Slow days

These are the days when summer has made its exit and fall enters

a slower pace

Fewer outdoor projects and plans are in a rush to be done

Removing window screen, washing windows
 fall curtains ironed ready to be hung insulating against the Montana cold.

Canadian geese overhead
Starlit mornings

Breakfast by candle light 

A dusting of snow on the mountain
 colder days are ahead
 we are all waiting
 flowers in the garden lean towards the sunlight
holding on to the smattering of warm days left

But for now we enjoy slow days sitting by the fire with hot tea reading

 the routine of it all sets in

time to relax into it and enjoy slower days

Yarn Studio

When we moved to Montana with 3 small children which I mostly homeschooled, life was full. Then number four showed up- life became even busier. As they grow up and move out to college, I have started the whole empty nest syndrome thing which is pretty terrifying and sad for parents, or at least for me, as my children were such a big part of my life.

On the side to earn a little extra income during the child rearing years I was a freelance maternity and baby photographer- however scheduling clients with my big family became tricky. It was tough making it all work.

 Then one day on the North shore of Kauai I sat on the beach and told my husband I wanted to spin and dye my own yarn....and there it was.

That's how it all started 10 years ago. Changed my life.

Since then I have worked from my upstairs studio and dyeing in the kitchen or outside weather permitting. Having more time on my hands I can now commit so much more time to this hobby/ part time work - so we built a studio where I could dream, create and be messy.

I've tried to think of as many things as possible to make this space ergonomic and useful. We have used inexpensive materials and reused as much material possible too. This is my counter and sink. To the left is the space for the stove that will hopefully arrive sometime this week. Shelving that has been built with repurposed wood to hold the dyes. All trim are from old jobs sites when Pierre worked as a carpenter.

It sits just right off the house so the commute is pretty short- even on blizzardy Montana wintry days.. I can still make it in to work! There is more to be done but I am so grateful and excited. I feel settled something that has taken me some time - dancing around my family, other peoples schedule and working in less then ideal areas. This is my space and that feels good.
More to come...

Of the north

Living in the north is a blessing

 mountains surrounding in every direction

 there is comfort in seeing the tips touching the sky

sometimes sheltered from the storms that roll in

 and from the world, mostly.

Montana can be a very lonely place, quiet if you let it

a place of solitude

 Of the north I grew up in the mountains and by the sea

 here I am fortunate to live in the mountains once again and the ocean is replaced now by lakes.

It still feels raw and untouched in some places

I climb the mountain.

These peaks offer fresh perspective and champagne air.

Removed from the sea of noise that people make,
 breathing deeply, listening to the wind whispering softly
as it caresses my cold face

In the midst of pines, moss and grass

it all grounds me and I feel part of the earth 

Surrounded by these huge mothers of mountains gazing down into the valley,
 in the distance I see the one we live under - how small I feel.

 a squall passes through in the west

 I have learned the art of storm bending in Big Sky
storms clear the mind
 and clears the slate

my compass led me to the north again

on this mountain I think I can see all the way to the Pacific if I stand on my tip toes

but I don't

   the wild of the ocean

  I miss

tucked far away in these blue mountains with the heavy skies above

a place I have grown to love with all my heart

Of the north
I stand tall today
grateful to be here

A new path

This spring I set out to explore

in much need of inspiration and creativity as I was feeling stagnate

 searching for a new path

I went  to university for a semester, studying psychology and fractal geometry (which was actually pretty tough)

Stepping outside my comfort zone really helped open my mind and heart

 but the shoe still didn't fit

 Early May I almost lost my horse Bella to colic- she had to go to the hospital for a week and lost over 200 lbs- which is pretty grave for a horse.

Nursing her back to health which included

medication and feeding her every 2 hours for the first 10 days,

talk about reliving mother hood all over again.

Bella is once again her happy horse self and gained all her weight back.

Panicked doesn't even describe what I went through.

Waves of gratitude washed over me that her life was saved.

 Amerced myself in a lovely summer here in Big Sky country- lots of swimming, sup boarding, floating on the rivers, fly-fishing and hiking with family and friends.

Summer is like an elixir

Hard when it abruptly comes to end.

Canadian geese fly over head reminding us the cooler weather is arriving 

and fall descend upon us once again in the mountains.

My oldest headed out to college in Missoula and our daughter started college locally

wasn't it just yesterday that they started first grade?

 During the summer we built a little studio in the back of our house.

No longer  allowed to dye yarn in the kitchen, my husband kicked me out! 

Wiping down splashed granite counter tops and mopping up color stained wood floors was probably not the best solution.

This will be my own little creative space

where I can be messy and dream up beautiful colorscapes for yarn again.

I'm back to photography and I'm back to blogging- oh how I have missed it!

Time is what I needed

 think thoughts through

clear my head

away from routine

open my mind and brighten my heart space.

the road leads me back again

all I needed was a few degrees of adjustment in order to find the right path

home again.

I hope you all are well  - wishing you peace and love.

 Until next time.

