A Roll in the Universe

Yes, another four days since I last posted. Here's why: SATURDAY: "Dawn's at 5:45 am. I'll pick you up at 5 am." So I got up at 4:30-ish, starting making the coffee for the thermos and gathering the breakfast sandwiches I had made the evening before, dressed warmly, stuffed a small rucksack and grabbed my camera. At 5:05 am, my friend Torleif and I drove to a recreational area I have written about before on my homepages: Kvarven . The moment we exited the car, we were met by a wall of sound, created by dozens and dozens of songbirds. Torleif has been birdwatching since he was a boy and could single out each individual specie's characteristic song. I realized that I know birdsong like I know flowers: Rose, dandelion, everything else - crow, great tit, everything else. But it was an amazing experience, to be washed with all that chirping. Immediately, we starting trying to find the singers themselves, sometimes spotting one in the top of a tree. We got to

"Doesn't ride the same day he saddles" (as the Norwegians say) could describe me. As some folks would say, I had a frog to eat. The idea of eating a frog is repulsive (not talking about legs prepared by some French chef here), so tasks that seem difficult or distasteful are like the idea of eating a frog, and therefore constantly put off. My frog was a leaky kitchen faucet. For two years I have lived with a drip and these last months also a non-functioning cold-water handle. Several weeks ago, I finally looked up several plumbers in the area, thinking one who is familiar with the now aged plumbing of the apartment building I live in would be a good choice. I had three choices. Yesterday, I e-mailed two of them. One called me back, and we found out today that I have actually attended two parties at his house. The plumber came today, which was perfect since I happen to have today off. We found a problem with my ancient stop valves so he and his boss (the man I had parti

It's amazing how something that looks like it would need a 24-hour soak in my kitchen, is absolutely gorgeous when it's 300 lightyears wide.

Do I have an opinion about the recent news? About a young man who opens fire and kills 32 other people, and wounds 17? I am asked by Norwegians what it means when Americans go amuck with firearms. What's with Americans and guns? I cannot answer them. I don't know myself. I was not raised in a gun culture. Quite the contrary: My biological maternal grandfather was shot dead before my mother was born, and my grandma became strongly anti-guns. I have fired a weapon. I had a friend and a paternal relative who let me try a pistol or two. It left me with a lot of respect for the things - and a huge gratitude that I normally was nowhere near any. I have no clue what to say about America's gun laws. California is restrictive but has problems with illegal weapons; neighboring Nevada allows carrying concealed weapons and has experienced a drop in the crime rate. I don't like the idea of concealed weapons, but I do like the idea of a lower crime rate. I'm torn. What rea

Taken from Tim (and I may have done this meme before. If so, I apologize; blame the brain): (X) Smoked a cigarette (X) Had feelings for someone who didn’t have them back ( ) Been arrested ( ) Gone on a blind date (X) Skipped school (yes, because I was bullied and couldn't stand facing my tormentors; IOW, I had a note from home) ( ) Seen someone die ( ) Been to Canada (X) Been to Florida ( ) Been to Mexico (X) Been on a Plane (as recently as Wednesday, actually) (X) Been lost (X) Been on opposite side of the country (in my case, both US and Norway) ( ) Been to Washington D.C. (X) Swam in the ocean (X) Felt like dying (but only briefly) (X) Cried yourself to sleep (X) Played cops and robbers (and cowboys and indians) ( ) Recently colored with crayons (I guess mucking with Photoshop doesn't count) ( ) Recently sang karaoke (X) Drunk while singing karaoke (of course. Is there any other way?) ( ) Paid for a meal with only coins (X) Done something you told you

