av Carsten Jensen
Morning moon | Biri | 07H30 | 3 February | 2007
It is full winter here now, and even if I like this time of year (too), I always look forward to the next season. T-shirt, jeans and no socks (very important), a warm terrace and open doors. Just planning the next swim in the lake. Flowers. Orange ones. Long evenings and the sun merely hiding behind the hills in the east before it shows itself again in the early hours of a new day. Summer rain. The whole world with a scent of earth, flowers and barbeques. Seasons.
So this evening we are going skiing, even though it is a far cry from the joys of summer - it is part of the present season.
Olive-oil-drenched juicy tomatoes, parsley, black pepper and chévres. White wine. Chilled. Refreshing. Like winter.
Time: Morning, late in the summer of 2006 / Location: Biri, Norway
Weather: Amazing / Lighting: Natural / Result: The above
Playing in my head:
"Where Is My Mind???" Pixies / "Chips Ohoy!" The Hold Steady / "The Skin Of My Yellow Country Teeth" Clap Your Hands Say Yeah / "Sparkle Me" Buffseeds / "The Crane Wife 3" The Decemberists / "Crazy, Crazy Nights" Susanna & The Magical Orchestra / "Love Will Tear Us Apart" Susanna & The Magical Orchestra / "Nothin' No" David Vandervelde
Reading matters:
"Jeg har sett verden begynne" Carsten Jensen / "Vi, de druknede" Carsten Jensen / Uncut - February 2007 / Cap & Design, #1- 2007 / "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman" Haruki Murakami / I am also constantly checking the URL "Forfatterbloggen" to see what's going on there. It has become a (pleasant) "addiction", and lately I´ve started feeling (unjustly so, I am totally aware of this fact...) that I "know" many of the people frequenting this spot on the internet discussing anything, nothing and everything. However, it is interesting. So I keep going back to read comments, new posts, experiencing their thoughts; perhaps mainly about literature, but also about daily life including routines, problems and happy moments in the situation we all experience called life.
Films lately:
"Caché" with Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche (on DVD in my local "cinema") / "The Calendar Girls" with Helen Mirren & co. (seen on TV2 Zebra) / "Once Upon A Time In The West" with Claudia Cardinale, Charles Bronson, Henry Fonda & co. (seen on TV2 Zebra)
And:
Working on my website: De Garden which still is to be altered, adjusted, designed and reconsidered in a very time-consuming way. I have hopes now though; it might be finished by Easter, or at least before summer...
Gratulerer med 8-årsdagen Ina!
Happy 2007...
Just a few weeks ago (actually, it is exactly a month today, but it sounds better with the term "a few weeks ago") I wished for winter, and now it has officially arrived. Last week, the night before Tuesday to be correct, we got a (approximately) 35 cm white layer of wonderful snowflakes coming down covering our habitat. Everything turned white and heavily covered with cold snow - and even though children (and everyone who feels like one) are happy like all supporters of the football-club FK Viking of Stavanger today Monday 6 November 2006, it also brings along the (by so many) loathed activity of moving snow from one place to another (i.e. from footpaths, roads, parking lots and such simply to ease accessibility to mentioned areas) I guess we'll all be better off if we just breathe in the cooler air, put on our woolen hats and gloves - and deal with it... On the positive side - to those who long for spring (already) - today it was around +5 degrees, so a lot of the snow has taken the shape of water again, disappearing down into the ground or wherever it goes... Despite this current rise in temperature I am sorry to remind that it will be winter for at least the next 4 months. Yes, I am Norwegian, we do talk about the weather. However, that´s what we do up here... Enjoy the snow, enjoy winter!
Lemonsjøen Alpinsenter, Randsverk, Norway. Mountains and clouds - summer 2006.
Any snow this year? I know it is a bit early to talk about winter - but hey, who knows when these white, delicate things are going to start landing on us from above... It is now October; petrol stations and their alikes have started filling up (hah, did you get the pun..?) shelves with marcipane-pigs and chocolate-covered xmas marcipane candies (actually they started in September!)...so it really ought to start snowing? This little cow on the photo above is not worried about being covered in chocolate (or snow..), but she sure liked the view from her window last winter. Milky-white snow somehow relaxes her... But it is not too hilarious with that marcipane entering shops already though, it is waaay too early for xmas-candies. December will be here soon enough - pigs (made of marcipane) should wait a little bit longer... Therefore I urge you all NOT to buy any until the 1st of December!
Listening to: Tindersticks: "Desperate Man" - (Curtains), Lucinda Williams: "Those Three Days" (World Without Tears), Steve Earle: "Goodbye" (Train a comin´), Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas: "Claudja" (Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas), Yann Tiersen: "La Redécouverte" (Amélie, soundtrack). Just watched: Seinfeld on TV3, and these days I am reading: Haruki Murakami "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman" and Bill Bryson "A Short History of Nearly Everything". "Soon" I will be working on my website: www.degarden.net - still not finished as (patience is my weapon)...
(Also should have been doing: Organising papers (to be delivered) to my accountant, but somehow it is being delayed due to all the other things I am occupied with... :-)
Patience is my weapon...
On a wet and windy day this August I went for a stroll along the beach outside La Couarde-sur-mer. The beauty of the sea is especially evident on days like these. The sky and the sea become one. Even though most of my previous sejours spent at Ile de Ré have been dominated by sunny skies and high temperatures, I really like the rainy days there as well. And if winds in the year ahead are on my side, I´ll be returning to Ré next summer. It is a very special place. A bientôt!
I came back Friday from Ile de Ré after travelling by car (Melissa & Davy), train (TGV), bus (Autobus), plane (SAS Braathens), train (NSB) and car (Hans Ole, courtesy of Kari Anne). In between these sessions of transportation I certainly did some walking (albeit no running!!), so after getting up at 06H00 in the morning at the French island in the Bay of Biscay it was nice enjoying a beer and two glasses of wine on the terrasse at #18 after coming home around 18H30. This holiday has brought me to Switzerland for five days and France for seven, so I am tres content with my summer-break. Spending time with Ina is always great. Enjoying french cuisine (fruits de la mer, des fromages, gateaus), wine, enjoyable company - and as said hanging around with my daughter - is a pleasing way to spend a holiday. And although I am not the biggest fan of sandy beaches (way too much sand that gets stuck everywhere...), I really do love swimming in the sea, searching the beach for beautiful shells and simply admiring the vast ocean. Now, returned to the Norwegian summer (which is still very much here), I went for a swim in Norway's largest lake (again) yesterday - regarding the temperature in the water; we must be talking records. Very comfortable - and thoroughly refreshing in the warm weather we're still blessed with. Summer is certainly not over yet, but we all know it can quickly change...
Just back from Thalwil/Zürich. Went to pick up my daughter, and we had some nice days in a very, very warm Switzerland. Followed her to school the two last days before her summer vacation started.
Today I went for a swim in the river - for the first time this summer. The weather has been very nice this last period here in Norway, so the temperature in the water was close to 20C. It was very refreshing - so too for Frida, my friend´s Golden Retriever. Summer is a good thing, a very very good thing. I wish it could be more of it... Next week I go to see my daughter in Thalwil (Switzerland), before we travel back to Norway for a nice vacation. I am happy as a dog in the river on a very hot day!
