Christmas

It's Christmas eve in a few days and we are going home to my parents. We will eat the traditional Christmas dinner, open presents, drink a lot of coffee and enjoy some days off.

I like to make some decorations every Christmas. This year I decided to make a Cristmas wreath for our front door. I collected some branches of wicker and fir. The wicker I used to create the foundation circle and then I mounted the fir on to it, neatly with wire. Together with my husband I made a couple of Bullfinches out of yarn. The Bullfinches were placed in the middle of the wreath. To finish it off I gave it a red bow on top. So now our front door is ready for Christmas.

The Bullfinches

Merry Christmas

Sonja

wow... WOW!

I've been feeling some nausea and tenderness the past few days and had a little hunch that something was going on.. So I took one of those scary tests in the morning, and it came out positive!

We have been casually trying the past few months, but suddenly it was very real, I'm pregnant. The next question is what to do next? It's so many preparations to do, health checks, all sorts of things we need and all the things I want to make for the little wonder.

The months will fly..

The excited

Mrs von Kvenna

Weekend by Glomma

This weekend the big boys in my family are going to participate in a enduro race at Haslemoen. Two days of sweat, noise and fun. I'm usually the one running around with a camera, cheering and making sure they eat when they are in for a pit-stop. Always fun to see them doing their best with a big smile on their faces.

But what I'm really looking forward to is where we are going to stay for two nights. We've rented a little cabin called "Kårboligen" at Svenkerud Gård. It looks so nice! And the place is a farm with hens and all.

We are going to stay in the little red cabin(with the white door)!

One of the rooms

Front of the main building

The hens

And ducks!

It's going to be a great weekend! Hoping for nice weather.

Sincerely

Mrs von Kvenna

P.S.
If you got curious they also got a facebook page.

Back to reality

After two whole months of vacation the day where it all ends is here. It's a sad story about duty, responsibility and less free time. How will I manage? 

New bike!

Finally, after several years of searching I've found my dream bike. A Ghost TR 1300 Lady Wave, with such a nice name you know it's coool!

It's a bike made for long rides mostly on firm and even surfaces. And with a soft seat, good handles and low step through it's perfect. I need only two more things then I'm totally satisfied, a basket and a skirtguard.

The search for the bike has been long. Since I returned from Denmark in 2006 I've had one bike that got run into by a tractor early in 2007. After that I've been searching, but I hadn't got the money for it until now. I've always wanted a real ladies bike, but most of them got only three gear shifts. Where we live it's steep hills everywhere therefore I need more shifts to handle them. This bike got just enough shifts to give me a pleasant ride along our roads.

Since I got no license it will also give me some freedom to travel around without being dependent on others. Not always easy to live in the countryside if you want something done, especially since the politicians want to move everything into the centre of our town, schools and everything, not worrying about the six year olds riding the school bus for several hours a day. Okay, not going political right now..

Think I need a little ride on my bike!

Sincerely

Mrs von Kvenna

The long road home.

This weekend my husband and I were visiting my family. I'm from a little place in the hillsides near the mountains of the east side of Norway. To get there we need to drive 3h with a car, or if I'm travelling alone with bus and train it takes the whole day, because only my husband have a drivers license.

The drivers license have been a long battle for me. Many people look forward to getting their drivers license, but I do everything I can to show people that I don't need it. That means a lot of waiting for busses, memorisations of timetables and planning when going somewhere, and I don't really mind it. The problems only occur in weekends, afternoons and when my husband is sick. Then we need help to get to the doctor or home from work if the last bus already left. My husbands family is of great help most times and they are happy to help. But it would be nice to have the possibility to handle it ourselves.

That's why I'm starting all over again to get my drivers license. Last time I tried I was stopped because I had to study for school. Now I can't blame school anymore.. 

My motivation is: it would be easier to go to and from work, if I need something when my husband is awy I can handle it myself, if we get children I could drive them to after school activities and I could drive home to my family more often.

In a normal year I see my family about 5-6 weekends a year. That isn't much especially the last couple of years where many of them have been of bad health and have stayed in hospitals for long periods of time. You discover how nice it is to have a phone, but it also gives you some guilt not being able to be there.

This weekend was nice, both my father and grandfather were back from the hospital and everything were looking well. Also my brother and his girlfriend had their birthdays, so we ate cake and had a nice time together.

Sincerely

Mrs von Kvenna

Weekend cupcakes

I'm a incurable sweet tooth. Love sweet treats and this weekend I decided to bake some cupcakes. I got a recipe that I like very much, it's very simple and leaves me with ten medium sized cupcakes in half an hour. The recipe is also very versatile, it's possible to do any variety you like, chocolate, vanilla, lemon, spicy and so on. This weekend I chose to make some with milk chocolate.

