For the Youth

This poem (it's not actually a hymn) and this very scene melted my frozen heart.
I needed that special song to get my ice converted to tears and leave my body.

Roses in the wind

Goodbye Norway's roses
May you ever grow in our hearts
You were the grace that placed itself
Where lives were torn apart.

After Elton John

I shall not comment much on what is going on in my heart.
Just this; People are marching tonight, filling the streets of Norway with roses in their hands.
A survivor of the massacre said, "If one man can do so much cruelty; how much more love don't we have to give, to conquer evil?"

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Counter Fire

A warm and heartfelt thank you, for the mails and greetings on my blog these last tragic days in the history of Norway.

My inside froze to a thick ice block when Serina sms'ed from Bergen quay; "A bomb is just exploded in the government quarters in Oslo. She came directly from work in a TV station to meet us for a jolly weekend in beautiful Rosendal. We had booked room in the most expensive hotel there, and bought theatre tickets to was an English Shakespeare Company perform the merry "Much Ado about Nothing" played at Rosendal Barony.

I immediately went into defence. "I don't want the TV on. It's those Muslim terrorists. We never should given refuge to those bastards." I curled down on the bed, while Gunnar and Serina watched their iPhones in silence. We dressed up and went to the performance together with a flock of cultivated ostriches. The hall was packed and we all applauded and laughed at the right places.

After a better late dinner we returned to our room. I closed my eyes, the other flipped their phones. Gunnar said in a soft voice, "But it weren't the Muslims; it was a blond, beautiful, well trained arch Aryan and Neo-Nazi. It did not make me feel better, but I still kept my silence. At 3 a.m. I asked Serina to turn off her cell phone and light- I could not sleep. Neither could my poor daughter.

The following day we followed our precious plans. We went to an art exhibition and toured the park and manor of Rosendal. People were buzzing all around us. I simply denied to let me be dragged into the blood thirsty sensationalism, and let my inner ice block grow.

We separated; Serina to Bergen, we to Haugesund. From my safe bed I watched some short news clippings, and went into stupor. Safe, silent, motionless coma. I listened the speech of our King Harald. I love our king. "Attack against democracy, against the unarmed, peaceful life in our beloved Norway. We shall and will not have this. We must not yield to fear nor to hatred." I nodded and slept further, emotionally exhausted.

The thing about Norway is, when tragedy hits, we all turn to the church. 80,7 % are members of the church of Norway, but the church opens its doors to anyone. It's the ministers, not the police who are the messengers of unexpected deaths. In any crisis team you will find doctors, nurses, psychologists and ministers. Few hours after the bombing people begun bringing flowers and candles in front of Oslo Cathedral. They kept coming and coming and coming.During last night there was a heavy rain. Some made it their duty to keep the lights burning all night. When the dawn came the candles were still burning. There was a memorial service in the Oslo Cathedral this morning. The members of the Royal Family were present, so was the Prime Ministers, the Government and the rest of the 1000 seats were open to any citizen who wanted. They started queuing at 9 a.m. Worthy and quiet. There were not "airport checking of the mourners. Not metal detectors or body visitations. This was our nations counter attack. Not to be overpowered by evil, but with burning candles and common church service go on with our lives as we have done till now. Or even, hopefully better. I dosed in my bed while the service went on, but sat upright as the whole congregation song one of the songs I love the most, and have sung for Serina from she was a child. For the youth. Suddenly my inward ice melted, and I sung along, while my tears flooded.

Til Ungdommen by Nordahl Grieg

English translation
By Rod Sinclair (2004)

For the Youth

(double click on the title for the Wikipedia link)

Faced by your enemies
On every hand
Battle is menacing,
Now make your stand

Fearful your question,
Defenceless, open
What shall I fight with?
What is my weapon?

Here is your battle plan,
Here is your shield
Faith in this life of ours,
The common weal

For all our children’s sake,
Save it, defend it,
Pay any price you must,
They shall not end it

Neat stacks of cannon shells,
Row upon row
Death to the life you love,
All that you know

War is contempt for life,
Peace is creation
Death’s march is halted
By determination

We all deserve the world,
Harvest and seed
Hunger and poverty
Are born of greed

Don’t turn your face away
From needs of others
Reach out a helping hand
To all your brothers

Here is our solemn vow,
From land to land
We will protect our world
From tyrants’ hand

Defend the beautiful,
Gentle and innocent
Like any mother would
Care for her infant.

