torsdag den 4. december 2025

Verdens (måske) bedste vanter
Possibly the best Mittens ever

My how to knit "Norvegian" asymmetrical mittens are ready to be posted in their third and hopefully perfect version in a few days. This is a preview.

Lige nu er jeg i gang med at strikke verdens måske bedste vanter.
Den gang jeg startede på det, kaldte jeg dem mine norske vanter.
     Den særligt norske ting var den måde, tommelfingeren er lavet på. I stedet for en kile, er det  ... tja sådan lidt kræmmerhusagtigt.
     Men efter at have forfulgt sporene fra Statistrikks blog over Jorun Holmens blog til Give a Hoot fra Kelbourne Woolens - hvor mønsteret ikke ligger længere ... så er det lige før, jeg må sige at de er mere amerikanske end norske, altså!
     Men derfor måtte jeg nu prøve alligevel.

Men jeg ville ikke være mig, hvis jeg ikke lavede om på opskriften. Næste forsøg var den asymmetriske aflukning i toppen.

Nu er jeg i gang med endnu et par forbedringer - mere plads over knoerne og lidt bedre asymmetri ... det vil sige, at jeg efter at have sat tommelfingermaskerne på en hjælpepind, sætter en maskemarkør 3 m efter tommelhullet på venstre hånd og 3 m. føre tommelhullet på højre hånd. Det gør at asymmetrien passer bedre til tommelfingerens placering i forhold til resten af fingrene.

    Opskriften kommer om et par dage, når jeg har strikket den anden vante færdig og dermed testet opskriftens læselighed.

onsdag den 3. december 2025

Words for Wednesday & IWSG

The original Words for Wednesday was begun by Delores and eventually taken over as a moveable feast with many participants supplying the Words.
    When Delores closed her blog forever due to other problems, Elephant's Child (Sue) took over the role of coordinator.
    Now, after Sue's demise it is still to be discerned who will take over this role, River is doing it for the rest of 2025, but maybe Lissa will eventually be our new coordinator.

No matter what, how, where or who the aim of the words is to encourage us to write. A story, a poem, whatever comes to our mind.

This month the words are again supplied byWiseWebWoman and can be found at River's blog.

If you are posting an entry on your own blog, please leave a comment on River's blog, then we can come along and read it and add a few encouraging words.

 It is also a challenge, where the old saying "The more the merrier" holds true.

So Please, remember to follow the links, go back and read other peoples' stories. And please leave a comment after reading. Challenges like this one thrives on interaction, feedback and encouragement. And we ALL need encouragement.

We were given these words:
Ambulance
Bluebell
Sacristy
Fountain
    and/or:
Magnificent
Connemara
Castaway
Trumpet

I used the first set only, and as usual in the order they were given, to continue my tale of Susan and the strange bird.

Susan heard the siren of a far off ambulance, and remembered the "day of the Bluebells" when Kirstin fell and hurt her leg. At that day she had learned how to listen to bigger mammals, like cows and horses, and they were about to practice bird talking when Kirstin broke her leg, and the lesson was prematurely ended. They had not yet arrived at the subject again since, and remembering her bouts of synaesthesia after talking to toads*), Susan was loath to try bird talking unaided. But she had to do something, she had to try. The strange bird in front of her was seemingly agitated over something!

"Wait here!" she told the bird. It Oop'ed once, softly and seemed to understand. Susan ran down to the stable, where everything concerning animals, and everything too big to be placed elsewhere, and everything somebody might need during classes - in short almost every thing imaginable except books were kepi at the Unicorn Farm. Susan tiptoed to the corner where an old holy water fountain now contained their supply af scrying water. It still smelled of old books, incense and snuffed out candles from the small sacristy where she had helped fetch it. The smell made Susan feel better, more calm and with a thankful thought she opened a nearby cupboard an took one of the small bowls. Then she poured  a tiny amount of water into it.

Quickly she returned to the bird in the deserted classroom. She took a deep breath, concentrated on the spell, the bird and the water. Then she swished her wand and said "Vötn tala" She looked at the bird, who began with its Oop-opp-opp once again. Susan looked at the water, she saw a series of pictures seen from a bird's eye. Big, grey wings nearing, the Oop-bird getting scared and leaving its nest with a big jump, then the eggs from the nest, falling to the ground, lying in the grass, getting cold! Susan understood the urgency and tried to tell the bird to lead her there. But it just went on screaming OOP-OOP-OOP, creating flickering pictures of grey wings, falling eggs and cold! in the water.

What now, Susan? Time will tell ...

