tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53588356599921981422024-03-12T20:11:54.731-07:00Plask Design - Industrial Textiles and ArtI am an artisan that loves adding style to praticle cold weather clothing. Living on the west side of Norway, we experience some of the wettest and most miserable weather in the world. Children here are born with rain jackets and boots. And in the summer the sun shines 24 hours a day. But just because we wear protective clothing does not mean we need to be boring about it!Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01333333828999038984noreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358835659992198142.post-17315512918797584712009-10-31T15:06:00.000-07:002009-10-31T15:09:05.323-07:00New Passion - New Blog<div align="center"><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;color:#000099;">This blog is now officially closed. </span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000099;"></span> </div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000099;">Instead, I have started a new blog, which will be focussed on my journey along the paths of soap making.</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000099;"></span> </div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000099;">Do come and join me at: <a href="http://ultimateorganicsoaps.blogspot.com/">http://ultimateorganicsoaps.blogspot.com/</a></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000099;"></span> </div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000099;">I will be looking forward to seeing everyone there.</span></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01333333828999038984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358835659992198142.post-6410348026388422112009-10-17T01:30:00.000-07:002009-10-17T01:56:45.945-07:00Ultimate Deal for Friends, Family and EuropeanStreetTeam Members<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYKtMQnY7oZanyVfbbQzfRDKR1Kn-GzjZM2QDShoDioZWKtycXP5rp5BbXwDvf-aGbKDe8EgqDYYBo5n_9taPxDH7NxtPIRH5umdADMJ1-jRvOrSTzWhVW5jZngKhBRXHsWhFbXKeVzNU/s1600-h/DSCN0780.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393485572121703522" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 246px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYKtMQnY7oZanyVfbbQzfRDKR1Kn-GzjZM2QDShoDioZWKtycXP5rp5BbXwDvf-aGbKDe8EgqDYYBo5n_9taPxDH7NxtPIRH5umdADMJ1-jRvOrSTzWhVW5jZngKhBRXHsWhFbXKeVzNU/s320/DSCN0780.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:180%;color:#6600cc;"><strong><u>Okay - Here's the Deal:</u></strong></span></div><div align="center"><strong><u><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:180%;color:#6600cc;"></span></u></strong> </div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">I have had a lot of family, friends and my best buddies on the EuropeanStreetTeam as me, "When are you going to start selling your soap? I want to buy some!"</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">The thing is that I just don't have time to set up a store before Christmas. I'm studying for a big exam at the beginning of December which will get me a degree, and ultimately increase my paycheck at work. </span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">In addition to this, I have made other commitments with my Canadian friends, as well as my children that will fill up my weekends before Christmas.</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><strong>But..............</strong></span></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></strong></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">I am have decided to sell about half of my soaps to all of the aforementioned people privately.</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">Contact me through my email address at: <a href="mailto:plaskdesign@broadpark.no">plaskdesign@broadpark.no</a></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">Let me know what soaps you are interested in purchasing, and I will contact you and let you know if the products you want are available.</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">All soaps will be sold for 6.00 USD or 35 NOK, no matter what types are chosen.</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">All soaps are at least 5 oz (140 gr)- most of them are at least 7-8 oz (210 - 250 gr).</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">Shipping and postage are in addition to this, but will be kept at a minimum. All recycled packaging will be used to keep prices low.</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div align="center"><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:180%;color:#cc0000;">THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR THEIR SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT!</span></em></div><div align="center"><em><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#cc0000;"><br /></span></em></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">All of it has been great appreciated.</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">Kindest Greetings,</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">Nicole.</span></div><div align="center"><br /></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHeRhNYW_KGjMs3hXPWps5qfGJrTIfHNejtp6zY4UG20jQ8AEbjYh2KoxvZYVevMmpmHYE54lvFq0rHI_fhZEp8fb_8x7NQ1XUGCwnZ1u4FV4t-OpKlV_gAQcX3BnvxBplMW0LAbex_6Y/s1600-h/IMG_5561.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393485570171761010" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHeRhNYW_KGjMs3hXPWps5qfGJrTIfHNejtp6zY4UG20jQ8AEbjYh2KoxvZYVevMmpmHYE54lvFq0rHI_fhZEp8fb_8x7NQ1XUGCwnZ1u4FV4t-OpKlV_gAQcX3BnvxBplMW0LAbex_6Y/s320/IMG_5561.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01333333828999038984noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358835659992198142.post-10213545208941456222009-10-15T11:19:00.000-07:002009-10-15T11:48:42.703-07:00Cranberry Lemon Zest Soap<span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">This has to be the best soap I've made yet. And I actually thought it was a dud, needing to be thrown out, or at the very least only good enough for my family to use.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">But I was wrong -</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">I rebatched soap and added both lemon zest, as well as tittebær (which is the Norwegian cousin of the North American [and possibly British for all I know] Cranberry).</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">I was so excited as to how this soap would turn out that I did not sleep so well the night after I made it.... and it was a long day before I could unwrap my goodies the next evening.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Here is how the soap looked before I took it out of its mold.</span><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSAJ3Yf8nyOKOqgJ6Ay7lmP9BlHQcSTp998fVWVwXEnPkdjuqZAA5F8mwvbFeO_giEuOfv_NCpNVhPpdizgyx37eLjo3HPZ6g1pHKhFvGEHJgnsR8LTjRFtkbDqtawHpu2e8jUuuOErLs/s1600-h/DSCN0770.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392893712806791986" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 238px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSAJ3Yf8nyOKOqgJ6Ay7lmP9BlHQcSTp998fVWVwXEnPkdjuqZAA5F8mwvbFeO_giEuOfv_NCpNVhPpdizgyx37eLjo3HPZ6g1pHKhFvGEHJgnsR8LTjRFtkbDqtawHpu2e8jUuuOErLs/s320/DSCN0770.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And here is a nice side angle:</span><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig612Mb5yFEaaoMMzaGbbg-QWhyphenhyphenO-GP_wuM0H3wuTA09_Z239V-Azho8ngLNHfR6UaQjtz_d1BFgQpXT0NC7qytw2azAifVoCq9ArZ11VoTdzleKzThAjMFc04kfNauWcdYPxE_YiA_Fs/s1600-h/DSCN0772.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392893709932988178" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig612Mb5yFEaaoMMzaGbbg-QWhyphenhyphenO-GP_wuM0H3wuTA09_Z239V-Azho8ngLNHfR6UaQjtz_d1BFgQpXT0NC7qytw2azAifVoCq9ArZ11VoTdzleKzThAjMFc04kfNauWcdYPxE_YiA_Fs/s320/DSCN0772.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"> It is difficult to see from the above picture, but the soap directly around the cranberries became very gummy in consistence. It was melted-cheese-like in consistence and stretched out into the air when I pulled the plastic away from it. This was a bit disappointing for me and it was here that I thought I had had my first major failure. Failures and me do not go well together. I tend not to be so easy on myself.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">But I thought I would at least give the soap a few weeks to dry. Even now one and a half weeks later, all ares of the soap is really hard in texture. Now that was very cool.</span><br /><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrEANLFO8ok8P_lzlhmyRjX4-xU8rpFzAr2dZCp5kA5K1ty_OMQIZ4BvfVdfp7Bm0ER4zt3V7uJeX8Phz-jKuM1aFHJg58JWxJ74MD2BSiwVwdreuqdNLZfaqPqKNxWEmKSc5rbKs1iYk/s1600-h/DSCN0775.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392893586424023746" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 302px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrEANLFO8ok8P_lzlhmyRjX4-xU8rpFzAr2dZCp5kA5K1ty_OMQIZ4BvfVdfp7Bm0ER4zt3V7uJeX8Phz-jKuM1aFHJg58JWxJ74MD2BSiwVwdreuqdNLZfaqPqKNxWEmKSc5rbKs1iYk/s320/DSCN0775.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Here are some more shots of the soap at different angles.....<br /></span><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsEEEwPjX25YcC8iYtsp15Axm64qpNHtwbgE0vQYzW32fNZDMjS8DdDo7RYjTXQkEaYIwOWYL3zlA7wHEFa5cQBfeKZA9l8l3bfJFtnREABIuYJNpYr5MPkCiF3FmdbTizIEU5CTWLZgc/s1600-h/DSCN0776.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392893577304738882" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 170px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsEEEwPjX25YcC8iYtsp15Axm64qpNHtwbgE0vQYzW32fNZDMjS8DdDo7RYjTXQkEaYIwOWYL3zlA7wHEFa5cQBfeKZA9l8l3bfJFtnREABIuYJNpYr5MPkCiF3FmdbTizIEU5CTWLZgc/s320/DSCN0776.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">It reminds me of a white Christmas cake I saw pictures of one time in a cook book.... long ago in my childhood. I never knew what that cake was made of, and I've never seen anything like it since. But it looked as good as this.</span><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi45uVzHsKJ5OT8c-83YZQkoFcD6jzMxHDlGGuMWbbl3o9wGKiaWOC4g2e-M-VJXz0_JIu57vPYoc4J3UDIs9rs5EN3XaJld7HgYEvLc8tdrLHB7Qr-X02zmmBIS-9X8QkrNi7cwL1UHVE/s1600-h/DSCN0778.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392893568480403234" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 232px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi45uVzHsKJ5OT8c-83YZQkoFcD6jzMxHDlGGuMWbbl3o9wGKiaWOC4g2e-M-VJXz0_JIu57vPYoc4J3UDIs9rs5EN3XaJld7HgYEvLc8tdrLHB7Qr-X02zmmBIS-9X8QkrNi7cwL1UHVE/s320/DSCN0778.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Mmmmmmm........<br /></span><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQvJk851m2-a-i0-aMlUIPjQA_kL9w0jh04G1lWb8b7uRkYYe8Czsb0pOjWQ44e8aQejcVH2SBjxuen4Ko-_l3KxF-jNwmk6qwI7Dt2BAkPYcakcdnHMg5xC59JByFJDyuU5UiwB9HUAg/s1600-h/DSCN0779.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392893555603555170" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 237px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQvJk851m2-a-i0-aMlUIPjQA_kL9w0jh04G1lWb8b7uRkYYe8Czsb0pOjWQ44e8aQejcVH2SBjxuen4Ko-_l3KxF-jNwmk6qwI7Dt2BAkPYcakcdnHMg5xC59JByFJDyuU5UiwB9HUAg/s320/DSCN0779.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">It just makes you want to eat it right up, doesn't it?</span></div></div></div></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01333333828999038984noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358835659992198142.post-7339860550712223242009-10-07T09:47:00.000-07:002012-08-08T09:09:28.840-07:00Chocolate Soap that Makes You Say Hmmmmm....<div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Okay, I admit it - I have the North American gene that leads to a great amount of self confidence. I have this nasty habit of believing I can do most things... and if I can't do it, I can learn how to do it. This includes anything from baking bread, learning a second language, and changing the tires on and the oil in my car.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">It also includes being a mother, which I knew nothing about before having kids. The irony here being that instead of all the criticism I thought I would receive, I have since found out that most parents are winging it by the seat of their pants anyway.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">But every now and then I accomplish something that even impresses myself. It happened again the other day.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">I made chocoalte and mint soap. A big leap forward and an even bigger leap of faith from the other soaps I've been making.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">The result is this:</span><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0cVyMTDSxKEQEOYBoT0CJPYcbWFLCOzqJ1cWGS-HFeu5k95hQIT1xCqagqPDzVudgZp080v9qwrOKerI5WsSDjMgy8-z40arUAUG_u6882R15agKELVhowEOxxHHzNkXV81QsK3c-Wms/s1600-h/IMG_5559.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389901104662973538" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 176px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0cVyMTDSxKEQEOYBoT0CJPYcbWFLCOzqJ1cWGS-HFeu5k95hQIT1xCqagqPDzVudgZp080v9qwrOKerI5WsSDjMgy8-z40arUAUG_u6882R15agKELVhowEOxxHHzNkXV81QsK3c-Wms/s320/IMG_5559.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">As always, the pictures are not perfect. I am using my camera here, but it's on the fritz. However Photoshop helps somewhat.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">I made a basic soap batch and split it in two. I then added pure dark cocoa to the one half and lots of natural mint leaves (ground up) to the other.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And then I swirled them together......</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">The result is a dark heavy cake of soap that looks good enough to eat. Wow - if I didn't know that I was going to get the stomach ache to end all stomach aches....</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKMq51t4QqlYAduJ-Mds9sHXKkPy4XShW4X9UbqLX4fsQdJINW2Zr28wtDCgBtkS9srpIvt9SP6Vcsuq2ciEuE3_h-QmrZWWXenhbq8wJzTKrfjSADHcdlZbtyj1dvbh7ZpXp3lHIMBxM/s1600-h/IMG_5564.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389901099555235074" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKMq51t4QqlYAduJ-Mds9sHXKkPy4XShW4X9UbqLX4fsQdJINW2Zr28wtDCgBtkS9srpIvt9SP6Vcsuq2ciEuE3_h-QmrZWWXenhbq8wJzTKrfjSADHcdlZbtyj1dvbh7ZpXp3lHIMBxM/s320/IMG_5564.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">My husband, who had gotten used to my creative whim quite some time ago, has not once complained that the main floor of our house stinks like a European Confectory Shop.</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0IG3Il_KMPTsHVZloH23HNj7ItdDuZq6xSNWjrdUZY3luF4NA1i2c1R06rXldxJ6m1RPk_A3OQQscZOcnnngE0BR45L0zVNwt6dG3xhz0SPT0iGLES3Ph9PUg5_VnMgyTShePzMFnvJo/s1600-h/IMG_5560.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389901095681136338" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 203px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0IG3Il_KMPTsHVZloH23HNj7ItdDuZq6xSNWjrdUZY3luF4NA1i2c1R06rXldxJ6m1RPk_A3OQQscZOcnnngE0BR45L0zVNwt6dG3xhz0SPT0iGLES3Ph9PUg5_VnMgyTShePzMFnvJo/s320/IMG_5560.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">On the bright side (as if there would be any down side.....), my cravings for chocolate have diminished completely.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Instead I'm walking around on a total high. And while I've always been a home-type person, I must admit I really enjoy being home these days.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></div></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJTzRgrsFgoq1F5JmVv3PMguCsEb41A9vF2LJS19_UW5K65ldFJL8wTl2ljXz0aIHmxnuhEoNNCd9ZIL02l3ZoOINtgj5QXLrfE1NmppqogFQOuOImc-KZyQnMQtCbYsAiLsUmwEfyXb8/s1600-h/IMG_5561.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389901086831084178" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJTzRgrsFgoq1F5JmVv3PMguCsEb41A9vF2LJS19_UW5K65ldFJL8wTl2ljXz0aIHmxnuhEoNNCd9ZIL02l3ZoOINtgj5QXLrfE1NmppqogFQOuOImc-KZyQnMQtCbYsAiLsUmwEfyXb8/s320/IMG_5561.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Who wouldn't want to change places with me?</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5XQAE_FRe81SbFilbkQt47BqtSoseJs25fNJJuEyaELdXJ9jgrGzlC6UkQYWagtgl21vfNnEndF1k1Z0WrKpt_pgcJIccvBwKRLqdFJhYuKlBwQNZdjR4jD3VBI2HIBMsQirhxRYkVLM/s1600-h/IMG_5562.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389901085165327698" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5XQAE_FRe81SbFilbkQt47BqtSoseJs25fNJJuEyaELdXJ9jgrGzlC6UkQYWagtgl21vfNnEndF1k1Z0WrKpt_pgcJIccvBwKRLqdFJhYuKlBwQNZdjR4jD3VBI2HIBMsQirhxRYkVLM/s320/IMG_5562.JPG" border="0" /></a></div></div></div></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01333333828999038984noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358835659992198142.post-80840092969897357742009-10-03T13:00:00.001-07:002009-10-03T13:53:15.449-07:00All Set And Ready To Go<span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Well, almost all of my soap is now made and is almost ready to be packaged for the Christmas Market in November. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">Just a little bit more drying necessary.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">Here they are, all lined up like good English school children.</span><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7bGVZ985J-Gaz42YVvrEkoAfSx1an5NzCcMNp_MwO8uDUuJajYQfuuvbGYmPh11-jGlphwEUAnhrqbhQYWhmJlqxy-jxOP5OT8SXdTofcWz1c_BaXqqocf8RBnvN9QW7YXAgD7pK5JLc/s1600-h/IMG_5548.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388466388669885138" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7bGVZ985J-Gaz42YVvrEkoAfSx1an5NzCcMNp_MwO8uDUuJajYQfuuvbGYmPh11-jGlphwEUAnhrqbhQYWhmJlqxy-jxOP5OT8SXdTofcWz1c_BaXqqocf8RBnvN9QW7YXAgD7pK5JLc/s320/IMG_5548.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And here are the latest coffee and chocolate soap. I love the swirls of chocolate in the coffee.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"></span><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDFXfxEMvLEyO2X2MraI6Spa5aBVuCRjCtMeIBGkcKnteUo7DSem_Qq_pGtUkzxoA4IlbwgJILY2OwRPwBoJ7yP3UiTYKQbA9ZghyphenhyphenTs5vVDxywizfNKd0nVWbgi86WZ62GYia4dT0gstA/s1600-h/IMG_5550.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388466384501327682" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 125px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDFXfxEMvLEyO2X2MraI6Spa5aBVuCRjCtMeIBGkcKnteUo7DSem_Qq_pGtUkzxoA4IlbwgJILY2OwRPwBoJ7yP3UiTYKQbA9ZghyphenhyphenTs5vVDxywizfNKd0nVWbgi86WZ62GYia4dT0gstA/s320/IMG_5550.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Mmmmmmmm.......</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR8xwCTCiB0jl63szxM_vGqRoDF33zDxZ2iG0_jy2dCZ8vZXqswDrrchiIAWvryT9KigUNZI2fGS0vMOQ-M4TK71az5PFAxnHAZTp6FmPWx-6XzGvFSuYptJVrLzLvesXuPguIWqr2QkE/s1600-h/IMG_5552.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388466374843239458" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 166px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR8xwCTCiB0jl63szxM_vGqRoDF33zDxZ2iG0_jy2dCZ8vZXqswDrrchiIAWvryT9KigUNZI2fGS0vMOQ-M4TK71az5PFAxnHAZTp6FmPWx-6XzGvFSuYptJVrLzLvesXuPguIWqr2QkE/s320/IMG_5552.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01333333828999038984noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358835659992198142.post-33575443379796040622009-09-29T11:59:00.001-07:002009-09-29T12:27:48.944-07:00New Soaps - Broken Camera<span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">I'm finally ready to show off some of my soaps! I'm so pleased and thrilled.... I no doubt needed a change in my life, with new challenges to face, new magic to learn to weave.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">On the down-side, my camera is no longer working as it should. Fair enough, I've had it for almost 5 years, and it has taken thousands and thousands of pictures. Still, I was hoping it would be a bit before I would have to purchase a new one.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">In the meantime, I've borrowed my daughter's camera.... and I'm desprately trying to figure out how to use the macro function (which should be easy enough to figure out.... but isn't always). So not all the pictures are as great as I would like them to be.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">First picture: Wild Flower Soap. This soap is made from the last of the wild flowers picked from my sea side cabin.... with wild rose petals placed on top.</span><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivW-1NJNPc4ZuoQAT4qTtPpolGZAo952OCGE91g2rG4jFVUXTqvhf9dX00fvWk336Vy_jPK6kv_EGJNQZStjDh6RhPpLqbw6DrkPy6eZQXU2seWNGxprywIjxk5oNTlWyHEeDOfH9Wkak/s1600-h/DSCN0737.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386967370733109842" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivW-1NJNPc4ZuoQAT4qTtPpolGZAo952OCGE91g2rG4jFVUXTqvhf9dX00fvWk336Vy_jPK6kv_EGJNQZStjDh6RhPpLqbw6DrkPy6eZQXU2seWNGxprywIjxk5oNTlWyHEeDOfH9Wkak/s320/DSCN0737.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Christmas Spice Soap: soap made with the spices of All Spice (Allehånde krydder på norsk), cinnamon and a bit of oatmeal. This is the soap that is stinking up my hallway.... and no one is complaining.</span> <div> </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Ub8OkFko_LVIF-Y0ZBWSmoKkXAMxZhUPI3XoaiqfApAoVC3ioio5M9zOGlYPb6wXV6zCU71B621F-ffoxmIx4uIPMuOhhFBppIDVcteQoQVVc0-evd-amLSll1kN-xjapJCWbLrMPqU/s1600-h/DSCN0738.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386967357165159506" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Ub8OkFko_LVIF-Y0ZBWSmoKkXAMxZhUPI3XoaiqfApAoVC3ioio5M9zOGlYPb6wXV6zCU71B621F-ffoxmIx4uIPMuOhhFBppIDVcteQoQVVc0-evd-amLSll1kN-xjapJCWbLrMPqU/s320/DSCN0738.JPG" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Mint Soap: White Castille Soap mixed with fresh mint leaves. Mmmmm......<br /></span><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsh02MQqzZdoWkMnyApSgrCw4CjZr5uTxMQrzf_unLxVEYIgUS1CSCv736aGaAoapqSuHNRkNakJt7ZmpF-1SE_AzRjP38QrOAfkh_ba6Ti1srTK0xJRQs-Ra29B1POkBp3-4_g6SizwQ/s1600-h/DSCN0740.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386967075521307394" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsh02MQqzZdoWkMnyApSgrCw4CjZr5uTxMQrzf_unLxVEYIgUS1CSCv736aGaAoapqSuHNRkNakJt7ZmpF-1SE_AzRjP38QrOAfkh_ba6Ti1srTK0xJRQs-Ra29B1POkBp3-4_g6SizwQ/s320/DSCN0740.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Cucumber Soap: this is cucumber soap mixed with bits of diced Castille soap. A really cool pattern.</span><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoCq-G8IprwP9RjBMJ_DvcxExyLMauIOOCVLgR4_NNkdAf5_HaUIUYcbvLN6gAPvJa-D3AmZ8mw2sc6hJdLCcuwMlDUXriKHyP9ADn7BTz2idM49lNVgXDLxVx3lX8mLoG5Q6L4RRRJc0/s1600-h/DSCN0741.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386967067100064594" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoCq-G8IprwP9RjBMJ_DvcxExyLMauIOOCVLgR4_NNkdAf5_HaUIUYcbvLN6gAPvJa-D3AmZ8mw2sc6hJdLCcuwMlDUXriKHyP9ADn7BTz2idM49lNVgXDLxVx3lX8mLoG5Q6L4RRRJc0/s320/DSCN0741.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Coffee Soap: made from both coffee with coffee grounds added. According to all the experts, this soap is what is needed for those working with fish, onions and garlic. And it feels really great on the hands.</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDKTKE12EHCfx7rZaHOMXQ2mKWTUoR1xQ_-KtUpT1c_tqd_4njEg0PxId4Z0qXbaGZvfe-suIw2aUqz27so6lpcPG0WgegEmZBRGIEm5uQ0_aYB2q8xsKaT1DCGNGSC4PZ10bmcTIvZVo/s1600-h/DSCN0742.