Jule tid

 I'm feeling it....
 the juletime spirit 
are you?


Mitten Knit'n


 I am on a mitten kick
 These are gift for my 2 older kids art teacher Mrs. Bee
she gives so much to the kids in school
 so it's high time that she is gifted something too
 As an art teacher I made them more "artsy" and flipped the colors
 One mitten is red the other blue
 double stranded yarn from
the fit was perfect this time
 (something I was struggling with before)
Sorry no time for reading too busy knitting this time of year.



...isn't it beautiful

 isn't beautiful what your body can do?
...why I practice... 


and so the story goes

A human life is a story told by God.
~Hans Christian Andersen

It's been one year since my father passed away

it's a little easier these days
memories can be appreciated with a smile and not so many tears


This past month Rich our 80 something neighbor lost his wife to cancer.
Terrified when I saw the ambulance, police and fire was at his house early one winter morn.

I cried in relief when I found that Rich was alive,
I cried for his loss
I cried for my father

Rich is an ex NY cop gone country
Gabriel lost his grandfather, he adopted Rich.
Rich and Gabriel get along like 2 peas in a pod
the elder teaches the younger
he teaches him how plant onions and how to safely clean his rifle
Gabriel soaks it all in...there is a sweetness in their friendship
the 70 year difference is just a number

We brought Rich a basket filled with warm soup,bread and a newspaper
hoping it might nourish his mind and spirit
I hug him
he hugs me back
he loves to talk...a story teller that he is...
my mind drifts as he tells his tails usually from the good ol days

yesterday he knocked on our door
 his eyes not as red from grieving
 thanks us
 hands us the empty soup pot
and the basket filled to the brim with potatoes.
Potatoes that Gabriel helped him plant last spring
I smile thinking to myself...small world, God must know a thing or two

dad loved them boiled with a sprinkle of parsley

As a young boy
Bestemor put warm potatoes in his pocket when he walked to school to keep his hands warm in the frigid Norwegian Winters

Dad would have to eat them sometimes for breakfast, lunch and dinner during the 2nd world war
as most Norwegians

Potatoes + Norway  = Love

remarkable what a basket full of potatoes
can do
it can fill your belly
pinch your heart
and warm your soul


and even though you couldn't tell a fairy tale to save your life dad
your story will always live on in my heart

...I miss you pappa


Winter walk in the country

 quiet stretches when you can savor belonging to yourself.
~Ruth Stout


...and that folks...
is how it's done in my neck of the woods.

Happy Thursday!


Warming hearts & hands

 Our mountains are covered
 there has been a lot of mitten knit'n around here
a gift
 A basic Norwegian pattern from Elizabeth Zimmerman
 knit with double strands of yarn from
very soft and warm and easy to wash
  and now that the chill is on
 it's good to keep hands warm
yes, a Christmas gift for someone special
 Foghorns Montessori teacher
 ...Mrs. Angela
and hopefully it will warm her heart too


Snow flakes

Happiness is catching snow flakes with your tongue
Sally Brown
It snowed
Then it really snowed
Boys went skiing
Even miss Bella was covered.
 (Ignore the tumble weed in her tail- she doesn't even know it's there)
Fiona Bunny knee deep in snow eating away
My arena
Hey, where id you go????
More snow
Catching snowflakes with my tongue
Grab some wood to warm the house
I'll be enjoying the snowflakes from the inside



...making memories

Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred,
become a child again at Christmas-time. 
Laura Ingalls Wilder
 With 10 F and wind-chill feels like -11 beautiful crisp Montana afternoon-
We hop in the car, bring the ax, saw and bungee cord.
 Christmas tree hunting
 Our "Christmas "spot
a quiet place tucked in the mountains surrounded by forest, each year usually the weekend after Thanks Giving to find a tree for Christmas.
Julian the oldest was the one who had the honors of cutting down the tree for years
...then as he grew older
 today they were both skiing on the mountain.
So Foghorn got the honors!
 We walked for a few miles in the back country to find our special tree... 
passed by cross country skiers and a hunter with a rifle over his back.
  Gabriel finally scoped out "the tree" and attacked with gusto and grace...well maybe more gusto
 Then off he hauled it- dad held the ax. Homeward bound.
 Sophia and friend found the Christmas tree for our café.
Making memories in the middle of no where
which is somewhere to us
 a place we come back too
time and time again.
Enjoyed by both hunter and gathers alike
 the stillness, the scenery
Tucked amongst the forest with snow softly falling.
What a blessing.
a Christmas tradition
Makes me feel like a kid again
making memories
...and now that we have snow
there will more memories to made
 Do you have any special memories or holiday traditions?