Sunday Selection: RainSøndagsbilleder: Regn

Det har været ekstremt tørt her det seneste stykke tid. I torsdags så vores frøsø sådan her ud.
We have had dry times here. Thursday our pond looked like this.

Fredag regnede det 19 mm. 💧 Friday we had 19 mm of rain.

Saturday it only rained a little, 3 mm, but we emptied a blue barrel of rainwater into the pond, 120 litres
💧
Lørdag regnede det kun 3 mm. Men vi hældte alt regnvandet fra den blå tønde, 120 liter, ned i frøsøen.

Sunday was the yearly pligrimage - outdoors - and it rained
☔
Søndag var vi på den årlige alfart - udendørs - og det regnede.

Søndag eftermiddag så frøsøen sådan her ud 💧Sunday late the pond looked like this.
Der må godt komme lidt mere regn 💧We still need a bit more water

Et billede fra vores regnvåde valfart 💧 A photo from our rainy pilgrimage

Almost everybody had left. The final procession and blessings were shortened. The four men in black at the statue of Our Lady of Aasebakken is our bishop (in the red cap) two priests and the main altar server. Normally they're dressed for the occasion - it was too wet today. 
☔
Rigtig mange var taget hjem, og den afsluttende andagt blev afkortet. De fire mænd, der står rundt om statuen af Vor Frue af Aasebakken er vores biskop (med rød kalot) to præster og vores overministrant. Normalt har de fint tøj på til andagten, men det var bare for vådt.

Sunday: Today’s average difficulty is 4.3 guesses out of 6, or moderately challenging. Moderately challenging ... well I did not know the solution-word, and had to seek help in a dictionary to find me a word to fit this pattern: 🟩🟩🟩⬜🟩 after having tried ALL the non-invalid letters, and none made a word I knew.  
Wordle 1.436 6/6
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟨⬜🟩⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟨⬜🟨
⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟨⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Saturday; Today’s average difficulty is 4 guesses out of 6, or easy breezy. I would not call 4 out of 6 easy breezy ;) But I did better. Pure intuition and guesswork, though.
Wordle 1.434 3/6
🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Friday: Today’s average difficulty is 5.6 guesses out of 6, or very challenging.
Wordle 1.435 4/6
⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟨🟩🟨⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

A New Pope ~ and Today's Wordle

Yesterday evening white smoke came from the most watched smoke stack in the whole world.
We have a new pope.
Leo XIV.

 

 ⚠ Warning! Down below is the answer to today's Wordle ⚠
⚠ Proceed at your own risk ⚠

* * * * *

* * * *

* * *

* *

*

As he began his first speech with the word Peace that was my starter word for today's Wordle.

The solution - Tripe - is not very yummy to put it mildly, I hope it's not an omen.

More news from the gardenMere havenyt

     Lørdag aften og hele natten til søndag regnede det. Lørdag aften var Uglemor og Skribenten ude i to omgange og hølde 100 liter vand fra vandtøndenover i frøsøen. Så nåede vandet lige op over første etage igen. Søndag mprgen var tønden fuld igen. Da vi kom hjem fra kirke, spiste vi kager, så klarede det op og blev soldkinsvejr. Uglemor tog atter engang bor, hammer og sav med ud, men denne gang bad jeg Skribenten om hjælp med at flytte pallerne, der var blevet tungere af nattens regn.
     Skribenten havde også flyttet den halvomsatte kompost væk, så nu smattede Uglemor rundt i lerbunden og fjernede de to sidste paller - mistanken var god nok, de skulle udskiftes. Der var et gammelt murstensfundament der skulle flyttes og forhøjes. Så gav Skribenten igen en hånd med at holde pallerne på plads og skubbe til de sidste mursten mens Uglemor skruede beslagene fast - hvor er det bare meget nemmere at være to om den slags.
     Mens Skribenten skovlede den våde, halvomsatte kompost på plads igen. Tak! Savede Uglemor de sidste brædder til den venstred del. Og så var kompostbeholderen lige pludselig færdig. Et sidste lille bræt i overskud blev til en holder til en opvaskebørste, såbehøver vi ikke at lede efter den, når kompostspanden trænger til en skrubber. Se detailbillede i højre hjørne.

It rained Saturday evening and all through Sunday nigth. Saturday evening, MotherOwl and the Writer went out twice and poured 100 litres of water from the water barrel into the Frogpond. Then the water rose just above the first terrace again. By Sunday morning the barrel was full again. When we got home from church, we ate cakes, then the sun broke through and sunny weather returned, cooler, but still.

MotherOwl once again picked up drill, hammer and saw, but this time asked the Writer for help moving the pallets, which were made even heavier with the night's rain.

