2010 in pictures

Another year has gone by so quikly... I feel like I haven't had time to do all the things I wanted to... But I guess that's just how it feels like each time we are about to start a new year. This year I'm not going to make any resolutions. Instead I'm going to look at the new as a sheet of white paper that I can colour and draw on as I wish :) In a norwegain song about a little boy that tries to draw a picture there is a line like this:

"Du ska få en dag i mårå som rein og ubrukt står, med blanke ark og farjestifter tel,

og da kæin du rette oppatt æille feil ifrå i går, og da får du det så godt i mårrå kveld."

"You will have a day tomorrow that clean and unused stands, with a blank sheet of paper and crayons,

and then you can correct all errors outstanding yesterday, and you'll feel well tomorrow night."

I've been making two collages using a free program Shape Collage. This one is showing all the things I've knitted and crocheted in 2010. I made 71 things all together :) Mostly socks this year too... I haven't joined any big kal's for next year. I've finally learned that all that comes out of it is me being grumpy ;) But I'm going to do the NaKniMitMo in January. Some of us really need new mittens :) I've also joined the 12in2011 group on Ravelry. It's not a kal, but a group to encourage each other to use up yarn and pattern we already have. I've made a list of 12 project I'm going to try to get done during next year. It might look like a boring list to some, not many challenging and big project going on. But these are things I've had in my queue for a long time and I really want to make them.
So do you have any big plans for what you'll make next year??

This is a collage made of some of the pictures I've taken during the year when we've been hiking and exploring the outdoors :) Looks like it's mostly winter pictures, but that is what it feels like up here in the north too... It seems like the year consist of 7-8 months of winter and cold and only 4-5 months of summer and warmth ;)

Hope you all will have a wonderful new year filled will good memories!!

Finally weather for sledding, skiing, skating and snow lanterns :)

Orange sky

 

We are having cold weather again, -23C yesterday, -20C today... So the kids are having lots of ants in their pants these days because they haven't been outdoors in a few days 'sigh'. No need to say I'm looking forward to school starting again next week ;) The weather forcast tell us that we have some warmer weather and snow to come, so I really hope we can head out in the forest soon. We get to see some beautiful colours on the sky now that it's so clear. The sun is slowly making her way back to us, and today around 13.20 the sky was all orange. So I just had to run out and take a picture -almost  freezing my nose and fingers off ;)

Merry Christmas

It's the night before the night here. It's snowing outside so we're going to have a white christmas this year :)
The gifts are under the tree and we have all in order for our dinner tomorrow. We're having my mom, my sister and my brother for dinner. In Norway people have "ribbe" or "pinnekjøtt" for Christmas dinner. We have both - they are both so good it's hard to choose just one ;) For dessert we have "riskrem", and it has to be my mom's :) We serve it with a rasberry sause.
The kids are excited and I guess some will have troubles going to sleep tonight ;) And not to mention how long the day is going to feel tomorrow. We don't open our presents until after dinner here in Norway.

I hope all of you will have a wonderful Christmas!!

Sleep well, little children.

Sleep well, little children,

wherever you are;
Tomorrow is Christmas
beneath every star.
Soon the snowflakes will fall
and tomorrow you'll see
Every wish, one and all,
waiting under the tree.

Sleep well, little children,
pleasant dreams through the night;
Tomorrow is Christmas,
all merry and bright.
Soon you'll hear the bells ring,
time for dreams to come true
As the world wakes to bring
Merry Christmas to you.


A.Bergman, L.Klatzkin (c) 1956

Tiny socks

A tiny pair of socks for my shop. I've casted on for a matching pair of mittens too ;)

Pattern: It's a traditional norwegian pattern, and I think I've pulled it out of some kind of christmas magazine one year ;)
Yarn: Silja sock yarn
Needles: 2,5 mm
Size: 6.12 months

The weather is back to cold again after a few days with warm teperatures and rain. Enough rain to make the roads slippery again :(
But not enough to melt the little snow we have, so the water seems to have enough isolation to prevent it from freezing ;)
And with a clear sky the polar nights dosn't feel so dark, we could even see the sun paint the clouds pink the other day! And it's not many days until she turns, so the days will get lighter again :)

 

Remember the moose family we had wandering around our house last week??

Well, they left us after a few days and started to walk into the inland and the woods there. Like most of the mooses do. But on the way the mommy got hit by a tractor :( And they had to kill her due to her injuries...