Up the road

If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there.- Lewis Carroll

It was one of those days, grey winter days in Montana. Earth still frozen and too cold to do anything in the garden, itching to be in nature and too restless to sit inside by the fire. We took a drive up the gravel roads up the North Fork, enjoying the view and talking about how spring feels like it's almost around the corner, new hikes that needed to be explored. I found some new fishing holes it's easy to walk the river beds as the snow is still holding strong on the mountains, finding these new spots and visiting these views always remind us how we are in search of a cabin of our own up here for our family...one day.
I have come to the conclusion no matter how bad it is inside - going outside makes my insides feel better...always. When "grey" is the weather forecast, nature always has something to new up her sleeve to draw you outside and explore. In Montana all you have to do is take a road, any path or trail it will lead you to peace of mind a place of contemplation and appreciation. Nature and wilderness is where it's at and in Montana that's what's it all about.

But love of the wilderness is more than a hunger for what is always beyond reach; it is also an expression of loyalty to the earth which bore us and sustains us, the only home we shall ever know, the only paradise we ever need - if only we had eyes to see."

Edward Abbey

Polebridge Mercantile

 

It's Saturday morning it's snowing, no it's raining...the weather is crappy, hop in the car and drive up the North Fork to Polebridge and get a Huckleberry Bear Claw!

Sounds like a good idea.

 So we did.

 Drove on the gravel road some 30 + miles

past rivers, mountains and little cabins in the woods

nothing like putting a little gravel in your travel.

Sun was shining when we got up there.

 Devoured a few pastries and coffee while chatting with the baker and the owner.

They show us their kitchen

and tell us how much the love the "North Pork" ( a pulled pork sandwich)

we make at the café.

 Life is funny, chef tries to get away from the kitchen and ends up in theirs

Much show and tell about the new solar panels they put up-

pretty neat that the whole place is run on the sun (sorry couldn't help myself) 

they even sells extra power to saloon, only open seasonally.

" The Merc" is a cozy place with the wood stove burning

all kinds of Montana décor- some more useful than the other.

It's rustic, it's simple - just the way we like it.

Good to get out shoot the breeze with your faraway neighbor

 and eat a little huckleberry goodness.

Mountain Living

Keep close to Nature's heart...

and break clear away, once in awhile,

and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods.

Wash your spirit clean.

- John Muir 

Nothing like the mountains and nature to wash your spirits clean...I think Muir was on to something there. We've had such a great winter in the northwest, much down hill skiing and x-country skiing,  unfortunately for me I hurt my right leg down hill skiing- after much investigating online I figured I did not have a torn meniscus but tendonitis- which is a relief- but equally stinks because I am so much pain hobbling along.
Feeling a little sorry for myself I nourish myself with hot chocolate and whip cream also granola- epic amounts of granola, both store bought and home made. Homemade is best but when in a pinch I'm not complaining eating the premade stuff, as long as I get my oats- my horses are rubbing off on me.
Birgitta, my aunt taught me how to make hot cocoa- the secret is to mix the cocoa and sugar first in the pot and then add a small amounts of cream to make it all blend in to a liquidy paste...then add the milk, other wise you get the cocoa clumps. I think of my mom when I drink cocoa, growing up in Sweden during the 2nd world war- where everything was rationed or non existent, they would make it with water and no sugar (pretty bitter tasting)- if there was any cocoa available.
Growing up in Oslo as a kid, after hours of sledding- looking like a wet felted wool blanket ( fleece & Gore-Tex was not yet invented)with my wool mittens, hat, sweater that had been soaked and then frozen stiff by playing in the snow. Once inside, I quickly peeled off  my wet wool clothes and sat in my long johns by the fire, frozen fingers wrapped around the cocoa mug, the warm steam and sweet smell of chocolate would be inhaled, then devoured, accompanied usually with a delicious open faced salami sandwich - which always hit the spot.
Fond memories. My mom made the best cocoa, and so.... the memories of her and my family in Norway I guess somehow is connected to that, in a cup of cocoa.


Here in wintery Montana, darkness is the name of the game, getting up in the morning at 5:30am to feed my horses, still is under a starlight sky. " Zero dark thirty" as chef calls it. Wearing my heavy muck boots and whatever parka or the like, I can find in the wee hours I trudge in the snow, it is bone cold. The girls greet me in the darkness with a whinny, they are cold and hungry after a blustery night- I grab a bale from the barn, I can't find my knife to cut the twine that holds the bale together. Using a leftover piece of  twine to rub against the twine that holds the square bale - the friction between the two will brake the twine, the hay comes out in flakes and easy to feed. Fiona and Bella get good amounts of hay in the winter- it's what keeps them warm.


Living in the mountains a great sense of gratitude for nature and quietude that is here, but also a sense of isolation. As an introvert living in a small mountain town suits me - I never felt at home in the city, but I still miss all the cultural and historical offerings Oslo provides. My daughter left for Portland, Oregon with a group this morning- she will be gone for 4 days visiting and exploring the costal city. I am a bit jealous since there is no travel in my near future. Always been very interested in Portland, it seems like such a vibrant and energetic, artist town...city. With limited amounts of artistic endeavors in my neck of the woods I yearn to stretch out my arms and ask for more- more creativity and inspiration and as I wrote here I have been quite lost as I no longer dyeing yarn. So....I have signed up for an E-course with Flora Bowley who lives in Portland. The beauty is I have access to her and her teachings online, I am eager to get started. Her colors, creativity and talent has inspired me to jump into something head first -painting.
Pretty incredible to be able to do big city things from my little small town in the mountains, using my puter. I can still have one foot in the city and one foot in the woods -I'll always be in the woods...heh!


Mountain living can have the best of both worlds....even in the darkness of winter a new bright light that shines inside me...


In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary. 
~Aaron Rose