Ode to lovely people.

There is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way.

Beautiful Lea in pink.

Joshua and Lea carry water.

Joshua the horse, Noa the knight.

Mountaineering.

My Love. 

As beautiful as his dad.

Mamma and Noa

Ramona and Joshua up at Døgnope, a beautiful hike with the kids.

Helping me bake Lebanese Fatayer, with spinach.

Jasmin reading for the little ones.

Bicycling across Europe is hard on your back. Lucky the one who has a wife.

Indian summer

our spectacular view! we have had a few visitors lately, and we are constantly reminded how beautiful it is.

(and more to come, sweet ramona and her hubby (i think) are showing up next week!)

Friday gratefulness in abundance. The little ones have been "blessed" with vannkopper- i think the English translation is chicken pox- a mild strand at least . So they are banned from the Kindergarten, but other then a few itchy red spots all over, they are fine. So here we are. Enjoying the Indian summer at it's best.

We have been eating raspberries by the handful, not having the timeto neither make jam or bake. Put them on bread, in porridge, in yoghurt on on your fingers.

Last Sundays baking- little hedgehogs.

Not always so easy to wake Noa and Lea from thier nap...

Jasmin's new Kindergarten has been a blessing. Wonderful teachers, wonderful area and they are outside between 9 and 3. Collecting nuts this time of year is high priority, Jasmin has become quite a climber. And our shelves are overflowing with sticks,leaves and nuts from the slowly descending autumn. What to do with al these pinecones? Mobiles! Several Works In Progress!

Nuts on the nature table.

All comes and goes in phases, Anders is in a baking phase, which benefits all the rest of us. Cookies and croissants- which he completely succeed in. Pure French perfection.

I got him this t-shirt in on the street in Southern Lebanon. Doing what I am doing, it's pretty humorous to own a Hizbullah shirt. BUT I admit it was a little inappropriate with kids, I was not exactly thinking the day woud come when Noa asks: what is that? and points at the semi-automatic weapon in the emblem. Oops.

And since we are on the topic of Lebanon, my theses is going good. Amazing how much time it takes, how ultimately static it is too work in front of a computer and how fast the hours fly by.

Sunday Serenity

lunch. homemade labneh with garlic and cumin, homemade/slow-food salad from the garden and roasted potatoes.

I love Sundays. And I love trying to make them different from other days. The day is white, according to our Waldorf rythm. White, clean, serene. We show it in our clothes, our table and the way we move; clean and calm.

We baked sunbread for lunch. A ritual I would like to continue everyweek. You can vary the dough, but the concept is wonderful. I had Jasmin hooked on the whole process. She has been fleeting annd not foucused lately, so it was quite a feat for her. Presented it for dad at lunch.

lea loves daddy.

funny thing is, if they get to choose, lea chooses the doll and buggy-

noa his speedster bike.

no point in fighting against nature.

a small ode to my friend charlotte's house out in fykse. they have made this amazing garden area, beautifully done. and noa.

It is raining today. Real rain. First signs of autumn have arrived, back with more later.

Simple Sunday

July's painting in our birthday calendar, by Ruth Elsassar.

Constantly drying woolies.

Say no more.

Summer days are longer then others. And they are crammed, packed, full with what and where and packing- unpacking. Beach, mountain, walk, picnic, snacks, coffee, tea, rain, boots, sandals. The weather is shifting, but warm. Been alone with the kids since Wednesday, and am getting into the routine, the meal planning, the songs, and the clothes, the laundry and the washing up.

Today we had second breakfast up in the woods, in the rain. We all came home drenched. Did not help they all decided to go wading in the lake with there clothes on. Their boots were NOT waterproof when the water levels reached their armpits, and flowed down the insides of their rain pants.

We had lunch outside in the garden with homemade soup and bread. Then, after watercolour painting and miscellaneous catastrophes, we ended up heading down to the beach at 4pm, the sun beating down, and went swimming. Back to make dinner, falafel with all the extras, and then off to bath, story, bed. Well, that is our days.

There are small things in our environment that are vital components of our day worth mentioning. The play silks are always in use, everywhere-all the time. The bird feeders we have hanging outside are a frequent focus, and conversation topic. Jasmin is an avid and genius, Memory -game player (the one where you find two of the same). She gets me to play all the time. I tell myself it is good brain food for me as well.

Birthday breakfast, with our birthday ring, and main gift wrapped in 5 silks, to be taken off one by one.

My little girl has reminded once and for all how old I am getting. She turned 5 in July, spent a wonderful morning eating breakfast outside with Farfar (Anders' dad) and Bente. Hard to fathom at some times. Other times, when she is arguing her point to her mother, I believe it.

The greatest change in our lives at the moment starts tomorrow. Jasmin will be switching to the outdoors- kindergarten here where we live. All 5 year olds, running around outside all day, based in a lavvo (a Norwegian tee-pee) if it rains. It will great for her. She has never been the ultimate sit-still-and draw-girl. She does, but would rather rough-house, and run up a trail.

The little ones will starting kindergarten too, three days a week, so I can finish my degree before it gets outdated (or I do...). I am excited for them, but already dread the moments I will miss out on, the small ow's I will not be able to blow on, and the smiles that will be gone to the wind. I am happy for myself too, seems like a vacation at the moment, the thought of NO kids, just ME, and books, papers, lunch and my Mac. I know things will look different as the deadline creeps up, but for now, all is joy.

Lea and farfar.

The whites beaches of Denmark. And crawly kids.

Anders and I planned LAST summer we were going to both get a kite surfing course this summer. That was our adrenalin ration for the year. When we lost the house and was dragged through the insurance this winter, we decided to post bone it, till we had time AND money. (Well, truth be, Anders is taking a weekend course this COMING weekend, so we have one down...) Anyway, second best was slack lining. Anders bought a small set-up, and we practised as we travelled around Denmark. Super fun, and easy to learn. And children get it quite quick.

Diving for scallops

Anders and Jon Kristian went out to the coast last weekend to freedive for scallops, oysters and fish. Lucky us. We even got all three to taste them raw, right from the shell. Sceptic, but brave. Most fun were the shells. We are blessed/ cursed with substantial amounts of them...

Ode to Love

These last weeks have been a little tough. They have all been taking turns laying sick on the sofa, the weather has been damp, the spring happiness has been a little clouded by tiredness and housework duties, kindergarten projects and outdoor adventures have been limited to around the house, simply doing the rhythm of the home, everyday, is a joy. Luckily we have the morning rituals, the nature table, and the songs to remind us when and what is going on outside.

We have been blessed with amazing architects for the house. They are creating an amazing house for a family of 6- organic, modest, at the same time functional, and modern and aesthetic in form. As such, the evenings have been spent working on these, and Anders is doing an amazing job with the bureaucracy and insurence company that follows a fire.

We are blessed with the status quo.We work a minimum amount of time away from the home. Our children are here, with us, happy, and we are utterly aware of it. Acknowledgment and awareness is half the happiness.

Ode to Anders for finding the driveway.

Ode to two little ones.

Lea loves daddy. No doubt.

All the love, all the love.

Note on t- shirt: If you do NOT know Banksy, DO. He did the all important "Girl with Balloons" on the illegal built wall of segregation in Israel/ Occupied Palestine. He does some amazing stencil art, which is technically graffiti. I recommend a book of collected photos. Or see "Exit through the Gift Shop"

Stacking wood under Buddha

The intense cold weather lately called for more wood, from a local farmer. We spent an hour in the evening stacking outside with the children. The joy of seeing them actually work and participate till the very end was worth the cost of the wood itself.
Real work for real kids. And headlamps, we use them all the time outside now. Never leave home without them.