World of Warcraft - my story

Most of you know of MotherOwl's secret vice. She likes to play computer games, mostly World of Warcraft.

Back in 2012 she heard about the IronMan Challenge. The rules were harsh and it seemed next to impossible.
We were many who tried and failed. Then one man finally made it.
The 28th of February 2012 Kripparrian made it to level 85, the then max.

I knew I'd probably never make it, so instead I began chronicling my advenures here: A Draenei Paladin's Musings.
I wrote the first chapter a long time ago, only a week or so after Kripparian's success. But I only finished my tale yesterday.

Nymåner & TUSAL -- 2019 -- TUSAL & New Moons

2019 kommer igen til at være et år med 13 nymåner. Der er 2 i august
Her er datoerne for nymåner - og altså for kommende TUSAL-indlæg her på bloggen. Daffycat har en forklaring - på engelsk - på dette underlige foretagende.

-- 🌛 --

In 2019 we're once again having 13 new Mons, as August has 2. Here are the dates for the coming new Moons - and for TUSAL-posts on this blog and elsewhere. Go to Daffycat's blog for an explanation of this phenomenon.

6. januar

4. februar
6. marts
5. april
5. maj
3. juni
2. juli
1. august
30. august
28. september
28. oktober
26. november
26. december

Back to the Classics - Den brændende busk

A Classic written by a female author,

The Burning Bush by Sigrid Undset and published in 1930 fits the category, even if the protagonist of this book is a man.
 
The Burning Bush  is the second part of Gymnadenia. And in this book the mysteries and puzzles of Gymnadenia come to their solutions.
These solutions are like real life, not what you expected, but something bigger and better. The persons, we met in Gymnadeina grow and develop, maybe they even mature. The historical times -- we go from the roaring twenties into the bleak beginning of the thirties -- are a realistic backdrop to the story about Paul Selmer and the journey of his life.

I warmly recommentd this book  and its prequel to all who is remotely interested in human and spiritual development.


And this is the 6th and final of my Back to the Classics 2018 series.

Words For Wednesday - 25. December -- Unicorn Farm 12

This week's prompts - the last of 2018 -  are provided by River at Drifting through Life.
 

1. hair
2. dissolve
3. concertina
4. candlesticks
5. ribbons
6. causeway

 and/or:
 
1. wizard
2. bonfire
3. unload
4. beams
5. discarded
6. chocolate

Once again I wrote a small chapter from my mock autobiography and once again I took up the additional challenge of using the prompts in the order they were given.

We pick up the story where we left off a week ago:
David poured the potion from the cauldron into several small flasks, careful not to spill any of the evil-smelling liquid. Tue and Lis took a sharp breath as David pulled a hair from Torben's head. He dropped it into one of the bottles and swirled the contents to help the hair dissolve.
 He listened to Torben for a short while, and then he left him to clean and put out the fire. With a swagger he walked to his bike, and pedalled resolutely towards the Unicorn farm.

"Wow," Lis whispered. "What on earth ... "
Does he think he'll put that one off, Tue whispered simultaneously.
Susan looked from one to another, totally clueless.
Heidi whispered - "Is that .. was that a .. I mean will he change into Torben now?"
Susan shot a glance at Torben, who was quickly and methodically scrubbing the cauldron and dousing the fire with flicks and swishes of his wand. He was finished in a very short time, Then he too jumped on his bike and set off in the opposite direction.
Tue and Lis looked at one another, and Lis bent her head.
"Susan and Heidi, you were right," Tue said in a shaking voice. "Those two are up to absolutely nothing good. I have no idea whatsoever quite what they're up to, but that potion is a lookalike potion ... at least that's what I think, and Lis too," he asked questioningly and looked at Lis who nodded.
"I think, I know a way to find out what they were planning," Susan said. "It's a very simple spell actually. A bit like the one making the parchment whole again, only this one can do the same with words."
"What are we waiting for, Heidi said. Let's move."
Oh, but we're not supposed to do any magic, did you forget what happened last time?"
"Let's hope their brewing and Torben's cleaning has loaded the place with magic, so that nobody will notice anything. They're not looking for us all the time, and they have not had our wands traced yet," Susan said.
"OK", Lis said, "go for it."

They went to where the fire had been, Susan swished her wand in small, neat waves and spoke a short command. 
They waited, Heidi had just opened her mouth to say that it did not work, when they heard Torben's voice: "Here you are" it said from somewhere left of Lis' head. She jumped, but kept quiet. 
Then Davids petulant voice rose from the other side of the fire: "Whoever penned this recipe, sprawled and nearly illegible writing that is ..."
"It's mine" Torben's voice responded, and began listing ingredients and instructions in a rapid, angry whisper. Then there was silence until Torben spoke again. "Fine, split it up, one for change, and one for return. Add one hair from my left temple to the flask in your right hand. ... Fine, and shake 13 times ... Wait, did it change?"
"Yes" David's disembodied voice sounded weak, almost afraid. "And when I drink this, I'll look like you for 24 hours, or until I empty that other one?"
"Exactly. Your job is not much really. Just stay at the Farm, eat dinner with the teachers. And when Thora plays the concertina, you grab the candlestick with the pink ribbon and throw it into the fireplace. Now hurry and remember to take care not to be seen when you cross the causeway."
The next they heard was Torben murmuring scrubbing and scouring cantrips, and Susan drew a deep, shuddering breath, unaware that she had held her breath since saying the spell.

