summer activities

As a cross posting to a post on the house blog, we cannot say enough how happy we are with the dutchtub we invested in. The best toy ever. Basically in use everyday.

On the other hand, the dutch tub is not just something you get considering the price. Alternatively, a black industrial rubber tub is infinitely cheaper, and MUCH more versatile. (see photos...). Can be used instead of taking a swim/ bath/ shower. Provides perfect comfort and privacy to read the few minutes the deck dries up in between the rain.

And can be stacked, built or arranged into trains.  Other ruses we have observed are soccer goals, chairs and pools to fish in.

noa's current pastime  is to be up-side down. boys.

 The second thing to do when it rains and are in doubt: bake. Lea is the natural cook. no matter what they are up to, if i ask her to come help make dinner or stir or watch something on the stove. she comes.

Noa sticks his fingers in it, eats a handful, and washes dishes. Equally fun I am sure. This particular day we were baking at 8am. Managed chocolate brownies, whole-wheat buns and Lebanese mana'eesh, which is a beautiful flattened bread spread with za'atar and oil stuffed with olives, spring onions and lots of mint, by 11. Just in time for the sun to show itself, so we raced to the beach for lunch and swam around for a couple of hours. Summer here is short. Have to act fast.

Sunday in the Sun

We spent Sunday out at Rykkje, at some wonderful friends paradise, right by the sea. They had 4 brand new lambs, just a day old. S new that we could not get very close, will have to come back later when mama sheep is not so protective.

First day we could be at the beach, took off our sweaters and rain suits, AND they all could play on their own. A new era has begun. It is going to be great summer!

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.

Advent Sunday

The first light of Advent is the light of the stones.
Lights you find in seashells, crystals and bones.

Advent is upon us. And it is wonderful. I am really enjoying sharing the rituals and stories and meanings with Jasmin this year. Four years old is a pretty smart cookie. And I feel, despite being not Christian at all, that I can incorporate the meanings of rituals and the magic into our lives, and enrich it. It all feels attuned to the life style we lead already, the importance of rhythm and stability, breathing in- breathing out. And creating that mood, that mood of happiness.

We baked Danish "Kleiner", made Rice-Cream and cherry Berries, we invited our good friends Ingunn and Family to walk the Advent Spiral outside with lanterns in apples. It was a good day.
We are reading "Oles Skitur" often. And the Uncle Frost has been here everyynight now, leaving a thin layer of whiteness.

The days continue along the norm. Anders cut his leg quite bad at work this Monday, which just so happened to be his birthday. 6 stitches and a few days at home has been fabulous for us. He has been putting together christmas cards to send out. Beautiful.

"Before enlightenment- chop wood, carry water.
After enlightenment- chop wood, carry water."

How time flies!

Wow, we have now been here a month! Amazing how you can just step into a new life, sort of, in new surroundings, and it is as if it always has been. We are working hard, and bordering on chronic sleep deprivation, but happy.

Autumn is slowly slipping into winter. Suddenly it is getting dark at 5pm, the importance of light become crucial. We have been rolling beeswax candles, made lanterns of glass and pearls for yesterdays lantern fest, and been singing

Autumn goodbye, Autumn goodbye,

You may no longer stay, winter is on it's way,

Autumn goobye

More to come. Picture of our fire pan in the garden above. Used almost everyday!

Landing on our feet.

A quick update for ourselves and to you reading. We are now installed happily and snug in a new house we are renting. We had quite a serious housefire on the 19th of september, leaving us completely without a home and all our things gone or severely damged.

It has been a alot of work, it has been really tough on the children, and such an ordeal to BUY and find all the things one needs to live. But amazing how quickly one can accumulate. We have been incredibly lucky, and it is just material loss. We are all happy and healthy.
Life goes on quite quickly with small children, wake-up calls at 6am, porridge to be made, walks to be had, the autumn to be experienced and the onset of frosty winter.

