A new thrill in my life -

Okay, it has been a long time since I have written a blog post.  What can I say? Fall has come and with it the usual colds that go around, meaning I've been home with the kids or I've been working double shift because some of my co-workers have been at home with their kids.  Thank goodness I work at a fabulous workplace and we take care of each other as much as we can.

On top of that, my soap sales have really taken off, including two inquiries about making 150+ soaps as wedding favors for weddings over the New Year.  All of this has been good, but also means I've been balancing my life on a knife's edge.  I've been taking lots of extra vitamins and cod liver oil, been watching even less TV than I normally do, and forcing myself to stop what I'm doing (no matter what it is I'm doing) and going to bed at reasonable times.  It's paid off so far.  I myself have only had one really good cold, but I managed to keep working thanks to my great co-workers.  I have it in the back of my head: when I get fever, I can call in sick with a good conscience. 

But this is not at all what I wanted to talk about.  What I wanted to talk about was the new thrill in my life. Anita Blake 

I was lucky enough to come across a written interview with the author Laurell K. Hamilton. 

Official photo from Twitter - lkhamiton

What caught my attention was this: she writes about a strong woman, Anita Blake, who's profession it is to legally do away with vampires, zombies and the like.  She has practical knowledge of a wide variety of weapons, and she knows there is a time and a place for each weapon, depending upon where she'll be, what she's wearing, etc.

If this was not interesting enough, what really caught my eye was the fact that Hamilton has received criticism due to the fact that as the series of novels progresses, Anita becomes involved in a number of sexual liaisons that are unbecoming of a woman. Needless to say that this type of criticism seems to come primarily from the USA.  Apparently if a male character is involved with 2 or more women, this is quite acceptable.  But should this be the reverse then it is not appropriate for the general reading audience. 

Mind you, I have not progressed that far in the series. 

(Photo nicked from Amazon.co.uk)

The first novel was a very good read, though not a fabulous read.  It took me a while to wrap my head around the fact that in Anita's world vampires and zombies live alongside humans and there are various laws governing both.  Though towards the end of the book it I did naturally accept this reality.

What I did really like about this book was that I was able to get a good insight into Anita.  And let me tell you, she rocks.  She's cocky, yet has high morals. She doesn't take crap from others, especially male police officers, though she doesn't put them down either.  They have a mutual understanding of each other.  Her job is an official executioner sanctioned by the state and she sleeps with stuffed penguins.  Basically she's the kind of person I wish I could hang out with once in a while. 

(Also nicked from Amazon.co.uk)

I just finished reading the second book last night, and I really thought it leaped forward from the first book in great bounds.  She encounters a number of really gruesome characters, and takes them on in a way that leaves you thinking: Yeah, that could really happen.  She shows both her tough side to us as readers, as well as to her close friends as to how far she is really willing to go when faced with decision making between right and wrong, both to stick it to the bad guys, and to outwit them to save those who are clearly worth saving.

I'm 37 now, and this if the first time in 3 years that I've read something that has really drawn me in and has been a lot of fun to read.  Ask my husband - the last couple of years I've read book after book and have thought again and again: Well that was a complete waste of brain cells.  This is true even to the point where I stopped purchasing books because I could not trust that it would be money well spent.

I've heard comments from some who have read her books that they have hopped off half way through the series because Anita begins to change too much.  I'm really interested to see how I respond to this when I get to this point.  I know for myself that I've had intimate conversations with close friends where we admit to each other that we are clearly NOT the same person we were 15 years ago.  We have totally different values, what we think are more open minds and a completely different way of looking at life.  What will I think? We'll just have to stay tuned to find out.

But for now, I think Anita was one of the best things to happen to me right now. James Bond and Indiana Jones have nothing on her.

A fun purchase that turns my world upside down -

I made a purchase the other week. Something that I thought would be fun to wear  at work.  For those who don't know, I work full time in Norway's education industry, working with pre-schoolers. (95% of Norwegian children go to day care full time, which is incorporated into the Norwegian school system).

I saw the ring below from my friend, RenatheSchneider. 

I had expected the kids to think it was super cool, and my co-workers would be skeptical, roll their eyes and think: Yeah, we expect that sort of thing from Nicole. 

