It’s been snowing for 24 hours, we’ve got 15 centimeters of the stuff, on top of the 25 centimeters that were left of what we’d had before.

The daffodil sprouts are buried, in fact, everything is buried, and our roof, that was clear, is now white again. The birds are still chirping away – silly things, they don’t know what’s in store.

In this context, it’s easy to dream of something completely different. A hotel get-away, for example. Anyone free to look after our horses for a couple of weeks? (Brats too, please…)

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.

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.

As some of you may have managed to tweak out of my scribbles, I’ve now got 3 WAH jobs, not including blogging, which I’ll continue to call a hobby.
The jobs include Mystery Shopping (I’ve joined a second MS company too, that are quite big on Mystery Calling and service checks by email, so make that 4 jobs soon!), proof reading and translation.
Although WAH is a big market in Norway too, it’s also full of scammers and spammers, and people are getting quite sick of that – as well they should.
Add to that the MLM companies that many feel are ripping them off because let’s face it – we’re not all the great salesperson one needs to be to make it in MLM – and you’ve got a lot of people who just need to find out if there are genuine possibilities out there.

They also need to be told that a $5 “miracle e-book” just isn’t going to do it for them in 15 minutes. If that gravy-train ever existed (which I doubt), it’s long gone now.

Anyway – my ramblings with a purpose have hit a nerve, albeit a very small nerve (Norway is, at best, a niche market…), and I’ve had some search engine (Google) traffic for some related keywords.
This is where I’m going to be totally honest with you. Have I targeted those keywords, or even researched them? No. They emerged all by themselves, as the topics in the posts startet to take shape.

Another side effect is that the Adsense-ads have geared themselves towards the same keywords, and I guess it’s a fact of life that people will click on what interests them. So if I can interest you in a mini-statistics from Adsense:
I’ve earned 5 times as much so far in November on Adsense as I did in the whole of October, which means 5 times as many clicks on ads. That is in the whole of my “network” of blogs (how presumtuous is that…). The difference is the new blog, and the fact that it’s finding its voice.

Oh, and my October earnings were all of 51 cents. You do the maths for November. So it’s not as if I’ve found myself a genuine gravy-train or anything…

Now, when I say hunting lodge, do you think of a small timber building with a leaky roof and an open hearth? Not so. This was a castle, very well kept, set in a huge park, complete with its own chapel. Absolutely beautiful!

The girls got to see their grandmother, who didn’t feel up to attending the wedding, but who was all right, considering her age and situation. We were afraid she wouldn’t recognize us, but as it turned out, she’s quite lucid. She was so happy to see the girls, and it was lovely seeing her again.

We also got some shopping in. What I mean to say is: the girls got some shopping in. So many stores selling pygmy clothes, so little time! I think we went into every one of them. What they ended up with were stacks of CDs – and shoes. Not your Manolo Blahniks or the like (I just windowshopped for those – however beautiful, I could never pay $600 for a pair of pumps!), but the choice within the “normal” price range is very good over there too.

We managed a second visit to Grandmother before going back as well, and had a lovely few hours in town with the bride, groom and tiny bridesmaid. We got soaking wet on a regular basis (as you do in England), and had dinner with the girls uncle.

A busy few days, but very nice. The girls just love going over there – it makes their British genes feel at home, which they thoroughly enjoy. Their father would have had his 58th birthday today, and I know they’re thinking about him and of their recent trip to his home ground.

The weather forecast is for fishing weather, so we’re hoping for at least one mountain trout dinner…

It would be wonderful, but where to start the planning? (Not to mention all the blogging I’d have to do to finance it, but that’s another worry…) On my Internet surfing sprees, I’ve come across many many places I’d love to visit – many of them involving Sun & Sea. I’d never heard of Hilton Head Island in South Carolina before, for example, and Hilton Head rentals is certainly one to investigate – whether we’re talking family trip or romantic Mum&Dad vacation.
The States are riddled with wonderful places to go that I’ve never heard of, and planning a trip “over there” would be about finding as many of them as possible, putting them in a hat, and choosing a few. I’m all for going off the beaten track, but I don’t mind toddling along after hordes of tourists either from time to time – so I guess we’d go for a bit of both.

Back to financing. OK, so it won’t be this year. It would, however, be the trip of a lifetime, so we might as well spend some time planning it!

Cornwall is a part of the world I’d love to go back to, and if I were given a day there, I know exactly what I’d want to do…

After a hearty English breakfast at my oceanside B&B, I’d spend the first part of the morning at the Barbara Hepworth Museum in St.Ives. Her sculptures are so monumental and luscious – the kind you want to touch and feel – and it’s allowed. The museum is located in her former home, with a wonderful garden where her work is exhibited.

I’d then stroll around some of St.Ives’ many art galleries and artists’ studios, before picking up a generous helping of fish n’ chips at a local place I remember, close to Norway Square. I’d then steer away from the hungry seagulls in the harbour, and sit down in Norway Square with my lunch. If I’m very lucky, a troubadour or poet will be doing a reading or playing a few songs there…
After lunch, I’d cool off in the sea. St.Ives has at least 4 marvelous beaches, with names like Porthgwydden and Porthmeor… The latter is even a surfing beach on a good day, and it’s beautiful!

In the afternoon, I’d try to get to the Eden Project, that I haven’t seen before. As they say: “Welcome to our global garden: a place of beauty and wonder which explores humankind’s dependence on natural resources.”

At this point, I’d probably have to try to bargain with whoever gave me this day – I’d need at least another 6 Days out in Cornwall to get to see everything and enjoy it thoroughly…

In the evening, I’d try to get tickets to the Minack Theatre. It’s an open air theatre, the life work of Ms. Rowena Cade, and it’s breathtaking by day – I can only imagine what it must be like seeing an actual play there. It’s built on a cliffside, overlooking the sea, and totally at the mercy of the elements. Well worth a visit, and a place I will visit again, whether there’s a show on or not.

Oh – I’ve forgotten to eat. For my evening meal, before the Minack, I’d either explore the St.Ives waterfront and sample a nice looking restaurant, or go to one of the local pubs for “pub grub”. It’s Britain, after all.

Howz’at? Do I get a few more days? I’d love to go to Mullion Cove and Newlyn too, and I’ve never been to Penzance. As for the beaches – what’s a couple of hours there – they’re made for some serious sunbathing…

Anyway – I went the old route with my rental booking – via the Yellow Pages, since I needed the car that same day. With a little time to spare, I may well have gotten a better deal. At argusrentals.com, for example, there are thousands of car rental locations world wide – even here!

I think it would have been rather fun to book a car rental in my local town via a UK website – especially if I’d have got a better deal too…

Right now, they have great deals for Car Hire Spain – £11 per day in Alicante and Malaga – although I’d prefer to get out of the heat this time of year, and go to… say… Dublin, where I could have one for £12. Including unlimited mileage, which I didn’t get here…
Except, of course, for the fact that those weird Brits drive on the wrong side. Since closing your eyes while driving is considered bad form over there, I think I’d go for somewhere in mainland Europe.
My point? Eh – wherever you go, chances are you can rent a car from Argus. Happy Holidays!