I'm pretty sure it's the same family we had here, because she got hit not far from here and she had two little calves... So I really hope they will survive the winter. They need a winter with little snow to manage that.

Hats :)

I've been knitting some hats lately ;) They're all for my Epla shop.

Pattern: Hello Kitty hat.
Yarn: I've used a yarn with a wool/acrylic blend (Mor Aase ull/akryl)
Needles: 3,5 mm
Size: Pink flower - 2-3 years, purple flower - 4-5 years

This is a baby hat, about 0-4 months in size. Knitted in merino wool. Pattern is from an old norwegian booklet, I just added the ears and face ;)

Pattern: Norwegain sweet Baby cap and the mittens are made up as I knitted along. They are without a thumb.
Yarn: Less then 50 g of Babyull from Gjestal
Needles: 2,5 mm
Size: 0-4 months

Mooses & Snow angels

Life just been busy this week and the polar nights makes my so tired I feel like I could sleep all day ;) So I haven't been able to take part in Merets's December blogging... I'm not sure if I'll jump in again - it was fun but I feel that so much else is happening now in December so finding time to blog each day is hard.

We've had four mooses spending time on the field below our house the whole week. It's a mother with two calves and her older calv that is following her. The kids have been a little thrilled when they have been waiting for the school bus in the mornings - hearing the mooses walk and eat, but not seeing them ;)

And we got lots of snow during the night - so finally there could be made snow angels :) It's still cold though, -17C, so the snow is all dry.

Eirin could finally put on her skates ;) It's in our yard and it was not so fun to shovel snow, so the rink got very small... I think the ice on our lake is thick enough too with all the low temperatures we've had lately. So maybe we'll have to shovel a rink for the kids there. I don't like to walk on ice very much - knowing it's lots of icecold water beneath it...

Lucky me - I won a give away over at Hunni :) The price was a skein of yarn - Little Traveller from The Sanguine Gryphon, but she had put a few other small items too in the package! Made my day :)

 

I know it dosn't look like the house I was aiming for... I didn't make the roof windows, and the icing dosn't get so shiny and white because we can't use eggwhites in it due to Endre's allergy. But I think it turned out pretty cosy - It's leaning a bit and might be a bit drafting - just like our house ;)

December :: laget {5} group/ made

The word today is laget {5} group/ made, and I had great plans to show you our gingerbread house we should make today... But that's not going to happen :(  We started to bake, cutted out the pieces and baked them in the oven. But, when we took the parts out, all of them had rised and become hugh and thick... Not material for building. I'm not sure what we've done wrong though, but I guess this dough might not be perfect for houses, just cookies ;) So tomorrow I'm going to look for some premade dough - because we need a gingerbread house! The last years we've made our gingerbread house from a package, but I really want to make one from scratch. The one you can buy is  so small and it's a bit boring to have the same kind of house year after year

So instead I'm going to show you this little bookmark I've made for a swap. It's a easy, peasy project. Pattern here - Over the Book Bookmark :)

More post about laget {5} group/ made here.

We light two candles tonight

Så tenner vi to lys i kveld,

to lys for håp og glede.

De står og skinner for seg selv

og oss som er til stede.

Så tenner vi tenner vi to lys i kveld,

to lys for håp og glede. 

-Inger Hagerup- 

We light two candles tonight.

We light it for hope and happiness.

December :: samling { 4 } together/ collection

The word today is samling { 4 } together/ collection.  I don't really collect anything (if I look away from yarn and book..). So I'll just show you a little collection of the packets I've been wrapping today :) The kids are at a sleepover at my mom, so Hubby and I are having a little time together. Right now he's in the kitchen making dinner :) No doubt he's the one who likes to make food here... which suits me find.

But I'have been rummaging a bit in the kitchen too today. Making a gingerbread dough for tomorrow. The house smells of ginger, clove and cinnamon :) I've used the same recipe as last year. And I may be a bit ambitious about the gingerbread house... But I think we'll manage it :)

 

More post about samling { 4 } together/ collection

December :: inne {3} inside

Today the word is inne {3} inside. And we've spent much of the last days inside due to bad weather... It's been raining like crazy the last two days. Making almost all the snow gone and the roads very slippery. Eirin was hoping for ice to skate on, but we had to sand all the ice outside the house so we could manage to walk.