"I'm a wizard on a bonfire if they're doing this in a good cause," Tue said deliberately. He ran to where the trucks had paused to unload the coal when the powerhouse was functioning and dived behind the broken beams, that laid discarded on the ground. He returned with a shaking boy.
"Helge!" Susan said, as she saw the lanky, bedraggled apprentice, "What on earth are you doing here?"
"Does any of you have something edible, he's starving," Tue said.
"I have a chocolate bar in one of my coat pockets," Heidi said. She pulled it out and handed it to Helge. He was shaking so hard, he was almost unable to unwrap it.
"Let's rekindle the fire," Susan said.  And suited action to words. A quick movement of her wand, and a short sentence had the fire blazing again. "In for a lamb, in for a sheep," she grinned.

Glædelig jul -- Merry Christmas

Adeste fideles læti triumphantes,
Venite, venite in Bethlehem.
Natum videte Regem angelorum:
Venite adoremus Dominum.

En grege relicto, humiles ad cunas,
Vocati pastores adproperant:
Et nos ovanti gradu festinemus,
Venite adoremusDominum.

Æterni parentis splendorem æternum
Velatum sub carne videbimus
Deum infantem pannis involutum
Venite adoremus Dominum.

Pro nobis egenum et fœno cubantem,
Piis foveamus amplexibus.
Sic nos amantem quis non redamaret?
Venite adoremus Dominum.

Back to the Classics - The Battling Prophet

A classic crime story, fiction or non-fiction.

The Battling Propthet by Arthur W. Upfield was one in a bag of old Penguin books, I purchased during a clearance sale in a second hand bookstore. Lots of Upfield's book were in that bag. Some of them has since been lost when moving, some I have read several times, some only once. Among those this one, which was one of the first I read from that bag in the beginning of the 1980ies. Now I re-read it, and it was way better, than my memory of it.  


Centering on a murder mystery -  who killed the so called Prophet, an uncannily accurate meteorologist - this book is so much more. It is a study in meteorology and science, drinking habits and abstinence, bull whipping, friendship and loyalty, real men and real women, heroes and villains, spies and cold war conspiracies. All the time with an eye for the Australian landscape, the bush and the people living in and off the land. 

I own and have read and re-read many of the Inspector Bonaparte books, not for the mysteries, but for the immersion in a landscape and a time that is no more, but that fostered heroes on a daily base. This is not the best of the "Bony" books in my opinion, but it may easily be the second best. 

Back to the Classics - Bjergenes datter

A classic travel or journey narrative, fiction or non-fiction

 Bjergenes datter, in English Daughter of the Mountains, is written by Louise Rankin in 1948.

It tells the tale of a Tibetan girl, Momo, who dearly wants a golden Lhasa apso dog. When she finally gets one, it is stolen from her, and she sets out to get Pempa, as the dog is called.

The first time I read this story, I was very young, 7 or 8. But the story was still good, I still felt the magical transformation of the countryside from Momo's beloved harsh mountains to the verdant lowlands, from the serenity of Tibetan mountain life to the bustle of Indian Calcutta. Also the different, and to Momo as well as to me exotic dishes are described so well you could almost taste them. And the grown up me still shivered at the thought of butter tea.

The contrast between mountains and cities are mirrored in the contrast between Momo and the people, she meet. She's steadfast, trusting,  and sure that she will eventually find her Pemba, even as almost everybody she meets are callous scoundrels or dishonourable and all of them try to make her turn back and forget about Pemba.

I love happy endings. I love this book still.

Back to the Classics - Gymnadenia

A Classic with a one word title. 

 Gymnadenia is both the name of a humble, greenish orchid, and a book by Sigrid Undset published in 1929. I read it in Danish. It was translated by Peder Hesselaa and published in 1956 by Jespersen and Pio

This book tells the story of Paul Selmer, a young Norwegian man during his formative years, which coincide with a colourful time in Norway's history, from roughly 1890 till 1916, where the war begins.

The orchid in the title is a disappointment for poor Paul, who expects a fantastic flower when hearing the name. This feeling of being cheated out of something big and beautiful runs through his life in this book. His first girlfriend and soulmate is not what she seemed, or maybe more ... you're left dangling, as this is the first book of two. His studies, his family, his friends ...

It is a really well written book, the persons are believable, even loveable with their faults and human weaknesses. The times in the book are different from now, but the eternal themes in this book - love, value of life, sin and guilt, virtue, being a human being in short - makes it a fine read today as well. The setting gives colour and a slower pace to the book, which is good. The only thing, I find a bit hard to swallow is the longish soliloquies about Christianity.

I won't tell too much about what happens in the book. I would like you all to read this book, as it is maybe even better than Kristin Lavransdatter.   

O-antifon 7 - 23. december

7. O Emmanuel, Rex et legifer noster,
exspectatio Gentium, et Salvator earum:
veni ad salvandum nos, Domine, Deus noster.

 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.

Back to the Classics - A Wrinkle in Time

A classic by an author that's new to you

A Wrinkle in time begins as a traditional "black and stormy night in a quirky family"-story; consolidating this with our main person, Meg (daughter in the family) meeting both the mysterious Mrs. Whatsit and the almost too normal Calvin O'Keefe.

But from there the story takes off into a supernatural fligth of fancy through hinted-at wonders and blatantly described virtues. It's basically a figth between good and evil book, but I did not like it. It was ... esoteric ... is the best word, I can find even if it does not fit the bill.

The persons were at the same time larger than life and one-dimensional. You just knew all along that they would do the rigth thing, like the blandest of Alcotts little ladies.

The role of the tesseract was for me not adequately explained, the children were paper thin, the Mrss. W's were too all-powerful, too mysterious and yet too set apart and self assured to become real to me. It was at places toe-curling in its description of virtues and good deeds.

I felt like a spectator all the way, never as a part of the book. 

Back to the Classics - Revised list and Wrap Up - 2018

Wrapping up the Back to the Classics 2018 Challenge. I found that I have actually read more than half the books. This will give me one entry in the prize drawing. That is if I finish in time.

The question is now, can I write a review of the missing books in time? The wrap up deadline is midnight December 31st. (PST = 9 o'clock next morning here).