*) If you're curious, the chapters are here: Synaesthesia & After the visit to the minister.

- - A - - B - - C - - 

December 3 question - As a writer, what was one of the coolest/best gifts you ever received?

My reply - With the danger of repeating myself. The best gift, I was ever given was an old typewriter when I was around five years old. There was no special occasion, it was just old, decrepit rather, and my mother needed a new one. I was given the old one, and wrote away on it for years. I still regret throwing it out in a move.

You can see the typewriter and read a poem written in its honour here: My partner in Crime.

mandag den 1. december 2025

Colour of the Month :: December :: Månedens farve

I had written this, and pre-published it for yesterday evening. Mysteriously it has disappeared insteead of publishing. Strange things happen in the 'web.

--  🩷  --

Jeg havde skrevet og planlagt Månedens farve til i går aftes. Men i stedet for at udgive sig selv, synes det at have slettet sig selv. Jeg har ledt, både i slettede opslag og på mine andre blogs, det er bare væk. Så nu prøver jeg igen.

--  🩷  -- 🗑  --  🩷  --

Already back when I began the year, I had decided on the colour for December, the one that began it all.

--  🩷  --

Allerede tilbage i januar havde jeg besluttet mig for december måneds farve, nemlig den, der gav startskuddet til denne serie.

Poetry Monday and Catching up
Mandagsdigt og nyt

Today is December 1, We're given Moles eye view as a prompt. It's the opposite of Birds eye View it seems. I got this mixed up with "Making a mountain out of a mole hill" and wrote a haiku.

If you are a mole
every mole hill really is 
big as a mountain.

-- ⼭  --

I dag, den første december, er vores stikord: Mole's eye view. Det betyder frøperspektiv. Men jeg fik det blandet sammen med det engelske ordsprog "Making a mountain out of a mole hill (gøre et muldvarpeskud til et bjerg)" altså En storm i et glas vand.
     Men de der muldvarpe blev ved at spøge og det endte med dette haiku:

Er du en muldvarp
er et muldvarpeskud jo
så højt som et bjerg.

   -- 🕯  -- 🕯  -- 🕯  -- 🕯  -- 

And now for something entirely different: Advent. Yesterday was time for lighting of the first candle, but poor MotherOwl had been busy and was not prepared. Bustling through our Advent and Christmas crate she found four only slightly used purple candles.

Some clay, found during cleaning, had become hard as a brick and was left out in the frost and rain to turn soft and malleable; and it actually was - sticky in the extreme, but serviceable. The same cleaning had also procured some decorative mushrooms. Greens came from a hedge in the vicinity - yes The Writer asked first - and voila Advent decoration ready for tea time.

-- 🕯  --

Og så til noget helt andet. I går var det jo første søndag i advent. Men Uglemor havde haft travlt, og været slatten, så der var ingen adventskrans. Dalsgaard i Skivholme belærer mig ganske vist om at det ikke er en adventskrans, hvis den ikke er rund, men det tager jeg ikke så tungt.
     Ved at stå på hovedet i vores advents- og julekasse fandt jeg fire kun let brugte lilla lys, måske tre år gamle, måske mere.
     Udenfor i en gammel bakke, havde jeg lagt noget ler, fundet under oprydning og hårdt som sten. Det endte derude i håb om at regn og frost kunne blødgøre det, og søreme, det var blevet til ler igen; mega-klistret ler, men ler der kunne bruges. Under samme oprydning havde jeg også fundet nogle pyntesvampe. Men der skulle også noget grønt til. Vi kiggede på vores gamle juletræ, helt fra 2016, men blev enige om, at det kunne fældes og genbruges i år. Så kiggede vi på naboens hæk og på hinanden. Skribenten greb en rosensaks, og efter at have vekslet et par venskabelige ord med naboen, kom han hjem med pyntegrønt. Så vores adventskrans er altså totalt genbrugs i år.



søndag den 30. november 2025

Godt nytår ~ Happy New Year

Nej, jeg er ikke blevet senil og roder rundt i år og måneder. Men i dag er det jo 1. søndag i advent. Kirkens nytår. Vi starter på et helt nyt kirkeår.
     Jeg fik også pudset det store vindue og gjort andre ting, men billeder må vente. Jeg tøvede, og pludselig var det for mørkt.

-- 🕯 -- 🕯 -- 🕯 -- 🕯 --

No, I have not yet turned senile and is mixing up days, months and years. But today we began a new liturgical year. A reason to celebrate,

I also cleaned the big window and did some other thing, but pictures will have to wait. I forgot, and suddenly it was too dark.