The Writer had also moved the half-decomposed compost away, so now MotherOwl scrabbled around in the mud and removed the last two pallets - the suspicion held, they needed replacing. There was an old brick foundation that needed to be moved and raised. Then the Writer lend me a hand holding the pallets in place and pushing the last bricks while I screwed on the homemade fasteners -- it's just so much easier to do this with four hands.

While the Writer shovelled the wet heavy semi-compost back into place (Thank you!) MotherOwl sawed the last boards for the left section. And then the compost bin was suddenly finished. One last small surplus board became a holder for a dishwashing brush, so we don't have to always search for it when the compost bucket needs a scrubbing. See detail image in the right corner.

And today's Wordle:
Wordle 1.417 4/6
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟩🟨🟩⬜
⬜🟩⬜🟩🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Just Blogging ...

For danske læsere: Dette er en opsummering af mine havedagbogsnoter HERfra.

Today's Wordle solved in four tries:
Wordle 1.412 4/6
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
⬜🟩🟩🟨⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

News from my garden

I have not only been solving Wordles and reading blogs this past month. The weather has been excellent and I've been working in my garden: I have also been rejoicing. Here's a list in no particular order:

• I've been weeding the old and new blackcurrant bushes.
• I've been weeding half the redcurrant bushes, there were lots of nettles underneath ...
• I have weeded the new fruit bushes and the gooseberries
• Then I gave all of the aforementioned an ample helping of compost and most a few measures o water as well.
• We have moved the chicken coop more than once, giving them oodles of fresh water. Yesterday finally I lost my patiece with watering them twice a day and with the Writer's help I put the big water tower back in.
• I had to start the renewal of the compost heap as one side fell over. I also removed all the planks behind it.
• A nice neighbour offered some used pallets for the frame, and even brought them here.
• The funny raspberries (black, white, late ... ) were also weeded and the weeds between them and the herb bed were removed.
• We've been sharing two spears of asparagus for dinner now for two days with more to come.
• We've had rhubarb compote for dinner more thatn once - and a rhubarb tart.
• I found a may bug caterpillar and put it back in the compost heap.
• The kiwis are budding
• The chicken are laying. Most day we have 3 or 4 eggs, Tuesday there was a 5th egg in the nest box, smashed and half-eaten ... and brown. Two are failing to deliver multi-coloured gees (green and chocolate brown) but all are laying, albeit sporadically still.
• The vine on the patio is unfolding its buds, there are lots of flower buds.
• I had help to move the two black tubs down in front of the dome after weeding there. I weeded the tubs, many nettles and lots of fat white bindweed roots, filled them with new compost and planted the biggest and prettiest strawberry plants in them. then they each got a can of water.
• I poured the last 50 litres from the barrel into the Frog pond, where the first underwater terrace was now visible due to the drought. There's still plenty of duckweed and small bugs in the lake, and the yellow irises are still looking good. I'm curious to see if any of the seeds I threw in last autumn have survived and germinated. Blue irises and some fun ones and common rushes.
• I also moved some of the old foundation debris from the dome to the out pile. I'm sorry for the fine bricks, but it's getting tidier all round.
• My agrimony has survived the move from the Moon Mound to a pot on the terrace and is thriving.
• My murasaki were big and beautiful.
• The angelica has also survived and is big and beautiful.
• I picked dandelion flowers to dry and made oregano salt.
• The white hen - that was henpicked by the others and bleeding and was isolated - is now perfectly fine. She is still a little scared. I think she's younger than the others, she's also still young and narrow and hasn't got 'laying width' yet.
• The chickens all love slugs!
• I got home a roll of chicken netting, new ninja gloves and 3 long poles by bike!
  
• Then I constructed 2 teepee-thingies for my hops to grow on, one from the long poles I bought and one with poles from the garden. They were connected with a long string with shorter strings down to the ground for more hops to climb.
• The nice new gloves are not so nice anymore, but they protected my hands from rough bricks, nettles and comfrey.
  
• All the courgettes, aubergines, chillies and tomatoes planted in the dome had survived and thrived.
• After this I sowed two squash seeds in pots inside the dome. one day one had sprouted, the nextt day the second one had also sprouted and the snails had not eaten the first one.
•  While I was hanging up the laundry, the first swallows flew high, high up and promised us good weather.
  
  
  
  
  My bike, bringing home long poles, fence and gloves.
  

Poetry Monday ~ On a Tuesday :: Free

Easter happened. Sunday and Monday was family time, off school, off work. All kids and Grand-kids were at home. We hid Easter eggs and found them all. we baked bread and ate it all, we played crazy games and took a walk in a slight drizzle, we took care of the chicken and collected eggs, we planted potatoes and corn. In short a good time was had by all. Now the house is almost empty, only me and one Owlet at home.