UPDATE: I did it! And I've learned the lesson. In 2019 I'm going to write about the books as I read them! Promise!

Here is my revised list of books. Red means not read, green is read. Blue = in progress.

1. A 19th century classic - (published 1800 - 1899).
- Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

2. A 20th century classic (1900 - 1968).
- Glasperlenspiel by Hermann Hesse.

3. A classic by a woman author.
- Den brændende busk  (The burning Bush) by Sigrid Undset, just to tease.
A well turned book by a woman author ... featuring a male hero.

4. A classic in translation.
- Ivanhoe,

5. A children's classic.
-  Alle vi børn i Bulderby by Astrid Lindgren.

6. A classic crime story, fiction or non-fiction.
-The Battling Prophet by Arthur Upfield

7. A classic travel or journey narrative, fiction or non-fiction.
- Daugther of the Mountains by Louise Rankin

8. A classic with a single-word title.
- Gymnadenia by Sigrid Undset.

>9. A classic with a colour in the title.
- Valley of the Green Shadows by Poul Nørgaard

10. A classic by an author that's new to you.
- A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle.

11. A classic that scares you.

- Dr. Zhivago! by Boris Pasternak. Which I'm still reading - slowly because it still scares me!

12. Re-read a favourite classic
- The Lord of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

O-antifon 6 - 22. december

6. O Rex Gentium, et desideratus earum,
 lapisque angularis, qui facis utraque unum:
veni, et salva hominem, quem de limo formasti

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.

Årets korteste dag

I dag er det årets korteste dag ... eller den længste nat om man vil. 

Solen står op klokken  8.44 og går ned igen 15.34. 

Dermed er dagen hele 6 timer og 50 minutter lang. 

Nu starter den lange opstigning af vinterens mørke. 

Medens vi venter, er her et billede fra dagens indkøbstur til et sted, hvor man godt kan finde ud af at have smukke julelys og et juletræ af rigtig gran.
Og kan I finde stjernen?

The shortest day... or the longest nigth of the year is today. 

The Sun rose at 8.44 and set again at 15.34. This gives us glorious 6.50 hours of dayligth. 

When it's rainy  and cloudy like today it feels like endless twilight. 

But now we're going towards sunnier days.
To help us during the long climb here's a photo from MotherOwl's shopping in a small town where ligths are pretty and the tree a real, living tree.
And can you find the star? 

 
Og så lige en ting til. En omskrivning af Feriesangen til brug ved juleferiens begyndelse:

Ferie, ferie, ferie, slap nu af,
du har fri og syng en glad melodi.
Ned fra himlen sner det,
lad det drysse til ferien er forbi,
... håber vi.

O-antifon 5 - 21. december

5. O Oriens,
splendor lucis aeternae, et sol justitiae:
veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris, et umbra mortis

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.

Serviceforbedring?

Service Improvement?

     Uglemor tager med bussen, når ikke hun cykler, og når det er koldt, regnfuldt og blæsende som nu, vælger Uglemor oftest bussen.
     Men ... efter den nye køreplan er der jo kommet en serviceforbedring. Uglemor fatter godt nok ikke forbedringen, men hun lader sig gerne belære.
     Lad mig forklare.

MotherOwl either goes by bike or by bus when she goes shopping. When it is cold and wet and windy - and such are our winter months mostly - she goes by bus.
But we've had a change in the buses' time tables, and along with it we had a service improvement.
MotherOwl has yet has to see how it can be construed as an improvement, but she's willing to learn.
Let me explain.

-- 🚌 --

     Indtil for nogle år siden kunne man tage sådan nogle fine, små hæfter i bussen med køreplaner for busserne i det område, man befandt sig i. Så blev de afskaffet, men man kunne stadigt købe en bog med dem alle sammen i. Vi kaldte den for bus-bibelen, for den var tyk og uhandy. Så blev den også afskaffet, men busbibelen ligger stadig på nettet som en .PDF, så man kan printe den ud. Det er totalt uoverkommeligt at have ALLE køreplanerne i rygsækken, så Uglemor skriver dem ud, hun plejer at bruge, hver gang der kommer nye køreplaner.
     Så her den 9. december kom der nok engang nye køreplaner. Uglemor hentede Busbibel.PDF og skrev en masse sider ud.
     Den 9. december var også dagen for den omtalte serviceforbedring. Der ville ikke længere være køreplaner på selve busstoppestedet. Kun en seddel med linjenumre og start- og endestation. 
     Men hør nu, hvad der skete mere.

Some years ago the timetables were available in booklets. You could take one for the current area either in the bus or at any trainstaion. You could also buy what we jokingly called the bus-bible. All the timetables for busses and some trains in one, fat book.
Then the timetables were only in the bus-bible or the online .PDF version. MotherOwl lugged the bus-bible along until it was no more sold either.
December the 9th the timetables were changed as every winter. MotherOwl downloaded Bus-bible.PDF and printed the relevant pages (all of them are just too many) 
December 9th also saw yet another change in the timetables -- the aforementioned service improvement  -- there'll no more be a printed timetable on every bus stop, only a sign telling the line number and start/end stations.

--🚏 --

      Uglemor var på indkøb - store og tunge indkøb, for det er snart juleferie og vi får mange gæster. Derfor ville hun gerne tage bussen ind til byen igen. Men hov, Uglemor, du har jo glemt en lille detalje!

MotherOwl went shopping -- Christmas time shopping with lots of heay things. She'd like to take the bus back to town from a place she seldom go to. But oh no, MotherOwl you forgot something!

