This year’s Easter was absolutely dreamy! We got tons of snow and it would not stop snowing for days. It was just perfect for spending the holiday here at home by the fjord. Originally we were supposed to travel to our mountain cabin or at my Grandmother’s place, but because of the virus situation we spent the days at home, together with our Workawayer.
So we went skiing in the mountains a couple of times, and otherwise were occupied with lots of projects at home. At the end of Easter (this holiday lasts for 11 days in Norway), the snow started to melt and give way for spring.
We dressed up our baby boy as a cute Easter Bunny! I’m so happy we managed to take these pictures before he grows out of this wondrous hat (made by @adaphotoprops). And the beautiful knit jacket his Great Grandma made for him, with that pretty braid pattern. And the lovely oak leaves and owl onesie by Colorwool!
When the snow disappeared I just kept the yellow theme going:
I got inspired by yellow spring flowers called ‘Coltsfoots’ (hestehov) for this outfit, they are brown and yellow and in Norway it is like the first sure sign that spring has arrived! To find the first one of the year always made me so happy. They are not the most beautiful of flowers, but they bring us so much hope and joy!
I used to pick the first one every year and press it, as a sign I had survived another year in this strange world. Imagined I would have quite the collection when/if I grew old! It’s been many years since I forgot about it. I guess life got better! 💛🌱
Coltsfoots look like this and are actually edible, both the leaves and the flowers. It’s been used medicinal for ages, especially used for colds, coughs and a sore troat. It is actually the main ingredient in many herbal tobaccos. But it is no longer recommended to ingest large quantities of it.
Obviously not my picture, just to show you how they look like. Little sunshines!
Some more pics where he was wearing that bunny hat (it is soon getting too small)! In the last pics, he is also waring the elven boots made by @marcusstratus
Some other news: I’ve written a new article for Faerie Magazine (now called Enchanted Living), in their last issue winter edition, about an amazing Scottish fairytale house which I visited. It was like being in a real Storybook! The magazine can be bought from their website. They are also generously offering 9 of their earlier issues for free as a digital download in these quarantine times, included this one! My articles can be found in 3 of them, the Tolkien issue, the Into the Forest Issue and the Hygge Issue. Click here to find it: A gift to our readers
I already planned my kids’ fashion many years before I got pregnant, and I’ve always wanted a specific style. Something magical, enchanting, rustic and fairy-like. In earthy colors and natural materials. Something timeless or which reminds me of earlier times when everything was handmade, and beauty and aesthetics were very much appreciated. A designer who fits my style just like that, is Dohtriz.
Dohtriz is a German designer and maker of kid’s clothes, now based in Norway. She creates the most magical and whimsical garments! Made out of upcycled materials like wool, linen and cotton, so they are very sustainable as well. They are the perfect fit for anyone wanting to live enchanting in this modern life, they have such a cool twist, and are all one of a kind! If you have something special in mind, it’s easy to contact her and discuss your ideas.
She created a woolen vest and pants for our little boy, complete with mushrooms on the back. It suits him so well!
My heart just melts by seeing him together with his dad!
He was sooo tired at this point, and fell asleep on my back <3 It was the first time I tried carrying him on my back, I just improvised really fast and knew I didn’t do it in an optimal way, but everyone has to start somewhere 😉
What a time of sudden change! The world seems to have completely transformed these last weeks, and yet where I live I don’t notice it much at all. Other than everything being more silent, more calm. But it is a blessed stillness, like a sigh of relief. I don’t know why, but it brings peace of mind and a feeling of rightness in my life. I think that it is so good for the world to slow down just a little, to become more considerate, sober down, finding clarity. Tuning into what really matters in life. Nature, family, our nearest relationships, hearty food, going within and reconnecting with ourselves. It’s as if nature is telling us: We can no longer carry on this way. The time is now: I am reminding you who you are. Will you remember?
We’ve gotten so used to sending our
kids away to be taken care of by others, so used to getting our food
from a shop, often shipped from the other side of the world, so used
to a lot of things and conveniences which we do not really need, so
used to going to a job which does not bring us joy or meaning. So
used to our routines and a life often lacking in magic, so used to
being separated from our spouse and family for most of the day. Now,
in these strange times, comes an opportunity to remember and
reconnect with our roots.