Instead and much to my surprise it turned out to be quite the reverse.  My co-workers thought it was really cool, asked me who I bought it from, how it was made and what the price was.  From my co-workers I had my 'outside-the-box-personality' accepted and even honored a bit. 

From about 30 kids over a two day period I had conversations like this:

Is that a bee in there? -- No it's a fly.

Is it dead? -- Yes.  

How did it get in there? -- The woman who made the ring put it in there.

Why? -- She thought it was a cool idea.  I also thought it was a cool idea and so I  bought it from her. 

Does it still make buzzing sounds? - No, it's definitely dead.

Did she kill the fly? -- No, the fly was already dead on a window sill before she made the ring.

Why? -- Because flies are born and only live a few weeks before they die.  That's the way they're made.

Why would you put a dead fly on your hand? -- That's a really good question.  I think it's a fun thing to do.  

My mom got mad at me for squishing dead flies. -- I can understand that.  Squishing dead flies can be a bit yucky. 

I don't think my mom would like that ring.  -- Yeah, I can bet a lot of mommies wouldn't like that ring.

Why do you like that ring? -- I guess I like it because it's different than all the other rings I see. I don't think there's anyone else in Norway that has a ring like this.

Are you sure you're allowed to wear that?  -- ????

And so the questions continued.  I honestly didn't think that this ring would cause such a stir with all the little ones I work with.  There were a lot that did think my ring was cool.  But I was very surprised at the number of children who DID NOT think it was cool, and who questioned in a 4-5 year old way if it was acceptable to use animals as decorations.  Which does to go show that our hard work of introducing ideas of ethics and philosophy are starting to pay off. 

Ten Things that Went Right This Week -

I've always been a believer in positive thinking.  Earlier in my life when things were tough I was keeping a journal where I wrote positive things almost daily.  Perhaps now when things are really good in my life I shouldn't forget this.  Perhaps certain habits should be kept up continuously regardless of the situation.

1) Even though I was feeling pretty bad with a big head cold, I still went to work and was treated well by those I work with.  It made the week livable and by the end of the week I was feeling much better and glad I pulled through without staying home. -- Yeah to the good people I work with.

2) I received a second wholesale order. 

3) My daughter was invited to her first birthday party since she's started 1st grade.  She's very excited and it makes my heart sing.

4) The group of women I work with and I had a meeting with the parents of the children we work with and almost all the parents had great things to say about the work we did.  Those who wanted something changed had small wishes that were not big deals.  Everything seems really positive.

5) I've eaten candy every day this week.  Since it's been a bit of a rough week and since I have not gone overboard, I'm deciding that this is a good thing that is needed for my soul.

6) I'm starting training again tomorrow.

7) Today I drove into Bergen today, alone and without kids.  Even though I was just in for soap supplies and didn't even treat myself to coffee, I listened to my favorite music driving to and from the city.  And I started day-dreaming again about what I want to do for my 40th birthday.  Maybe I'll invite the Canadian Ambassador to Norway or even the King of Norway.  Not that I expect them to show up, but it would be really cool to show off some rejection letters. 

8) My kids have  been exceptionally nice this week.  I mean, I have great kids who have good boundaries.  I'm just saying that they've been exceptionally nice this week, especially on a week that I really needed them to be.  I think I'll feed them Nuggati for breakfast tomorrow.

9) My husband made dinner tonight - Fårikål - which is Norway's national dish.  And he made enough to eat tomorrow evening as well.

10) It's Sunday tomorrow...... and I have all day to think of things that will make me happy.

Building Building Building

I think my friends (both on the net and off) as well as coworkers, acquaintances and finally even my friendly post man don't actually believe me.  The question always arises in various forms: What did you do over the weekend? How did you spend this summer? What are you plans for the autumn?

The answer is pretty much always the same: building.

So this is what we were doing last Saturday (our Sundays being saved for family walks and hikes).
 

We built an outside shed for the new bar-b-que that we bought earlier this summer. It was a little bit of an investment and we intend to keep it for quite some time to come, so that means building it its own house where it can hibernate during the wet, wet winters we have.

My apologies for the unfinished picture.  We did manage to put a sealed roof on it as well, but I forgot to take a picture of that. What can I say? Both my hubby and I were  so tired after building this that we actually bought 'store-bought-pizza' (Oh My!! The Horror!!) and slept for almost a full hour on the couch afterwards.... 

