Godt nytår -- Happy New Year

Himen kunne være så smuk -- The sky could have been pretty

🌌

med masser af stjerner -- with lots and lots of stars 

 ✤ ✮ ✣ ✢ ✼ ❇ 

✽ ✳ ✲ ✼ ❆ 

❉ ❊ ❋ ⭐ ❈

 ✾ ✴ ✵ ✡ ✢ ✣ 

✥ ✤ 

Men det regner, --  But it is raining

☂  ☔ 

Så vi bliver indenfor, lytter til musik -- We will stay inside, 

🎼  ♫ ♪ ♩ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♬ ♪ ♩ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♬  

Holder fest og har det sjovt.  -- listening to music, eating well and having fun.

🎆 🎉 🎊 

🍡 🍬

GODT NYTÅR

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Nymåner & TUSAL -- 2018 Updated -- New Moons & TUSAL

17. januar

15. februar

17. marts

16. april

15. maj

13. juni

13. juli

11. august

9. september

9. oktober

7. november

7. december

2018 er igen et helt normalt år med 12 nymåner. Uglemor fortsætter med at samle sine stumper og håber på glæder mig over at Daffycat fortsætter sin TUSAL også i 2018

* * *

2018 is also a normal year with 12 new moons. MotherOwl intends to keep on collecting her ORTs and hopes is happy to tell that Daffycat is going to host a TUSAL in 2018 as well.

Godt nytår
Happy New Year

Blå kugle -- Blue Bauble

Og den blå kugle er færdig. Glade uglelyde

💙  😌  🍈  😌  💙

And the blue bauble is finished! Happy MotherOwl dance!

     Men Uglemor laver også fjollede, små stjerner af det slikpapir, Ugleungerne giver hende efter at de har spist slikket. Det er fuldt af mælk, så det ender ikke i Uglemors mave.

🌟 ☆ ★ ☆ 🌟

But MotherOwl also makes small, wonky stars from the candy wrappers the Owlets give her after eating the candy. MotherOwl won't eat the candy as it contains lots of milk.

Words for Wednesday 27. december

-- Onsdagsord

This week's prompts are:

Parasol
Heel
Wag
Ascending
Hook
Stair rods

And/or

Mint
Tottering
Chew
Binder
Coming
Pelmet

MotherOwl is learning new words here: Stair rods and pelmets were new to me, and at  Elephant's Child people can be seen using "wag" as a noun, I only knew it as a werb. Learn and live.

My story:
The parasol unfolded, and she gently drifted down through the fluffy, white clouds. Nearer sea level she met ascending gulls, and found out that fluffy white clouds are just wet. As she came out of the clouds, she discovered a ship below her. Gently as a leaf she settled on the deck.
A door opened, she turned around, and stood face to face with Captainn Hook. He drew his rapier, shouted: "Death to the intruder!" and began to wag his blade close to her face. Quickly she turned to the stairs behind her, grabbed a loose stair rod, and began fencing for dear life. In the end it was Captain Hookø's vanity that saved her. His high heel caught on a loose plank, and she jumped overboard. She could get no wetter after the trip through the clouds.
The captain stood at the gunwale, screaming futile curses at her, but he had to stay on board because of the tick-tock crocodile.

(Also posted at Elephnat's Child's blog.) 

Theposekugle - Version 2 - Teabag Bauble

      Uglemor er meget tilfreds med sin fine theposekugle, den kan bare ikke hænge på juletræet. Hver side måler lidt over 8 cm og højden af den færdige kugle er omtrent 16 cm, så den er alt for stor.
     Det måtte prøves igen. Nu var der jo ikke længere nok af theposerne fra husflidsforeningen, så Uglemor fandt nogle blå frem fra mange års kirkekaffe og andre selskabeligheder. Theposerne blev omhyggeligt talt, jo der var mere end nok. Det nødvendige antal theposer, 60 styk, blev foldet og klippet i fjerdedele. Så blev der ellers foldet og flettet på togture og i kaffepauser.
     Foreløbigt har Uglemor nået 8 små femkanter ud af 12, så hun bliver nok færdig i juleferien.