     Hvornår går bussen nu? Uglemor satte poserne fra sig og tog sine udskrifter frem ... det regner og blæser ... bladre, bladre, bladre .. dryp, dryp, dryp ... blafre, blafre, blafre  ... bladre ... Grrr!
     Jeg har jo ikke skrevet 380R ud. Den plejer jeg jo ikke at bruge. Vi tager nemlig toget til Hillerød. Så vidt, jeg husker, går den hel og halv herfra, så kan jeg ligeså godt gå.

When will the bus leave? MotherOwl put down the carrier bags, pulled the printed time tables from the back pack and began searching. Did I tell it was raining ... and windy ... Drip, drip, drop ...  flutter, flutter, flick, flutter. 
Oh bother. MotherOwl forgot to print bus 380R. It runs -- as do the trains -- between Helsinge and Hillerød, and for this we always go by train. Well before December 9th it left from here every 30 minutes, and not quite now. MotherOwl began walking.

-- 🚌 --

     Da Uglemor var præcis halvvejs til næste stop, hørte hun noget bag sig og hev kameraet op af lommen. Jeps, det var naturligvis bussen.

 Halfway to the next bus stop, MotherOwl hears something from behind. You guessed it - the bus!

Serviceforbedring?
Service Improvement?

Words for Wednesday - 20. December 2018 -- Unicorn Farm 11

This week's prompts are provided by River at Drifting through Life.
It's not Wednesday any more anywhere on the globe, I'm afraid, but I had a deadline this morning.

1. miasma
2. powerhouse
3. shiver
4. foolish
5. plumber
6. twenties

 and/or:


1. foyer
2. palms
3. intricately
4. monastic
5. courtyard
6. sprawled

Once again I wrote a small chapter from my mock autobiography and once again I took up the additional challenge of using the prompts in the order they were given.

We pick up the story where we left off a week ago:

"Friday!" Heidi piped, "but ... that's today."
"Are we going to be at that black bridge today at nightfall?" Tue asked the other three.
"Yes! ... But how?" said Lis, her expression changing from eager to despondent in the wink of an eye. "We're going home tomorrow, you know. We're supposed to be packing and throwing a good-bye party for Susan and her family.
"Eww." Susan said, are you going to invite my family over? That's bound to be a disaster. My father said something about your kind ... my kind -- she quickly amended -- being like a miasma to the society. It did not sound as if miasma was something nice the way he said it."
"Really!" Lis said. "Miasma is a word from the days of the plague. It meant the poisonous air or mist that caused the illness."
"That was not a nice word to use about other people," Heidi said, looking an Susan as if fearing she would begin using such words as well.
"No it is not." Susan said in a hard voice. "My father did not take well to the idea of witchcraft still existing in the world."

Tue suggested that they all packed as quickly as possible, then told their father that they had forgotten something down at the Unicorn Farm. Timing it in a way that enabled them to be at the bridge at sunset, and so that Heidi and the twin's father would think that they would make it  home for dinner. "... and with just a bit of luck we might still be back in time. Today is the shortest day of the year. The sun sets already at half past three. Dinner won't be until six or later. Let's just hope that Mom's not nearby. A bout of premonition is the last thing we need."
I'll take care of that," Heidi said. "there must be something ... I 'll ask for her help with some packing or folding issue. Then she'll be in my room as you ask daddy."

The ploy went as planned. At a quarter past three the four children stood at the old powerhouse by the black bridge, beginning to shiver in the last rays of the setting sun. They had their cloaks on, and their wands were hidden in an easily accessible place.

"Hey, what are you kids doing here?" A van pulled over, and a young man got out. " D'yo know, it's a bit foolish of you wandering around playing hide and seek near the road." It was a plain looking plumber in his twenties. Tue told him they were practising for a Christmas play, and were about to leave the road. One of his talents were that he could sound very mature and persuasive when he set his mind to it. The young plumber left after admonishing them one last time.

"We'd better hide," Tue said. "We don't want to attract any more attention. Yet the road was the best way of avoiding the vigilant sheep dog of that farmhouse."

They went into the abandoned powerhouse. The dam was broken long ago and power now came via cable from the mainland. But the foyer looked as though it had been deserted only days earlier. The big palms had died, but they still retained all their leaves; they criss-crossed intricately across the big windows. Lis told them they were called fronds, not leaves.

"Oh, whatever -- Susan said -- they're still big enough to hide us from people outside, and I'd like to wait somewhere out of the cold."

They opened the door and carefully moved some of the palms so that they could stand near the door without being seen from the outside. When everything was to their satisfaction, they crept up behind the wizened foliage and waited. They did not have to wait for long. Shortly the saw Torben come pedalling down the road. His big body looked even bigger on the small bike and his midnight blue cloak billowing behind him. He leaned the bike against the railing of the bridge and tied his shoelaces, waiting for his partner. The children could barely contain their surprise, or was it lack of surprise, as David too came pedalling down the road. "Him!" Tue hissed.

"Oh, nice to see you," David said. "Did you get the stuff?"
"Yes, Torben replied. "what about you?"
"Of course," David replied, "but let's get out of sight before we continue."

They both pushed their bikes to the monastic courtyard leading up to the foyer, and the children praised their luck. Torben swished his wand and made a small fire in the middle of the yard. Torben and David both squatted, unfortunately facing away from the foyer. Small bottles changed hands and David pulled a small cauldron and a collapsible tripod from the pannier on his bike.
"Whoever penned this recipe -- David agonized -- sprawled and nearly illegible writing that is ..."
"It's mine" Torben said through clenched teeth, grabbed the recipe and began reading. Unfortunately in a very low whisper.

Soon the stench from a brewing potion reached the nostrils of the hidden children.

O-antifon 4 - 20. december

4. 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.

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

Back to the Classics 2019

Sidste år meldte Uglemor sig til klassikerudfordringen. Det gik ikke så godt, hun nåede kun at læse 7 af de stipulerede 12 bøger, sløjt! Men så er der da heldigvis en chance til næste år. Siden, 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 2019, then look just a bit further.