-- 🪺  --

And I forgot that yesterday was Monday, and that every Monday is Poetry Monday. I must make amends today, Tuesday.

Mimi of Messymimi's Meanderings and I have taken over the hosting duties, mostly the supplying of the prompts - only temporarily we hope - while Diane at On the Border is taking a break for health and relaxation, travelling the world with her husband as far as we can tell. We just hope she's going to take back over once she returns home.

  I have something to ask of you: If you read this and the poetry of others via the links, would you please leave a comment.
  Half - if not more - the fun of these challenges is receiving the responses of others.

Free.
Free made me think. What does free mean? Is it free to do anything you like? is it free from hunger or pain?
I discovered early on that for me true free was to be allowed to be me and for you to be you.

My childhood's idols Kaj the frog, and Andrea, the parrot, were two puppets in a TV-program for children in the 1970s, they were very popular, and all the songs are still sung by preschoolers in Denmark.
They sung a song together called The Duet on Differences. It was a part of my teachings on what free means.

Andrea, the charming, cautious parrot
and Kaj, the jazz-loving boisterous frog.

Their duet went something like this:

Kaj:       I am Kaj.
Andrea: I am Andrea.
Kaj:       I am a frog,
Andrea: And I a bird
Kai:      I can swim
Andrea: I can fly, but
Both:     we can both play hide-and-seek.
    'cause even if we're different as can be
    we are the best of friends as you can see.

Kaj:       I've got legs.
Andrea: and I have wings.
Kaj:       I have a mouth,
Andrea: And I a beak
Both:     But if we eat sour apples we'll both get tummy ache.
    'cause even if we're different as can be
    we are the best of friends as you can see.


Kaj:       I think storks are very scary.
Andrea: Oh the cats they make me fear.
Both:     But as long as we're together, neither cats or storks come near.
    'cause even if we're different as can be
    we are the best of friends as you can see.

Kaj:        I'm a boy
Andrea: I am a gi-irl
Kaj:       I sing low
Andrea: And I sing Hi-igh
Both: But when we both sing together, we'll make the music fly.
    'cause even if we're different as can be
    we are the best of friends as you can see.

Kaj:        I am fond of jazz and saxes
Andrea: And I like a quiet song
Both:     We sing jazz and quiet ditties, one of each, we can't go wrong!
    'cause even if we're different as can be
    we are the best of friends as you can see.

  -- 🐸  -- 🦜 --

Here you can hear Kaj & Andrea singing their duet. It was written in 1974 by Povl Kjøller, the man with the guitar.

  - - - - -
Up and coming:
April 21: Free (today)
April 28: Jam
May 5: Competition
May 12: Shape
May 19: Stem
May 26: Lead

Words for Wednesday March 4th ~Bill & Sue and the Seventh Son 2

In March, River is supplying the prompts for Words for Wednesday.

Word for Wednesday is a challenge that was started a long time ago. Now it has turned into a movable event with Elephant's Child as our coordinator; and the Words provided by a number of people.

The general idea of this challenge is to make us write. Poems, stories, subtitles, tales, jokes, haiku, crosswords, puns, ... you're the boss.
Use all Words, some Words, one Word, or even none of them if that makes your creative juices flow. Anything goes, only please nothing rude or vulgar.

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

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

- - A - - B - - C - - 

This Wednesday's prompts:
Striking
Deliver
Insulting
Coffee
Spanner

I will be continuing my surrealistic story of Sue and Bill ... at least until I am somewhat recuperated from these last stressing months. I feel like writing, knitting, drawing, sowing, digging, weeding, baking, creating something ... anything at all, but my energy levels are at zero. I hope the returning daylight also is going to help. Sunset tonight is as late as 17:48, and sunshine is in the cards for the coming week. Yay, I'm thankful that the light is returning!

Bills premonition was striking, but it did deliver. At a quarter to eight a knock was heard, and after a pause, that would have been insulting in a lesser being, Bill called: "Enter!" in the exact tone of a man who was just about to drink his coffee and felt irritated at the disturbance. A man in raincoat and yellow sou'wester, wet through and carrying a humongous spanner in his hand, entered and said: "Bill, Sue. I need your help!" before fainting on the dark linoleum flooring.
"You are as good as your word!" Sue said as she rose and went over to their guest. "I wonder how he go so wet? ... Salt water!" she exclaimed. 

- - A - - B - - C - - 

And I felt like making WordLit again. It is neither the best, not the smartest of them, but today's solution - one of the words I often use for starters, but of course not today - fit in somehow. As this is the actual solution for today - March 4th - don't scroll down unless you have already solved today's Wordle, or do not intend to.

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Where Did We go?