I live surrounded by trees, forest,
fields, fjords and mountains. I know that I am blessed and
privileged. Yet I have worked so hard for being able to do this since
my early teens, and every action of my life has revolved around this
very goal. The dream of living more in harmony with nature, living
off the land, being more self-sufficient, working from home, spending
more time with my kids, my partner and my animals. Also being in
service to Humanity and trying to bring value to the world around me,
but most importantly right now, being a good mother to my little baby
boy, and raising him in a way in which he may one day be part of the
solution as well. Finding new ways to live on this planet, and bring
forth more of what we truly need, like re-enchantment, beauty,
sustainability, freedom, play, creativity and wonder.
Us introverts have been training for
this our entire life.
Here are some things you can do
right now, which will make you feel better for sure!
Plan your garden or find some ways to grow things inside, or on your balcony.
Sow seeds. You can activate them in the saliva of your mouth before planting, so they will grow into food custom for you. Just a bit of everyday magic.
Even though you avoid people, you don’t have to avoid the forest or the mountains or the seaside. It is the best of medicine! Even if going outside is not an option for you, try to connect with nature in other ways (like nature films, nature audio tracks).
Learn to appreciate the small things around you, you don’t have to go far or travel to another country. Try to see the world with child-like wonder. Even though you may be worried, it is still possible to notice beauty everywhere.
Practise the art of home-making. Pretend you are a Disney princess while doing domestic chores. Rapunzel really made the most of her quarantine!
Do some baking and cooking you’ve been dreaming about. (I’m definitely making some cinnamon rolls. And every morning I pick up a bottle of fresh sap from my birch trees, makes me feel like a fairy! Spring is coming and it’s time to forage anything green and healthy.)
Do some spring cleaning and organizing in your house, it feels so good afterwards. Maybe now is a good time to make your home more cosy and fairytale-like?
Let in fresh air and make your home smell of your favourite herbs or essential oils.
Experiment with creative clothing and styles which you are not yet confident enough to wear publicly.
Look for those things at home you’ve been wanting to do but didn’t have the time for.
Great things can happen if we give ourself space and time to be still. Create art for the sake of creating. Now is a chance to connect or reconnect with other sides of yourself.
Learn to do as much as possible without money, the best things in life are free. But support your local community and small businesses when possible.
Don’t spend unnecessary time reading disturbing news or worrying, instead, focus on solutions. Answers already exist for most of our problems. A new and better world is already possible if we just make use of all those brilliant solutions.
This is our opportunity as a society to rethink and create a new way of living that is not only beneficial to us but also for our planet. This is essential to avoid further (and worse) outbreaks, and thus care for those we love. Though the future may now appear uncertain, take a moment to check wether your personal values are going to effectively help the planet and create a positive future.
“When this storm passes, maybe…just maybe, enough of us will not want to return to the world we just left so suddenly, a life that seemed so impossible to unwind. Every seed must be plunged into darkness before it emerges into light. A new world is willing to be born. Maybe now we can return to a simple life. One where we live in harmony with the millions of other life forms we are supposed to share this place with. One where we can find our true nature. “
The landscape where we live is still covered in snow, just as it is supposed to at this time of the year. And it’s soo beautiful! In one month hopefully things will start looking a little bit greener. For now, all we have to do is enjoy the last of the winter! Here is some pictures from earlier years at this time of year, which I never posted on my blog before:
Every winter we go cross country-skiing!
Chilling with Zelda <3
This pyrography candleholder was a gift from one of my followers (darkwoodenpath) several years ago, I use it all the time!
Her I had spent some days at my Grandmother’s where I was finally learning to crochet. My mom and grandma is crocheting experts! So I feel a duty to get reasonably good at it as well. Don’t want the skills of my ancestors to die out 😉 First I crocheted many leaves and flowers. Then I made a pillow, and it took quite a lot of time. Never posted it here on the blog, but here it is:
The front and the back of the pillow. And yes, it is impossible to keep those white cat hairs off!
Finally, the very first sure signs of spring, Coltsfoots!
