torsdag den 13. marts 2025

Words for Wednesday on a Thursday :: Bacon

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 - - 

We were given four words:
Gallivanting
Curious
Forest
Bacon


And a photo of an enticing gate:

I felt inspired to do some WordLit.
Unfortunately BACON was not quite the solution for today's WORDLE:


mandag den 10. marts 2025

Poetry Monday :: Ghost & 009

Ghost ... there is only one ghost in my mind. Reviving The Wand's Tale for Wednesday's IWSG has made me think a lot of Susan, of Unicorn Farm and the magic that was lost and found.

Percy is a ghost, we know,
but for her it is a blow,
She is just a little girl,
living in an attic space.
She likes baubles, gems and pearls
her parents left, without a trace.

Susan in the attic room
by the fire sleeping
got a fright when Percy came
Percy she was weeping.
Telling tales of mom and dad
and the awful friend they had.

Later Susan understood
Tristan was the stranger.
He was up to nothing good.
And they were in danger.
Percy's help they sought and won
but the magic was all gone.

More about Unicorn Farm - I hope - in the days or weeks to come.

 -- -- -- 👻  -- -- --

This Friday finally, after more than a month, I saw a 009. If I continue at this speed (or lack thereof), I'll see the car with 999 on my 140th birthday ... slim hope of this ever happening.
Photo-proof of the 009. I blotted out the two letters and two numbers preceding for privacy reasons.

- - - - - -

Up and coming:
March 10: Ghost (today)
March 17: Steam
March 24: Orange
March 31: Turn
April 7: Road
April 14: Bring
April 21: Free
April 28: Jam

søndag den 9. marts 2025

Sunday Selections - Demolishing

Apart from being busy with my mother's illness, death and burial we have been demolishing an outhouse. The roof was made from a material outlawed as per January first, so we've been busy.

First we pulled off the roof and emptied the building with some help from friends and family, then we called for help ... 

Help came, and he pulled, ...

... and pulled ...

... and pulled the house down.

A couple of days later he finished the job, and another helper arrived, removing all the "humongous white bricks" in a big lory.

Now there's a muddy patch of ground, and we will have a modest shed for bikes, lawnmower and such built in its place. The hens will have to move as well, as their place was next to the old, white building.

But now we're no more in a hurry.

onsdag den 5. marts 2025

IWSG

- - A - - B - - C - - 


The monthly Question from the Insecure Writers' Support Group is due today, Ash Wednesday. I wrote the Words for Wednesday yesterday, but forgot this. The answering of the question will be postponed to later this week

March 5 question - If for one day you could be anyone or *thing* in the world, what would it be? Describe, tell why, and any themes, goals, or values they/it inspire in you.

My answer - Well maybe I already did this. Pondering if and when to answer, I'll repeat The Wand's Tale from December 11,  2019. It is a collateral part of my Unicorn Farm storyline.

The Wand's tale

In the beginning I was a part of a tree. A wonderful big Japanese cherry tree. I was one of the topmost branches, Life was sweet, I could see the fields around me, changing every year from plowed fields, to greening wheat, to mature crops to being harvested and back to black soil over and over. I saw people harvesting with scythes in my youth, then tractors and combines took over, but the fields looked the same as always.
  And when my tree was big enough, and the leaves dropped every Autumn, I could see the far away sea.
  The farm all the fields belonged to was built when or maybe even before my tree was planted. It was always there, When I was young, it was teeming with life, people, animals, and children, always lots of children. And horses. Those beautiful creatures, working in the fields all the workable months, and pulling carriages in Summer and sleighs in Winter, oh I remember the bells ...
  Then slowly the teeming life died down, pigs, cows, horses, dogs, cats, and hens, all disappeared. The motor vehicles took over the stables, and of the farmer's couples with children, farmhands and maids and their children, harvest helpers and even more children, only the farmer and his wife remained. They grew old, but no new ones took over. The farm fell into disrepair. And one day it all just stopped. A farmer came ploughing, sowing and harvesting with a behemoth machine, but nobody lived nearby any more.
  It was a lonely time, a meditative time. I grew, but more trees grew around me.
  Every year the farm looked a bit more decrepit. I felt sorry for it. Then new houses slowly grew in the far away fields. The wind carried sounds of laughter, splashing and frolicking from the sea, sometimes even people singing bawdy songs at night, disturbing the birds. The terrifying, yet pleasant smell of smoke was often in the wind.
  Strange people, dressed in black, looking serious and pompous came by car. They put up signs around the house, all the while speaking of demolishing and danger.
  But nothing happened until one day in early spring.  Some even more peculiar-looking people arrived. They re-hinged the doors and gates, they painted the walls, thatched the roofs and weeded the farmyard.
   And then children began arriving, in pairs, in threes, alone or in small groups, Strange things happened, magic was around. I could feel it in my sap. I quivered all over. I felt something was about to happen. And then a girl put her hand on my tree. I felt her calling to me. I yearned to answer the call, but I did not know how to do it. An old lady came and she also placed a hand on the tree. Then she sang. A song of magic, of big deeds and wonders great and small. I was filled by this song, so filled that I burst. It felt like dying. I fell from the tree, broken, more alone that I had ever been. I fell and fell. The green grass came ever closer, but then a small hand, the girl's hand, was there, intercepting me, breaking the fall. I felt her love, and loved her back with all my wooden heart. She took me everywhere with her, all the time caressing my bark, grasping me tightly in her warm little-girl hands.
  That very same evening we had our first taste of magic. She was happy, and so was I. Sparks flew, and we knew we were meant to be together forever.
  We learned the ways of magic together, Susan and I. We brewed potions, transformed clothes pegs into swallows, we even flew. We kept her warm and safe on many travels and through many dire perils and small adventures.
  But then the fateful Summer came. I still shudder when I think of it. The black wizard had arrived from his far away land. Susan and her friends fought hard and brutal, but always fair against him. Susan and I did awesome things that Summer, and even invented a thing or two. Oh, we worked together nicely. But he was strong and sly. He corrupted people's heart and soul. Not my Susan, but so many of her friends. We were afraid. And in the end we made the biggest sacrifice any witch and her wand can make. We renounced our magic, so that the Nordic Countries could remain free and proud.
  That afternoon, as the day turned to evening, all the wizards were gathered. My Susan was so very brave, she was part of a small guerilla group. And they succeeded. Even thought their success was my demise, I was proud of her.
  As they all spoke that one, terrifying word. I felt the magic leave me, I was only an old, dry branch. As Susan fell from the steps of the building, limp as a rag doll, I broke in three pieces, forever beyond repair.