En gammel chokoladeæske er nyttig til at have flettetingene i.
An old chocolate box is very useful for storing the teabags in various stages.

Bare for at vise, hvor store hver enkelt femkant er.
This coin measures 2.5 cm across.

MotherOwl is very happy with her teabag bauble. There's only one problem: it's big. Each face - a pentangle - measures 8 cm across, and the whole measures approximately 16 cm from top to bottom. It's too big for our Christmas tree, which is quite small.
MotherOwl began making a smaller one. Each teabag wrapper was cut in four, folded and put together.
MotherOwl has now made 8 out of the 12 entangles making up the dodecahedron. The bauble will most likely be finished during the Christmas holidays.

Theposekugle -- Part 2 -- Teabag Bauble

     Kuglen her blev faktisk færdig. Det er lidt en fantastisk historie.
     Uglemor fik i sin tid lov til at hente nogle poser i den husflidsforening, hun er medlem af. Siden da har foreningen skiftet lokaler hele to gange. Men måske - tænkte Uglemor - måske ligger resten af theposerne der stadig. Uglemor huskede en blå klodskasse i reolen. Hun skrev e-breve til de relevante personer, men der var ingen, der vidste noget om, kassen.
     Så tog Uglemor bare derud. Helt alene på den øde skole kiggede hun skuffer, reoler, kasser og skabe igennem. Det var underligt at være helt alene et sted, hvor mange folk normalt arbejder, snakker og ler. Og nøj, hvor er der altså mange underlige dimser til vævning, filtning, strik, trædrejning, syning, knipling, orkering og hvad det alt sammen hedder. Lokalerne er fem store rum efter hinanden.
     Metodiske Uglemor tog rummene fra en ende af, startende med lageret arbejdede hun sig igennem de forskellige rum, for tilsidt ret forstemt at ende i køkkenet. I køkkenet er der en sofakrog med bibliotek (hun sprang køkkenskabene med krus osv over).
     Og der, nederst i biblioteksreolernes inderste underskab, stod den blå klodskasse med theposer smukt i kasser, præcis som Uglemor forlod den. Uglemor udstødte et rungende krigshyl, snuppede æsken med de relevante theposer, slukkede og låste pænt efter sig, og drog triumferende hjem med byttet.
     Efter endnu 4 timers folden og syen var kuglen færdig:

MotherOwl actually finished the bauble, she had miscalculated. The story of how, sounds like a tale.
Once upon a time MotherOwl joined a crafting guild. We gathered materials and put them in crates for other crafters to use. MotherOwl made things from teabags, and she took some teabags from a blue box. She made bowls and plates from some of the teabags, and then time passed. MotherOwl got an idea. A Christmas bauble - the miscalculated one.
But maybe - MotherOwl thought - just maybe the rest of the teabags are still there in the blue box, just waiting for me. But no, we mowed twice since then, each time cleaning and selling out/throwing out old, unused stuff. MotherOwl e-mailed the relevant persons, who had no idea of teabags in blue boxes or elsewhere.
MotherOwl then just went out and looked. The old school was totally empty and half dark, and it was a bit spooky being alone in a place where normally people work and talk and laugh a lot. Systematically MotherOwl searched cupboards, shelves, crates and boxes in each of the five adjacent rooms housing the guild. She began with the storage room, working her way through weaving, lace making, tatting, woodturning, knitting and whatnot equipment. What a fantastic amount of objects of unknown use and origin.
Desolate MotherOwl ended up in the kitchen. The shelves with cups and tea and assorted cooking utensils were left alone, but we have a library corner there, And there, almost hidden behind a sofa, in the lower compartment, behind a half jammed door, stood the blue box - exactly as MotherOwl left it those many years ago. MotherOwl made a loud, happy sound, echoing in the empty rooms, grabbed the relevant little box of teabag wrappers, carefully closed all doors and put out all lights and triumphally returned home with the booty.
4 hours of folding, putting together and sewing, and the bauble was finished!