This is how I store my birch sap! Maybe I can show how I tap it later, but basically we drill a small hole in one of our birch trees, put in a hose which leads to a big bucket (through a hole in the lid). I then pour it over to glass bottles with a funnel every morning. Super clean magical water full of nutrients and minerals!
How are you all doing in these strange and mysterious times?
I captured some winter/Christmas/New Years mood which I wanted to share with you, better late than never! The landscape is still covered in snow, and spring still seems quite far away. Every winter I sprinkle my home with some wintery decorations, like icicles, evergreen branches, glittery things, dead branches and extra many fairylights and candlelights. For Christmas I put up some additional nisse/gnomes, red mushrooms and such. For New Years I’ve started making my place quite purple, which is easily accomplished with 10 metres of purple fairylights (I can choose the color), and rotating purple light bulbs. Festive indeed!
After that everything return to normal, as in I’m just letting the more wintery decorations stay. Then it gradually evolves into Easter, then spring. But for now, lots of new snow is scheduled to come during the next few days, and there is nothing else for me to do than to put on my skiis and the baby sleigh, to get some fresh mountain air. Not exactly complaining 😉
Everyone in Norway is supposed to stay home or in quarantine these days, but we’re still allowed to be out in nature. Not much is changing for our part, except that we are a small business which works from home, and a main income for us is fresh produce (mushrooms). So we are dependent upon people buying from us, to survive. If not we’ll be forced to eat mushrooms to prevent starving, haha 😉 Unfortunately the markets have started shutting down, which is unfortunate, as our mushrooms takes months to be ready for fruiting, and it can not be postponed.
Other than that I’m one of those introverts, so I am well adjusted to circumstances like this. I did have to cancel a series of events and plans, but so far, I’m doing really great!
I actually got this fiberoptic christmas tree when I was about 10 years old. It is hard to capture on a picture how pretty it is (for being a fake tree). The colors change and fade into each other. Would never have bought it now, but I hope it lasts for many years still.
I don’t think I’ve posted pictures of the exterior of our house before, but here it is! From one side at least. It’s not the elven hobbit house I dreamed about, but it is a 100 years old wooden log house (logs no longer visible from the outside). Totally restored and renovated by us, and we’ve built an addition to it with 2 rooms. At least it is cozy and quirky inside! If I was supposed to live here forever, I would build gables on both side of the roof, as well as a tower, and dragon style heads on all the top points of the roof 😉
Our ducks go outdoors all year. They are Indian Runner ducks and can apparently handle temperatures down to -20 degrees celcius well. But usually it don’t get very cold here though. They seem very happy, at least as long as there’s no ice. Because then they look like clumsy penguins 😉
Hope you all had a lovely winter! Do you decorate your home according to seasons? What’s some of your favorite winter deco?
Here’s a little throwback for you! This year I’ve not been able to go skiing, both because of our little baby, because of lack of snow and because we’ve been so busy. This will change tomorrow, as we are about to pick up a baby sleigh for cross country skiing! We call it a “pulk” 🙂 You basically attach it to your waist, and your baby can glide through the woods with you as a guide. More about that in a later post, when we have actually tried it. My dad took me out skiing a lot (every weekend) when I was a baby and a kid!
I want to show you one of my favorite places to ski, close to my hometown Trondheim. It is called Bymarka and we often just took our skiis on outside our house to get there. This time I went skiing with my brother and my dad. This route consists of some fairly varied landscapes, and brings you through the forest and higher up in the mountain, with smaller and fewer trees. Out by some cliffs, and some areas where noone else is to be seen. It was a serene day and I don’t recall we met any other people in this area. It was just so beautiful! Now I’m just dreaming of more days like this.
We went skiing until the sun set and the moon was shining in the winter forest, lighting up the glittering snow.
I had to borrow the outfit, skis and ski poles from my parents, as I didn’t bring any myself. If you know me well, you might recall that skiing is the only activity where I look normal, or wear pants 😉 Allthough most people I meet while skiing looks far more sporty (neon colors and super tight clothing), as this wilderness style is not very popular anymore. Hehe. But my family stick to it.
