Á Íslandi -- 26

This week's words/prompts are:

Jagged
Corroded
Withdraw
Effective
Inked
Acres
     and/or:
Destruction
Inadequate
Ladder
Intrigued
Tangled
Swore

I only used Jagged for this part. I think it's a weak part, but we need to know the things being discussed here. All suggestions for improvement are welcome.
First a repeat of the closing lines from yesterday's instalment.

During lunch Martine, Susan, Marit, Fiona and Knud brought My up to date with the happenings at Birch Manor and in the world.
As they reached the conclusion, today's broomriding lessons, Fiona said: "I think Roseanne will cause us problems in the long run. She does not really respect me, she feels somehow superior, and keeps claiming that her mum has told her what lousy witches and wizards we all are."
"Does she listen to Marit and Martine better than you?" Susan asked.
"Now you ask, yes she does. Oh!" She said her eyes growing big and round. "Do you think Liisa has imprinted her with a dose of only witches from wizarding families are good witches, and all that?"
"I'm afraid, yes," Susan said. "It's our luck that she is so young still. She just says what she thinks, or repeats what she has heard more likely, and with no deviousness! We'll just have to show her we're as good as her and maybe just a little better."
"Well," Fiona said laughing, "As long as you and Knud do not try and prove this by flying, I'm fine with it."
"You're hopeless," Susan said casting a mock spell in her direction. "I don't know why I ever sang you a wand!"
"Let me handle her," My said. "She does not know me, and in a few days, I'll take over potions from Monica, and then..."
"Yes," Martine said, "That'll teach her. Just don't be too harsh on her, she's young yet."

Monica and Olav came over to them with a cup of tea.
"May we sit here?" Monica asked.
"Talking of the sun," My said, "Please do. I just spoke of taking over potions from you. What have you covered as yet."
"Nothing much, Monica said. "They are young, or untrained or both. I spoke a bit of magic properties of plants, of the failure of  the Doctrine of signatures, and then I showed them how to brew a simple sleeping potion. I'm so happy you have arrived. As I told yesterday, me and Olav are perfectly satisfied with our lives in the Wine and party shop. We are total homebodies. Of course we'll come down for Easter fires, first day of school and so on, but we have decided to stay in Oslo."
Olaf added: "We will be spying for you. I told Susan that we have some of Martine's brain teasers lying around for waiting customers and impatient children. We have already a teeny tiny list of possible witches and wizards."
"Good thinking!" Knud said. "When will you leave? Not that I want to get rid of you, but we're having problems housing everybody. And I suspect more will be arriving tomorrow."
"No offence taken," Monica said. "This weekend are big days in our shop, so we would like to leave tonight after dinner."
"Let's make it somewhat festive," Knud said. "Most will have arrived and well, I need a celebration."
"Then I'll need some more kitchen slaves," Hilde said from just behind Susan's head, making her almost jump out of the chair.
"Sheesh, you scared me, My nerves are still a bit jagged, I think. What news from the North?"
"Nothing new, really. No changes, but she's getting weaker," Hilde said. "They did not say so, but I don't think she will survive if we do not take action, magical action that is."
"Should we?" Susan asked "Or  would it be wrong to not do anything? We even do not know what to do, and I would imagine the doctors being adverse to us appearing in the ward, casting spells and waving wands."
"I tried feeling her today," Rasmus said, "That's easy to do as it includes no overt use of magic. It feels to me as if she is captured inside her brain. In a place even I could not get to. I do not think there is anything we can do."
"I think the decision will have to be yours, Rasmus," Knud said. "She is your wife, you know her best."
"I think," Rasmus said very slowly "I think that she knew, deep inside, that we had seen through her ruses, that she was so to say at the end of the rope. She took a desperate way out. And I suspect that potions and wand-waving would be of no avail. She is in a prison of her own making. I'd say leave her alone. We can almost certainly do nothing for her, and we could damage the budding magic by acting in ways that would make somebody suspect foul play, be it magic or murder."
"Yes," Hilde answered almost as slowly. "I'm not a red one like you, but I also felt her life-flame flickering today. You told me I'm a good midwife because babies want to come to me. She did the opposite, hid even further when I reached out for her. She has made up her mind not to return, I'm afraid. What will we tell the children?"
"I've been asking that myself," Rasmus said. "Maybe the truth, or most of it is the best. She did use magic, way beyond her powers, teleporting far away without training to get home, because that is the truth, she tried to get home. She overstretched herself, and is now dying as a consequence. I'm afraid it will be hard on Roseanne, she was close to her mama, Mary is more daddy's girl." 

