Dispatch From LA

the skerries

Hello you.

I'm here in aalesund, norway with carol. It's cool and rainy. we're eating lots of creamy fish soup, drinking beer, and pear soda. It's all good, but that's not what my post is about today. I have to finish ... I mean start...to tell you about my trip to the skerries.

i begin here in an express boat that moves very very quickly through the water.

the boat didn't have many passengers. people were getting off at various places. I booked a round trip ticket to the isle of leirvik. The trip took me through the western coast of Norway which are dotted with thousands of mostly uninhabitable islands called skerries.
The skerries are glacially formed appearing at the mouths of fjords. Some are rocky points others are large and mountainous. They form a protective barrier all along norway's western coast.

Making for a lovely scenic ride.

I filled my eyes with so much blue, staring off into that wide sea.

Thinking about polar explorers and the arctic circle and puffins and people who fashion their lives around the sea and navigate through perilous passages. That sort of thing.
The outer deck of a boat is a good place for thinking. And drifting.
And of course the bathroom is sort of like a photobooth.

It was windy and wild on the outside deck. Sane people stay inside on these fast moving boats.

the sun shone down on the tiesten the entire time. Sun and wind. Salty air. Snow capped mountains. On an express boat speeding through the blue blue sea.

Stopping for no more than a few minutes at each small port.

Leirvik was small & sleepy. Not a big tourist destination. I meandered, ate lunch overlooking the harbor, wrote in my journal and called it good.

90 minutes later we headed back to Bergen. I took up my position as lookout on the outside deck.

Tomorrow carol and I head off to the geiranger fjorden. A fjord so beautiful and special it is a unesco world heritage site.

by boat of course.

Go check out Carol's version of Norway on her blog and instagram (cmulvenon). 

Sent from my iPad

the flight to alesund

wordless + spellbound by norway's western coast.

Sent from my iPad

random things

I'm plunked down in front of the window at 11 watching the sun go down. Red clouds lighting up the sky. Rain is coming tomorrow. I want to tell you about my forest ramble and the site I found to take sister on a picnic and the skerries I saw today and how much I love standing on the deck of a high speed boat and watching the bright blue north sea whizzing by.
And a zillion other things, but I have to pack and give my travel journal some attention before I go to bed.
More tomorrow from alesund!

In the meantime here's some randomness...

cups to go with the bowls anyone?

2 am in Bergen.

this is getting folded and packed tomorrow. Headed to alesund, Norway tomorrow with sister!!!!
Will miss my little Bergen loveshack, but am looking forward to tramping around alesund which is a very luscious very small fairytale town further north (we are flying). Around the turn of the century nearly the entire town burned to the ground in a terrible fire. Germany sent war ships filled with supplies to rebuild. The entire town was rebuilt in jugendstil (art nouveau) style. It's the town in my Facebook cover photo!

My Norwegian loo. Bright and gleaming white. I talk to the neighbor's kitty through the window.

dreamy

A resting place on the way up the hill!
Today I splurged and took a cab. Sweet heavenly bliss to be transported directly to my little house. Like magic.

Everything you need right out your front door...I adore these tidy little entrances. Even the weeds look good!

so many plants in windows. All competing for the rare and precious sunlight. They all seem to be thriving.

Sent from my iPad

Random things No. 1

Oh it is a joy to roam these labyrinth walkways between houses. If this was all we did, you and I, it would be enough. Wouldn't it?

Big thoughts have been thought on this bench.

and some little ones too.

I am taking my sister to the forest for a picnic!

I found where your fairygodmother lives!!! It's here. She invited me in for tea and gave me a letter to give to you. It's written in Norwegian.

I caught the moon by her tail and took this pic just before she dove down to the other side of the world!

Sent from my iPad

Yummies

Sweet young woman at baker brun in bryygen helped me select goodies yesterday. In order to provide accurate feedback I had to sample them all. If you like buttery flaky pastry with excellent custard and gooey icing you will also like spandau the best. It made my eyes cross. But... they were all fresh and delish.

Ran into this tiny hot dog stand. Me and a few old Norwegian bachelors stood around smacking our lips, chewing, and taking big gulps of the lemonade that comes with. Those are fried onions on top. outrageously delish... I go get another one today after boat ride.

more paper.. Showed already on Facebook and instagram.

while the big orange half moon was setting I was sketching my krem.

