The Count Down Begins..

There are exactly three working days left until I will be on vacation for four weeks!

I always have such great intentions when I have free for such a long period of time...actually I don´t recall the last time I have had free for such a long period of time in one stretch, I have never taken four weeks vacation in one stretch. Usually two or three...but anytime I have a good amount of time off I have great intentions about all the things I will do with my free time.

This time is no exception. Remember the paint I bought way back when to paint Thomas and Julia´s bedrooms? Still haven´t done that so I hope to get that done this summer. My bird houses Thomas was going to make me, which I got all the material for, that will now be a project for the Captain and Thomas to do together this summer.

I want to get my lawn mower working again so I can get control over the jungle here around my house. When the grass is growing up around my picnic tables and you can´t see the beautiful flowers blooming because the grass is too high, it just ruins the whole feel of summer..

This one doesn´t mind the high grass...and no, that isn´t my yard but might as well be...the grass is just as tall!!

I was given a secret mission by my boss to take photos of everyone I work with...I can´t write here why either as some of my coworkers might be reading..but it was a lot of fun to take photos of everyone. I work with such beautiful people- they will all deny that they are beautiful but beauty isn´t just on the outside, the greatest beauty is on the inside and my coworkers shine...I just wish they could see for themselves how much! The children also wanted their photos taken as I was walking around taking photos of the adults...what little photo hogs these kids can be!!! hahahaha...Oh I´m joking, they are adorable and some of my favourite photo subjects next to nature and animals. I especially like to capture them when they don´t know I`m photographing them because the moment they see the camera they give me these hillarious poses which are funny but quite fake! Again, I´d love to share photos with you but without permission from the parents I won´t.

What I can share with you is the photo I entered in the local newspaper´s summer photo contest. Each week they will pick out a winner and then all the weekly winners will compete for a grand prize of 3000 Norwegian kroner and second place gets 1500 Kroner. The photo I took below won the first week´s round of photos...I´m so proud!

This is taken next to Hoel Gård (Hoel Farm) which is located on Nes and this is looking toward Helgøya where we live and the water is the lake Mjøsa, Norway´s biggest lake.

What I can also share with you is a cream cheese mixture I made to use on bread or crackers. It is light and delicious and super easy. No recipe used here just my own little fantasy. Went down to my very own little kitchen garden and cut dill, chives, and some parsely and finely chopped these and put them in with some light cream cheese from Philadelphia and added some finely chopped smoked salmon and voila...

I also added some spring onions to this, finely chopped, garlic would also have been great here...just didn´t think about it when I made this..but since I still have some left and I do have garlic in the fridge, might be trying that out...yum yum...

My Beara has left for a week at the music festival Hove which is down in the south of Norway outside a place called Arendal.

She is spending the week with two girlfriends, one of which is an American exchange student this year. They are volunteers at the festival so they work two days and get free pass for the whole week- a pretty nice deal. Sarah got trash duty...which she is ok with. She has worked and paid for her overnighting and travel to and from the festival herself. She went to this festival last year with her boyfriend not as volunteers but just as spectators and had a great time but there was a comfort that she was with her boyfriend who is such a tall strong fella and could look after her. I am more concerned this year as she and her girlfriends are by themselves but they are smart girls so hopefully my worries are for nothing. She will be coming back on Saturday but we are leaving Friday for a dog show and won´t be back until Sunday. We don´t really have anything to show but several of my puppies from my last litter will be there so we are mostly going to visit them. We will show Shakira and Jackson just for the fun of it. Both are completely naked (no fur as their coat shed for the summer) and skinny...too bad naked and skinny aren´t part of the breed standard...hahahaha...oh well...the countryside is beautiful so we are looking forward to the trip itself more then anything.

When I look around at some interior blogs I am finding a lot of Green Gate products, everything from textiles, to cups, bowls, milk jugs, everything...and the patterns are adorable and probably mixable if you aren´t hung up on everything matching...however, I don´t know what to choose first when I am thinking of starting to collect some Green Gate...so while I was visiting a cute little shop in Brumunddal the other day I found a couple napkins to have in my bread baskets...they were 30% off so I figured starting my collection with sale items was a pretty good start...

If you collect Green Gate do you mix and match or do you shop just one pattern and which pattern do you like best?

The Captain arrives home in four days and we will be doing some travelling shortly after he gets home, so I will probably be blogging less then I do now...but be patient with me folks, I´ll be back- I promise!

Have a lovely Sunday everyone...

Until next time my friends..

Sometimes What You Are Looking For In Life Is Right In Front Of You..

A short while ago I was talking about wanting to become a mountain lady...learn to hike and become one with nature. Ok, maybe I didn´t exactly put it like that...but getting in touch with nature was high on my to-do list. I have been using the community hike challenge in order to discover beautiful places to hike and get in touch with nature but you know what? I didn´t really have to look much further then my own backyard....

From my favourite movie, The Wizard Of Oz, when Dorothy is asked what she has learned she responds, "If I ever go looking for my heart´s desire again, I won´t look any further then my own backyard. Because if it isn´t there, then I never really lost it to begin with."