Askeonsdag ~ Ash Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday. This day marks the beginning of the big fast - the one lasting all of 40 days from now to Easter. If you're now doing the maths and get more than 40 days from today until Easter Ssunday, you're doing it right. But  if you subtract the Sundays -- as they are not days of fasting ever, but feast days always in memory of the Resurrection -- then you'll get exactly 40 as the result.

I think we're keeping the lenten activities simpel this year. No candy and more prayers; I'll probably find our Lenten bean jar and as I wrote one Easter morning long ago:
All the beans in our Lenten jar have "miraculously" turned into jelly beans as we returned home from mass. And as usually good deeds are being done much more frequently than when the jar contained only dried beans. But as a symbol of God's mercy, the jar keeps filling itself all during Easter time.

Maybe I'll print a Lenten cross. One square to colour each day of Lent. Let's keep it simple.

-- ♱ --

     I dag er det askeonsdag. I dag starter den lange faste, der varer i 40 dage fra i dag til påskesøndag. Hvis du nu har talt efter, og er kommet længere end til 40 dage, så har du talt rigtigt. Der er lige den lille finesse, at søndagene ikke tæller med. Søndag er aldrig en fastedag, men en festdag, til minde om Kristi opstandelse netop påskesøndag. Og uden dem er der lige præcis 40 dage til påskesøndag i dag.
     I år tror jeg vi holder det helt enkelt. Ingen slik og lidt mere bøn. Måske finder jeg vores fastekrukke frem. Det er en tom krukke og så en pose tørrede bønner.  Bønnerne, som vi putter i krukken, når vi har undladt at gøre noget dumt eller har gjort noget godt, plejer at blive til jellybeans påskenat. Og som jeg skreve en påskemorgen for længe siden:
     Alle bønnerne i vores krukke er på mirakuløs vis blevet til jelly beans, så nu bliver der gjort mange flere gode gerninger end i fasten, hvor der var tørrede bønner i krukken. Men som et sindbillede på Guds nåde, bliver krukken ved med at være fuld i hele påsketiden.

Måske skriver jeg fastekors ud, så kan man farve et felt om dagen indtil påske. Helt enkelt.

tirsdag den 4. marts 2025

Words for Wednesday March 4th

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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*

mandag den 3. marts 2025

Poetry Monday :: Station

Every Monday is Poetry Monday.

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
.


This Monday we've been given Station.  It is one of my favourite places in town. This Elfje will explain why:

Station!
Wonderful place
Hopes and dreams
The place it begins.
Vacation!

Not that I am going on any vacation right now, but the possibility exists, and I think about every time I am at - or even near - the station.

My first ever Elfje touches on this, and as I suspect not many follow the links back, I repeat it here for all to see:

  • Danger - road ahead - The first step - Wants more to follow - Pilgrimage
  •  
    Tak til J.R.R.Tolkien for inspiration.
    Inspired by
    J.R.R.Tolkien


- - - - - - -

Up and coming:
March 3: Station
(today)
March 10: Ghost
March 17: Stea
m
March 24: Orange
March 31: Turn
April 7: Road
April 14: Bring
April 21: Free
April 28: Jam

søndag den 2. marts 2025

Sunday Selections :: Colour of the Month

Just a single photo from a year ago. The cake fits the colour of March: Saint Patrick's green.
Bare et enkelt foto fra sidste år. Kagen her rammer marts måneds farve, sankt Patriks grøn.

fredag den 28. februar 2025

Månedens farve Marts
Colour of the Month February

Upsi, i morgen er det marts, og i overmorgen den 1. søndag i marts, så jeg iler med en ny månedens farve:

