A sense of accomplishment

I’m feeling a sense of accomplishment today. Before Christmas I received a promotional code for a photo book on photo paper from Japan Photo, and after a little deliberation decided it would be the perfect incentive to finish the very half-hearted start I’d done on an album from the trip to The Gambia in 2009. The promotion ended yesterday, and the album was ordered just in time. Considering I have a tendency to attack these projects with gusto and then have my enthusiasm fade away long before I’ve actually finished anything, having ordered the book feels like a big accomplishment.

Which is nice.

The best thing? I managed to pace myself sufficiently that I’m not sick of looking at and processing photos. The previous photo books I’ve ordered have led to a few moths hiatus on further layouts because of overload towards the finishing line. Not so this time, I think.

Once I get the book, I’ll post a few pictures of the result and get into what exactly I did. In terms of scrapbooking it was extremely minimalist, but a couple of resources need to be mentioned. I’ll get to that.

The next project, apart from finishing the hobby room (where we’ve run into a little problem, more on that later) involves the sewing machine and needs to be done by the end of the upcoming weekend. We’ll see how that goes.

The next photo-related project involves going through my supplies to create a faux Project Life (because I really don’t need to buy any more supplies) to see if I can’t get a “document life as it happens” thing going. If I get my act together, I’ll share what I do.

Nå kan jeg jo si det…

…for nå har jeg shoppet selv. Bilder kommer.

CI Pedersen har tilbud på Mummi-krus og asjetter:

  • Krus 129,-
  • Dyp asjett 199,-
  • Asjett 229,-

Siden normalpris ellers er 199,- for krus (OBS! har som regel standardutgavene til 149,-) og 299,- for dype asjetter må man jo kalle det knalltilbud. Dere trøndere som samler, eller trenger julegave til noen som samler, er herved tipset.

Selvsagt

Jeg og snuppa var på kafé på lørdag, og mens vi satt der kom en far med to gutter – mest sannsynlig tvillinger. De satt seg på et bord i nærheten, og den ene gutten hadde veldig fin strikkelue. Snuppa var midt i en “Hvor kommer … fra?” spørsmålsrunde, noe hun driver med en del for tiden, så hun spurte selvsagt:

Og hvor kommer luan demmers fra?

Jeg: Tja, de kan komme fra fabrikk, eller kanskje de har en farmor som har strikket til dem?

Snuppa: Ikke min farmor!

Jeg: Nei, ikke din, farmor, men de guttene har kanskje en farmor de også, som har strikket til dem. Eller en mormor.

Snuppa: Eller beste.

Jeg: Ja, eller beste.

Snuppa: Eller farfar.

Det er bra å få en påminnelse når jeg glemmer meg og forfekter et gammeldags kjønnsrollemønster.

The delights of Trondheim #1

I might make this a series, hence the #1.

First up, anyway, is Strindens promenadeorkester, eh, excuse me, Strindens Promenade Orchester. We tend to head for the town centre most Saturdays, to take a walk up or down Nordre and have coffee at a suitable café, most frequently Somma. This Saturday we walked out of Somma to find Strindens just getting started on a little street concert to celebrate their 47th and a half birthday.

Most of the orchestra
Most of the orchestra

We stopped to listen, the lass had a wee dance or ten and we had some laughs. Because with Strindens you get antics. You also get music, swinging music, but mostly you get antics.

Music
Music
Antics. A fast head-shoulders-knees-and-toes to warm up.
Antics. A fast head-shoulders-knees-and-toes to warm up.
Antics. A little nap. And as you can tell, I wasn't the only one with my camera out.
Antics. A little nap. And as you can tell, I wasn't the only one with my camera out.
Antics. And music.
Antics. And music.

Oh, oh, oh!

Only days after my post on the Moomin-ware, and I’m back at the bloodbank. And, yes, they took my blood, and no, there were no Moomin mugs.

But there were Moomin spoons!

Yay!

What could be more perfect? What with the coffee mugs and the deep dishes being easy to get hold of, dessert spoons is just the thing I was missing to make my life perfect. Or something.

But wait. No, not quite perfect yet. You see, to see if there were also forks and such I went to find the webpage of the spoonmaker: Hackman. It’s here:

www.hackman.fi

And guess what they’ve got?

