chrocheted summer-hat

I'm crocheting a summer-hat for myself. I need to wear something on my head in summer to protect my scalp from the sun. Due to my psoriasis and the remedy I use for it, my skin on my scalp is waaay thin and sensitive. I've been told that if I do not keep my scalp protected properly against the sun, I'll develop skin cancer in no time. I've tried for years to find a pretty summer-hat that isn't too big and I still haven't found any. Seems I've either got a particularly small head, or hats are generally made for huge-headed women...

Result is that I've had to choose between summer-hats for young girls, scarves of some kind, or caps.

This year I figured I may as well make my own summer-hat.

It will look something like this, just a bit cuter and with a flower on the side. The recipe is for a yellow one, but I'm going to go with a white one, because yellow isn't exactly my colour.



The flower I'm chrocheting is similar to this one, but will be white as the hat

It will have wavy ends, but not with holes like the pink baby hat.

Feel free to cross fingers it'll turn out okay ;-)


Will be starting on it today. I still have the poncho project and I also have a new secret knitting project I can't talk about just yet. The baby socks and the felted slippers for my sister are all done.

I am sooo ready for weekend. It feels like my body was used as a sandbag first and then thrown in a threshing machine. I'm pooped and then some. I've been with my mom to doctors and hospitals check ups. Taken my dad to a surgical dentist. Done their shopping. Been to the vet with Vera for X-rays, which means general anaesthesia, which means I had to carry her.  in addition there is all the work for our house, incl. yard work, clearing out shed, laundry and cleaning in between.  I still have trouble saying no to helping others when there apparently isn't anybody else to ask...

Also, I wish all needy peeps and hubbies in particular could go take a hike /end rant

My goal for the weekend is to be like Georg; not moving a muscle!


Hope you guys have a great weekend!

It's raining cats and dogs

Hullo?

Where did summer go?

 It's raining cats and dogs. Gale winds. Temps in lower 60s.

Warm temps. Sun.  Ice cream melting and running down my fingers.

Summer, come back please?

Update-edit: That should be lower 50s, not 60s...

Indoor playing - Georg & Vera

Anyone who says dogs don't know the difference between indoor and outdoor playing, is wrong.

 We've already been on our walk down to the fresh water lake we always let Georg cool himself down a bit. Hot summer days are tough on a St Bernard, his daily dip in the lake is the favorite part of day. They just had a bit more energy left when we got back and needed to express their joy to each other and the world.


Vera stayed with us for a week, while Thomas and Charlotte, first time parents, got settled with a new baby in the house. For that whole week, Vera did not once! sleep in her own bed. Georg doesn't mind sharing his blankie, even though it means he'll be sleeping half way on the floor.

Poor Vera experienced her first period of heat while she was with us, thankfully Georg is his same old self. I'm not sure if it is because he still isn't fully grown up and hasn't quite hit puberty, yet (he's 2.5 yo), or if it's another result of inbreeding. Frankly, I don't care. I love him being able to mingle and play with all dogs, regardless of size, sex, heat or not.

 Jasper(My sister's dog) almost raped her. They visited us while we were up at the farm and he just went BANANAS! Hildegunn and I had to throw ourselves on the darned dog, to pull him away from Vera. She had no idea what was going on and was a bit frightened, although not enough to keep her from pleaying the tease, wagging her tail in front of him. Talk about drama.

Nosy much?!?


A neighbour dog also came sneaking around to our back garden one day. Storm got tied to a tree until his owner came and picked him up. The owner being the neighbour with the agressive Leonberger who attacks children and adults alike. Storm is their smaller Tollerman hunting dog. Runar had no problems catching him and leashing him to the tree, at least.

Thomas and Charlotte was very anxious and worried that Vera would would show jealousy towards Frida,  but I was pretty sure Vera would recognize Frida as a member of the family and become a devoted "big sister". Sure enough, Vera sniffed the baby chair and then ran over to Charlotte who was holding Frida. She slowed down, sat down and carefully sniffed the baby, then licked her fingers and wagged her tail, before running around checking that her water and toys were still there after a week's absence.

A good week later Vera has excelled in her new job as big sister. She comes running if Frida cries and will run to Thomas, or Charlotte making it very clear with her body language, they need to go pick up Frida.  She will take up position outside the bathroom when they are changing diapers, or bathing her, she'll sleep outside the bedroom door at nights. Thomas and Charlotte have done everything right and I am so proud of how they've handled it all.  I walk in their door and I can immediately sense the harmony and love residing in their home.

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We got the boat on water and had our first trip out in the archipelago. It was windy and freezing cold, so we stayed close to shore. Being the landlubber I am, I am extra scared of big waves early in the season, but it was a nice trip and I experimented a bit with the camera.