Oops, tomorrow is March, and the day after is the first Sunday of March. I hurry with a new colour of the month:

torsdag den 27. februar 2025

En sort stjerne ★ A Black Star


     Dette lille symbol ★ skal gøre folk i Netto og andre af Sallings supermarkeder mindre tilbøjelige til at handle amerikanske varer.
     Det glæder mig ... mest altså fordi den sorte stjerne ★ ikke markerer negativlisten - de amerikanske varer, men positivlisten - de europæiske varer.
     Nu kan jeg jo håbe, at folk også bliver opmærksomme på hvor meget kinesisk bras der egentlig ryger ned i kurven, hvor mange ting ting fremstillet af børnearbejdere i Afrika eller Asien ... Det er jo nok en ønskedrøm. Danske forbrugere kommer kun op af stolen, når der er politik på dagsordenen, ikke når andres eller deres eget helbred udsættes for fare.



     This symbol ★ has recently appeared next to the prices on some goods in a large Danish supermarket chain.

The purpose is to make customers choose less American goods.
But I am really happy with this ★ for quite another reason. It is a "positive mark" denoting the European stuff, not a "negative" one stigmatizing the American.

Thus I hope - probably in vain that people will become aware of just how much Chinese junk they are buying, that they will notice the stuff made by children labourers in Africa and the East and so on.

As I say, this is probably a vain hope. Because the typical Danish customer don't give two hoots about their own or others' health. But politics ... that can make them act!

onsdag den 26. februar 2025

A - Z Challenge ~ To Do or Not To Do?
Edited

The scedule for the 2025 A-Z Challenge is up:
  • The THEME REVEAL (optional bonus hop): March 9-15
  • Official Challenge Sign-ups: March 24 to April 5
    Do the A-Z Challenge April 1-30
  • Reflections (optional bonus hop): May 2-9
  • Road-trip (sign up to keep visiting others all year - optional bonus): Opens May 10

It seems that once again there'll be no set topic.

I am still in two minds whether I want to do it or not.

And at the very least Lissa is going to supply us with alternative badges again. Pink is so not my colour.

Words for Wednesday ~ 26 February

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 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 - - 

The prompts for February are provided by Lissa and can be found at her blog.

This week's prompts are:
1 - premonition
2 - onion
3 - temperature
4 - seventh
5 - weirdo

As these words do not quite fit Susan's universe, and I'm not in the mood for longer tales, I'm once again calling in Bill and Sue, my crazy, ghost busting couple for the job. If they can't do it, noone can.

"I have a premonition," Bill said as he was peeling onions for dinner. "Once the temperature has fallen, the seventh son of a seventh son will come and visit us and send us off on some new, weirdo adventures."

"I'll be looking forward to that," Sue said, "life has been too boring ever since we delivered the well trained puppies back."

mandag den 24. februar 2025

Poetry Monday :: Fluffy

Every Monday is Poetry Monday.

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
.


Fluffy - Am I the only one thinking of a certain pet upon reading this word? Let's see if I can make that into a poem.


Candy floss are fluffy, pink and like a cloud.
I feel very fluffy, caught inside a crowd.
Omelets can be fluffy when I bake them right
Now this makes me hungry, time for one tonight?

Dust bunnies are fluffy, time to grab the broom!
Well they always gather underneath my loom.
Fluffy clouds above us, drifting on the breeze
Spring's around the corner, yes despite the freeze!

Fluffy, when I saw it, I thought of a hound.
Giant and three-headed, lying on the ground
Guarding Hogwart's treasure underneath the trap
Sleeping to the music of an enchanted harp.

- - - - - - -

Up and coming:
February 24: Fluffy (today)
March 3: Station
March 10: Ghost
March 17: Steam
March 24: Orange
March 31: Turn

søndag den 23. februar 2025

Sunday Selection. Søndag 23. februar

Glass elephant blue can be found around me:

In snow:
February 16,
and thaw:
February 7,
and in this pretty vase, that now houses a giant snowdrop:
February 22.

fredag den 21. februar 2025

Fidgety no more

Fidgety is how I feel,
Waiting and waiting some more.
I hear the sounds of the wheels
Oh, will they stop at my door?

Fidgety I am still now
After the waiting is done
I think that maybe - somehow
again I'll be waiting alone.


This is how I this Monday - for Poetry Monday - told about spending most of my day waiting at a hospital. The bedside, I sat at, was my mothers. We were told that it was nothing serious, no inflammation, no infection, and not Covid either, so I stayed at her bedside, talking, reminiscing, answering questions, trying to ally her worries until the transport (the wheels of my verse) came to take her home to her own longed for bed once more.

The verse also foresee more such episodes, and already Tuesday I was told that she had been hospitalised once more. One hour later the hospital called me again. Now the news were dire, I called, messaged, and wrote to all family members, and most of us, siblings, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren gathered at her bed. We talked, we "fed" her coca-cola in small sips, we even joked and laughed, subdued, but still. Next day, Wednesday, she passed peacefully while my sister sat at her side.