Last year MotherOwl joined the Back to the Classics, 2018-challenge. It was only a partial success as I read only 7 of the books, I set out to read, but one skirmish lost is not the whole battle. Let's try again.

The original post, with rules and a Linky, can be found here: Books and Chocolate 

There's more rules than what I cite here, the most important being no reading before January 1st 2019, and all books to be written (not necessarily published) at least 50 years ago.

As last year 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, old book shops, second hand shops, the library, and at bloggers' posts. 

- ⑫ - ⑫ - ⑫ - ⑫ -

 1. 19th Century Classic. Any classic book originally published between 1800 and 1899.
Lots of good books are that old. But as I did not succeed in reading it last year, I'll just re-try: Alice in Wonderland I only read parts of it. Never the whole book.

 2. 20th Century Classic. Any classic book originally published between 1900 and 1969.
Another re-useable category. 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. Classic by a Female Author.
😠 This category angers me - if possible even more than last year. Bugger! It's what's in a author's head that counts, not what's between their legs.
Why isn't there a Classic by a male author as I've seen some professing to read only female ones?
But well ... I'll find one. 

 4. Classic in Translation.
Once again recycling: I have loads of classics in Danish and English. I just have to pick one. Ivanhoe, War and Peace ... Loads I never read.

 5. Classic Comedy.
Old Greek books we have lots of, but I 'm not in the mood for more Greek drama. Maybe I could read Don Quijote

 6. Classic Tragedy.
The Odyssey or its sequel, The Iliad. Also I put it on my list last year, but never read it. I read The Odyssey when I was 12. Time for a re-read. In Danish, not Greek.

  7. Very Long Classic. (500 pages or longer).
?

  8. Classic Novella. (Shorter than 250 pages).
?

  9. Classic From the Americas (includes the Caribbean).
Huckleberry Finn or Tom Sawyer.

10. Classic From Africa, Asia, or Oceania (includes Australia).
Last year's crime fits the bill: I'm not an avid reader of whodunnits, but these Australian ones - written long ago - describe the Australia of days gone by in a charming way. Author: Arthur Upfield. actual title to be decided.

11. Classic From a Place You've Lived.
Hamlet. Playing in Elsinore, where I lived for many years.My first thought was Udsigt til Kronborg, (A View to Kronborg) by Frank Jæger, whom I knew, and who lived in the same place as I did, although not in the very same apartment. But this book was not written until 1976, only a year before he died.

12. Classic Play.
I'd like to read Jedermann. I saw it as a play at Salzborger Festspiele in 1994. I never read it, but always wanted to.

O-antifoner 3 - 19. december

3. O Radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum,
super quem continebunt reges os suum,
quem Gentes deprecabuntur:
veni ad liberandum nos, jam noli tardare

O, Jesse rodskud, 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-antifon 2 - 18. december

2. 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, 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-antifoner 1 - 17. december.

     1. O Sapientia, quae ex ore Altissimi prodiisti,
     attingens a fine usque ad finem,
     fortiter suaviterque disponens omnia:
     veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae 

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 klogskabs veje


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-like tune. 

Søger efter stjerner 10 -- 星探 -- Looking for Stars 10

     Denne temari har Uglemor ikke vist frem før. Det var stjernejagten, der fik mig til at huske på den. Den er ikke færdig. Den består af 12 stjerner og så skal der måske være noget inde mellem stjernerne ... eller måske skal der ikke?
     Lad os se.

-- ⍟ --

This temari was begun long time ago. MotherOwl found it in her search for stars. It is not finished yet. So far it is only 12 stars. And something between the stars - or maybe not?
Let's have a look.

     Første side, eller hvad man nu skal sige. Alle stjernerne har forskellige farver, men er syet på helt samme måde.

-- 📍 --

First face of the temari. All the stars have their own colour, but are stitched the same way.

     Anden side, her ser man lidt bedre mønsteret med en stjerne på hver af de 12 sider.

-- ⍟ --

Second face. The pattern made of stars inside the pentagons of a 12-face temari can easily be seen here. 

     En tredje side - og mit mislykkede forsøg på at sy "noget" mellem stjernerne. Det ser ret underligt ud.

-- 📍 --

A third face with my try for something between the stars. It's not a success. Those red thingies do not look good. 

     Endnu en anden side, hvor man kan se begge de to underlige røde dimser. Temarien er enkel og farverig nok uden trekantede dimser mellem stjernerne.

-- 📍 --

 Yet another face, where both the ugly, red thingies can be seen. The temari is colourful and good enough without these. They have to go.

Søger efter stjerner 9 -- 星探 -- Looking for Stars 9

... og nu til vejret.
Nu, hvor vinden har blæst alle de grimme skyer væk i Trømsø, er der udsigt til stjerner døgnet rundt. Uglemor elsker den lille detalje med stjerner døgnet rundt nord for polarcirklen.

-- 🌟 --

... and the weather for the coming days.
Tomorrow, when the winds have blown away all the clouds covering Tromsø (in the northern part of Norway), there will be stars around the clock.
MotherOwl loves that detail with stars all over, when looking at the weather forecast for places North of the Arctic Circle.

Søger efter stjerner 8 -- 星探 -- Looking for Stars 8

     Jamen er det da ikke utroligt at 5 par nyindhøbte spisepinde kan blive til en smuk stjerne. 

-- ✩ --

Who knew that 5 pairs of newly acquired chopsticks could form a star. 

Words for Wednesday - 12. December -- Unicorn Farm 10

This week's prompts are provided by River at Drifting through Life.

