Mother’s Got A Dot Com

#2 Car has been sick for a long time. The radiator was leaking. I tried to fix it with some radiatorfixing goo, and it worked for a while, but then it started gushing fluid. It turned out that it was absolutely perforated and rusted through in several places.

We weren’t going to invest huge sums in the old thing, but Brother-in-law volonteered to see what he could do. It must be said that he’s a Mercedes buff. The car is a 1986 Geländewagen – a great old thing, really, but as I said – 1986…

He did it! The other day, he delivered the car, with a non-leaking, refurbished radiator, and said it was good for another two years. And at an acceptable price, too. Yay! I like the thing, you see. Although it’s thirstier than an elephant on a hot day on the savanna, it runs like a dream, and for my use (to and from the shops and collecting kids from buses on sometimes very iffy roads) it’s perfect.

So – we won’t have to think about getting another old banger for a while. Which suits the overall economy just fine. BIL said he could get us a good price for the old dear when the time comes – he must know some weird enthousiasts…

This is where I surreptitiously insert the words motorcycle accident attorneys, in such a clever manner that no one is any the wiser, and then just go about my business as usual. I dare any of you to do that. I’ve been trying to figure out how for a week.

So – yes, we have a Mercedes. It’s got 9 seats (the main reason why we bought it), it slurps petrol, it’s lost various bits and pieces, and two of its windows can’t be opened. The same goes for the glove compartment – I hope I’ll never be pulled over and asked for the registration papers, because I just can’t get to them, and I’m getting too old for the silly blonde act. Not to mention that I’m not blonde.

But: it’s safe as houses (it would probably come away unscathed from a collision with anything, except perhaps a train or a huge lorry/truck thingy), it starts up even in the coldest of weathers, and the kids can eat ice cream in it in the summer without anyone yelling to mind the upholstry.  ‘eck – the dog can eat ice cream in it… It’s big, and in a bohemian kind of way – quite cool.

For the slideshow, click the link or the picture.

This is our life at the moment. And it’s snowing again. I’m sure I’ll see Hubby again some time a bit closer to April – he’s on snow clearing duty, and has been for 9 hours. He hopes to be home for lunch tomorrow – 12 more hours from now.

Our weekend is snowed over, you might say.

#3 Brat has severe acne problems. From what I’ve seen after his 2 week stint in the jungle (and 3 days of sun and Pacific Ocean dipping), the very best of acne treatments is just that: Sun and sea. Off with the shirts, on with the shorts.
He’s not cured. Far from it. What’s more, he’ll always be scarred, but the improvement is significant. Sadly, the amount of Pacific dipping we get over here is negligeable. If I can get him to see the improvement himself though, I might be able to coax him into letting the sun do its thing on him during the summer. (We have summer. It’s short, but pleasant – sometimes). I understand the self-consciousness, and the need to hide himself, but I hope he can rise above that, at least when only the family is here.

He gets treatment – homeopathic pills of various descriptions. They have an effect too, but it’s slow compared to the sun and the sea.

Oh, dear. I just googled acne, and found a site that sells anabolic steroids. They also give a list of possible side effects – acne being the least worrisome of the lot. They provide a solution for the “most feared side-effect”, though, which is feminization. The solution is more drugs. Excessive levels of testosterone converting to estrogen is combated by ingesting anti-estrogen. Charming.

(Most feared??? How about heart failure, strokes, liver failure, immune system failure? No probs, as long as you don’t develop breasts???)

Anyway. #3 Brat is in the clear. He’s just a teen with runaway hormones.

#3 Brat is safely home from Ecuador. He had a smashing time, and he’s full of stories and experiences. Like having an ant’s mound in the shower, seeing the Amazon, being south of the Equator, and seeing first hand that there are people who have to do without most of the things we believe to be necessities.
He also had a bout of altitude-sickness, but managed to steer clear of stomach bugs. And I don’t think he’d mind it if he were never to eat rice again…

He did well on the shopping, too – bringing gifts for everyone, which is quite an achievement for a boy of 17. He enjoys it though, and he also managed to bring back a proper machete knife for himself, something he’s dreamed about for a long time. (We did emphasize that he should never, ever try to put anything sharp in his hand luggage, because it would be taken away. At best. Luckily for him – he listened.)

By the way – have you ever gotten a boy back after two weeks in the jungle? Topped off with a 30-hour trip home? The poor fellow took his shoes off when he came through the door. Within 5 minutes, we were all gasping for air, ready to call the paramedics and pest control people. The shoes were put outside the door. In -22° Celcius. They have now (after 4 days in the cold and the snow) been tentatively allowed inside.

So far, we’re all doing OK.

I recorded these little videoclips on Sunday, when we invited a few people over for charcoaled sausages and fun in the snow.
We had a fire going, and hot cocoa – there was sledding and skiing – a lot of fun!

Oh, and if you think the lighting is bad – Saturday, when we planned this, was a day of blazing sunshine. So – we dug out a spot in the snow – just where the sun would be shining the longest. On came Sunday, with not a ray of sunshine all day. We were in luck though – no wind, and it was quite mild.

Just disregard the Norwegian chatting in the background… or turn the sound down.

Must post some pics too – they’re from my cell (as are the videos), so they’re not great, but there you go – can’t have everything.

I promise nothing, but this may well be the last snow post of the season.

of the window to take this photo:

- and my head almost fell off.

Can you see how cold it is? I’ll tell you if you can’t: it’s -22° Celcius. I don’t know if Fahrenheit even goes that low… (OK, I found a converter that would do minuses, and it says -7,6° Fahrenheit).