Honestly, I can't say I'm devastated or even very grief-stricken. Like I said about the Walrus -- I'm sad yes, but also ... relieved, if I may say so. She was 90 years old, weak, more than half blind and tired of living. Of course I am going to miss her - we all are  - but she passed gently and is now at peace.

mandag den 17. februar 2025

Poetry Monday :: Fidgety

Poetry Monday it is. It is rhyming time. I love to rhyme and make poetry, only today I spent most of the day waiting in a hospital. Not for my self, for a relative. Nothing serious - or at least nothing a stay at a hospital can cure. I foresee more such episodes, Even this can be made into verse ... Sorry for rambling.

Fidgety is how I feel,
Waiting and waiting some more.
I hear the sounds of the wheels
Oh, will they stop at my door?

Fidgety I am still now
After the waiting is done
I think that maybe - somehow
again I'll be waiting alone.

- - - - - - -

Up and coming:
February 17: Fidgety
(today)
February 24: Fluffy
March 3: Station
March 10: Ghost
March  17: Steam
March  24: Orange
March  31: Turn

onsdag den 12. februar 2025

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

mandag den 10. februar 2025

Poetry Monday :: Funny

Every Monday is Poetry Monday.

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 again.

  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
.


Funny - I'm not very funny today, but then I remebered this verse ... it is funny and it even contains the word funny.

I eat my peas with honey;
I've done it all my life.
It makes the peas taste funny,
But it keeps them on the knife.

- - - - - - -

Up and coming:
February 10: Funny
(today)
February 17: Fidgety
February 24: Fluffy

March  3: Station
March  10: Ghost
March  17: Steam
March  24: Orange
March  31: Turn


Jeg er hjemme igen ~ I'm Back

Kære læsere, venner og bekendte i blogland.
Så er Uglemor landet igen. Det varer lidt, får der kommer fuld fart på bloggen, men det kommer.

 -- 🦉 -- 💙 --

Dearest readers, friends and acquaintances in Blog-land.
MotherOwl has landed, and will slowly ease back into blogging.

mandag den 3. februar 2025

Poetry Monday :: Funky

Every Monday is Poetry Monday.

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 again.

  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
.


Today's prompt is Funky. That's a funny, chameleon like word that changes with the surroundings - context is king.

Funky smells make my nose wrinkle.
Funky music make my legs twist and hop
So I put on my most funky gear
And go dance with a winkle
Go skipping the bop -
No I'm not gonna stop -
With a large grin from ear and to ear.

- - - - - - -

Up and coming:
February 3: Funky (today)
February 10: Funny
February 17: Fidgety
February 24: Fluffy





torsdag den 30. januar 2025

Månedens farve Februar
Colour of the Month February

Så er der ikke så længe til at det bliver februar. Og på søndag er det den første søndag i februar. Tid for en ny farve.
-- 🩵 --
January is not with us for long. And Sunday will be the first Sunday of February. Time for a new colour.

-- 🔹💠🔹 --

     Jeg blev inspireret af Rivers besøg i Adelaides botaniske have, hvor hun så og fotograferede Chihulys udstilling af glaskunst.
     Det her ligner en elefant, syne jeg i hvert fald - og det gav mig assosiationer til en elefant i en glasbutik, der så blev til en glaselefant.
     Det var svært at vælge mellem de mange skønne blå nuancer, så vælg endelig en anden, hvis der er en der tiltaler dig mere.
-- 🩵  --
This time I was inspired by River's visit to Adelaide's Botanic Gardens, and the Chihuly display of blown glass art.

To me this looks like an elephant - a glass elephant - and as the Bull in a China shop is an elephant in a glass shop in Danish, I fell for it immediately.

And as I had a hard time deciding which of the deligthful blues were best, you're free to use any that suits you.


     I dag er det bloggens 13 års fødselsdag - og den fejrer Uglemor med en lille ferie væk fra al elektronikken. Så jeg vil advare om manglende UgleMor-tilstedeværelse i blogosphæren i den kommende tid.
     Der vil måske komme et par forhåndsfabrikerede opslag, men ingen kommentarer eller svar.
Jeg vender tilbage!
-- 🔹💠🔹 --
Today furthermore marks the 13th birthday of my blog / blogoversary. I'll celebrate by keeping away from anything digital for a little while.

Hence be warned: MotherOwl will be away and MIA from the Blogosphere for a week or more. A (preposted) post or two will probaby show up, but no comments amd no answers.
... I'll be back!

onsdag den 29. januar 2025

Godt nytår ~ Happy New Year

Igen er Uglemor hverken senil eller tosset. I dag er det det kinesiske nytår.
Glædeligt SLANGENS år
No, MotherOwl has still grown neither crazy nor senile.
Today is the Chinese New Year.
Happy year of the
SNAKE

mandag den 27. januar 2025

Poetry Monday :: (Praise the) Silver

Every Monday is Poetry Monday.

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 again.

  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
.


Today's prompt is Silver. Silver is a metal, I like gold better for looks, but for uses - nothing compares. So an ode to silver it is - modern, free form - versatile as silver itself. 

