So About That Mountain Hike…..

I had gotten four hours of sleep when Stig came into the bedroom and I started to try and awake from what was a very delightful and much needed rest. He told me to lay back down and sleep and we’d hike another time…sleep was more important and well, to be honest…I couldn’t argue with him….so sleep I did.

When I awoke I took a walk around my yard…that counts too doesn’t it? Come on, I’ll show you what I saw…

My beautiful peony bush is in full bloom…isn’t she lovely!

Wish my gardening knowledge was enough to tell you what these plants are but I can’t….but aren’t they cute anyways? Just love these little bursts of sunshine….

Check out those orange poppies they are all over the place!!!

Oh hey there pretty lady….what’s up? What? You want dinner? Ok, tell your dad to fire up the grill and I’ll go make some pasta salad….

A great pasta salad that goes wonderfully with any grill food and is super easy to make, you can add and subtract on this recipe as you would like. I personally would have loved some cherry tomatoes in this but my kids refused to try it if put them in there so this is without cherry tomatoes.

Cook up any ol’ pasta you’d like, I used multi colour screw pasta (and yeah- I know I’m writing U’s in my color word…I’ve been over here too long)

I cut up one carrot nice and fine…

Cut up some red pepper nice and fine also…

about a half a cup of finely chopped spring onion

I bought one nice plump mozerella ball, drained the water and cut it into small pieces and tossed it in…

Here in Norway we can get garlic mayonaise which I used- but you can make garlic mayonaise by using regular mayonaise and adding finely chopped garlic to it…I mixed in almost one whole bottle of the garlic mayonaise which would maybe be about 1 cup?

Then you can never have too much garlic- I added some garlic pepper and garlic salt…not too much but enough too give it a yummy garlic flavor to this salad…MIX and CHILL then serve. We had this with some grilled steak and garlic bread…YUM…

Until next time my friends….

Happy Father’s Day

Any man can be a father.  It takes someone special to be a dad.  ~Author Unknown

All my life I would have to say I was closer to my Mom then my Dad…My Dad was great, don’t get me wrong, but he was the funny guy….the playmate…the bread winner, not the one I went too about personal stuff unless it had to do with my mom.

However, in the process of my mother’s illness, I spent a lot of time talking with my dad. I enjoyed getting to know the guy I called Dad and enjoyed all of our conversations and feeling as if we were getting closer then we had ever been before.

When my mom passed my family fell apart. We dealt with our sorrow in different ways and at some points it felt like we would never get back to that warm family feeling again…but thankfully we didn’t give up on each other completely and we have found our way back to each other and we’re facing the future together as a family.

I’m looking forward to the years ahead and getting to know my Dad even more and sharing things with him and learning from him. Laughing with him and crying with him….knowing all along that my Dad’s love is there for me always and forever.

I love you Dad…..

Her First “Big” Purchase

Today Julia made her first “big” purchase…..

When all of her guy friends were getting mopeds Julia couldn’t be left in the dust…so together with her confirmation money she got, she bought this little baby…and of course had to take it to show her buddies right away. Her one friend had also gotten one for his confirmation money but it was already in the shop needing repairs and wouldn’t be ready for a couple more weeks. Another boy bought one exactly like Julia’s only a little newer and Julia said she raced him and her bike was faster then his! Hahaha…You know, I’ve never thought about motorcycles as anything I could think to sit on the back of, let alone drive….but I am kinda in awe of Julia’s coolness with her bike and this shared bond she has with her dad over bikes. I love that she is more adventuresome then me. I love adventure but only as long as I know it’s completely safe…I don’t like to take chances.

I like to smell the roses in life…..or poppys…..

Our passat has lost it’s place in the garage to our ever growing collection of motorcycles and ATVs….we will definitely have to figure out a new parking strategy for these two (and four) wheel wonders so the passat can get back in the garage.

Look who is opening their eyes…

There is a very small part of me that worries about the sound level of these 12 once they can see us properly and hear us and they can know when they are left alone and when we are there. I am trying to think where we will put them and I’m thinking more and more we will have to move them up to our bathroom- the tile floors and spacious bathroom will give them a safe place to play and sleep and if they wee or poo it will be easy cleaning. Oh the fun that lies ahead…

Tomorrow Stig and I are going to take a hike in the mountains near Lillehammer while Sarah attends an agility class. I’m really looking forward to going up in the mountains, my only concern is the lack of sleep one or both of us will get tonight as we have to split the night shift so that Julia will be awake to watch the pups while we three head up toward Lillehammer…oh well, if you don’t hear from me in a couple days I’ve probably fell asleep up in the mountains- but don’t worry……I’ll be back!

Until next time my friends….

Rain Showers and Garden Blooms

I often get the feeling when I write a post like yesterday that I’m coming across as a very depressed person, which I’m not. But I am constantly evaluating life and I do my very best to focus on the positive rather then the negative. But the negative is part of the package and I guess you could say, you have to stand the rain showers if you want a beautiful garden….

And oh how my garden grows and shines after a rain shower….

I think it’s easy to be the victim when life gives you rain showers….it’s easy to feel you’re “drowning” in the rains…but when you choose to focus on the positives around you, you become a stronger person and your “garden” grows, flourishes and is beautiful.

I love this time of year, the warm sun on your face…going barefoot, how great a cool drink feels going down your throat on a warm summer day. I was invited out on a walk today with two dear friends and it was so great to get out and walk and talk…I haven’t seen them in what feels like forever. The sun was warm and we had a lesiurely gait, the dogs walked nicely and we had such a great time catching up that we hardly noticed the annoying horse flies that swarmed around us on the majority of the walk.