Glædelig jul - Merry Christmas

Uglemor ønsker alle en GLÆDELIG JUL

MotherOwl wishes MERRY CHRISTMAS

Om Herrens store godhed vil jeg synge for evigt.

I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord, forever

23. december O Emmanuel

O, vor Emanuel, kom til os små,vor konge, du hvis love evigt gælde,
forløser, som alverden venter på,
kom, Gud, vor herre, frels os i din vælde.

O Emmanuel, Rex et legifer noster,

exspectatio Gentium, et Salvator earum:

veni ad salvandum nos, Domine, Deus noster.

Du er jo en ...

Well, You're a ...

Vi har lige haft valg. (well, øh ...  ja ... da jeg skrev det her, havde vi lige haft valg. Jeg skulle lige tage mig sammen og så ramte "me too"-bølgen. Men her er det i hvert fald. Mit valg-brok):

     Og flere har sagt: "Du er jo en midaldrende kvinde, så du må stemme på NN!" (ikke den samme NN, men de var alle kvinder i min aldersgruppe).
     Så er det, jeg spørger: gør det, at jeg er en midaldrende kvinde, at jeg er så dum, at jeg har lyst til at spilde min stemme?

     For de fleste af opstillede kvinder, der bare havde en chance for at komme ind i byrådet var enten
- fremmedfjendske,
- pro-abort (eller som de siger: For kvindens ret til selvbestemmelse),
- anti-økologi (eller som de siger: For landmandens ret til selvbestemmelse),
- for motorveje = mod ordentlig offentlig trafik og cykelstier,

- eller endog flere af de ovennævnte.
     Så jeg skulle altså stemme på én, jeg var 99 % sikker på, ikke ville komme ind, og hvor stemmen så måske oven i købet ville gå til en med de ovennævnte meninger. Nej tak!

Selvom jeg er

• midaldrende (det kan jeg ikke gøre noget ved, jeg bliver et år ældre om året ligesom alle andre, og alternativet giver mig ikke stemmeret)
• fed (det kunne jeg jo nok ændre)
• grim (det er der nok ikke så meget at gøre ved, plastik-operationer er dyre og mener jeg, umoralske (hvis man virkelig har råd til det, burde man måske gøre noget bedre med pengene))
• kvinde (kan jeg altså heller ikke gøre så meget ved, se under "grim") 

 mener jeg at jeg har ret til at vælge den, kandidat, der - uanset alder, køn, hud- øjen- og hårfarve - har de rigtige meninger.

Skal man virkelig være ung, fit og af hankøn for at måtte stemme efter sin overbevisning?

🚫   🚮   🚯   🚫

 
We just had an election in Denmark. (It took me some days putting up the mojo to post this and then the "me too" wave struck)

And pertaining to this I've been asked several times if I was going to vote for NN!" (not the same NN in all cases, but all women in my age group).
 
Now I'm asking myself: Does being a middle aged woman make me stupid? Why else would I want to waste my vote?
Most of the women, who actually stood a chance of being elected were either 
- against foreigners (if not plain, old racists),
- pro-abortionists (or as they say: pro-choice), 
- anti-ecologists (or as they say: for the farmer's right to decide for themselves), 
- for more highways = against good and cheap public transportation and paths for bicycles and horses. 
- or more of the above.
 
Ergo I had to vote for somebody who stood no chance of being elected, and upping the chances of my vote ending up helping one of the above mentioned. Well. No thanks!

 Even if I am

 - middle aged (I can do nothing about this. I turn one year older every year just the same as everybody else, and the alternative would not allow me to vote)
 - fat (well, I could change that ...)
 - ugly (there's probably not much I could do about that either, as beauty operations are expensive and I think immoral (if you can afford one, you might as well do something else with the money))
- woman (not much I can do about this one either, see under "ugly")

Do you really have to be young, fit and male to be allowed to  to vote for the candidate who - regardless of age, gender, skin, eye, and hair colour - have the right opinions?