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386967061932476898" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDKTKE12EHCfx7rZaHOMXQ2mKWTUoR1xQ_-KtUpT1c_tqd_4njEg0PxId4Z0qXbaGZvfe-suIw2aUqz27so6lpcPG0WgegEmZBRGIEm5uQ0_aYB2q8xsKaT1DCGNGSC4PZ10bmcTIvZVo/s320/DSCN0742.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Man's Soap from Juniper Berries: my first 'male based' soap made from juniper berries (einebær på norsk). I've chosen these berries both for the smell, but also because juniper berries have had disinfecting qualities.<br /></span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRk1ea4qj1N_5thIzIdRN_13IeZ22dNzpuq5Xxcd8Y_YyTdLSxwFq-rjjlXeWHHUduno9vn10mZo-QOfJln_mER-mtgoaThKxv8ijUR4H7FR-YtN9d_3vpY5hU7bbU9T9DFPhF-QUzkAc/s1600-h/DSCN0743.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386967057213043442" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRk1ea4qj1N_5thIzIdRN_13IeZ22dNzpuq5Xxcd8Y_YyTdLSxwFq-rjjlXeWHHUduno9vn10mZo-QOfJln_mER-mtgoaThKxv8ijUR4H7FR-YtN9d_3vpY5hU7bbU9T9DFPhF-QUzkAc/s320/DSCN0743.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">One of my first Heather Soaps (Lyng på norsk). I've given many of these away to great reviews. I'm looking forward to making more of this soon.</span><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNlk96oJE-xi8gWu6MshCRpVm04F-j7HgoPSDWgEdWf-9W9JBYyvyYinSB6CiIeK0UEf0QOyri-TXcbogLr-IuzvQMD-5_fpGv0fyznZJ6bvejch79eUnVclAIZG0uE19TvINU6QJwZdk/s1600-h/DSCN0765.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386967050360750962" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNlk96oJE-xi8gWu6MshCRpVm04F-j7HgoPSDWgEdWf-9W9JBYyvyYinSB6CiIeK0UEf0QOyri-TXcbogLr-IuzvQMD-5_fpGv0fyznZJ6bvejch79eUnVclAIZG0uE19TvINU6QJwZdk/s320/DSCN0765.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Below is a simple soap with some Cherry Juice swirled into it.<br /></span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHXg284KvaFz04RsK-cFo0F4yGOO6vcqyUHfhywOGWJSnUu1BNxGuIdEQFLqpSTAhy0Ya91O-XbLSK9gDQWvJYs1lP3VRmv5Xj7f4K8cCXDQlzB7TZiOy5zlDv5zsuGMnP56GoUqL85C8/s1600-h/DSCN0766.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386966322155249042" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHXg284KvaFz04RsK-cFo0F4yGOO6vcqyUHfhywOGWJSnUu1BNxGuIdEQFLqpSTAhy0Ya91O-XbLSK9gDQWvJYs1lP3VRmv5Xj7f4K8cCXDQlzB7TZiOy5zlDv5zsuGMnP56GoUqL85C8/s320/DSCN0766.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And below is some Rose Hip soap (Nype) that I took out of it's form tonight.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Here it is before the big moment....<br /></span><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDc53nV-Q-QssgkiNk35Oamml30SG1sLZ6Qifde9HI0kvq6NBWOeGD-8Vuc9VdMtcgbBUChWqaJHKvBVdfyCpB0P9ZnW54kupW54xsQ9c0aKT-lXesDaFtnBDNp1p7PaG4ds0-ivSszxM/s1600-h/DSCN0744.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386966318533225106" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDc53nV-Q-QssgkiNk35Oamml30SG1sLZ6Qifde9HI0kvq6NBWOeGD-8Vuc9VdMtcgbBUChWqaJHKvBVdfyCpB0P9ZnW54kupW54xsQ9c0aKT-lXesDaFtnBDNp1p7PaG4ds0-ivSszxM/s320/DSCN0744.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br />Gorgeous colors of reds, oranges and dark pinks....</span></div><div><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1IShs7jOJgO-TBXLFsOgCibliw9sEKfvv2P3JeRviDhwNbqngkxFbiOwLbtpO6JpgNgWIUw4cGLCzHpJQOkA_SPgIbEcj5b8UsFBwv9gg3NGgfigmrJiEpvJ68_sPuMq5dRll5oDJ6UQ/s1600-h/DSCN0750.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386966305279143282" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1IShs7jOJgO-TBXLFsOgCibliw9sEKfvv2P3JeRviDhwNbqngkxFbiOwLbtpO6JpgNgWIUw4cGLCzHpJQOkA_SPgIbEcj5b8UsFBwv9gg3NGgfigmrJiEpvJ68_sPuMq5dRll5oDJ6UQ/s320/DSCN0750.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And here they are all cut up.... ready to be dried.</span><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDE-_OUXj42nc8VaUBLY8XKTbvGiKhOyWPDALFlmNVqZvc9LJf8PbpV4MtFBhlhuBJgEVmblVst8gxz1vOvrl0WSi90MsGtFzJXnwi7n_DOtuYddUaLM4_InoE3gF1hm6C7COAIKH34YY/s1600-h/DSCN0753.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386966303144645122" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDE-_OUXj42nc8VaUBLY8XKTbvGiKhOyWPDALFlmNVqZvc9LJf8PbpV4MtFBhlhuBJgEVmblVst8gxz1vOvrl0WSi90MsGtFzJXnwi7n_DOtuYddUaLM4_InoE3gF1hm6C7COAIKH34YY/s320/DSCN0753.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">I can't wait to try these ones!</span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01333333828999038984noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358835659992198142.post-86920309246791098802009-09-20T10:21:00.000-07:002009-09-20T23:30:11.521-07:00Another Weekend of Good Work<span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">After many weekends at home, we finally were able to escape to our cabin and do some of the work that we actually enjoy.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">We have started to cut down some trees, to prepare for our wood storage for 2010. Here's my husband busy at work.</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR04LIx7-fqO3HtjnWaetyxFUOa4sDcFwuK-YJOf4zVoQmBw9aJJI1TQOUdrlWkYXJvRRiYYxNGXC2JLk5iQWMp_ponA6S1Aba5AdeGDoZ42voR2qQsgrLSwzTbOsmBmXrycBlr3EQ-xk/s1600-h/IMG_5510.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383602750191442562" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR04LIx7-fqO3HtjnWaetyxFUOa4sDcFwuK-YJOf4zVoQmBw9aJJI1TQOUdrlWkYXJvRRiYYxNGXC2JLk5iQWMp_ponA6S1Aba5AdeGDoZ42voR2qQsgrLSwzTbOsmBmXrycBlr3EQ-xk/s320/IMG_5510.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">We only cut down one small tree this time, as we intend to come many weekends over the autumn, and perhaps even into the winter time.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">So this is what it looked like when it was all loaded up into our trailer.</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxHgGsB1BVEkUd6jJPAeGZlqgTje8ii1lOMiMb99qBxEoyKffAWNvvrDLk-Pn1HAzOfacfzhogWyYVjl-MX60JnwndS2mcioHf_cf-v4cc8vA5HZtxiotHHWP6Mm_WyoMTpZnSnShLc2Y/s1600-h/IMG_5515.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383602740736409426" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxHgGsB1BVEkUd6jJPAeGZlqgTje8ii1lOMiMb99qBxEoyKffAWNvvrDLk-Pn1HAzOfacfzhogWyYVjl-MX60JnwndS2mcioHf_cf-v4cc8vA5HZtxiotHHWP6Mm_WyoMTpZnSnShLc2Y/s320/IMG_5515.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">We also started digging down through the soil to find solid rock, in order to start making foundations for the last part of the balcony which will be built next summer. For those who have forgotten where we were to dig, here is a <em>before</em> picture.</span></div><div><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxq6fBeJTrqmkPadGOTmkAAgzZ1WZOMH7ImW47lbK84ioCqy66bv4Ozn-ZkJ6jFWsM30rYyHjh51PQfBGM7HoveEsd8yZaB-x800aeVxKBOevuUGB9YfAZut7oKCsdQ4aRDOcn0XBo1Zc/s1600-h/IMG_3765%5B1%5D.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383602732963495074" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxq6fBeJTrqmkPadGOTmkAAgzZ1WZOMH7ImW47lbK84ioCqy66bv4Ozn-ZkJ6jFWsM30rYyHjh51PQfBGM7HoveEsd8yZaB-x800aeVxKBOevuUGB9YfAZut7oKCsdQ4aRDOcn0XBo1Zc/s320/IMG_3765%5B1%5D.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Pretty steep, which made the digging quite difficult. And, as our bad luck would have it, we couldn't actually find solid rock. Just lots and lots of very large tree roots. Digging around in the basement we were able to find a rusty saw to cut them out of the ground with.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">We're not quite finished with this job, but as one can see we've removed enough earth to make the ground even steeper than it was before. And making it that much easier to work with. But luckily we can't imagine it can be more than a couple of hours more of work. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /> </div></span><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtR9oF4gUnG29XqS5b3JGgnMHZ_0mrSack7jzMbRpREJATAq6Yfkn25KOm50CCR1Ct_yz9713fB_nrQOkNO1EMe2rbdFv5IggSc77JogcmQntVHRTcLERJBrAJ7LdZx0L2kyda3-do5WQ/s1600-h/IMG_5519.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383602728614401218" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtR9oF4gUnG29XqS5b3JGgnMHZ_0mrSack7jzMbRpREJATAq6Yfkn25KOm50CCR1Ct_yz9713fB_nrQOkNO1EMe2rbdFv5IggSc77JogcmQntVHRTcLERJBrAJ7LdZx0L2kyda3-do5WQ/s320/IMG_5519.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Below is my super cool, race car driving, brother-in-law, now having fun with his new toy. He has purchased this excavator to help with a lot of the work he is doing on his cabin. However at this point he is doing a small favor for my parent-in-laws. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">We intend to be on his good side for quite some time as we have some reconstruction of our pathway that needs to be done.... which will be a lot easier with one of these.<br /></span><br /></div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Kl3GmY1xul_xqxkRRVP8hmLv3-a2p-_eZI6gtaMlsU2ydxynYVDDayQluDnpVbE6amMT04cgi8C1V23KYMDfJMIIGzxqNE9_qz7d65i7HqC0UoksYJbKmG6sCTObvwb9EvyujPiM688/s1600-h/IMG_5516.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383601576459684242" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Kl3GmY1xul_xqxkRRVP8hmLv3-a2p-_eZI6gtaMlsU2ydxynYVDDayQluDnpVbE6amMT04cgi8C1V23KYMDfJMIIGzxqNE9_qz7d65i7HqC0UoksYJbKmG6sCTObvwb9EvyujPiM688/s320/IMG_5516.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Finally, I got to spend 5 or 6 hours over 2 days walking over 10 acres looking for fun ideas to make soap with. What is left of the fruit is over ripe, but this is fine as I have gathered it for color purposes only.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Here is the last of the red currants that could be plucked.<br /></span></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Kw9hhcW0YWztdiFvMGe0RUNQ0_1AyjSjrbeEiCnOZiPqQYm3GnJnCFKI_BFjaB6Dzx4gUF2kAdQK84hge5iWt2Ut_U2gC13qsZol4ztv1_IharsSzwfd7AKJIrTzsxCr7vecHOfEN8U/s1600-h/IMG_5511.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383601566598513106" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Kw9hhcW0YWztdiFvMGe0RUNQ0_1AyjSjrbeEiCnOZiPqQYm3GnJnCFKI_BFjaB6Dzx4gUF2kAdQK84hge5iWt2Ut_U2gC13qsZol4ztv1_IharsSzwfd7AKJIrTzsxCr7vecHOfEN8U/s320/IMG_5511.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And this is not a great picture of the rose hips that I have gathered. Once I take out the seeds, the color should be stunning.<br /></span><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilRedGccw3cXpil5RfJ6CafdzvgqEghAOFjwwRxBuFgg-WTIBTDjoF4EYJurNI7LzcUxdI8d6flRwidUhoQ1i0HnPeq0sxEv5dvV7w6GbpyPLBHT1inkCeP-aSMRPbTjtTg4SZIYd_fvU/s1600-h/IMG_5512.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383601558382204322" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilRedGccw3cXpil5RfJ6CafdzvgqEghAOFjwwRxBuFgg-WTIBTDjoF4EYJurNI7LzcUxdI8d6flRwidUhoQ1i0HnPeq0sxEv5dvV7w6GbpyPLBHT1inkCeP-aSMRPbTjtTg4SZIYd_fvU/s320/IMG_5512.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">I was also really suprised to see how many wild flowers there was left this late in the year. I think I must have picked a whole bread bag worth of the. All of them are now lying nicely between pieces of paper towel, squished between magazines. Here is a picture of the first collection of flowers done early Saturday morning.<br /></span><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnypsWJESLjEmfn5LG0fZbbeOBEMiNjQTJ1lekhEwnTHXZQkVQClB_YD3IvaaQ_Z2Gc_zQ-lpt_FKGZWrjjv0HFbtOLGNrN8qflUJEtFKGci1ynzjvwraRXGbwUZAb9yBoiVhKSnF7PDM/s1600-h/IMG_5514.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383601553422759778" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnypsWJESLjEmfn5LG0fZbbeOBEMiNjQTJ1lekhEwnTHXZQkVQClB_YD3IvaaQ_Z2Gc_zQ-lpt_FKGZWrjjv0HFbtOLGNrN8qflUJEtFKGci1ynzjvwraRXGbwUZAb9yBoiVhKSnF7PDM/s320/IMG_5514.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">I have also put on my rain pants, and kneed my way through the blueberry bushes, tittebær bushes (a cousin to the cranberry, it grows on tiny bushes just centimeters from the ground). I've got exciting ideas of mixing these with orange and lemon zests. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">I was also able to start picking a little bit of juniper berries, even though they are not quite in season yet. Most of them are still green. This is what can be seen in the smallest bag at the bottom.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">I must say that I am really excited about adding a bit of juniper extract to my soap, as juniper has a disinfectant quality that has been used by many peoples in the days before modern medicine. More info on this as I experiment.<br /></span></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUhd8WBlt4yrMvgxsn7ZkyaZlZEhISfNMJEbWNnt6kGgT3U0ggWXiQGFe0C805cy4nay76kQS3wK6QpqHUndQVk81hzFj4EY6dNEH0aU2o5gNGpAAWuMkTZMubIIFOalYeBuQH_tR7u8k/s1600-h/IMG_5517.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383601548881783394" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUhd8WBlt4yrMvgxsn7ZkyaZlZEhISfNMJEbWNnt6kGgT3U0ggWXiQGFe0C805cy4nay76kQS3wK6QpqHUndQVk81hzFj4EY6dNEH0aU2o5gNGpAAWuMkTZMubIIFOalYeBuQH_tR7u8k/s320/IMG_5517.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div></div></div></div></div></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01333333828999038984noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358835659992198142.post-89849475663117954492009-09-06T09:53:00.000-07:002009-09-06T13:10:54.740-07:00A Whirlwind Weekend of Creativity<span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">It's been a busy weekend for me..... with lots of creativity, combined with general house keeping, being with the kids, running errands, going out Friday night with my friends, etc.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">Right now my world seems to be revolving around soap making. It's become almost an obsession for me. And now that I've made a few batches that have turned out seemingly perfectly, it was time to try something new.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">I have made a batch of cucumber soap! Here is what you start with:</span><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjA06RUN777TsEHGtrQYPQ6e-2nfghWcu8dLBULfGvg-5wrYEUOWlo7cOUUkrj56U9ni9tCU2Vleic7Zk4s4Xfn_LIPqYLbATHbVDe5RstNHaSUuvHSa1p43hrnq1u0bevcnuESrz1Uh8/s1600-h/IMG_5482.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378400072369798242" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjA06RUN777TsEHGtrQYPQ6e-2nfghWcu8dLBULfGvg-5wrYEUOWlo7cOUUkrj56U9ni9tCU2Vleic7Zk4s4Xfn_LIPqYLbATHbVDe5RstNHaSUuvHSa1p43hrnq1u0bevcnuESrz1Uh8/s320/IMG_5482.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And then you give it a whirl with your favorite slicer and dicer.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"></span><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3IucZnXo6IM5kKH77TZb1sq1D1QC77xQxt6FvJm4XPLAlE5t7-4KUL6Jq4vmnpV7c0OVL1f6wSMa-zU47JmxsYWfELb_jncFoFHvysno94foNdzKU0Tng9j2iG4H8RL8t3zuTlcAA4IM/s1600-h/IMG_5483.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378399985560024466" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3IucZnXo6IM5kKH77TZb1sq1D1QC77xQxt6FvJm4XPLAlE5t7-4KUL6Jq4vmnpV7c0OVL1f6wSMa-zU47JmxsYWfELb_jncFoFHvysno94foNdzKU0Tng9j2iG4H8RL8t3zuTlcAA4IM/s320/IMG_5483.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Until it looks like this:</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfoemXn_WQqiKOV5QcyCoFcB4K6aqeskjTMHRCwA_7yMns1szlOWQ_xj3SsAC2hB3TyWLMoalFj6KK3bNfmgwGUfq_fOjlv9xtoIrBZSXOJ-3yw4LxjrvkcPhNP9ixHJR4kzdKJQcuEYQ/s1600-h/IMG_5484.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378399980867956194" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfoemXn_WQqiKOV5QcyCoFcB4K6aqeskjTMHRCwA_7yMns1szlOWQ_xj3SsAC2hB3TyWLMoalFj6KK3bNfmgwGUfq_fOjlv9xtoIrBZSXOJ-3yw4LxjrvkcPhNP9ixHJR4kzdKJQcuEYQ/s320/IMG_5484.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And here is what the soap looks like before it gets poured into the molds.</span><br /><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg39ZSvmMmW9yDaGuaHEaNSg-VGKkPnV9ZljaHYM6zBBxoffyD-tw-NH5BeKAt-ypG-bXYXoSlHOS5aRR2C8jq0bghzct_WG7P_1LPUJNDfKAkTXTM0jv3VNnY7wgpWLJ3-lnRYekMq4IU/s1600-h/IMG_5486.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378399973363178210" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg39ZSvmMmW9yDaGuaHEaNSg-VGKkPnV9ZljaHYM6zBBxoffyD-tw-NH5BeKAt-ypG-bXYXoSlHOS5aRR2C8jq0bghzct_WG7P_1LPUJNDfKAkTXTM0jv3VNnY7wgpWLJ3-lnRYekMq4IU/s320/IMG_5486.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">This went so well, that I thought I would try making some soap from some blueberry juice. </span><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju_-ivSO5-Mskj5onLSOUSn19lMrNavmb-o1900LEWenCyskm4wa8ynNK-jfkUp0jwouKThd96XwqmoQd-jQdPGI1KI1Ta3IQ-Bm4A1fF_bP97r1TVTDJM5DA-_zJ0q4hCdHCVaMeacLw/s1600-h/IMG_5481.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378399968265855090" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 307px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju_-ivSO5-Mskj5onLSOUSn19lMrNavmb-o1900LEWenCyskm4wa8ynNK-jfkUp0jwouKThd96XwqmoQd-jQdPGI1KI1Ta3IQ-Bm4A1fF_bP97r1TVTDJM5DA-_zJ0q4hCdHCVaMeacLw/s320/IMG_5481.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">But oh no! When you add the lye to blueberry juice, it turns a shocking orange color. Oh well, I thought. I'm sure I'll come up with some clever title that will make the soap seem really appealing.</span><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikwYn8Q2CDusTcTqXkhfUknuHr4lOqjpKMkQaNRbWhwXWGlduCagpTpvbzkLU8wFCOefOWsm8N-DY0ITAxOEufCbfR_noGq1FZszQDT2MsCLE7IIJ5lF11y7UpTmD8QA9Y25ccuxjZlqY/s1600-h/IMG_5487.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378399962505775522" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikwYn8Q2CDusTcTqXkhfUknuHr4lOqjpKMkQaNRbWhwXWGlduCagpTpvbzkLU8wFCOefOWsm8N-DY0ITAxOEufCbfR_noGq1FZszQDT2MsCLE7IIJ5lF11y7UpTmD8QA9Y25ccuxjZlqY/s320/IMG_5487.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">This soap making was done on Saturday night, after the kids had gone to bed. Sunday afternoon, I decided to try what is called the <strong>French Milling Process</strong>. It is also referred to as Hand Milling, but I think the first name sounds much more romantic.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">My daughter has been asking me for weeks to let her help me with making soap. This of course is not an option because of the lye involved. However, I was willing to let her help me out here. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">I decided to remake soap using heather, the national flower of Norway. Coincidentally enough, there was a big heather bush by my neighbors driveway - I stole a bit from there (I don't think he checks out this blog at all). The thought was that if this soap was a success, I would make the effort to do a bit of mountain hiking and gather some heather where no one would miss it.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">It became my daughter's job to remove the small flowers from the even smaller branches.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNfTPUWqW7Vm9wy8q-OVuNXTsL6XhDsoLHpN88y7PRofSlD90SKk_i81nTOiD-EI5XOchxmQIcEUcVJAxmDvDEqCq9MaGy_B9EBYu1R5GHGMvEuDYanBzBVJzdHFv7x9x847tR7Gmg7_s/s1600-h/IMG_5491.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378399679127627570" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNfTPUWqW7Vm9wy8q-OVuNXTsL6XhDsoLHpN88y7PRofSlD90SKk_i81nTOiD-EI5XOchxmQIcEUcVJAxmDvDEqCq9MaGy_B9EBYu1R5GHGMvEuDYanBzBVJzdHFv7x9x847tR7Gmg7_s/s320/IMG_5491.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">In the meantime, I would grate some of the soap I had made previously and begin the remelting process.</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnZyZTYrV_6Qjv5qn1fn29MMkZ-v_R-6oxgzGi7V36y-ry0-vGweUwHfsuPX47cKmEhqacdaYIZK7Huy8eddMrQdQTNfy5YRrj_xKj35HWsfN-tnIIXg_P41_bNSzoYiDDZY3oZbRFuv0/s1600-h/IMG_5493.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378399670386853058" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 278px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnZyZTYrV_6Qjv5qn1fn29MMkZ-v_R-6oxgzGi7V36y-ry0-vGweUwHfsuPX47cKmEhqacdaYIZK7Huy8eddMrQdQTNfy5YRrj_xKj35HWsfN-tnIIXg_P41_bNSzoYiDDZY3oZbRFuv0/s320/IMG_5493.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Now, I'd only seen the French Milling procedure preformed once on YouTube. The woman there used double zip-lock bags and simply tossed the soap into the boiling water. I did not have any zip-lock bags, but simply thought 'It can't be any harder than melting chocolate. I'll simply use the same method.'</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpv5yw36en4pm2oFiHC_oxzdBD8IrGVfithtskuDy5ja3P3bgGP2M7Cknh8UG50Kw-lfDWQoafD7Gf1bIpinUz4A1K_uWVZ57pHe8Zaj0txPS_a3nV4J5tlqDfRkH-htXdGv8EGD_lb8c/s1600-h/IMG_5494.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378399665080978242" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpv5yw36en4pm2oFiHC_oxzdBD8IrGVfithtskuDy5ja3P3bgGP2M7Cknh8UG50Kw-lfDWQoafD7Gf1bIpinUz4A1K_uWVZ57pHe8Zaj0txPS_a3nV4J5tlqDfRkH-htXdGv8EGD_lb8c/s320/IMG_5494.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">In the meantime my daughter dutifully continues her work. She's an interesting girl. Sometimes she's like many 5 year olds and works for a few minutes and then wants to go back to playing. Today however she worked at this for over 20 minutes, and never complained once.</span><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCTrJl4BFS0WoIp7dVN8hVGyfV5pzGvKA5KF849Fif0oNmP9q-IFgmjUD2ROhgqaD9BOCFfoimNq6RuC-wjsTQQiUMgbsJi7aNqqtSwIs4fsaUxEgOigRkHvwndKubnmu8VGnSR0eyjeE/s1600-h/IMG_5496.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378399656190838770" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCTrJl4BFS0WoIp7dVN8hVGyfV5pzGvKA5KF849Fif0oNmP9q-IFgmjUD2ROhgqaD9BOCFfoimNq6RuC-wjsTQQiUMgbsJi7aNqqtSwIs4fsaUxEgOigRkHvwndKubnmu8VGnSR0eyjeE/s320/IMG_5496.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Here's her at the beginning of her job:</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1PlkYHyOM5REuZYwXypDihCB3Gs_O7oGIxi1grQEoNDyOETvzjJnaYWTPuTCDEsBKwe01P3Ei7eNG8hpMLFpJ4qHmQKZ4YbqjbFg_s1v2CfilofzXSvaGipqs0PProgMskrDKYbrFwLo/s1600-h/IMG_5498.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378399650840340946" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1PlkYHyOM5REuZYwXypDihCB3Gs_O7oGIxi1grQEoNDyOETvzjJnaYWTPuTCDEsBKwe01P3Ei7eNG8hpMLFpJ4qHmQKZ4YbqjbFg_s1v2CfilofzXSvaGipqs0PProgMskrDKYbrFwLo/s320/IMG_5498.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And her she is having completed her work. Even I, who expect wonderous things from my children was really impressed.</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyFBMNaonfNl0ovqRqpBp0Geah8W9X5QrSCa85R8r6DOb88Em_JMa4LBg5zoUK_ZP80JB1B_-f2Ctn2T3aZddBN-6zpZHwXzEaBkUIBBcS5s4UUPod6aky9-w4qM0L_ma4hHU92VxTA8U/s1600-h/IMG_5499.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378399337027157506" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyFBMNaonfNl0ovqRqpBp0Geah8W9X5QrSCa85R8r6DOb88Em_JMa4LBg5zoUK_ZP80JB1B_-f2Ctn2T3aZddBN-6zpZHwXzEaBkUIBBcS5s4UUPod6aky9-w4qM0L_ma4hHU92VxTA8U/s320/IMG_5499.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">So the thing that I learned about using the French Milling process is that it is <strong>NOT </strong>like melting chocolate. It takes <strong>a very long time</strong>. I have since found out that it can easily take over a full hour for the soap to melt, as did mine. But in the meantime I vaccuumed the floors, put the laundry away and cleaned up my workspace on the dining room table that my husband has been after me for days to get done. </span><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><br /></div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZMgnBIHq2dTQqd6MxppxG0qCzQh6G2GOBFbG2ZkD38Im8Q5YNejmEgREKh-kA40Dq3aoAPFiQHUek5dV3AEWw1sbh_y3LaH9-i19hGfp3QIoWFh3pTJqqkjfVJmyN5JWnmFMKOre5gA0/s1600-h/IMG_5500.