Experimenting means playing with colours...





























...and light, hulloo! It's me, I just figured out there were such options as colours++ on my camera. I've only had it for 5 years...










Runar has gone mostly grey by now. In Runar speek, that means cut-me-hair-short. 




















My hair is longer than I've had it, ever. I am working on persuading Runar agreeing on me cutting it short. Why are men so terrified of their wives changing their haircuts?!?





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I think we have mould or some kind of dangerous moist issue in Simen's bedroom. I have noticed a ...stink in there, but figured it came from Simen having left a cup or a dish of something in there, pluss dirty socks, etcc and I've nagged on him to clean up. I walked into his clean room and that same stink was there. I asked Runar to check and he smelled it too, which means it's bad, because that man has nearly lost his sense of smell due to his excessive smoking. I asked Simen if he hadn't noticed and why he hadn't told me. He said he thought it was his smelly feet. I cracked up laughing. I know, I'll be given the bad mom of the week award again, but the way he said it was too funny.  The boy with the mouldy footsies are now sleeping in the spear bedroom. I stayed up till 1 am folding clothes (I know, I'm terrible. I have washed clothes nonstop since we got our new washing machine, but haven't folded as much as a single piece of clothing). It's the downside of having a spear bedroom you can close the doors on and "forget about". He's got the rest of the week off school, since they've started on all the exams, which means he'll stay up until 2 - 3 am and sleep until I tempt and lure him out of bed with fresh coffee around 10 in the morning.

Now we have to empty his bedroom completely and figure out what is the problem. Ack! It. Just. Never. Ends.

Public versus private blogs

I've been contemplating making my blog private. There are things I want to blog about, but can't as long as it is public. I really like the idea of a public blog that anyone can read and comment on, even with all the spam I have to clean up. So far, blogger seems to throw most spam comments in the spam-folder and you guys don't get bothered by them. I haven't been bothered by internet trolls, either. Perhaps they recognize me as one and thus leave me alone :P My question is, should I just make this blog private, or should I create a new private blog for stuff I feel a need to get out of my system, that can't be shared with the whole world? What do you guys think? What are your experience with your private blogs?

I'm struggling to keep up with regular blogging. Apologies. Things/people keep turning up in addition to me trying to catch up with all the things I haven't been able to do due to my right arm/shoulder not working. I have to hand it to my doctor. That lady knows her business. That cortisone shot she gave me, was spot on and I am now able to actually work without ending up a fevered wreck afterward. There are stuff going on that I can't discuss publicly, that is another big reason for the lack of blog posts.

I was granted with a few hours of extra time today, because the vet appointment for Vera was postponed a week as the vet was down with a bad cold. I guess I forgot to tell you that I have gotten a new niece. A beautiful little princess called Frida. She was tiny – only 2.7kg and 45 cm long, but is healthy and amazingly calm and quiet. Thomas is back at work and I'm helping them with all the things that is impossibly difficult to handle for a first time mother with a newborn baby.

We're having major thunderstorms and I've pulled out plugs on everything electronic – including internet. I'm only plugged in long enough to get this posted. (which is why I'm not logged on to facebook chat, Sue, sorry)

Road trip and short update

Ellen and I started early as it was raining cats and dogs and we wanted to stop by Gjestal yarn factory's store for yarn at discount prices Gjestal cafe/store/factory Got a bunch of 100% wool yarn to knit slippers for felting. In a bout of impulsiveness I also bought yarn and recipe for a crouched summer-hat for myself. Should be interesting. Will post pictures when it's done.

At The Munk, a pub for the young to get blasted. Not my kind of place, but we smile...and smile

Stavanger isn't a VERY big city, but parking and particular long term parking is a major problem. I'm not a fan of big city driving. Our 4W drive volvo is not a good car to maneuver in small narrow parking lots and houses. After we'd driven around the area where the hotel is located for almost an hour I was getting close to a panic attack. We hadn't eaten since breakfast and it was now 4 30 pm. We were hungry, antsy and tired, so we ended up parking the car down by the harbour in a parking house that is expensive, but you can be relatively sure the car is there in one piece the next day.

The hotel was standard. Small rooms, but nice and clean. Comfty beds, which is important for us two fibro/arthritis peeps.

Helene and her Runar

We met up with Helene and her bf and ate dinner at her favorite Tai restaurant. Y.U.M. Afterwards we took our coffee at another favorite cafe of hers "Bøker & Børst" (Books and booze). This would have been my favorite if I lived in Stavanger, fer sure. It's a cafe with book cases full of second hand books that you can read while visiting. All kinds of weird books, new() and old. The furniture is old and painted in a multitude of happy colours. My kind of place.