Normally when I totally disappear from Blogland for more than a few days it is because I'm not at home and able to use my computer.

It was like this ... we rose in the middle of the nigth on January 30. Then we went to Copenhagen by taxi, train and metro - the buses had not started running yet. Then we fought a digital device ... standard for us apparently on these occasions - stood in line, then we went out into the dark and cruel cold night and waited some more and took another vehicle, waited once more, then we waited some more and took a bus ...

And then we were here:

Next day I was woken up by a solitary bird singing from a plane tree:

We visited the church dedicated to this guy and afterwards we went down into the catacombs

 

I think by now you all have guessed that we went to Rome.

The Scandinavian bishops' Conference had organized a pilgrimage for the holy year, and we were 150 from all Denmark and around 1000 people from the Scandinavian countries, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Finland. Including all seven bishops! One from each of the dioceses of Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Finland, and all three from Norway.

More pictures:

Waiting for our turn to go through the holy door in the Lateran Basilica, the bishop of Copenhagen tells a bit about the church.

That same afternoon we went through the holy door in S. Maria Maggiore.

Next day was the high point of the pilgrimage:

Meeting the pope

Through the holy door in Saint Peter's

And mass with all the Scandinavian bishops there.

Of course we also saw other places, ate pizzas - not much ice, as it was quite chilly - drank cappuccinos and just enjoyed the stay. Of course we hope to return to this city once again.

I even succeeded in using almost all the Words for Wednesday:
1 - cruel
2 - return
3 - sneak
4 - solitary
5 - middle

And my colour? I'm sure the sky, or the mosaics or the water or ...contain

Floriane did not get us :: Words for Wednesday and Echoes

The Word for Wednesday challenge started a long time ago. Now it has turned into a movable event with Elephant's Child as our coordinator; and the Words provided by a number of people.
The prompts for January are provided by Elephant's Child and can be found @ Elephant's Child.

The general idea of this challenge is to make us write. Poems, stories, subtitles, tales, jokes, haiku, crosswords, puns, ... you're the boss.
Use all Words, some Words, one Word, or even none of them if that makes your creative juices flow. Anything goes, only please nothing rude or vulgar.

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

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

- - A - - B - - C - - 

This week's prompts are:
Ancient
Life
Water
Melody
Lied
      and/or
Medal
Speaker
Cords
Paper
False

This is an echo of my Friday Frustrations and more from November 2023 onwards. I only used one of the Words for Wednesday: Water. I'm still not totally out of my poetry writing spell, so a poem is what you'll get.

Floriane's winds have blown
and the waters all have grown
but our tunnel's dry as a bone
we can run to the bus and go home.

Catching the bus during the storm Floriane - January 2025.

All spring of 2024 the tunnel was closed, we ran, sometimes illegally under the descending gates to catch the bus  ... the road was almost closed as well, bothering traffic in and out of town, but it was worth the trouble, just compare this:

The tunnel January 2024

to this:

The tunnel January 2025.

Colour24 :: Sunday Selection

For the last time this year a colourful Sunday post.
The Colour of the Month for December is

Sidste Månedens farve for i år. Her er decembers farve.

Og her nogle billeder -- And some photos

Oops, those chopsticks are light BLUE not green in real life.

Altså, de spisepinde er lyseblå i virkeligheden!

This mug turned out just right.

Men det her krus er mere fotogent.

.

JUBELÅRET 2025 - HÅBETS PILGRIMME.
I dag var der jubelårsåbningsmesse i domkirken.

Today we attended the inauguration mass of the Holy year
JUBILEE 2025 - PILGRIMS OF HOPE.

Vinter Solstice ~ Vintersolhverv

     I dag, helt præcist klokken 10.21 vendte solen. Nu går vi mod længere dage. Det sætter Uglemor stor pris på. for de her grå, korte og regnfyldte dage er ugle-nedslående.
     I tirsdags skinnede solen, og Uglemor tog et billede af solen, da den stod højest på himlen.

 -- 🌞 --

Today at 10.21 am the sun reached its turning point. From now on the days will get longer.
This is received with glee by MotherOwl, suffering from the short and murky days.

Some days ago, Tuesday to be exact, we had some sunshine. And MotherOwl snapped this photo as the sun was at its highest.

Tuesday December 17th. Sunrise 8:41 sunset 15:32  lenght of day: 6h 51 min Max sun height: 11 degrees.
Tirsdag 17 december. Solopgang 8.41, solnedgang 15.32, dagens længde 6:51, solens maksimale højde: 11 grader.

Og så klokken knap fire, fotograferede Uglemor igen - nu denne herlige solnedgang ... den måtte gerne have ventet et par timer.

