Færdiggørelse -- Finishings

     Denne uge har jeg sat mig for at blive færdig med ting. Første punkt var min nytårswoowly. Den manglede kun bund og øjne. Piraten hjalp mig med at vælge de helt rigtige øjne.

This week is labeled as my get things finished-week. First thing was this new year woowly. It was missing a bottom and its eyes. The Pirate helped me choose the rigth ones.

     Anden ting på listen var bogkurven. Den fik den sidste lige kant på.Der er 13 sider til overs af 598.

The book basket got its final ring. I have 13 pages left of the original 598.

Her er kurven under genopretning.

The basket needed some pinching to be square.

     Det blå stof er nu på vej til at blive en trøje. Det er grænseoverskridende at sy ...

The blue weave is about to be turned into a sweater. Its scaring to sew ...

... og især at klippe i noget,, man selv har vævet.
... and cutting into something you weaved yourself.

     Uglemor er stadig i gang med at læse "The White Dragon",  og der er bestilt flere dragebøger på biblioteket. Der er kommet mindst 7 siden Uglemor læste denne serie sidst.

  --  Yarn Along  --

MotherOwl is still reading The White Dragon by Anne McCaffrey. New books about Pern have been ordered to the local library, at least 7 books have been made available in Denmark since then.

Vejen hjem - 8 - On my Way Home

I dag er alting gråt i gråt. Fredag aften sneede det, og søndag skinnede solen. Ind i mellem har det bare regnet, hvilket kan ses på det meget vand på markerne.
     Uglemor har store planer i tilfælde af lidt sol og så lunt at man kan holde på en hammer uden at fryse vingene af. Der er en af vores høns, der hver dag efter at have lagt sit æg, springer over indhegningen og ud i haven. Det er selvfølgeligt skønt for hønen, men mindre for vores have. Alting bliver krattet op. Så Uglemor vil bevæbne sig med hønsenet, kramper og en hammer og så simpelthen forhøje hegnet rundt om hønsgården. Så kan hønen måske lære det - ellers må den ende i suppegryden. 


Today everything is grey. Friday we had snow and Sunday was a sunshiny day. All otherdays have ben grey and greyer with rain. This is the cause of the big poodles in the fields.

If the sun will shine today, and the wind will not chill MotherOwl's wings below freezing, she has a plan. One of our hens has taken a liking to the free life. Every morning after she had laid her egg, she jumps over the fence and into the garden. This is of course wonderful for the hen, but not so much for our garden which gets all mauled by her claws. MotherOwl is going to make the fence taller, and if the hen still not gets the message it's into the soup pot. Nothing can grow in a garden with an active hen.

"Fløjtende piger og galende høns kommer altid galt afsted," siger Lauras mor til

hende i Det lille hus-bøgerne. Det passer i hvert fald på vores stikke af-høne.

Whistling girls and crowing hens
Will always come to some bad ends

This saying I remember from Little House on the Prairie

is quite fitting for our run away-hen.

Solopgang/solnedgang: 7:17/17:31, dagens længde 10:14, tiltaget 3:23

Bogkurv -- Book Basket

Så er Holbergkurven færdig. Eller er den? Måske skal den have en ring af flade led oppe i toppen, så den ikke er takket ... det kommer også an på om der er sider nok tilbage i bogen.


The book basket is finished ... or maybe it's not finished. This depends on whether I want to add a flat ring on top, but this can only happen if there's enough pages left in the book.

     Kurven her fik også en unge, som Skribenten fik til en af sine kolleger.

The number of pages is less than it should have been, you see. One of the Writer's colleagues graduated today, and he just had to have a small Holberg basket.

     Da Uglemor skulle flette bunden, faldt det hende ind at putte igennem  start-lukkeleddet som et almindeligt led - der altså bare kun var et halvt, og det virkede søreme. Meget nemmere end at sidde og bøvle med et halvt led rundt om enden til slut.

As MotherOwl started the bottom after her usual model, it crossed her mind not to wait and wrap and tuck in the ends of a half length link. But instead weave as usual. And it worked.

