7:15 this morning

I’m always posting pictures of sunsets and that’s because from my house, here on the southwest coast of Norway, I see a lot of them. Words can not describe how beautiful they are and so I take pictures almost every night to prove it.

What I can’t see from my windows is the sunrise. But this morning I saw something better, I saw the moon setting in daylight.

I really do need to get a better camera, because these pictures in no way do justice to this rare and beautiful sight…

Painting pictures

Nature is painting for us…

Day after day…

Pictures of infinite beauty.

by John Ruskin

Friendship

English tea and Norwegian chocolate, nothing goes better

It’s funny how people float in and out of our lives and while some stick others don’t.

After leaving America and moving to a small town in Norway twenty-four years ago, I met a family from England. I couldn’t speak Norwegian and there weren’t many expats or foreigners living in this area at the time. I felt lost, misplaced and longed for my family and friends back home. I was offered a job at a local school and that’s where I met this family. I’m not sure how I would have gotten through those first couple of years in Norway without them. Connected by the English language (their’s proper, mine not) we bonded and became fast friends and then suddenly they were gone.

I was heartbroken and didn’t know how I’d manage without them…

We kept in touch with an occasional phone call, Christmas cards and a handful of visits over the last twenty-four years. Our daughters have also challenged the years and miles, by remaining close. This past weekend, me, my daughter and granddaughter journeyed from Norway to England to visit them. It’s been at least ten years since we’ve seen each other last, but it felt as if we’d never been separated at all. We caught up on the present, reminisced over the past and made a promise to visit again soon.

As our granddaughters met and played for the very first time, I couldn’t help but marvel over the power of friendship.

A third generation of friendship

Mia & Khloe

I’d like to introduce you to my girls, Mia and Khloe, otherwise known as Trouble and Double Trouble. Only Kidding – well, maybe not. I do after all walk them almost everyday, pick up their you-know-what and clean their feet, so they don’t track dirt all over my house. This list could go on and on…

Khloe and Mia

What do I get in return from these two silky, little King Charles Spaniels – love. Endless and unconditional love. Whether I’m gone for ten days, or just ten minutes, they’re always at the door with wagging tails to greet me. They never leave my side and comfort me when I’m down. Keep me company when I’m alone and make me laugh when I’m sad. I guess I need them as much as they need me.

Khloe makes me laugh every time she sits

Mia thinks she’s a cat when trying to sit on the back the chair

Khloe collects bird feathers when we go for a walk

Mia loves to lie in the sun

The grandchildren love them too…

But most of all they love each other…

Sometimes it’s hard to see where one starts and the other one ends

A room with a view