A tear-wet king and 5 million candles shall besiege the heartless, evil cruelty, now and always, so help us God.

Sepi-Serin-Dipity

For a Daughter who leaves
A woman weaves
her daughter's wedding
slippers that will carry
her steps into a new life.
The mother weeps alone
into her jeweled sewing box
slips red thread
around its spool,
the same she used to stitch
her daughter's first silk jacket
embroidered with turtles
that would bring luck, long life.
She remembers all the steps
taken by her daughter's
unbound quick feet:
dancing on the stones
of the yard among yellow
butterflies and white breasted sparrows.
And she grew, legs strong
body long, mind
independent.
Now she captures all eyes
with her hair combed smooth
and her hips gently
swaying like bamboo.
The woman
spins her thread
from the spool of her heart,
knotted to her daughter's
departing
wedding slippers

Janice Mirikitani

AMIDALA, THE QUEEN OF CATS

Our Queen Amidala isn't happy at all. She has given birth to five beautiful kittens this spring. After 8 weeks of struggling to become a good mother, her kittens were given to three good homes.
As a "reward", Amidala was castrated, and totally confused when the tomcats began pieing and mewing again. She fought them all back from her territory with great skill and courage.
She and Serina bonded easily when the latter came home for a short vacation . Then it was crying time again, Serina packed all night while the rain was pouring down.
At 6 in the morning we were exhausted and decided to get some sleep, while Amidala went out to do whatever cats do at that time of day. It was still damp and wet all over the terrace and garden. Can't you hear her complaining ; "I am not amused."

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COMBAT & PEACE

Exodus 14:14 The LORD will fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.
(Hebrew Bible in English.)

It takes great self-control to unwillingly be in a "combat zone", have the most evil and poison weapons at hand, and still be told to hold my peace.
Serina uses to say, "It's a good thing Norway has such a strict fire arm control, mamma. If you had a gun, you would have used it."

Oh, how she has revealed my weaknesses over and over again.
The Almighty knows me even better, and in some funny, unreasonable way He loves me after all. He has created me, He knows I am dust, and He still cares, even to counting every hair on my head.

Now He has told me, He'll do the fighting and I shall hold my peace.
I clearly can see, there's a lot of praying ahead.
Peace be with us all.

Isaiah 48: 18 Oh that thou wouldest hearken to My commandments! then would thy peace be as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea;

High Summer

Somehow the lavender has had a good summer. Maybe because it's a late bloomer?

The chives are still alive and kicking, even after the hardest snail attack.
My rhubarb has not been harvested. I need something rich to look at.
The thyme is barely alive after king winter's gruesome garden slaugther in March.
Black frost is lethal this far north. The red currants are about to ripen.

Today's the third sunny day in a row. Record. A bit cold though, I've got to wear my garden gnom jacket about 8 p.m. The black currants are also looking promising.

The table is made by Gunnar and has endured 18 Nordic outdoor winters.
Now it's serving wine and roses.

ALL PHOTOS BY GUNNAR.

She's standing by the rhododendrons
Where the roses are in bloom
Looking out at the Atlantic ocean
And in her head she hums this tune

Thank God the dark nights are drawing in again
cos high summer has got me down
Can we wait till the end of august
And get off this merry-go-round

I don't agree with Van Morrison, but I kind of like his words & music.

SUMMER RAIN

This June we had 200 % more rain than the average Junes.
July doesn't seem to become better.
These pictures were taken on our terrace at 06 a.m. Sunday morning.
I rest my case.



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This is Norway

Till recently Norway had but one TV Channel, the NRK.
Anybody owning a TV set in Norway still has to pay tax to the National broadcasting.

This summer they made a unique "show", following the famous Hurtigruten from Bergen to Hammerfest for 5 1/2 day. No news break, no commercials, no entertainment on board; just the boat sailing zig zaging along the laced coastline of Norway.
I've chosen this out-take from Tromso to honour my friend Sonja. It's the home-town of her mother.

Need I say that the show was a mega hit among Norwegians, with reruns ever after it was first broadcasted this early June.
Yes, we may be weird, but we love each mountain peak and fjord arm of this country.