Strikkeklub Askeonsdag -- Ash Wednesday Yarn along

     Det var ikke længe, Uglemor kunne holde sig fra computeren i dag. Der skulle jo lige findes billeder til en artikel, og vips, var internettet åbent, og vupti var Uglemor inde på sin blog, hvor hun opdagede at Ginny som sædvanlig havde sin onsdagsstrikkeklub.
     Uglemor er selvfælgelig begyndt på noget nyt. Dennegang er det dog med en mistanke om ikke at blive færdig lige med det samme. Det er nemlig et par varme vanter. Da det sneede for et par uger siden, var Uglemors fingre lige ved at fryse af. Hendes vidunderlige erantisvanter er tyndslidte efter 4 års heftig brug.
     Hvad læsningen angår er Uglemor faldet over en gammel serie bøger om drager, sange og farer på en fjern planet. "Dragonflight" på billedet her er den første bog af utroligt mange. Der er også en mere børnet trilogi, "Dragonsong" (Ildøglernes sang på dansk) Og den er fuld af digte og musik. Derfor er Uglemor begyndt at skrive digte igen, måske kommer der mere om det senere.
Nogle af sangene fra bøgerne er sat i musik, og i nogel tilfælde skrevet færdig af Brenda Appleby (lyt her: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vvgq9MTmR5Q)

This was not a very long break. MotherOwl had to find some illustrations. 1-2-3 the internet was turned on, and just as fast old habits took over, MotherOwl checked her blog, and lo and behold, Ginny had written her usual  Yarn Along.
And MotherOwl has been knitting again. Something new again. New warm mittens for MotehrOwl. Two weeks ago we had snow, and MotherOwl found out the hard way that her wonderful mittens were worn thin after four years in use. Now Spring is on its way, and MotherOwl suspects that the mittens will not be finished untill lthe first cold spell come Autumn.
While cleaning MotherOwl found several forgotten things, among those this book and its sequels. They are filled with dragons, harpers, drama and danger. MotherOwl likes them very much - enough for a re-read of al of them including the Harper Hall of Pern-trilogy which is written for a younger audience. This trilogy is filled with poems and music. This has made MOtherOwl return to versemaking. Maybe more thereof later.
Some of the sons are set to music and extended by Brenda Appleby (listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vvgq9MTmR5Q)

Askeonsdag -- Ash Wednesday.

I dag er det askeonsdag.
I dag starter den store faste, der først ender til påske.
Der er tradition for at give afkald på noget i fasten. De forgangne år har Uglemor forsøgt at holde sig væk fra de elktroniske fristelser.
Det ender det nok også med i år, så hvis Uglemor ikke poster noget nyt så tit, ikke straks kommenterer på en ellers vidunderlig post, eller ikke straks svarer på et e-brev, så skyldes det fasten og ikke at Uglemor har glemt dig eller ikke synes at det du skrev var godt.

Today is Ash Wednesday.
Today the lenten time begins, to end in joy Easter morning.
I years gone by MotherOwl has abstained from electronica temptations, this is the most probable thing this year as well
So be warned.
If MotherOwl does not

• post as often as usual, 
• comment on your great post as soon as it is posted - or soon thereafter.
• answer her mail in a jiffy

 It's all due to Lent, not because MotherOwl forgot you or you wrote something  bad.

Vejen hjem -- Solopgang - 7 - Sunrise -- On My Way Home

     Jo, solen var stået op, men det er ikke til at se. DMI siger: Solopgang: 7.34. Så når jeg forlader busstoppestedet 7.45 er solen stået op. Bum. Basta!

 - - - - -

Yes, it IS Sunrise even though you can't see it.
DMI says: Sunrise at 7.34, and as the bus departed at 7.45 the Sun has risen!

Halfdan Rasmussen er nok mest kendt for sine vidunderlige og sprogligt legende børnerim, men han var også en alvorlig digter med et stort samfundsmæssigt engagement. I dag er det på sin plads med et af hans mere alvorlige digte: 

Ikke bødlen gør mig bange.

ikke hadet og torturen,

ikke dødens riffelgange 

eller skyggerne på muren.

Ikke nætterne, når smertens sidste stjerne styrter ned,

men den nådesløse verdens blinde ligegyldighed.