Saucepans!
Saucepans!

And not only that!

Casserole! With Little My!
Casserole! With Little My!

How do I want it? Let me count the ways.

Seriously. And they work on induction, too, which means we practically NEED one. Of each. Yeah.

Back to the spoons, they don’t have the kind I got at the bloodbank pictured on the website. No matter. BEsides, I’m going back in just a month to try donating bloodplates, which you can apparently do quite frequently compared to “whole blood”. So hopefully I can get another spoon then.

The ones they have on the website, though? Preciousssss.

Let me hear you say: Aaaaww.
Let me hear you say: Aaaaww.

So, that’s one more thing for the wishlist, then.

Moomin

Mirjam Theresa of Æbleblomst posted pictures of her collection of Moomin-ware the other day and asked others to share. As it reminded me to put the dishes on the Christmas wishlist, I’m happy to oblige, though my collection is smaller and I don’t seem to have any she doesn’t. I do love them, though.

These have mostly been aquired through the simple means of donating blood, as it is customary here in Norway to get a “prize” for taking the trouble to donate and they’ve had the Moomin mugs as one of the choices for years. The last couple of times I’ve been they’ve been oddly lacking. A pity, though naturally that won’t stop me from donating.

20101023_mumi1

20101023_mumi2

20101023_mumi4

20101023_mumi5

These two are the only ones I’ve paid for (in money rather than blood…): The one on the right was a gift to the husband, so I guess that makes it his, the other is the special edition celebrating the Moomins’ 65th birthday.

20101023_mumi3

What with all this Moomin focus, I suddenly remembered just what to look for at Outland today. I’d planned to stop by anyway, as they’d announced on Facebook that they were having a 3 for 2 sale on books and comics, but had no specific books in mind. And then suddenly I did. Luckily, they were not sold out, so I came home with these four:

moomin_book1moomin_book2moomin_book3moomin_book5

According to the Outland webshop, there appears to be a fifth (or, rather, a fourth, as it is marked as volume four), which I guess will promptly go on the wishlist…

moomin_book4

Beginning to consider Christmas

I know it’s only October, but since I like to plan Christmas presents some time ahead, I like giving others the opportunity to do the same. So in the proud tradition, here we go:

Dear Santa,

I realise you may be a bit miffed that we’re teaching the lass that you don’t really exist, explaining that all the Santas she sees around are just people in costume and that her presents actually come from family and friends, but I hope you’ll forgive me and se your way to fix us up with some of the following anyway:

1. Peace on earth.

2. A Kindle. Preferably, I think, a Kindle DX, as one of the reasons for wanting one is to be able to read pdfs, and according to this review, the larger screen is a pretty good idea for that sort of use. However, the Kindle 3 with just wi-fi would also rock my socks. Other major benefits that I see immediately are A. downloading books from the Gutenberg project, in Kindle format, no less, for example Iphigenia which I really need to read after seeing the show at Trøndelag Teater on Saturday and B. reading in the rain by simple expedient of a cover (you could put a cover on a “real” book, too, but turning the page becomes complicated).

3. Health and longevity for my nearest and dearest and for the following authors/artists (and any others I may have forgotten): Robin Hobb, J.K. Rowling, Stephen Fry, Jo Nesbø, Ole Paus, Bjørn Eidsvåg, Alanis Morisette, Michael Wiehe, Michael Parkinson, Håkon Gullvåg, Lillebjørn Nilsen, Neil Gaiman, Bill Bryson, India Knight, Kate Atkinson, Bob Dylan, Jasper Fforde and the Top Gear guys.

4. A ten-litre pot that works on induction stove-tops.

5. An Overlock. Like this one. Or one of the Husqvarna Huskylocks they have here.

6. Anything from Gaver med mening, Gaver som forandrer verden, Oxfam unwrapped (look, you can buy “me” schoolbooks!) and similar sites.

7. Non-stop.

8. The Sandman books.

9. A Fuji Instax mini – and film – available from Photojojo amongst others. Other thingamabobs from Photojojo that make me drool a little: SLR pinhole body cap and The white balance lens cap. And pretty much everything else they sell, to be honest.

10. Dishes with the Moomins on them. We have a collection of cups (mostly from “giving blood-rewards”), but I’d love to have the deep dishes, too, then we could really use the set for coffee and dessert.