It seems to be my curse in life that I am an effective painter.  Which means that this will forever be my job.  As my father used to say, 'No good deed should go unpunished.'

Need I say more?

In any case, I was able to prime all sides of our Grill Shed, all the while lifting roof materials up to my hubby, telling the kids they could not go in and watch TV, making jugs of juice to drink as well as pots of coffee for hubby (Norwegians should take their coffee intravenously if you ask me, but that's another blog post), and washing and hanging up clothes.

But it got finished, and our bar-b-que will live to see many happy summers.

 

Other projects that are waiting to be finished:  above are foundations forms for a cement wall.  We're waiting to next paycheck to order the cement.  (Both hubby and I have made enough cement by hand and we're really tired of it.  This time we're phoning the cement truck).

It is on this wall we will be planting a small hedge.... and will be having an eating area just behind this wall and in front of our house.

This wall should have been completed over a year ago.  It was my brother-in-law (digging and foundation expert in our family) who had started helping us build the foundation forms.  He spent one weekend with my husband and started building the forms, and then was diagnosed with cancer the week after that.  And six weeks after that he was gone. In our grief, we just couldn't go back to working on it even after months had passed.

When my husband did finally get to finishing the forms last autumn, they weren't strong enough. The result was that the forms broke and the cement spilled sideways, which can be seen above.  With the help of my father-in-law, we built a second form on top of the first unsuccessful wall and finished the job.

This raised flat space will also be covered with concrete, and then layered with stone tiles of some form or another.  We are thinking of uneven, natural shapes, but this is not something we will be doing this year.

Finally, we have dreams for this area on the side of our property.  Where the cars stand we would like a garage.  And to the right of the swing set (which will probably disappear in a year or two at most) we dream of having a glass winter garden.  These are pretty big dreams at the moment, and we are not quite sure how we will finance it (I need to sell at least 5 times as much soap as I am now.... and I don't think this is possible under the restraints of being a mother and working wife like I am at the moment), but the two of us get so much joy simply talking about the dreams.  

It's been said in many different ways by many different people, but the line in Amanda Marshall's song rings in the back of my head as a constant these past couple of years: The joy's in the ride.

A New Way of Doing Giveaways -

I've had good success with my give aways up to this point. Up to now, I've given away 2 free soaps for the person who purchases every 50th soap.


But some of my customers have told me that they've often stayed up late into the night, and then gotten up early because of the time difference in order to try to catch the 50th soap, and thus slipping the need to purchase 7 or 8 soaps at once.



Most adults as it is don't get enough sleep, what with long hours at work, taking care of the kids as well as lots of other commitments. I certainly appreciate my customers loyalty. The fact that they would stay up into all hours of the night for something that I make is something I find absolutely amazing.


But at the same time I certainly don't want to become a thorn in someone's side. That was certainly not my plan.

So for the next 100 sales, I'm going to change the rules for the soap give away. Everyone who purchases a soap within the 'last 50 soaps' will have a chance to be drawn to win two free bars of soap. As it stands right now, this would mean that everyone who has purchased a soap from soap #251 to #300 will have their name entered into a draw. I will draw a name and contact that person to let them know they have won.

While I myself am a really competitive person (I'm going to take up Karate after the summer and am so looking forward to the challange!), I do realize that my former contest will not appeal to all customers. And even though I am competitive, I am a true and ardent believer in fairness (for heaven sakes! I'm a Canadian living in Norway! A person cannot get more diplomatic with a belief in social equality than that!).

So we will try this contest for a couple of months and in the meantime I will be eager to hear the opinions of my customers.

In the meantime, keep an eye on my store - herbal soaps and seaweed soaps are almost ready to sell!

Stinging Nettles and Seaweed Continued.....

We've had another weekend at the cabin, with both myself and my husband looking forward to lots of work.


I of course was looking forward to gathering dandelions for my soap. But alas, on Saturday morning I woke up to this:

Lots of rain. I don't know why I was so surprised. The weather forcast I said it was going to rain over all of Hordaland (the county/province of Norway where we live and have our cabin), but I had been optimistically assuming that the clouds would roll over us and drop their rain in Bergen as they often do.


