We’ve been adopted, at least for now…

When I got home from work yesterday and opened the door to the house a cat flew out of nowhere and ran inside the house. We left the cat in for about 10 minutes and then took it back out. James went to take the trash out and ‘flash’, suddenly the cat was standing on the dining room table. We let it warm up a little and put it back outside.

Fast forward to this morning. James opens the door to go outside to start the car and ‘flash’ – there’s the cat again. He puts it (we don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl… haven’t investigated ) outside again. I go to open the door to start the car and there the cat is again. I put my jacket on and go to get the cat to take it out, and it apparently figured out what was happening because suddenly the cat was up the stairs and hiding in the bathroom. Cat got carried outside again! Then I open my car door and ‘flash’… the cat gets in the car.  Determined little one!

My neighbor comes driving by to pick up her mail on the other side of the street, opens her car door, and who hops in? The cat. She took it home, sms’ed me that she had “my cat” (she had seen a pic I posted on facebook last night). Julia went next door to pick it up after school.

It’s really a kitten. Lots of fluffy fur, but oh so very, very skinny. Calm, sweet, and friendly. Hasn’t scratched or clawed at anything, and if someone is on the couch (s)he’s curled up on your lap within seconds. Snuggly little one. I’ve never met a cat like this.

Even James is smitten by this little one. The amazing thing is that his allergies aren’t reacting to this cat. How strange? Normally he can’t touch a cat without his eyes starting to tear up.

I’m inclined to keep this little one, but Kari is insanely afraid and screams bloody murder if the cat walks past her… we have to keep them separated. That’s not a great solution. I guess we’ll have to try to find a home for the loveliest kitten ever. For now, we’ll keep her warm and fed.

The ‘Julekalender’ 2009

When I was a kid I dreamed of having a “gift calendar” for advent. In Norway the countdown to Christmas is very important. Every child has an advent calendar with 24 days of chocolate or gifts. I used to have the chocolate filled ones. Sometimes I’d have one chocolate filled one, and one filled with little plastic trinkets that I found annoying and pointless even then. My best friend however had this amazing calendar. Her mom had made it. It was a good 1.5m x 1.5m large and had a big train on it. Each train cart had a number and a gift inside. Oh how I dreamed of having a calendar just like hers!

Fast forward to having my own kids, and I want them to have the gift calendar that I always dreamed of. Last year I wasn’t well so I didn’t manage to get one done, so they got these ready made High School Musical ones instead. This year I found that my string with numbered clips was broken (clips falling apart etc) and it was time for a new one. Of course nothing is fun unless done at the last minute (?? she pretends), so on November 30th I’m at the store looking for a replacement. I couldn’t find anything I liked, and decided to make my own. So off I went and purchased:

• One table runner with a Christmas pattern
• 50 golden rings
• 1 roll of 2cm wide red ribbon
• 1 roll of 5cm wide red ribbon
• Red spool of thread

As James wrapped 48 small gifts I sowed 24 rings on one side of the runner, and then 24 on the other side. (James tried to help sew on rings, but apparently this is not a skill he has even remotely perfected so the rest were left to me. He does get credit for 2 rings ) I added a stick to the back of the top and bottom for sturdiness, sewed on a 40cm piece of 2cm wide red ribbon to hang it from. After it was hung I added a big bow of red ribbon on top, just to give it  that little extra touch. Check out the workshop:

Daddy manning the wrapping end

Mommy manning the sowing end

The finished product

We started at 21:00 and finished at 00:54…..boy were we tired. But it’s all worth it when you’re standing in front of it the next morning with a sleepy eyed kid beside you, and you see those eyes widen, the smile brighten and arms throw themselves around your neck. The first gift was a round chocolate with a picture of Santa on it. Small and sweet little gift to start off the advent season.

Funny footnote: James woke up this next morning and the first thing he said was “I’ve been dreaming of gift wrapping all night!” lol

Happy Advent Everyone! It’s such an exciting time of year!

The hat found its home

Look at Elliot sportin’ his new hat! So much fun that it fit him like a glove!

Wishing you a safe and happy journey back to the US little Elliot!

On it’s way to a baby… near you?

This little hat is a gift for a little baby boy. I finished knitting it last night. If we’re lucky maybe I’ll get a picture back of the little prince modeling it? It will be going on a long journey very soon. Hopefully it arrives safe and sound! Let’s also hope that it will fit this winter season

Super soft grey baby wool with a fair isle pattern

Modeled on Kari's baby doll

My furniture restoration fashion statement

It’s pretty cold on this side of the globe this time of year. It rains A LOT. Combine that with my wish to restore furniture and you realize pretty quickly that this isn’t going to happen inside the house. Especially when it includes sanding, oil paint, and other foul smelling chemicals. Thankfully we live in a house that has a “raw basement”. It’s cold down there, and it’s not pretty, but it’s out of the rain and wind. It’s messy, tiring, and fun work. James pulled out his iPhone the other day – he finds my restoring furniture fashion statement amusing

Here it is:

Notice the iPod strings dangling down, lol. The four panels of white behind me are the side boards of the bed I’m fixing up

Rain, hot chocolate, and 7am

It’s morning. 7am. It’s raining hard outside. Kari has “uteskole” (outdoor school) today. Something hot in a thermos would do well. I make hot chocolate, pour it into the Hannah Montana thermos and put it in Kari’s backpack. She then announces that the bottle is broken and she can’t get the hot chocolate out of it. After some investigation I realize she’s right. I look outside. It’s insane how wet and cold it is. The kid needs a warm drink. What to do? I didn’t have another kid sized thermos because Julia doesn’t drink anything warm… In the back of a kitchen cabinet I find:It’s only about 5 inches tall so it’s a good size for a little kid. It can handle hot liquids. However, it’s metal so it will get burning hot if I put hot chocolate in it. What to do?

A Norwegian saying says: “Nød lærer naken kvinne å spinne” (Need teaches naked woman to weave). I’m married to a man who has taught me to think outside the box. He comes up with the most amazing solutions sometimes. My mind racing I ran upstairs and dove into the leftover-single-sock-drawer. I found a fluffy sock that doesn’t necessarily look like one. So scissor in hand I cut the foot off the sock, pulled it onto the thermos and voilá:

Kari LOVED the purple fluffiness. She didn’t realize it was a sock until she came home from school and found the foot part in the bathroom trash bin, lol.

It’s in their blood

My children’s intense love of donning a costume and putting on a show with the hopes of amusing a captive audience is growing stronger every year. It’s in their blood. My nieces and nephews are the same. We can’t get through a family party without them putting on a show. The fun thing is that they’re actually hilarious. We don’t laugh or clap just to amuse them. These children evoke genuine rolling belly laughter in their adult family audience. Here’s a little gallery of insanity:

The girls

Kari & Julia

Michael Jackson & Dolly Parton

"Supershow" Summer09

Julia - the born performer

And hey – for my colleagues out there: Pretty good Kick Off specimen huh?

What one accumulates….

When we moved to our current abode we thought we’d live here 6 months to a year. As life would have it we’re now approaching the  4 1/2 yr mark. We’ve loved our little “stint in the country”, but have found that we truly are city people at heart. We are looking for a home surrounded by more people than cows We won’t move too far, either to Sola Sentrum or somewhere in Stavanger.

House hunting is fun, stressful, emotional, disappointing and exciting! We haven’t found it yet. In the meantime I’m slowly preparing to move. I’m going through closets and cupboards, shelves and drawers, attic, garage and basement. Garbage bags are being filled, bags of clothes sent off to salvation army, and we’ve begun refinishing some furniture.

I’m a bit baffled as I dig through everything. What one accumulates! That’s what you get for being a bit of a hoarder :/ I have two things working against me. I’m a sentimental fool –  the slightest tug at my heart strings makes it very hard for me to toss something that could even slightly classify as a current or future heirloom. In addition there is the fear of: “…but I might need that one day”. On more than one occasion I’ve had a small raid and decided to throw stuff out. Within weeks I will find that I’m looking for something and suddenly realize “No!!!” – I had thrown it out.

In my ‘prepare to move’ process I’m having to buckle down and decide what truly is worth saving. It’s not easy. I’m getting better at it though I’m slowly making my towards “everything having a place to call home”.

Knit, purl, purl, knit, slip, knit, psso…

I’m a bit of a knitting fanatic during the fall and winter months. By the time spring rolls around I’m no longer feeling “wooly” and cozy and the knitting is laid aside for a while. As we’ve now passed the middle of November I’m in full knitting mode. I figure I’ll start sharing my projects on my blog – more fun that way Especially since my every so dearly beloved hubby doesn’t quite “get it” and rarely offers much more than a “You made that? Cool.” lol

The latest project is a scarf. I’ve wanted a “triangle scarf”… that is, it has to come to a point in the front and on the ends. It’s supposed to wrap a certain way around my neck, lol. The final product wraps the way I want it to, so all in all I’m quite happy with it and looking forward to sporting it

I came across these beautiful beads at my favorite craft store (Kreaktiv), and just had to find a way to incorporate them. Here’s what it looks like:

The "big picture" or grand overview

The way you wear it

Lace pattern (can you see it?)

Bead detail

Not very clear, but this is an attempt to show the scalloped edge (crochet)

Santa Claus, The Tooth Fairy, and God

Julia (7) is growing up. She came home from school with grave concerns yesterday:

Mommy! A lot of the kids in school are saying that Santa Claus doesn’t exist! Not the Tooth Fairy either! I know they exist Mommy – how can they say that? And you know what else? Some of them don’t even believe in God! How can they not believe in God? He made everything! And they don’t believe that! Why don’t they believe in God?

Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, and God all in the same question. Those magical childhood tales of fantasy and dreaming – Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy – and beginning to understand how many and deep the questions of religion and faith are. A lot for a young mind to process. After taking a deep breath I resigned myself to what I knew was going to be a long conversation.