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378399330678783666" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZMgnBIHq2dTQqd6MxppxG0qCzQh6G2GOBFbG2ZkD38Im8Q5YNejmEgREKh-kA40Dq3aoAPFiQHUek5dV3AEWw1sbh_y3LaH9-i19hGfp3QIoWFh3pTJqqkjfVJmyN5JWnmFMKOre5gA0/s320/IMG_5500.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">But the soap finally melted, though it never did reach a liquid stage. Instead it became almost like a candy/toffee mixture and I in my great impatience just wanted to get things done. So I added a few drops of natural cherry coloring that was sent to me from Canada a number of years ago. Then I added some of the heather flowers.</span> </div><div><br /><div></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Nkg-ULTfQMhmHlFEp8mSOjYGPt8x0iAGdT2GUkTtN9YfkWge9qKoPsijbRhbAK7PYq6r4jAzmOQ6xXhbTy_2RTBWGUfC-KiUTRLi6DtNSqKTzsSbeGOGYQs6rTtHdMcXTxbpXiU5Q5s/s1600-h/IMG_5501.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378399322376506594" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Nkg-ULTfQMhmHlFEp8mSOjYGPt8x0iAGdT2GUkTtN9YfkWge9qKoPsijbRhbAK7PYq6r4jAzmOQ6xXhbTy_2RTBWGUfC-KiUTRLi6DtNSqKTzsSbeGOGYQs6rTtHdMcXTxbpXiU5Q5s/s320/IMG_5501.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Then I started to put the soap back into a mold. I had never done this before. In addition the soap was clearly a different consistency than it is when first made. So I found myself pushing and squishing it into all the corners of the plastic container.</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpXNrM5T21pEMIBXKEngxPJza7xKNIPIiR8Dyi3gq3b6Mhd-LamL7QAKTFfcxheEvvrfCsRTIFrk1e3p3PEUCwB4mcIgbCXWFT1zidB1S-diH7gw1gL52414pbBeb4nbunfnaaKfJt4SU/s1600-h/IMG_5503.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378399315216541714" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpXNrM5T21pEMIBXKEngxPJza7xKNIPIiR8Dyi3gq3b6Mhd-LamL7QAKTFfcxheEvvrfCsRTIFrk1e3p3PEUCwB4mcIgbCXWFT1zidB1S-diH7gw1gL52414pbBeb4nbunfnaaKfJt4SU/s320/IMG_5503.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">I must admit I was quite unsatisfied with this idea of mine. In a desperate attempt to find an unplanned solution, I took out my muffin tins and lined them with cupcake holders. And I made little soap candies.</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidiF5u5ArgWPfjh2jwQ3zO7WbH3jCn9eNkro5P37lhVmAefc6Go7YLQAT8h0vCZpuANA5gQm-qli3IFP7hOQys11lg5B131fLkUgcn7QOza3KAB3SjOoO8cBcngyp5T-AMbKwXl6W5lXE/s1600-h/IMG_5504.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378399312854417026" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidiF5u5ArgWPfjh2jwQ3zO7WbH3jCn9eNkro5P37lhVmAefc6Go7YLQAT8h0vCZpuANA5gQm-qli3IFP7hOQys11lg5B131fLkUgcn7QOza3KAB3SjOoO8cBcngyp5T-AMbKwXl6W5lXE/s320/IMG_5504.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Very and so totally cool.</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwSVO817AyyE3SV28SwYdWCjojXbCXBROpDHFwcfKMkkKvk2C-uC8htymNgkGHKVk1n0x1so-88r6fZqQMBLgdxoCAq4I70_M5qD87ZlZroQTmHb4A2iHznQeg7dHsAnL3n-QPd8HXziY/s1600-h/IMG_5505.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378399017244718706" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwSVO817AyyE3SV28SwYdWCjojXbCXBROpDHFwcfKMkkKvk2C-uC8htymNgkGHKVk1n0x1so-88r6fZqQMBLgdxoCAq4I70_M5qD87ZlZroQTmHb4A2iHznQeg7dHsAnL3n-QPd8HXziY/s320/IMG_5505.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">After I washed and cleaned up that mess, I saw I had a little bit more than an hour before Hubby came home from work (weekend shifts.... blah!). So I decided to hunker down and get the last of the work done, so that my evening would be free. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">The soap that I made on Saturday night would come out of their molds. I was excited to see what would happen to the colors of the cucumber and blueberries during the chemical process.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"></span></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW44ag7Gu5zVhBG-l4lu-BzH41EvSohYxFfX36UJROUdPXLIxdBVkgTPzQ8PpJmpqKFW2GJxgwdoUbo3wGhwn4HaWm-VYZBQALa4FFVyR1h5dQdEq1fJvEgpfp9x_oC14WNjgMZiMuKY8/s1600-h/IMG_5506.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378399013894422770" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 295px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW44ag7Gu5zVhBG-l4lu-BzH41EvSohYxFfX36UJROUdPXLIxdBVkgTPzQ8PpJmpqKFW2GJxgwdoUbo3wGhwn4HaWm-VYZBQALa4FFVyR1h5dQdEq1fJvEgpfp9x_oC14WNjgMZiMuKY8/s320/IMG_5506.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Difficult to see here, above, but the blueberry soap had turned weird terricotta color. I'm still concidering what to do with this.... if there's any way to fix it, add to it, etc. Or perhaps our family will have a lot of soap that doesn't really look so great.</span><br /><br /></div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsrTtOjhSe8RRPLUUBZ75IBYZlVp9jkrgRrrEXfpiIA0rk0KT1VXvsxRjkbGnmHEpvs30CY3YUtRCWxsxDDSDKdeIsrWAXS6LCNSXExkeu1UX7EW5Tn6MgpOn5FQ864j18pjd08_UHHEI/s1600-h/IMG_5507.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378399008057898146" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 301px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsrTtOjhSe8RRPLUUBZ75IBYZlVp9jkrgRrrEXfpiIA0rk0KT1VXvsxRjkbGnmHEpvs30CY3YUtRCWxsxDDSDKdeIsrWAXS6LCNSXExkeu1UX7EW5Tn6MgpOn5FQ864j18pjd08_UHHEI/s320/IMG_5507.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">On the other hand, the cucumber soap turned out fantastically! A beautiful light yellow/green color with dark green specks. This really thrilled me and I plan to make more as soon as possible.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">Now the picture below does not do justice to the soap. This is the cucumber soap and the color is not showing through as nicely as it is in real life.</span> </div><div><br /> </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDy4didrWIGnHd8A2RUVTgPJ9I_2TMUX9EW5Y3CFxwdmNy5TEdhogOXfhXLBOPtwm9zLigAOc09KmTh5-WhCVetFERFrimzYwOpod8pVmqPKt7Vv2GTrxf_TJcztXytSEVQlmOJxY0ums/s1600-h/IMG_5508.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378399004200987698" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDy4didrWIGnHd8A2RUVTgPJ9I_2TMUX9EW5Y3CFxwdmNy5TEdhogOXfhXLBOPtwm9zLigAOc09KmTh5-WhCVetFERFrimzYwOpod8pVmqPKt7Vv2GTrxf_TJcztXytSEVQlmOJxY0ums/s320/IMG_5508.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And wouldn't you know that the blueberry soap looks much better after being photographed that it does in reality. In real life it's much more of a grey color.</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF3Q3DmOIZW1r2odwBBJbA_AFRQK7bGljDz9hMu_KqEYbJp2VQMJ3Pg0JerMPYCw2OYhN3hQhcsKlL1SDosFPjloHcq0e34J8VPAEnXrz8uJ3wQqjagJJN_M7v4GAy5iWeJA7mlI_dXw0/s1600-h/IMG_5509.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378398992684973378" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF3Q3DmOIZW1r2odwBBJbA_AFRQK7bGljDz9hMu_KqEYbJp2VQMJ3Pg0JerMPYCw2OYhN3hQhcsKlL1SDosFPjloHcq0e34J8VPAEnXrz8uJ3wQqjagJJN_M7v4GAy5iWeJA7mlI_dXw0/s320/IMG_5509.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">So this is where I am in my journey of soap making. Next week I plan on making more cucumber soap.... that was so cool. And coffee soap. Look forward to updating....</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01333333828999038984noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358835659992198142.post-52839683433740814482009-08-30T12:21:00.001-07:002009-08-30T12:27:02.247-07:00My First Soap<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmTQ5jAKxNSxnrBY_5hBqnz78IjcS2ZxoPiGcx6ummge214dYq_1vHgRKFexLhKscj_66v9wi7n9bgxzCOzguAC9ajcnzRdEBJra3G_uwb41NyTcvrPZXk6s9IuE-kDIW3orEhE7Adwnw/s1600-h/DSC00065.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375839340667797810" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmTQ5jAKxNSxnrBY_5hBqnz78IjcS2ZxoPiGcx6ummge214dYq_1vHgRKFexLhKscj_66v9wi7n9bgxzCOzguAC9ajcnzRdEBJra3G_uwb41NyTcvrPZXk6s9IuE-kDIW3orEhE7Adwnw/s320/DSC00065.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">It's not a perfect picture (taken with my cell phone), but this is the result of my first attempt at making soap..... creamy, white bars of soap made almost entirely from olive oil. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">I'm so impressed with myself that I'm giggling like a little girl.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">Because I needed to don rubber gloves, and because my cell phone is still very new and cool and I did not want it to get wrecked by any traces of caustic substances, I didn't take any pictures after this.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">But...... These two blocks have now been sliced into 19 bars of soap, and have been packed away in a dark place. I will have to wait 4 weeks before I can use them.... or give them to friends. They will need this time to finish their chemical reactions and have a soft enough ph-balance to use.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">I'm looking forward to it....</span></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01333333828999038984noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358835659992198142.post-22439339521009776322009-08-26T09:54:00.000-07:002009-08-27T09:37:30.686-07:00Mother Daughter Bake Off<span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">So last week I was quite sick, and was home for the week. And since my daughter attends the same day care that I work at, it was just easier to keep her home than get dressed and go out of the house twice a day to both deliver and collect her. (My husband was working a split shift that week, and was unable to help with either of these, which would have made all the difference).</span> <span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">Towards the end of the week, I was starting to feel better. And my daughter was going nuts. She'd watched a lot of tv. She'd played every computer girl-game known to man. She'd painted and drawn so many pictures that the kitchen and living room walls were covered. She had pearled and beaded, built sculptures with Lego, played with her dolls and gone outside to take pictures with her camera (we'll chat about that later) until she just could not do these things any more.</span> <span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">Finally, she was bored.</span> <span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">So I asked her if she wanted to make cup cakes from <strong><em>scratch</em></strong>. Not from a package. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">I didn't need to ask her twice.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">Before going further, do realize that this is <span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>NOT </strong></span><span style="font-size:100%;">a food blog. You will </span><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>NOT</strong> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">find professionally taken pictures here. If you want that, why not visit two of my favorite food blogs:</span></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><strong><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">The Pioneerwoman Cooks: <a href="http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/">http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/</a></span></strong><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">and</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><strong><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">Everybody Likes Sandwiches: <a href="http://everybodylikessandwiches.blogspot.com/">http://everybodylikessandwiches.blogspot.com/</a></span></strong><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">In the meantime, this is</span><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"> the story of my day with my daughter.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">First, I don't normally use recipes when I cook food. I'm more of what you would call an <em>intuitive</em> chef. However, I do know where my boundaries lie.... usually anything that comes after dinner and involves dessert. This would include cupcakes.</span> <span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">My recipe came from a Norwegian recipe book pictured below. <strong><u>spis drikk lev</u></strong>, which translates as <strong><u>eat drink liv</u></strong>.</span><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUDE69Ez9l1pT4v7H212ccv05WNWujDNOFZmmHvMWDfjrsjd49GE3MsV38KG43O4vKeuFxAUJ1fajLbGHjovIOobY7nmSIXaBxwHnHZTZUTd8Qa-oRGrM4E0IdraHK2yTG0oU854jpVL0/s1600-h/IMG_5415.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374318037787744434" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUDE69Ez9l1pT4v7H212ccv05WNWujDNOFZmmHvMWDfjrsjd49GE3MsV38KG43O4vKeuFxAUJ1fajLbGHjovIOobY7nmSIXaBxwHnHZTZUTd8Qa-oRGrM4E0IdraHK2yTG0oU854jpVL0/s320/IMG_5415.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Oh yes, and before I get sued, I should say that this book was created and put together by Fran Ward, to whom I am eternally grateful for. Her hard, industrious work will be an inspiration to me for many years to come.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">The recipe chose is called <strong>SPICED CUPCAKES</strong>, found on page 32, as seen below.</span><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMpZqtkCc9eqrE3ITz4oWmCorujNikHMK6LSG9h2DOFgk2cRzLe6Z5MIN0kUnk1vENnqYmslc2UyPbSD2EIFJtjp5rFfBT9-dNcjMhjGgYjDC35QLbd_dZnL7fZb6F1pgf1R83wY1wimc/s1600-h/IMG_5411.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374318023640814562" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMpZqtkCc9eqrE3ITz4oWmCorujNikHMK6LSG9h2DOFgk2cRzLe6Z5MIN0kUnk1vENnqYmslc2UyPbSD2EIFJtjp5rFfBT9-dNcjMhjGgYjDC35QLbd_dZnL7fZb6F1pgf1R83wY1wimc/s320/IMG_5411.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Unlike most North American recipes, the ingredients are measured out in weight.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">First, 250 grams of flour are tossed into a bowl of your choice.</span><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHEw0c6j00JngqfgyRg-aj453e1blDsT1YKa7Z81ysIo0pYieQdrHV3VyAIFVLZm1yq7qOCcOcrQ2A2aKhOH-QCxwPotgiCb9qH0aJYFqcgSJzH3WiQx1JsHtAxtquDMM3mk9x0mPFPvU/s1600-h/IMG_5412.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374318020226572882" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHEw0c6j00JngqfgyRg-aj453e1blDsT1YKa7Z81ysIo0pYieQdrHV3VyAIFVLZm1yq7qOCcOcrQ2A2aKhOH-QCxwPotgiCb9qH0aJYFqcgSJzH3WiQx1JsHtAxtquDMM3mk9x0mPFPvU/s320/IMG_5412.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Next, 2 teaspoons of baking powder. </span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs8iS2InUOK3_9k-Od6jW8cAZTx3z1De6lgEMvBpV6GiRYlsBPYDA2jnImntSNqQDQs03gDo2JDs9cJ2thTlkISHb-lz9l-RxVIJcZDKDYk7iFoyPAgcH__ueuALvJy_BDy7JfUfxzmnU/s1600-h/IMG_5414.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374318003902505826" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs8iS2InUOK3_9k-Od6jW8cAZTx3z1De6lgEMvBpV6GiRYlsBPYDA2jnImntSNqQDQs03gDo2JDs9cJ2thTlkISHb-lz9l-RxVIJcZDKDYk7iFoyPAgcH__ueuALvJy_BDy7JfUfxzmnU/s320/IMG_5414.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And then 175 grams of brown sugar. Mine was quite hard since I had not used it for quite some time (perhaps close to a year?) and I needed to spend <strong>a lot</strong> of time breaking it apart with a fork.</span><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhURtutFmENBKLVVVFz_kXfjeKa4M_j0MPnfSlI9ToFYb2NJzMbNU8gA8y-3DpHLWS1NLZo_VL4M3AeNxd0LXBtCt70HzXvN5qI-2ZKWmSZ-C7YmK-Q7UTCaAdN1kdjObk9mKkBGiUjaTo/s1600-h/IMG_5416.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374317694747656306" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhURtutFmENBKLVVVFz_kXfjeKa4M_j0MPnfSlI9ToFYb2NJzMbNU8gA8y-3DpHLWS1NLZo_VL4M3AeNxd0LXBtCt70HzXvN5qI-2ZKWmSZ-C7YmK-Q7UTCaAdN1kdjObk9mKkBGiUjaTo/s320/IMG_5416.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Next go the spices: .25 teaspon of cinnamon and .25 teaspoon of freshlly ground nutmeg. I ignored the instructions here. First, I added a lot more spices (Norwegians are <strong>NOT</strong> known for spicing up their foods) and added ginger as well. Secondly, I doubt I will ever in my life have a fresh nutmeg to ground, so dried powder had to suffice.</span><br /><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidWEl-_U2Xo_bN-14ToJvs1iOR_oCFge7Qk8JfJqGfbfrqSTc6xvsxl8ite5nPJ1dhnQyow4N7Jl34gqe0EkvA5UFp5dyTQ7xST75WfRYg0pPOKYXmSS0HzeiNFoU6dAcRTEUX1-JEbxg/s1600-h/IMG_5417.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374317692403261538" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidWEl-_U2Xo_bN-14ToJvs1iOR_oCFge7Qk8JfJqGfbfrqSTc6xvsxl8ite5nPJ1dhnQyow4N7Jl34gqe0EkvA5UFp5dyTQ7xST75WfRYg0pPOKYXmSS0HzeiNFoU6dAcRTEUX1-JEbxg/s320/IMG_5417.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">In the meantime, my daughter needed a job to do, so that she could rightfully say that she made the cupcakes with a little help from me. Thus I gave her the most important job: chopping up two bananas into tiny pieces. </span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_H93JRuiX0IbbCC-JFdcJnoqbOnuTcttxTafJMYimdRmIE1H6Xm8Wqv0iBae3W5IZnI9Tq9E_XC4DGUb8KkSgkDEkjTORA5SYFcVblfgaRLzYR2VELwFW4LIsOjD8m-8ZVbWiuc7SrBE/s1600-h/IMG_5418.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374317686447136002" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_H93JRuiX0IbbCC-JFdcJnoqbOnuTcttxTafJMYimdRmIE1H6Xm8Wqv0iBae3W5IZnI9Tq9E_XC4DGUb8KkSgkDEkjTORA5SYFcVblfgaRLzYR2VELwFW4LIsOjD8m-8ZVbWiuc7SrBE/s320/IMG_5418.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">We just won't tell anyone that after 4 minutes she thought that this was not fun any more and wanted me to finish the job she started.</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGStSgyFSHQO32R2OWzzOcffICamJX9hxgRjyrz7y-_oGmxFH9IIXzbO4WCUTutkk3vBtUjFpKFCZ92nLeJmF5YHiuJYILpxh0kcMmkpiUJerK4Qg4hlQvImHzS7Avs57hEtyo17jpH9Y/s1600-h/IMG_5420.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374317685548727586" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGStSgyFSHQO32R2OWzzOcffICamJX9hxgRjyrz7y-_oGmxFH9IIXzbO4WCUTutkk3vBtUjFpKFCZ92nLeJmF5YHiuJYILpxh0kcMmkpiUJerK4Qg4hlQvImHzS7Avs57hEtyo17jpH9Y/s320/IMG_5420.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">I chopped up the apple needed.</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5njyBhJp191ONwTd07Yen63LQ-fdpSSBAKKJjDOhiUEppEzn4ugRAwsE6tXgaLk_F4irOBpAIP3N9eYnjQPe0GSfFxF5C3gsE8AwYETRQ3aG3VZu8EMywGg51Z4yRFNTNRs8k03AZP7Y/s1600-h/IMG_5421.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374317669237174098" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5njyBhJp191ONwTd07Yen63LQ-fdpSSBAKKJjDOhiUEppEzn4ugRAwsE6tXgaLk_F4irOBpAIP3N9eYnjQPe0GSfFxF5C3gsE8AwYETRQ3aG3VZu8EMywGg51Z4yRFNTNRs8k03AZP7Y/s320/IMG_5421.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">As for the liquid ingredients, one needs to whip together: 1 deciliter (100 ml) of milk, one egg and 3 tablespoons of peanut oil (I only had raps oil).</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX4Mvos5nqFfNcVFTKMXv0r4p1pm7lAIxBi4VvX0FO1RFMbZXAsc2wiY_CrT2HWsjeiKRUY8A9TDQ2jx8Ks8PZFO_Nrwp8xoOfum8gJzKJqC_b0xy8sHhDs6ASbvc3hPrjVOjm4JFbsHg/s1600-h/IMG_5423.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374317378357056082" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX4Mvos5nqFfNcVFTKMXv0r4p1pm7lAIxBi4VvX0FO1RFMbZXAsc2wiY_CrT2HWsjeiKRUY8A9TDQ2jx8Ks8PZFO_Nrwp8xoOfum8gJzKJqC_b0xy8sHhDs6ASbvc3hPrjVOjm4JFbsHg/s320/IMG_5423.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Then you pour the mixture into your dry ingredients:</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieS0gTv2AbasrXG-BzQACGuYdEHo7nBYp5U6-iBelJdA701C7tJ7Js9KO7U5GH5wq9d8nXEpaikKPrS1jcWhYpfBuh6hqRgLQkHh0VMdLJVsmbBgGo35qQQiYpOAwDoYYf8URRJL-L7IU/s1600-h/IMG_5424.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374317352624921250" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieS0gTv2AbasrXG-BzQACGuYdEHo7nBYp5U6-iBelJdA701C7tJ7Js9KO7U5GH5wq9d8nXEpaikKPrS1jcWhYpfBuh6hqRgLQkHh0VMdLJVsmbBgGo35qQQiYpOAwDoYYf8URRJL-L7IU/s320/IMG_5424.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And mix it together until it is nice and thick like this:</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8FpUL4wfOKz6AQc8pCAVEXRlArjxnOnREmKInpJFHWmTZ6fF58WF914deESPfQspq3SU7xAgMdIjdOvNcHmLN_u1Z-4CMh3N3gwsAKK0woOvZrvP4Z6z9rJktSvK1BfB9bAtHr4-UYWE/s1600-h/IMG_5425.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374317339829709346" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8FpUL4wfOKz6AQc8pCAVEXRlArjxnOnREmKInpJFHWmTZ6fF58WF914deESPfQspq3SU7xAgMdIjdOvNcHmLN_u1Z-4CMh3N3gwsAKK0woOvZrvP4Z6z9rJktSvK1BfB9bAtHr4-UYWE/s320/IMG_5425.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Then you put in all the chopped up fruit:</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkunUA1FWe8eSGu2EmRLUuiCqOAArxc0oLSzwNKoZ1gEwTd6empQRDClcseJYiNmdv8fkF6lmmXserBQJ1qgNjIzRIHtTrpKXzN-NKiiFoB0EK7e1OrgGRtaHpOvYpR2kHvlzR9krmGDI/s1600-h/IMG_5426.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374317332054450546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkunUA1FWe8eSGu2EmRLUuiCqOAArxc0oLSzwNKoZ1gEwTd6empQRDClcseJYiNmdv8fkF6lmmXserBQJ1qgNjIzRIHtTrpKXzN-NKiiFoB0EK7e1OrgGRtaHpOvYpR2kHvlzR9krmGDI/s320/IMG_5426.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And mix these until the batter looks like this:</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg19tk2Q58Jy_vg-njXfQwzHGRkTU9McLqdxDYc8swXtpYJuI4l2O0Ocg24YvxIyKUn_Wx7xYJ6iwR3TTmyXkwlhQNRFZZf7b2DBKZXP_yGlRl0XmeaStvSI5iQe5OumqM8BKl43xVbGno/s1600-h/IMG_5428.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374317327905269426" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg19tk2Q58Jy_vg-njXfQwzHGRkTU9McLqdxDYc8swXtpYJuI4l2O0Ocg24YvxIyKUn_Wx7xYJ6iwR3TTmyXkwlhQNRFZZf7b2DBKZXP_yGlRl0XmeaStvSI5iQe5OumqM8BKl43xVbGno/s320/IMG_5428.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Then you fill up the cup cake tins.....</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ-iNeo4syLZNTjajFRJQUTxOvZ16Ej6ZFRZZ3UYIikp8HK3MwcVTf3o1-SP0gH420BYbAI45Xm7HZeOEOoor4Vw9xll4OK7QMXSND6ghfrkiG-jaErIzaZuVjkX0lFnQbfjavTVzeIxM/s1600-h/IMG_5430.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374317078972267522" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ-iNeo4syLZNTjajFRJQUTxOvZ16Ej6ZFRZZ3UYIikp8HK3MwcVTf3o1-SP0gH420BYbAI45Xm7HZeOEOoor4Vw9xll4OK7QMXSND6ghfrkiG-jaErIzaZuVjkX0lFnQbfjavTVzeIxM/s320/IMG_5430.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And give the bowl to your daughter who is eternally grateful because she has <strong>NOT</strong> had <strong>ANY</strong> fun this week.</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEitzwsVo0bjkt_dKi0zimOrbsBfJnEiCxT5t840yTkbYDp1LlTqS-Qya1dAdwqPhn1nCwFobkehmITwZ2SlwmsxnBxJXJb2EUaKgkQuKvnUD6sduFuA0oSgsPibfOlBTYMvy8y0RjZUo/s1600-h/IMG_5431.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374317068511634706" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEitzwsVo0bjkt_dKi0zimOrbsBfJnEiCxT5t840yTkbYDp1LlTqS-Qya1dAdwqPhn1nCwFobkehmITwZ2SlwmsxnBxJXJb2EUaKgkQuKvnUD6sduFuA0oSgsPibfOlBTYMvy8y0RjZUo/s320/IMG_5431.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And ignore her when she's still working on it 15 minutes later.</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoCT2Btzmk9WvwxQYi-9fFlrlHRHE4xlZ4-8ZnjpRIl4FGCeclNgXFje8LczRdVilMBq4JGiyR4QzFIB-QaLrHfbrGLPfC4otCRDpABKSbywUECi1eVmG9J-3hMo2shDW_R3bUGMGPR7Q/s1600-h/IMG_5432.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374317065564918210" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoCT2Btzmk9WvwxQYi-9fFlrlHRHE4xlZ4-8ZnjpRIl4FGCeclNgXFje8LczRdVilMBq4JGiyR4QzFIB-QaLrHfbrGLPfC4otCRDpABKSbywUECi1eVmG9J-3hMo2shDW_R3bUGMGPR7Q/s320/IMG_5432.