So the days have been spent drying wet clothes over the stove (the kids have been like two pairs of drowned cats when they've come home from school), knitting, drinking tea and watching the Adventcalendar on tv. This year it's a show called Jul på Månetoppen (Christmas at Moontop). It's about the red "nisser" that lives at the farm and the blue "nisser" that lives in the mountain Blåfjell (Bluemountain).

The nisse mom are knitting on a hat that the nisse girl is going to get when she has passed the "long hat test" on the 23rd of December (if I'm not wrong). To pass the test she has to make one nisse joy and one nisse trick each day  :)

With the bad weather I've managed to finish this monster pants for a friend. Endre is the model, and I really need to knit him a new pair too since the one he have starts to get a bit short...
Pattern: This time I've used Monsterbukser by Du bedåre.
Yarn: 275 g Mor Aase
Needles: 2,5 and 3 mm
Size: 4-5 years

Here is more post about todays word :)

Friday Flickr Favourites

1. The Vain Santa, 2. mr & mrs claus ornaments, 3. Snowgirl Trio, 4. Shoe ♥, 

5. Leif, 6. merry christmas, 7. neglected, 8. Broche cupcake, 

9. Up to our elbows in snow!, 10. comfort craft, 11. snowmen, 12. ... in the lane snow is glistening .., 

13. redbackground_errors, 14. Holiday mood, 15. Twilight before Christmas, 16. HBW: Bokeh Stars

December :: bilder {2} pictures

It's about pictures today in Merete's december blogging.
I guess you all remember how it was before the digital cameras became something everyone had. The feeling you had when you opened the envelope with pictures (not even halfway out the door of the photoshop) to flip through the pictures to see if some of them are worth keeping ;) Some was blurry, a few people had become headless and some had become real keepers. I guess one of us want to go back to how it was. Now that we can take a endless amount of pictures and delete the once we don't like ;)

And not to mention putting all those pictures in albums... *sigh* I was good at it with my first kid, rather good with my second, but I've been miserable with my third. I think he just have one album... And I have lots of envelopes with pictures which hasn't made it into albums yet. And I'm not sure if they ever will either....

So know I'm thinking about making photo books instead. I've been looking a bit around. And Blurb looks like a good choise. Anyone tried it or know of some place else to get it cheep and good??

I don't edit my pictures much. I use flickr to upload most of my pictures and they have picnik as a editing choise so I use that ;)  I don't like to edit pictures too much - I want it to be real. But I guess I should have a better look at picnik and learn a bit more.

www.flickr.com Go to hege2's photostream

A photograph is memory in the raw.  ~Carrie Latet

Here is more post about bilder {2} pictures.

December :: trekk { 1 } draw

 

Merete is having blogging in December this year too, and today the word was  trekk { 1 } draw
And as I have mention before, the kids are having lego and littlest pet shop calendars here this year. Some of them had lots of butterflies last night when we put them up :) And it's so great to see the joy in their faces when the open it! One of the little pieces was a snowman today.

Now I'm going to watch a new series - No ordinary family on tv and see if I can finish the monsterpants I have on my needles.

Here are more blog posts about trekk { 1 } draw

52 books in 52 weeks update

It's been all about vampires, werewolves, witches and pixi's this month!! I've read the last three "True Blood" books, and I can't wait until May for the 11th book!
And the Hollow series just get's better and better. You know, those kind of books you never want to end ;) I'll have to wait until February before the 5th book comes out in norwegian... *sigh*

November
112 - First drop of crimson - Jeaniene Frost

The night is not safe for mortals. Denise MacGregor knows all too well what lurks in the shadows – her best friend is half-vampire Cat Crawfield – and she has already lost more than the average human could bear. But her family’s dark past is wrapped in secrets and shrouded in darkness – and a demon shapeshifter has marked Denise as prey.
113 - Every Which Way But Dead (The Hollows, Book 3) - Kim Harrison

Some days, you just can't win. Witch and former bounty hunter Rachel Morgan's managed to escape her corrupt company, survive living with a vampire, start her own runner service, and face down a vampire master. But her vampire roommate Ivy is off the wagon, her human boyfriend Nick is out of town indefinitely and doesn't sound like he's coming back while the far-too-seductive vampire Kisten is looking way too tempting, and there's a turf war erupting in Cincinnati's underworld. And there's a greater evil still. To put the vampire master behind bars and save her family, Rachel made a desperate bargain and now there's hell to pay—literally. For if Rachel cannot stop him, the archdemon Algaliarept will pull her into the sorcerous ever-after to forfeit her soul as his slave. Forever.