Every year when the temperatures turn chilly enough, I bring forth my long winter hats. I’m like a real Norwegian nisse, a folk creature often depicted with long pointy hats, they are like a gnome/elf/pixie of the North, for the lack of a good translation. They represent our ancestors and the spirits of the Land. I was 15 years when I knitted my first long hat. It was brown and was so long it almost touched the floor when I wore it. I wore it all the time, and joked that it magically grew with me as I got older, and that when I’m 90 years I would have to wrap it several times around my neck to be able to wear it.
Since then my collection of long hats has been growing. I made up the consept of skogsnisse/forest nisse in my teens, and used to make stories about them. I made a blog entry about them some years ago, click here to read more. I wore only long green or brown hats back then. I thrive in earthy colors. But these last years, I got hold of 2 second hand hats of yellow and red. And I kind of love them as well, so wanted to use them for a wintery photoshoot. Because now that we have a baby, we are suddenly a real “nisse” family. And then you need a Christmas card to send to friends and family!
Here you can see the result 🙂 Just a couple of days later, lots of snow arrived. I can’t help but imagine how lovely the pictures would have been with a bit more snow. But we have a tight schedule, and I’m just so grateful that we got to take some pictures and explore these lovely places at all.
The location is Eikesdalen, the lake Eikesdalsvatnet is just half an hour from home, and it is such a stunning location, with majestic mountains and a very biodiverse nature with lots of big and fascinating trees.
In front of the beautiful lake Eikesdalsvatnet, and the mountains by Eresfjord.
By the frozen Mardalsfossen. Actually one of the highest waterfalls in Europe. It is an amazing place in summer, when it is open and not frozen. This place close to where we live was where the first environmental activists in Norway fought for nature, to keep this stunning waterfall from being turned into a hydroelectric power station. They did not succeed, but a part of it runs free for a couple of months every summer, and it is still so beautiful! Will we ever get to see it in its full and former glory again?
I wanted to take some pictures of him in a baby hammock. He was kind of impatient and hungry, so I only managed some very few pics before nursing time. We was holding him while he was in the hammock so he wouldn’t fall out 🙂
I’m very pleased that our baby has got quite the collection of long pointy hats as well!
Can you see the heart shape on the tree trunk? <3
This is my favorite birch tree, so majestic and magical!
Having some fun on the ice, which was not very slippery 🙂
I’m curious to know: If you had a long hat, which color would it have?
Personally I’m planning on knitting a purple one, and one in many earthy
colors 😉
I did a collaboration with D&O Celtic Jewelry https://docelticjewelry.com, he handcrafts gorgeous jewelry inspired by celtic findings and ancient symbolism. In these pictures I am wearing one of my favorite symbols, a gold-plated Triquetra. It is so beautiful and I am so pleased to finally have it adorn my chest.
Also in these pictures you can see some wonderful celtic hair jewelry which I purchased from the lovely LoitsuCrafts https://www.etsy.com/shop/LoitsuCrafts , perfect for attaching to braids or dreads!
The Triquetra (also known as the Trinity Knot)
The Triquetra is one of the most common Celtic symbols. A number of
different cultures used the triquetra for various meanings over time.
Christians use this knot as a symbol of the Holy Trinity. Historians
believe pagans used it long before that. The triangle shape of the
triquetra always represents three elements. Here is a list of some
triads it might represent:
The Holy Trinity
Life, Death and Rebirth
Order, Justice, Peace
Faith, Hope, Charity
Past, Present, Future
Mind, Body, Spirit
Land, Sea and Air
Another place you see the Celtic triquetra is in Venn diagrams, which is used to illustrate how the classes of things overlap. The triquetra appears in these charts when they have three classes or elements. For instance, a triquetra appears in the Venn diagram that shows the how the primary colors red, blue and green combine to make other colors. For example, red and green make yellow.
Pictures taken in my garden. And yes, it was freezing cold. Here’s one of the garden bridges we made last year:
Look how pretty it is up close! My bronze rings are handmade as well, from someone making them at a medieval market. And one of them is antique.
Everyone loves atumn, and so do I! Sometimes I wish I could just bask around in autumn for an unlimited time. Alas, autumn in Norway usually last for just a few weeks, if you count from when the colors are showing and until most of the leaves have fallen. Sometimes it will be raining during this entire period, but if you’re lucky, you’ll get some glorious colorful weeks full of treasures from both the forest and the garden. The wild berries and most of the garden berries will have been picked already, but the plums and the apples and the pears are ready to harvest, as well as the last of the veggies… and let’s not forget about an abundance of mushrooms! My favorite thing about autumn.
