a trip to the seaside, butterflies and summerberry cake

I have come home from my little trip to the seaside with a refreshed spirit and with not as white legs as i had before we went...*laughing*... The weather was sunny and warm at day and cool and rainy at night- perfect! The two ladies i went together with (my mother and mother in law) had some plans together of their own and i had mine, everyone of us came home again the with the lovely feeling of having spent the time just as we wanted. My two main wishes for this trip were to spend most of the time by the sea shore and also to read a little bit. The ladies wanted to go shopping, conversating "all day long", drinking cold white vine and eating fresh shrimps- we all got what we wanted........*smiling*...

"Flutterby like a butterfly" by Catriona Sweeney.

Together we visited a heavenly yarnstore (for those of you wondering: YES, i came out of the shop WITH yarn...ha-ha....two skeins of baby merino wool, one skein in french ochre and one in a heavenly shade of plum color), a used book store and a charming little cafè.
And i am almost ashamed to admit but EVERY single day we EACH ate some slices of the delicious cream and summerberry cake that my mother in law had baked with for the trip (in our "defense" i must tell that we celebrated my mother's birthday). I truly feel like i have gained some weight on this trip....both around my waist because of the endless cake eating and in my heart because of the happiness and refreshment one can only be given through spending time in nature. Something truly happens to ones soul when one is being sunkissed while listening to the sound of the sea...makes me think about some lines that i read yesterday by the lovely John O'Donohue:

"May you take time to celebrate the quiet miracles that

seek no attention.

May you be consoled in the secret symmetry of your soul.

May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven

around the heart of wonder." 

I had put with some books in my bag and i ended up with spending quite a lot of time reading. Actually i was unable to put away the book that i had started on just before we went: "The lost wife" by Alyson Richman. Just by reading the first few pages this story found it's way straight to my heart. Parts of this story is based on actual events and some of the events in this book is so horrible and deeply painful to read about that i had to cry, but don't let that scare you from reading it, the book is so full of love, hope, courage, strenght and beauty.......i want to recommend this book with all of my heart!
Here are some quotes from it:

“She always told us there were two types of women. Those who are lit from the outside and those who are lit from within. The first needs the shimmer of a diamond to maker her sparkle, but for the other, her beauty is illuminated through the sheer light of her soul.” 

"In my old age; I have come to believe that love is not a noun, but a verb. An action. Like water, it flows to its own current. If you were to corner it in a dam, true love is so bountiful it would flow over. Even i separation, even in death, it moves and changes."



When i came home a beautiful snail mail from Ireland were waiting for me! The photo in this post is a detail from the card that Caitriona had made me, "Flutterby like a butterfly". What a perfect way to be wished welcome when coming home...*smiling*...

the sea and summer readings

Something special about the sea.
I always get filled with a deep sense of peace when sitting by the shore looking at the seemingly endless sea..........hearing it.....smelling it......
Last summer i walked on beaches in the northern parts of Norway and for some days now i will do the same but in the southern parts of my country.
I have been to the library choosing some books that i will like to read this summer, going to take a couple of them with me on this trip. I would love to hear if you have some books that you want to read this summer..........or maybe you have read one lately that you want to recommend!?
My pile of books holds these: -Alyson Richman's "The lost wife", Henning Mankell's "Italian shoes",
Gerard W.Hughes book "God in all things" and Eowyn Ivey's "The snow child".

Being colored golden by the early morning light

I woke up very early today and the soft and golden morning light greeted me when i sat down on my veranda with my first cup of tea. Something so special with the calmness that fills the early hours of the morning....and especially on sundays. My handsome Mr.Bullfinch were already up, eating from the birdfeeder in our garden. Every time i get a visit from him it feels like being given a gift, i have always loved this bird. It took almost a year from the time we sat up the feeders before the first bullfinches started to visit.
Today the weather has been heavenly summery here. I wore my new and beautiful NOA NOA summer dress to church and oh how i love everything about this dress. Everything from the combination of colors to the contrast between the fabrics, not to mention the beautiful details. It is both pretty AND ALSO comfortable to wear, what more can a girl wish for...*smiling*... And i suddenly noticed today that the yarn that i have used on my Soay cardigan that i knitted a little while back is perfect together with this dress, it was not planned......just one of those lovely coincidences.

The sundaysermon in church today were food for my soul. Some words that were mentioned were these by Henri J.M Nouwen:
“Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.”
So true....and also hard to remember AND manage from time to time. Something that striked me while walking through the forest after the sermon was that it actually is the ordinary and daily things that brings me the biggest joy.....things like seeing  a "fat" bullfinch in my garden...*smiling*.....wearing a beautiful dress on a warm summer day, walking barefoot in the misty wet grass, knittingneedles in my hands...
                                                                                                                     


Some links to beautiful "things":
-cozy memories linen scarf
-musicvideo
-magazine
-book
-my favourite soap maker is back again...*smiling*..

what i have been doing today

I have finished my Levenwick cardigan today, buttons and all.....VERY VERY pleased with the result. This is the second Levenwick i am knitting for myself, i simply LOVE this pattern! The yarn i have used on this is Baby Merino Silk DK from Rowan, Shade: Rose 678.
Wondering about what i am going to knit next, for myself. My want-to-knit list is looooong but some of the projects there needs far more patience than i have so they i can leave out....so then i sit back with...let's see....about 20 projects to choose from.....if i don't come across more of them before i have managed to decide...*laughing*...
Yes, i know: third blogpost in a row that i am using my Noa Noa butterflydress (from last years summercollection).........please forgive me....but i LOVE it so much and it looks so good together with my newly finished cardigan...*smiling*.. It is HUGELY satisfying and fun to make oneself something to wear, recommendable!