I've got a job!

Two days ago I was called by a desperate soul searching for teachers. At first I was a bit shocked, I had just eaten dinner and were relaxing on the sofa when she called. Had to think about it, but decided to take it when I calmed down.

Bedroom makeover

The house I live in is very old, almost 200 years old. Last time it had a makeover was in the 50's which means a lot of draught and chipped paint. We fixed our kitchen and got a bathroom last year, but now the bedroom is the big issue. The room gets to cold during winter, it feels like you land on a block of ice when you jump into bed, brrr..

Crochet jacket - The Beginning!

I've finally started to crochet the jacket that was meant as a present to one of my friends. The yarn I'm using is Dale Vipe - Mørk lilla(Dark purple).

It's a yarn made of Egyptian mercerised cotton. Very nice quality with a beautiful shine and it's very soft and smooth. For the jacket I'm crocheting I'm using triple thickness, this gives me a heavy and almost tweed like structure. Perfect for a Chanel inspired jacket!

It seems like it's going to be a lot of rainy days the next couple of weeks, so I'm hoping to finish it within July. Hmm, no, I'm going to finish it, not just hoping!

Sincerely

Mrs von Kvenna

Pinterest addiction

Got to know Pinterest a few months ago and have been a bit addicted ever since. Some of my friends started pinning a while before I did, and I swore that I would never be a part of it, as I did with facebook and twitter, but in every case I ended up joining.

Even so, Pinterest have some great features. When you are browsing the Internet you can just pin the things you want to remember to one of your Pinterest boards. You can also browse random pins and search for pins at the Pinterest page. The whole page is full of every ones favourites, so most of the pins are great, which is why the time fly by every time you visit.

My name at Pinterest is Mrs von Kvenna. I have some favourite categories that I most often pin to. My absolute favourite is crafts, how you make things and inspiration. But I also love clothing, colours, gardening, sweet and yummy stuff.

These are some favourites -

Sincerely

Mrs von Kvenna

Making birthday presents

One of my good friends has her birthday today! 23 years old! Congratulations!

I've had a project this year to make the birthday presents to as many as I can handle. Early in the spring I bought a Norwegian magazine called Made by Me. It was a great issue with lot of nice patterns and inspiring ideas. For my friends present I chose a simple Chanel inspired cardigan to crochet.

The first issue was get the yarn I needed. My friend likes dark and rich colours, so I chose a dark purple. What I didn't know was that this was a new and popular colour, and even if I ordered the yarn in a normal good time, I got it three weeks late.. And then I needed some measurements, but since my friend lives a bit far from where I live we don't meet very often.

And today it's her birthday, I got her measurements and yarn, so now I only got to start and finish the present. A bit late, but it's coming.

Thank you for your patience!

Sincerely

Mrs von Kvenna

Rainy days

This is a typical rainy day. I woke up in the morning looked outside and it was dark and the rain was pouring down. My plan to paint cupboard doors outside then got cancelled and the only thing left is laundry and some cooking in the afternoon. The laundry is now left with the machines, but what should I do with the rest of my day?

I have lots of projects that would be nice to play with, but since my husband is sleeping in my study it's hard do get to the equipment I need. So, nothing involving sewing machines, painting or crafting are possible.

Colouring books

When you have worked in a kindergarten for a while you will start to take colour from it. In the beginning I was a bit uneasy around the children since I had very little experience with toddlers and small children. It didn't take to long before I was cured, but I still think it's hard to know what to do in some difficult situations, and what action is proper for each situation.

But after a while you get into the children's activities, like colouring. Since I'm a arts and crafts teacher I love to make things, drawing, painting and so on. But I've always thought colouring is a bit dull. Now, I think that was because I hadn't been introduced to the right colouring books.

New beginning

After a year with lots of new experiences, I felt the need to redo myself.

I've got a whole list of reasons -     Got married
                                                    Lost both of my grandmothers
                                                    Started on my masters project
                                                    Quit my masters project
                                                    Did nothing for two months
                                                    Started working in a  kindergarten, a primary school and high school

All this led to a new perspective on life. Now I'm relaxed and happy. Before was I stressed out because I did not now if I could get a job since I've never worked always studied. But now I know, there is always a need for teachers, and that's good for me since I'm a teacher.

Also decided to start my masters project again with new energy and relaxed attitude. My problem have been that I want to do things perfect. What I've learned is that you don't have to do EVERYTHING, but do the most important and do that well. I have to remind myself that often.

Therefor a new blog to the new beginning.

Sincerely

Mrs von Kvenna