Multitude

Imagine we all were alike! What a boring world…. But similarities there are, surely: we all want to save the world, and think we can do so, og to make the small difference, wish to creap into ourselves and even be sullen a little while…. and what about ‘I know the best’ ‘……’would so dearly want to …..’ whom of us haven’t said or been thinking so….. The ideal world we will never obtain, but we can make the best out of the raw material…., and the advent time is a time for good reflexion…so; come on and join for the good, this is for you….. 

For you
…who are warm and reflective,
spreading joy and being ground-breaking,
proud and humble, wild and meak,
intellectual and sensitive;
have a heart for moods,
searching for silence and experiences,
are inspiring and curious listening….
….do you recognise yourself
?

….then you have got much to share and to give…

Life in the light

Life
amazingly fragile
beautiful
like a spider’s web
sun drops on the threads
thousands of drops
colourful glittering
some short moments
it stays with us
but the memories
shine
with gold

Oh, you sacred everyday…

I like ‘everydays’ teh best, from I was a child. On Sundays we were not allowed to use scissors…and me and my paper dolls..!!.I loved creating new dresses and then I needed to cut them out….! or make embroidery or knit….. And not at all use the sowing machine!…so all the wonderful pieces of left over fabric from my Mom’s…… Sundays started at 6 pm with ‘the children’s hour’ in the radio. Indoor activity on Sundays was reading and drawing. As long as ‘the Minister was on the pulpit’…. If it was not a ‘Church going’ Sunday, we sat in ‘the nice sitting room’ and listened to the Radio service at 11 am.  It felt nearly as in church, and in my imagination I saw the rose painted ceiling and the altar picture of the ‘I am the resurrection and the life’ painting….Some whiles my Dad played the organ for us. As a heritage from my early days I got the tones, and they have followed me till now. When I walk, melodies are sounding in my head and my steps goes to the rhythm of the melody….. Christmas carols suits every kind of weather, any time of the year… they are not limited to a certain time… they are timeless…. 

Find your tones
Link them together
to a melody
Then wander out
into the day
following the rhytm
of the song
:::::

Light over land

A cold, e really grey cold winter’s day

List of wants in January…….
Happy children and grandchildren
and their children again
joys in the Daily day life
sunrise
light days
warm summer rain
joys of early Spring
view fro high mountains
that are easy to climb
What else?

Whom are we?

Some times I am lost in thoughts. When I change the calendar they are deeper… What has made me into the person I am… otherways than the outlook? The genes are my heritage from forefathers and -mothers, and they have made me a tine the  lopsided body, the left ear a little lower than the right one, and a blue sight on life. My ponderings go more into what and whom have formed our inner self. What gave us strength and weakness, will of determination and discouragement… What lit us into deeds and what bent us down? From where came the colours within us and the wish and need to create…

All happenings
from the moment
we opened our eyes
all the writings
all the happy moments
all our meetings with
fellow sisters
and brothers
all dewy mornings
and shimmering
sunsetss…
here we stand
on the bridge
carrying
our whole life…
What do we bring
over the bridge
into the future
I wonder… 

The gate to the new year

Here they are lying before you all the colours
we may choose the one we wish
for every single day
If the day is grey
there are happy colours
on the palette
If the day is sad
pick sunny colours 
If the day is filled with laughter
you might not need
only black and white
Every day we might be given
eis a new wheft
in the tapestry that is your life…

Before a new millennium under ‘The Milky way’

A memory from 1999 comes before me, as strong as every new year’s eve. In our winter cottage with cildren and grandchildren. High up in the mountain with frost and snow. The sky was clear and dark and full of stars. Some strong and bright, some just like glimpses now and then like ‘little star’ in the children song. Here and there we saw those that was ‘glittering’ like in the Christmas carol. Suddenly I saw The Milky Way! I felt as if I was in the middle of the big galaxy. I was part of an infinite room. With this experience in mind we went in to the new millennium. This would follow me for the rest of my life…

Shine then
little star
so that
we see the way
Light up
and give warmth
in the cold night
for the new day
to meet with us

A snapshot of 1957

Christmas Eve meal was pork ribs and sour cabbage, like in many homes in east Norway. My mother made delicious sauce, and I was happy to eat only potatoes and sauce! Homemade ice cream, frozen in the snow was heavenly and the washing up of the dishes was quickly done. One day of the year we were quite eagerly helping our parents with kitchen work… The very last ‘task’ before the ‘big opening ceremony’ was going around the Christmas tree and we sang three songs, that was an unwritten law! 

And then the presents! I had been waiting a whole year! Here we are sitting, my two brothers, ‘Mama’ and ‘Papa’ and I, A quiet time before we switched on the radio at eight o’clock for the special Christmas Eve program. My new dress this year was a national costume;  guess if I was proud!  The pearl embroidery was glittering like a star, and the silver brooch shone together with us all. My brother Odd liked fashion clothes and his hand knitted woolen sweater had a popular 50s’ pattern. Our eldest brother Alf  was already at that time an audiovisual freak, and he was quite proud of his Tandberg tape recorder. He and Odd were ready for recording and we had to be quiet like a mouse;  USB cables were not invented yet! With the microphone close to the radio we got many a good entertaining programs. This time it was a popular programme from NRK, Store Studio. Papa and Mama were sitting quite like in the church. The moment is sacred… or may be they are waiting to see if the self  timer would work! … The Christmas oranges  from America and the winter apples from our garden  are ready in the big fruit tray and Christmas Eve is perfect….

Christmas carols year round

Do you belong to those who gladly would sing Christmas carols all year? Here you find me. When I was a choir director for the local choir, I brought forth the music for our Christmas carols from early in the autumn. I heard som grumbling in the bass group …  ‘we know them from before, and people want to listen to the good oldies….’ It belongs to another story how we came to an agreement ….
‘Det lyser i stille grender’ (There is a shine over silent villages’ was written in 1931 by Jakob Sande, the West Norwegian poet. The song came alive in 1948 when the composer Lars Søraas gave it a wonderful melody. I remember my father ‘The village Teacher’ taught us this song i school, and it was the first song to which I found the ‘second melody’…. This song has followed me from my childhood ‘grend’ Stavn in Flå. Far north you find the old beautiful kept old traditional farm ‘Hefta’… underneath the tall spruce clad rocky hillside. 
The song from west and the watercolour painting with its motiv from the east melt together to one of my dearest Christmas cards…. vest og akvarellen frå garden i aust smeltar saman til eitt av mine kjæraste julekort.
With peace
from the mountain
and silent forests
Christmas tones
sound at winter tide……