The sun is on it’s way up, but I doubt it’ll do much good today. #5 Brat was going to spend the day outdoors at school today, but I hope they’re sensible enough to cut it a bit shorter… She’s got a flask of cocoa with her, but by the time they get around to recess, I’m afraid it’ll have turned into an icicle.

#4 Brat, bless her heart, still insists on wearing her canvas Converse shoes. I suggested this morning that she at least bring a padded sitting mat to stand on, but it didn’t go down well. Mum’s got no sense of style – just boring old common sense. Nothing new under the bleak winter sun!

(Excuse me while I insert a link here – for free insurance quotes. I don’t know what other kinds there are – who’d want to pay to get a quote, anyway?)

Right – where was I? Oh, yes, Brats and the cold. #2 Brat is a sometime member of the “barebelly” squad. I didn’t see her this morning, as she left so early, but I hope she covered up today. #3 is on his way home from his school trip to Ecuador, and boy, is he in for a shock! I hope #1 Brat is somewhere warm – she’s in Oslo for a weekend of fun and games, and as for #6, he’s still snuggled up in his bed, blissfully unaware of most of life’s controversies, the cold included. He’s not too keen on this snow business – his legs are too short for 60 cms of the stuff.

Whose legs aren’t, come to think of it?

And this is what came out of it: proper winter!

But it sometimes provides good photo opps!

Update, 8pm: It’s still snowing. Same places, just a little darker:

I think we’re talking 20 inches here (50 cm).

I wonder if I should shovel the snow off this table… Just to make sure it doesn’t go right through my terrace boards! A shame, though – it looks like a lovely, iced cake. Naaa – I’ll see about that tomorrow.

We have quite a large yard in front of our house, that just screams for a tall, wide, well-proportioned tree. As a feature, and for shade on hot summer days.

Since we’re getting on, there’s a definite danger that all we’ll ever see is a spruce… Hubby’s set his heart on Oak, a tree that grows very slowly, but I’m afraid there’ll be just enough shade for the field mice in our lifetime. Elm trees, on the other hand, grow fast, and they’re beautiful too. Maybe I can get hubby ’round to planting one of those…

Come on, you say – you’re not that old… (keep it coming, keep it coming!), and that’s true. We can enjoy the tree of our choice while it’s growing, and find shade elsewhere. That’s true also. A fast-growing birch is lovely, but there’s so much wild birch around here – I’d love something different. I wonder if Elm can do cold temperatures. Very cold sometimes. I know there are some very old specimens around in this country, but I’d rather not have to build a house for the thing in winter. If not, I’ll be canvassing for Elm…

A cup of coffee so strong it turns your stomach lining to mush, a house that’s quiet because everyone is gone and Miracle Boy is sleeping still, a nice glow from the fire and the window to the world (Internet) wide open – what more could a girl want?

Good morning, everyone!

Today, I’m going to get my easel down from the attic, and set it up for silk painting. It’s been years, and I’m so looking forward to it. I’ve bought some Dupioni silk from Fabric.com
(It’s a US company, and they’ve got some great deals on all sorts of fabric, even if you take the super-expensive shipping to Norway into account), and if it lends itself well to be painted on, I’ll be a regular customer.

Not that I’ve got any definite ideas yet – I guess I’ll just let the colors flow to begin with, and move on to patterns as I go. I’ll definitely be taking photos… and posting them if I’m happy with the result.

I’ve muscled in on some of the furniture in this place, you see, and created a little space for myself. It’s not permanent, but at least I can get my easel up now without everybody tripping over it.

What else? Oh, yes – I’ve hardly seen hubby for the past week, he’s been working day and night moving snow around, and when he’s been here, he’s slept… We did manage to get to our evening class on Monday though – a class that’s meant to prepare us somewhat for “green care”. What that means is that we’ve finally taken the first official babysteps towards doing what we want to do on this farm – taking in a few less fortunate people, and giving them a more meaningful life via what a rural setting has to offer.

Now, that wasn’t very clear, was it? To start with, we would like to work with the elderly. There are so many elderly people who are downright lonely. Nothing gets you mentally downhill faster than isolation and boredom, so we figure we could make a difference.

Before you go all ooh and aah – it’s not totally altruistic – we want to do this as a business. If we can make the powers that be understand that if people are kept mentally and physically sound, they’re likely to need less (expensive) care. If we can also get them to see that what we can offer is a small investment in comparison, that’s when we’ll be able to do this. As a bonus, of course – it’s something we would love working with.

Anyone able-bodied and interested could toddle along with hubby outdoors, with the animals, the wood-chopping and the budding potatoes, while the rest of us indoors were busy with our crafts projects and making lunch for everyone. With plenty of coffee breaks and waffles, nice conversations and a social ground that many would recognize from their younger days. A break from the “storage facilities” that old people’s homes are…

Anyway. That’s what we’re learning. How to make a plan and market it, and to whom. I’ve made another blog about the project, and with all my searching the ‘Net for info, it’s turning into an information bank that I hope will be of help to other people in time. (Yes, it’s starting at the wrong end, but it helps me to sort out my thoughts! And keep track of relevant websites).

That’s all, I think – except that #3Brat is off to Ecuador on his school trip tomorrow, and has been getting more jitterish every day!!! He’s been packing for weeks, planning his trip and his purchases, making sure his passport is in place, taking shots, lining his stomach with bio-yoghurt… It’s quite obvious that he’s hubby’s son. I’d be packing some time this evening if I were going tomorrow, and get my passport out just before leaving. And hubby would be beside himself. Genes. Can’t argue with them.