1. controlled
2. strolled
3. belongings
4. shook
5. leather
6. reminded

and/or:

1. pedal
2. black
3. digs
4. sheepdog
5. sample
6. routine

Once again I wrote a small chapter from my mock autobiography and once again I took up the additional challenge of using the prompts in the order they were given.

We pick up the story where we left off a week ago:

After Lis had controlled the words of the ritual, and corrected several stupid and not so stupid mistakes, she strolled down the room to the bag where her belongings were stored. She shook her leather pencilcase, looking for her favourite pen, and sat down at the table. Carefully she copied the ritual onto a new parchment in her flowing and clear handwriting. Then she handed it to Tue and reminded him that she would not pull his chestnuts out of the fire every time. Not even out of sisterly love.

This time the ritual went smoothly. Susan triumphantly sung out: " ... the dancing ring of days!" just before the last particle of sand fell through the hourglass. There was a mighty "Puff" from the fireplace, ashes and sparks flew. When all was quiet, a piece of parchment lay on the fireplace burnt and frayed at the edges, with holes in it, but still, it was legible.
Tue took up the letter and started reading aloud. It began without any form of greeting or address. It went straight to the point: "I'm going to pedal down to the old, black bridge Friday after the apprenti ... returned to their digs. You have to take .... when joining me. There's a vigilant sheepdog ... Bring the sample and a .... You know the routine."

Grammatiktimen 2

Uglemor irriterer sig jævnligt over ord og udtryk på diverse hjemmesider og sociale medier. Med inspiration fra Queen of Carrots kommer her en ny serie: Grammatiktimen hvor forskellige sproglige særheder og idiosynkrasier der generer Uglemors røde lærerblæk, vil blive taget under ukærlig behandling.

 - ✔ -

Grammar Commando - idea courtesy of the Queen of Carrots - but quite un-translateable.

Brugen af store bogstaver.

Store bogstaver kan bruges til mange ting. Blandt andet til:
- navne,
- forkortelser,
- til at RÅBE HØJT med,
- efter punktum - når punktummet altså afslutter en sætning, og ikke bare fortæller at det forudgående er en forkortelse eller et ordenstal.

Store bogstaver er ikke noget, man bare drysser om sig med hvor man nu synes det kunne pynte.

Hvad sker der for eksempel lige her:

Uglemor har fjernet billederne, så ophavsmanden forhåbentlig ikke kan genkendes.
Det gør det så også en del sværere at fatte budskabet.

Søger efter stjerner 7 -- 星探 -- Looking for Stars 7

     I sin jagt på stjerner kom Uglemor også rundt om bogfoldning. Først var der en stjerne i en bog. I dette afsnit af stjernejagten er stjernen flyttet ovenpå bogen.

-- 🎄 --

Hunting for stars, MotherOwl even practised bookfolding. It began with a star in a book, now the star is on top of the book.

     Det er ret let at forvandle en gammel bog til et juletræ, og en instruktion kan findes mange steder på nettet. Men Uglemor ville ikke være Uglemor, hvis ikke hun lavede opskriften om.
     Så her følger min allerførste (og nok også sidste) fold en bog-billedserie. 

-- 🎄 --

  Folding old books intro Christmas trees is quite easy, ant the how-to is easily found in several corners of the internet. But MotherOwl has, true to form - modified the instructions.
The result: My first (and I think last) bookfolding instruction series.

 -- -- -- 🌠 -- -- --  

Et juletræ består af tre foldede sider, der gentages igen og igen til man løber tør for sider.

-- 🎄 --

A Christmas tree is made by repeating the same three folds over and over again, until you run out of pages.

Her er de første tre sider foldet. -- 🎄 -- The first three pages folded.

-- -- -- 🌠 -- -- --
  

 FOLD 1

∗ Fold den første side diagonalt fra midten øverst til nederste hjørne.
∗ Fold the first page diagonally from the top down.

∗ Fold ud igen og fold det ind, der er i overskud.
∗ Fold back again and fold in the excess.

∗ Og fold siden ind igen. Sådan.
∗ And fold back in again. Like this.

FOLD 2

∗ Fold den nederste kant op, så kanten flugter tekstens indre kant (det er det her, der er Uglemors variation)
∗ Fold up the bottom of the page, so that the edge is flush with the text (this is MotherOwl's variation).
 

∗ Fold topkanten ind til midten af bogen.De to foler vil overlappe hinanden.
∗ Fold the top edge to the spine of the book. The two folds overlap.

∗ Sådan ser den færdige side 2 ud.
∗ This is what page two should look like.

FOLD 3

∗ Fold igen diagonalt, men denne gang nedefra og op.
∗ Once again a diagonal fold, but this time from the bottom up.

∗ Fold det oveskydende ind igen.
∗ Once again fold in the excess.

∗ Sådan
∗ Like this.

∗ Fold så toppen ned, til de to folder ligger lige oven på hinanden.
∗ Fold down the top so that the two parts of the fold are exactly on top op one another.

 -- -- -- 🌠 -- -- --  

Fortsæt til der ikke er flere sider. En af hemmelighederne er at folde skarpe folder. brug gerne et falseben, den anden ende af en theske eller lignende til at glatte folderne. 

-- 🎄 --

Continue until no more pages are left. Part of the secret is to make all folds crisp. Use the back end of a teaspoon or a bonefolder to aid in folding.

 -- -- -- 🌠 -- -- --  

Fold eller find en stjerne til at sætte i toppen af træet. Man kan også dekorere med klistermærker, glimmer, perler, pailletter ...

-- 🎄 --

Fold or find a star for the top of the tree. You can decorate with stickers, glitter, sequins ...