114 - From Dead to Worse (Southern Vampire Mysteries, No. 8) - Charlaine Harris
115 - Dead and Gone (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 9) - Charlaine Harris

The Louisiana town of Bon Temps—along with the rest of the world—is about to be rocked with some big supernatural news: like the vampires before them, the Were people—humans with the ability to change into animals—are about to reveal themselves to humanity. Psychic barmaid Sookie Stackhouse is apprehensive about the revelation, given the way some people in the small town revile anyone with extraordinary powers, including Sookie herself. While the initial announcement seems to go over smoothly with most people, tragedy strikes when Sookie’s brother Jason’s estranged wife, a werepanther, is found murdered and nailed up on a cross. Jason is the prime suspect, but Sookie has even bigger problems to deal with when she learns that a vicious fairy prince is determined to kill her.

116 - Dead in the Family (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 10) - Charlaine Harris

After enduring torture and the loss of loved ones during the brief but deadly Faery War, Sookie Stackhouse is hurt and she's angry. Just about the only bright spot in her life is the love she thinks she feels for vampire Eric Northman. But he's under scrutiny by the new Vampire King because of their relationship. And as the political implications of the Shifters coming out are beginning to be felt, Sookie's connection to the Shreveport pack draws her into the debate. Worst of all, though the door to Faery has been closed, there are still some Fae on the human side-and one of them is angry at Sookie. Very, very angry...

117 - A Fistful of Charms (The Hollows, Book 4) - Kim Harrison

The evil night things that prowl Cincinnati despise witch and bounty hunter Rachel Morgan. Her new reputation for the dark arts is turning human and undead heads alike with the intent to possess, bed, and kill her -- not necessarily in that order. Now a mortal lover who abandoned Rachel has returned, haunted by his secret past. And there are those who covet what Nick possesses -- savage beasts willing to destroy the Hollows and everyone in it if necessary. Forced to keep a low profile or eternally suffer the wrath of a vengeful demon, Rachel must nevertheless act quickly. For the pack is gathering for the first time in millennia to ravage and to rule. And suddenly more than Rachel's soul is at stake.

118 - Bloody Bones - (Anita Blake 5) - Laurell K. Hamilton

We light one candle tonight

Så tenner vi ett lys i kveld.

Vi tenner det for glede.

det står og skinner for seg selv

og oss som er til stede.

Så tenner vi ett lys i kveld.

Vi tenner det for glede.

-Inger Hagerup-

We light one candle tonight

We light it for happiness.

EN STJERNE

En advent så vakker

med lys og med sne,

en stjerne på him’len,

løft blikket og se.

Vår stjerne den hilser

høytidlig og flott.

Med håp om at alle

kan ha det litt godt.

Den sender et budskap

med kjærlighet stor.

La omtanken spre seg

omkring på vår jord.

God jul her til alle

vi sender av sted,

med ønsker og tanker

du stjernen vil se.

Strawberry Dream, monster and Aurora Borealis

The days are dark and cold around here now. I took this picture around 11.30 am today. The light is blue almost all day now and the sun is bearly painting the mountain tops pink... To bad it gets so cold when the air is so bright... The temperature have been around -20 C all week and today it's been -24 C here, and we are starting to get a bit of cabin fever ;)

So Eirin and I desided to bake some cookies :)

Strawberry Dream Cookies

200 g softened butter
1 dl sugar
1 dl potato flour
4 dl flour

Mix the sugar and butter to cream. Stir in the flour. Roll out the dough and cut into ca. 40 pieces. Roll each piece to a ball and press it flat with a little dimple in the middle. Fill the dimple with strawberry jam. Bake at 175 C for ca. 10-12 minutes. Cool off on a cakerack.

 

What's on your needles this weekend??

I'm knitting on a pair of monster pants - a fast and fun knit :)
And I just have to share this beautiful video made of pictures. I love it when the northern light flashes through the sky and hope we'll see lots of it this winter! These are from Tromsø,  city a bit further north.

Aurora Borealis timelapse HD - Tromsø 2010 from Tor Even Mathisen on Vimeo.