Quietude III

How to Live - the wonderful place in Stavanger

Cats want to rest where they look their best - a tiny bit out of focus, but she looks too regal to resist

My partner

The Cat-in-Law

Recovery II

After the Climb

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Breathing Exercises

As means of relaxation in the middle of my local, personal tornado, my partner told me about an iPad (or is it iPhone? It works nicely on my iPad) app which I find very comfortable and quite pleasing aesthetically as well. It feels like opening the windows in the basement and it occurred to me that my breathing muscles are a bit out of shape too. The good part is that five minutes of exercise feels just wonderful. It is recommended by Harvard Medical School too:)

http://www.breathing-zone.com/

Quietude II

Margot Fonteyn & Rudolf Nureyev

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My Mother II

She is ill, and needs more medical help, something which her GP is working on getting her. I try to help out as best as I can, but I'm quite tired now. I sort of count on things sorting themselves out though. Time will show. She just woke me up being very worried in the middle of the night. Getting her the right help is somewhat difficult and takes time. We are not the medically-promised-land.

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Oslo today, close to the castle. It is strange, I thought I would stay away from posting, but somehow it is a nice break. Spring is approaching fast. It is really lovely outside. 

The Perfect Guy II

I'm sorry for being so out of spirits these days, thankfully Ola (informal form of Olav from Olafr - Norwegian king's name) is his fun og gorgeous self

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The Perfect Guy

Ola, who else?

Ola - again

Ola - the guinea pig

Ola is our great comfort. My mother is ill again, and I'm hanging on by a thread at school, so tired. If it were not for Ola ... Today he tried to take a bite of my neck though. The little pincher.

Drammen

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Sam Francis II

(picture)

Thank you

Thank you for all your kind comments and advice. I'm really worried when it comes to exams, so it really helps and I'm also a real sucker for kindness and I have received plenty. It has been very comforting.

Sam Francis

White Bone
Sam Francis
Lithograph
28 x 40 inches

Beauty Is Never Wasted - and neither is simplicity

"The opposite of luxury is not poverty because in the houses of the poor you can smell a good pot au feu. The opposite is not simplicity for there is beauty in the corn-stall and barn, often great simplicity in luxury, but there is nothing in vulgarity, its complete opposite."

So Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel (1883—1971) told photographer Cecil Beaton in 1966.

The quote taken from this wonderful blog that came highly commended in a posting in another wonderful blog: Little Augury

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Happy New Year

I hope the year to come, and new year's eve, will be as glorious as this picture taken from the Moomins Cookbook (ISBN 978-1906838-16-4) - the source of all our wonderful desserts, some interesting soups and ideas for what to do with leftovers. I haven't tried all the recipes yet, so good surprises to come, it seems.

Ola the guinea pig is sleeping on my stomach. We never had a guinea pig before. It has been the most wonderful experience. Ola makes his cute "I'm content" sounds and likes to sleep on my stomach for hours. It is scary though, Kipling said something about the risk of giving one's heart to an animal. Ola has my heart now.

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Rainy, dark day, but I love living in this part of town. It is fairly "un-posh", quiet, green in summer, close to the woods and the air quality is much better than in the center of Oslo. There is also a good mix of people - couples with children, the elderly, working class, artists, professionals, easy access to town and just not a very pretentious atmosphere. A good place to live.

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Exam time - it is kind of enjoyable, I get to have cookies with my scribbling, rantings and make a very intellectual looking mess

Obi

A wonderful obi available at Ichiroya (link), I would have loved to get it myself, but impossible when studying.

Pictures from here (ink)

This fukuro obi is made by The First Icchiku Kubota.
It is very rare and incredibly valuable item for the kimono lovers.

We don't have enough words to describe this art work - - - you must already know that tsujigahana dyeing was phantasmal dyeing, before HE revived it.

We can know that this piece was made by the first, from the signature.

This piece is not brand new one, but it is not used and in excellent condition.
It is in the original wooden box.

(*The price tag remains in the #209017(very similar one), which reads 4300,000Yen - approx 55,800.00USD. Unbelievable!)

*Approx background color - HTML code ( 3D695F)

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New Year's Resolutions

Here in Norway we have what we call our New Year Resolutions. I'm not sure, if this is an international thing, but these are mine:

Enjoy myself with my studies and friends

Exercise even better

Get enough vitamin D, A, iron and calcium - yes, I took blood tests, I know I need my cod liver oil (there are vegan options, I'm a bit in doubt, but have decided on cod liver oil for now after an excellent doctor gave a strong recommendation), more carrots, Ca2+ and iron - one must take blood tests, it is absolutely possible to overdose on fat soluble vitamins and also on minerals, one doesn't take supplements unless one actually needs them, and possibly test myself for celiac disease, as blood levels for vitamins are low

Be happy, take a lot of photographs and play the piano

And last, but not least, let the people I love - and Ola the guinea pig - know that I love them -- getting the message through on a regular basis :D

Santa Baby

Happy & Merry

Old Fashioned Christmas Cakes - Sand Nuts

185 grams of lightly salted gourmet butter
160 grams of sugar
2 tea spoons of vanilla sugar or vanilla seeds from a pod
0.5 tea spoon of hearts horn salt (ammonium carbonate)
250-290 grams of organic, fine wheat flour

Run the butter, vanilla and sugar in a food processor until it is almost white in colour. add hearts horn salt and flour. Mix. Make small balls (should make around 70) and flatten them slightly with a fingertip. Low heat - 150-175C until a very light golden. This is an old family favourite. Enjoy!

A little about hearts horn from Wiki:

Hartshorn salt (ammonium carbonate), also known simply as hartshorn, and baker's ammonia, was used as a leavening agent, in the baking of cookies and other edible treats. It was used mainly in the 17th and 18th centuries as a forerunner of baking powder.^[7] ½ teaspoon of hartshorn can substitute for 1 teaspoon of baking powder. It is called for in old German and Scandinavian recipes and, though rarely used in modern times, may still be purchased as a baking ingredient.^[8] Hartshorn helps molded cookies such as Springerle to retain their intricate designs during baking. Cookies make with hartshorn can be kept for a long time without hardening. Use of hartshorn may turn some ingredients, such as sunflower seeds, green.

The Christmas Tree

I have heard rumors about a wide angle lens this Christmas - O happiness

Christmas E-mail from My Boss - she is splendid!

Ikke glemme at juleferien er en tid for å slappe av, gjøre andre ting og samle krefter til ny giv på nyåret!!!! J Må bare minne deg på at du må ta hensyn til deg selv i fall du selv skulle glemme det! ;-)

TJ

Do not forget that the holidays are a time for relaxation, to do other tings than work and to find new energy!!!! I just Have to remind you to take care of yourself, in case you forget! ;-)

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If that's not the best Christmas e-mail ever ...

Ola