Future writing journals!

it's 10:30ish I just woke up to another sunny day in Bergen. Locals tell me this is rare. And wonderful.

Your comments are so fun to read when I wake up every morn. Blowing kisses from Norway!

Sent from my iPad

I made strawberry ice cream!

Another precious sunny day in Bergen. Can you say LUCKY? I can.

heavy cream smashed berries. That's it. Strawberry ice cream. dessert last night.

If you come to Bergen don't be fooled by the fatter Belgian strawberries that are less expensive. Get the little Norwegian berries. When you smash them with a fork juice squirts out.

mmmmmmmmmmm

Eaten around midnight in the land of the midnight sun.

official bedtime between 2-3 am.
I close the darkening blinds in my room and sack out. Rising again at 10:30 or so.
My perfect natural schedule. It's 2 pm today and I'm still piddling around drinking coffee and blogging. But really it's more like 11 am so I'm fine with getting a late start. You might not want to vacation with me if you are more task oriented. But if slow travel is your thing you'll do fine. Nowhere to be today except wherever the wind blows me.
Tomorrow a fresh report of new discoveries!

Sent from my iPad

Food glorious food

I only THOUGHT I had eaten strawberries before. I hadn't. These small extremely sweet berries are a staple of my Norwegian diet. I eat them morning noon and night.
You like them too. You told me with your mouth full of berries and a ring of red around your muzzle.
We had sandwiches from godt brod bakery. I wanted to try all the spreads I'd never seen. So I did. Some were spicy and ... um... holy hell it was g o o d. You grabbed my other half before I could stop you. Norwegian cheese, pepper ham, all that. I'm getting another one today. This time you'll have your own.
Every lunch needs a pastry to be complete. More on these later!

Have you ever fantasized about what the cheese of a marriage between cheddar and caramel would taste like? I have.

This is it!
With fresh Norwegian sourdough-like bread only heavier and better than regular sourdough.
Let's call this our early evening snack.

Here we have a quick bite before paper shopping. You point and the nice young fellow prepares it while you wait. It might not look good but it tasted v.v. good. Better because we ate it outside in the warm sunshine watching the sea slap against the wooden wharf and tumble the boats around.
...while consulting fjord map.
Tomorrow I'm taking you out to see the skerries. Further west along the coast. By boat of course. Hold your horses and you'll find out what skerries are tomorrow.

skerries & berries & cherries. Yes please.

dinner of bacalou - dried salted cod dish.

a beer a day while journaling. Who knew I was a beer drinker? Not me.

You learn things about yourself when you travel.

Sent from my iPad

There were patches of snow on the mountains

Here is where I went today:

Osterfjorden is one of three fjords surrounding the island Osterøy.The fiord runs between Lindås and Osterøy and is 27 km long, 1-3 km wide. The largest depth is 639 m.It connects Sørfjorden in the south to Veafjorden in the east. Along Osterfjorden are the villages of Knarvik, Hjellvik, Eikanger, Hosanger, Fotlandsvåg, Tysse and Stamnes

From Wikipedia since I can't link when blogging from iPad.















Sent from my iPad

Fjord by the little white lady

This is a true story.

I climbed aboard the white lady. Got my blanket from the stack and headed to the upper deck outside. Riding indoors is for sissies. I snuggled up and settled in for the 4 hour trip.

I was in entranced by all the blue water and the smell of the sea.
The white lady only holds about 50 passengers. Nice and small. Cozy.

after an hour I went downstairs to poke around and found a narrow outer deck so close to the water! And beyond that a super narrow deck with railing I squeezed through like a sausage. And found my way to the very front of the boat!
Holy shite it was awesome! And nobody was there! And I sat on a stack of chairs against the front of the boat and had a view that left me breathless and wind blown and cold and v.v. happy. And truly awed. Awestruck.
More people came to the front. I let them because by this time I was spying on the old white haired captain.
Who was spying on unknown things on shore.

I stayed here for a very long time. Then the fjord narrowed. The wind stopped. The sun shown. We shivering fools were all grinning and letting the sunlight warm us. So good.

sigh. If you come to Bergen go on one of these little fjord excursions on a little boat. You won't be one bit sorry. I was charmed and delighted from start to finish.