Not this time however.




On the other hand, the cherry tree is in bloom. This is not something that we usually get a chance to see. Usually Nature and Us do not work so well together and we miss it. So even though it was raining, it was a nice treat.

Another good look at our tree..... it could be a few years before I get another picture like this.

And down on the grass there are lots of wild flowers growing here as well.

But it's time to get to work.

I pull out a bag of nettles that I picked last weekend, dried and froze to get rid of their stinging and burning qualities. And I have with me a couple of sharp objects to help me complete my task.

After the nettles have been dried and frozen, they are so nice to work with. Soft to the touch and no nastiness involved whatsoever.

But before things get too messy, I remember that I cannot do any sort of decent work without good coffee and good music. Last Christmas I received a new Walkman cellphone from my husband. The instruction booklet said that the phone is capable of holding up to 8 000 songs..... but I'm no where near that number. I don't think I'll ever have enough money to download so many songs.

The music is a collection I've downloaded mostly from Itunes, and the coffee is actually imported from Denmark. Don't get me wrong, I love living in Norway.... but there is not a brand of good Norwegian coffee to be found here. After 10 years of really trying hard to like the most popular brands, I simply admitted defeat and have been importing ever since.

So I move myself to the only semi-solid structre we have outside: an old bench. Even our picnic table moves and wobbles so much that I would not trust working on it with sharp objects.

Some basic, course chopping the first time around......

And then switching over to fine chopping, Jamie Oliver style.... though I have to admit I've never seen him use a clever.

And after the nettles are chopped finely enough, they go into a nice, big ziplock bag where they will wait patiently for me to use them in soap.

For those who are wondering why I don't dry my herbs completely, it's because on the west coast of Norway we get so much rain, and it is so damp that except for 2-3 weeks in the summer (if we're lucky!) it's impossible to dry anything naturally. Smoke houses have been used for centuries for both fish and meat, but it seemed that smoking herbs was perhaps not the end goal for me.

After the nettles are packed away, it's time to work on the seaweed. This has been hanging here the last week or so, semi-drying. It wasn't perfectly dry, but I had planned to put it in the freezer along with my other gathered herbs.

I start off with a little bit and begin to chop.....

It's really hard work because as it dries, seaweed becomes more leather like. This little bit above took me almost 15 minutes to chop. And I'm starting to wonder if my time/profit cost ratio is worth it in the end.

I go back and cut some more seaweed down from it's drying rack. I'm using the sheep shearing scissors that my husband's grandfather used.... and it is questionable if he was the first to use them himself.

So I was struggling, on the second little helping of seaweed. Even with my sharpest tools it's a struggle. It was at this point my husband took a coffee break and came to see what I was doing.

Now I do have to admit that I did marry my husband because he was the smartest man I ever met, both with IQ intelligence as well as practicle intelligence. After watching me for a bit he asked me if it was possible to grind the seaweed in the meat grinder we have.

Now what a great idea that was! I had not thought of using my meat grinder as I have not used it myself for almost 4 years. I use it when I/we catch lots of fish. If the fish is fileted and then ground, it can later be used for making fishcakes, gratain or fish puddings (like meatloaf). And, as long as you have all white fish, you can mix it together. But we have not been on any big fishing trips in a long time. Any fish that is caught is usually eaten for dinner that very day.

So we got the meat grinder out, set it up on the edge of the balcony and put it to work. It worked like a charm!

It was grinding up the seaweed better than I could ever chop it and I'm glad that my hubby and I make a good team. BUT! It really started to downpour at this point and this particular balcony railing was not a good place to have the grinder. So both of us decided to call it a day for these activities, and spend some time with the kids.

DAY TWO --

The next day it was starting to clear up. There were rain clouds in the sky, but luckily they were going over us.

And always in the distance we could see some blue sky.

So I set up my meat grinder on the other balcony... the one that had the much nicer view looking out to sea.

And here I started my work.

It's still pretty tough work and today (two days later) I've still got some sore muscles in my right arm.... but it is definitely much easier and much more time efficient than using the chopping method.

And I like the idea that I'm using human power instead of electricity - the ultimate eco-friendly way of getting the job done.

And when it's all ground up.......

