Ⓐ - Ⓩ ~ Zoo / Josh Traustason

This is a series of studies for my long-time-in-the-writings book about the magic in the Nordic countries.
We are in the 70es on Unicorn Island, an island off the coast of southern Zealand. A handful of teachers have gathered the broken threads of magic once again, trying to revive the magic in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, the Faroes and partially Greenland.
Our main protagonist is Susan (me) from Elsinore and her three co-apprentices and friends Heidi, Tage and Lis living at Unicorn Island.
I grasped the chance to write a little bit about some of the lesser known apprentices in this A-Z challenge.

Ⓐ - Ⓩ

Z for Zoo and Josh Traustason

Josh lives with his father Trausti and mother Vigdís in Reykjavík, the capital of Iceland. Although he has six older brothers and sisters, he is a very lonely boy, as they are all much elder than him and most of them have left home. Josh spends much of his spare time in the nearby Zoo, talking to the cows and horses there, or reading a book while in their calming company. His father has an inkling what young Josh is missing - magic - as he is of magical descent, yet untrained. None of the older siblings have any magic at all, and Trausti do not feel like passing what little he knows to Josh.
A burden is taken from their shoulders as Thora shows up on Josh's eleventh birthday and offers him a place on the Unicorn Farm, where he joins the flying and transformations team.
Josh is dark-haired, dark-complexioned and surly of disposition. He is better with animals than with humans; when David arrives, Josh is one of his first friends. Josh also flies for Team David in the broom race and is one of the main culprits, apart from David himself, in sabotaging the brooms belonging to other participants in the race.

  - - - - -

His wand is made from juniper and his sparks are black and white.
He survives the losing of his magic, only to get involved in a gang war and shot later on.

Ⓐ - Ⓩ

And this marks the end of the A-Z Challenge 2024. One of the coming days will see a post on the professors - I think they are missing a prequel.

Using the word Missing from the Words for Wednesday.

Poetry Monday :: Quiet

Poetry Monday is a challenge, normally hosted by Diane at On the Border. But from Monday, January 8, 2024, Messymimi and I have conspired to keep the chair warm for her, as she's taking a break due to health issues. We will each set the topics for one month, I began with January, Mimi supplied for February, and so on until Diane returns.


Quiet? I'm not quiet, my house is seldom quiet, three Owlets, one Writer and one MotherOwl make a lot of ... not noise exactly -- but sounds.  I do not miss quiet, as all those sounds are signs of life being lived.

And the only word to somewhat rhyme with Quiet is diet -- not a fave here either. At least when talking of slimming diets, which is normally what is meant. Talking of the FODMAP diet, I'm happy ... this is a diet in the medical sense of the word. I'm not losing weight, I'm not saving the climate, only my own stomach from being grumpy and making my life intolerable.

-- 🫘 --

Now, can I make that into a poem -- well let me try:

Following the FODMAP diet
my stomach is happy and quiet
Eat some cabbage or a bean
wake the monster, it is mean.
No to apples, nuts and lentils
else I'm grumpy and not gentle
If you want me to be quiet
Let me keep the FODMAP diet.

 - - - - -

Next Monday, it is my turn again: Chest
And for the weeks to come:
May 13: Event
May 20: Pizza
May 27: Politics

Ⓐ - Ⓩ ~ Finnbogi Yngvason

This is a series of studies for my long-time-in-the-writings book about the magic in the Nordic countries.
We are in the 70es on Unicorn Island, an island off the coast of southern Zealand. A handful of teachers have gathered the broken threads of magic once again, trying to revive the magic in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, the Faroes and partially Greenland.
Our main protagonist is Susan (me) from Elsinore and her three co-apprentices and friends Heidi, Tage and Lis living at Unicorn Island.
I grasped the chance to write a little bit about some of the lesser known apprentices in this A-Z challenge.

Ⓐ - Ⓩ

Y for Finnbogi Yngvason

Finnbogi is not related to any of the other magical people of Iceland, at least not in recent generations. But as he lives with his mother and father near Hella in the south of Iceland, he was also participating in the magic Saturdays, where we found Rósa and Selma. Finnbogi has always known about his magic, as both his parents are of magic lineage, and he is frustrated that he is not able to do more.
Finnbogi is softspoken, levelheaded and a fast thinker but prone to play ostrich if problems come his way.
Finnbogi loves it at the the Unicorn Farm, where he is one of the only three apprentices studying Portals major and discernment magic. He is really good at discernment magic, but a bit afraid of the responsibilities this places on him. His wand is of Pearwood emitting bright red sparks.
We meet him in earnest during the broom race, where the 15 year old boy is the leader of the opposition, making it to an overall 5th in the race.

 - - - -

Finnbogi survives losing his magic, and we find him again working with Rósa at the Museum of Sorcery and Witchcraft in Iceland.

Tomorow Z for Zoology and Josh.


Using the word South from the Words for Wednesday.

Colour24 ~ May

The colour of May is

Sunday Selections :: Pretty Flowers and more

This has been a busy week. Sometimes so busy that I forgot to get pictures.

Last Sunday we went here. We listened to music, saw people fighting with swords and  staves, looked at pretty things, and ate cakes with plums and yuzu and lunch with lots of rice. We were at the Sakura festival in Copenhagen.

Last event of the day - where I remembered I had a camera - was the Wadaiko, drum show

On our way home we saw these almost sculptural flowers,

and my long-expected dandelion finally bloomed, not as pretty as expected.

To make up for this, the sloe bushes did their very best.

-- 🌸 --

Some days later I biked through the woods on my way to town

and stopped here

by this tree

yellow anemones grew here,

and white ones, but they were not what I was after.

These were. Sweet woodruff for my soaping. The only plant I ever succeeded in using for a naturally scented soap. I picked a large handful. It was made into a herbal tea when I arrived home. A portion was frozen for later use, and one half waited patiently for next day.

Next day I made sweet woodruff soap - and have no pictures to show of this either.