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Now, as the cup cakes were baking, the house filled with a wonderful smell that reminded me of autumn: apples, spices, thick breads.... Mmmmmm...... </span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">Now when the cup cakes came out of the oven, they certainly looked a lot different than what was in the book...</span><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia0kBiUBJs_nXue2yQYTN1zZ-D6EbixIJLQiridMnV12_orHwh_yRJNAmToEj6qAgC3Fwd-2QKVv-RAh6iFxvzyXXjm_QlfGWrhp_iqzUdfROPRvXLzgGWZfOuCV-htCbFbT_Z9iI9Ot0/s1600-h/IMG_5434.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374317057221216050" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia0kBiUBJs_nXue2yQYTN1zZ-D6EbixIJLQiridMnV12_orHwh_yRJNAmToEj6qAgC3Fwd-2QKVv-RAh6iFxvzyXXjm_QlfGWrhp_iqzUdfROPRvXLzgGWZfOuCV-htCbFbT_Z9iI9Ot0/s320/IMG_5434.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">One cannot see it from the picture below, but they really did look a lot different. </span><br /><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilAcJ5OcLXST4RvGf_AoM1qSVk_H02uzmBYBhgJLRLIb9wJZ6xyhqCTvI-oS2k28zcZANdt__rlV9Ci8aG0cES6qE6Lpkcb3uNa41qUgvztiSEWCuSIXKxttLyGw_FeKkPFnq6UUW46UU/s1600-h/IMG_5435.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374317052072924258" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilAcJ5OcLXST4RvGf_AoM1qSVk_H02uzmBYBhgJLRLIb9wJZ6xyhqCTvI-oS2k28zcZANdt__rlV9Ci8aG0cES6qE6Lpkcb3uNa41qUgvztiSEWCuSIXKxttLyGw_FeKkPFnq6UUW46UU/s320/IMG_5435.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">But they tasted wonderfully. I would definitely make these again any time soon. Even if my daughter refuses to help me chop up bananas.</span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01333333828999038984noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358835659992198142.post-13945576742487560402009-08-23T00:33:00.001-07:002009-08-23T02:22:34.724-07:00My New Model<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw24oLwc9dCy_JcJx_0xFqXpzFx334OD0lLNN9CUIXzracj1EOhDZRUUVnuT5GGk-Lj0_I1IqRMdUJgjhMa9LCrNfCG55Xr3BWP9wY6WfOguCHvyIZzJS_BCKpesalS3nkp9dwJTif9jQ/s1600-h/IMG_5451.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373059940869211122" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 270px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw24oLwc9dCy_JcJx_0xFqXpzFx334OD0lLNN9CUIXzracj1EOhDZRUUVnuT5GGk-Lj0_I1IqRMdUJgjhMa9LCrNfCG55Xr3BWP9wY6WfOguCHvyIZzJS_BCKpesalS3nkp9dwJTif9jQ/s320/IMG_5451.JPG" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">This is my new model, BM. I am very grateful that she has said yes to this project because for the first, she has a great jaw line. Just look how it gracefully slopes upward to the ear. Almost like a Greek sculpture.... Her complexion is also perfect, as most truly Norwegian skin is.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">The second reason as to why I am grateful is because I have no money and can't afford to pay someone who looks as nice as her.</span><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB9Cilr7pZVtOhiP2C7TUgcZSgBGhNTXQcKLglBS-uuzJiI7MA1zOkVdd9ILROPLGhJtva1Xe-VKRP5jf9tjzvTif8f73adyCyifUrSIMUmUGK1IOR2xX8mjPv3e_3qGOj4nfmaPFhyvE/s1600-h/IMG_5457.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373059930656067842" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 276px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB9Cilr7pZVtOhiP2C7TUgcZSgBGhNTXQcKLglBS-uuzJiI7MA1zOkVdd9ILROPLGhJtva1Xe-VKRP5jf9tjzvTif8f73adyCyifUrSIMUmUGK1IOR2xX8mjPv3e_3qGOj4nfmaPFhyvE/s320/IMG_5457.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">However, I am not allowed to say anything more about her. That was part of the deal: no full facial pictures, and no details about her on the internet. The truth is she has an important job and it's not in her best interest to have herself displayed in a public way. I can say that she works for the government, but she's not a spy. She's not a senator either. (Or a mayor, or councel woman).</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"></span></div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU-f5OZhnh5smfstvUq0t28ZC7Yc1bPQV2m2AF0m73A0L2MK47h8BQeyShC8vfe0dystWJnK-7mBa8nnc-lIK9hzlGS0OJYlH0Iiy0zhQZ-8PVFSjFaaZVFIWh4h0M65iWcnMKefiGOJg/s1600-h/IMG_5458.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373059917649459426" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 288px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU-f5OZhnh5smfstvUq0t28ZC7Yc1bPQV2m2AF0m73A0L2MK47h8BQeyShC8vfe0dystWJnK-7mBa8nnc-lIK9hzlGS0OJYlH0Iiy0zhQZ-8PVFSjFaaZVFIWh4h0M65iWcnMKefiGOJg/s320/IMG_5458.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">Her job covers a lot of different areas in Norwegian life. For some, she helps to bring closure to years of pain. But she's not a priest or a pastor. Others would rather never see her again, feeling that she has ended their lives. This however is the price she must pay to do the kind of work she does. I don't think she takes it too personally.</span><br /><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-2OiWgTz39E9CbpkMqj75CVAwfM_n57nsSxeqbR79lqwtEVUhgRSZzpJtYwk7h24z3ICouLgGIM05GhEkAsPWcZAIFcw7x1Tcc2fr1Bd5gfOfN3_-cUnP4CBdk3eXGDBDlmoQQhtz91E/s1600-h/IMG_5448.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373059915957590450" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 189px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-2OiWgTz39E9CbpkMqj75CVAwfM_n57nsSxeqbR79lqwtEVUhgRSZzpJtYwk7h24z3ICouLgGIM05GhEkAsPWcZAIFcw7x1Tcc2fr1Bd5gfOfN3_-cUnP4CBdk3eXGDBDlmoQQhtz91E/s320/IMG_5448.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Her work involves a lot of different types of knowledge that has taken years to aquire: economic, legal, social, religious, ethical, and anthropological as well. But she is not an expert in any of these areas.</span><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRB1cbkT37tkLfA70hMFV_nqMUUCNjBHyU-HE8vgh6x1SyD3EYwBZf4eVpjVeqtGDYOYGMW5DjvXx2bELs_d_Mb3bvOucp4LpNKZBkUfncpAjuxjCklWGOj666RhrI8WyyGKH8gWzAuD4/s1600-h/IMG_5440.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373059908238291234" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 261px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRB1cbkT37tkLfA70hMFV_nqMUUCNjBHyU-HE8vgh6x1SyD3EYwBZf4eVpjVeqtGDYOYGMW5DjvXx2bELs_d_Mb3bvOucp4LpNKZBkUfncpAjuxjCklWGOj666RhrI8WyyGKH8gWzAuD4/s320/IMG_5440.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Finally, one would think that her job would make her very stuck up, stuffy and pretencious. However, she is one of the most lively people I know of, perhaps <strong><em>THE </em></strong>most lively person I know right now in my life. So we now know that she is not a docor.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">She always has a smile on her face, almost always can see the humor in any situation. She almost always has a kind word to say about people, even to those who have not been particularily kind to her. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">And when I brought up the idea, wondering if she would perhaps be willing to do this for me (I had expected her to turn me down immediately) she immediately jumped at the chance. While she has not said this to me, I think that she saw this as an oppurtunity to do something she would not otherwise get a chance to do.... another item she can write on her list of 'Things I Have Done During This Life.'</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">In any case, it has been a lot of fun to work with her in this way and it seems like both of us are looking forward to taking lots of pictures together in the future.</span></div></div></div></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01333333828999038984noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358835659992198142.post-20125487396071491202009-08-22T01:55:00.000-07:002009-08-22T01:59:22.566-07:00Saturday Mornings at My House<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoQ7fipcEE83Z6zNmt73Ge84jQIp0oUN5daJl8wYBQhtw6m4jPXzoUVdpdZRffJILpvQXgtTXUHbWBzz8xnTbtcOmgcxQa5ER6UqxmW_fgOLOv-K5QZjd5dD7BbqxyQIcc4-VAjmOuD1c/s1600-h/IMG_5480.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372709278496978594" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 291px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoQ7fipcEE83Z6zNmt73Ge84jQIp0oUN5daJl8wYBQhtw6m4jPXzoUVdpdZRffJILpvQXgtTXUHbWBzz8xnTbtcOmgcxQa5ER6UqxmW_fgOLOv-K5QZjd5dD7BbqxyQIcc4-VAjmOuD1c/s320/IMG_5480.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Well, not all our weekends are like this.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">Most of the time one or both of us is working on somthing.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">At the cabin working....</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">Or Viking Man has a work weekend...</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">Or Viking Man is working overtime....</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">Or I have a long list to complete and have the kids tagging along, doing their very best to not let boredom get the better of them....</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">But this weekend is not like this.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">And life is good.</span></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01333333828999038984noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358835659992198142.post-83248473787555084212009-08-20T23:41:00.000-07:002009-08-21T00:05:07.412-07:00An Enlightening Experience<span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">A few weeks ago I purchased and then received a light tent. This has completely changed the way I take photos. And I've learned one major thing about myself - I am (or was) scared of light.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">Now, I've never been scared of the darkness. Even as a child when I was scared of alligators under my bed (I had a deep blue carpet.... thoughts of sharks appeared later), but this had nothing to do with the dark. When it was time to go to bed, I was able to convince myself that they too were sleeping.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">But during the day getting to my room would involve running down the hallway at full speed, making a sharp 90 degree turn at the end of that hallway, and the flinging myself through the air until I landed safely on my bed which was in the middle of my room.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">However I digress.....</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">The first round of photographs I took were a great improvement over those that I took before I had the light tent. However, many members of the European Street Team I know and love were telling me that they were not light enough.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">This involved a second round of photography. When this was done, I touched up my photos using my favorite (free) tool: Picasa3. I lightened them so much that I thought they looked unreal. However, my team members cheered me with great energy, saying I had finally got it right.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgia76Tn5LPg3NLg8qcszt9CRVezqScP5THGEz7AIkhWcSV8uC_z8lzKBoEV4bUeNC1ap6FTfod5ouQ1y_ns1tw-jE3JsJzwRVrqMjo06tE1tDnGlvBVmJloDRpi6Rp4DDFUYuczBTgyOo/s1600-h/IMG_4996.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372303894142488210" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 235px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgia76Tn5LPg3NLg8qcszt9CRVezqScP5THGEz7AIkhWcSV8uC_z8lzKBoEV4bUeNC1ap6FTfod5ouQ1y_ns1tw-jE3JsJzwRVrqMjo06tE1tDnGlvBVmJloDRpi6Rp4DDFUYuczBTgyOo/s320/IMG_4996.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Had I really? I thought my pictures looked like they were almost touched by the hands of God, light cascading from above.</span> </p><p> </p><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioO00_jikXgUwM30nJ6_I7X0Mz2Erw7Vvrypnx46-Id8V_LFchiyPTL_H_po5ccPuBbApr59vN6QMqQIlJoRXq3daBoUI6AgYcbJwqy-j-qLYhrXRJdfs_S9E9Phaxu8GIs30WUwCU0nI/s1600-h/IMG_4899.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372303890372593730" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 310px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioO00_jikXgUwM30nJ6_I7X0Mz2Erw7Vvrypnx46-Id8V_LFchiyPTL_H_po5ccPuBbApr59vN6QMqQIlJoRXq3daBoUI6AgYcbJwqy-j-qLYhrXRJdfs_S9E9Phaxu8GIs30WUwCU0nI/s320/IMG_4899.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">But apparently there are many who are not agreed with me. The traffic in my stores has soared to almost 3 times what it was before.</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf66aQ7JTgrK23JFd4Iv6kgrMpMPNp_bPBPNjJKKPAGY-lDOY8dwZnDbHXI4mSSK0vJqfKRQKt016GBmDnJZmidMKoehfUIg2QcKukjrSNJuZdiKAOSEXzIBApG7lxpDZ9L2FRCIKgwKw/s1600-h/IMG_4869.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372303880409911634" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 254px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf66aQ7JTgrK23JFd4Iv6kgrMpMPNp_bPBPNjJKKPAGY-lDOY8dwZnDbHXI4mSSK0vJqfKRQKt016GBmDnJZmidMKoehfUIg2QcKukjrSNJuZdiKAOSEXzIBApG7lxpDZ9L2FRCIKgwKw/s320/IMG_4869.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And I'm getting hearted. By others than my team members. That too has not happened for quite some time.</span><br /><br /><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnYydJ4WuD_oeWnmamPyyWak0R80jNIHkXa1tesQxyIngbH9yrmbZdfvIbnms5dK5gwH2Bh0tmC0IBsjXqMZ_436M6ZRaBI1J1hK010EMPa84GbfN9xPW26hvY9oK_9-Ls0xmeIpY66gg/s1600-h/IMG_4747.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372303866220587074" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnYydJ4WuD_oeWnmamPyyWak0R80jNIHkXa1tesQxyIngbH9yrmbZdfvIbnms5dK5gwH2Bh0tmC0IBsjXqMZ_436M6ZRaBI1J1hK010EMPa84GbfN9xPW26hvY9oK_9-Ls0xmeIpY66gg/s320/IMG_4747.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">So once again I've learned that I do not see the world quite as my fellow man does. Why this surprises me is another good question as I had resigned myself to the fact that I live in a slightly altered universe than many - and feel quite at home here.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">Still, I'm starting to get use to the changes, to stretching the walls of my security box. Starting to think: Yeah - that is a really cool picture.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div></div></div></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01333333828999038984noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358835659992198142.post-7660649295304334582009-08-20T01:56:00.000-07:002009-08-20T02:14:14.391-07:00First Day of a New School Year<span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">I've been at home the last little while, not feeling as frisky as I normally do, and this is why it continues to be quiet on my blog.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">Having said this, it is important that I blog a little bit for my family back in The New Country, keeping them updated with what has been happening in my children's lives.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">Yesterday was the first day of a new school year for my son. Yesterday he began second grade.... and couldn't wait to get going. I should have let him sleep in 15 minutes longer than I did. He was itching to get out of the door.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">[First of all - a warning the the pictures are not as great as they usually are. My hands are not as steady as they normally are, and my brain is not as focussed as it usually is]</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">Here he is eating breakfast, yougurt and musli:</span><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja9xAoBkUSBHPhIMKYNTOYx5j8bnz2Z1_bZ7Lhm0G4dQg2AlP6XinNPefMNI32K2iJPYb6Icb8uLip-oMhOzs6QMazC8_NancsJbCa4YzWlxWRfwazqfm6tXh8YQISGHWF5kH1sJfnxOs/s1600-h/IMG_5398.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371967766841552834" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja9xAoBkUSBHPhIMKYNTOYx5j8bnz2Z1_bZ7Lhm0G4dQg2AlP6XinNPefMNI32K2iJPYb6Icb8uLip-oMhOzs6QMazC8_NancsJbCa4YzWlxWRfwazqfm6tXh8YQISGHWF5kH1sJfnxOs/s320/IMG_5398.JPG" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And suddenly he said to me: I need to have blue hair today. It's the first day of school!</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">Fair enough - we put some blue in his hair. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">And then I forgot to turn off the flash:</span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9FwpWYOZAix3Fc7VoKBF5svqtdC6WskNWImJIZEcvrg7F2KZF5j6ATC38zZ7hwlbGjt3pp0yIRvegemVtj9TpbSZrFfDQ5n0p2ICP2f8hQ_dvpM2ux3WspHBZNBLHE02n7lBO88wBQ7A/s1600-h/IMG_5398.JPG"></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicBxDpaE4tF3ZZlpE-Up3Fgh5uvT_Wh2e9tdG_8oCKYEHJOt_slLU_OniL4FcvXcVnmNEEta4qQAAYYVohyphenhyphenlvTM-BT_Y5cryGSJV3tNje6kmq3aZQX_XLDG-rrmbXXpooOb2gS6PjFJIM/s1600-h/IMG_5400.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371967758285631410" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicBxDpaE4tF3ZZlpE-Up3Fgh5uvT_Wh2e9tdG_8oCKYEHJOt_slLU_OniL4FcvXcVnmNEEta4qQAAYYVohyphenhyphenlvTM-BT_Y5cryGSJV3tNje6kmq3aZQX_XLDG-rrmbXXpooOb2gS6PjFJIM/s320/IMG_5400.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And after I thought I had turned off the flash, it turned out I did not push the proper button hard enough:</span><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiklSTjKsJJs0FWE2ZMt9NU9FV7gFAGOvLDr00Qy0qRdqf2_kmBDok6uHEEU3VwFJ18uz_gZ_UKQ7RYvFGWtQ0x-GD5mgr9VPefpnHahJ0m2-hk9OwAiU84vLmcY79hKnYdl5n3shytggs/s1600-h/IMG_5401.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371967747557343618" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiklSTjKsJJs0FWE2ZMt9NU9FV7gFAGOvLDr00Qy0qRdqf2_kmBDok6uHEEU3VwFJ18uz_gZ_UKQ7RYvFGWtQ0x-GD5mgr9VPefpnHahJ0m2-hk9OwAiU84vLmcY79hKnYdl5n3shytggs/s320/IMG_5401.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">But there's no time to take new pictures as my son has really important things to do today.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">Like putting on shoes that won't cooperate.</span><br /><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnbEmyNBalw5Drht-AJtsIerTQ2efHBEy66Em1zY4ANMqlVeOHd-8b1Kk5ePThyphenhyphenXEZyhiDALyr2QX129T5tz62TauKz8A4WWO5gpU6Uc-vjDT_SHV434pfdq94Ch5bEEqhGjqZcMLE-8k/s1600-h/IMG_5404.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371967740157866210" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnbEmyNBalw5Drht-AJtsIerTQ2efHBEy66Em1zY4ANMqlVeOHd-8b1Kk5ePThyphenhyphenXEZyhiDALyr2QX129T5tz62TauKz8A4WWO5gpU6Uc-vjDT_SHV434pfdq94Ch5bEEqhGjqZcMLE-8k/s320/IMG_5404.JPG" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Okay - he's ready to go and will stand still long enought to let me take a picture.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">And I forget to turn off the flash.</span><br /><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3jzORn83eFyUyt4oTFqY5Fx4-O-zBGapAwBTwiXdJ0p5s1v_-3uIgkn7TLrz6XlnybDY9w5fVeCD1L-O9zjYgFP8DlSyVKNi8sBh1TEMZVnBSyKXtovQYYf8hTYZW9_hOP4b-_Dgnt6Q/s1600-h/IMG_5406.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371967388103195234" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3jzORn83eFyUyt4oTFqY5Fx4-O-zBGapAwBTwiXdJ0p5s1v_-3uIgkn7TLrz6XlnybDY9w5fVeCD1L-O9zjYgFP8DlSyVKNi8sBh1TEMZVnBSyKXtovQYYf8hTYZW9_hOP4b-_Dgnt6Q/s320/IMG_5406.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Ahhh... I'm giving up on taking proper pictures now. Now I just want to sit on the couch and relax before my daughter wakes up.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">My son checks his bag one more time.</span><br /><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8JrtvuN3GRE_trEYTZQcMzTdlyINMDTnsTNEwUZL-jJLnYf0fGGomyK4ELW4Nc9ybzGbWE_VZ_mj5g-ieFHcKCJ-lQ54jGU2d05PhdnJAiO9d1Bqd8JJAu-maMFGR5YT6GDyS-8fNxyc/s1600-h/IMG_5407.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371967384282717394" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8JrtvuN3GRE_trEYTZQcMzTdlyINMDTnsTNEwUZL-jJLnYf0fGGomyK4ELW4Nc9ybzGbWE_VZ_mj5g-ieFHcKCJ-lQ54jGU2d05PhdnJAiO9d1Bqd8JJAu-maMFGR5YT6GDyS-8fNxyc/s320/IMG_5407.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Okay Mom, no more pictures. I'm ready to go.</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl5sn8mLSVk4vsBuzScB1GyIKYG_lYIcS6Fraxj1ePDhBA-mvV59aI19XDsRSSKXQQ6g393F2aK29S1RjUCxf1q4xi1MrYLEKRn7uLmPkTdqk2WxubFoe2DowUO40s1SyK0D1mhugQax4/s1600-h/IMG_5408.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371967375884219378" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl5sn8mLSVk4vsBuzScB1GyIKYG_lYIcS6Fraxj1ePDhBA-mvV59aI19XDsRSSKXQQ6g393F2aK29S1RjUCxf1q4xi1MrYLEKRn7uLmPkTdqk2WxubFoe2DowUO40s1SyK0D1mhugQax4/s320/IMG_5408.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And off he runs without a hug and kiss. (Which is okay because I definitely should not be kissing him too much right now).</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6UKKWSTOz3P0a7yJ6CxNE3ZiHO5JAXXcfAuTLpcKepLfveNfyIW3sa_JKaCzNf2dLyY_WDKdUJd1gxXguBQ_GrAnZNPPbX5Amiy8_tt8hgrSyYsb8sfTS_YQ_Cy3GhPTE6zlB6KUZiWo/s1600-h/IMG_5409.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371967369324506354" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6UKKWSTOz3P0a7yJ6CxNE3ZiHO5JAXXcfAuTLpcKepLfveNfyIW3sa_JKaCzNf2dLyY_WDKdUJd1gxXguBQ_GrAnZNPPbX5Amiy8_tt8hgrSyYsb8sfTS_YQ_Cy3GhPTE6zlB6KUZiWo/s320/IMG_5409.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And I run to the kitchen window before he disappears for the next 6 hours. </span><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFFNXzt2SiiTw0s5Hu7BoNuFgMw_VmIaDQwCh6-twQfK78xnhuV7DlGginRpJcp3c5m56NaYQ4AGiiSrcIVWF1B8iIssVIL8UNudkZy9e3Q5_8EQXT7E2jEKTCb56GGzrFckzYXxvhEsM/s1600-h/IMG_5410.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371967367035379410" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFFNXzt2SiiTw0s5Hu7BoNuFgMw_VmIaDQwCh6-twQfK78xnhuV7DlGginRpJcp3c5m56NaYQ4AGiiSrcIVWF1B8iIssVIL8UNudkZy9e3Q5_8EQXT7E2jEKTCb56GGzrFckzYXxvhEsM/s320/IMG_5410.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">It's very quiet in the house right now....</span> </div></div></div></div></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01333333828999038984noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358835659992198142.post-1140926216531839222009-08-10T12:27:00.000-07:002009-08-10T13:48:41.102-07:00Finally a New Post!<span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">It has been a long time since I've posted on my blog. This is despite those who have been nagging me, wanting to see what has been going on during my summer. (Yes, BM - I've been listening to you. You too TW.)</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">It has been a long summer with lots of work. And I've come back from my holidays and jumped right back into my full time job. So my evenings have been dedicated to washing huge garbage bags of clothes, towels and weeks of bedclothing... as well as the clothes we are using in our every day life back in the city.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">But I've finally got around to finding the pictures I want to use, and getting my head around what I it is I want to say.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">First of all - here is the most important of our projects: the porch on the third side of our cabin. This is what we (and especially my husband) has been dreaming of for 10 years.</span><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZuiflEAo_ONuWUQ0ywUTcAX4hRqntdpcuJoTuj80DGPabG0hvHYoxxDNE-bhDjpsCpwz1qJsuIgrI187zS30Y37uQESCo-qRTBxnbkyU41DBKRSKi8ncoUFIiuNMvgkYSVGjnHnMYh9k/s1600-h/IMG_3762.