Another blessing of the Internet

Two of my internet friends are elderly.
One in her late eighties.
One is 91.

I have never met these two ladies in real life
but I feel very fortunate to have met them
through the internet.

Today I wrote back to my 91 year old friend:

I have not seen you in real life, but there
is something young and vibrant in the person
I see through your emails. You are first and
foremost you, without any particular age.
And I feel very fortunate to have seen
firsthand that even when we pass 80 and 90,
the internet allows us to keep that inner
part of our personality going, even if the
outer shell, our body, is not all that well.

Vøringsfossen

It was a day trip to Hardangerfjord.
We had just walked down to this
symbolic fence that kept us safe while looking
down at the waterfall - the Vøringsfoss.

It was 1958.

My Norwegian grandmother

I know this photo was taken on January 5th.
That was my grandmother's birthday.
But I do not know which year.
Probably sometimes in the 1960's.

Behind her, on the wall, was a whole
collection of photos of us grandchildren.

This is how I remember my grandmother.

Kate two and a half months old

Quote

Today I heard this:

Bitterness is the result of hopes
that are impossible to fulfill.

Made me think back a few years
when I decided NOT to continue
down that path.

Whatever happens , I have decided
not to become bitter.

Life isn't perfect, but as long as I can
think about the problems,
then figure out creative solutions,
and act according to this,
then I have taken back my power.

Earlier I feel I gave my power to
"circumstances" and "other persons" -
taking the responsibility away from myself.

Not very pleasant to think about.

Kate is smiling

This is the best medicine -
Kate smiling.

Of course best if you see it close up,
but her parents' photos are also great..

In memory of my aunt Ruth (1913 - 2009)

I took this photo two years ago
at my aunt's home.
She was then 94 years old.

Two days after she died last week,
her granddaughter gave birth to a
little baby girl.

The Monkees

Listening to these two video clips on
YouTube I felt like I was 16 or 17 again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfuBREMXxts&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kG34bDwJcVc&feature=PlayList&p=58AD5198BEE399E2&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=12

Dream: By train in China

Last night I had this really weird dream.

I was going alone on a long-distance train
in China, though in reality I have never been
in that country.

During this trip I managed to lose my
luggage, including my passport and money
when I stepped off the train on one of the
stations for some reason.
The train then continued on with my stuff,
without me!

Trying to solve my problems, I met two
Chinese railway workers who spoke
Norwegian!

One wonders what is going on in my head
sometimes....

What is true, is that I am not feeling too
well, and haven't for a fairly long time.
I hope I will get that sorted out, and start
feeling OK again.

Perhaps the train trip in China is a
symbol for my general feeling just now?

Vegetarian Makoud

More than twenty years ago, I received
this recipe from a woman who originally
came from Morocco.
She said that you could serve it with chicken
breasts, but as she made this vegetarian
version, that was great for me.

Makoud
(For how many persons?)

Heat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

Peel and dice six potatoes.
Cook the diced potatoes in salted
water till they are cooked but still
fairly firm.
Discard water.

Cook three eggs till they are
hardboiled, cool them, and shred the
hardboiled eggs.

Take seven eggs and whisk them
well together.
Add the diced potatoes, the shredded
eggs, two teaspoons of vegetable
soup powder, a little black pepper,
some freshly pressed lemon juice
and some shredded parsley.

It is also possible to add some peas and
diced carrots in the mixture.

Spread some butter or margarine in
an ovenproof container, add the mixture,
and put in the oven till you see the makoud
has settled.

If you would like to try another recipe
for a Makoud, this one with chicken and from
Algeria, try this
http://recipes.wuzzle.org/index.php/31/151

Kate

I admit it:

This I stole straight from Cheryl's blog.

Learning from Mom

"Mom, it looks kind of puzzling
what you are doing right now,
but I am sure I will get the hang of it
when I am a little older."

Another old photo

Is there any similarity to Kate?

Discovering myself in a file

When I open the boxes I sent to Norway and
refile the material, I meet my own interests
and life in different shapes.

Sometimes I meet myself.



Here I am, in Moss, about two and a half
months old, on my first visit to a
professional photographer.

Much less hair than Kate!
Without boasting too much, I think the
photos I get from the States from Kate's
parents are really GOOD.



I don't remember how old my son was
when he made this drawing of me, but
I feel it is very well done, depicting me
during the years I spent a lot of time
on the phone.

Priorities and balance

In my strive to find some balance in my
life, I first adopted this model:
Earn Money.
Have Fun.
Do Good.

I have always been a real failure in
Earn Money.
I had through the years stopped most of
Have Fun.
My life had been much centered around
Do Good. In my vocabulary that meant
Do Good to others.

Then some months ago I decided that in
my world there must be both
Do Good to others
and
Do Good to myself.

My latest version of naming these four
parts of my life is now:
Earn Money.
Have Fun.
Help Others.
Self-Care.

Most importantly, there must be some
balance between these four.

So I keep a journal jotting down most of
what I do in my everyday life, adding the
category.
Keeps me aware of what I am doing,
but also gives me a good feeling of what
I have accomplished.

For how long I will be doing this?
Haven't decided yet.

Near the Kanal in Moss

I keep telling myself I am not a big fan of
snow, but it sure does make the photos
look special :-)



After photographing the sunken boat,
more or less standing on the same spot,
I took the photo of the houses on the other
side of the Kanal, and then these houses
on the island side of Jeløy.

The big trees in the Kanalpark are now old
and frail.
Sometimes big branches fall down during
storms.
Some of the trees have been cut down and
removed.

Shouldn't "somebody" start planting new trees?

Lystbåten

In March 2007 I took this photo down by
the Kanal (Canal) in Moss.
Lystbaaten was not in use at the time.

Then in 2008 it went down during a storm.
Well, partly down, because it isn't very deep
in the Kanal.



Now they have lifted it up again,
with a colossal crane.
Look closely and you will see the greenish
color on the part that has been under water.

It will soon be demolished, the local
newspaper told us.

A sofa

My uncle designed and built this sofa
for my parents.
Originally it had a green cover.

This was our family sofa.
I remember my brother jumping up and
down on the sofa seat.
I remember being ill and lying on the sofa
with a blanket over me.
I remember guests filling that sofa.
I remember my father taking his afternoon
nap on this sofa.



Around twenty years ago my brother took
over the sofa and got a professional
upholster to change the green cover into this blue
with red and green pattern.



By some real luck - from my point of
view - my brother and his friend managed to
move this very big and heavy sofa up
the steep and narrow stairs to my
apartment.

For now I can enjoy the family sofa.
Lucky me!

What is a grandparent?

A friend sent me an email that supposedly
tells us how eight year old children
defined a grandparent. If this is made up, or
not, I don't know, but I liked these two:

Grandparents are a lady and a man
who have no little children of their own.
They like other people's.

I know Kate will hear about Norway, but
having a grandma living far away, may look
like this:

A 6-year-old was asked where his grandma
lived. "Oh", he said, "she lives at the airport,
and when we want her, we just go get her.
Then when we are done having her visit, we
take her back to the airport."