Midnight. Wind and rain slash at my coat, lifting it, getting my skirt wet. It's a thin skirt, with glitter on it, and underneath I'm wearing only panty hose. Although the weather is almost freezing, I'm not. I'm warm because I've been drinking. The evening started with a glass of bubbly around 7 pm, worked its way through an appetizer and "pause dish" with plenty of white wine, a delicious main course with red wine, and a dessert platter with port (I left before the cake and café avec ). In between courses, the 30 people around the table sang various songs to drink to, and the company song, as well as listening to a few speeches - and a belly-dancer. The occassion? A co-worker's 25th anniversary at our company. My co-worker was an equal mix of genuine gratitude and genuine embarrassment at the attention and gifts bestowed on him. Not a bad word was said about him. I listened to stories about him, poems written or read in his honor, and couldn'

Sravana seemed worried in a comment to my previous post that her head line isn't terribly long, because I said that that is the line associated with longevity, not the life line. And of course, this all needs clarification. The head line is all about how you think and whether or not you think well. It is also a calendar for when things may happen. Many of us are born with chained lines, islands in the line, and other things that weaken a head line and a palmist can tell you when in life these could become an issue (like depression). I can tell you this: You can influence your head line. It reflects your thinking and therefore your life, and will change as your thinking and life do. My grandma once told me that I had no head line when I was born. I definitely have a head line now, one in each hand. And, I can see that the line has been deepening with age, up to the age I am. Even the island that was once so prominent in that line in my right (dominant) hand, has faded. (The one

A bit more. HA! Haven't told you a thing, have I. OK, well, now I'm going to tell you. I enjoyed making my own masthead or whatever it's called (header, right). There's a feeling, when you finally get The Idea, and it just Works. You know you can run with it, you know you can create it, you know you can make it exist outside of your head. And so I had great joy in finding the elements I wanted, and each one led to a new inspiration that gave me another element. No frustration - just pure creative process. Man, that felt good! Against the backdrop of stars, which are the Stars of the Galactic Center , there are, from right to left: Fox gloves, the blue marble of home , my neighbor's cat (because I wanted an animal), Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man (because it's one of the coolest drawings I know and also because Vitruvian Man definitely looks like he could roll in the universe), me with one of my favorite items (no, not the mirror), and at the far left

Welcome to my new look! Er, my blog's new look. I hope you like it!

Seriously, has it been four days since my last post? What have I been up to? Well, it's been another one of those weeks, where I've been busy with Real Life. Specifically, I've been busy gathering fleas. For a fleamarket. Yes, they call it that here in Norway, too (except it Norwegian, of course - "loppemarked"). I have been decluttering, and it has felt good. Now to finish the decluttering job and call the flea market people (who represent a brass band based not far from my hairdresser's part of town). I also need to declutter my shopping cart, since the store not 300 feet from me is closing its doors after tomorrow. That means shopping at the center where I work, and hauling stuff up the hill. Better with wheels. The shopping cart was last used almost two years ago to haul home something from Grandma's place. I don't remember what. It's going to be a treasure hunt! In other news, I've been revamping my (other) webpages. I was uploading

Alice writes in her blogpost "Pearls Before Breakfast": This is brilliant. Washington Post columnist Gene Weingarten convinced violinist Joshua Bell to play his $3.5 million Stradivarius for quarters in the Washington, DC subway during rush hour back in January. How'd it turn out? Read for yourself (video is included). Enjoy! I did enjoy. It was a very interesting and well-written article. I don't think I'll be able to look at street musicians in quite the same way again.

I found this at Beep 's - another thumb. You Are the Thumb You're unique and flexible. And you defy any category. Mentally strong and agile, you do things your own way. And you do them well. You are a natural leader... but also truly a loner. You inspire many but connect with few. You get along well with: The Middle Finger Stay away from: The Pinky What Finger Are You? Palmistry interests me (though I can't read palms). I get a kick out of observing things like finger length, joints, flexibility, meatiness, and space between fingers. It can be rather revealing to watch someone's hands. For example, the angle of the thumb to palm can show degrees of caution in starting a new project. (I'm a medium, in case you were wondering.)