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368421439252909474" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZuiflEAo_ONuWUQ0ywUTcAX4hRqntdpcuJoTuj80DGPabG0hvHYoxxDNE-bhDjpsCpwz1qJsuIgrI187zS30Y37uQESCo-qRTBxnbkyU41DBKRSKi8ncoUFIiuNMvgkYSVGjnHnMYh9k/s320/IMG_3762.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">We have already been out here eating breakfasts, watching the sun rise.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">(Well, okay, that's a bit of a lie - have day light almost 24 hours a day means that we would have to wake up at 3 am to see the sunrise. Maybe we'll try that in October. But we have eaten lots of breakfasts out here).</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">We've also eaten lunches out here and myself and my husband have enjoyed a glass of wine or two (or more...) in the evenings.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">And I also have to say that since we've been using this side of the cabin we've seen more animals this summer than we ever have in the 12 years we've been living out here in the summer. We've seen: porpoises, a family of mink, sea eagles, weasles and lots of fish jumping out of the water. It is quite amazing.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">In the autumn, when the grass begins to die, I will (yes, that is *me* I said) be starting to dig out the dirt down the forth side of the cabin. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">We'll be starting to build the forth balcony next spring.</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9MJlyh1TWjJEz8w8zPFOmlNSw_k3EUTWlbWP2KPTkfhVFsbRc48jLoS82UxXYQ4sjnHujpldnWPi61PYiLKoU40k_2Fb9o0qZO9dtuXj1wW3tDty1U8w2Y_KJr-vPA7u-tCN6bcSwGR4/s1600-h/IMG_3765.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368421435960519490" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9MJlyh1TWjJEz8w8zPFOmlNSw_k3EUTWlbWP2KPTkfhVFsbRc48jLoS82UxXYQ4sjnHujpldnWPi61PYiLKoU40k_2Fb9o0qZO9dtuXj1wW3tDty1U8w2Y_KJr-vPA7u-tCN6bcSwGR4/s320/IMG_3765.JPG" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">I am a bit hesitant about it though. It is a steep incline, going straight down to the sea.</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxdULq9ej3liq04_6PbkTQqH-Bwk57g325wM1ZN3pdG2iX5MmCfWR9ENDHCnMWR05D5NkxdDlf9Pvd4BTUX7GxtM5J1GUWD08ToQD2zh8FJCDZb5Loc_6traJ3z_QMZ1gaoO5O7U8ejyg/s1600-h/IMG_3767.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368421431975249090" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxdULq9ej3liq04_6PbkTQqH-Bwk57g325wM1ZN3pdG2iX5MmCfWR9ENDHCnMWR05D5NkxdDlf9Pvd4BTUX7GxtM5J1GUWD08ToQD2zh8FJCDZb5Loc_6traJ3z_QMZ1gaoO5O7U8ejyg/s320/IMG_3767.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">But, great things do not come without great risk. I will just check my life insurance before starting.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">We're also using the porch as a storage place. Until now we've had piles of nicely stacked building materials covered with tarps. They've been green tarps of course, so they blend into the landscape. But they've still been there and have bothered us. Now we've got it all tucked away...</span></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgphmzzeck8b8AOCND9u7PRPpsNPrKsRcrLUBRINFyqaFFQcrPaEkpicAl9jQ7InM5Hdd-hbUAZPaSqVt_MlJPktPMxkXsGvsTPzc-rfQ89aotsmyrwe5RsuYEMWjECaTNPQRRMRi17zOY/s1600-h/IMG_3787.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368421426752881890" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgphmzzeck8b8AOCND9u7PRPpsNPrKsRcrLUBRINFyqaFFQcrPaEkpicAl9jQ7InM5Hdd-hbUAZPaSqVt_MlJPktPMxkXsGvsTPzc-rfQ89aotsmyrwe5RsuYEMWjECaTNPQRRMRi17zOY/s320/IMG_3787.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And they're protected from the rain....</span><br /><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW7fFMHMlgJ5kVYB04SuVe7yc3LsRpO9In79_Jt6Jivjg3RMgkPuLOjW_HDQHdG0AmjICpMCeTgDe_GhkuzhTqDJOcDp9hByZR3hH7el6iqgctWZCB2KSZ2JGB4fsLp8TOOReYG8QKNQA/s1600-h/IMG_3789.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368421422078928754" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW7fFMHMlgJ5kVYB04SuVe7yc3LsRpO9In79_Jt6Jivjg3RMgkPuLOjW_HDQHdG0AmjICpMCeTgDe_GhkuzhTqDJOcDp9hByZR3hH7el6iqgctWZCB2KSZ2JGB4fsLp8TOOReYG8QKNQA/s320/IMG_3789.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">The second major project that we've completed was to re-routed our water supply around 20 acres of property. Here is where we used to get our water....</span><br /><br /><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIZZK4TaN40v_ETx8n4lCZ1Sp4ueIbMF14rT_LfNJMEyggkeqHAOkox-H1wrlxdn6TWzMjYXgy-hbOOb9O9MFcBOucXlOqaOzrNTFJARKBxcwO-BTUE9FldaNq8HnSFsTkPi47-SbF9UA/s1600-h/IMG_3771.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368420885104054018" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIZZK4TaN40v_ETx8n4lCZ1Sp4ueIbMF14rT_LfNJMEyggkeqHAOkox-H1wrlxdn6TWzMjYXgy-hbOOb9O9MFcBOucXlOqaOzrNTFJARKBxcwO-BTUE9FldaNq8HnSFsTkPi47-SbF9UA/s320/IMG_3771.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Which was way at the far end of the first porch we built 8 years ago. And completely on the opposite side of the cabin to where the kitchen is. </span><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht1nhOzPHsGGRbDc0-hF_1iRnCrBhjGY3lUODu28WGS4-c6pnGlsnAcqiQjhFaliqyQ12mxLyllZYkuekQfWd9E-X9iZ8LAkuJIpwZxyBusP0T7Up4mWJWy8JSWpfooX64EruAxIZUCQg/s1600-h/IMG_3501.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368420887743377090" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht1nhOzPHsGGRbDc0-hF_1iRnCrBhjGY3lUODu28WGS4-c6pnGlsnAcqiQjhFaliqyQ12mxLyllZYkuekQfWd9E-X9iZ8LAkuJIpwZxyBusP0T7Up4mWJWy8JSWpfooX64EruAxIZUCQg/s320/IMG_3501.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">But with hard work done by my kick ass brother in-law and my cool nephew... </span><br /><br /><br /><div><div><div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6TMVngU4L7WMuh-m9Be30gEFjkfOM9-3kzuVkcw4XE6fHVSeJCCFt702ZGivADTYWptJUlkuzoIcaG75ovGr1E_Ay5hGzYNvtiZ6GViMKkkMU4GRga8IOGdExsIMEQTiCVKxeDXgWPdo/s1600-h/IMG_3773.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368420079293939570" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6TMVngU4L7WMuh-m9Be30gEFjkfOM9-3kzuVkcw4XE6fHVSeJCCFt702ZGivADTYWptJUlkuzoIcaG75ovGr1E_Ay5hGzYNvtiZ6GViMKkkMU4GRga8IOGdExsIMEQTiCVKxeDXgWPdo/s320/IMG_3773.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And a little bit more tinkering here...</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">(If the truth be said, it was my brother in-law who did all of the important work on this project)</span><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Xe2xveTJFEMBlsFap8ltuoJhTOp2NAIudcnwsYqKScqKHMrx8fLcYMgbh_2_NEAPEHrlQFUNh07hMROyscKYzcLZRksfGkNIkN0qU0hDVkemSOsyd4MjZRRcKlK4j9vWHpxOkWRoMc0/s1600-h/IMG_3774.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368420075965073362" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Xe2xveTJFEMBlsFap8ltuoJhTOp2NAIudcnwsYqKScqKHMrx8fLcYMgbh_2_NEAPEHrlQFUNh07hMROyscKYzcLZRksfGkNIkN0qU0hDVkemSOsyd4MjZRRcKlK4j9vWHpxOkWRoMc0/s320/IMG_3774.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And paying my 7 year old son an advance in his allowance to crawl under the second porch (build 3 years ago) which is muddy and wet, to pull and push the hose and tap to where it is supposed to be....</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic0LjF58q_q33sZBL425TsQjX7H2f38wETPpzKcTaAQ8JQGG1jvDU2K8m_rbsXHtN8d0SwFStSJq2Yz6Y6I0sgtU7D8DGp_dR7YeqciId96cGekqBgqHhmWIWatW6O_c_xZPs0N0hlP3M/s1600-h/IMG_3779.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368420070615133250" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic0LjF58q_q33sZBL425TsQjX7H2f38wETPpzKcTaAQ8JQGG1jvDU2K8m_rbsXHtN8d0SwFStSJq2Yz6Y6I0sgtU7D8DGp_dR7YeqciId96cGekqBgqHhmWIWatW6O_c_xZPs0N0hlP3M/s320/IMG_3779.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">We can now simply go out our kichen door to get our water. We will be building a stand for the sink pictured here.</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDKvr-bvf5i5QcCjYHhTItHJDmREv5IEROXSWZY9jd8nwyqj4rx8g_BpOspTF7FlVLsEtiNziy_vJKc5pJL7L-_6xytx_CAR4oAbSRiBXyIbIvkuxfB11PLx154jkQDxiBmcDFRgz2C9w/s1600-h/IMG_3780.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368420061943029106" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDKvr-bvf5i5QcCjYHhTItHJDmREv5IEROXSWZY9jd8nwyqj4rx8g_BpOspTF7FlVLsEtiNziy_vJKc5pJL7L-_6xytx_CAR4oAbSRiBXyIbIvkuxfB11PLx154jkQDxiBmcDFRgz2C9w/s320/IMG_3780.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">The third project: I spent 3 days (with the help of one of my younger nephews and my son (7 years) and daugher (5 years) to paint this wall. It would no doubt have taken me a lot less time without the help, but it isn't always the point to get something done in the least amount of time. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">And most of the paint actually ended up on the wall.</span> </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA3iamOc4Z7TfDcHT6ks7CJcgTMo1eX56p4AOANqNa2mHOiesILIz1mt1G0a_OKRXKuhhYt7bXrCzvThCW5NtT9RVqSsnRbc8PrfrblBpzVceD0fVUrkhy2_KgfLcil979jjUFbndnrjo/s1600-h/IMG_3781.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368420056632148146" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA3iamOc4Z7TfDcHT6ks7CJcgTMo1eX56p4AOANqNa2mHOiesILIz1mt1G0a_OKRXKuhhYt7bXrCzvThCW5NtT9RVqSsnRbc8PrfrblBpzVceD0fVUrkhy2_KgfLcil979jjUFbndnrjo/s320/IMG_3781.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">We are really happy with the color on the wall - although you can certainly see the difference with the wall beside it:</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-IdhBfxlqb0yd8mgIo0fLNcDq-iueunKD6NhydoHuu39SFdRPxameuCF26bfVC6uA3ND_O5SyMSBvRaC-OSO9HVfXXd4mhcswjNl4L34QncEL9Tr2tKLehCUesb4KnVXIRwMdY0tvM8w/s1600-h/IMG_3782.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368419595395001106" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-IdhBfxlqb0yd8mgIo0fLNcDq-iueunKD6NhydoHuu39SFdRPxameuCF26bfVC6uA3ND_O5SyMSBvRaC-OSO9HVfXXd4mhcswjNl4L34QncEL9Tr2tKLehCUesb4KnVXIRwMdY0tvM8w/s320/IMG_3782.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Here's a better view of the painting that needs to be done next summer....</span><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoF371cnjs3JQ1cdOv-EtMwRXH4OUBwZiFetjz7k-vBJ4z_um7KyMc5mTFf2e5HjwtN0FVaGnmWzuQqNepJnnLEP56IA3JJxnHHELSSpP0Iv4UN9dRpLDxWoBNONZ3Gh6hqu5ryJRW2DA/s1600-h/IMG_3783.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368419591030309874" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoF371cnjs3JQ1cdOv-EtMwRXH4OUBwZiFetjz7k-vBJ4z_um7KyMc5mTFf2e5HjwtN0FVaGnmWzuQqNepJnnLEP56IA3JJxnHHELSSpP0Iv4UN9dRpLDxWoBNONZ3Gh6hqu5ryJRW2DA/s320/IMG_3783.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">But at least we'll have a great view to comfort us while getting the work done.</span></div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">Finally there was a bit of fun building. My daughter has been after her father to make a proper bed for her pet lion. You could see that she totally fell in love with her father when he got the job done:</span></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVNMJEL-t4VWk1pFzdqOPi9EWmiR4W9elujhm3B48sKeIT30QJCaEMHsiMP8-YXqtUIikB5ndzGjhU5Vnp2SQvXOhqIyaS093n6LIgJ8IooFgqPw75UMBQOLi9jbuWpUurKJKXY7vFy-g/s1600-h/IMG_3784.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368419581544524802" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 279px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVNMJEL-t4VWk1pFzdqOPi9EWmiR4W9elujhm3B48sKeIT30QJCaEMHsiMP8-YXqtUIikB5ndzGjhU5Vnp2SQvXOhqIyaS093n6LIgJ8IooFgqPw75UMBQOLi9jbuWpUurKJKXY7vFy-g/s320/IMG_3784.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">It's a perfect fit.</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAB5U-aEKgsI4gs8N6Ab0MQY4VccVSzEdSpkTl8sNlrg7qq362KGaDEDReu8HX3jhoggm32lQERmVlhxz40nQwDVITEUvqie0ig-826F_3MROvh7xijBYm9cKU2c3aceB_desrK1I9N4g/s1600-h/IMG_3786.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368419583013474658" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAB5U-aEKgsI4gs8N6Ab0MQY4VccVSzEdSpkTl8sNlrg7qq362KGaDEDReu8HX3jhoggm32lQERmVlhxz40nQwDVITEUvqie0ig-826F_3MROvh7xijBYm9cKU2c3aceB_desrK1I9N4g/s320/IMG_3786.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And inbetween all of this work, and the fishing, swimming, water tubing, and day trips we took, I was still able to get a lot of crafting done.</span><br /><br /></div></div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkFHUKLR8sN6Xn4QSblkiJIJoRi51zpDjhaINivfw5hXbO2WuZBmVepPoccIkqQNJjnRhpHtCGgsn1aLpVwuRUf8j0LWhyphenhyphenFHFRBG5BN6YurRNQ1a8fOmy4R03TyVxEAaVeSfz-kQh9uk8/s1600-h/IMG_3794.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368419575352874642" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkFHUKLR8sN6Xn4QSblkiJIJoRi51zpDjhaINivfw5hXbO2WuZBmVepPoccIkqQNJjnRhpHtCGgsn1aLpVwuRUf8j0LWhyphenhyphenFHFRBG5BN6YurRNQ1a8fOmy4R03TyVxEAaVeSfz-kQh9uk8/s320/IMG_3794.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">It has been a very good summer this year.</span><br /><div> </div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01333333828999038984noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358835659992198142.post-73306110216751101472009-06-30T11:27:00.000-07:002009-07-01T12:45:50.039-07:00Adding Surface Area to our Holidays....<span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">So for those that have been have been following my blog, you'll know that my husband and I have been working on improving our sea side cabin for years. This year we're adding porches, replacing two windows and painting walls. For the work that we did last Easter, see this post:</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><a href="http://plaskdesign.blogspot.com/2009/04/working-together-as-team.html"><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">http://plaskdesign.blogspot.com/2009/04/working-together-as-team.html</span></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">But now we're doing the fun stuff. The stuff that's easier to do, quicker to build. And looks impressive.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Everything started out well from the beginning. My husband purchased his materials when there was a sale at the lumber yard. I myself was stunned. I never even knew that lumber yards and building material stores had sales. The result was that we were able to get everything we needed instead of just half of it. And here it is:</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV3lTTdLLh_kQFnJMmzwzodbzQAadiwvRdFXMvW-BBIvtcaxzItDXFq3MEsHPwlNB7eGs795V3YtdV4LJsSxHuLxfPz8gfLQ8lM9Lz2w-CQBof6kxGKGgXaQVP3NiNdQ3a9wnf9FoSwKk/s1600-h/IMG_3474.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353199853816555394" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV3lTTdLLh_kQFnJMmzwzodbzQAadiwvRdFXMvW-BBIvtcaxzItDXFq3MEsHPwlNB7eGs795V3YtdV4LJsSxHuLxfPz8gfLQ8lM9Lz2w-CQBof6kxGKGgXaQVP3NiNdQ3a9wnf9FoSwKk/s320/IMG_3474.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">You'll see that one piece of clear fiberglass/plastic on the top of the pile. We need that because last Easter my son did this:<br /></span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijaCO6nB2fj7oxrEhTnHNY_2VAH-KSi7z5W9A0O2iwSyG6VPH0TmYHjbp19BcaNBntP-rWsOOG8TGc5ENQqUG1EVkOr0nZB1K3xvVR1_FUQ_Z7rRtszl9v-evO9nVCQwC2JFqHSpEM1aI/s1600-h/IMG_3500.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353198936952835634" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijaCO6nB2fj7oxrEhTnHNY_2VAH-KSi7z5W9A0O2iwSyG6VPH0TmYHjbp19BcaNBntP-rWsOOG8TGc5ENQqUG1EVkOr0nZB1K3xvVR1_FUQ_Z7rRtszl9v-evO9nVCQwC2JFqHSpEM1aI/s320/IMG_3500.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">While swinging way too high on this:</span><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjufSpnGQHC9Suv6eV4eVyNsJvwCh1H7C1_h8PkLLsZaUKerxbeEirTAtZwIR4Fy3HbNnWv5chhSWdGrNrUmDews95xPwhS3xmC1D17rOCfKDCQtoE0GAbzhSmUhRZAZ9IVIIyhuzUBcPc/s1600-h/IMG_3501.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353198124727876306" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjufSpnGQHC9Suv6eV4eVyNsJvwCh1H7C1_h8PkLLsZaUKerxbeEirTAtZwIR4Fy3HbNnWv5chhSWdGrNrUmDews95xPwhS3xmC1D17rOCfKDCQtoE0GAbzhSmUhRZAZ9IVIIyhuzUBcPc/s320/IMG_3501.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">We haven't actually gotten to that part yet.... but we're working on it.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And so in addition to all the materials we bought we still have our previously purchased materials that will also be used: </span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /> </div></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdO8_LIgxpxk0JiyzFZx9XdoPu0GQKrnftQFNE88jze63edCESG3JD0FPiNBqMTmkLiX9zmkri8FbN3On-fVaqjpgFHleCN7zCaOSuVt5C0nJOxHieHitye4DtjnP8M_1KSt3zR8G0AV4/s1600-h/IMG_3545.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353196097558569298" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdO8_LIgxpxk0JiyzFZx9XdoPu0GQKrnftQFNE88jze63edCESG3JD0FPiNBqMTmkLiX9zmkri8FbN3On-fVaqjpgFHleCN7zCaOSuVt5C0nJOxHieHitye4DtjnP8M_1KSt3zR8G0AV4/s320/IMG_3545.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Here's a reminder of where we last left you at Easter, having dug holes and made huge cement blocks, on which the vertical supporting beams will be placed.<br /></span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2gARaGFgMBAW9Y7a4BFWp5duDD3et0NSCEjW0qwrNRqvTo41FuEhqLsxb79jsrMPQM-adgsB8NAiAn_lfS7GhYtkpFpFWK5kZpF7reR6wzuS1dU66cyOcJ8g5snuFjU7abRnzuv0QCD4/s1600-h/IMG_2890.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353195312490986994" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2gARaGFgMBAW9Y7a4BFWp5duDD3et0NSCEjW0qwrNRqvTo41FuEhqLsxb79jsrMPQM-adgsB8NAiAn_lfS7GhYtkpFpFWK5kZpF7reR6wzuS1dU66cyOcJ8g5snuFjU7abRnzuv0QCD4/s320/IMG_2890.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And this is how far we came yesterday, just after lunch:<br /></span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMHe6x2C9bk4YcI2KzEtWDr2X37WGDGczEMVKZoNF6tTlPnRzw_SIPkXw34J0AeiV6vIzvd1E-OoSSRqiQMIZDmtwJX70mK3LXmekH-BkQYpmwmGbNTH_hQt6GCBg5nweJGmFa5B9hFSs/s1600-h/IMG_3546.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353193479022465762" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMHe6x2C9bk4YcI2KzEtWDr2X37WGDGczEMVKZoNF6tTlPnRzw_SIPkXw34J0AeiV6vIzvd1E-OoSSRqiQMIZDmtwJX70mK3LXmekH-BkQYpmwmGbNTH_hQt6GCBg5nweJGmFa5B9hFSs/s320/IMG_3546.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">I was trying to get my husband to wave to me. His response was to become very irritated and told me to come down and help him (as opposed to vaccuuming the crumbs that kids had left all over the living room floor because they decided to take their breakfast down from the table so that they could play with all their little Bankugan toys).</span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">I spent 45 minutes helping him put up the last vertical supporting post, as well as securing it to the cabin itself. I also got three big horsefly bites that I am still treating with aloe vera.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">But all this was good - it would have taken him at least twice as long to complete the job himself. And soon after that he was able to complete the days work:<br /></span><br /></div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuplv72Z2h6MKUWZlqB-i561vwcra9dO3uWKXfDH2TtrmjVzqePLYxgJiejZP5pyMMjZYTqAuTO5ORBVBO5nTruJ-hNCbyjiUpS0cGcf3CArPIa8DjMNpveCDTwWOBmDJ4ZSGpoTQaIqI/s1600-h/IMG_3549.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353190119084905922" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuplv72Z2h6MKUWZlqB-i561vwcra9dO3uWKXfDH2TtrmjVzqePLYxgJiejZP5pyMMjZYTqAuTO5ORBVBO5nTruJ-hNCbyjiUpS0cGcf3CArPIa8DjMNpveCDTwWOBmDJ4ZSGpoTQaIqI/s320/IMG_3549.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">I am so looking forward eating dinner out here in a couple of days.</span></div></div></div></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01333333828999038984noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358835659992198142.post-12239831205284169552009-06-29T10:47:00.001-07:002009-06-29T11:55:09.720-07:00Premier of Else-Gunn Cowls... and a surprise from my favorite girl.<span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">There's a woman who lives in my neighborhood, Else-Gunn. A totally cool woman. She's a very good friend to one of my neighbors and one of her children is in the same class as one of mine. Over the past two years I've had the oppurtunity to have many conversations with her. She's always smiling. She always has something funny to say. Even when she's really irritated at something, her humor bubbles over. So even if you really agree with her that the situation is down right awful, you're giggling.<br /><br /><br />She has to be one of the nicest people I know, and during the last couple of months I've had the oppurtunity to slowly get to know her better.<br /><br /><br />A week or so ago she decided to give me a big bag of gorgeous yarn that she had collected.... and had intended to knit cute things from. But sometimes the best of intentions don't work out. It was so nice of her to give it to me and I am very grateful for her thoughtfullness.<br /><br /><br />Right from the beginning, I had made it my first priority to make her a cowl as a thank you. She did let me know that her favorite color was pink.... and I am almost finished with her project. But first I had to think up a good idea, and practice a few times before setting to work.<br /><br /><br />I found a beautiful shell technique that looks stunning. I've made two cowls already, which I've taken pictures of:</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTe1jviDvY82fbvLC49QvgLrnlNWRofx8UqPArhQ539-f9sD0Z-MqEdQM2qDFvwJD-ZDh1iLd3q5fsvf1oZ8BHYoR8Igp1Sf5O802dKBWYayoAuNFeRMb9WYcATuyzZiPJRL7zqHf0ywY/s1600-h/IMG_3537.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352812266748498370" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 186px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTe1jviDvY82fbvLC49QvgLrnlNWRofx8UqPArhQ539-f9sD0Z-MqEdQM2qDFvwJD-ZDh1iLd3q5fsvf1oZ8BHYoR8Igp1Sf5O802dKBWYayoAuNFeRMb9WYcATuyzZiPJRL7zqHf0ywY/s320/IMG_3537.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">This first one is made from a dark pink cotton (this one is not her's). It is 95% finished as I need to add some buttons to it. I was thinking mother-of-pearl. It's a little hard to see, but I hope the shell pattern comes forth a little bit.</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-RYZSnywzCzIM2MJRogWJhOZYwSJesKqbKl_2o4JfZmqalsWL88sZf06RI71jTKv78NDXJRIz30bjyaEORRmyKhkvysTX-Tlxly3xZaCAh99t31KI-_rk-9zVG0LAyyM-mXD5tcLdxLQ/s1600-h/IMG_3538.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352811607021580098" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 234px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-RYZSnywzCzIM2MJRogWJhOZYwSJesKqbKl_2o4JfZmqalsWL88sZf06RI71jTKv78NDXJRIz30bjyaEORRmyKhkvysTX-Tlxly3xZaCAh99t31KI-_rk-9zVG0LAyyM-mXD5tcLdxLQ/s320/IMG_3538.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Here is a second one that I have done witha combination of two types of white cotton. The plan is to naturally dye this one (and others I will make from cotton) using natural materials I can find from the nature surrounding my cabin. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">It's my intention to make a lot of cowls of this style, in different colors. And all of them will be under the title <em>Else-Gunn Cowl</em>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Fame is always fun to pass out to others.