 - Halfdan Rasmussen (1915-2002)

  - - - - - -

One of my favourite poets, Halfdan Rasmussen is famous for his playful and equilibristic poems for children. But he had a serious side too; he wrote poems filled with social indignation and courage. The above was translated into English (by Mary McGovern?) and Roger Waters used it as the first verse of his Each Small Candle:

Not the torturer will scare me

Nor the body's final fall

Nor the barrels of death's rifles

Nor the shadows on the wall

Nor the night when to the ground

The last dim star of pain, is held

But the blind indifference

Of a merciless unfeeling world.

Øv-bøtten -- The Bah Box

     Denne lettere storsnudede strudseunge var i flere år en uundværelig hjælper i Ulgeboet. Han var vores Øv-bøtte. Nu har Uglemor fundet ham frem igen.
     Når Uglemor går i byen med Ugleungerne, finder de ofte tomme flasker eller dåser rundt omkring. Indtil nu har den Ugleunge, der så dåsen, fået panten. Men fra nu af kommer pengene igen i øv-bøtten her
     Når så man kommer ud for noget, hvor man siger "ØV!" Biblioteksbøder, smadrer noget osv, så kommer Øv-bøtten i funktion. Den betaler nemlig for os, og så er øv'et pludselig blevet mindre.

This haughty looking ostrich was a treasured helper some time ago. Now MotherOwl has pulled him forth once again.
When MotherOwl and the Owlets go shopping, they find empty bottles or cans. The deposit has until now been given to the Owlet that spotted the bottle, but from now on it will once again be placed in the Bah box. 
When something bah happens, a late fine from the library, a broken glass or some such, the task of the Bah box is to diminish the Bah value of the situation by redeeming the cash vlue of the Bah situation. This normally lessens the Bah factor consideably.  (Blah language warning)

Gør det så -- Just do it!

     I går fik Uglemor en skør idé. Hun halede nogle nødvendige ting frem.

Yesterday MotherOwl had a crazy idea. She pulled forth the necessary tools:

     Hvad kan man nu lave meden sær øse, en kødnål, en gammel pilleæske og noget fesenlilla bomuldstråd? Ja, der mangler naturligvis en enkelt ingrediens. Gamle lysestumper. Uglemor valgte alle de grønne, smeltede dem op, hældte dem i pillebøtten, ventede til det var kølet noget af, stak kødnålen midt i og satte det  køleskabet. Man er vel utålmodig. Da det var stift, trak Uglemor kødnålen ud og bankede bøtten ned i bordet, til lyset gled ud.  Så gennemvædede hun bomuldstråden med de sidste rester stearin, og stak bomuldstråden gennem hullet i lyset.

What is MotherOwl going to make with a big scoop, a meat skewer, and old pill glass and some drab cotton?
One ingredient is missing: Old candles. MotherOwl melted all the green ones, poured the melted stuff in the pill glass and waited. When it was somewhat cool, MotherOwl put the meat skewer in the middle of the candle and put it in the fridge. Patience is not her best quality. When it was all set, MotherOwl removed the skewer and banged the pill glass against the counter until the candle came out. Then the drab cotton was soaked in wax and straightened while still hot, Then it was pushed into the hole. A green candle was made.

     Da det skulle tændes, så det bare bedre ud med bunden i vejret.


When the time came to light the candle, it looked better upside down.

Snyde hjørner -- Cheating at Corners

     Når man skal sy en kurv sammen i hjørnerne på indersiden, kan det være svært, ja næsten umuligt, at få nålen den rigtige vej gennem leddene. Så må man jo snyde.
     Uglemor stikker nålen uden tråd den gale vej gennem leddene, men så er det næsten umuligt at tråde nålen. En nåletræder er en genial opfindelse, der virkelig er på sin plads her.
     Undervejs sidder jeg og læser små bidder af Holbergs komedier, og overvejer, hvad jeg skal grave frem og læse i fastetiden. Det er jo askeonsdag om en uge. 