11. A Roomba!

12. Moomin casserole and saucepan and Moomin spoons – all from Hackman.

And for the lass, who really has been good, her own list:

1. “Solveig og Kosinus-sangen” – that is, the song from the tv-show. Seems to only exist as a single so far, a whole CD would be better.

2. A Queen CD all of her own containing “We Will Rock You”.

3. Toy Story figures, especially Jesse “livesize”. Also Toy Story lego.

4. Pretend food of all kinds.

My additions:

1. Pyjamas in size 116 or 122. Fleece pants and/or tops in size 116.

2. Good books (but check with us first, we have quite a few – understatement of the year).

3. DVDs: Disney, old children’s tv shows and newer ones (check what we already have).

4. Listen and read combination things – those books with the story on CD – if they still exist?

5. Doll’s clothes (pretty much any size doll) – hand made if you do that sort of thing.

6. Jigsaw puzzles of 30 pieces and upwards (the sky’s the limit, she’ll grow into them eventually).

Flea market finds

The Sunday before we were due to move we went to a flea market. This was probably a bad idea, on the whole, but we were (well, I was) remarkably restrained. I purchased two plates and one tray for all of 7 kroner, and a sewing machine for 20 kroner.

At least I assume there's a sewing machine in there. They'd lost the key.
At least I assume there's a sewing machine in there. They'd lost the key.

The only worrying thing is that considering this is my fourth sewing machine, and the second purchased within two weeks, I may have started collecting sewing machines…

Figgjo
Figgjo
Stavangerflint
Stavangerflint
Rosti tray
Rosti tray

I’ve never even seen one of these before, but the manufacturer is undoubtable:

Rosti mark
Rosti mark

We also purchased a shower curtain (which we need for the new flat) and a pile of books for the lass.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

Well, it’s getting closer, anyway. So here we go:

Dear Santa,

2009 has been pretty good. The shrub is no longer the leader of the (western?) world and I’m pretty happy with the way the elections turned out over here as well. Still, we’re hardly living in an ideal world yet, so there are a few things you may consider putting some effort into in the run-up to Christmas (and if you have to make it next Christmas, don’t worry, I realise there aren’t that many shopping days left before this one). As for me, well, I think I’ve been pretty good. But I’ll work on doing better, too, don’t worry. Anyway, here are a few things that would make my eyes sparkle (and who doesn’t like sparkly eyes?) this Christmas:

1. Peace on earth.

2. Any or all of the gadgets I’m drooling over at the moment: A new laptop, a mini laptop (Eee or similar), a Kindle.

3. An Overlock. Like this one. Or one of the Husqvarna Huskylocks they have here.

4. Health and longevity for my nearest and dearest and for the following authors/artists (and any others I may have forgotten): Robin Hobb, J.K. Rowling, Stephen Fry, Jo Nesbø, Ole Paus, Bjørn Eidsvåg, Alanis Morisette, Michael Wiehe, Michael Parkinson, Håkon Gullvåg, Lillebjørn Nilsen, Neil Gaiman, Bill Bryson, India Knight, Kate Atkinson, Bob Dylan, Jasper Fforde and the Top Gear guys. 

5. Accessories for the MUM6.

6. Anything from Gaver med mening, Gaver som forandrer verden, Oxfam unwrapped (look, you can buy “me” schoolbooks!) and similar sites. 

7. Non-stop (though perhaps not quite as many as last year…).

8. Some energy and wherewithall to start the house-selling-buying-moving process.

9. The Sandman books

 And for the lass, who really has been good, not just pretty:

1. Jigsaw puzzles of 8 pieces and upwards (the sky’s the limit, she’ll grow into them eventually).

2. Good books (but check with us first, we have quite a few – understatement of the year).

3. DVDs: Disney, old children’s tv shows and newer ones like Tony Ross’ Little Princess, Postman Pat, Thomas the Tank Engine, Kipper and others of the same ilk (check what we already have).

4. Listen and read combination things – those books with the story on CD – if they still exist?

5. Doll’s clothes (pretty much any size doll) – hand made if you do that sort of thing.

 (For reference, previous years: 2002 2003 2005 2006  2007 2008)