Corner View: Me (and an award)

I have received a "Beautiful Blogger Award" from the lovely blog En Støvel og en sko. Thank you Sølvi! I'm humble and I'll try to earn it in the future.

Even though it feels itchingly selfobsessive to write seven things about myself, I'll give it a go:

 

1.My favourite activity in the whole world is picking chantarelles.

2. The two most boring activities I know are:
* Tank up the car
* Use the cash machine

I will go to great lengths to avoid the mentioned.

3. I fall asleep during classical concerts.

4. I don't enjoy scary movies.

5. What I do like is depressive books. The darker the better.

6. I once got an offer to be in a helicopter over the Barents Sea. Being pregnant I bailed out. Pregnancy doesn't make you adventurous. It makes you buy new napkins.

7. When stressed I can do unlogic things. Like putting a Leatherman knife in the hand luggage for fear of paying overweight (you can imagine how that went).

I'll give the award further to some inspiring blogs than I'm totally addicted to and makes my life richer and more fun! Postcards from Colerado, Summer Sky: Learning as I go, LoveLetter Dailyand FuoriBorgo.

See you soon!

Corner View: From where I'm sitting

 

Just another rainy Thursday, having pancakes with blueberry jam and bacon.

Come to think of it: I like ordinary days the best. It's the ordinary days that count.

 

But look what grey Thursdays can bring: a mini banner giveaway from the super lovely Camille in the mail. Shipped all the way from Utah US to the Arctic!

(and I just can't keep my hands off this iPhone app Shakeit which is Polaroid for the lazy)

More Midnight sun when it decides to come through the clouds.

On what Daylight 24/7 does to you

 

So here's what 24 hours of daylight does to a body and soul: it makes the body move around a lot, and the soul restless.

This is for instance what I did today:
*Bringing my children to kindergarten
*Working at my brand new job
*Eating dinner out
*Putting my children to bed (explaining that no, coins are not considered a cuddly bear)
*Filling the dishwasher
*Hanging up clothes and start a new machine
*Cleaning the bathroon
*Vacuuming the whole flat
*Waching the finale of American Idol(my guilty pleasure)on You Tube whilst wrapping two gifts and eating crisps
*Run out to take these pictures of the Midnight Sun, which happends to be the end of my street - this week's Corner View.
*Saying bye, bye to the pile of snow who have surrended (almost)to the power of the sun.
*Writing this blog post and maybe have a conversation with Arctic Dad (ooups, too late).

But sleep? Not in a million years.

 

 

 

Corner View: My garden

 

I just couldn't resist this week's Corner View. Maybe someone wonders how that pile of snow in my garden is going decreasing wise? I sure wonder, and had to document that it's still right there.

 

The evenings are so light now, the sun sets later and later. This is taken at eight. Midnight sun is here the 22nd.

Starting to clean all the windows at nine o'clock at night is a sign that my body tries to keep pace with all this light. That would never happen in December.

Want to take a look how it is even further (and further) north? Visit Mushamna.

Welcome to spring Arctic style

 

Spring(sprng:)The season of the year, occurring between winter and summer, during which the weather becomes warmer and plants revive, extending in the Northern Hemisphere from the vernal equinox to the summer solstice and popularly considered to comprise March, April, and May.

Just forget this definition, and the pictures that pop up in your head at the word. Try to think outside the box etc. The Arctic spring is not your usual definition. This is just something else.

 

Ok so the unified spring ovation in Bloglandia is getting a bit to me. But on the bright side we have clear signs of Arctic spring, and we're sticking to the bright for months:

* White nights. Sun was up to 7 p.m today.
* Rumours are seagulls have been observed.
* The smell of sea is more profound.
* You can feel the heat from the sun
* Sunglasses are most definately needed
* The sami/russian/peruan/norwegian vendors are back at the market place.
* Oh, and there's snow, lots of it. No plants have revived yet.

In the sami language there are eight seasons, and appearently we're in the middle of Winterspring. In May comes Summerspring, and that's when my next spring chapter will be written.

 

Happy easter everyone! We're off to the south to see family and get some traditional spring feelings. Look forward to a thinner jacket. Very much indeed.

Corner View: Typical architecture from my town

 

My town consists mainly of small wooden buildings, some old some new. And a big metallic creature here and there, rather aimlessly thrown up.

Someone could say it's a successful mixture of different styles and time periods. Others like me could say it's accidental and messy.

Let's call the typical arctitecture of my town a style orgie of the not so sophisticated kind( I think there are sophisticated ones).

But I really like my town.

 

One of my favourite buildings is this one, the old cinema still going strong. It's from 1913 and just dashing.