Into the antique bowl with the large crack on the side it goes.

When it became clear that my arm was getting sore a bit too quickly, I needed to figure out a way to turn the grinder around without having the risk of breaking dishes that would fall several meters down to the ground. A nail and a plastic lid saved the day. (Although both hubby and I agree that we need to stop in at IKEA on our next trip and find better and bigger tools for me. Perhaps even a bucket that can hang under the grinder..... we'll perfect the technique before summer ends!)

And slowly the cracked antique bowl fills......

And after a short hour it is completely full and I'm out of seaweed. This too has gone into plastic ziplock bags (which can be washed and reused!) and is in the freezer waiting for me to make soap out of it.

Stay tuned for the next harvesting adventure!

Harvesting Stinging Nettles and Seaweed

My family and I have been spending some time at our seaside cabin during the last week or so. It's been great to get away from the rush of the city and work (although I do love my job - let's not get that wrong).


I've also been using this opportunity to harvest both nettles and seaweed, which I've been dreaming about all winter.


Here is the seaside of our cabin. Most mornings we drink our coffee and eat breakfast here. Right now we're doing it with thick jackets on, and watch the steam rise from our mouths. But it's worth it.

If we walk to the end of this balcony and look over the edge, you will see where we will be building the fourth (and thank goodness the final!) balcony during this summer. After this is done, all the big work will be done for at least another 7 or 10 years or so. We're looking forward to that.

Looking down to the left, one can see the stone beach just below us. It is actually illegal to build cabins this close to the sea in modern times, but follow this blog and you will find out why we are lucky to have this place.

Looking straight down, one can see all the nettles that needs to harvested (or as my husband would say - to be gotten rid of. I'm doing my best to harvest as much as possible as it grows to at least a meter high, and he's the one who will have to work in it while building the porch. Mind you, he finds a weed-whacker works wonders).

In order to get down to the nettles, it is necessary to walk all the way around the cabin. There will be stairs down from the porch one day in the future, but as for now we need to go the long way around.

Here is the door to our basement.... and the reason why we have a cabin so close to the sea. These stone walls are part of a foundation on a living quarters that can be dated back historically to the 1700's. And it logically goes back at least 100 years before this as this is when the old farm stead (which now belongs to my husband's second cousin) was recorded historically. Many farms had what can be loosely translated as a 'farm hand' or 'yeoman' in romantic terms. This was however not a romantic title to have.

The men (and probably also their families) that lived here would be allowed to live on a small corner of the farm in exchage for 10-14 hours of work a day. After that, they were free to go home and work on their own garden and produce their own food for their own survival. They were also allowed to fish, but part of this harvest had to go to the owner of the farm. And interestingly enough, there was a law stating that one day a year (a specific date which I am not sure of, yet) the owner of the farm could throw out this man (and his family if he had one) for no reason and replace him with someone else. So when it really comes down to it, those who lived here were slaves to the farm owner with no possibility for anything else.

But this is why we have a cabin so close to the sea. It is legal to continue building on an existing foundation, something my husband's grandfather started doing immediately after WW2.

And opening the door to the cabin, we see that we use this space for storage, and not a nice and tidy storage area either.

To the left we see an old window set in stone which would not have existed in the 1700's. It was no doubt added when my grandfather-in-law when he started working on it close to 70 years ago.

Shelving on the wall directly behind the door with all sorts of old nails, pipes, and knick-knacks that have been saved by various family members during the last 50 years.

To the right of the door, we can see the foundation for the the chimney, which can no longer be used without burning down the cabin. We however are content to use small electric heaters. My husband and I have done so many reperations and additions to the cabin that to replace the chimney will be something our children will have to do.... if they decide to do so.

As one can see however, this is not a large space. It measures about 3 meters by 5 meters, at the most. It's hard to fathom that an entire family, with at least 4 children and possibly many more, used to live here.

But here it is what I'm looking after - garden gloves. Because stinging nettles is pretty nasty stuff.

Stinging Nettles, or Brennenesle as it is known in Norway is not something you want to play with. The scientific name is Urtica dioica, and when touched, it will actually inject small amounts of poison under the skin. It stings and itches like a Dickens. If you have tough adult skin and can grit your teeth for 15 or 20 minutes, it usually goes over. But if you are a kid like my daughter, and accidentally run into it while playing football while wearing shorts and short sleeves, it can leave horrible red welts all over your body. Luckily Aloevera salva tends to work quickly.