... to be continued

IWSG First Wednesday Question and Á Íslandi - 25

IWSG March 2 question - Have you ever been conflicted about writing a story or adding a scene to a story? How did you decide to write it or not?

This happens to me quite often. In the writing of my long long story of The Magic in the Nordic Countries, I have written and ditched many scenes. Most recently a scene, which I wrote for the Á Íslandi chapter. I decided not to include it, but now you get to know about it  anyway. It is deleted, so I can't post it.
After Ella has found out that her husband, Walther, is really David, our old enemy, and Rasmus have come to terms with his wife Liisa being a bad egg and probably going to remain as alive as a vegetable ever after, those two fall in love. They do so even though Ella is old enough to be Rasmus' mother. (/Sorry this sounds so much like Soap 😆).
I wrote it, rewrote it and ditched it. It was terrible! I would like to have included it to tie up some loose ends, but I just could not do it. I'm no good at romance ...

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Let's instead have the next part of that chapter ... actually I'm not so sure about this one either. It might turn into a dead end and be re-written later.


This is also a part of Words for Wednesday. Prompts by River, more about the challenge at Elephant's Child.

This week's words/prompts are:

Jagged
Corroded
Withdraw
Effective
Inked
Acres
     and/or:
Destruction
Inadequate
Ladder
Intrigued
Tangled
Swore

I only used Tangled, and I feel it's kind of jutting out.

Susan went out into the meadow to look how the flying lessons were coming on. She had no intentions of flying herself, but every intention of knowing a bit more of what passed. She came out to a frustrated Fiona and Marit.
"We have too many people wanting to fly and not enough active brooms. Martine is taking the smallest one riding double on her broom, and they have fun. But we have a job keeping the smaller ones in a line for the trips, while teaching the larger ones how to hold and mount a broom, all this exacerbated by a lack of live brooms. More than half are having dry runs with brooms not able to fly, they tend to forget in their eagerness and topple when the brooms do not support their weight."
"It was a bit stupid doing broom riding today, maybe,"  Susan said, "but today the sun is out in force for the first time in a long while. I foresee the same problems this afternoon with wands. I'll help you entertaining the impatient hordes, while you teach. Then I know to call in more for this afternoon. I sure hope My does arrive today!"

While Susan stood calling small animals, sparrow and mice and made them sit on brave apprentices' hands and fly from hand to hand to entertain the impatient ones waiting in the lines, she kept half an eye on the teleportation enclosure. 
A part of the meadow had been fenced in, with a fence made from wooden boards and reinforced with chicken wire in the bottom parts, so that it also was an effective barrier against chickens, rabbits, cats, dogs and other creatures. This was the teleport area, and everybody was told to keep out of it. The latch was sat high on the gate, so that small, inquisitive fingers could not reach it, and Susan and Knud had cast protective spells on both fence, gate and latch to ensure that any child getting magical ideas ideas would be thwarted as well.
Just before the lunch break she saw the tell-tale blinking, and left the waiting lines and Marit and Fiona to fend for themselves and hurried down there. She was happy to see that it was indeed My arriving by teleporting!
"Welcome, My!" Susan said. "You have been practising hard since we parted, I see."
My smiled and closed the gate behind her. "Yes I have, and I always loved teleporting. I have practised each and every day since."
"Come inside and have a cup of tea, we have work for you in a short while. A lot of people need wands. The brooms are waiting for you to brew up a potion, Marit is only waiting for you to take over the potions to go home, in short, you're not going to sit idle here."
"Wow, what a stormy welcome," My said smiling, shaking her red hair from which a few errant strands had tangled themselves in some low hanging branches. "Tea you said, sounds great."
"Lunch actually." Susan said. "Come with me while I help Martine, Marit and Fiona manage the small teeming horde. I left them, as I hoped it was you."
My tagged along and she and Susan came just in time to help Fiona and Marit herd all the small children into, and out of the broomshed and placing the brooms in their holders.