 

Pant på flasker - Deposit on Bottles

     I morges fandt Uglemor en flaske i grøftekanten på vejen hjem. En helt ny flaske. Selvfølgelig tog hun flasken med hjem, skyllede det værste øl af den og puttede den i en pose, vi har til formålet.
     Senere, når posen er fuld og Uglemor skal på indkøb, kommer flasken sammen med de andre af sin slags hen og bliver afleveret.
     Så var det Uglemor begyndte at tænke:
- Hvor meget får jeg egentlig for den flaske?
- Hvornår steg panttaksterne egenlig sidst?
- Hvorfor er det lige at de er så lave?

Svarene ligger heldigvis på nettet:
- Uglemor får 1 krone for sin møje.
- Panttaksterne er ikke steget siden 12. februar 2004, hvor de blev sat ned fra 1,50 krone.
- Officielt fordi prisen på panten skal være under nyprisen for en flaske.

- ♻ -

Uglemor undrer sig fortsat. For i de lande, vi sammenligner os med, er panten omkring det dobbelte (2 norske/svenske kroner eller som  i Tyskland 0,25 € for engangsflasker).

     Vi ved alle, at miljøet ikke har godt af flasker og dåser, at køer især ikke har godt af aluminiumsdåser.
     En heldig glasflaske kan genbruges 40 gange.
     Børn og fattigrøve burde kæmpe om flaskerne i grøftekanten, men nu bliver de i stadig højere grad efterladt på borde i skolerne, ved  busstoppesteder og som morgenens flaske, kastet ud gennem bilvinduer.

     Måske burde panten sættes op til en femmer i stedet?

Dåse, Uglemor ikke fandt, fpr det var for sent. - ♻ - A can, MotherOwl did not see until  too late.

  This morning on my way home I found a beer bottle in the ditch. As always I picked it up, to put in the bag with other bottles for later cashing in town.
MotherOwl began wondering:
- How much is the deposit for this bottle?
- When was the deposit last changed?
- Why is is so little money?

An internet search did - of course - supply MotherOwl with the answers:
- The deposit for a beer bottle is DKK 1,00
- It was lowered from DKK 1,50 back in February 2004
- Yes why? The official explanation is that the deposit must not be undercut by the price of a new bottle.

- ♻ -

MotherOwl is still wondering. In the surrounding countries, the deposit is almost double what it is in Denmark (2 Swedish / Norwegian kroner, 0,25€ in Germany (PET bottles)).

We all know that plastic bottles are not good for the environment, and that alu-cans are not good for cows.

A lucky glass bottle can be reused 40 times!

MotherOwl sees an increasing number of bottles and cans laying around everywhere. - and an increasing number without deposit symbols. They are found at the tables in school, by the bus stop, and as this morning's bottle, thrown from a passing car.

Children and poor people should be busy picking up the left bottles. Maybe it's time to raise the deposit on bottles, cans etc?

Søger efter stjerner 6 -- 星探 -- Looking for Stars 6

     Lørdag holdt vi fødsselsdag for Piraten og Trolden. Uglemormor, Storebror og Storesøster med den lille Løve og Ædelstenen var på besøg.
     Storesøster havde en taske fyld af stjerner:

Saturday we celebrated Trolli and The Pirate, who both have their birthdays in December. GrannyOwl was here as well as Big Brother and Big Sister with The little Lion and The Gem.
Big Sister had a bag with a pattern full of stars.

TUSAL december 2018

All my ORTs unceremoniously dumped at the table. Mostly it's ends from knitting cacti. And then something green that do not look like ends, only like a mess, but sombody cut the hank and it's now just a load of 30 cm long ORTs.

Linking up with Daffycat, hoping her December TUSAL will be up soon. 

- 🐑🌛 -

Alle mine stumper, der mest kommer fra at strikke kaktusser.Og så noget grønt rod, der er nogen der havde klippet nøglet over, så nu er det bare en samling grønne ender.

Link til  Daffycats blog.Jeg håber hendes decemberpost er på trapperne.

Søger efter stjerner 5 -- 星探 -- Looking for Stars 5

     Oprindeligt kommer Uglemor fra Helsingør, og der har hun måttet tage hen i sin leden efter stjerner.
      Det er nogle dage siden, Uglemor besøgte Helsingør, men de her stjerner sender stadig deres milde skær ned over byen.

 -- ✭ --

 MotherOwl lived in Elsinore all her childhood and some of her grown up years as well.
And this is where MotherOwl went to catch a star for today. The visit in Elsinore was some days ago, but those stars still bless my old home town.

Søge efter stjerner 4 -- 星探 -- Looking for Stars 4

     Torsdagens ornament til Jessetræet er en masse stjerner i erindringe om Abraham der blev lovet efterkommere. "Så tog han ham udenfor og sagde: »Se på himlen, og tæl stjernerne, hvis du kan.« Og han sagde: »Så mange skal dine efterkommere blive.« Abram troede Herren, og han regnede ham det til retfærdighed" (1 Mos 15,5).

-- ✭ --

Yesterday's ornament for our Jesse tree is a star, or actually several stars. As the Lord said to Abraham: "“Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”  And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness." (Gen 15:5)

Hjemmelavet ornament  til Jessetræets 5. dag.

-- ☆--

Homemade ornament for the 5th day of our Jesse tree.

Søge efter stjerner 3 -- 星探 -- Looking for Stars 3

Uglemor er stadig på jagt efter stjerner. Nu i gamle bøger

 -- ☆ -- 

MotherOwl is still searching for stars. Now she's looking in old books. 

 -- ✭-- 

Denne her bog er bestemt ikke nogen stjerne. 

Uglemor kan ikke huske hvor den kommer fra, 

og ingen af Ugleungerne har nogen sinde læst den.

 -- ☆ -- 

This book is not a star.
MotherOwl do not remember buying it,
and none of the Owlets have ever read it. 

  

 -- ✭-- 

Men lad os kigge indeni.  -- ✩ -- But let's take a look inside. 