<br /></span><br /></div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-HOeCkSFWPB6U73PGgTLxdjk2FgqlSiYD1VKHriZt5Cxg3PnVvIVC0HF_EOCHKX4O2laxVmEREh0Z_gNJLCb-wt5fiBmQnLp9OH_Ii6XyafKFTxc9m1haTtwGjkdl0bacQxvhGLm_eGE/s1600-h/IMG_3539.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352809565735766002" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 182px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-HOeCkSFWPB6U73PGgTLxdjk2FgqlSiYD1VKHriZt5Cxg3PnVvIVC0HF_EOCHKX4O2laxVmEREh0Z_gNJLCb-wt5fiBmQnLp9OH_Ii6XyafKFTxc9m1haTtwGjkdl0bacQxvhGLm_eGE/s320/IMG_3539.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And here is a man's cowl that I've almost finished knitting. This is 100% wool in a fantastic bright red color. Great for sports fanatics.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And then later today I got a bit of a surprise.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><span style="color:#000099;"></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">It was rather warm today, and after a few hours of swimming in the ocean, I decided to head back up to our cabin to start getting dinner ready. My daughter came with me and once inside she asked me if she could <em>work. </em>This is quite different from just <em>painting</em> or <em>coloring</em>, which she also does.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><span style="color:#000099;"></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">This was just perfect for me and left me free to make dinner.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><span style="color:#000099;"></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">About 20 minutes later she comes to me with this:<br /></span><br /></div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDo4e3V9jBdIh1DnUuOeXSFdwfgL9-N7kbyU4_Yd4jQt65OLlK7ebhyFJboKdF3Ar1y8hfawcamilxjb8VykFOR0pQG3GGuYx9PeTUcVHE3M01WM7pK2dr1xzkeedXmngY71rri_R4zsU/s1600-h/IMG_3540.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352808857900631266" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 248px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDo4e3V9jBdIh1DnUuOeXSFdwfgL9-N7kbyU4_Yd4jQt65OLlK7ebhyFJboKdF3Ar1y8hfawcamilxjb8VykFOR0pQG3GGuYx9PeTUcVHE3M01WM7pK2dr1xzkeedXmngY71rri_R4zsU/s320/IMG_3540.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">The light had already started setting.... but what she's made for me is a new diary/journal that I can use (having seen that I was coming to the end of one I am working on presently).</span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><span style="color:#000099;"></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">I was really stunned. I mean, I have always thought I have the greatest kids. I have always had the opinion that they are more thoughtful, considerate, and have more empathy that the average kid. <em>But this rarely invovles me. </em>It usually involves everyone else <u>BUT</u> me.<br /></span><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL01uCUihjloETgk3A-zf_UisJNPXbq7hkKQq9vkfU49yB_9uzRhBtxEDiInSk4DoQvwRRw39wM_C2wR4WTrqdgNLWugqmfzpd59AntS6234NzAN_lWlOSdjnhW4kp9QFnxJiOuGbsReM/s1600-h/IMG_3541.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352808391897556546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 242px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL01uCUihjloETgk3A-zf_UisJNPXbq7hkKQq9vkfU49yB_9uzRhBtxEDiInSk4DoQvwRRw39wM_C2wR4WTrqdgNLWugqmfzpd59AntS6234NzAN_lWlOSdjnhW4kp9QFnxJiOuGbsReM/s320/IMG_3541.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">But maybe sometimes it can be my turn too.<br /></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01333333828999038984noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358835659992198142.post-86491981922401746122009-06-27T11:37:00.000-07:002009-06-28T13:21:19.903-07:00One Cozy Morning.....<span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">The women in my family wake up early. It's always been this way, as far as I can remember. Even when attending parties and being up to the early hours of the night, I still don't sleep to later than 8.30 am. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">This has continued into my holiday this year. Less than a week into my holiday and I have not managed to sleep later than 6.30 yet. But I'm working on it.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">In the meantime, I had a very nice surprise yesterday morning. I was up and water was boiling to make coffee. And I thought I would take a picture or two of the water outside of where we are. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"></span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRdJTDQKsh3fJJqEfwRY-dJy0u8JxboGH99Q2YyY2zSM6H7gaQkao-VCRPLupKTipT_DNRa8ZFRES8_1NlPEdbxT0HBtew0QOCTj5tt99oGlPZTQmB8rBPm718m4BGMroj0WlvH_HkrHw/s1600-h/IMG_3502.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352466609780868626" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRdJTDQKsh3fJJqEfwRY-dJy0u8JxboGH99Q2YyY2zSM6H7gaQkao-VCRPLupKTipT_DNRa8ZFRES8_1NlPEdbxT0HBtew0QOCTj5tt99oGlPZTQmB8rBPm718m4BGMroj0WlvH_HkrHw/s320/IMG_3502.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">The water was perfectly peaceful, only interrupted by small circles made by feeding fish. It was so quiet...... with the exception of a little bit of insect activity. It didn't even appear that the birds were awake yet.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And then I heard a little giggle. I turned around and saw a flash of pink disappear around the corner and back into the kitchen.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">I wish I could have reacted fast enough to get a picture of that. But as said, it was early and there was no caffine in my bloodstream yet.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">So I too snuck back in the kitchen and found my favorite girl waiting for me with a big smile on her face. I made the two of us breakfast.</span><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga8YJDLi9SgMcAauXcK-MM1RXQu7iiZB9F8_6CGJU3KH6_ei7BislQWZLZ0uUDaOWPHiX7t3_i9AKEdmdLF3_iRWNYdgd-4K7nlnY-eKDpIKndH3Oqfp9fqqeDDD2TnJyVtgHc0tRUkBQ/s1600-h/IMG_3503.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352466027860903666" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 278px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga8YJDLi9SgMcAauXcK-MM1RXQu7iiZB9F8_6CGJU3KH6_ei7BislQWZLZ0uUDaOWPHiX7t3_i9AKEdmdLF3_iRWNYdgd-4K7nlnY-eKDpIKndH3Oqfp9fqqeDDD2TnJyVtgHc0tRUkBQ/s320/IMG_3503.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">She was hungry! But while eating we had, for the first time since maybe Easter, a really good conversation - just her and I.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">We spoke about Canada, about fishing, and swimming and sinking to the bottom of the ocean. She mentioned a dream she had a week or so ago, and I told her of a nightmare I had when I was little, that seems silly now. Even she thought so.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">We spoke about the cartoons that we might be watching if we were home, and how neither of us really missed them.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And then she says: Take a picture of us together, Mom.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Well, my hair was not washed, and neither was my face. But this was here and I, right? So here is the picture, which she at least really liked:</span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /><br /></span></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbtmqux7nZyGoN07SyiXQAGOXdGO13ab0Cme7DVJc2gOyz4_tZUb79_iRyvC0A3dPieb5FnDDgc5xnRL8wzCVr6bQasK0lv5wWPDkp6iTmMeYu0MDkoNJpmtHQDfPBnuqA-Duu8rFKQL8/s1600-h/IMG_3504.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352465856058882914" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbtmqux7nZyGoN07SyiXQAGOXdGO13ab0Cme7DVJc2gOyz4_tZUb79_iRyvC0A3dPieb5FnDDgc5xnRL8wzCVr6bQasK0lv5wWPDkp6iTmMeYu0MDkoNJpmtHQDfPBnuqA-Duu8rFKQL8/s320/IMG_3504.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And then it's time for posing.....<br /><br /></span></div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP1sU5ZYDQq42I2MPYat1oB2i770WOf6YWxCm__Hxr9KzJV_eXeryqLwyzReHpR_ZYSc7TCM6dHGGfQjTykDP_jnGq8LIdNQ8a_Os0YkzroERBJ7_Y3y7ijjndNkYEaP2vWrLQx1ADoh4/s1600-h/IMG_3505.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352465521639798786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 314px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP1sU5ZYDQq42I2MPYat1oB2i770WOf6YWxCm__Hxr9KzJV_eXeryqLwyzReHpR_ZYSc7TCM6dHGGfQjTykDP_jnGq8LIdNQ8a_Os0YkzroERBJ7_Y3y7ijjndNkYEaP2vWrLQx1ADoh4/s320/IMG_3505.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And Voguing.....</span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">(with chocolate not yet washed off....)</span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /><br /></span></div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGB9Z4LCUsZ26bI9K3CT4CR5FogTIAX-z9XxNhDW-6g__-dQE8VAxhlvHvUL6fc9fxWwceKPn8SopLVdPGG9R307L1k7Yk5dfj_qzZ9ViHhl_5iFBQ8kDObY-VeGcsZYPpZbno6CM-iqw/s1600-h/IMG_3506.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352465370609299090" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGB9Z4LCUsZ26bI9K3CT4CR5FogTIAX-z9XxNhDW-6g__-dQE8VAxhlvHvUL6fc9fxWwceKPn8SopLVdPGG9R307L1k7Yk5dfj_qzZ9ViHhl_5iFBQ8kDObY-VeGcsZYPpZbno6CM-iqw/s320/IMG_3506.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And time to hang on the swing......<br /></span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrcvBVNZhTGYnlbOzMx1ZVB9HnohE6PJaqoUvkk0cbH0ffQ_bU2Xn22VRQ2Q-abIHrYL58AfGk9ysrklbMQgKd8dPYi7GtZZTwyMrMsUZyylBFJXcke3IVvMRPrkHy9TZz3cRyad0rNRg/s1600-h/IMG_3507.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352465174383321842" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrcvBVNZhTGYnlbOzMx1ZVB9HnohE6PJaqoUvkk0cbH0ffQ_bU2Xn22VRQ2Q-abIHrYL58AfGk9ysrklbMQgKd8dPYi7GtZZTwyMrMsUZyylBFJXcke3IVvMRPrkHy9TZz3cRyad0rNRg/s320/IMG_3507.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And prove that she can climb up all by herself.<br /></span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1W791U2bEELXsWBye20aLcvLRH0_4Edd1EWxUvvVdcrXXI-djmeIHOt1mgB9-h4_YwQ0FGyeGLSph-Ll8z7EM2mq6zhX7Ug6lVBYZFib_asJtLBjypULldp4mG-c8X1SpJQzgAREafGk/s1600-h/IMG_3509.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352079973237348946" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1W791U2bEELXsWBye20aLcvLRH0_4Edd1EWxUvvVdcrXXI-djmeIHOt1mgB9-h4_YwQ0FGyeGLSph-Ll8z7EM2mq6zhX7Ug6lVBYZFib_asJtLBjypULldp4mG-c8X1SpJQzgAREafGk/s320/IMG_3509.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Back.......<br /></span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia4ypJ52saVwLSBgSwLrYVWlC-fZY-344K-Ytj0zuH2EHlxnI9dXghKEdUV2kiAvwhxkGHPDLWC26LZlBogaEF-dj13t5QYcZ2zEjdRE1Cm8LuFyjrPlkSXiCBcdm1_AOG_mZTUkgsbSg/s1600-h/IMG_3511.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352079555133260706" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia4ypJ52saVwLSBgSwLrYVWlC-fZY-344K-Ytj0zuH2EHlxnI9dXghKEdUV2kiAvwhxkGHPDLWC26LZlBogaEF-dj13t5QYcZ2zEjdRE1Cm8LuFyjrPlkSXiCBcdm1_AOG_mZTUkgsbSg/s320/IMG_3511.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And forth.......</span></div><div><br /><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKrEQ4YmXOWqQR2NZJ7OY0IvInuzJGdt8OB2yyZy3C3zSjdt5_mXX39NOF1EnZckecXus-nv9oFe5q92JmC0l0kYk2mi3PNIoMz6w6VCR9LAb9_gkZ7sLDZs8R6IgcPCS8qk4R7U4hlQE/s1600-h/IMG_3512.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352078898892795586" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKrEQ4YmXOWqQR2NZJ7OY0IvInuzJGdt8OB2yyZy3C3zSjdt5_mXX39NOF1EnZckecXus-nv9oFe5q92JmC0l0kYk2mi3PNIoMz6w6VCR9LAb9_gkZ7sLDZs8R6IgcPCS8qk4R7U4hlQE/s320/IMG_3512.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And then suddenly she's forgotten all about her mother and life opens up with all its possibilities....</span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01333333828999038984noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358835659992198142.post-44959947860260431262009-06-20T11:05:00.000-07:002009-06-20T12:20:26.678-07:00Slaying Vampires in my Spare Time<span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">I've always liked life on the rough side. A little bit of toughness, a little bit of suffering never hurt anyone if you ask me. [Emphasis on 'little'... before I start estranging my friends]</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br />I like music from all genres but Punk, Industrial and Alternative are always among my favorites. I like all types of food. However those dishes that have a great amount of spice or some sort of 'fear factor' are those that intrest me most. And I obviously was not looking for the white picket fence and a dog named spot when I made certain life choices about where I was going to live and who I was going to live with.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br />Now I find this part of my personality is finally starting to creep into my craft. I was thrilled to purchase this set of knitting needles a few weeks ago:</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><span style="font-size:78%;">(</span><span style="font-size:85%;">For those of you who have sensitve ears that might bleed a little with alternative language usage, please skip over the text that lies between the next two pictures)</span></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2sRuHpquutUyMc0MAnMAcPEwfYZiFbJmFmm8XDqzS21WPJOS1BTBtunoUlOOuLACZyyiiUHtE-8IYh4RumT1MffBqk1Fng96m1QrkryE7jhM0yXDuL-_50BuZVOy5yWd_ppYs5Oj61mQ/s1600-h/IMG_3285.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349477509757656802" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 185px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2sRuHpquutUyMc0MAnMAcPEwfYZiFbJmFmm8XDqzS21WPJOS1BTBtunoUlOOuLACZyyiiUHtE-8IYh4RumT1MffBqk1Fng96m1QrkryE7jhM0yXDuL-_50BuZVOy5yWd_ppYs5Oj61mQ/s320/IMG_3285.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Are these just not kick ass, or what? </span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">It's so totally awesome to work with this pair of tools. It's such a wave of self confidence that surges through me when I have them in my hands. Not unlike when I drive this:</span><br /><br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguqeaopVrm8rJjzgXtr3Fx6Qlp25Mt41tU3L82N5rTDAP8LkUwCze3ik2_6lYsGWk3p76OXsoOioVXsn8mIfyIPeh9FznE9gYBU4FJGMXrJ0OdyhnodCGZiTlMfJIXb-5B5rJKsUAqaBU/s1600-h/IMG_1595.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349477504422664850" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 223px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguqeaopVrm8rJjzgXtr3Fx6Qlp25Mt41tU3L82N5rTDAP8LkUwCze3ik2_6lYsGWk3p76OXsoOioVXsn8mIfyIPeh9FznE9gYBU4FJGMXrJ0OdyhnodCGZiTlMfJIXb-5B5rJKsUAqaBU/s320/IMG_1595.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Usually with that Punk or Industrial music playing at a good volume.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">But I digress.......</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color:#000099;">So it's late, late in the evening when I finally have time to sit down and work on my projects. It's the time in the evenings that the mind starts wandering, and I start to think how lucky we have it. Any gnomes with red eyes, critters from the deep underworld or monsters from mythic eras peering into our windows shudder with fright when they see me and my formidable weapons: they slide back and forth upon each other with lightening speed. </span></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color:#000099;"><br /></span></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color:#000099;">Even sparks fly into the air now and then.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color:#000099;"><br /></span></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color:#000099;">My husband has a new found respect for me. That I can say in all honesty.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color:#000099;"><br /></span></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And to top it off, I've actually started to create some really nice finished pieces.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">A lovely pink..... </span><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhva19tQVfh8We3hy05ics2EehdbPlFXAT2HR4l-6twIlXOoX3X-hNXsc4i3QlSRHMSDnhCt4CgZljdTeJUU5KrGTnbJlv9mPjn2XLeyIZbCc94_9CIyuV8rkOYcVfBD_lVKkgp4H5qq5g/s1600-h/IMG_3355.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349472951837413090" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 256px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhva19tQVfh8We3hy05ics2EehdbPlFXAT2HR4l-6twIlXOoX3X-hNXsc4i3QlSRHMSDnhCt4CgZljdTeJUU5KrGTnbJlv9mPjn2XLeyIZbCc94_9CIyuV8rkOYcVfBD_lVKkgp4H5qq5g/s320/IMG_3355.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And a lovely snow white......</span><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhup5rIDjfrMAlAcrEXplt-A9rtL8cAcOC9R-yj9pBq5MxYPfpsm0sVVLFVh8Fp8NODuFUo773oMPXhT9kKE5-onhV4U8tjCKmrEzSmSQpJ9s4xv6bUpbZG8xiqNopS5IUqWXDzVy_MBT8/s1600-h/IMG_3329.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349472945983226882" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 288px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhup5rIDjfrMAlAcrEXplt-A9rtL8cAcOC9R-yj9pBq5MxYPfpsm0sVVLFVh8Fp8NODuFUo773oMPXhT9kKE5-onhV4U8tjCKmrEzSmSQpJ9s4xv6bUpbZG8xiqNopS5IUqWXDzVy_MBT8/s320/IMG_3329.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">I wonder how the bats will react when I continue my work around the campfire this summer.</span><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01333333828999038984noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358835659992198142.post-54998398686822469382009-06-15T12:10:00.000-07:002009-06-15T12:13:59.063-07:00Getting Ready For Summer<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFt6CCTWOM9SrV7Vsd8F5XnTdN83dgwGWbojYKUVMqD3fcU0LI7epo318VJ-VJRvDPXivyET-vWGPwmxGeZBeL9JqKihWVRyH6vVPkzh0upjvIgaTYbIjAbq3By2kwwPzI3aomhYuVc5U/s1600-h/IMG_3393.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347634029713358242" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 279px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFt6CCTWOM9SrV7Vsd8F5XnTdN83dgwGWbojYKUVMqD3fcU0LI7epo318VJ-VJRvDPXivyET-vWGPwmxGeZBeL9JqKihWVRyH6vVPkzh0upjvIgaTYbIjAbq3By2kwwPzI3aomhYuVc5U/s320/IMG_3393.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">We got a big parcel in the mail today - some wet suits for our children so they can enjoy swimming in the Norwegian seas for a bit longer.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">They were ready to go at once, and were very upset that they were not allowed to try them out in the bathtub. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">Clever kids.</span><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJit49agNvJqzhQUxWsOBOqCJp1LMYchAEMaUZP-y1dMtqJceSL2Mti0Jgjc4v2UVfo3JYGKdeIcBVLxapI9r820vRBhWRrb6m0n7xSFrcupuYevIoo6uQ78oITXtfjbI6r79IF78Owuk/s1600-h/IMG_3395.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347634024987567218" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 317px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJit49agNvJqzhQUxWsOBOqCJp1LMYchAEMaUZP-y1dMtqJceSL2Mti0Jgjc4v2UVfo3JYGKdeIcBVLxapI9r820vRBhWRrb6m0n7xSFrcupuYevIoo6uQ78oITXtfjbI6r79IF78Owuk/s320/IMG_3395.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div></div></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01333333828999038984noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358835659992198142.post-53155544001190842712009-05-19T05:43:00.000-07:002009-05-19T11:44:34.148-07:00May 17th, 2009 on the West Coast of Norway<span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">May 17th: the national holiday of Norway: the day Norwegians and those living in Norway to celebrate the signing of the constitution of the country, which came into existence in 1814. While other countries celebrate their national days in shorts, with picnics at the park, frisbee and with bar-b-ques (ahem - thinking of my own here...), Norwegians dress up in their formal bunads (which cost thousands of USD each) or other formal wear. They then march in 'open' parades in which everyone is free to join in if they want. After this, they gather in school yards (if they are not in the big cities playing on the tivolis that have come to visit) and then play games, and eat ice cream and hot dogs until it comes out their ears.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Upon first moving to Norway this type of celebration was really hard to swallow. First, 11 years ago I was not in the economic place to even dream of using my absolute best formal wear (which could not be replaced at that point) for anything else other than a wedding or christening. Secondly, I couldn't understand how a nation could love their country so much that they could show their love so openly for it: open parades where <strong><em>everyone</em></strong> was shouting and singing cheers, greeting everyone with a 'gratulerer med dagen' and a smile, even if you'd only met that person once before, eating the foods their forefathers ate and eating it with pride, even though many don't know how to make this food anymore. All the things that might be politically 'wrong' with the country (which could be anything depending upon which political party you support) are forgotten for the day.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Where I came from, such conduct was closely associated with right wing political groups that one should keep their distance from. Scary images from history books appeared without warning in my mind.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Over a decade has passed now. Not only am I in a far different place economically (though I sometimes continue to be as cheap as I was earlier.... but that's a different story). And I've been here long enough to see the difference between loving one's country and starting up a totalitarian regime. While I probably won't every get my Norwegian citizenship, I think it's so cool to live in this country. I'm thankful that my life has taken me here. And I am so proud of my kids being Norwegian. Now<strong> that</strong> rocks. And seeing my kids start to appreciate Norway, and celebrate May 17th in the way it's supposed to be celebrated, moves something deep within me.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">This May 17th I was on my own. My husband had to unfortunately work this day. But I was undaunted by the task ahead of me. I woke the kids up (they were the only ones in the neighborhood who <strong><em>were not</em></strong> woken by the canons of Bergen being shot out to sea), fed them a semi-nutritious breakfast, got them dressed, and did their hair. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Here are two pictures of them, before they started to become a bit undone:<br /><br /><br /></span><br /><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL1Bujrfqe1mP2txmnYEQVnkiboN2az7oy62VW0d06dPOvyzJLQp0LGWjpPoAK5JwwJg4-nWVPU6pBB5C3P7OB_zMeoEyDozBQD85HvPlLR_Qk6VEf-iE8SX1iypYxvozBjFQ9rEVjyWU/s1600-h/IMG_3188.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337545581686289474" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 186px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL1Bujrfqe1mP2txmnYEQVnkiboN2az7oy62VW0d06dPOvyzJLQp0LGWjpPoAK5JwwJg4-nWVPU6pBB5C3P7OB_zMeoEyDozBQD85HvPlLR_Qk6VEf-iE8SX1iypYxvozBjFQ9rEVjyWU/s320/IMG_3188.JPG" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">My daughter in her festdrakt (which is not an official bunad but an acceptable bunad-wanna-be.... for those of us who have other things to spend our money on). </span><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAt5pxAz5D_IEGsyxkCc15O4fHcuXjxh7i0acOye-uBISS8hXvT-0ExwTGaTB3Z1GvsONtuM6kc8bTYhR1ekS5vktvLDXbM3Urotck6cf1U2mfReCiJsJJ59B353FqmLnnn1D5EW1nadE/s1600-h/IMG_3189.