 -- 🌞 --

And then, a little less than four hours later, MotherOwl snapped this glorious sunset ... it was pretty, but it would have been more welcome a few hours later.

Godt nytår ~ Hapy New Year

Jeg kan endog genbruge min
billedtekst  selvom billedet er nyt.
Edderkoppen er en af vore "overlevere"
En ting, der hænger fra år til år,
selv om det ikke er dens årstid.

I can even re-use the caption,
but the photo is new.
The spider is one of our "survivors".
A thing that keeps on hanging
year after year
even when thy're out of season.

I dag kan jeg bare gentage, hvad jeg skrev for 11 år siden:

Nej Uglemor er ikke blevet senil og roder rundt i år og måneder. Men i dag er det jo 1. søndag i advent - Kirkens nytår. Vi starter på et helt nyt kirkeår. I dag skulle vi flytte alle markørerne. Vi startede på en ny måned, en ny uge, en ny årstid og et nyt kirkeår alt sammen
At så vejret også skulle flyttes fra regn til solskin, gjorde det jo ikke ringere.

-- 🕯 -- 🕯 -- 🕯 -- 🕯 --

Today I repeat myself from 11 years ago:

No, MotherOwl has not yet turned senile and is mixing up days, months and years. But today was really an extraordinary day in the calendar. As can be seen, today we began a new liturgical year, a new month, a new season, and a new week all in one day.
That the marker for weather also had to be moved from rain to sunshine did not lessen the joy.

Bragging on Thanksgiving

First of all Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate.

-  A  -  B  -  C  -

As I told some time ago, I love word games and puzzles like Wordle and such. For the first time today I solved the New York Times Connections puzzle, So I share the results from today's mini-games. Wørdle is the Danish Wordle look-alike.

Wordle 1.258   5/6
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟨🟨🟨⬜
⬜⬜🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Wørdle #1055 5/6
⬛🟩⬛⬛⬛
⬛🟩⬛⬛🟦
⬛🟩⬛🟩🟩
⬛🟩⬛🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Connections Puzzle #536
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟪🟪🟪🟪

Strands #270 “Thank goodness!”
🔵🔵🔵🔵
🔵💡🔵🟡

Tiles - November 28, 2024
     Perfect!
Your highest combo was 41 moves.

Spelling Bee - November 28, 2024 *

	Genius		148
	Amazing		106
	Great		84
	Nice		53

43

Solid. . .

32

10 points to next rank, 105 to Genius

	Good		17
	Moving Up		11
	Good Start		4

* Note for Spelling Bee, Solid is generally the highest you can go without subscribing. If you're smart, lucky, and the Bee contains fewer words, Nice is possible.

Look, Oh Look! ~ Åh se!

Sunshine!  ~ Solskin!

Yup, this morning we had awesome 46 minutes of sunshine - the first this month.

I morges havde vi 46 vidunderlige minutters solskin - månedens første.

Kilde: DMI

I nat ... Tonight

Selvom det er sværere at se på YR end det var på det meget savnede Bedre vejr, så ender sommertiden altså i nat!
Her holder jeg musen over, og der står fra 02-02 som klokkeslæt. Så i morgen og de kommende par uger er det atter lyst, når vækkeuret ringer, og Piraten kan cykle afsted igen uden voldsomme lygter, og mit indre ur vil atter være i overensstemmelse med virkeligheden - jeg glæder mig til at sove ordentligt, for sært nok vågner jeg en time tidligere, når vi har sommertid. Det vil sige, hvis vi skal op klokken 7 (der jo egentlig er klokken 6), ja så vågner jeg klokken 6 (altså egentlig klokken 5), jeg kan ikke forklare det, men i løbet af den næste uges tid stopper det fjolleri, og jeg vågner 5-10 minuter i syv, når vækkeuret er sat til syv, sådan som jeg gør hele vinterhalvåret. Jeg glæder mig! Og håber det idioti snart er fortid, TAK

Even though it is harder to see here on YR than it was on the lost and mourned BedreVejr, DST ends tonight. I here mouse over the relevant spot, and it tells me the weather tonight between 02 and 02 am. It is a bit absurd, but makes me really happy. Tomorrow and tomorrow, and for many days after the sun will be in the skies, or almost there when the alarm goes off. The Pirate can again bike to school, and my inner Owl is happy, as my time now again fits the clock, and I am no longer going to wake up an hour before the alarm goes off - no, I do not know why on Earth DST does this to me, but it does. Slowly, in the coming week, my inner alarm will recalibrate itself, and wake me u 15 to five minutes to alarm time, as it does all winter. I so look forwards to undisturbed sleep again. 

An old screenie from better times ~ Et gammelt skærmdump fra dengang Bedre Vejr virkede. 