Jamen, der var jo en stjerne indeni. Sådan en gammel, ulæselig bog var perfekt til Uglemors nye hobby, bogfoldning.
 Efter at have set de syv videoer og foldet et hjerte i en bog - og foldet det om igen, fordi hun var nysgerrig og uenig med videoernes ophavsmand - var Uglemor klar til at stå på egne ben, lave sit eget mønster og lede efter en stjerne i en bog.
Uglemor ønsker sig tykke, smukke og ulæselige bøger i kalendergave.
Hvis du har brug for mere inspiration så kig HER!

 -- ☆ -- 

But look, there was a star inside. This old book was perfect for MotherOwl's new hobby, book folding.
After having watched these video tutorials and folded the heart inside a book -- and re-folded because she was curious and ended up disagreeing with the author of the videos -- MotherOwl was ready to make her own patterns and reach for a star.
Now MotherOwl wants to find pretty, voluminous, but unreadable books in her Christmas stocking.
For even more inspiration go HERE!

Words for Wednesday - 5. December -- Unicorn Farm 9

This week's prompts are provided by River at Drifting through Life.

1. noose
2. moose
3. soon
4. omen
5. shoe
6. onion

and/or:

1. hourglass
2. fireplace
3. fragment
4. paradise
5. discussing
6. wondering

Once again I wrote a small chapter from my mock autobiography and once again I took up the additional challenge of using the prompts in the order they were given.

Susan and Tue are alone in the Heidi's family's summer house. It is Winter holidays 2nd year. Tue, Heidi and Susan have grasped the chance to try and complete a magic ritual to make a letter readable. Kai and Sandra (Heidi's parents) are away, Lis is too. They miss her, as she is the best of the bunch when it comes to writing and reading. They have copied a ritual from an old book at the Unicorn Farm, in the middle of the night, as some of the other teachers are staying there for Christmas. And they do not approve of the four children and their nosiness.

"Lend me a noose to catch a moose." Susan chanted.
"The man in the Moon came down too soon" Heidi answered.
Lis came through the door, bringing a whiff of cold, wintry air into the stuffy living room.
"It sounds like an old omen," Lis said.
"Shh, you'll disrupt the ritual," Tue whispered furiously.
"One, two, buckle my shoe" Heidi said
"I give you an onion. It is a moon ..." Susan intoned, but in that moment the last grain of sand left the upper half of the hourglass.
"Bugger," Tue said "We did not make it."
"What are you trying to do?" Lis asked.
"Look into the fireplace," Tue answered. "You'll find the fragments of a letter, Susan found in Torben's dustbin the other day. Now we're trying to make them grow into the whole letter again with the aid of an old ritual. We just cannot say all those nonsensical rhymes fast enough, and now, as we thought we had it, you came and made us bungle it once again."
"Let me see it," Lis said, snapping the parchment from Tues hands. She studied the ritual.
"You know what, all those lines and rhymes come from old books, but I'm sure you got that one wrong. That one is from Dante's Paradise. That might be why it does not work. Wait here."

Tue and Susan was left stunned. They looked at one another, then began discussing whose fault it was, that the wording was wrong.
"You told me, what to write," Tue said,
"Yes, I did," said Susan "You must have misheard me, or maybe just plain written the wrong word."
"Furthermore" Tue said, "we were in a hurry, it was dark, the book was old and the candle was sputtering. I start wondering if that is the only word that is wrong. Some of it sounds quite meaningless to me."
"Old literature is often like that," Heidi said placatingly. She laid her hands on both their forearms: "Let's wait until Lis returns. She knows a lot more of books and literature than we three together. What a luck she returned early from that witches' Yule gathering."

Søge efter stjerner 2 -- 星探 -- Looking for Stars 2

Uglemor er stadig på jagt efter stjerner. Egentlig havde jeg skrevet noget andet til i dag, men på vejen hjem mødte jeg en vigtig stjerne. Så må den anden vente til i morgen.

 -- ☆ -- 

MotherOwl is still searching for stars. I wrote another post for today, but on my way home I met an important star. The post I already had written just has to wait. 

 -- ✭-- 

Morgenstjernen -- ✡ -- The Morning Star

Morgenstjernen er ladet med symbolik. Først er den jo et symbol på Kristus, som vi venter på i denne adventstid. Den 21. december synger vi i tidebønnen denne smukke antifon:

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.

I det lauretanske litani kaldes Jomfru Maria for morgenstjernen, fordi hun går forud for Jesus, solen og lyset.
 Og det er da et passende billede at tage med sig sådan  en stjerneklar adventsmorgen.

 -- ☆ -- 

The Morning Star is a symbol of many things. It is a symbol of Christ, for whom we're waiting throughout advent. On the 21st of December, we're going to pray this antiphon in the liturgy:

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

In the litany of Loreto, Virgin Mary is called the Morning Star, because she proceeds Jesus, who is the Light and the Sun.
And this is perhaps the most fitting symbol on a clear, starry morning in Advent.

Søge efter stjerner -- 星探 -- Looking for Stars

     Jeg er sikker på at de fleste af os har spillet Hoshisaga

- Stjernejagt -

et japansk spil der går ud på at finde stjerner i stadigt sværere baner. 

 -- ☆ -- 

I'm sure most of us have played Hoshisaga

 -- Star Search -- 

a Japanese game, where you lok for stars in increasingly difficult stages.  

 -- ✭-- 

     Lad os prøve at lege det i den virkelige verden. Hvor kan man finde stjerner? 

 -- ☆ -- 

Let's try pklaying in real life. Where can you find a star? 

  

 -- ✭-- 

 I et æble?   -- ✭-- In an apple?

-- ☆ --

Ja! Der er en stjerne i ethvert æble

  -- ✭--

YES! There's a star hidden inside every apple

Eller faktisk to   -- ✭-- Or two really.