...is the blog of Badaunt, an English teacher (that is, she teaches English; she's actually a New Zealander) in Japan. It has taken me a while to grasp her style, but today's blogpost clinched it. When you read a story that puts you Right There with the writer, then that is some damned good writing. Badaunt's writing made me feel an annoying ringing in my ears, and I was surrounded only by the subtle white noise of a fan heater.

On March 25, the magpies had made the floor of their nest. By April 6, they had a roof. It's slow going (or so it seems), but considering that trees are not yet budding, and I woke up to a snowshower this morning, the birds seem to be right on time. A couple of mornings ago the magpies were making quite the fuss, loudly screeching their characteristic "cat-alert" (which is a bit like a machine-gun firing). I looked out and saw no cat. I looked up at the birds and their nest, and for a brief moment, saw a white, furry face poke out between the twigs of the nest. The cat was well-hidden within the nest so no point in taking a photo. Eventually, the cat left (I missed when and how), and the magpies resumed building in peace. (Cats in magpie nests is not a good thing; one neighbor's cat ( Buster 's mom, actually) got caught in one and in her struggle to free herself, injured herself. Humans trying to pry her loose, ended up having to cut the nest apart, twig by tw

No, not my blood type - my personality type. As found at a Type A's blog . ;-) You Have A Type B+ Personality You're a pro at going with the flow You love to kick back and take in everything life has to offer A total joy to be around, people crave your stability. While you're totally laid back, you can have bouts of hyperactivity. Get into a project you love, and you won't stop until it's done You're passionate - just selective about your passions Do You Have a Type A Personality?

Bloggers all over are currently discussing the suggestion of a blogging code of conduct, where bloggers are required to refrain from insults and threats, or get their blogs yanked. The debate is generally anti-code, justified by the claim that it is freedom of speech to say what you want, and said freedom is protected by the US constitution. The thing is, we aren't discussing political blogs or racist blogs or pornographic blogs or blogs that in general have some kind of inflammatory material on them. We are discussing blogs much like my own: One person's personal outlet offered to the world because it's a rewarding thing to do (get to write, get to share, get feedback). But on some blogs, commenters are leaving insults and threats, including death threats. The general reaction to this, that I have seen so far, is if you can't tolerate some sicko comments on your blog, you are too sensitive for blogging so just stop blogging. Don't bitch about the internet being

Eep! I've been tagged! By Mark . So here are five blog(ger)s that make me think: Mark hisself. We have some things in common but we don't necessarily process the same way, and so I can't just sit back and assume. I've discovered I can't even make assumptions about myself. Alice because she keeps abreast of stuff, and keeps me informed (and even on my toes). And she inspires me with her photography. Sravana and her spiritual blog (she has another "everyday" one) because although we are on the same sort of journey, we process differently, and I enjoy that difference. Emily , because she has managed to pull me into her world and see Norway all over again - from the outside. It's a balancing act, staying happy in a country so very different from the US and Emily's experience with it is quite different from mine, so there is a lot she can teach me. Gretchen and her Happiness Project. The more I read it, the more I discover I can learn from

Where does the idea come from that if what we are doing is fun, it can't be God's will? The God who made giraffes, has a sense of humor. Make no mistake about that. — Catherine Marshall

I saw this cartoon over on another blog, and found it to be an excellent illustration of how many of us see our problems - or our shortcomings (take your pick): Far bigger than they really are. Cartoon by Dave Walker . Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons . This cartoon speaks to me in another way: It illustrates how my prayers are answered, or rather: What happens when I focus, when I use my affirmations and set my worries and assumptions aside. The bottom picture shows a figure struggling up the slope and we see the next revelation: The goal is Right There , that it wasn't that difficult or far or huge or insurmountable - or even that lonely. And that realization, that the problem wasn't all that overwhelming after all, can come in a moment of calm, in a moment of meditation, or when the solution presents itself (and you can spend a minute feeling stupid :-) ). Many of us expect solving a big problem or any problem to be difficult, to requ