Semi-break ~ En slags pause

     Kære allesammen, det næste stykke tid vil I nok ikke høre eller se så meget til mig her på bloggen. Livet sker, og nogen gange sker der for meget på én gang.
     Jeg forsvinder ikke helt, men jeg kommer højst sandsynligt ikke til at skrive så meget eller komme med så mange kommentarer hos jer allesammen, som jeg plejer.
     Øh, sådan har det jo allerede været et par uger, tænker du nok, med forsinkede eller bare ikke eksisterende blogindlæg; men jeg tror det bliver værre, før det bliver bedre.
     Jeg vender tilbage!

 👪 - 💙 - 💚 - 🧡 - 🤎 - 🩷 - 🩶 - 🩵 - 💛 - ❤

Dear co-bloggers and friends. For the next weeks I will probably not be very present here. Life happens, and sometimes too much happens at once.

I won't disappear totally, but I will quite possibly not be blogging or commenting as much as normally. Well I have already not been, you probably think - posts have been delayed or just not appearing - it's going to be worse before it gets better, I suspect.

But as Terminator says: "I'll be back!"

Hobbit day & Week :: Hobbitdag og -uge

Hamlette @ The Edge of the Precipice is hosting a Hobbit Week blog party for the 12th time. I am happy to participate and she makes it easy on us by saying: "If you don't have any ideas of things to post, you can always simply fill out the tag, which you'll find below."

The only real rules are: 

• your post must be related to Tolkien and his creations somehow, 
• your post should contain a link back to this post so people can find the party and join the fun, and 
• your post needs to be respectful and family-friendly (this is a celebration, so please don't contribute any rants or whiny posts). 

~ ::  ~  ∴  ~ :: ~

This year's tag is inspired by some of the most famous locations in Middle-Earth. Here it is:


1. The Shire:  What place in Middle-earth do you think you would feel the most like home for you?

As I like a quiet life of good food and a sprinkle of adventures now and then, the Shire would be the place for me.

2. Bree:  If you could create a Middle-earth-themed restaurant, what would you serve there?

I would take my inspiration from Beorn's meals, and from the World of Warcraft cookbook, serving hearty, wholesome food made from local flora and fauna (or Olvar and Kelvar as the Elves would put it.)
The menu would include Beer Basted Boar Ribs, Braised Riverbeast, good bread, honey, loads of mushrooms and veggies. Funnily this had me thinking of the meals described in Paksenarrion -  The Jolly Potboy in Brewersbridge

3. Rivendell:  Where in Middle-earth would you like to hang out with your friends for a week or so?

I would like to travel from the Shire to Bree and over the Misty Mountains to Beorn's home - but not into Mirkwood. This would probably take way more than a week.

4. Moria:  Have you ever delved into the history of Middle-earth (or the history of Tolkien's creative process)?  If so, did you learn anything cool you'd like to share?

I have delved deep into the history of Middle-earth, its people, languages and animals. I learned that they are people, same as we are.

5. Lothlorien:  Would you like to sleep in a tree?

Oh, yes, I would, so far I've slept under trees, and between trees, but never in one.

6. Edoras:  Do you like horses?

I do like horses, and always planned to learn how to ride one, once the Owlets had left the nest. They have not yet.

7. Minas Tirith:  Have you ever dressed as a Tolkien character, whether for a convention or Halloween or anything else?  (Bonus fake internet points if you share a photo!)

No, strangely enough, I never did. I have dressed the Owlets as Hobbits, Elven warriors and even an orc, but myself, never.

8. Erebor:  Do you have any Middle-earth merchandise you particularly treasure?

I have a golden ring, looking much like the One Ring, and I even own a real chainmail ;) I wonder if it fits me still.

9. Mordor:  Have you ever read anything by Tolkien that wasn't about Middle-earth?

Oh yes, I've read Leaf by Niggle, Farmer Giles of Ham, Tree and Leaf (Leaf by Niggle is also in here), Smith of Wooton Major, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and Ancrene Wisse. I've used his Middle English Vocabulary, and even read Ave Maria and Pater Noster in Quenya.  

10. The Grey Havens:  How long has it been since you last ventured into Middle-earth via book or film?

   Book? a week. One of the Owlets is reading Lord of the Rings, and I borrowed the book in the train and read a bit, as he had finished a chapter and needed a break. I read small bits frequently.
   Film? 2015, when I saw The Hobbit 3 in the cinema. The films does not fascinate me, I of course find the sceneries of The Lord of the Rings  magnificent, as well as the nature and horses and Ents, and the characters (most of them*) ... But the way the plot has been almost re-made, bent and twisted, does not sit well with me. As I said back then: The movies contain too much Peter Jackson and too little Hobbit for my taste. And I miss the songs, the banter, the languages and the  seriousness and gaiety that for me is a major part of Tolkien's world.