Vintersolhverv

21. december ifølge DMI: Solopgang/solnedgang: 8:44/15:34, dagens længde 6:50, aftaget 10:43.
(Sunrise/sunset: 8:44/15:34, daylength: 6:50 - decreased by 10:43) 

22. december ifølge DMI: Solopgang/solnedgang: 8:44/15:35, dagens længde 6:51, tiltaget 0:01
(Sunrise/sunset: 8:44/15:35, daylength: 6:51 - increased by0:01

Månen over kirken på årets længste nat.
Billedet er absolut ikke taget om natten, men klokken halv syv om aftenen.
✨  ✨  ✨
The Moon and the church in the darkest night of the year.
This photo was not taken by night, but at half past six in the evening.

22. december. Folkenes konge

O, verdens konge, kirkens hjørnesten,
som hedningfolk med jøder sammenknytter,
du, efter hvem vi længes hver og een,
kom, skaber, kom, og vær du vor beskytter.

O Rex Gentium, et desideratus earum,

lapisque angularis, qui facis utraque unum:

veni, et salva hominem,

quem de limo formasti.

21. december O Morgenstjerne

O, morgenstjerne som ej slukkes kan,
du, retfærds sol fra evighedens høje
kom ned til os i dødens skyggeland,
og tænd dit rene lys her for vort øje.

O Oriens,

splendor lucis aeternae, et sol justitiae:

veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris, et umbra mortis.

Vejen hjem -- Ekko 4

On my way Home - Last Chapter

     I morgen er det årets korteste dag. Uglemor tror ikke, at forskellen kan ses, og i morgen er der juleafslutning på Ugleungernes skole, så de skal med en senere bus. Altså er det i dag årets sidste chance for et Vejen hjem-indlæg.
     Den eneste passende billedtekst er teksten til O antifonen for den 21. - årets korteste dag: 

O daggry, det evige lys' stråleglans og retfærdighedens sol
Kom og oplys dem, der sidder i mørket og dødens skygger.

🌅

Tomorrow is the shortes day of the year at this side of the Equator. MotherOwl suspect that the difference can not be seen. And anyhow, tomorrow is last day before Christmas holidays and the Owlets have to catch a later bus. Today is the last chance for an On my Way home-post for this year. 

The only fitting subtitle for this photo is the O-antiphon for the 21st - the shortest day of the year:

O Dayspring, splendour of light eternal and sun of righteousness:
Come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

O Oriens,

splendor lucis aeternae, et sol justitiae:

veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris, et umbra mortis.

     Dette er måske oven i købet det sidste Vejen hjem-indlæg nogen sinde. Hvis man sammenligner med billedet her (fra 22. december 2015)  kan man se, at det er taget i en lidt anden vinkel. Det skyldes at manden i huset til højre på billedet har lavet sit hus om til et lysshow.

- o 0 o -

This is the maybe lase ever On my Way home-post. if you compare to this photo from December 2015, you might notice that the tree is placed to the right in the photo instead of left.
The man in the house  in the right hand side of the old photo has decided to fill up his house with lights outside.

December 2015

December 2017

Lysfourening til forvirring for hjortene, til undergang for natsværmerne og til irritation for Uglerne. Gad vide hvad flagermusene siger?

- o 0 o -

Light pollution. Confusing for the deer. Lethal for the moths and irritating the sleeping owls. Wonder what the bats think?

20. december - O Davids nøgle

O, Davids nøgle, Judas kongestav,
du, som har magt at åbne og at lukke,
kom, før os ud af fængslets mørke grav,
hvor vi endnu i dødens lænker sukke.

O Clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israel;

qui aperis, et nemo claudit;

claudis, et nemo aperit:

veni, et educ vinctum de domo carceris,

sedentem in tenebris, et umbra mortis.