At the same time, nettles has been used for centuries both as food and for it's medicinal qualities. It's rich in both A, E and K vitamins (something desprately needed during the 1700's when there is little time to produce or collect your own food) and is also rich in flavoids and plant acids. Common uses were against internal infections, heart and kidney problems, arthritus, and as a blood stopper. For these same reasons, it can be also used for the skin, once the stinging part of the plant is destroyed.

But first I have to pick a bunch.

Here is what I picked in 15 minutes or so. And even though I was wearing garden gloves, I was stung several times on the palms of my hands, though the material of the gloves. I've since made it a point to wear latex washing gloves after this.

But instead of grabbing the Aloevera, I decided to try seaweed, which I have also heard works wonders against small rashes and scrapes.

Leaving my nettles behind, I grab a bucket and head further down my property to the sea.

This rock wall that can be seen here is the first project of work at the cabin I was given 12 years ago, newly married and living in a country where I did not speak the language. There is a reason why I'm pointing this out and I will come back to it in a bit.

Another view of the same wall for the opposite side. Stick with me, there's a reason why I'm pointing this out.

Here we have the seaweed that I will be harvesting. It looks like we have two different types located on our beach, but really this is not true. What is seen above is what the seaweed looks like when it's establising itself on a rock face.

And this is what it looks like after it has had time to grow a bit.

And this is what it looks like when it has had a winter to grow without any of us removing it from our swimming area.

This type of seaweed is Ascophyllum nodosum, or is otherwise known as Norwegian Kelp. It is high in nutrients and minerals. The first thing I did was drop my bucket (well after taking pictures in any case), grab a few handfuls of seaweed and rub my itchy hands on it. Abracadabra, my itching stopped, and I was a happy girl again.

Other things I have learned about Norwegian Kelp - it stimulates cell growth, tones and hydrates the skin, and can apparently be used in soups, broths and chowders. While I have not tried that, I can say if you catch fish, pack it in this seaweed and then toss it on the fire, it will be the best meal you've had in a long time.

A close up of the seaweed - here are the small gas bubbles that help the seaweed float to the surface when the tide comes it. The closer to the sunlight they can come, the more photosynthasing that can occur.

While I'm busy with my gathering, I suddenly hear a noise behind me - it's my daughter who's suddenly gained an interest in snails and small crabs that the tide leaves behind when it goes out.

Here's a quick shot of the treasures she has found.

This shot shows the difference between an inexperience wall builder who has never pushed anything other than a pen and textbooks for 10 years (that would be me) compared to an experience farmworker. And that was the point I was alluding to earlier.

On the way up, I hang all my seaweed on a super old (50+ years?) apple tree that has long since stopped producing apples. It will be cut down and replaced in a year or so, but in the meantime it can be useful to me.

And my daughter follows me up because she's told that if she's going to look for more snails and crabs, she needs to put on a life vest.

Into our half finished kitchen to boil some water to make the nettles more customer friendly.

We still carry our water in by the bucketfull because it costs a small fortune to be allowed to be connected to the local irrigation system. And we would rather have a fourth porch instead.

And the water goes onto our old-fashioned oven that we inherited from my husband's grandmother.

While the water's slowly boiling, I carefully transfer the nettles into a siv.

Finally the water is boiled and I can pour it onto the nettles. Quite a nice vegitable smell rises up in the steam, similar to spinach but not as strong. Although I think I will add some mint essential oils when I use it in soap.

And while I wait for the water to do it's trick, I admire the view.

And ask my daughter what she's found.

She tells me she's found a mussel, lots of snails and a ton of bitty-small fish swimming just out of her reach.

And now it's time to separate the nettles from the other grass that it was harvested with. A job that is easily done without any painful consequences with my bare hands.

And here we have lots of nettles that is now ready to be added to my soaps.

It would also be interesting to note that I have read that fireweed loses its stinging abilities when dried, which is something I am also going to try. But since I intend to use this immediately, I couldn't wait the 5-10 days drying takes. But I will get back on that one and blog about my experience with that.