So much so that I took this pic in the bathroom. I'm waving to you from Norway.

Sent from my iPad

your summer house in Norway

Wouldn't you like to spend one Norwegian summer here? On the western waterways of norseland. Just you and your art supplies. Your canvases or wooden boards. Your stacks of blank journals. Your paint. You. Alone. Without any electronic devices. Just you and this land and sky and water. Okay. I'll let you have your iPad to keep in touch and listen to music. But no phone. No tv. No watches or clocks. The sun will dictate what to do and when to do it. There will be a vegetable garden to tend. Rabbits to feed. Small foxes who watch you and keep you company during the long sunny nights. You can pick wild strawberries and windflowers. Jump naked into the water each afternoon. Dry off in the grass on a sky blue quilt covered in tiny red stitches. Watch the treetops and water for sea eagles and seals.

Mostly you will stay home and tend the fire. Paint or draw or write. Make big pots of stew. Bake bread. But there will be days for exploring too. Meeting the neighbors on yonder hilltop who will teach you to fish and bake Norwegian cookies and embroider white linen tablecloths or curtains with red and blue silk thread.

Once a week you can take your boat and head toward Bergen. Get supplies. Do city things.

That's what I will do. Someday.

Sent from my iPad

From Norway with love - monday part 1 of 2

On every trip there comes a time, a day, an hour, an EXACT moment... When I fall in love with a place. One minute it is good. The next, I go through a love tunnel and come out the other side in a rapturous state, and it is no longer just good, it is BLISS. Today was that day. The sun shone down on Bergen and all of her lovely inhabitants. The sky beamed with light and cast shadows against the wooden doorways, ledges, flower boxes, and roofs. I walked out of my wee house and headed east, off in a new direction.



I was just going to take a right and head down the hill when I noticed a green space a block over. There was a fence around it. Hmmmmm... Tall trees waved their glistening leaves at me. A breeze twirled through my hair. I looked down the hill. I looked over to the wilds of tree covered slopes. I paused. The world stood still. the street was empty. I thought about the boat I was trying to catch. Without a watch I wasn't sure if I'd get there by 3:30. I decided to head towards the trees. As I got closer I saw a little lake surrounded by stone. It looked like a giant swimming pool. When I reached the fence I noticed a small gate leading onto the grounds. In I went. There was a cat sitting on a green bench. We chatted awhile. 2 couples in bathing suits were sunning themselves and splashing their feet in the water. A school of baby koi or giant goldfish swam by with their little heads turned up, their mouths opening and closing. Saying hello. I think one of them winked at me.


I strolled around the lake and noticed an entire network of paths leading further up into the forest.

 Then it happened. That moment I told you about. The moment I fell in love. I turned a corner and the view was so glorious! A sea of sapphire blue and a village of wooden houses tumbling into it. 



oh oh oh oh



I picked my way down narrow cobbled paths. Each time I rounded a corner another stunning vista of roof, sea, and sky. 



And a lady washing her windows under a dome of blue.



Sent from my iPad

From Norway with love - Monday part 2

I saw many future selves in the older people I encountered. Still going. Still keen to see the world with new eyes.





 Travel bliss. The joy and wonder of being alive in a place I have never been. The possibility of getting lost and missing my boat just add to the pleasure. I love living in a world where anything can happen... and often does!



Wandering in a storybook of the imagination. 



Once again, here I am, a bridegroom married to amazement.



Thank you Mary Oliver for placing those well chosen words in my head so long ago. They visit me often and recite themselves in my head.



And for that I am grateful.



It is 10:15 pm and the sun is still out turning the clouds apricot. I am going for a walk, then home to bed. You go to bed too and rest up. We're leaving here early in the morning for our sailing adventure. You can't stay up till 2 am every night cutting and pasting you know!
Xo 

Sent from my iPad

Sent from my iPad

Shopping in Bergen!

Hello you. Yesterday I took you shopping. You insisted on this pair of reindeer fur boots. I tried to talk you out of them but as usual you wouldn't listen.

the sun shone and everything under the Bergen sun was a brighter shade of happy. Even I who am not so keen on shopping got excited by the Scandinavian design aesthetic. I wanted 4 of these bowls for instance. Was going to make us Nordic brassieres lady gaga style.