Words for Wednesday 20. December

-- Onsdagsord

Although it's still Tuesday here, it is Wednesday in Australia, where Elephant's Child is hosting Words for Wednesday.
Well not so many words exactly this time. Two haunting photos to spur us along.

I hope copying the photos - taken by Bill - for this purpose, is OK. If not, please, tell me so.

This strange story sprang up in my mind.

Jailhouse Rock ... this haunting tune was written while I sat incarcerated in Castle Rock City Jail. My crime was a petty one. I had been hunting crows with my old blunderbuss.

I fell into a ditch, and broke my glasses. A bit later, I saw something black among the bushes, thinking it was one of those bloody crows, I pulled the trigger, only to realize - even before the hails had hit, that it was the priest having a pee. He survived the shot, but was unable to sit for a long, long time.

I was convicted, and put into Castle Rock City Jail. I served my time, listening to Jailhouse Rock, and decided, that I too would become a famous guitar player. Well, I never did get famous, but I've earned my honest living as a guitarist in many a good rock band ever since.

Now I'm old, waiting for death in a room not unlike the prison cell back then. And I'm looking at a painting in my room. Oh, the irony. It depicts an old crow in a sunlit field. Eyes half closed and its beak into the wind.

I feel a sense of unity with this old crow. Soon, very soon, I'll stretch my wings and fly into the sunlight.

19. december. O Jesse rodskud

O, Jesse ordskud, alle slægters tegn,
for hvem selv jordens konger brat forstummer,
du, som skal dyrkes i hver hedningegn,
kom, tøv ej længer, frels os af vor kummer.

O Radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum,

super quem continebunt reges os suum,

quem Gentes deprecabuntur:

veni ad liberandum nos, jam noli tardare.

TUSAL - December

     I dag er det årets sidste nymåne. Det første Uglemor tænkte i morges var om hun nu kunne fnde sine stumper til et foto. Der bliver nemlig ryddet op!
     De stumper Uglemor kunne finde, ligger på stoffet i forgrunden. Hele bordet er dækket med kasser, hvor garnlageret bliver sorteret. Og i baggrunde kan man ane alle kasserne. Det er dem Uglemor opbevarer alt sit rod - og alle ideerne - i. De skal ryddes op inden juleferien!

     Daffycat vil blive ved med at lægge blog til TUSAL, hvis altså vi stadig vil lege med. Uglemor vil i hvert fald gerne.

  🌛  🌛  🌛  🌛  🌛   

Today is the last new Mooon of 2017. This was MortherOwl's very first conscious though this morning. Then as she became more awake, panic set in. My ORTs. Where are my ORTs?
A frantic search yielded those, that are placed on the piece of fabric in the foreground. In the middle and background can be seen the reason for this bout of panic. MotherOwl is cleaning and sorting in her project room. The crates on the table are for sorting yarn, and all the crates in the background contain MotherOwl's materials and other remedies for fibrey and non-fibery crafts. All to be sorted and put back before Christmas holidays start (Thursday - if you really have to know).

     Daffycat will go on hosting TUSAL, if we want to continue. MotherOwl has had so much fun the last two years and is all set to continue.

Stumper og kasser.
ORTs and crates.

18. december O Adonai

2. O, Adonai, jødefolkets Gud,
hvis røst til Moses lød fra tjørnens lue,
og som på Sinai gav ham dine bud,
kom, løft din arm mod dem, der vil os kue.

O Adonai, et Dux domus Israel,

qui Moysi in igne flammae rubi apparuisti,

et ei in Sina legem dedisti:

veni ad redimendum nos in brachio extento.

O-antifoner - 1

17. december

O, visdom, du Gud Faders eget ord,
som når fra solens opgang til dens leje,
som stærk og kærlig styrer alt på jord,
kom ned til os og lær os kundskabs veje.
 