Autumn makes me really happy, but also a bit melancholic, knowing that all this fun and beauty will be gone in just some weeks, making the trees bare and the colors grey, brown, white and faded. Still, all you can do is to appreciate it all moment for moment, and maybe, if you are like me… caption some of it in a photo, to look at when days feel dark, bleak and cold. These pictures are not from this year, but I hope you will enjoy them as well! 🙂
Ori helped me pick the last of the plums!
I tried to match some of those autumn colors 🙂 Ori is always up for joining my shoots, luckily!
And here is a shoot I did for another day. Honestly sometimes my everyday style gets a bit out of hand and I end up like this 😉 And Ori joined me once again!
I always turn our spare apples and plums into delicious sugarfree jam:
The obligatory pumpkin pies!
Some autumn deco in our livingroom
Pumpkin collection
These are the best pictures I’ve captured of spiderwebs so far!
Last autumn we hosted a little Halloween party at our place! We have a large garden in the countryside, and we decided to invite som friends over. It was all quite exciting, as this was my first attempt at both attending and throwing an actual (dance) party, ever! Believe it or not, I’m not a party person. All I have ever done is to attend festivals 5 times in my life. But I really wanted to give it a try, this once. We lighted up 6 big trees in our garden, in green, orange and purple. And had many fairylights all over the place. At midnight we had a hearty autumn soup around the garden table, and later we brought the music outside and danced with poi and lightwhips. Unfortunately we dropped the campfire plans due to very heavy rain later in the night. We had a lot of fun though and it was a wild and successful night 😄
In the livingroom we had made a DJ booth were they kept the music going with our personal preference: halloweenish psytrance! We had a fog machine which created a mystical atmosphere inside our entire house up to the second floor, and laser lights and blacklight. I dressed as a witch and Ruben as a stunningly gorgeous vampire. We had a lot of fun! I’ve always been a very sober person, and I was almost 3 months pregnant as well, so had a good excuse not to drink. My body was so exhausted after all the preparations, so I went to bed quite early, but the party kept going on downstairs while I cuddled my cat and fell asleep.
Here you can see some pictures, also my boyfriend made a film and put it on youtube, watch it if you dare, it is in the end of the entry! 😉 First some pictures from before the guests arrived:
Happy little pumpkins
DJ booth ready to the left!
Ori conquring my pumpkins!
Meshed fabric looks a bit like spiderwebs, or at least making a more mystical atmoshphere. Also made two similar candle lanterns to hang outside, with decoupage.
Ori had a costume as well! The white stag?
Our nighttime garden in all its glory!
Quite pleased with the deco by our entrance door, if I may be so bold 😉 This was just a part of it.
When our baby was 4 months, we arranged a naming ceremony at our home and garden. In Norway literally everyone does have some kind of ceremony to welcome their newborn into the world. Most people do it in the form of a Christening at the church, and then they rent a space to hold a celebration afterwards, with dinner and cakes. In Norway it is not common with baby showers, we prefer to celebrate after the baby is really here 😉
As you might expect, I’m no fan of doing things in a conventional way, so we decided to make our own kind of ceremony, something which would feel right for us. We wanted to have the event out in nature, but it was late in the year (mid September), which means it is quite cold, and often rainy. Our garden seemed the safest option, so we planned a grand garden party (with a party tent). Unfortunaly the weather forecast let us know it would be the worst weather ever, cold and with lots and lots of rain and wind. So we decided to also be able to be indoors. Luckily for us, usually only the nearest family is invited to such an event, if not we would not have space for all.
Because of the weather I did not go through with my big plans of decorating the garden in all manner of ways. Also had to keep it more simple than planned, because let’s face it, it is hard to get extraordinary things done when you have a baby wanting your attention 24/7. I’m proud I managed to do as much as I did!