Silver is a versatile metal:
The bane of vampires and werevolves,
the source of life for photos and X-rays,
and for vanity; mirrors and spoons.
In our banks you find coins and a bullion.
In the band aid it kills the microbes.
And it filters our water,
makes current from sunshine,
and always it pleases our eyes.

And here we have Habakuk, my grumpy gnome, shooting away at a werewolf with his old shotgun  loaded with silver (he's partially modelled on Hard Haid Moe).


- - - - - - -

Up and coming
January 27: Silver (today)
February 3: Funky
February 10: Funny
February 17: Fidgety
February 24: Fluffy

fredag den 24. januar 2025

Fredagsfrustration: Blogger vs. WordPress

Dette er også en forklaring på, hvorfor jeg ikke kommenterer så meget på WP-baserede blogs.
Hver gang, jeg vil lægge en kommentat på en WordPress-blog skal jeg skrive e-mail, navn, og valgfri blogadresse. Lige meget hvor ote jeg udfylder den der med at huske mine data, er de væk næste gang. Nogen gange kan de huske så meget, at de auto-udfylder, når jeg starter, men for det meste ikke. Og så skal jeg også lige være synsk.

-- ✎📧 --

This is also an explanation why I don't comment much on WP-based blogs.
Every time I want to leave a comment on a WordPress blog, I have to enter email, name, and - optional - blog address. No matter how many times I move the slider to remember my data, it's gone the next time. Sometimes it auto fills in when I start typing, but mostly not. And I also have to be psychic:
Nederst i den hvide firkant - under min mailadresse, som jeg har skjult, står der: Fortsæt læsning/Continue reading - det skal man trykke på for at offentliggøre sin kommentar uden at abonnere på blogen. Det står der bare ikke hver gang, som her man ser. Nu har jeg lært at klikke midt i det hvide, men de første gange var det godt nok sært.

 -- 📧 ✐ --

At the bottom of the white square - below my email address, which I've hidden - it says: Fortsæt læsning/Continue reading. You have to press this to publish your comment without subscribing to the blog. It is, as can be seen here, not always visible. Now I've learnt to just  click in the middle of nowhere, but the first few times I felt quite weird.

onsdag den 22. januar 2025

Words for Wednesday :: How I became a Shoplifter - a Dream

Historien findes her på dansk.

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:
Kiss
Hope
Grinned
Dark
Shock
     and/or
High
Places
Fiends
Friday
Why

I only used some of the words, as can be seen. Not in any particular order either. 

A Friday a few weeks ago I had an appointment in a big city. I arrived about an hour early because even if it was snowing the trains and buses were less delayed than I had expected. So I hoped I could do some shopping. The first two errand were quickly done, as the places were either closed for repair or for holidays.
     I also needed some minor items that were sold out or not in stock in my small town. First I went to some Target-like shop. They had one of the items only, cheap, but equally poor quality. The bookshop had the same item only, but in a super-luxury edition; and I won't pay more for a notebook than for a nice meal at a restaurant! Then I went to a big supermarket advertising that they carried everything. They did, but what a mess; No price tags, things in a jumble on all shelves ... luckily I found a scanner and checked the prices. Both items were reasonable, and the notebook was on sale. They were both the last of their kind. There were more notebooks, but only dark pink ones!
     With twenty minutes to my appointment, I got in line. There were TWO manned tills open, and queues as long as my arm. Oh well, my appointment is just around the corner and down a street, maybe three minutes, I can make it.
     Ten minutes later, the brand new employee at the till had served one or two customers, and it was the same at the other till. Another employee walked by and I asked if he could please open another till. "I'll try," he replied and ran off to the left. A little later, he passed by again, this time closer to the till, and a man asked the same question and got the same answer. I looked at the clock ... five minutes to go. When I looked up, he was helping one of the two customers at the self checkout. I looked around in despair.
     There was my way out! I spied Exit without payment, Complaints & Customer Service written on a sign above an exit. "I'll go there," I thought, "and let them look after the goods until I can return and pay." At the door I was quickly let through by a smiling young man. But then ... there were at least twenty people with numbers in their hands waiting to be served, and behind the counter a single tired and dejected-looking young man. What to do now? I wound my way through the crowd towards the take-a-number thingie -- and the exit.
     Then I thought "What the heck!" and just walked out, still with my unpaid items visible in my hand. Nothing happened, no beeping and no one shouting at me.
     I rushed across the road, down the side street and up the stairs, just in time to put the goods in my bag before my name was called.
With a shock I realized I was now a criminal, then I grinned at how easy it all was - and then I woke up.

tirsdag den 21. januar 2025

Sunday Selection on a Tuesday & Colour25

I saw these early signs of spring Sunday Morning, but when we returned from mass, the sun had already set. The same repeated itself Monday. only I returned from the outcomeful meeting - I do not know if outcomeful is a word, if not, it totally needs to be.