This tea had been buried underground for 1 year. It tasted like it too...

We also visited a newly opened tea-house, which was a lot of fun. Owner was a turk who'd lived in London for years and married to a Finnish lady. As most turkish salesmen, he was flirting like crazy, to the point where Helene exclaimed: "Hey, that's my mom you're talking to, mister!" F.U.N.

Ellen explaining something to me. 

Saturday we did our shopping and I helped out one of our homeless peeps and got drowned in liquor-stinking luuuub and gratitude again and again as I somehow kept bumping into this guy all over  and if we hadn't left for home early, I'd probably be knighted and renamed a saint or something.






The rest of the days have been busy, but relatively drama free. My sister injured her knee and I had to rush her to hospital. She very narrowly avoided an operation, but will have to wear this contraption thingie that makes her look like a semi terminator. Since it's my oldest sister, any teasing and joking about it is accepted with resentment and promise of vengeance. She has no sense of humour :P

Anywho, it's FRIDAAAAY!!! I'm heading up to the farm for the weekend. Huzzah!

Flood season

News links:
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Hundreds_flee_floods_in_Norway_999.html

News link with a video
video link

In South Eastern Norway things are crazy due to floods. Luckily nobody has lost their lives, yet, but the evacuations have been near calls a lot of times and there are some scary story of people loosing their homes every day in the news up here.

My family and I are all fine, as the floods are happening in another part of the country. I am very relieved that none of my close ones are affected, at the same time that I feel guilty for being relieved as so many people were affected. Some towns are more or less gone. They say it's the worst flood in more than 50 years.

Sorry for not having blogged. I've been too busy and it seems I'll remain busy a while more.

Hope everyone has a great weekend

The War against the Weeds part 1

Let the Weedwar begin! 

Today (May 7th) was 2013's first sunny day with temps above 10C. The Goutweed has already started to grow. That friggin piece of weed is the worst kind of enemy. It is almost impossible to get rid of, because it spreads like a plague. The kind of toxic you would need to get rid of it, would be illegal to buy in stores. That's how badass this mofo is.

Not even alphabetical order in my garden...

It's supposed to be a herb used as medicine in the old days. Among other qualities, it is used as a remedy to ease arthritic pains, which is rather ironic. I haven't ever tested it. All I know is that the torturous aching I'm experiencing having to pull it up, is killing me.

We've attacked() the garden hedge. The part of the hedge that divides our garden with the neighbour – the old hedge that our former neighbour planted, that we hadn't really bothered with, since it wasn't ours and the former neighbours had very specific rules for what to do with it - had more or less turned into a jungle. We needed a friggin chainsaw for some of the branches. Don't get hedges, peeps, if you can avoid it. It is so much work to keep them trimmed. And cutting it is only half the job. Afterwards you have to get rid of all the cut off branshes, etc. Since our hedge is surrounding all of our garden, this means we have to carry it around to the other side of the house, or lift every branch one by one over the hedge to get it on the trailer. We only have a normal sized trailer, which means we'd be driving back and forth for a week... We decided to borrow FIL's twig chopper instead.  

Similar to what this lady is using

It is also taking forever. It is taking forever and a half and it is B.O.R.I.N.G. I worked for two days last week to get half of it chopped and cleared. It's enough to make you weep, I tell yah! Yesterday we started trimming the rest of the hedge. My arms and shoulders still ached like crazy from last week, so Runar had to chop the branches himself. He wasn't happy. I had to pay him in beers+++ He'll have to slave some more after work today, before it's done.

It has to be done this week by Thursday the latest. It is our national day this Friday. All gardens are supposed to be fixed and ready for that day. With spring coming so late, it has been a race to get it done. I've planted pansies in two of my urns. They can handle a frost night or two. The rest will have to wait. Not even tulips are flowering yet, which shows how late spring is this year...

Later this summer, or whenever we find the time, we have to cut down the old sick apple tree and a couple of birch trees. The biggest one needs to be cut in half to avoid it falling on houses and killing people...ugh, not looking forward to that. It will involve Simen climbing up in the tree with a chainsaw, while Runar is standing on the ground shouting out instructions.

And what's up with the lawn? Seems ours is just moss and weed. I've used fertilizer and some kind of  lawn-cleaner-moss-killer magic stuff that cost me the whites off me eyes.

Most likely I'll be mowing the lawn twice as often and the weeds will have a ball until the snow comes next winter  <.<

Up at Vintland the winter has barely lost it's grip. Not much is growing up there yet...




We had a great time visiting Helene. I got us lost a couple of times - as is what a proper roadtrip is like, right?!? I'll get a blog post up when I've gotten the photos.