 - - - - - - - - - - -
*) I was always sorely disappointed with Galadriel as portrayed by Cate Blanchett. And with the "clowny" dwarves of The Hobbit too.

Hobbit Day ~ Hobbitdag

Today we drank lots of tea and ate lots of cakes. Entirely fitting, as on his date 87 years ago, The Hobbit was first published. Tomorrow will be Hobbit Day, the shared birthday of Frodo and Bilbo Baggins. Another reason for tea and cakes. And as tomorrow is Sunday, it is also the start of the Hobbit week - to be celebrated!

Today, among other, we had the famous Plum Torte from New York Times - is IS as good as they say!

-- 🥧 --

     I dag drak vi masser af the og spise mange kager. Det er helt passende, fordi i dag er det 87 år siden at Hobbitten udkom for første gang. I morgen se det Hobbitdag - Frodo og Bilbo Sækkers fælles fødselsdag - den skal da fejres med endnu flere kager! Og eftersom i morgen er søndag, er det også den første dag i Hobbitugen. Den må vi fejre!
     I dag fik vi blandt andet den berømte Blommetærte fra New York Times - den er faktisk super!

Day 6 ~ World Photography Week ~ Dag 6

My health is steadily improving, daily chores are no longer insurmountable.
Today I went shopping, did some cleaning, scrubbing and vacuuming, I weeded and watered a bit, looked after the hens, edited and translated some texts, cleaned some more and even did some woodworking (more of this later, I hope), helped cooking dinner, then I brought in two loads of clothes from the clothes lines and all our stuff from the garden! Yay - HUGE thankful!

While cleaning I found today's subject for my photo.
If you suffer from arachnophobia, please stop here.

It is incredible how many of the nursery rhymes are international and how they are spreading. I'll never forget when I was in Turkey in 1979 and learned how to do Patty Cake in Turkish (spelled as I heard it, any readers knowing Turkish, please correct me!):
"Küçük ev. Lara Ingils, Lara Ingils, Karolin, Karolin, kaç, kaç, kaç? Kari, Mari, Kari, Mari, Bay Ingils!" Yes, it was inspired by the TV serials Little House on the Prairie ~ Little House, Laura Ingalls, Laura Ingalls, Caroline, Caroline, How Many, How Many, How Many? Carrie, Mary, Carrie, Mary, Mr. Ingalls!" I'm not at all surprised that also this rhyme is known in many countries as well.

The itsy bitsy spider crawled up the water spout.
Down came the rain, and washed the spider out.
Out came the sun, and dried up all the rain,
and the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again.

--  🕸  🕷  🕸  --

Det går fremad med helbredet - hurra! I dag var jeg på indkøb, ryddede op, gjode rent og støvsugede; så oversatte og redigerede jeg lidt tekster, gjorde mere rent og noget træsløjd (mere om det forhåbentlig senere); så lavede jeg en del af aftensmaden, hentede to portioner vasketøj ind fra snoren og alle vores ting fra haven - Yay, jeg virker nogenlunde igen!

Mens jeg støvsugede, fandt jeg dagens fotomodel.
Hvis du lider af araknifobi, skal di ikke scrolle længere ned.

Det er utroligt hvor mange børnerim og -remser, der i virkeligheden er er internationale og forholdsvis nye, selv om de virker gamle og oprindelige.
     Jeg glemmer aldrig, da jeg var i Tyrkiet i 1979 og lærte en klapperemse på tyrkisk, den lød sådan her - undskyld for lydstavning til eventuelle tyrkiskkyndige læsere - rettelser ja tak:  "Küçük ev. Lara Ingils, Lara Ingils, Karolin, Karolin, kaç, kaç, kaç? Kari, Mari, Kari, Mari, Bay Ingils!"  Den er såmænd inspireret af TV-serien  Det lille hus på prærien ~ Lille hus, Laura Ingalls, Laura Ingalls, Caroline, Caroline, Hvor mange, hvor mange, hvor mange? Carrie, Mary, Carrie, Mary, hr. Ingalls!"
Derfor kan det vel heller ikke undre, at sangen ovenover findes på dansk ... det er såmænd Lille Peter edderkop.

Lille Peter Edderkop kravled op ad muren.
Så kom regnen og skylled Peter væk.
Så kom solen og tørred' Peters krop.
Lille Peter Edderkop kravled atter op.

--  🕸  🕷  🕸  --

Og her er så et billede af Lille Peter.

Amd a photo of the Itsy, Bitsy Spider.

He was allowed to stay when I vacuumed today, while all the chaotic spiders -- my name for cellar spiders -- were removed.