You said it was impractical.
Okay fine. What about a nice shiny orange mailbox?

or a sweet plate...

You rolled your eyes. But perked up instantly when you saw the paper.

we both got lots of paper and cards.
I went out of my mind over the scissors and forgot all about our bra bowls.

Then we climbed the hill home.

and commenced to cutting and pasting.

Sent from my iPad

Midnight in Norway

It's midnight here in Norway and I'm laying in my downy soft bed with the heat on...watching the lights twinkling in the hills around my little wooden house. I am high on a hill. Drowsy. Staying awake just long enough to click send then its off to the Norwegian dreamworlds for the night.
I am so ready!
If you follow me on instagram you'll get updates a little sooner. I'm dispatchfromla over there. Been instagramming since I left LA yesterday...

Here's my sweet little home for the next week. Carol joins me next Friday...

the light is soft. It fills the house. Bouncing off the wood floors and white walls and furniture. My instincts have led me to another gem.

there are heavy white windows and skylights with views of rooftops and sky and drizzle and sun.

I adore tiny houses. This one is around 500 sq. feet. Spread across 2 floors.

I went on a walkabout earlier in the damp streets. The temps are upper 50's low 60s. Delicious. Nice and cool for motoring up these steep hills.

the little plane flew between snowy mountains this afternoon and came to this vast system of waterways and wooden houses huddled near the shores of the north sea. Bridges, tunnels, deep forested hills.

The land rolling velvety soft. So so green. Constantly nourished by so much rain.

makes me feel breathless.
Expansive.
Hypnotized.
It reminds me of my first experience of Oregon 5 years ago.

falling asleep....
More tomorrow...

Sent from my iPad

see you in norway!

what's a trip to a foreign land without showing you all the supplies i'm taking with...

here is my itty bitty journal for toting around and writing in while on walkabouts.  also good for private thoughts and crazy rambling manifesto types of writing that, while fascinating, would fail to inspire.  also conversations and crime solving flowcharts and diagrams go in here.  scripts for the large and small screen.  i'm going to have a week all aloney on my owney!  my mind is going to roam wild!

i'm taking 3 less pair of underpants so i can take lots more pens.

that's me.  sensible!

1 less brassiere.  2 less pair of socks.  4 more watercolor brush pens.

these cloth tabs from my sweet art buddy weigh next to nothing so i didn't have to trade anything.

i will carry all of these supplies with me in my carry-on tote.  no room for an extra frock!  i will be frockless!

but i will have inspiring art supplies.

3 rolls of tape and my little set of travel watercolors.  i am not a sketch artist.  correction.  i WASN'T a sketch artist.  but now i will become one.  i seem to have convinced myself that i can draw stuff i see.  an overinflated sense of self helps to that end.  i knew my egomania would come in handy!  i knew it!

okay i'm off!  and i don't have time to go back and proofread this wacky post.  it's just me and iPad from here on out.  my next post will be from the 60th parallel.  girl reporter officially...

ON DUTY.

lovesick

more norway travel journal pics!

everytime i look at this orange waxed linen thread i feel lovesick.  i finally used up the giant spool of red waxed linen so got 2 smaller rolls of orange & golden.  also finally ran out of my red bookcloth tape and picked up this white cloth book repair tape {and the thread} at flax in san francisco.  

i teach this stitch and basic bookmaking process in full tilt boogie.  {which, by the way, is on sale for the summer...}  i actually had to consult my own bookbinding video on this stitch to refresh my memory!  i was planning a travel journal ebook, but frankly summer brain is really setting in fast and i don't think i'm going to be able to fight it off.  now that school is OUT and i'm a free bird i wanna spend my time playing and eating peaches and cloud berries.  school restarts early this year in the first weeks of august so i am going to wring every second of creative enjoyment between now and then.

starting with YOU norway.  

duct tape.  i wish i knew how to quit you.  but i cannot.  i cannot.

once again my snow & graham calendar came in handy when i ran out of my favorite snowy white fabriano.  i get more use out of those calendars!

time to think about packing!