O Sapientia, quae ex ore Altissimi prodiisti,

attingens a fine usque ad finem,

fortiter suaviterque disponens omnia:

veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae.

     Hvis ikke Uglemor kan andet, kan hun da skrive teksten til dagens O-antifon her på bloggen og nyde den her.
     Den danske tekst, der er en sangbar gendigtning af de latinske vers, er skrevet af Halfdan Kejser.


MotherOwl cannot find out how to integrate the O-antiphons in the advent celebrations happening in the Owlery. But at least she can copy the beautyful latin verses and post them here once a day beginning today.


The Danish verse is a rendition from early 19th century. Written by Halfdan Kejser, they are beautiful too and able to be sung on a gregorian liek tune. MotherOwl likes it very much, and regrets that it was not sung in mass today.

Words for Wednesday. A newfound challenge

-- Onsdagsord.

Another fun challenge. This time a less long-time one: Words for Wednesday.

I copy from the post at Elephant's child: 


"Each week we are given a choice of prompts: which can be words, phrases, music or an image. What we do with those prompts is up to us: a short story, prose, a song, a poem, or treating them with ignore... We can use some or all of the prompts. "

And

"Some of us put our creation in comments on the post, and others post on their own blog. I would really like it if as many people as possible joined into this fun meme, which includes cheering on the other participants. If you are posting on your own blog - let me know so that I, and other participants, can come along and applaud."

This week's prompts are: The show must go on and /or The straw that broke the Camel’s back.

That last one made it go clik inside my head and a poem came forth:



The straw that broke the Camel’s back.
Is the one straw that in the sack
Is the last straw to enter.
But baby Jesus in the straw
Holds up His hand and filled with awe
The camel kneels off center.
Thus it is Christmas once again
And Camel can forget his pain.

🐪 ❖ 🐪 ❖ 🐪 ❖ 🐪

Ovre hos Elephant's Child får man hver onsdag nogle ord at gumle på. Det kan der så komme meget sjov ud af. En kort tekst, et digt eller lignende.

Denne onsdags ord er:  The show must go on og/eller The straw that broke the Camel’s back.

Uglemor blev inspireret af det sidste ord og skrev straks et sært digt på engelsk. En dansk oversættelse blev det ikke til, men her er et der ligner lidt:

Det strå, der var det sidste strå,
fik Jesus til at ligge på
da Han var barn i stalden.
Han strakte hånden frem og se,
kamelen  den faldt ned på knæ,
og glemte verdens kalden.

Advent 2017 - del 4

     Det går stadig fremad med vores store adventsvindue. Hver morgen er der en Ugleunge, der hænger noget op. Uglemor har fornyet snorene. Nu ser det sådan her ud.

⠗⠑⠛⠝

Our big advent calendar is still growing. Every morning an Owlet hangs an ornament. MotherOwl even renewed the strands holding up the whole calendar arrangement.

     Vores Jesse træ er i modsætning hertil ikke sket noget med. Uglemor lavede et nyt træ og et ornament til 1. søndag i advent, der hidtil kun har haft selve træet. Siden er der ikke sket noget. Der mangler noget, at hænge ornamenterne på og måske lidt brun maling.

⠗⠑⠛⠝

Our Jesse Tree on the other hand has not seen much progress. MotherOwl made a new tree and an ornament for 1st Sunday of advent - which so far had had only the tree itself for ornament. Since then nothing has happened. The tree needs nails, or pins, or whatever to hang the ornaments, and maybe a touch of brown paint.

PS. ⠗⠑⠛⠝ er punktskrift - der står "regn".  Fordi det altså bare regner i dag. Braille? Bare fordi jeg kan. Jeg tjente penge som punktskriftafskriver engang for længe siden, indtil computerteknologien gjorde mig overflødig.

PS. ⠗⠑⠛⠝ is written in Braille. It says r - e - g - n which spells rain in Danish. Just because I know how to and it is raining. I once earned my living as a translator to Braille for a very short time - until the rising use of computers made me obsolete.