Today I returned from PE and ophthalmologist (my eyes are not worse - YAY) in time to snap a photo. If these do not fit New Start Yellow, nothing does!
Jeg så de her tidlige forårsbebudere søndag morgen. Men da vi endelig vendte hjem fra kirke, var solen allerede gået ned. Det var den også mandag, da jeg vendte hjem fra et resultatfyldt møde i København, Men i dag, da jeg vendte hjem fra øjenlægen (mine øjne er ikke blevet værre - juhu!) en time tidligere, var der lige præcis lys nok til at fotografere de her små erantis. Hvis ikke de passer til New Start Yellow,, er der vist ingenting der gør.

mandag den 20. januar 2025

Poetry Monday :: Sheep & a 008

I was at a meeting today, travelling for hours by train, and I had decided to write a poem there. seated in the train, I realized I had forgotten today's topic! Oof. And I lost one of my home knit and deliciously warm mittens as well. What a luck the meeting was a nice occasion, with nice and encouraging people and with a very good outcome. Now it's late - and sheep is a thing to count to fall asleep. But Poerty Monday needs a poem. These three small ones have to suffice.

Sheep is one of those words
That are hard to use if you think
now what is the plural ... herds?
It'll bring you right to the brink.

-- 🐑 --

Sheep is one of those words
that makes me stop up and think
of jacalopes, Boundin' and birds.
You know that a sheep can be pink!

-- 🐑 --

Sheep are a wonder indeed!
From pastures where they go and feed
they bring you whatever you need
to keep you in warm socks and tweed.

And today on my way to the meeting, walking the streets of Hillerød, (where I met the 001) I saw a car with number 008.


- - - - - - - - - -
Up and coming topics:
January 20: Sheep (today)
January 27: Silver
February 3: Funky
February 10: Funny
February 17: Fidgety
February 24: Fluffy

lørdag den 18. januar 2025

Friday Frustrations on a Saturday and in English

This is a translation of Fredagsfrustration kun på dansk - Uduelig mad, bavl og konsekvenser realising that the majority of my readers are English speakers or readers.

The past month has been crazy with food and food-related news. I'll tackle two here, but the rest are just as absurd. On 30 December, TV2.dk wrote that the Rule of 5 can reveal dangerous food
Just a few quotes from the article:
A good rule is to look at whether there are more or fewer than five ingredients. If there are fewer, the product is fine. But if there are more than five, you should go in and read if there's anything you don't understand," says Anne Tjønneland.

What's not good, however, are fizzy drinks and crisps. Sweets in general shouldn't be eaten either. The same goes for long-life ready meals.

Perhaps more surprisingly, veggie products, including certain types of plant-based drinks, also get a thumbs up from some researchers.

In the 1970s, product declarations began to be widely used on many food packaging. Since then, the concept of e-numbers came into use. The latter describes additives that are so difficult to explain that they have their own coding language, i.e. an E followed by a numerical code.


I have a few comments on this:

-  The Rule of 5:
If there are fewer than 5 ingredients, the product is OK - but chips are not OK. Strange, isn't it? Most crisps consist of potatoes, sunflower oil and salt. 3 ingredients, none of them with weird names.
     Many questionable sausages and the like consist of meat, emulsifier, water and spices.

- Vegan goods:
They are deeply surprised that some vegan products are ultra-processed. Pretty much all of them are, and I've been saying this for a long time.

- E numbers:
They state that: "The latter [i.e. E numbers] describe additives that are so difficult to explain that they have their own coding language, i.e. an E and a number code after it."
     This is totally wrong. There are plenty of E numbers that cover ordinary, well-known substances. The E numbers are a standardisation, the E stands for Europe, and the list was introduced by the EU so that we can all recognise the substances regardless of where the product is manufactured. (Wikipedia tells us: E numbers, short for Europe numbers, are codes for substances used as food additives, including those found naturally in many foods, such as vitamin C, for use within the European Union)
     The common ones I can think of are E330 = citric acid, E300 = vitamin C, E440 = pectin, E553 = talc and E901 = beeswax.
     I'm certainly just as uncomfortable - or maybe even more so - with glucose-fructose syrup or hydrolysed vegetable protein, for example, which have no E numbers.
     And I wonder how many people are offended by carob, carrageenan, sorbitol, monosodiumglutamate, and many others where you're allowed to write the common name instead of their E numbers (E410, E407, E420 and E621 respectively)?

I think you can go completely wrong with these rules. For example, try reading the ingredients of Mou organic meatballs: Pork and beef (60%), water, EGG WHITE, onion, WHEAT FLOUR, potato flour, breadcrumbs (WHEAT FLOUR, salt, yeast), salt, beef fat, white pepper.
     A total of 11 ingredients! But not one I don't have or couldn't easily make at home in my own kitchen - and here we are at what I believe is a much better rule: COULD I DO THIS MYSELF?
     Could I chop the meat, mix it with salt, add water, egg whites, onions, flour, breadcrumbs (which I could make myself), salt, pepper and fat and then cook the buns in salt water? Yes, I could do that. So it's OK.