During lunch Martine, Susan, Marit, Fiona and Knud brought My up to date with the happenings at Birch Manor and in the world.
As they reached the conclusion, today's broomriding lessons, Fiona said: "I think Roseanne will cause us problems in the long run. She does not really respect me, she feels somehow superior, and keeps claiming that her mum has told her what lousy witches and wizards we all are."
"Does she listen to Marit and Martine better than you?" Susan asked.
"Now you ask, yes she does. Oh!" She said her eyes growing big and round. "Do you think Liisa has imprinted her with a dose of only witches from wizarding families are good witches, and all that?"
"I'm afraid, yes," Susan said. "It's our luck that she is so young still. She just says what she thinks, or repeats what she has heard more likely, and with no deviousness! We'll just have to show her we're as good as her and maybe just a little better."

... to be continued

- - - - - - - - -  -

To expand on my doubts: Do I need Roseanne perpetuating David and Liisa's errors? Or do I just want to make her miss her mummy? Roseanne and Mary won't just plod on, forgetting their mother, even if she was a bad one. But how, what, and why?

Askeonsdag -- Ash Wednesday

     I søndags huskede vi for en gangs skyld at samle alle palmegrenene sammen fra kors og fromme billeder i Ugleboet og søreme også at tage dem med i kirke.
Det her er et billede af krucifikset i vores stue - nu uden palmegrene. Asken til askeonsdag kommer nemlig ved at man brænder sidste års palmegrene (der er buksbom) fra palmesøndag.
Alle i menigheden får så et askekors i panden som tegn på bodfærdighed ved fastetidens begyndelse.

--- ✝ ---

  Last Sunday we gathered all the palms from all around the Owlery and brought them to church.
Here's a picture of the cross from out living room now without palms (boxwood branches - because we have no palms).
Today all the brances have been burned, and we're marked with the ashes in the sign of a cross to mark the beginning of Lent.

Normalt giver man afkald på et eller andet i fastetiden. De forgangne år har jeg prøvet at minimere min skærmtid. Det vil jeg ikke i år. Jeg må finde på noget andet (slik, bandeord ...)

I dag har paven opfordret til en bods- og fastedag for Ukraine. Det vil sige, man undlader et eller andet - slik, kaffe, ... - og hver gang, man så savner det, tænker man på krigen i Ukraine, og beder for fred og for dem, der lider under krigen.

--- ✝ ---

Normally you decide to abstain from something during Lent. I normally have the idea of giving up, or rather minimizing my blogging time. I won't this year. I'll find something else (candy, angry words ...) 

Today the pope has called for prayer and penance fro Ukraine. You give up something for today, coffee, candy ... and every time you think of it, you offer it up for peace in Ukraine and say a prayer for the people there.

Words for Wednesday -- March 1st -- á Íslandi 24

Today the Words for Wednesday can be found at River's blog Drifting through Life. I let her tell what it's all about:

The original Words for Wednesday was begun by Delores and eventually taken over by a moveable feast of participants when Delores had computer troubles. Sadly, Delores has now closed her blog forever due to other problems.

The aim of the words is to encourage us to write. A story, a poem, whatever comes to mind.

If you are posting an entry on your own blog, please let us know so we can come along to read it and add a few encouraging words.

This week's words/prompts are:

Jagged
Corroded
Withdraw
Effective
Inked
Acres
     and/or:
Destruction
Inadequate
Ladder
Intrigued
Tangled
Swore

I just continue my story. And used Intrigued.and Inadequate.