Thus, good or bad karma, good or bad luck, is quite realtive to how you take it, we think. We are calm, and sure of eachother and life. The rest is just details.
Admitting we are exhausted is a truth, but unsure or sad would not. We are pretty sure we can stay in this wonderful house until our new one is built, yes- we have to rebuild. Diving into architecture magazines, ready houses, paperwork with the insurence company. Writing detailed inventory lists for the insurence company is equally challenging but necessary, everything must be mentioned if we are to recieve the insurence for it.

Photos from our new view, the house is farther up the hill, great location, and behind the house we can see the mountains covered in the first snow. Sheep just up the drivway.
More photos to come. The first thing Anders did was to buy a digital cmarea for documentaion reasons in the house.
Now back to rythm is priority nr. 1. and then maybe alittle Kindergarden and painting. I missed Michaelmass compleatly, am aiming for an october fest of somekind. Autumnis truly beautiful here, cold and wet, but beautiful.

Back from southern Lebanon OR mom gone, kids have fun...

In a spur of the moment window of opportunity, I left Anders and the kids for an 11 day fieldwork in Lebanon. It was amazing, amazing because i had a great time, met incredible people and could justify my absence, amazing because Anders is the perfect father, has a great time, and everyone was happy. Amazing because it is possible to do such a thing even though we have so many children. This post is a few pictures from Anders life here at home and a few from Southern Lebanon. Beautiful area. Next time I want to take them all, swimming in the sea, delicious food, wonderful kind and adventurous people.

The Great Roman Hippodrome in Tyre, the biggest and most intact of it's kind. They filmed Ben Hur here, so I have been told. Will have to see it again to be sure.

Intense tour along the UNIFIL blue line. View to Israel. Will try to make a follow up post on this.
View of Beirut where i stayed with some fantastic couchsurfers.

Anders nature table. with blueberries.
Our windvane.
Tea party in the sandbox.

The best way to make sure you don't get wet feet in downfall rain. ducktape.

vacation- Roskilde and birthday

well, well well. Back from vacation. It was actually wonderful to not have neither a phone or internet connection for over three weeks. It has been wonderful family time, and good for the kids to see all the relatives in Denmark. Being on the go with a full backseat is a little challenging, but doable. A lot of stops and swimming, long visits and to be frank, it is the same amount of work, home or traveling. Twins are twins.

Noa and Lea have done quantum leaps of development. Lea is actually speaking in sentences, and Noa is just a REAL man, a stuntman. Jasmin turned four years old while we were on vacation too. Amazing, fours years have just flown by.

We visited good friends in Roskilde twice, Kai and Gitte and their three wonderful teenage children. They have a beautiful old farm house, animals and lots of love. Jasmin said she would like to move here too. We celebrated her birthday there.

Anders and I gave Jasmin two wonderful little Evi Waldorf dolls for the dollhouse, a boy and a little baby in a cradle. Auntie Anne had given her a swing for the doll already. And she got bubbles! Gitte, being an educated Waldorf kindergarten teacher, had a wonderful tradition of covering the gift on the table with silks and scarfs, the same in number as years, each must be peeled off and acknowledged. Beautiful.

We played in their garden, ate outside and picked all the cherries we could eat!

Boat festival

Last weekend was the Norheimsund Boat festival. This is from the Small Boat Regatta, this year we had three boats for all children. Jasmin has come in first and second these last two years, this year we only reached forth.

And we went on Matilde, for a short "pirate" sail, from Norheimsund, to the Fartøyvernsenter,where Anders works. (Check out the website, to see what he does.) Here you can see Jon Christian, our youth that lives with us, up in the rigg.

Picture update

We brought the kayak to the beach.

Jasmin

Typical picture of Noa and Lea. Noa, the man, is throwing wooden animals and blocks out into the room. Lea, the girl, is sitting peacefully, dangerously near.., putting blankets on dollies....
Peek-a-boo games.
Even boys play with dollhouses!
Her er Thea og Jasmin som løper i Fitjadalen
Thea og Jasmin maler skjell ute.
Funny Noa.