When I got back from my walk, I looked around my garden and saw that my beloved peony has bloomed and it looks as beautiful as I imagined…several other blooms on the plant are getting ready to open. One thing I noticed on my walk with my friends was all the lilacs in bloom everywhere…the entire walk was perfumed with their sweet smell. I will have to remember my camera next time, several bushes were just covered in blooms. I think mine haven’t bloomed as much since the Captain cut them down- but next year should be awesome.

I’ll leave you with a positive sight that brings a smile to my face all the time these days and I hope she brings a smile to your face also…

Until next time my friends……

A Longing For Something….

It has to be the lack of sleep that is making me so emotional these days but I feel like crying….I don’t know why….there isn’t anything to cry about really…I just feel like it…but I haven’t cried- I can’t force the tears to come but the other day when I had my gall stone attack the pain hurt so bad and I cried…but I cried more then neccessary…just needed to cry…it felt good….ever felt that way?

Was looking around You Tube and came across some classics from my childhood that brought a smile to my face…do any of these ring a bell for any of you?

Did you know the Pointer Sisters sang that song above? I never did…but hey, I was a kid…I didn’t care…just liked the tune….hehehe…

Heck I could probably add 50 more videos here from shows and things I grew up with….but I’ll spare ya…if you’ve lasted this long through this post- God Bless Ya…

Perhaps I’m yearning for another time….knowing going back in time is impossible and yet still wishing it could happen….what seemed like a simple time in my life…without worries…do you ever wish you could go back in time?

I’m excited about the future also, but it’s unknown…scary…the past holds warm memories, happy times, family memories, moments and happenings that made me who I am today…it’s comfortable, the past….and I miss it…

I’m missing my mom a lot tonight also….with all my thoughts of the past running through my head- moments with her dominat my thoughts…I guess that is normal…and I’ll be ok…these are things I have to get use too…dealing with the memories of my mom and knowing that no matter how much I miss her I’ll never get her back…but I thankfully have all those wonderful (and sometimes not so wonderful) memories of my life with her…my beginning with her….

Until next time my friends….

Toy Maker

Got a chance to sneak away from the babies today for a little bit. While Sarah watched the babies I went with Stig and Julia to Lillehammer to pick up his motorcycle. We were seriously like three kids in a candy store when we went into the motorcycle shop. Of course Julia and Stig are the more hardcore bikers in the group- they loved EVERYTHING in the store….me, I clung to the four wheelers…they are fun and in my opinion safer then the two wheelers…

After we picked up Stig’s bike, Julia bought herself a MC Jacket and Stig got a helmet and they drove the bike home and I went and did some shopping. Was looking for toys for the pups and collars but everything was so expensive and with 12 pups I would have been bankrupt if I had to pay 110 Norwegian kroner per collar and then turn around in a couple weeks and get them new collars again. So I bought some yarn and now everyone is marked and has some new colours- but we know who they all are again!!

I remembered a tip I heard online about making some toys for the pups- using fleece blankets that I cut in strips and then braid and make some knots and voila- TOYS!! It’s still a couple weeks until they play with toys but I’m sure by the time they leave these will be well played with toys….maybe I’ll make some more to send with each pup in their puppy package I make up and send with each pup? Hmmm…

Below are the toys…it wasn’t rocket science but I was proud of myself!!

Yeah they are still sleeping in funny positions…

Like I said it will be a couple weeks before they are playing….so I’m enjoying the quiet before the storm…isn’t a pile of puppies just wonderful to look at?

Until next time my friends….

Getting Out

There is only so much you can see from the puppy box and don’t get me wrong….I can never get tired of seeing this..

And occasionally when looking out the window here by the sofa I can see this…

However, I needed to get out…look around my garden some…everything is just about to burst open…some things are at the end of their bloom and are withering but others are just beginning…and the rains of recent have helped everything grow in leaps and bounds…which is why you won’t see full views of the garden because it’s a jungle…but I’ve picked out a few lovelies to share with you..

Remember the lilacs I didn’t think would come this year….they came…not a lot but enough to enjoy the sweet smell and beautiful colours…

And my favourite flower, the peony, is just about to burst open…she’s got tons of buds on her so it’s very exciting and my little peony plants I planted last year are growing also and one even has a tiny tiny bud on it…so if it opens you’ll see it…and of course when this sweetheart opens in full you’ll see more of this lovely plant. I just love the romantic essence of the peony…

I wish all of you a wonderful Monday…a super week, and loads of happiness…

Until next time my friends…

Favourite Sleeping Positions

It’s been raining for days and my garden has exploded in a rainbow of colours. I’d love to shower you with photos from my garden but I’ve been inside with the puppies making sure mom doesn’t roll over on them. Otherwise everything is great with the babies and they are all growing strong and healthy which is such a relief and change from last year where we struggled desperately to keep those babies alive and thriving.

Redman has left for his new home yesterday and it was a mix of feelings. I KNOW I couldn’t provide him with what he needed of time and energy…his problems were too big to deal with when I have so many other dogs so I HAD to find someone, but to trust someone again with your beloved fur baby after you’ve been disappointed twice before is hard. His new owners seem great and are ready for the challenge we call Redman! So I’m crossing my fingers that he has finally found the forever home he deserves and that when I see him again he will be a more balanced and happy boy.

Otherwise I’ve been trying to find a sleeping position I love but I just can’t decide…..what do you think? Which one is your favourite?

Until next time my friends…..