Klassiker-udfordring - Back to the Classics

     Mangler man en god undskyldning for at læse bøger?  Uglemor gør i hvert fald af og til. Men næste år bliver det anderledes. Den gode  Queen of Carrots har gjort mig opmærksom på en udfordring. Den originale, hvor man kan melde sig til, ligger her: Books and Chocolate
12 forskellige bøger på 12 måneder. Det foregår på engelsk, derfor er resten også på engelsk.

*   *   *

*   *

* 

 If you are looking for a good excuse for reading 12 books in 2018, then look just a bit further. The good Queen of Carrots has fund the perfect excuse: Back to the Classics, 2018.
The original post, with rules and a Linky, can be found here: Books and Chocolate 
I'll follow the Queen of Carrot's lead inasmuch as I'll only pick books from our shelves. This should not pose a big problem. We have zillions of books. And as the Queen too, if I began a book, read it from page one over again.

There's more rules than what I cite here, the most important being no reading before January 1st 2018, and all books to be written (not necessarily published) at least 50 years ago.

I'll grasp a d12 on the first of every month and let chance tell me which category is up for this month.
This list will grow, as I go looking for books on the shelves in the Owlery and at bloggers' posts. 

My book list - to be updated as I fill in the holes. I'm too lazy to get up, so titles are given, but authors only when I'm sure of them.

1. A 19th century classic - (published 1800 - 1899). Alice in Wonderland I only read parts of it. Never the whole book.

2. A 20th century classic (1900 - 1968). Glasperlenspiel by Hermann Hesse. I read some of it over 20 years ago. It was a tour de force in ingenuity. I wonder if it stands the test of time?

3. A classic by a woman author. Hard one, I seldom ever notice the authors' sex and often not even the name. I'll have to go and look actively for a woman, and I hate this "turned upside down sexism". This is according to me an irrelevant criteria for the choosing of books.
Maybe I'll just leave this one out, then I'll have omne month's slack for unforseen happenings.
- After looking at other participants' list, I found it! A Wrinkle in Time. I like science fantasy, it sounds intriguing and is written by a lady: Madeleine L'Engle. Now hoping, that my local library has this book (or can find it somewhere in the national library-book-staches)

4. A classic in translation. Easy ;) I have loads of classics in Danish and English. I just have to pick one. Ivanhoe, War and Peace ... Loads I never read.

5. A children's classic. Alle vi børn i Bulderby by Astrid Lindgren. The title means: All us children of Bullerby.
- or maybe try reading Winnie the Pooh in English. I read a few chapters in Danish some years ago.

6. A classic crime story, fiction or non-fiction.
I'm not an avid reader of whodunnits, but I have some Australian ones written long ago. They're describing the Australia of days gone by in a charming way. The Battling Prophet is my choice - Author: ____________ (to be filled in)

7. A classic travel or journey narrative, fiction or non-fiction. something Japanese, sea-faring or Australian again.

8. A classic with a single-word title. Erm, wonder whether it is the English or the Danish title, that counts? The Odyssey (Odysseen/Οδύσσεια) is one word in Danish and Greek, but I believe two in English. I read that one when I was 12. Time for a re-read. In Danish, not Greek.

9. A classic with a colour in the title. We have lots and lots of books with a colour in it. The Purple Pterodactyles and A Study in Scarlet come to my mind.
- Sir Gawain and the Green Knigth, or
- The White Company by Arthur Conan Doyle.

10. A classic by an author that's new to you. Looking at the shelves picking one at random. Difficult, I don't know if I've ever read something by that autor before as I'm bad at names. Decision: If I don't remember the name, that author is new to me!

11. A classic that scares you. Dr. Zivago! I have begun reading ... 7 times, maybe more. It is such a slow starter.

12. Re-read a favourite classic. The Lord of the Ring I suppose .. I have many, many books that fit in this category.

Advent 2017 - del 3

     Tidlig mandag morgen så vores adventsvindue sådan ud. Nu er der blevet hængt op hver dag i 1. uge i advent.
     Og som måske kan ses på billedet, kommer den heldige Ugleunge i dag til at trække den grønne pose og hænge snefnuggne op. Der er faldet sne. Ikke meget, men det er sne!