Let's try the vegan version:
     Beyond Meat meatballs, ingredients: Water, pea protein* (14%), rapeseed oil, coconut oil, flavourings, smoke flavour, rice protein, dried yeast, stabiliser (methyl cellulose), potato starch, salt, potassium salt, spices, herbs in variable proportion 0.5% (Parsley, rosemary, sage, basil and oregano), apple extract, garlic powder, corn vinegar, concentrated lemon juice, onion powder, pomegranate extract, emulsifier (sunflower lecithin), colour (beetroot red), maltodextrin, carrot powder.
*Peas are legumes. People with severe allergies to legumes such as peanuts should be cautious when introducing pea protein into their diet due to the risk of pea allergy (MotherOwl adds: or intolerances, peas are high FODMAP; as are apples, onions, garlic, and I think pomegranates).

   There are a lot of ingredients - 24 in fact - of which Flavourings is in fourth place, and there are several where I think... how the heck do I do this?
     Pea protein ... how do I get the protein out of the peas? Ditto with rice protein and what about sunflower lecithin?
     Methyl cellulose and potassium salt... (E461 and E508 that is). COULD I DO THIS MYSELF? No, I couldn't. NOT OK

I'm happy to repeat myself from a long time ago:
     What if instead of all kinds of crazy diets we stopped eating cheap rubbish and ate a little less, but of a decent quality, and only ate things we could reproduce in our own kitchen - things that my grandmother would also understand. I think the most important question to ask is:
COULD I DO THIS MYSELF?

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

The other news is about a week old, here we read -- also from TV2news:

Fishmonger thrown out of board for statement about fish from aquaculture

According to the owner of a fish shop in Aarhus, salmon from aquaculture is actually not suitable for human consumption. Take a look at this:
Jakob Clausen from Denmark's oldest fish shop is no longer part of the board of the Danish Fishmongers' Association.
He has been kicked out of the trade organisation's board because he announced on Tuesday that he will no longer sell salmon from aquaculture in his shop.


Yes, if someone tells the truth, you should just throw them out of the 'good' company. I hope the truthful and brave fishmonger continues as he started, and if I lived in Aarhus (in Jutland, so I won't just go there), all my future fish purchases would be made in that shop!

According to the article, Lars Poulsen, head of the secretariat of the Danish Fishmongers' Association, believes that aquaculture is a natural part of the fishing industry and that customers can choose which fish they buy.

Fine, then just note on the signs which fish are from aquaculture, so we can choose! This one is for packaged fish in the supermarket - but at the fishmonger... what do we do there when it's not on the signs?
MSC logo

fredag den 17. januar 2025

Fredagsfrustration ~ Kun på dansk ~
Uduelig mad, bavl og konsekvenser

Den seneste måned har det været helt vildt med nyheder om mad og fødevarer. Jeg tager her fat på to, men resten er lige så absurde. Den 30. december skrev TV2.dk  at 5-reglen kan afsløre farlig mad
Lige et par citater fra artiklen:
En god regel er at se på, om der er flere eller færre end fem ingredienser. Er der færre, så er varen fin. Men er der flere end fem, så skal man gå ind og læse, om der er noget, man ikke forstår, siger Anne Tjønneland.

Hvad der derimod ikke er godt, er sodavand og chips. Slik bør vi i almindelighed heller ikke spise. Det samme gælder langtidsholdbare færdigretter.

Mere overraskende er det måske, at også veggieprodukter herunder visse typer plantedrikke får en løftet pegefinger fra nogle forskere.

I 1970'erne begyndte varedeklarationer at blive udbredte på mange fødevareemballager. Siden holdt begrebet e-numre sit indtog. Sidstnævnte beskriver tilsætningsstoffer, som er så vanskelige at forklare, at de har fået deres eget kodesprog, altså et E og en talkode bagefter.

Dertil har jeg nogle kommentarer:

  5-reglen:
Er der færre end 5 ingredienser er varen OK - men chips er ikke OK. Sært, ikke sandt. De fleste chips består af kartofler, solsikkeolie og salt. 3 ingredienser, ingen af dem med underlige navne.
     Mange betænkelige pølser og lignende består af kød, emulgator, vand og krydderier.

Veganske varer:
De er dybt overraskede over at nogle veganske produkter er ultraforarbejdede. Det er de stort set alle sammen, og det har jeg sagt og ment længe.

E-numre:
De siger: "Sidstnævnte [altså E-numre] beskriver tilsætningsstoffer, som er så vanskelige at forklare, at de har fået deres eget kodesprog, altså et E og en talkode bagefter."
     Det er ganske simpelt forkert. Der er masser af E-numre, der dækker over helt almindelige, velkendte stoffer. E-numrene er en standardisering, E'et står for Europa, og listen er indført af EU for at vi alle skal kunne genkende stofferne lige meget hvor varen er fremstillet.
     De almindelige, jeg lige kan i hovedet, er E330 = citronsyre, E300 = C-vitaminer, E440 = pektin, E553 = talkum og  E901 = bivoks.
     Jeg er bestemt lige så utryg  - eller måske endda mere - ved for eksempel glucose-fruktosesirup eller hydrolyseret vegetabilsk protein, der ikke har nogle E-numre.
     Og hvor mange stejler mon over johannesbrødkernemel, carrageenan, sorbitol, det 3. krydderi, og mange andre, hvor det er tilladt at skrive det almindelige navn i stedet for deres E-numre (henholdsvis E410, E407, E420 og E621)?