--  🕸  🕷  🕸  --

Lille Peter fik lov at blive, mens alle "kaosedderkopperne", der retteligt hedder mejeredderkopper endte i støvsugeren.

Sunday Selection & Colour24

As usual our weather is playing the "Who, me?" game with me. I go out to do something in the garden ... it begins raining. I go in and do indoor work or watch Tour de France - the rain stops.

Look for yourself how innocent our weather acts here. The big puddles and the wet tarmac are giveaways, the trees were still dripping wet.

     Vejret leger sit sædvanlige kispus med mig for øjeblikket. Når jeg går ud i haven, begynder det straks at regne. Går jeg indenfor og rydder op eller følger med i Tour de France, ja så skinner solen øjeblikkeligt.
     Prøv bare at se hvordan vejret spiller uskyldig og siger: "Hvem, mig?"  Det bliver bare afsløret af de store pytter og den våde asfalt. Træerne dryppede stadig.

-- 💧 --

But despite the rain, I picked some golden berries,

Men mellem bygerne fik jeg plukket nogle gyldne bær.

These golden gooseberries were made into the tiniest amount of soft fruit cheese together with some white redcurrants I found while weeding.
I had to make room for the bush, which I picked as well. It stood next to the road and a driveway, and I feared that the farmer would run over or in other ways harm the goldenberried bush.

     De gyldne stikkelsbær blev lavet til en bittelille portion semi-gelé sammen med nogle hvide hindbær, som jeg fandt, mens jeg lugede.
     Jeg var nødt til at gøre plads til hele busken som jeg tog med hjem. Den stod et dumt sted, og jeg frygtede, at landmanden ville pløje den væk eller køre den over inden næste sommer.
     Semi-geleen blev testet til aftensmaden og smager supergodt.

 -- 💛 --

The bush with the golden berries now in my unruly garden. I imagined fruit bushes with an undergrowth of strawberries - the bindweed imagined a playground. So far 1-0.

     Busken med de gyldne bær nu i min vilde have. Jeg forestillede mig bærbuske med jordbær som bunddække. Snerlerne forestillede sig en legeplads. De vandt første omgang.

-- 🎨 --

Now for the colour of the month and what else happened photo-wise in this past week.

Og nu til månedens farve, og hvad der ellers endte i kameraet i den forgangne uge.

-- 🎨 --

En stribet tæge (sikke da et opfindsomt navn). Den kan vi takke de varmere somre for, jeg har aldrig set én før

A striped bug  - yes it's called thus, so very ingenious 😉
Thanks to global warming it now thrives in Denmark. I never saw it before.

-- 🎨 --

Mit stædige birketræ i Hillerød gror stadig!

My birch tree in Hillerød, still defiantly growing!

-- 🎨 --

     Og så har jeg fået et nyt, gammelt køleskab. Det skulle smides ud, og da jeg længe har ønsket mig et køleskab til syltetøj og sæbeprojekter, skyndte Storesøster at redde det. Først slæbte Minimax og Spirillen det ind i huset og op ad trappen, så stod det op et helt døgn, for at være sikker på at væskerne var sevet tilbage på plads efter den liggende transport i Storesøsters lille bil.
     Så blev det vasket og vasket én gang til! Der groede sjove ting under hylder og i krogene. Så fik jeg Spirillen og Minimax til at hjælpe mig med projekt løft et køleskab på plads. Og så sluttede jeg det til strømmen. Det brummede sagte, og næste morgen var det koldt! Så flyttede syltetøj og sæbeingredienser ind.
     Uglemor er taknemmelig over hjælpsomme og betænksomme Ugleunger.
     Køleskabet skal dekoreres udenpå, det bliver næste projekt.

And I had a new, old fridge. It was destined for the landfill, and since I wanted a fridge for jams and soap projects for a long time, BigSis rushed in to save it. Then Minimax and Marsupilami dragged it into the house and up the stairs, then it stood for a whole day to make sure that all  the fluids had seeped back into place after the horizontal transport in BigSis' small car.

Then it was washed and washed once again! Funky things grew under shelves and in the nooks and crannies. Then I called in Marsupilami and Minimax once again to help me with project lift a fridge into place. And then I plugged it in and turned it on. It hummed softly and the next morning it was cold! Then jam and soap ingredients moved in.
MotherOwl is very grateful for helpful Owlets.

It will next be decorated on the outside, that will be a project for another rainy day.

-- 🎨 --

Månedens farve er sikkert rundt omkring på billederne,
ellers kommer den her.
Uudsprungne rejnfan-blomster er præcis den farve.

I am sure the colour of the month can be found
here and there in my photos,
but here it is. Tansy buds are the exact right colour.