"Oh Auntie Em....there´s no place like home!!"

"My friend, a heart is not judged by how much you love, but by how much you are loved by others.."

I appreciate all the sleep advice I got on my last post...I actually put one of the suggestions in practice last night and turned off the computer an hour and a half before bedtime and I read some...just a magazine because I was being entertained by my children who thought it was fun to draw eyes on the bottom of their chin and then lay upside down with a cover over their face, so their chin became a face and their upside down mouth was the very weird mouth to the creature their chin was suppose to be, I didn´t get pictures so you´ll have to trust me on this one when I say it was very.....artistic....they are such creative little buggers...wonder where they get that from...

Eh hem.......don´t look at me!!!! It´s probably their father.....

In two weeks my vacation starts and I am so looking forward to four weeks of doing anything and nothing- but most importantly what I want!!!

Four weeks to take more walks in the beautiful woods around my house with my furry friends...

Time to try out some yummy new recipes like this one....

This was yesterday´s dinner, Spicy Honey Chicken Thighs. You can find the recipe HERE.

I look forward to taking a road trip or two with my honey and kiddos....

Or just having time to do like Ferdinand the Bull....and smell the beautiful summer flowers...

What are you looking forward to this summer vacation?

As always, I am grateful for those of you who take time to stop by and read about my humble life and for those of you who leave a comment I send you an big warm hug...can´t tell you how happy those comments make me :-))

Until next time my friends....

Calling All Chickens

Yesterday and today we are trying out some new chicken recipes and if tonight´s recipe tastes half as good as last nights...then we are on track for two family favourites here.

Last night I made Bacon and Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken Filets

You can find the recipe HERE.

Now, at the risk of exposing the less intelligent side of myself I have to tell you I was frustrated....only for a few minutes mind you....as to where I´d get goat´s cheese...then I realized goat´s cheese is also feta cheese...duh...and there is loads of feta cheese in stores around here! As you are only suppose to use 1 slice of bacon in this recipe (I used 2) I had some leftover bacon which I decided to wrap around our asparagus- YUM. If you want to make this meal even healthier you could drop the potatoes and do a big salad or rice perhaps....however, everything I am reading these days says potatoes are better for you then rice...so maybe you can just kick back and enjoy your potatoes without worry? We did :-) This is definitely a meal to try out if you are looking for a good chicken recipe. The chicken was so tender and moist and the stuffing flavors perfect with the chicken. Mmmmmm Mmmmm Mmmmm and I think that says it all about what I thought of that recipe!

For desert I cheated. I was going to bake a chocolate cake. As I wandered the isles of ICA Maxi in Hamar I came across Betty Crocker. My old cooking friend from the states....the lady who helped me with all my baking needs before I learned to bake on my own.

Now admittedly homemade is the very best you can get, hands down. There is no contest. However, homemade takes time...loving time...for your heart and soul to wield it´s magic in the kitchen you can not be rushed....so if you are in a hurry or just don´t feel like putting your heart and soul into something you can cheat like I did and get Betty to help you and you will get fairly decent results. The cake was moist and very rich (you´ll need some milk or ice cream to go with this baby) but I couldn´t help thinking....I could make something better...with that said..everyone enjoyed their cake and it was fun catching up with Betty again after so many years...

I am struggling with sleep these days. Not sure exactly why but I have some ideas. Never the less, it is coloring my thoughts and actions in very negative ways. I have been moody and a tad depressed...anti-social and just bah humbugy...It started when I had several free days in a row. I started staying up incredibly late talking with family on the internet and surfing around. Then I would wake early because either a child wasn´t done with school or I had to go to work or something...so late nights and early mornings were going hand in hand there for awhile and I am seeing this bad pattern especially on my days off. So with four weeks of vacation coming up in July I don´t want to be a walking zombie...so I am reading up on sleep tips and trying to figure out how to beat my body´s messed up system. What is your best tips for getting some Zzzzz´s when they aren´t coming easily?

If only we could all sleep as peacefully and as well as this lady.

Today is my Classic Song litter´s 2nd birthday. My very first leonberger litter came 2 years ago and it was such an exciting and scary time. I wanted to do everything right and everything that could go wrong went wrong. That just goes to show that life isn´t predictable and can´t be controlled...it happens and you either go with the flow or sink...thankfully we went with the flow and four happy sweet pups grew up to be the beautiful dogs they are today...one is living happily in Japan, another lives happily in Oslo, and the princess of the group lives a wonderful happy life in Gausdal and this big bear lives a happy life with us....

Happy Birthday Bently, Shakira, Sou, and Redman!!

One of the neat things about living in the woods is all the beautiful nature around you...meeting the wild animals that happen past your house like foxes...

And deer....

And sometimes you get to witness them meeting each other...like we did yesterday morning at breakfast....

These two watched each other for about a minute then the fox tried to run past the deer...the deer actually followed but just as he turned the corner down in the field, he turned again and came back up toward the house and then turned and went into the woods another way. Perhaps they were playing a game? It would all be speculation but it is fun to watch how they interacted together. Sorry I didn´t have a better zoom on my lens so I could have gotten better photos but maybe you get the idea?