Norway Travel Journal + Peaches

sewed in the signatures last night while sitting in perfect silence in front of the open windows at my art table.  listening to street sounds and bird calls.  feeling cool air drifting inside.  i felt an overwhelming sense of pure contentment.  making something with my hands.  my mind a still uncluttered surface.

pulling the orange threaded needle in and out.  securing the pages to the spine.  good medicine.

~

somehow the little peach tree i planted last year gave forth 8 succulent juicy sugary sweet peaches.  i ate one the other evening while i was watering in the front yard.  plucked that peach right off the branch and took a big bite.  DELICIOUS!

i'm going to dedicate myself to taking better care of this young tree in the months to come.  more regular watering, manure, mulch.  it's a fruit cocktail tree, but only the peach branch put out any fruit.  no nectarines yet..  maybe next year.

i am planning to eat every peach by friday.  which is when i leave for norway.

if you're going with, pack a raincoat and one warm sweater.   you might catch a chill when we're out exploring.  i'd hate it if you got sick and i had to leave you behind in the little wooden house on the hill all by your lonesome.

more travel journal pics tomorrow.

xo

my horse blinders are on

this is going to be a FAT narrow journal.  bursting with patterned paper and red labels.

doing more prep work than usual since i'm traveling light.

dreaming of coastal steamers & deep fjords.

strolling between wooden houses at twilight (midnight!)

 

so good!

hello

i'm doing this.

and wyatt earp & lewis were doing this earlier.

lewis pretended to be bored.

then he said my teeth are bigger than your teeth.

SEE.

yeah.  whatever.

the weather in norway is doing this:

please note the sunrise/sunset times.

don't think for a nanosecond i am sad about all those damp cool grey cloudy foggy rain showery days.  i do hope i don't slip and fall into the north sea when i'm collecting my water sample.  hmmmm...

if so i hope a nice norwegian will be at the ready to pluck me out. and serve me some hot fish chowder by a nice woodstove.

random thoughts

school is ending.  vacation is beginning.  next friday i head off across the north atlantic for my scandinavian escape.  looking forward to cool days & long sunny nights.  or something like that!

i'm still cutting and pasting.

my norwegian krone arrived!  i went for a virtual walk in my bergen neighborhood.

something bloomed.

i'm almost finished with the passage.  i've downloaded samples of under the dome and 11/22/63 onto kindle on my ipad.  i'm on a thriller kick apparently.  one of those will become my travel book.

happy sunday

my orla kiely has a twin!

isn't she cute?

sweet little notebookie gifts in popsicle colors from my art playmate.

i needed a new car journal and desk journal so these are good.  when the brain needs to make a deposit there better be a notebook around to receive it!

i like to stick my nose in other people's bags and see what's hiding in there.  no chocolate.  darn.

but plenty of other fun stuff.

also i've been ipad facetiming with my sister.

and now my other sister is visiting.  fun times at moss cottage!

hope you're enjoying your sunday wherever in this big wide world you happen to be.

we had fun

talking, playing, trying out new art supplies, screaming, laughing, taking pictures.  all of that.

good things

i'm working in slow motion.  i keep wanting to stop and make paper to print out on illustrator.  then cut & paste it into my travel journal.  or draw on the ipad.  illustrator is opening a brand spanking new glittery window into my art brain.  wow.  um wow.  i've got zillions of paper ideas.  i'm looking so forward to rolling around in them this summer.

i crave extended play sessions with total freedom to draw, paint, splash around in stacks of paper.  one idea leading to another and so on and so forth.

my sister dottie is visiting me this weekend which thrills & delights me.  also tomorrow i have a date with my friend & art buddy {the one who gave me the little orla kiely journal}.  she's bringing her orla too plus her ipad and we're going to be like a couple of pigs in a pen.  wallowing in paper and glue and our bamboo styluses.  oink oink

naturally i will be keeping you apprised of my crafty adventures!

p.s.  several of you have inquired about my printer.  it's a canon mp620.  i've had it for at least a few years and have no plans to update.  it is a fantastic little printer/scanner.  inexpensive and prints beautifully.  and...i don't get kickbacks for singing its praises.  i just really love that little guy!

hot pink chevron paper

because everyone needs a nice hot pink & grey piece of chevron paper.

don't they?  

Download MOSShotpinkCHEVRON.psd