I SEE

I read a post by Steve E "Alone and Loneley".
I think many of us can relate to that feeling; being alone midst in a crowd.
One of my favorite poems, as a very young teenager,was about this topic, written by the poet, Sigbjorn Obstfelder. (Wikipedia link here).
I searched the Internet for a possible English translation and found it on YouTube.

Daniele Sepe - Jeg ser - I see - Vedo - ENG - ITA SUBBED

I see, I see
I'm looking at the sky
Grey clouds are covering the sun
So this is the world
Without time nor boundaries
The home of all heavenly bodies
Then I see
Houses
Bell towers
And fields in the distance
So this is the earth,
Where everything grows,
The home of mankind,
Then I see
Well dressed gentlemen.
Children riding on a carousel,
And an elegant Lady,
Further on
Someone is beginning for a stale piece of bread,
I think something doesn't work
On this planet.
I see, I see,
I must have come to the wrong globe,
Here is so weird.


Edvard Munch painted the Scream about the same time as Obstfelder wrote his poem. They were related souls.

Ruby Shipwreck

We haven't had much of a summer so far. About averagely 50 Fahrenheit degrees in June and 200 % more rain than normal. We normally have our fair share of rain anyway.
This dark red boat has stranded in an ocean of flowers blowing in the wind.
The prognosis for July hasn't improved.
The water magazines are full, so we can supply sunny, southern Europe with cheap renewable power.
Renewable being the key word.
There's more rain to come.
Happy summer to those who have one.
Also; happy 4th of July to my American friends.




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Bob Dylan in Bergen

Bob Dylan, 70, rocked 14 000 Bergeners, one sweet girl from Finland and yours truly from here to eterity.


I've never heard him better, rocking and rolling, twisting and turning the best from his 50 year long production.
He connected with the band, like they were one soul.

And he smiled, smiled all the time. He connected with the audience like I never have experienced it before.

My only problem was my old, outdated Nokia.
Photographing was prohibited, but I sweet talked one of the guard crew, saying this old cell phone is good for nothing.


So sad it turned out to be true.
Gunnar, Serina and I have attended Dylan concerts since Serina was 2 years old. We hope to continue this tradition for at least ten, if not twenty more years. wouldn't that be wonderful; Dylan 90 and us 80?

The rest was perfect in spite of 51, 8 Fahrenheit degrees and splashing rain.


Maybe the old heart got soft when he entered the stage after 2 hours (waiting & Susan Vega). anyway he opened with Rainy day Women # 12 & 35, and from there it only got better.
I, I had gold circle place, nothing but a low fence and the stage between me and the Master.



I am praying that Dylan must find his way home again.

Midsummer with Serina

This evening we went out to revisit places from Serina's childhood.
The pictures are fresh from the oven. Shot just two hours ago.


I cannot name the midsummer bouquet in English. The red one is called St. Hans flower, equinox flower, in Norwegian. There's also Valerian root, which smells so wonderfully, and is said to turn around midsummer night.


At Aksnes beach; Serina is picking sea shells where we let her meet the sea for the first time 22 years ago.

Midsummer meadow; or angel meadow, as the Swede poet Taube called it.
The time is about 23 b.m. and the sun is setting.


Lifeline by the beach.

Red clovers growing by the beach.

St. Hans flower also close to the salty waters.


Sea weed


Lobster


Dusk after sundown.


North west dusk

It's dark and just a few meters from home.
A deer calf is out seeking for water; bad, but rare shot.

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Everyday daughter

Some rare day a person does get me out of the blue, catches my feelings and gives them a name.
Like this busy home nurse I called out today to help with my mother's medication.
She was not much younger than me. She came in a hurry on a busy Sunday, (they're always half staffed on Holidays), smiling even though I had been grumpy on the phone.
She even took time to say some encouraging words after I had tried to excuse myself.
"I know how it is," she soothed," I have a mother on 87 myself. I have four sisters living out of town. When they come visiting it's coffee, flags and celebration. I am the everyday daughter. I'm always supposed to be here, and it's fine with me."
I nodded. It's fine with me too.