Some links that i want to share:
-This post by Louise. I always find her writing to be so honest and beautiful.......she always touches me with her words and this specific post that i am linking to made me cry. What a beautiful way to honor the memory of her dad.
-This post by my dear em. I LOVE her ceramic works and i am praying that she will open her own on-line store in the future...with the possibility for Norwegian's (read: me) to buy...*laughing*... She writes so kindly that i, among others, have inspired her to try to slow down a little. I can so relate to what she is struggeling with and i strongly believe that if i hadn't been forced to stop up and slow down because of becoming ill i would still have lived my daily life in a high speed. I am touched to hear that i can be an inspiration, you are that to me too dear em!
-This post about beautiful Olga. I adore both Olga and her work!
-OH, and another beautiful and honest post that reminded me of something important that i often seem to forget: to be gentle and graceful towards myself! And GOSH how MADLY i LOVE her work, i have had my eyes on this one for a while!

memories and a snail mail swap for you (sign up for swap now closed)

Today i picked up a new book at the library that i have been hugely looking forward to read:
"Airmail: The letters of Robert Bly and Tomas Tranströmer". It is a collection of their correspondence through letter writing from 1964-1990. To my happiness this was a thick book...*smiling*...

I have always had a thing for handwritten letters, both the part of sending and receiving. One of my grandmothers, Gunhild, had a sister named Borghild who immigrated to Canada when she were young. They managed to keep close contact through often writing letters (and of course also through some phonecalls from time to time). When Borghild became old and too sick to write and read, her daughter took over the writing and reading of letters. Borghild's children didn't learn Norwegian so her daughter had to write back in English, a language my grandmother never learned. Since i learned English at school i got the privilige of translating and reading these letters out loud for my grandmother and afterwards to write a letter back for her in English. I remember these "letter times" together with my grandmother as such joyus and happy moments. Often she spoiled me with baking her delicious kringle that we enjoyed while reading and writing letters....such dear and precious memories...

Many of you have asked for a swap and i have thought about what to suggest this time. I have asked some of the ones that have entered swaps in here before about what they have liked best so far and also for suggestions and/or wishes. EVERYONE said that the most lovely thing about the previous swaps that they have entered is the handwritten cards and letters that have followed with the snail mail parcels. So i think it is a nice idea to make this one into a handwritten letter/card swap. A simple but good theme don't you think...*smiling*....Everyone can enter! When the sign up is closed i will put two and two of you together in pairs and contact you with the postal address for your swapper. As long as it is possible i will of course pair people from different countries. SIGN UP now closed!

Because i LOVE wearing my dresses i decided yesterday, despite it being YET ANOTHER DAY with lack of sunshine and warmth, to not wait any longer for good weather but just start wearing them. One of the things that i hugely look forward to each year when spring/summer comes is to put on airy clothes after a long cold winter where the body has been "wrapped in wool" for months.....Every day now, no matter the weather, you will find me "living" outside on my veranda or in my garden. My body and soul needs this....my whole being needs these outside living days to handle all the inside living ones that we have here for months in wintertime....Every day now i drink the daylight as much as i can, the 23 this month there is already Sankthansaften/Midsummer and then the days will start getting shorter again.......luckely it isn't noticeable before towards the end of August.
My Levenwick cardigan, second one and pink this time, is soon finished. The yarn i have choosen is nice to wear on days like these so i will for sure use it together with my summerdresses....*smiling*... It looks perfect together with my pink "butterfly" dress from noa noa. Next i have some heavenly green yarn that i will cast on my needles, going to be a gift this one. I always find it special and lovely to create something for others with my own hands....just like i find it very special and lovely to be gifted something myself that is made from another persons hands....*smiling*..

Beautiful Lori

I have wanted to write about Lori for quite some time now, she is such a beautiful and inspiring woman...she is one of those persons that i wish lived close by (at least in the same country) so that it would be possible to meet each other over a nice cup of tea and some knitting while conversating for hours. For me who is a passionate knitter, bird and nature lover it is no wonder that i LOVE her posts! I have more than once felt like i have actually been with on some of her (and her husband Chuck's) trips after having read her blog posts.......such a lovely "way" for me to travel...*smiling*. It is something about the way that she shares both through her photos and writings that reaches me in a very special way. And i guess it doesn't come as a surprise that i am madly in love with her Conifer cardigan AND these photos, SO incredibly beautiful!!

"May the Sun bring you new energy by day.
May the Moon softly restore you by night.
May the Rain wash away your worries.
May the Breeze blow new strength into your being.
May you walk gently through the world and know its beauty all the days of your life."
~ Apache Blessing




All photos and the Apache blessing are borrowed from Lori's blog
with kind permission from her.
Thank you Lori....*smiling*!