When all the guests had arrived, we held a ceremony in the garden. Luckily the weather cleared up for a while! Everyone would be welcome to say some words for the baby, sing a song, do a blessing or a prayer. It included things like officially naming your baby and declarations of promises and commitments from parents and other significant members of the family. Appointment of godparents/guideparents. The meaning behind the name given. You can also include other readings, and music. You can decide to focus on your connection with God or the creating force behind this all, or not. It is no easy task to please both atheists and religious family members, but I think it all went well, and we kept it all quite down to earth, easy and natural. Some people hire a person to hold the ceremony, like a priest or a Humanist celebrant, but for us it didn’t feel right to invite a stranger.
Did you know that literally any culture all over the world, in all times, have had some kind of ceremony or ritual to welcome their young ones into the community? With great variations of what is done of course, but then again, many things are quite alike! Infant baptism is never mentioned in the Bible, but has been common in various ancient cultures, as a form of cleansing ritual. So baptising your baby is a very pagan thing to do!
According to Old Norse tradition, a newborn was fully viable and no longer abandonable after nine nights of life. On the tenth day, the child was given a name at a ceremony where he or she became a legal member of the family and eligible to inherit. The Old Norse term for the naming ceremony (nafnfest) is apparantly“vatni ausa”, “to sprinkle with water.”
I wish more people did more conscious decisions and did things more wholeheartedly, I think everything we do should feel meaningful and authentic. It doesn’t have to be spectacular or extraordinary, but you should feel it in your hearts, the inherent rightness in what you do.
We invited our baby’s grandparents and great grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins, in total we were only 16 people. After spending some time in the garden, we all went inside to feast. We served moose stew with an abundance of our self-grown shiitake mushrooms, and with juniper berries and lingonberries from the local forest. And then there were cakes and sweets and snacks for the rest of the day.
By hosting it all at our own place, and making all the food ourself from scratch, we saved a lot of money, and ensured a cozy, comfy and natural athmosphere. I’m just really happy about how it all turned out.
After the ceremony we took some pictures. Our baby was a bit tired at this point, hehe! But I’m very pleased that we managed to capture ourselves and some of our family, it is a rare occasion indeed when both sides of our family come together.
But what is actually the name of our child, you might think? He’s got a unique name which probably nobody else in this world has. That’s why I’ve decided to protect his privacy by not writing his name officially. I don’t mind you knowing it, but I must ask to please respect our decision and not writing it down anywhere. We might occasionally use a nickname or a short version of it to address him. So for those of you who are curious, I will reveal his name in some of these pictures 🙂
His name means “he who is of the forest” and it is in the elven language his dad created many many years ago, consisting of thousands of words and full grammar.
I think he is the most magical and wondrous father and I’m in awe! <3
Our baby was wearing a bunad, a Norwegian folk costume knitted by his Great Grandma.
My grandma, dad, mom… His dad and his step-mom.
Ruben’s siblings, nephew and Grandma
My brother, mom, dad and grandma… To the left: my baby with his Great Grandma’s <3 Unfortunately all the other Great Grandparents are gone, and it makes me sad just thinking about it.
We ordered a marzipan cake with his name. And then I made two sugarfree healthy cakes, a raw blueberry cake and a sweet potato chocolate cake. I’m not proud of how they look, but it was insanely hard to find the time and I risked both my health and sanity, lol! Speaking as someone with a baby which hardly let me go to the toilet or make myself some breakfast 😉 And the hundreds of other things I had to do. Luckily I was not the only one who brought cakes.
I had a playlist going on inside our house, basically playing music box versions of the Zelda soundtrack, which I found here. I made the playlist before the baby was born, I imagined I’d put it on while he was sleeping or just laying around being a cute little baby. Expectation < Reality… haha!
Had brought out a lot of party flags which hung in all the rooms as well as in the garden.
Baby was nursing, then he fell asleep for quite some time, while we all chatted, ate cakes and opened his gifts.
The gift table, it’s common to give baby clothes, books, silver and money.
I put white tablecloths on all the tables. Felt very grown-up! 😉
Some of our baby’s stuffed animals 🙂 Dragons, owls, bunnies, unicorns!
I translated/made an interpretation of this poem for our baby to be part of the ceremony. I think it is beautiful.
Now I’m curious to know, what kind of ceremony do you have in your part of the world? Would you ever choose something unusual, or do you prefer tradition? I think tradition can be a wonderful thing as well.
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