Jeg mener, at man gå helt galt i byen med de regler. Prøv for eksempel at læse ingredienserne på Mou økologiske kødboller: Grise- og oksekød (60%), vand, ÆGGEHVIDER, løg, HVEDEMEL, kartoffelmel, rasp (HVEDEMEL, salt, gær), salt, oksefedt, hvid peber.
     Hele 11 ingredienser! Men ikke én jeg ikke har eller let kunne fremstille hjemme i mit eget køkken - og her er vi ved det, jeg mener er en meget bedre regel: KUNNE JEG SELV!
    
Kunne jeg selv hakke kødet, røre det med salt, tilsætte vand, æggehvider, løg, mel, rasp (som jeg selv kunne lave), salt, peber og fedt og så koge bollerne i saltvand? Ja det kunne jeg godt. Altså er det OK

Så prøver vi lige den vegansk variant:
     Beyond Meat kødboller, ingredienser: Vand, ærteprotein* (14%), rapsolie, kokosolie, aromaer, røgsmag, risprotein, tørret gær, stabilisator (methylcellulose), kartoffelstivelse, salt, kaliumsalt, krydderier, urter i variabel andel 0,5% (Persille, rosmarin, salvie, basilikum og oregano), æbleekstrakt, hvidløgspulver, majseddike, koncentreret citronsaft, løgpulver, granatæbleekstrakt, emulgator (solsikke-lecithin), farve (rødbederød), maltodextrin, gulerodspulver.
*Ærter er bælgplanter. Personer med alvorlig allergi over for bælgplanter som f.eks. jordnødder skal være forsigtige, når de indfører ærteprotein i deres kost på grund af risiko for allergi over for ærter.    
     Der er rigtig mange - faktisk hele 24 - ingredienser hvoraf Aromaer er på fjerdepladsen, og der er flere, hvor jeg tænker ... hvordan pokker gør jeg.
     Ærteprotein, hvordan får jeg proteinerne ud af ærterne? Ditto med risprotein, og hvad med solsikkelecitin?
     Methylcellulose og kaliumsalt ... (E461 og E508 altså). KUNNE JEG SELV? Nej. IKKE OK

Jeg gentager gerne mig selv fra for snart længe siden:
     Hvis nu vi i stedet for alle mulige fortænkte kure holdt op med at spise billigt bras og spiste lidt mindre, men af en ordentlig kvalitet, og kun spiste ting, vi kunne reproducere i eget køkken - ting som min mormor også ville kunne forstå. Jeg mener at det allervigtigste spørgsmål at stille er: 
KUNNE JEG SELV?



--- --- --- --- Hvis artiklen fra nettet er taget ned, ligger den på min brokke-log HER --- --- --- --- 

Den anden nyhed er vel en uges tid gammel, her hører vi -- også hos TV2

Fiskehandler smidt ud af bestyrelse for udtalelse om opdrættede fisk

Ifølge ejeren af den aarhusianske fiskeforretning er den opdrættede laks faktisk slet ikke egnet som mad til mennesker. Se lige her:
Jakob Clausen fra Danmarks ældste fiskeforretning er ikke længere en del af bestyrelsen i Danmarks Fiskehandlere.
Han er nemlig blevet smidt ud af brancheforeningens bestyrelse, fordi han tirsdag fortalte, at han ikke længere vil sælge opdrættet laks i sin forretning.

Ja, hvis nogen siger sandheden, så skal man da bare smide dem ud af det "gode" selskab. Jeg håber den sandhedskærlige og modige fiskehandler fortsætter som han er begyndt, og hvis jeg boede i Aarhus, ville alle mine fremtidige fiskeindkøb ske i den butik!

Lars Poulsen, der er sekretariatschef i Danmarks Fiskehandlere, mener ifølge artiklen, at opdræt er en realitet i branchen, og at kunderne selv kan vælge, hvilke fisk de køber.

Fint, så skriv lige på skiltene, hvilke fisk, der er opdrættede, så kan vi vælge! Denne her er for pakkede fisk i supermarkedet - men hos fiskehandleren ... hvad gør vi der når det ikke står på skiletene?
MSC logo

onsdag den 15. januar 2025

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.

mandag den 13. januar 2025

Poetry Monday :: Fiction

Every Monday is Poetry Monday.

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 again.

  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
.


Today's prompt is Fiction. This is a thing I would not willingly live without.
My poem is a partial repost from almost five years ago, just carefully improved and updated.

My old partner in crime

I wrote my first fiction some time before school,
Wrote poems of sons and stories of cats.
A decrepit typewriter, ancient as time
Was my friend and my partner in crime.

I once had as homework to tell us a tale
Of ghosts from a place that I knew.
I wrote of a troll, of a church and a hill
Oh, the tale ... I remember it still.

As an end to the story I wrote, as was true:
If I didn't have no books at all
I would write me some books, at a terrible speed.
Just for to have something to read.


 - - - - - - - - - -

January 13: Fiction  (today)
January 20: Sheep
January 27: Silver
February 3: Funky
February 10: Funny
February 17: Fidgety
February 24: Fluffy