Despite the lack of sunshine we are having here I think we might try another hike today. I will have to ask the gang when they wake up. In the meantime, I wish you all the very best Sunday!! If you are interested click the link on the right side of my page above followers and visit my daughter, Sarah´s blog. She is having a wonderful giveaway with some beautiful turquoise jewelry which she will send anywhere in the world to the lucky winner! So check it out!

Until next time my friends....

Beautiful Beliefs….

Families are the compass that guide us. They are the inspiration to reach great heights, and our comfort when we occasionally falter.
-- Brad Henry

Family faces are magic mirrors looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present, and future.
-- Gail Lumet Buckley

A happy family is but an earlier heaven.
-- John Bowring

Julia graduated from the 10th grade last night which is the last required year of school in Norway. I was so proud of her and the young woman she is becoming. She now stands at a cross road with so many choices before her. The Captain and I will continue to do our best to support her and help her make the right decisions for her. She has an incredible talent which unfortunately doesn`t come through in this video like it did in person…she sang Chris Medina`s song, What Are Words, during the entertainment part of yesterday`s ceremony. I have to admit I was nervous. I have heard her sing before and always been impressed but this is a popular song with some high notes and I hadn`t heard her practice at all…so I wondered if she would remember the words? Would she hit the notes? Would she be ok? What would everyone think of her? Thankfully all my worries were put to rest as she sang and I was left with such a feeling of pride and astonishment that such a talent came from me and the Captain…I mean, I have heard us sing and well….let`s just say our sound is unique and shouldn`t be shared with the world and I don`t know anyone else in our families who sing..so this is truly a beautiful surprise! I wish she would pursue singing, even if only as a hobby, but she doesn`t feel confident in herself and her talent and agrees to perfom only once in a blue moon anymore. If I could give her anything in the future it would be confidence in herself- no matter what she chooses to do..I`ll be a happy mamma if I can give her that…

Made a lovely dinner the other night…so simple. However, that was the beauty of the dish, simplicty with wonderful flavor…

You can find the recipe HERE.
Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching. and live like it's heaven on earth.
Mark Twain
Until next time my friends…..

Floods And Dinner

I am back on my Mac...was on my way to take it in to the shop yesterday when I thought, I´ll just try this cord one more time to make sure it really isn´t charging, I mean the day I found out it wasn´t charging I tried several different electricity outlets, I tried taking it out and in and wiggling it, but no lights, no charge. However, yesterday, upon plugging in the charger the light came on to indicate it was charging!!! Isn´t that just typical? I was so angry and relieved at the same time! So here we are..Mac and Me...

We have been having loads of rain lately and the snow in the mountains are melting so our rivers and creeks and the beautiful Mjøsa lake are filling up fast! About an hour north of us (and beyond) they have had massive flooding and homes, crops, and roads are ruined. The Captain who is sitting on a boat down in Brazil wanted to see what it looked like around here, so last night Julia and I went down and took some photos of the marina and the park where they just recently had the caravan get together I showed you pictures of...the water is extremely high but it didn´t stop a ninth grade class from having their end of year camping trip in the park as planned...they just didn´t have to go very far from their tents to the water to fish!!

People were wading out to their boats as the docks were under water at the marina..

And the recently remodeled Marina cafe can´t be used right now as you would have to swim to get in there and it´s highly recommended you don´t swim after a good meal, which would mean we´d all be forced to stay there a long while after our baked potatoes, drinking beer or something like that and well.....drinking and swimming probably don´t mix either...so no cafe right now..

Here are some more views of the flooding, this time from the Tingnes side of the bridge..

I love how green everything is around here...it just makes the other colors surrounding the green just pop! Really nice! While we stood down by the water we also experienced a lovely sunset..Mother Nature really can really shine when she wants too..

On our way back up to the house we passed this guy...

I have passed this guy several times while walking the leos and thankfully they haven´t seen him when we have walked. The grass is so tall so he hides and all you can see is his head generally...he watches us pass him and then prances off into the woods..they are pretty aren´t they? This little guy does drive me mad though when he begins his "barking" out in the woods early in the morning or in the middle of the night. Not sure if it is a mating call or what it is, but when you live as isolated as we do and everything is generally very quiet here, any noise will wake you up..and his barking- which is what it sounds like- is very annoying at times!!

Dinner tonight was this:

Which you can find the recipe for HERE. This is fettuccine with scallops and a buttery pea sauce. Say it with me people- YUM! Of course my sauce looks runnier then the one in the recipe because I was so hungry I couldn´t wait for the 1 cup of white wine to cook down to 2 tablespoons, so there was probably 3 or 4 tablespoons by the time I said enough was enough and went on to the next step in the recipe! But never the less the taste was sooo good! Next time though I think I will buy better quality scallops, I got these at Kiwi which is a decent priced grocery store here but these came out of a freezer section instead of a fresh fish counter and they were small....

Thanks for stopping by everyone!

Until next time my friends...