Selvom det er lidt snyd, linker jkeg alligevel til Ginnys Yarn Along

When making a basket from links, like the book basket, it's sometimes very hard to make the needle go through the corners at the inside.  MotherOwl cheats. She puts the needle without thread backwards through the link. Then it is almost impossible to thread the needle. A needle threader is really needed here. Buit then it is much easier.
I'm reading small snippets of Holberg's play as I sew. And thinking over what to choose as my lenten read this year. Ash Wednesday is just a week away. 

Even more cheating. I'm using this post as this week's Yarn Along

• Indvendigt hjørne i bogkurven. 
• Inside corner in the book basket. 

Vejen hjem -- 6 -- On my way Home

     I morges klokken halv otte lå Uglemor i sin varme seng. det er jo vinterferie tænkte Uglemor. Næste tanke var, det er jo tirsdag. Hvad gør man ikke for sine læsere, Uglemor stod op og trak i tøjet og var henne ved lygtepælen til sædvanlig tid, ca. kvart i otte, for at tage det ugentlige billede af vejen hjem.
     Det var frostvejr, men det er en dårlig idé at tage billede mod øst ti minutter før solopgang. Himlen var skønt lyseblå med småbitte drivende hvide skyer, græsset var hvidt og knasende og luften klar og bidende. Lige da Uglemor puttede kameraet tilbage i lommen, fløj otte svaner hen over landskabet med lydelige vingeslag.

 - - - - -

This morning at half past seven, MotherOwl was still in her cosy bed thinking: "It's school holiday, I don't have to get up just yet." The next thought was: "Well MotherOwl, its Tuesday, get up and snap a picture for your blog. What I do for my readers!" MotherOwl got up, dressed in her woollen cloak - it was sub-zero temperature, went to the lamppost just in time to snap the weekly photo at the usual time; a quarter to eight give or take a few minutes.
 It was cold, clear and crisp. Taking photos towards east not ten minutes before sunrise manes for bad pictures. Imagine the sky pale blue with small fuzzy cloudlets, the air crisp, and the blades of grass slightly white and crunchy with frost. As MotherOwl tucked away the camera a flock of white swans flew over her head, their beating wings humming loudly.

Snemand Frost og frøken Tø
gik en tur ved Søndersø ...
(Halfdan Rasmussen) 
Snowman Frost and Lady Thaw
Took a walk around the lake ...

Stadig ikke helt solopgang, men næste uge måske.

Still not quite Sunrise, but we'll be getting there.

Solopgang/solnedgang: 7:50/17:00, dagens længde 9:10, tiltaget 2:20

- - - -

      Og så kunne jeg ikke dy mig, men måtte oversætte hele verset om den bittersøde kærlighedshistorie mellem Snemand Forst og Frøken Tø.
     En hyldest til Halfdan Rasmussen, der ville være fylde 100 år den 29. januar i år.

I just could not leave it be. I had to translate the whole bitter-sweet poem of Lady Thaw and Snowman Frost.
A tribute to the author Halfdan Rasmussen, whose 100 year's birthday was on 29th of January.

Snemand Frost og Frøken Tø                         Snowman Frost and Lady Thaw
gik en tur ved Søndersø                                  Took a walk around the lake,
fandt en bænk og slog sig ned,                        Found a bench where they sat down,
talte lidt om kærlighed.                                  Talked of love, of Kings and crowns

Snemand Frost, som var lidt bleg,                  Snowman Frost in whispers low,
spurgte:" Må jeg kysse dig?"                          Begged a kiss from Lady Thaw.
Men da frøken Tø var varm                           But the Lady Thaw was warm
smeltede hans højre arm.                                Melted off his nearest arm

Da han kyssed' hendes kind,                           When he kissed her rosy cheek,
svandt han ganske langsomt ind.                     He grew slowly less and weak
Da han kyssed' hendes mund                          When he kissed her glowing lips,
blev han væk i sammen stund.                        Off he went in tender drips.

På en bænk ved Søndersø                                On the bench beside the lake
sidder stakkels frøken Tø.                                Lady Thaw now keeps her wake.
Snemand Frost er smeltet op.                          Snowman Frost has melted, but.
Hun må ha ham i en kop!                                She has caught him in a cup!