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Early in the morning today, our window looked like this. Every day in the first week of advent, an ornament was hung in the window. And as can maybe be seen from this photo, today the lucky Owlet will hang the snowflakes from the green bag. Not much snow, but snow it is!

     Uglemor har som sædvanligt fået en idé og foldet 105 thebreve. Hun har bare regnet forkert, og nu mangler hun godt 60 theposer! Suk. Regning er ikke Uglemors stærkeste side.

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As always MotherOwl had an idea. She has been folding and joining 105 teabags. But arithmetics, spherical geometry and MotherOwl never became friends. Now she's missing a bit more than 60 teabags. Sigh.

Advent 2017 - del 3

Vores adventstraditioner - del 3
Our advent traditions - part 3

I Ugleboet har vi en tradition med en kæmpe-adventskalender. Hele det store vindue i stuen deles op i firkanter, og hver dag startende med mandag i 1. uge i advent, trækker en af Ugleungerne en pose, hvor indholdet skal hænges op i det felt, der passer til. Der er ikke nogen poser om søndagene, hvor der i stedet er en lille gave til hver.
     De fleste dage må man trække en tilfældig pose, men nogle datoer har en særlig rød pose med dato på: 6. december, Sankt Nikolaus, 8. december, Maria undfangelse og 13. december, Sankt Lucia. Den 24. er den sidste særlige pose. I de fire poser, er indholdet fast, og er et billede eller ornament, der passer til dagen. Hvis disse dage falder på en søndag - det sker ikke i år - bliver de bare ikke brugt. Der er også en grøn pose, der desværre ikke kommer i brug hvert år. Den er til det første rigtige snevejr i adventstiden. 
     Fra den 17. december frem til den 23. har der også været en lille papfirkant med dagens O-antifon. Det vil Uglemor nok igen forsøge at lave om, for det har aldrig rigtig fungeret.

Our advent window today - Monday in first week of advent.

In the Owlery we have a big advent calendar. The window in our living room is partitioned into 26 squares. Every day beginning on the first Monday of advent - but not on Sundays, where each person gets a little gift instead - one of the Owlets pick a bag at random and hang the ornament contained therein in the designated square.
Some days 6th (St Nicholas), 8th (yhe Immaculate Conception), 13th (St. Lucy), and 24 (Christmas eve), the bags are not random, but red bags marked with the date. They contain an ornament picturing or symbolizing the saint or feast of the day. We also have one green bag for the first snowfall. This bag we do not get to use every year, unfortunately.
From the 17th to the 23rd there have always been a small square with the O antiphons to supplement the other ornaments. MotherOwl is still re-thinking this, as it never worked.

Advent 2017 - del 2

Vores adventstraditioner - del 2
Our advent traditions - part 2

     I dag er det første søndag i advent. Vi tænder det første, lilla lys i adventskransen. Vi får hver en lille adventsgave, og vi spiser masser af slik og kage som en forberedelse til adventstidens afholdenhed.

     Første søndag i advent starter vi også på Jessetræet. Det er en engelsk (amerikansk) trasition, hvor man hver dag fra 1. søndag i advent til 25. december læser en stump af Bibelen, begyndende mad verdens skabelse og frem til Jesu fødsel i begyndelsen af det nye testamente.
     Vi lytter til bibelhistorien, tale lidt om den og finder en passende ting at hænge op på vores Jesse træ.

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Today is the first Sunday of Advent. We lithg the first purple candle of the advent wreath. W all have a small gift and eat cakes and loads of candy in preparation for the abstinence during advent.

First Sunday of Advent is also the first day of the Jesse Tree readings. An English (American) tradition MotherOwl has imported. Today we begin with the tree.