 

And why don't we throw in a typical mid 60s buildings, housing 72 flats. Ours being one of them.

I like how our flat has a large living room where lots of light is let in from two sides.

Corner View: Front door

 

Abandoned houses have their own aesthetics: You can't say this front door isn't beautiful.

 

The house is on an island we visited in September last year. People here dislodge and move to the city, and I guess that's a worldwide problem. In an ideal world the lights shine from all houses along the fjords and valleys, cause houses need people. And people need houses.

For more corner views: Go see Jane.

Coffee Companion and a cushion winner

 

Don't you find it comforting that some things stay the same. Like this packet of chocolate, the design has been like this forever. A small reassuring thing in a changing world.

 

They're filled with peppermint cream, perfect as a coffe companion. Before I associated them with my grandmother, now I eat them too. Don't know if that means I'm getting older or the chocolate is trendy.

 

And I believe we have a winner of the cushion giveaway. The winner was carefully drawn in a process worthy the rules of the Lottery, as you can see.

Congratulations 9patchnurse . This baby's off to the US.

 

See you later, we're kicking our way to the post office!

Corner View: Wisdom from an elder

 

"Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes".

Mahatma Gandhi (for the occasion with a hat of snow)

Bright sunshine and freezing cold at the moment. But we'll hit the ski tracks today anyway. Looks so much warmer in Vancouver.

See Jane for other Corner Views.

Corner View: Repurposed

 

This box is one of my favourite items: It used to be a box for tea, now it has served as a sewing kit for 30 years.

My uncle brought the box back from China a long, long time ago. He left home as a 13 year old boy in the late 50s to sail the big seas. This was one of the few options for boys from the north back then.

He also brought his sister the finest China ware there was, thin as eggshell. But that's another story.

See Jane for more Corner Views.

Corner View: Sweets

 

When we're in town on Saturdays, we usually visit this tiny store for one obvious reason: They sell sweets, and nothing else.

 

Highlight of the week for those under five: Sweets on Saturdays only, at six o'clock for telly.

Corner View: My favourite hangout

I guess I could say the cool new bar in town would be my favourite hangout, but frankly I rarely go to bars anymore (even though I very much like it) . It's more like what makes my children happy makes me happy.

The public library is the favourite hangout of this household.

Besides, when minus 11 and the evil north wind makes swinging a trial, we have to withdraw inside for drawing and reading.


This library was named the best library in Norway last year. The ceiling is endless, and a place for thoughts.

I think public libraries are treasurable and worth fighting for. The library is a place for everyone, rich or poor. It doesn't matter how much money you have when loaning is free.

You can nurse there, or just read a magazine and drink your coffee.

And we loan bags of books, films, audiobooks and music. Then we hand it in again.

Visit Jane for more Corner Views.

Corner View: Holiday (in longing retrospect)

 

Ah, Jane's Corner View theme gave me a chance to remember last summers lovely holiday. I like summer, I long for it. Not having it makes me appreciate it more.

You lucky Australians.

 

Anyways.

Here are the higlights of right now:

* Sun coming back in six days. Will eat so many berliner buns - Sun Buns - that day I'll probobly get sick, like the rest of the city. Got an e-mail at work saying they will be served with hot chocolate at the lunch room. I'll manage at least three. Better not be cloudy!

* Fresh cod "le skrei" is at it's absolutely best. Yummy and oh so healthy. And king crab and shrimps.

 

* Mad Men 3 is soon out on DVD. That means I don't have to hassle the people at the DVD shop anymore. Dying to see what Betty is on about.

* The film festival that I have been going on about is just around the corner. BFC (before children) I used to watch films day and night, and party the rest - looking pale and locked up for days (which I was). Nowadays I'm lucky to szueeze in two movies. But they need to be obscure films that take me with surprise from a country I know little about. This year it's Iran and France (ok, I know France, have even lived there)

* Have received some wonderful gifts. More about that soon.

Corner View: Colour coordinated books

 

Taking up the challenge from Jane: her Corner View theme this week is "books". As an over the average book interested household this is an easy one: our whole flat is filled with books.

For a few years our bookshelf has been colour coordinated. I love it, it's soo much more easy to relocate the books - one always remembers the colour!

That one coming from a person who collected names in alphabetical order as a child.

Some therapist's food right there.

 

My favourite pile is the blue one. But appareantly my hubby has an idea that the shelf will be organised by authors soon. That it's his turn.

In his dreams.

 

Billy from Ikea is a great companion. He costed almost zero, everyone should have a Billy in their house. (don't tell Ikea I said that)