Feldenkrais

After having had several broken bones incidents due to my osteoporosis, amongst other two compression fractures in the spine, I felt like my body had kind of let me down, deserted me.
Pills, doctors, physiotherapists were of no help at all.
Till I met with my Feldenkrais instructor, Lolomai Selso.
Once a week we have been working for an hour, and I actually felt better from the first lesson, a year and a half ago.
Lately I have not been very nice to my back. Garden work isn't for sissies.
Now I'm on my second week of baby crawling. A cure for the back, 7x7x7.
Seven minutes, seven days a week for seven week.
Opposite to this baby, my crawling is supposed to be done slow and in a diagonal rhythm. That is Left hand and right foot moves together.
Thereby both left and right brain hemisphere are stimulated simultaneously.
It's simple, it's free and it only requires seven minutes a day.

Day 1. Last Day and First Day

Our Father

(Norwegian for the English term The Lord's Prayer. I prefer the Norwegian)
Mattew 6:9

Our Father which art in heaven,
(easy)
Hallowed be thy name.
(easy)
¹⁰Thy kingdom come,
(easy)
Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
(easy, the only safe and sensible way of living. though I fear I often pray my way be done.)
¹¹Give us this day our daily bread.
(easy)
¹²And forgive us our debts,
(easy)
as we forgive our debtors.
(tough, oh, so tough)
¹³And lead us not into temptation,
(easy)
but deliver us from evil:
(easy; please deliver me from being evil too)
For thine is the kingdom,
(easy and wonderful)
and the power, and the glory, for ever.
(easy and what a strength; the power and the glory)
Amen
(King James Version)

This prayer is the most challenging and liberating prayer in my life.
I admit I do struggle, but since I am addressing the Almighty, I just have to be honest, and ask for help, where I do fail.
The truth is; He helps when I think I couldn't be reached.

The sun is so important to us, living near the North Pole. My forefathers used to worship the sun, it did give life and rule the seasons.

I've chosen this picture as a parable of Our Father.
1 King 8: 27" behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain Thee; how much less this house that I have builded! "
Solomon's words in The Hebrew Bible in English.

No human can describe the greatness of Our Father, nevertheless he is the shadow by my right hand.

This ends my 7 days of silent mediation, and starts the rest of my life.

2nd Day

Psalm 130:1 A Song of Ascents.
Out of the depths have I called Thee, O LORD.
2 Lord, hearken unto my voice;
let Thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.
3 If Thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?
4 For with Thee there is forgiveness, that Thou mayest be feared.
5 I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in His word do I hope.
6 My soul waiteth for the Lord, more than watchmen for the morning; yea, more than watchmen for the morning.


Brave, lonely watchman in the middle of the road in the middle of the night.

3rd Day

Psalm 32:3 When I kept silence, my bones wore away through my groaning all the day long.

Proverbs 21:23 Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.
(Hebrew Bible in English)

The psalm is about confession of sins.
The proverb is my daily trial. To think and think again before speaking.
My Dad used to say, "He who can control his tongue, is more worth than a man who conquers a whole city."
He was only too familiar with my way of "fast" talking.


My Dad watching over me after " my bones wore away"and I first broke my right arm and then my right leg due to osteoporosis . How cared for and safe he always made me feel, and how well he controlled his tongue even to the bitter end.

4th Day

Isaiah 43:1 But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and He that formed thee, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name, thou art Mine. 2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee, and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. (Hebrew Bible in English)

Thoughts:
On my journey, I shall have to pass through waters and walk through fire.
I shall, however, not be hurt, because HE who has called me by name is with me.

Picture:
I walked for two hours on the longest coherent beach in Norway. Totally absorbed by the beauty and my thoughts.
Never even noticed that Gunnar was following me with his camera on a distance.
The little black dot in middle of the picture is me.
When I sunk down, totally exhausted, Gunnar went towards me in a split second.

5th Day

Psalm 32:8 'I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go; I will give counsel, Mine eye being upon thee.' (The Hebrew Bible in English)

I am such a slow learner.
For 18 years I've had these wonderful poppies in my garden, and been thrilled when they showed up every early June.
In magazines I saw pictures of elegant poppy stalks in long, slender vases and so wanted to decorate our living room the same way.
My poppies collapsed after only a few hours indoors.
Until I this year got the idea to pick a few buds for my vases. They slowly unfolded and made our life an ornamental thrill for days.
If I only had sought instructions earlier.....

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