Tekst: Halfdan Rasmussen
Oversættelse: Uglemor - Translation: MotherOwl

Flet en bog -- Book to Basket

Ind i mellem ser man noget, man bare tænker: Hvorfor har jeg ikke tænkt på det. En af de ting, var en stor kurv, flettet af en gammel bog. Og da skribenten havde smidt en gammel bog ud, fiskede Uglemor den op af papirkurven og gik i gang.

Sometimes you see something and wonder: Why on earth didn't I think of this? One of those thins was a basket made from an old book. And as the Writer just committed an old book to the circular file, MotherOwl picked it back up and set to folding.

Midten  --  The middle

Den færdige bund  --  The bottom is finished

Hvis der nu sidder en fletter og tænker at den bund da ikke passer med nogle omgange overhovedet, er svaret nej, det gør den ikke. Midten og to omgange rundt ville blive for kvadratisk-agtigt, så Uglemor har snydt. En form for opskrift er på billedet her nedenunder. Undskyld de skæve streger, Uglemor har brugt venstre hånd til musen i et forsøg på at helbrede en museskade.

If now somebody looks at this bottom and wonders. How is that done? It does not fit when I count. The answer is that MotherOwl did a little cheating. The middle field + two ring was just too square-like. A kind of recipe is in the coming photo. The lines are awkward and out of bias, sorry. MotherOwl is still fighting a mouse elbow, and is using the mouse in her left hand.

• De røde streger afgrænser de tre dele og de gule viser hvordan midten er flettet. 
• Leddene med ring på, er lukket med et ekstra halvt led. 
• The red lines show the borders between the 3 parts and the yellow lines show how the middle was made. 
• The rings tell that this link is closed off with an extra half length link. 

Hver af de kommende ringe vil være flettet af 48 led.

Each of the coming rings will be made from 48 links.


Grønne theposer, som Uglemo savner:

Det, der er vigtigt, er det store blad, og at posen er hel. Den grønne farve må gerne have andre nuancer.

Still Blue Yarn Along -- Stadig blåt Strikkeklub

     3,5 meter x 40 cm. Så meget måler Uglemors blå væv efter vask. Her hænger det stadig ude på tørresnoren og forskønner min udsigt fra køkkenvinduet, men det er kommet ind i varmen her til eftermiddag.
     Nu samler Uglemor mod til at klippe og sy i det fine blå.


 - - - Yarn Along - - -

3.5 by 0.40. That's the measurements of MotherOwl's blue weawings after washing. Here in this picture it's still outside blueifying my view from the kitchen wondow, but at nightfall is eas taken onside to dry completely. 
Now MotherOwl is getting her courage together to cut it.

Vejen hjem -- 5 -- On My Way Home

I dag slukkede gadelamperne medens vi var på vej ud ad døren - og det sneede! Uglemor ved godt at det faktisk var kyndelmesse i går, men verset her passer til i dag. Så er der efter gammel bondeskik den halve vinter tilbage - ikke til vinteren faktisk er slut, men til at dyrene igen kan slippes på græs. Hvis der var mindre end halvdelen af vinterfoderet tilbage på kyndelmisse, måtte man måske slagte et eller flere af dyrene.
 Godt nok er det altså ikke særligt koldt i dag, kun lige under frysepunktet, men vi har fået herligt meget sne det forgangne døgnes tid.

Today the street lamps were put out as we came out the door, and snow was falling!  MotherOwl knows perfectly well that Candlemas was yesterday - and we celebrated it Sunday, but this old poen about the hardest, coldest time of winter is very appropriate. Well, it is not that very cold yet only just below zero, and the days are longer by 1 hour 49 minutes - still most of them are in the evening, and only 41 minutes in the morning.
At candlemass winter was half  past. That is to say, that half the time where the animals were stabled and had to be fed, was behind us at candlemass. And if less than half the hay, oats etc. was left, you might have to consider slaughtering some of the animals.

• Det er hvidt herude, kyndelmisse slår sin knude ... (St. St. Blicher, 1838)
• It is white out here, Candlemas is Winter's deep ... 

Solopgang/solnedgang: 8:04/16:44, dagens længde 8:40, tiltaget 1:49 (Kilde: DMI)