Friday was a quiet day. It began as usual with Knud casting the language spell and telling of the plan for the day.

"As today is sunny with almost no wind," he began, "everybody will have flying lessons today. First, right after breakfast, the old apprentices, and everybody older than 30 years of age are having their turn. The younger ones will have yet another lesson in Icelandic, counting to 20 is fine, but not quite enough. Then after the tea break, the younger ones meet for flying lessons at the meadow. We hope Fiona and Marit will both be able to join. Sandra is much better, and Lis, Tage and Heidi can attend to her alone for some time." This statement was met by applause from all corners of the hall.
"Then lunch-break," Knud continued, "and we need some volunteers for cooking. While Hilde is a witch in a kitchen, the potatoes do not peel themselves etcetera." He waited patiently until enough hands were in the air.
"After lunch," Knud paused and waited for everybody to look at him "After lunch, it's time for wands!" He had everyone's attention now. "I have lost count of who's got wands and who not. So please. The big sheet is hanging here behind me, two columns have been added. The first one is where you put an X in the row bearing your name, if you have got a wand, the next one you put an X in if you have done more than the very first sparkling spell. I am sure that Rósa, Susan, and My will have a very busy time. I and Monica will teach you a bit more about the handling of wands. For the security of us all, this too is taking place in the meadow."

While Martine, Marit and Fiona had fun teaching people flying broomsticks, Susan, Knud, Finnbogi, Rósa and Hilde looked at the wand Walther/David had been using.
"It could be one from our museum," Finnbogi said hesitating, "then again, it does not feel old."

"Do you incidentally agree with Mary that it was used by a lady before 'the sleepy man' used it?" Susan asked deliberately using Mary's description of Walther.

"Yes I do." Finnbogi said. "That child, she bears watching. I'm intrigued by her and what she can do! I'll try and come down as often as possible to teach her."

"I think she and her dad, Rasmus both need teaching by you and by all of us, "Knud saiod. "We can't afford losing talents of their size. But back to the wand. Could it be Teresa's wand?"

"It sure could," Finnbogi said. "I'd hate to abuse, and maybe overstretch Mary's powers, but I'd like to have her tell a bit more about this wand."
"Try Rasmus," Susan suggested. "He is good too, and he needs to have his mind on something but Liisa."

"I will let him try," Finnbogi said.
"Today I could use some help with the books," Rósa said. "I have been doing a lot alone, but I need more hands."

Susan looked at Knud's spreadsheet. "You could try asking Hilde's daughter, Nana, her husband Claus and Hilde's other son, Hans, and Randi, his wife. Maybe you can't have then all at one time, as they have small children, but I have a notion that they are feeling a bit left out right now. I sung wands for those four when we were in Norway, and Hilde has taught them quite a bit since, I'm sure." Susan said with a glance at Hilde. "She was homeschooled before she came to the Farm, and she was good. Ergo they do not have to have wands, they are over the swish and sparkle level, so they'll be idle again this afternoon."

"Sounds like the ideal solution," Hilde said, "you are totally right on all accounts. I could do with some extra hands in the kitchen as well, but we need those books more than potatoes!"

Rósa laughed: "You took the words right out of my mouth!"

Hilde added: "But first me and Rasmus must take a fast trip through the portal to Tromsø, to check up on Liisa. The portals are by the way bothering us lees by now. It is a question of habit. I'll find him and we'll hurry back. I think she is dying, but it might be wishful thinking."

"Hurry off and back," Susan said. "We need you here. But please, could you look for more magic books in your and Rasmus' place? I have an idea that there has to be more."

"We'll look," Hilde promised. "

Rosa went off in search of Hilde's children ad in-laws. She found all four sitting in the small gazebo looking at the flying lessons for the smaller ones.

"Hello, did you enjoy your flying lessons?" Rósa asked.