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337545573078893250" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAt5pxAz5D_IEGsyxkCc15O4fHcuXjxh7i0acOye-uBISS8hXvT-0ExwTGaTB3Z1GvsONtuM6kc8bTYhR1ekS5vktvLDXbM3Urotck6cf1U2mfReCiJsJJ59B353FqmLnnn1D5EW1nadE/s320/IMG_3189.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">My son and his friend in their outfits. My son (on the right) is wearing an Askøy bunad, loaned to us by his cousins who have since grown out of it. Unfortunately this is the last year he will be fitting into it. You can see at this point that my son is already starting to become 'undone', his hair sticking up in different directions, despite good quantities of hair spray used.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">After meeting at the Health Center (opposite and up the street from the school), the students joined up to form a choir. Many songs were sung, poetry about Norway read, and a few speeches given. (I have no pictures of this as I was busy holding my little girl up high so she could see over the heads of those standing in front of us). </span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Just as the smallest started getting antsy, everyone was instructed to get into class/day care groups to form the parade. My little girl had no interest in walking in the parade (we'll force more patriotism into her next year) so we walked down the street where we could get a good view of everyone going by.<br /></span><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUEklFrokTtBPfxJ84rq4V1dhC9IJHtksEbA26IGD8BePrtBYO2bL-hSkV7BZZJZez_FBX2xOzpVC73OMr51jbYOQQUbxrs9HzTGBLddocLUcjX27M4KwVYdwcEeIzT0Oi6FEZo2zctZs/s1600-h/IMG_3198.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337545336353984898" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUEklFrokTtBPfxJ84rq4V1dhC9IJHtksEbA26IGD8BePrtBYO2bL-hSkV7BZZJZez_FBX2xOzpVC73OMr51jbYOQQUbxrs9HzTGBLddocLUcjX27M4KwVYdwcEeIzT0Oi6FEZo2zctZs/s320/IMG_3198.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Here they come!<br /></span><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3FqKuKkBrQyE7QNBfgYk-1Vmvzkm9fkQViIEHp3E-Bdg6Ye0XHVMGE4Bv3M4mAizG_Pr4Ln1KQVeo82_tnCfoJuAOYBXJZrkw9EcJbaC0NnsQs7Ck6jNT1Vg7mtVDx961sQWOOXmCXoI/s1600-h/IMG_3200.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337545333159197762" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3FqKuKkBrQyE7QNBfgYk-1Vmvzkm9fkQViIEHp3E-Bdg6Ye0XHVMGE4Bv3M4mAizG_Pr4Ln1KQVeo82_tnCfoJuAOYBXJZrkw9EcJbaC0NnsQs7Ck6jNT1Vg7mtVDx961sQWOOXmCXoI/s320/IMG_3200.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">The lead procession.<br /></span><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEtzMpfq5it1QXxc7p0ruVwGeBXS1zX5jkV1k3hGJM6nKuFF7KUZA7FZML6jz5fKvytyr3SV3kjGk6u-XnW8h75h5XDEFNC5pLXEUe_djuqZndzLS2JJXF9k_6W4xs_ErnCgGxHs39JzY/s1600-h/IMG_3202.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337545329149366786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEtzMpfq5it1QXxc7p0ruVwGeBXS1zX5jkV1k3hGJM6nKuFF7KUZA7FZML6jz5fKvytyr3SV3kjGk6u-XnW8h75h5XDEFNC5pLXEUe_djuqZndzLS2JJXF9k_6W4xs_ErnCgGxHs39JzY/s320/IMG_3202.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">The grade 7 class of the school (which is the last year before they begin what is equivilent middle school or junior high).</span><br /><br /><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzopmZOwf8FQSUT60zpVCR92BQ9uICu0YsoEVJrkRqw-vIM4ggTjPFDsgGbUW6WosSeQjGN39WjOTm41C3WyaGEKQ395ZmiH16KC_pL_XKCpHTHSHq6VOAwBJ7YIBiQASUC7y-2-YjoFc/s1600-h/IMG_3204.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337545321132706962" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzopmZOwf8FQSUT60zpVCR92BQ9uICu0YsoEVJrkRqw-vIM4ggTjPFDsgGbUW6WosSeQjGN39WjOTm41C3WyaGEKQ395ZmiH16KC_pL_XKCpHTHSHq6VOAwBJ7YIBiQASUC7y-2-YjoFc/s320/IMG_3204.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">A woman in her gorgeous bunad. I unfortunately am not educated well enough and cannot recognize most bunads. This is one from the west coast, in any case...... lots of embroidery and little gold or silver.<br /></span><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXOtxDr0ieFvRmF1fMzudSlV0QSAXOITkPLpP2r2_7u8LQyyC5gz5jYJmXXOqNeSTjdP4nrtm3HwFc1myG6rrZ9DNTAFt2pd08CIXihKCWRHIntl7UDO90XV3tdLRmqKe0jflS6FzHOcI/s1600-h/IMG_3207.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337545055227292898" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXOtxDr0ieFvRmF1fMzudSlV0QSAXOITkPLpP2r2_7u8LQyyC5gz5jYJmXXOqNeSTjdP4nrtm3HwFc1myG6rrZ9DNTAFt2pd08CIXihKCWRHIntl7UDO90XV3tdLRmqKe0jflS6FzHOcI/s320/IMG_3207.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">A proud Norwegian father in his bunad, pushing his two small children.<br /></span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGC3LZho0Nuv2AnJS6xJj5slqSwK7KTQn3vEBnIo4aJomT-IXqq8fU1W-L6P-HJ34vMsznsAjiUetAv8AANAgpA-BkBBt1WQweDdWXhYlRvzMy6DeFYVq-_4nUgy_Sc8yQStctSQ64sTQ/s1600-h/IMG_3208.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337545049972637266" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGC3LZho0Nuv2AnJS6xJj5slqSwK7KTQn3vEBnIo4aJomT-IXqq8fU1W-L6P-HJ34vMsznsAjiUetAv8AANAgpA-BkBBt1WQweDdWXhYlRvzMy6DeFYVq-_4nUgy_Sc8yQStctSQ64sTQ/s320/IMG_3208.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">A gentleman stopping to greet an on looker. (See what I mean about open and inclusive parades?)</span></div><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_vnuYp4IKsaHNHRGk9wB2ppYOvHy_vaERXdROE9r8eRHXR48C0yuay1hRASofXwM4BypzkuzEmPjObGzH88owqHt1TUd7unHG0XzNVuIyuwK6v6UehsL320lnBle1vWVIu9RKSA5kKUg/s1600-h/IMG_3210.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337545044141589090" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_vnuYp4IKsaHNHRGk9wB2ppYOvHy_vaERXdROE9r8eRHXR48C0yuay1hRASofXwM4BypzkuzEmPjObGzH88owqHt1TUd7unHG0XzNVuIyuwK6v6UehsL320lnBle1vWVIu9RKSA5kKUg/s320/IMG_3210.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">A little girl in a festdrakt.</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6YEGU8_ydmZhXemugyfkKbmyIW2tCfid6pu3rUKSgk32iZe8goUiWP2ZZXrSeW0yGWEeHhGLpYotTcTy3dY7ZZEMzSlun5ooDB8WT0TyBg_Zu2EM4rxu0821K6M9q3_xoOm651-7pCpU/s1600-h/IMG_3211.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337545046642948562" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6YEGU8_ydmZhXemugyfkKbmyIW2tCfid6pu3rUKSgk32iZe8goUiWP2ZZXrSeW0yGWEeHhGLpYotTcTy3dY7ZZEMzSlun5ooDB8WT0TyBg_Zu2EM4rxu0821K6M9q3_xoOm651-7pCpU/s320/IMG_3211.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Family friends marching by. Notice the little blue festdrakt on the boy.</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWNc7OEzHrpWjJDSK6z15wkteZFKAer6ZHDeFZKQ-NEJSi6B1SZL7Cw6myIBsXMKUyq_Cjrq-ACd2bHWjoobFlDHsUeQyH3yJ04WlSdH8js4rLz2uZlod0D4cORSdzhEoT7CQPaHHoozE/s1600-h/IMG_3212.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337545039473961218" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWNc7OEzHrpWjJDSK6z15wkteZFKAer6ZHDeFZKQ-NEJSi6B1SZL7Cw6myIBsXMKUyq_Cjrq-ACd2bHWjoobFlDHsUeQyH3yJ04WlSdH8js4rLz2uZlod0D4cORSdzhEoT7CQPaHHoozE/s320/IMG_3212.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">More friends stopping to say hi. These bunads shown here are the female version of Askøy bunads.</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWiafcRoJAyN9QSnAVRsWAkaE6p9pQzRLu84SYjzRdM25u8CJM5EkhwIVB2Wklu2h0vJ6q_aNCjsSAY0w-bw66FK86Z0Zno63QIo0W3nG3gDRWORJRpRxvDGJ8HBzFbXBqz-tEY-rZnfI/s1600-h/IMG_3215.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337544786927104882" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWiafcRoJAyN9QSnAVRsWAkaE6p9pQzRLu84SYjzRdM25u8CJM5EkhwIVB2Wklu2h0vJ6q_aNCjsSAY0w-bw66FK86Z0Zno63QIo0W3nG3gDRWORJRpRxvDGJ8HBzFbXBqz-tEY-rZnfI/s320/IMG_3215.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">The music corps that passes by in their finery.</span><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJBOp0IKokKb3Xl3cGHDrJCRqPROUEFh-jsGhXqB3F1IgpchPo0QcGEkR057uFy8siM1H5lnyG1uEWj27eI-7QsjTyK_fw4692wMzv9k_oVjrGd2Ht58yolnkNb0oto7y8CZcG3n43wIQ/s1600-h/IMG_3216.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337544785676695522" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJBOp0IKokKb3Xl3cGHDrJCRqPROUEFh-jsGhXqB3F1IgpchPo0QcGEkR057uFy8siM1H5lnyG1uEWj27eI-7QsjTyK_fw4692wMzv9k_oVjrGd2Ht58yolnkNb0oto7y8CZcG3n43wIQ/s320/IMG_3216.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">More people in their Sunday best.</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM13OTGgK_zkbtRQIbPQwiSh2K13HQOZLInnz5SUz8YSsTmNu0JwM_HGqRNYljJx8aHLlf6LABdzthq6bNIdjlqo5ng5Njm7OxtTZXabhcOb52Tt5-AOJ7HrbPNa6qir3YtzFyn56JKto/s1600-h/IMG_3217.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337544783436713906" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM13OTGgK_zkbtRQIbPQwiSh2K13HQOZLInnz5SUz8YSsTmNu0JwM_HGqRNYljJx8aHLlf6LABdzthq6bNIdjlqo5ng5Njm7OxtTZXabhcOb52Tt5-AOJ7HrbPNa6qir3YtzFyn56JKto/s320/IMG_3217.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">My son and his friend who walk on by, completely absorbed in their own cheers and ignoring my shouts to turn around so I can take a good pictures of them.<br /></span><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggqWhoEy9umqiiwUZjO3Pz1qwzA6TMA11gYi2yP7Sdqi2ZsSDP9eQJv5nqLEjeFjYdqcvGOTmwO-F6xdpyFGKw0-FTSg4Nox30fktOfm6hj6cn7Q-T8fRQ1D0AQ5ZTGEBbLLb8gbZ9tQU/s1600-h/IMG_3218.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337544775925313874" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggqWhoEy9umqiiwUZjO3Pz1qwzA6TMA11gYi2yP7Sdqi2ZsSDP9eQJv5nqLEjeFjYdqcvGOTmwO-F6xdpyFGKw0-FTSg4Nox30fktOfm6hj6cn7Q-T8fRQ1D0AQ5ZTGEBbLLb8gbZ9tQU/s320/IMG_3218.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">More children in their wonderful costumes.</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioAryqg7O_jOur0W8FqHgPg08DWqEWdKU9oClYm6mB9NknYDvhz7oNCCGqaBB7JZPGReZkVok0_MdgNiYeoQRxjmd5GbV7eaOvtyApYFWfcelpKcPQLCAfvHciB3UpjZ36y4kK0N2Lrvc/s1600-h/IMG_3219.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337544765825102162" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioAryqg7O_jOur0W8FqHgPg08DWqEWdKU9oClYm6mB9NknYDvhz7oNCCGqaBB7JZPGReZkVok0_MdgNiYeoQRxjmd5GbV7eaOvtyApYFWfcelpKcPQLCAfvHciB3UpjZ36y4kK0N2Lrvc/s320/IMG_3219.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And more.....</span><br /></span><br /><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjppCrATTLBa3nABM6YwF4UqyuDPMkHPt1BzbbAxQEmZEFTLDLbUQb7iTFFfJYvOdfsjtpMtsHvMzXzc_r7MvqoHqNTrRUUMn1QIzKzYqLCRIwsFhXQbKoHsz8Ly5MkWBQ0Cds3G5to2c/s1600-h/IMG_3220.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337544503956679154" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjppCrATTLBa3nABM6YwF4UqyuDPMkHPt1BzbbAxQEmZEFTLDLbUQb7iTFFfJYvOdfsjtpMtsHvMzXzc_r7MvqoHqNTrRUUMn1QIzKzYqLCRIwsFhXQbKoHsz8Ly5MkWBQ0Cds3G5to2c/s320/IMG_3220.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">A really cool vest. I do not know if this is a bunad vest, or a festdrakt vest. I suspect it's a festdrakt vest, but am waiting for someone to tell me for sure.</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1NIU5jp3WZf4uoM3scduDcIv0w8eM5UBGfM_tzpHZGpK_kBhSG4-2-44zHlRx6qlryAxU3j7-eyqrfGStl6WIRnFajvnr2dKlMsOrBiX7C3NaK1KtHv7DXygzXB_DgBwJa4tEx025Vuo/s1600-h/IMG_3221.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337544494009741394" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1NIU5jp3WZf4uoM3scduDcIv0w8eM5UBGfM_tzpHZGpK_kBhSG4-2-44zHlRx6qlryAxU3j7-eyqrfGStl6WIRnFajvnr2dKlMsOrBiX7C3NaK1KtHv7DXygzXB_DgBwJa4tEx025Vuo/s320/IMG_3221.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">The belt on this bunad is made entirely from pearl beads. Amazing work, and almost impossible to find or re-create these days.<br /></span><br /><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFFNvm-ljd4ZY1ny-7uQbEJCTvUsPsLWQ4u_rjDHeKBh_lZohMeqYRRFIU0zA1wgB3oZBzB-gMvi0czwmp3ASbps8f-iPPLOSqX52tzG9MTQ4AzBCX_A12liN8fqGm5d3BKnos69cKV1k/s1600-h/IMG_3223.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337544487558112962" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 270px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFFNvm-ljd4ZY1ny-7uQbEJCTvUsPsLWQ4u_rjDHeKBh_lZohMeqYRRFIU0zA1wgB3oZBzB-gMvi0czwmp3ASbps8f-iPPLOSqX52tzG9MTQ4AzBCX_A12liN8fqGm5d3BKnos69cKV1k/s320/IMG_3223.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">I do believe these green bunads come from the more nothern part of Norway. Again, I'm waiting for confirmation (or otherwise) on this.<br /></span><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimLt9KGfXMtWM18RjzXEfr-Y83ULOqcmAfoLS6ZkEtT14v8W6fFgDa9spg-u0t1UQ8v8xMUwwUX-AE_nadrsgyPD-oRAsIR_NLTwkYA1_nix2I4whY00L4enk-qAbg5-n-Gb0MebO1xIM/s1600-h/IMG_3253.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337544137593567362" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimLt9KGfXMtWM18RjzXEfr-Y83ULOqcmAfoLS6ZkEtT14v8W6fFgDa9spg-u0t1UQ8v8xMUwwUX-AE_nadrsgyPD-oRAsIR_NLTwkYA1_nix2I4whY00L4enk-qAbg5-n-Gb0MebO1xIM/s320/IMG_3253.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">After the parade is finished, everyone joins in the school yard to: first, sit down and rest and second, to start munching down on all the types of food that kids enjoy most.... hot dogs, ice cream, pop, and cake. (There is also Lapskaus, a sort-of-type of stew that can also be bought for those who want 'real' food).<br /></span><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQtqKBMhpZjtU0kQlQb2M3oR4w08RjY6gritcY-erWexVFCH8QArSG4PzOL9bCdzVZGCdH5-2C5d3JjNkz2g6Mywc3Gu3isxU5sFMuKa2tpYvLJXAXjJw_zUv42jApEovfFwdw_z3587Q/s1600-h/IMG_3254.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337544137210884946" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQtqKBMhpZjtU0kQlQb2M3oR4w08RjY6gritcY-erWexVFCH8QArSG4PzOL9bCdzVZGCdH5-2C5d3JjNkz2g6Mywc3Gu3isxU5sFMuKa2tpYvLJXAXjJw_zUv42jApEovfFwdw_z3587Q/s320/IMG_3254.JPG" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">It's a good year this year, with lots of people.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">After eating and resting, it's time to start playing games.<br /></span><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRp7Lzv3SKp8xdwwa6yyQLY1-edaqdsjMP2RZ3xQaju2LDOIs4D_e_91sFirn1TzdB8CEn0CcajSG5wvcT0RWYIXodfL84alyA4eAhmW63cpFSx7yDNnvl9ltgFIdsv1P7SC0AiqgAqoQ/s1600-h/IMG_3224.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337544127550675042" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRp7Lzv3SKp8xdwwa6yyQLY1-edaqdsjMP2RZ3xQaju2LDOIs4D_e_91sFirn1TzdB8CEn0CcajSG5wvcT0RWYIXodfL84alyA4eAhmW63cpFSx7yDNnvl9ltgFIdsv1P7SC0AiqgAqoQ/s320/IMG_3224.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Here is a type of 'fishing' game. One must try to hook and pull up a small block of wood. The hooks are almost circular in nature, so it's not <strong><em>that</em></strong> easy. But at the same time it is something the smallest kid can do with some concentration. Underneath the blocks of wood are mostly markings of an 'O'. But if you find an 'X', then you win a prize.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">My little girl did not win anything at this game.<br /></span><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgluMQMOa_6ikqWulDZ8y0HleumjhyphenhyphenbPMWCX4nCbsm8Sze5qTHPW19hi11zs-kp2CudfNDDHsliOT6ORyENKCYavPLE5jX5JAH608Sc6vY10BMKryCNwKzUFXu6tE3QbJ3TzXXaECv_a7c/s1600-h/IMG_3233.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337544123995842962" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgluMQMOa_6ikqWulDZ8y0HleumjhyphenhyphenbPMWCX4nCbsm8Sze5qTHPW19hi11zs-kp2CudfNDDHsliOT6ORyENKCYavPLE5jX5JAH608Sc6vY10BMKryCNwKzUFXu6tE3QbJ3TzXXaECv_a7c/s320/IMG_3233.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color:#000099;"><span style="font-family:arial;">There is also games that involve walking on stilts.... lots of fun for the older boys and girls. All is made a bit more difficult due to the formal clothes being worn that day. But if it was accomplished in the late 1800's and early 1900's when such clothes were worn daily, it must be possible to still accomplish this today!</span><br /></span><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFu_R0loV239j14jFVva6y4s3VilMpv-WG15GbzsALeO0aQu3WjLBOXwg515l3MyLyDQjRbbztsHAVJLTFHqKBfvV22bQDUYzTrB6zvlnLQ0gBdjvHkzmeLwICxF8dJVtSW5QaUJasbI0/s1600-h/IMG_3235.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337544117358088994" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFu_R0loV239j14jFVva6y4s3VilMpv-WG15GbzsALeO0aQu3WjLBOXwg515l3MyLyDQjRbbztsHAVJLTFHqKBfvV22bQDUYzTrB6zvlnLQ0gBdjvHkzmeLwICxF8dJVtSW5QaUJasbI0/s320/IMG_3235.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Potato sack hopping is always a favorite.<br /></span><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgn4-XDzntuJ9184ennPSQI1WQhQE0yOIi_PGUtjFyNEJxDirEDFm4-hb4nncQuHjLRGJOK7vHe0U0QIXvVgsVwFLOf_VJvefb4C-Rr0tZbBMspWGNNM38eG_IVEeLfCs4ABoQkNRANcY/s1600-h/IMG_3246.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337543483825105842" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgn4-XDzntuJ9184ennPSQI1WQhQE0yOIi_PGUtjFyNEJxDirEDFm4-hb4nncQuHjLRGJOK7vHe0U0QIXvVgsVwFLOf_VJvefb4C-Rr0tZbBMspWGNNM38eG_IVEeLfCs4ABoQkNRANcY/s320/IMG_3246.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">A wheel of fortune is not something to be missed.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">But my daughter instead wanted to play a lottery game. Strips of 'tickets' are purchased and each of these tickets has a 'window'. Opening the windows reveals a picture underneath, and if the right picture is found, one wins a prize.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglXvpKeFHySfVRzAHZN1uTdQUhGGA0pj8_p-sT5CYJSWdzMcQ3r6H4ow6eAHmp5CNENeT_lBoWp3nCElBDDtiON9sx5rLdxnF7i1RxQqMUeJXVMPzp0O37vb54cpI7Ir8EdzGdMVrVqOo/s1600-h/IMG_3237.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337543483082962914" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglXvpKeFHySfVRzAHZN1uTdQUhGGA0pj8_p-sT5CYJSWdzMcQ3r6H4ow6eAHmp5CNENeT_lBoWp3nCElBDDtiON9sx5rLdxnF7i1RxQqMUeJXVMPzp0O37vb54cpI7Ir8EdzGdMVrVqOo/s320/IMG_3237.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">In this case one must find a picture of a Canadian flag (which I thought was pretty cool in itself).<br /></span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhthD9rZPe3cYhkoz5tK06_Mu87Lmuun5omLIpxiEVxCE-84RVo3HvtMY2f85EjLXilhI_u7NJlCydUI5vrbm35lCztzre9sp2QR-vBb5ll1tWc6xpIcymfi1Ap05NyJfwO469ZnmQKuk/s1600-h/IMG_3238.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337543476450870210" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhthD9rZPe3cYhkoz5tK06_Mu87Lmuun5omLIpxiEVxCE-84RVo3HvtMY2f85EjLXilhI_u7NJlCydUI5vrbm35lCztzre9sp2QR-vBb5ll1tWc6xpIcymfi1Ap05NyJfwO469ZnmQKuk/s320/IMG_3238.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">'Mamma - I think I found something...'</span></div><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSjH2gI99-zB3AojpedwSgg9q5LV_pQ5twGKkR-7MWbGUaG5O83SPth-6kzVsTKVxvoJwjiurtX_vj_Ot_WYtihp4PZhE-wNRgwQCwXajyrxiQ8kZanJAyaegOdZt2u-MOsz4Y4NQTA6A/s1600-h/IMG_3236.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337543479638051106" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSjH2gI99-zB3AojpedwSgg9q5LV_pQ5twGKkR-7MWbGUaG5O83SPth-6kzVsTKVxvoJwjiurtX_vj_Ot_WYtihp4PZhE-wNRgwQCwXajyrxiQ8kZanJAyaegOdZt2u-MOsz4Y4NQTA6A/s320/IMG_3236.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And we have a winner!</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwcgjum35xknDR0ZatjEtWyRyqT8yM8ldtkus-Dk5mJYsIC-WTrO3VjcP8rznWbCyy9R-PuwU-Cy-QP3YcfKkNg3m1MR_XHertCdpwu6IYPLoXl2mm671T0VMr1_RtRmh17_NequItyRs/s1600-h/IMG_3240.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337543472734479090" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwcgjum35xknDR0ZatjEtWyRyqT8yM8ldtkus-Dk5mJYsIC-WTrO3VjcP8rznWbCyy9R-PuwU-Cy-QP3YcfKkNg3m1MR_XHertCdpwu6IYPLoXl2mm671T0VMr1_RtRmh17_NequItyRs/s320/IMG_3240.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">It's hard to see here, but she won a round jar of lip gloss that was packaged as a lollipop. This was <strong><em>very</em></strong> cool in her eyes.<br /></span><br /><div><div><div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6CWzK2IkO8PSSNKrLIn9xPZGTyVXFZjrtxQTMSDASt4wi7Qkpw1egfMrE8ba2CgHPZ0Y26AOLxCxGkJ3VBYHFf793XK56xSGzpa6iABvcO0adIi1MN8zKok8XEGvc6uVcZU373QZEKkI/s1600-h/IMG_3241.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337542758238226578" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6CWzK2IkO8PSSNKrLIn9xPZGTyVXFZjrtxQTMSDASt4wi7Qkpw1egfMrE8ba2CgHPZ0Y26AOLxCxGkJ3VBYHFf793XK56xSGzpa6iABvcO0adIi1MN8zKok8XEGvc6uVcZU373QZEKkI/s320/IMG_3241.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">There was also contests to see who could hammer a nail into a plank of wood the fastest.</span><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj86MOD0EjZpNiCPrU49Z1024fvY59QAbCwAtPVE4RiTCMqWcFx3k82Qa-2pcVYOUAV7uMQ2mAWgBPAIrqNwXSm2MWDG_MZ4GCBcEbBr4RikeZY3i6bOmkZksljd1pw1RV16ITsGELpTc/s1600-h/IMG_3243.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337542757901701778" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj86MOD0EjZpNiCPrU49Z1024fvY59QAbCwAtPVE4RiTCMqWcFx3k82Qa-2pcVYOUAV7uMQ2mAWgBPAIrqNwXSm2MWDG_MZ4GCBcEbBr4RikeZY3i6bOmkZksljd1pw1RV16ITsGELpTc/s320/IMG_3243.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And a contest to see who could manage to make it across the log, and the barrel surrounding it, without falling off.<br /></span><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv0J8rXyd6nW8FWIkXt3mSzC7fAbOouFh8QxDi5jmBQTFMRmHbC73GTxiiIrhsAWJdY8TYC4vl7PvcJbg_eJI3_2tqk7CVB-_LN38n6SdSQ3GqMqWY1ung7NARyzMc9ofhAVQUIEwZvvI/s1600-h/IMG_3245.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337515979070100098" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv0J8rXyd6nW8FWIkXt3mSzC7fAbOouFh8QxDi5jmBQTFMRmHbC73GTxiiIrhsAWJdY8TYC4vl7PvcJbg_eJI3_2tqk7CVB-_LN38n6SdSQ3GqMqWY1ung7NARyzMc9ofhAVQUIEwZvvI/s320/IMG_3245.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#336666;"><span style="color:#000099;">A jousting contest, to see who's toughest.</span><br /></span><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDCZJb19L-Bs5gWO4BJGj1pkhbNz_BHT43tHQ0tTXNt9z87EGJuLsiTwbuSf6YVx3XMtgNSmvYeMK8y25A7jZUjb0PJ4P4hndpxsPzudjB-oeVS3GUs0DhRrf99dj1BE8uXztrsxYp9Po/s1600-h/IMG_3247.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337515974439567970" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDCZJb19L-Bs5gWO4BJGj1pkhbNz_BHT43tHQ0tTXNt9z87EGJuLsiTwbuSf6YVx3XMtgNSmvYeMK8y25A7jZUjb0PJ4P4hndpxsPzudjB-oeVS3GUs0DhRrf99dj1BE8uXztrsxYp9Po/s320/IMG_3247.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Finally there was also a contest to see who was most skilled at shooting an air rifle. Lots of people, both female and male, and of all ages lined up to try their hand at this.</span><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoCedemW9lbYheq6C5RlQ0G6j4U-KFed5m7wk14ccHclHHR3sXFCLcEpprDtuzx8LHaTI5-YfF6xzqVXreQ3-8CmBQ6rF0fsL3eTRBNJ6LgZW0uLkx6zsWZUv8LqX33tyacZgxJlGMdrs/s1600-h/IMG_3249.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337515968697109074" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoCedemW9lbYheq6C5RlQ0G6j4U-KFed5m7wk14ccHclHHR3sXFCLcEpprDtuzx8LHaTI5-YfF6xzqVXreQ3-8CmBQ6rF0fsL3eTRBNJ6LgZW0uLkx6zsWZUv8LqX33tyacZgxJlGMdrs/s320/IMG_3249.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Ready..... aim........</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFVIaXv8QmgC_oQ310aUGqwXCLBIaYelEe7__wHGUr19lfkk24GM-nee-k9o81-cobPagFvkTTzIqZlW3Xv7Mxov9VSbxff2yEPVbSCP9cfgOmgF30vxVNIMW4mRMWTyBAoPRPUly1rW8/s1600-h/IMG_3248.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337515966416017394" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFVIaXv8QmgC_oQ310aUGqwXCLBIaYelEe7__wHGUr19lfkk24GM-nee-k9o81-cobPagFvkTTzIqZlW3Xv7Mxov9VSbxff2yEPVbSCP9cfgOmgF30vxVNIMW4mRMWTyBAoPRPUly1rW8/s320/IMG_3248.