Leaning

- casually against the wall

Party bags

We have all these different fabrics, just waiting to be used, 

so I suggested to my daughter I make small gift bags for her birthday party a couple of weeks ago

and she was thrilled at the idea.

I made one each for the guests, all in a different fabric.

 I wanted to give them a rough look; I sewed with a very visible seam and a flashy colour thread. 

Finally a bit of a ribbon was fastened between the layers to tie around the bag.

All very simple and quick to make.

The party bags were a huge hit with the young guests. 

Not that they commented on the bags as such,

- they were all concerned with the content!

All as it should be:)

Morning star

Decorated one of the letter cups with a tiny pink star.
Although it didn't change the taste of coffee,
it was kind of cute:)

Under attack

This is how the New Dawn roses look like now.

 But they've had a tough season so far. 

A couple of weeks ago every stem looked like this however; 

covered in green lice,

and bugs both white and black as well as maggots and ants.  

To get rid of it I first sprayed on soap, that took care of a lot of the bugs, but not all. 

Then I used the garden hose, first at a distance, 

but discovered the most effective way was to meticulously shower each leaf, front, back and in between. 

I've repeated this treatment quite a few times since and most of the bugs have vanished.

The first times of hosing I couldn't even bring myself to touch the stems or leaves, not even with gloves on.

Now I'm not so squeamish - When I go to check on the roses in the evenings, 

I just pull off any bugs with my fingers:)

The leaves look battered and bruised, half eaten and curly and somewhat discoloured. 

Hopefully these are symptoms that will pass, 

now that the bug attack is more under control. 

Last year's blooming

Sorting out the kitchen corner cabinet

This is the kitchen corner cabinet - I've cleared it all out.

Cause it looked like this. 

Filled with all kinds of stuff:

pots and pans,

and this and that,

stuff I didn't know I had

Stuff I couldn't remember what it was for

Got it all out on to the kitchen counter  to sort out.

Then getting it back again: the stack of pans needed to sit on an easy-to-get-spot

Started by putting back the electrical kitchen appliances: at the back the toaster, then almond grinder and electric beater, then the waffle maker underneath the egg boiler and behind that the hand blender.

Then a small department for water storage: 

hot or cold,

to go or to stay. 

Then, right in front of the door opening; the stack of pans. 

Underneath in the deepest corner of the bottom shelf I put a stack of Christmas cookie tins with not my favourite decor. But I'm not too bothered about it as long as they're kept hidden in the cabinet. Which they usually are as they are not much used. The question is then; do I really need them? 

And while trying to figure that out 

they might just as well sit 

in the deep end of the bottom shelf in the kitchen corner cabinet. 

On top of this stack was the perfect spot for an extra frying pan. 

And to the right a red heart shaped baking tin with a large colander in it that I like, but never use. 

I would have let it go, but as it turned out it's perfect for storing small baking tins and cookie cutters.

So it stays. 

You see how easy it is?

To make myself hold on to all these things?

No wonder the cabinets are all filled up.

By the door opening I've placed a salad spinner in a couple of baking bowls on top of a stack of baking tins. Cutting boards in all colours and sizes to the right. At the far back - the pot lids. 

If it could have stayed like this it would have been perfect. 

But there were more stuff to store. 

There's always some overlooked, forgotten items that ruin the good impression of organizing. 

In this case some spare cans and tins and some kitchen and baking utilities with odd shapes and some rolls of freezer bags, all of which I just sprinkled on top of or in between of what was already there. 

I didn't throw out a whole lot of stuff; some went to the garbage can and some to other storage spaces, but all in all it's pretty much the same stuff in the corner cabinet as before. 

The difference being it is SO much more neater, tidier, hopefully easier to get things out and  back in again without making a mess. 

I've probably bored the ... out of anyone who read this post, sorry if so,  

but I'm very happy about the sort out. 

And if ever I wonder what is in this cabinet I can just look it up in this post:)

A tasty meal

Vi er fæle til å sluntre med  middagsmaten, spesielt når dagene er travle og været lokker oss ut. Men her om dagen hadde vi et overraskende herlig lite måltid på en helt vanlig hverdag. Hadde glemt å planlegge noe, så vi plukket bare av det som var i skapene:

Stekt egg og noen rester kyllingfiletbiter. 

Potetstappe.
Lun salat av dagens grønnsaker.
Og en supergod hjemmelaget rød pesto.

Ikke visste jeg at pesto var så enkelt å lage, og når det viste seg at jeg allerede hadde alle ingrediensene i kjøleskapet var det bare å sette i gang.

We're not always too big on planning for or making dinner. But the other day we had a really tasty meal, made of what happende to be in the kitchen.
Eggs and some leftover chicken.
Mashed potatoes.
Warm salad of todays vegetables.
And a supertasty homemade red pesto.
I didn't know pesto was this easy to make, and when it turned out I already had all the ingredients needed it was just to go ahead and make pesto:)

The rose bed

Funn fra rosebedet

I det siste har jeg jobbet meg rundt i hagen, bed for bed, for å få litt orden her. 

Lukeiveren var ikke særlig stor i fjor så her var mye å ta tak i. 

Mye har vokst her siden forrige luking, mest ugress. 

Lately I've worked my way through the flower beds of our garden, one by one, trying to sort things out a bit. 

I can't have been particularly eager weeding last year, cause there was a lot to do here.

Rosebedet var et ordentlig sørgelig syn. 

Her har jeg to klatrende New Dawn rosebusker . De har blomstret fint tidligere år, uten mye stell, men så ikke særlig godt ut nå.

Jeg beskar visne greiner, fjernet all ugress og gjorde bedet litt større, Så kastet på mer jord for å dekke podepunktet og godt med gjødsel.


The rose bed was looking awful.
We've got two Ned Dawn rose bushes here. They've blossomed nicely earlier years, but didn't look too good now.
I cut off the dead branches, took out all the weed and made the bed bigger. Then I threw on more soil and fertilizer.

Tidligere har der vært prestekrager, tusenfryd og løytnantshjerte  også i dette bedet.

Jeg fant ikke igjen tusenfryd og løytnantshjerte, dem hadde vel ugresset tatt knekken på. 

Men prestekragene hadde klart seg og var spredt over hele bedet. Jeg røsket dem opp og satte dem i klynger på hver side av rosebuskene. På bildene er det litt trøtte etter å ha ligget noen timer på bakken, men forhåpentligvis kommer de til hektene igjen .

There used to be oxeye daisies, bellis perennies, and bleeding heart, but all I could find now was the oxeye daisies which I put down on either side of the New Dawn. On the picture they're a bit tired looking after a few hours on the ground, but hopefully they will straighten up again. 

Litt trøtte prestekrager.

Growing in the shadows

Blomsterkassen på nordsiden av huset har fått litt ekstra oppmerksomhet i det siste. Jeg har omsider fått malt den, nå er den nymalt og fin.

Fra før av vokser revebjelle,  hosta, julerose, klatrebeinved og   bregne her. Og nå også den nyplantede bergflette/eføy, 

 - håper den vil trives på denne skyggefulle plassen.

Skal ordne netting og feste på pålene rundt kassen så den har noe å klatre på.

Har fylt på litt jord (blanding av sand og vanlig plantejord) og gjødsel, og håper dette vil få fart på voksingen.

Upgrading the big flower box on the north side of the house:
A couple of coats of white paint and the addition of an ivy  .
From before grow foxglove, hosta, wintercreeper, fern, Christmas rose.