"Yes and no," Nana answered for all of them. We have been taught by Hilde, and she is good all round. I can see that Martine, Fiona and even Marit are better at flying, but there were so many beginners, that we did not feel challenged by the lessons."

"I see," Rósa said, "and this afternoon's wand-sessions will be the same. Because you have wands, Hilde has taught you the basics and a bit more, and so on. Which is lucky for me, because I need help."

"You need help?" Nana said, "I thought you could do everything."

"Oh really!" Rósa said. "Who on earth told you this nonsense?"

I don't remember," Nana said. "one of our nieces, I think."

"That is utter bosh, if not worse!" Rósa exclaimed. "None of us can do everything. I often feel young, stupid and inadequate. I'd like to have my old teachers back! There's so much I don't know. And today I need you to help me mend the old books for us all to get wiser."

"Great," Randi said. "I love books."

"You always were an old nerd," her husband said, playfully boxing her shoulder.

... to be continued

Strikkede blomster -- Knitted Flowers

     For at ikke det skal blive Susans historie alt sammen, så vil jeg nu fortælle om en strikkeidé jeg har fået. Jeg strikker jo stadig cirkelstrik efter Statistrikks sjove idé. Men jeg strikker med forskudte rækker for at undgå koncentriske cirkler i strikketøjet.
     Nu er jeg så begyndt at tænke på den kommende sommer og Sæbekonens stand på de forhåbentligt kommende markeder. Til sæbe hører svampe og vaskeklude. Da sæberne jo er morgenfruesæber, kunne man jo strikke nogen morgenfrueformede vaskeklude. Men det er surt at hæfte ender hele tiden, og, og, og.
     Kunne man ikke bare hækle kanten efterhånden?
     Her er så godt en halv morgenfrue.

So as not to write only Susan's story, I would like to tell of a knitting idea. I'm still into  circular knitting following Statistrikk's fun pattern, but modified with my offfset short row technique to avoid concentric circles while knitting.

The Summer is getting nearer, and with it the hopefully re-opened Farmers Markets, where the Soaping me will sell her soaps.

Soaps go together with sponges, and facecloth. And as my best soap is the marigold one, I thought of knitting marigold facecloths. But I do not like to darn in ends, and, and, and. What about crocheting the border while making the facecloth?

Here is a bit more than half a marigold facecloth.


Og hvordan gør jeg så. Jeg slår 17 masker op og strikker en kile hvor jeg vender efter 12, 8 og 4 masker, så strikker jeg en rille orange, hvor jeg strikker opslagene sammen. Så strikker jeg to kiler i forskudte rækker, altså så jeg vender efter 13, 9 og 5 masker i den 1. kile og efter 12, 8 og 4 i den 2. kile. Det ser nu sådan her ud.

How I do: cast on 17 stitches, knit one wedge wit short rows, turning over after 12, 8, and 4 stitches. Then one orange row. Then two yellow wedges turning after 13, 9 and 5 stitches for the first wedge, and after 12, 8 and 4 for the second wedge. Now it looks like this.

Når jeg så skal til at strikke hen over den 2. kile med orange tråd, hækler jeg en kant. Først samler jeg en maske op her:

When I reach the finishing row of the second wedge, to be knit in orange, I crochet along the edge. I pick up a stitch where the needle is inserted.

Så hækler jeg langs med kanten: 1 fastmaske, 2 halvstangmasker, 1 stangmaske, 2 halvstangmasker, 1 fastmaske.

Then I crochet along the edge (UK terms of crochet): 1 double crochet, 2 half treble crochet, 1 treble crochet, 2 half treble crochet, 1 double crochet

Og så sætter jeg løkken på strikkepinden. Den bliver strikket sammen med den 1. gule maske på pinden.

then I place the loop on the needle. It is knit together with the first yellow stitch.

Jeg skulle så gerne ende med en gul kile, der bliver syet sammen med den gule kile, jeg startede med. Sådan bliver sammenføjningen mindst synlig.

I hope to end with a single yellow wedge to be sewn together with the starting wedge. Thus the sewing together won't be as visible.