Home again

So, what did all the snow look like? Well, something like this might give you an idea:


After a few days with sunny weather it still was not the least bit spring-like... But we had a great day out with the sled in the slope behind our house :)

The funeral went well; hubby's niece said it was the worst she had ever done, so she never ever wants to go to another funeral... She was crying the whole ceremony, but her mum was the same, so her handbag contained nothing but tissues... Some good stories were told about nana, and there were both laughs and tears - as it should be. It was very nice as funerals go, beautiful music and good psalms. The priest wasn't too longwinded either, which is always a good thing.

Now on to celebrate easter! Happy easter everyone!

busy bee

I've been a busy bee lately - stitching the nights away, and then there was the finishing to do as well. I'll post the pics tomorrow; there's too little light now to get photos that actually show what you can see :)

I'm taking Hannah with me on a short easter break at my folks' place tomorrow - and will get back home on Tuesday. Of course I'll be taking a small project with me, but it's a secret one... ;)

Then it's the funeral on wednesday the 19th. No kids are allowed, so H will be in daycare while we're in church. I won't be singing this time; everybody "forgot" about it when they were to see the reverend and decide on everything, so I'll actually be listening to someone else this time. I look forward to that part, it's the sadness I have problems with... Especially when parts of the family don't want to talk about the fact that they are grieving, because it makes them sad! I only hope they feel they can let go at least for a little while at the service...

Hubby found this for me, and oh how true it is...

Friday!

Today would have been great if it weren't for the fact that my little H has been coughing all through the night... She got to sleep between me and her dad, on a high pillow to ease her breathing, but she kept waking up every two hours coughing and crying. So I'm dead tired today - I'll be going home at lunchtime, so she doesn't have to stay at the daycare center that long today. The only reason she's going at all, is that they're going to the forest today and she got REALLY upset when we suggested that she might not be well enough to go...

The reason today is great, is that (obviously) it's FRIDAY and, as if that wasn't enough, my parents are coming to visit this weekend. I've actually been longing for them to come this time, it's been so long... They called the other day, to check that we were home and to ask if there was anything they should take with them from Norway; so my favourite chocolate spread is on it's way, along with my new passport and the sewing caddy left me by my grandmother. I've been longing for the sewing caddy ever since the funerals in northern Norway last autumn, but my parents haven't been able to take it home sooner. I expect it to be a bit emotional when it arrives, because apparently my mum has left my grandmothers sewing bits and bobs in it for me - she's just decluttered it a bit. I'm expecting flash backs! :)

Got to go - I have lots of work to do before I can go home to H!

Back again!

The funeral was very... dignified! My singing went very well, got lots of praise afterwards. The church was a lot smaller than I remembered it - perhaps because I was 14 last time and the ceiling is HIGH in the "cathedral". I'm not accustomed to being able to sing so everybody can hear without using a microphone, but it was very nice. The space was perfect for concerts!

Met lots of relatives I didn't know existed, and enjoyed it immensely. They were really nice people! In particular Dad's cousin, Jimmy. He was a very enlightened man, a teacher in Norwegian and carpentry (I guess you can call it that) who'd studied philosophy. It was very interesting discussing the language and Wittgenstein with him, I only wish I could have such conversations more!

My aids against the motionsickness worked like a charm - didn't feel ill even once on the train, and on the way back I didn't even use the chewing gum, just the wrist bands and water with lemon in it.

I had quite a wait in Oslo on Saturday before my train left for Sweden, so I had a little shopping therapy... 5 hours worth of going through shops left me with a pair of brown dress pants, two longsleeved t-shirts, some fabric for ornaments and such, two pairs of really expensive pantyhose and a nail polish file. Needless to say, my feet were very sore when I got on the train! Thank you, Dad, for sponsoring me! :)

It was really good seeing Hannah again - it was her 3rd birthday yesterday! She got two princess costumes as well as lots of games, books, puzzles, coloring pencils and Cinderella on DVD. We spent Sunday playing and cleaning the house, and yesterday (after work) eating ice cream and watching Cinderella. She had a little difficulties understanding that Cinderella in the beginning didn't have the nice dress, and why was her stepsisters and -mother so mean? It's not easy being three years old...

The weekend gone by

I was at my nephew's christening this weekend - Nickolas is so gorgeous, and the only thing that makes it a bit of maintenance having him around, is that he's a "puker" - don't hold him with nice clothes on, or you might get a nice smelly milkstain somewhere... Other than that, he's all smiles!

Here is a picture of him with his mother (my sister) in all their doo-dads:

Here he is with his brother and sister at the restaurant where we had the dinner afterwards. Yes, you've guessed it, he's a result of two families meeting! :)

Of course, I suffer from motion-sickness and had to get on the train for 3 hours to get there, but it was worth it. We had such a great time, and Kristoffer (Nick's big brother) has grown to be a real charmer! He's turning 17 in february, and boy have the girls discovered him! He's got that whole charming shyness about him, and a smile that is to die for...

I've prepared for my next trainride now - I was at the pharmacy yesterday and bought some kind of wristband that is supposed to counteract the motion-sickness, and I also bought some pharmaceutical chewing gum - in case I get naucious (sp?) anyway!

I'm leaving for my grandmother's funeral on Wednesday (tomorrow!) and won't be back until Saturday. The internet connection s**ks there, so I'll blog all about it when I get back! I've decided to sing Lascia ch'io pangia by Händel in church, but with the more uplifting swedish lyrics. I am getting a little nervous though, seeing as the church is a huge one, see: www.ishavskatedralen.no and also http://www.destinasjontromso.no/english/index.html - you can see the cathedral at the top pic there. I also haven't had the chance to sing through it with my choir leader, so I'm still a bit uncertain about the middle part with lots of strange "jumps"... It's getting close now, without me being certain what I'm actually going to sing! No wonder I'm nervous...

That's Life for you...

Just when Life seemed to go on the right way without any glitches, my father called me yesterday evening and told me that my grandmother has passed away.

Some of you already know that my maternal grandmother (Mimmi) died earlier this fall, and you might also remember that my paternal grandmother had Alzheimer's and was diagnosed with colon cancer late this spring. I went to visit her when I was there for Mimmi's funeral, and now I am really glad I did. We stayed with her long enough for her to (at least I think so) recognise us, and we were able to hug her and tell her that we loved her. We've been hoping that it wouldn't be so long before she could rest, and now it's over. My dad was there, held her hand and stroked her cheek and told her it was OK to leave us now. He thinks she'd been waiting for him, because everything had been calm for weeks, and as soon as he came through her door at the ward, she just slipped away. He initially planned to go back home yesterday morning, but postponed his flight a couple of days. That's intuition if I ever heard of it!

So, now there are lots of things to plan: Flowers, flights and trainrides to book, what to sing (I've been asked to sing at the funeral, as I did for my other grandmother) and there's the stitching part of it. I stitched Mimmi an angel to take with her, and I don't want this grandmother to be without either. I've picked out the fabric, threads and pattern, so I'll get started this evening after dinner. I haven't decided wether or not to take pics of it - I couldn't bring myself to take any pic of the angel I stitched for Mimmi because it felt too personal... I'll get started, and then I'll see what I do.

I had the best time looking through my floss to see what colours the angel should be - looking for just the right colours for my grandmother. Mimmi's angel was a golden beige one, with some blue for change and a little gold sprinkled around here and there. This one will be in purples (think DMC 550-553) and a dark, lush green with golden hair, wings and details.

A positive note: I think I know how to post pics here! Just as a test, here's a pic of the "life motto" I've had on my desk forever!

Until next time - take care and remember to SAY that you love your loved ones! :)