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br />And fire!</span></div><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjObZtKwTBY6uBxeu7D8ph9H52PlCqiK_pWlQ4WiOkAGg-mTfqyWgjcOpqQf3u8QEtuz9juKWdQe6WKIE50aiMbbIaba8NiRYlLL531U2wLK8OCx41Z51U_yRycNJ4v0PwlZnzaN6Bsssc/s1600-h/IMG_3250.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337515960310884178" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjObZtKwTBY6uBxeu7D8ph9H52PlCqiK_pWlQ4WiOkAGg-mTfqyWgjcOpqQf3u8QEtuz9juKWdQe6WKIE50aiMbbIaba8NiRYlLL531U2wLK8OCx41Z51U_yRycNJ4v0PwlZnzaN6Bsssc/s320/IMG_3250.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">But I do think it was a bit unfair that this man, straight out from the military lined up as well. Having said this, Norway still has conscription, so most men over a certain age have spent time in a military.... as well as a large number of younger men and women. It's hard to know what skills are hiding under those fine clothes.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">All in all it was a very good day. After spending all our money, winning some prizes and eating more than our fair share of ice cream, we headed to a friends house were we ate rømme grøt with speke mat.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">(more on this to come.....)</span></div><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01333333828999038984noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358835659992198142.post-29535701089933481672009-05-14T10:46:00.000-07:002009-05-19T07:28:45.036-07:00I'm a bad parent....<span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Or really, I'm trying to be a good parent.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Both my husband and I were really rebellious as teenagers. Some of his horror stories include shaving off all of his curly, curly hair and going completely bald for quite some time (this was before 'bald is beautiful'... and he was 19 at the time... and not black), and refusing to wear shoes for over a year (in a part of the world were we it rains more than 10 feet/3.5 meters a year). </span><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">I on the other hand, shaved the sides of my head, had my hair temporarily colored purple and was the first girl that I knew of in my neighborhood to have the top of my ear pierced. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br />All of these things seem to be so tame now, compared to lip rings (you choose your bodily location on that one), plugs, facial tattoos, and piercings that make even me quiver in disgust. And I can tolerate almost anything.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">But now my husband and I can see our children already following in our footsteps. </span><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">My son, at the age of 7 has started creating his own sense of fashion. He is no doubt paving the way for his little sister to follow right behind him.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">It started with blue hair gel. This was actually pretty cool..... I do remember how my mother responded when I came home with my hair shaved at the sides and purple. Not only was I not going to act like that, I actually think blue hair is really, really neat.</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4xq0zopIEKlgtAaOejkFm00NZP-1rdVxdn5K-8DtwukLfX_kG4l30pkuGooHIYZ8PXeuPy3OeNX_cChMtMjLnXcjuVUh8YIDmdWk6HUht37k5qvWnJTi2VwtRxIGbBMHgLUCrDzn7WX8/s1600-h/IMG_2152.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335739372099398994" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4xq0zopIEKlgtAaOejkFm00NZP-1rdVxdn5K-8DtwukLfX_kG4l30pkuGooHIYZ8PXeuPy3OeNX_cChMtMjLnXcjuVUh8YIDmdWk6HUht37k5qvWnJTi2VwtRxIGbBMHgLUCrDzn7WX8/s320/IMG_2152.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">I wish I was young enough to dye my hair blue.... or had the figure to pull it off.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">But now my son is pulling it one step further. While out shopping for some shoes for a formal day coming up, he saw some blue, sparkly nail polish. He wanted to have this.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">For the first time I hesitated. Do I want my son wearing nail polish? What if he gets teased at school? Do I want others to be mean to him? I tried to talk him out of it, without actually telling him he wasn't allowed to wear it. (My husband and I have sworn we will <strong>never</strong> tell our kids that they can <strong>never</strong> do opposite-gendered-related things. My son has two dolls along with his lego and muscle cars, my daughter has two mechanical excavators along side of her barbies). </span><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">But he was insistant. He was going *TO HAVE* that nail polish.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And then I thought of me and my purple, shaved hair. I looked really awful with it. This is true. From a fashion stand point, it was something I should have never, never done. </span><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">But you know what? The world did not stop. Nothing bad happened. It didn't even hurt. </span><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">I dared to do it. I dared to do it in a long line of things I have dared to do. Not all of them turned out great (purple hair one example, a couple boyfriends another example) but some of them turned out better than I could have ever dreamed (that I dared to move to a foreign country where I couldn't even speak the language is the best example). </span><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Suddenly I was really proud of my son. We bought the nail polish. We put on some nail polish just before he ate his bedtime snack.</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-QcOvnLJ6IJ0ilBWmeVOQHZBKKmQhE5TDaM9BEIYhj6PPoZqhW2IYw11kqBDlXy7tmRoFcOZEQONttQvjlj7luihX5nO5XdAyFkVytVevXhAKjprheG4CzSA8rGwAp12dVzo2aI6pAvs/s1600-h/IMG_3185.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335737521269287426" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 266px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-QcOvnLJ6IJ0ilBWmeVOQHZBKKmQhE5TDaM9BEIYhj6PPoZqhW2IYw11kqBDlXy7tmRoFcOZEQONttQvjlj7luihX5nO5XdAyFkVytVevXhAKjprheG4CzSA8rGwAp12dVzo2aI6pAvs/s320/IMG_3185.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSZL4X6pFHuG2ETsNmM_3ajN4l63n8VbhAxIsU0755-ruKZsQCcM1d_qS28MYPbvTyoZgKXkNg10EpI1jIeY5iqT6I_IL_N5f3JFOFj4Ql09qTPRU6Zt9SOH8l99CutCxQPToRQgKeSK4/s1600-h/IMG_3187.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335737521830584226" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSZL4X6pFHuG2ETsNmM_3ajN4l63n8VbhAxIsU0755-ruKZsQCcM1d_qS28MYPbvTyoZgKXkNg10EpI1jIeY5iqT6I_IL_N5f3JFOFj4Ql09qTPRU6Zt9SOH8l99CutCxQPToRQgKeSK4/s320/IMG_3187.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">While I am a little nervous of what his friends will think of his fingers tomorrow at school, at the same time, I'm amazed at the inner strength he is already showing. He has the courage at 7 that I did not have until I was 17. I needed to have angry, chaotic, teenage hormones rushing through me to help me have courage. He does it all on his own.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Good for you, N. You're really awesome. </span></div><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;color:#990000;">[As an afterword, I came home to find two of his friends home for dinner.... N. had painted their nails already. And a third mother sent me an SMS to find out if the story was true. Then a second message to ask me where I bought the nail polish.]</span> <div></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01333333828999038984noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358835659992198142.post-66559696429713521942009-05-11T07:19:00.000-07:002009-05-11T07:35:28.326-07:00Summer Cowls For Summer Days<span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color:#000099;">I've started making some summer cowls in cotton. Light to wear but not overly warm, these will also absorb moisture to help keep one cool during really warm days.</span><br /><span style="color:#000099;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000099;">Here are the colors that I've produced so far:</span><br /><span style="color:#000099;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000099;">Lime Green:</span><br /></span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5pwj6q6yTJy7luOwRDBvbaVb7T9spYbdb2rabFnVYkOO-cGzkC7THv5bTaN8ZhBAAAFTIqVBdxWsazsZ7r4Vjg_x6ssPZc7xLn2UwX5nlX7Mkk-Io_wXZjTnSdba33sWrgPpMK_7ydP8/s1600-h/IMG_3176.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334571180572851874" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 306px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5pwj6q6yTJy7luOwRDBvbaVb7T9spYbdb2rabFnVYkOO-cGzkC7THv5bTaN8ZhBAAAFTIqVBdxWsazsZ7r4Vjg_x6ssPZc7xLn2UwX5nlX7Mkk-Io_wXZjTnSdba33sWrgPpMK_7ydP8/s320/IMG_3176.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="color:#000099;"> <span style="font-family:arial;">Turquoise:</span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFF1E91yaZ8eK0WoK638_NM08bY9iVrphN1sAQsBTGWSdnqL4l9-kI-fCtRhoi0ARNQx7Y34IpgOZXnFbUiC9wvXGVdWnAMS8fWod3U7d19uOHMcSGCk3l9wEq7CXyit0I86shbIP4rR4/s1600-h/IMG_3169.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334571174623599266" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 238px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFF1E91yaZ8eK0WoK638_NM08bY9iVrphN1sAQsBTGWSdnqL4l9-kI-fCtRhoi0ARNQx7Y34IpgOZXnFbUiC9wvXGVdWnAMS8fWod3U7d19uOHMcSGCk3l9wEq7CXyit0I86shbIP4rR4/s320/IMG_3169.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="color:#000099;"> <span style="font-family:arial;">Hot and Sexy Pink:</span></span><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvTWA4HOdi7UH9DIxGd964TkZ4vUQSi4i_GNdDqUPRm0MnyDPhjERYUs5TdUcZNHsUMEg0eOm8kuiD61bVXeQTenTqjdqGSl8a8-VsKVsr2U8S7n1OPm6-hnu9B_EzTrFXDQ1T-ctCzWE/s1600-h/IMG_3162.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334571172792440050" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvTWA4HOdi7UH9DIxGd964TkZ4vUQSi4i_GNdDqUPRm0MnyDPhjERYUs5TdUcZNHsUMEg0eOm8kuiD61bVXeQTenTqjdqGSl8a8-VsKVsr2U8S7n1OPm6-hnu9B_EzTrFXDQ1T-ctCzWE/s320/IMG_3162.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color:#000099;">Do check out these and other great selections in my Mini Etsy (which will lead you directly to my store) on the left hand side.</span><br /></span><br /><div></div></div></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01333333828999038984noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358835659992198142.post-66377073244650300102009-05-09T13:47:00.001-07:002009-05-09T14:40:56.347-07:00Spring In Norway<span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Spring started showing arriving at my sea-side cabin. Here's what we're all dreaming off while we work our day jobs during the week.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Daffodils that are sprouting.</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ64hQGIn-9afbukhpMKQ03H46NvWxAe1cHeonjho4_InhqJEDWnsuWddxd0uGmQd_ZGoN22-iihOHJwlBCShQlPzqHKqc76Jd9aIRrl7WpBLWYwezxnxDWF4DKc2fqkF6RT-DeVEGwvk/s1600-h/IMG_2981.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333929419539387874" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ64hQGIn-9afbukhpMKQ03H46NvWxAe1cHeonjho4_InhqJEDWnsuWddxd0uGmQd_ZGoN22-iihOHJwlBCShQlPzqHKqc76Jd9aIRrl7WpBLWYwezxnxDWF4DKc2fqkF6RT-DeVEGwvk/s320/IMG_2981.JPG" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">The blueberry bushes starting to grow and prepare...</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXYvODHd9jprL56JOiuoirsJE4fMuAT6w0rSBYrM5Gyrsh8Te5LXlAX0iEacrejiEyRvJ9ZUTkeJtdywkeUcYejkrAX-vDDOJ3NDfBk2uOR9AZOLTT_kscURh6UYHw8ylS3NAZWPrIEPs/s1600-h/IMG_2982.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333929418664198770" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXYvODHd9jprL56JOiuoirsJE4fMuAT6w0rSBYrM5Gyrsh8Te5LXlAX0iEacrejiEyRvJ9ZUTkeJtdywkeUcYejkrAX-vDDOJ3NDfBk2uOR9AZOLTT_kscURh6UYHw8ylS3NAZWPrIEPs/s320/IMG_2982.JPG" border="0" /></a> <span style="color:#000099;">Green leaves that are regrowing on the plants we've been trying to get rid of.<br /></span><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0hrbfFUeIUM6_1driIK_f0k3DfTlRKPomSalOV6WwfWwV33cKwTXj-G21RA18ehNt669coeo7GWKuGhb5qve38MbRamu06s5RWjFZ2Ch7l2jGLA44xlkJhXyN8-jKPF0PQzguooWFW4U/s1600-h/IMG_2987.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333929413525899314" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0hrbfFUeIUM6_1driIK_f0k3DfTlRKPomSalOV6WwfWwV33cKwTXj-G21RA18ehNt669coeo7GWKuGhb5qve38MbRamu06s5RWjFZ2Ch7l2jGLA44xlkJhXyN8-jKPF0PQzguooWFW4U/s320/IMG_2987.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color:#000099;">The rose bushes that will soon be blooming.<br /></span><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXTCkhE0wOQXfytJTn4t0cDDFIzOlX2jKgSKymwJWn3nSCdEx5m76ea4pDD-0dC8CzOmBj0k4CJXPxw8mj8o0obJTOUUYaWFZp9v8I8zHQFEbTU89vxpPniYj9jy28J2tEWMcbVGd3b7c/s1600-h/IMG_2989.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333929408392041666" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXTCkhE0wOQXfytJTn4t0cDDFIzOlX2jKgSKymwJWn3nSCdEx5m76ea4pDD-0dC8CzOmBj0k4CJXPxw8mj8o0obJTOUUYaWFZp9v8I8zHQFEbTU89vxpPniYj9jy28J2tEWMcbVGd3b7c/s320/IMG_2989.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color:#000099;">Rogue Easter Lilies popping up in the strangest of places.</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA6kFm3oKYTTZ229lDmKnz3BwD4YpspjGZ5d5HXxFIt161cYpX7rUncYwDycbM8dlgrla27QLh6FYL5XMLYI6mASpX-hUQTiP7ejj9VbrZGKQoB6x9Bb8LoRW1MFNUf21DiOf5jLKya64/s1600-h/IMG_2994.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333929408676755346" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA6kFm3oKYTTZ229lDmKnz3BwD4YpspjGZ5d5HXxFIt161cYpX7rUncYwDycbM8dlgrla27QLh6FYL5XMLYI6mASpX-hUQTiP7ejj9VbrZGKQoB6x9Bb8LoRW1MFNUf21DiOf5jLKya64/s320/IMG_2994.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color:#000099;">Wild strawberry plants peeping up by gravel road...</span></div><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7h_z9cXrQpOlkSwJF7k-2e0_ThiaASodjbMfzkbHBAj_J_s0rc_92uULbSGKMovVVz0_lG8WHWuGdsla7Pk5Xya3FlIkmUi5UWT5P6tEO2DrnOXcI4xoN5jHzY7JzSklaP1l-_NuqQUM/s1600-h/IMG_3001.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333929108744486066" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7h_z9cXrQpOlkSwJF7k-2e0_ThiaASodjbMfzkbHBAj_J_s0rc_92uULbSGKMovVVz0_lG8WHWuGdsla7Pk5Xya3FlIkmUi5UWT5P6tEO2DrnOXcI4xoN5jHzY7JzSklaP1l-_NuqQUM/s320/IMG_3001.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="color:#000099;">Buttercups sneaking up in the grass.</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjazASAlj4WKAnyNHaYmeymEzkfiA49d4XZBBF68esI5xETF9wZQZGMz0aPXf0q1sPUzIRVyxAQe04_1PH9nXlEVkJSnwgNXy_QvbTIogOwJHzaJqUqvdeB3Lyc5LsQoLjtsxWwbIrE4D4/s1600-h/IMG_2998.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333929099311410178" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjazASAlj4WKAnyNHaYmeymEzkfiA49d4XZBBF68esI5xETF9wZQZGMz0aPXf0q1sPUzIRVyxAQe04_1PH9nXlEVkJSnwgNXy_QvbTIogOwJHzaJqUqvdeB3Lyc5LsQoLjtsxWwbIrE4D4/s320/IMG_2998.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color:#000099;">Other yellow flowery-tree like plants that I don't know the name of blossoming.<br /></span><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTbZgn1LF4iXhqX9AfAMdc6sGxuDuH_xegxMuHRQKjuBRxDW9Q5rEg78zsrurHNh08_BX7hEAEhFbIAj7a67Zk-M8jo1t05gubk2JihIMmq2ybmsXvTxISRhrnEXkVghRiujywFNbNJdo/s1600-h/IMG_2990.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333929098968032706" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTbZgn1LF4iXhqX9AfAMdc6sGxuDuH_xegxMuHRQKjuBRxDW9Q5rEg78zsrurHNh08_BX7hEAEhFbIAj7a67Zk-M8jo1t05gubk2JihIMmq2ybmsXvTxISRhrnEXkVghRiujywFNbNJdo/s320/IMG_2990.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"> The cherry trees blooming.</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibhECqG-qiTl80FQjW5bUpqIKsw166YrYqNCfbq9K7moE_Cb_morg3VzxW4R4qkfsS61FAGBKayTmK6ryvBkdfLU08UHmXiSeh-O6UCourbAfaPFvWmsJ-HRzk6PY6_wBX1yxMgAiXrh0/s1600-h/IMG_3000.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333929090401143922" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibhECqG-qiTl80FQjW5bUpqIKsw166YrYqNCfbq9K7moE_Cb_morg3VzxW4R4qkfsS61FAGBKayTmK6ryvBkdfLU08UHmXiSeh-O6UCourbAfaPFvWmsJ-HRzk6PY6_wBX1yxMgAiXrh0/s320/IMG_3000.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And my daughter wants to get back to her wilderness training.</span></div><div> </div><div></div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh865MB4qM0eVmERMM9SubS0wjFL1l8V4s97TYiyqMXt1PpnkV5nkCIzCLkvXp-9vHi5ypyCGuwgLujWs536fDeIerm1RDrC33KkfpNOJK8J5hjtO7wAKqb3Qk3_l38AcrwUzqdz_af6hs/s1600-h/IMG_2999.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333929090434486562" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh865MB4qM0eVmERMM9SubS0wjFL1l8V4s97TYiyqMXt1PpnkV5nkCIzCLkvXp-9vHi5ypyCGuwgLujWs536fDeIerm1RDrC33KkfpNOJK8J5hjtO7wAKqb3Qk3_l38AcrwUzqdz_af6hs/s320/IMG_2999.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01333333828999038984noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5358835659992198142.post-52918881695518587052009-05-03T05:18:00.000-07:002009-05-03T05:49:18.998-07:00My Working Space<span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">One of my collegues from the European Street Team on Etsy had a challenge to all members: blog about your creative workspace. </span><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">This has taken me a bit of time to do as I, in the big scheme of things, do not actually have a permanent workspace. </span><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000099;">I do have my sewing corner under the stairs of my house and I have done a lot of creative sewing in the past. However, at this point in time, my life is so busy that I am only sewing patches on the knees of my son's pants. But I will come back to this creative corner sooner or later.</span><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh19vgdLe-kepheSPqO0quA8BIxRvedwgsfxTOGZ3hcChoHLRV-YVTMODGDiX7YHW_NCrs2Cdfd2NRBEEp5nrBiWIrpQRZNRB2urq1rJR75uY93UktmQKLyyZQtXsVFjuOWE5OmgJAjYIE/s1600-h/IMG_3130.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331572066546649746" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh19vgdLe-kepheSPqO0quA8BIxRvedwgsfxTOGZ3hcChoHLRV-YVTMODGDiX7YHW_NCrs2Cdfd2NRBEEp5nrBiWIrpQRZNRB2urq1rJR75uY93UktmQKLyyZQtXsVFjuOWE5OmgJAjYIE/s320/IMG_3130.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Notice the newspaper articles I've been featured in as well as the pictures that my daughter has drawn for me in order to help me become more creative. I do miss sitting in that corner. </span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI1u3v6jdMg92PqBsOeoJBOD-8OkNDa4piKRg79SqdnOPPXKyc_4mQvdiF32-X8GOD5VmdcEr-W4UtJQjF6PAp8qkvwRpHlsmOGNIOoqciwPOAdePAbh7KIuIt9Cq_grYRe09M3GKT-nM/s1600-h/IMG_3131.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331572058712299362" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI1u3v6jdMg92PqBsOeoJBOD-8OkNDa4piKRg79SqdnOPPXKyc_4mQvdiF32-X8GOD5VmdcEr-W4UtJQjF6PAp8qkvwRpHlsmOGNIOoqciwPOAdePAbh7KIuIt9Cq_grYRe09M3GKT-nM/s320/IMG_3131.JPG" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">The next most popular place to work is on my living room chair in the evenings (below). Lately this has been happening more and more infrequently. But I do manage to get at least 30 minutes in before I need to go to sleep. Even if I don't create anything worth keeping and need to take it apart, I do manage to relax my mind and heart rate which makes falling asleep after a hectic day that much easier.<br /></span><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-T_4gTfZ4NxYQISTwJ6i13TuDy3joRTo6muCKBANUWU3nRxog0PcZuFJpp8tv0_NRG5fYqSSqLdC3lKzLFRsjDZi_c5QYm4bXJF_p25NyyMANTCfnXy2dn66yB-20I5KXZ2LQP-z7Vuo/s1600-h/IMG_3133.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331571658817166050" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-T_4gTfZ4NxYQISTwJ6i13TuDy3joRTo6muCKBANUWU3nRxog0PcZuFJpp8tv0_NRG5fYqSSqLdC3lKzLFRsjDZi_c5QYm4bXJF_p25NyyMANTCfnXy2dn66yB-20I5KXZ2LQP-z7Vuo/s320/IMG_3133.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">It's not often that I am a passanger in our Pajero. But those times that I am, I do some easy knitting.... the kind that can be done without looking at my project and thus avoiding car sickness.</span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK5I0ENi5pIycP0p3-DPhqkrAtu-p1rN5YcZwrc4B8XMmdFExu7KChw5KYK8OuUUN2KREZSQJEM0VMPeBlltU1py26lSBPTJOYTGMPAbT1Znp4uxr42fYrDn_jJC90ljPrKJZ762EzCRg/s1600-h/IMG_3060.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331571660331070434" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK5I0ENi5pIycP0p3-DPhqkrAtu-p1rN5YcZwrc4B8XMmdFExu7KChw5KYK8OuUUN2KREZSQJEM0VMPeBlltU1py26lSBPTJOYTGMPAbT1Znp4uxr42fYrDn_jJC90ljPrKJZ762EzCRg/s320/IMG_3060.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Last week I managed to do a bit of knitting at one of my son's feild trips. We went on a big picnic at the north end of the large island we live on. After visiting the museum, wading in the super cold ocean water and eating our packed lunch, everyone else pulled out their coffee thermoses while the kids were running and playing in the fields. I took out my current project. I only got 10 minutes worth of work done, but 10 minutes here and 10 minutes there makes an extra project every week.</span> </div><div><br /><div></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7xGrffu1o74qwaAP_rcIX6lUscQDWUqq0SfkKx5QbD6_TDXj2AXDFvUH5x0NtJdbgUlGTyYI2VSDVyl2E9xBFHDHKKb_0QucjZAH1X13AUsvt4_1GPEwQ9GuMAvjYwF9RQkUz6Ykd0q8/s1600-h/IMG_3071.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331571657938231682" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7xGrffu1o74qwaAP_rcIX6lUscQDWUqq0SfkKx5QbD6_TDXj2AXDFvUH5x0NtJdbgUlGTyYI2VSDVyl2E9xBFHDHKKb_0QucjZAH1X13AUsvt4_1GPEwQ9GuMAvjYwF9RQkUz6Ykd0q8/s320/IMG_3071.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">And today I did a bit of knitting while at the aquarium. I planned it right and we were able to get a window seat in the cafeteria just before the seal show started. My children happily ate an ice cream while watching the seals and all their tricks. I got to begin on something new.<br /></span><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidd5scUW9zGQ4ajKUy1DN6XH57gEJKm8vbEQzvfUSeKDx7p2syoHIN6I64ZKDncuYrqGU3Z6rC3mkltodeIL6oJfM0ZnGyOFQxq7z5pyhftAAXUtPXH23QihGHMYzEMKU0vFN2ZzcfkVk/s1600-h/IMG_3127.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331571657406777618" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidd5scUW9zGQ4ajKUy1DN6XH57gEJKm8vbEQzvfUSeKDx7p2syoHIN6I64ZKDncuYrqGU3Z6rC3mkltodeIL6oJfM0ZnGyOFQxq7z5pyhftAAXUtPXH23QihGHMYzEMKU0vFN2ZzcfkVk/s320/IMG_3127.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">So basically where I can take my work with me, I can have a work space. It would probably be easier to think of where I cannot do work:</span></div><ul><li><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">on an airplane (damn those terroists!)</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">in the dentist's chair</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">in the movie theater</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">in bed after my husband turns off the lights.</span></li></ul><p><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;">Otherwise, I guess the rest is fair game. </span></p></div></div></div></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01333333828999038984noreply@blogger.com14