Dispatch From LA

norway travel journal

love my little norway journal, but will make my next travel book BIGGER.

a lovely visit

 sister & I had a lovely visit yesterday with the GORGEOUS mistress of longears.. of kansas city. carol wrote about it on her blog with links which
I'm unable to do via iPad. I became acquainted with jeanette in the comments of this here blog... years ago...so I didn't feel one bit rude inviting myself and the other moss sister over to tromp through her garden.
she fed us, made us cocktails, introduced me to her sweet baby rabbit, and let me rummage through her art supplies, play in her luscious watercolors, and boy was it fun!
when she sends me photos I'll post a couple here.
back home tomorrow. goodbye kansas you were fab....

jeanette only sent me teeny tiny photos with her in them so you'll have to get out your magnifying glass to see them!

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad

happy saturday wherever you might be!

 

happy saturday

Took a bunch of little hipstamatics of carol's art space. Knew you'd wanna see!

art

flowers

journals

more art

more journals

baby pictures

Chris!

carol!

mama moss

That's how we roll when it's 100 degrees in Kansas!

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norway travel journal...

i knew i'd be too hot to blog from kansas so i've got travel journal posts scheduled while i'm gone.

meanwhile i'm somewhere in kansas sitting in an ice bath...

can someone bring me a fan?

okay, thanks.

chechen separatist's warning on olestra snacks lifted

hello you.  tomorrow i'm off to see the kansas mosses!

cat sitter is in place.  fountain is unplugged.

i better finish packing.

and putting books on my kindle.  it's much too hot to be outside.  i will stay indoors in a tub full of ice and READ and read and read and read.  i am far too delicate for midwest heat.  my sister knows this and is preparing accordingly.

in the meantime i amuse myself with a pile of old newspaper headlines i cobbled together many moons ago.  came across this while digging through paper in my cupboard.

 

hello sunday!

travel journaling.  cooking.  reading trip reports on slow travel.com.  making reservations and securing tickets for december.  humming.  shaking my groove thing.  kung fu fighting.  okay, not that.  but everything else!

the crew

my favorite vintage photo i found in norway.  a real live crew of a boat!  i pretended they were the crew of our boat that plied the cold blue waters of geirangerfjorden.  then i pasted them in my travel journal.

someone emailed me about posting a photo of the front of the books i picked up in norway.  here you go!  click for more detail.

 

here. i brought you a poem!

If I'm very lucky when I am 86 I will feel just exactly like the lady in seat 38C.  We all will.

The Lady in 38 C
gets confused. She thinks I’m her nurse.
“Nurse!” she yells. “My finger!”
So I bring her a band-aid
and put it on even though she’s fine.
“Oh thank you nurse!” she yells.
“You’re a good one.”
She winks and smiles and the woman next to her
glares into her computer.
I think the old lady’s charming.
She’s 86, still pretty. Her eyes are blue.
Her hair is a cloud.
She looks exactly like what’s outside.
She’s the only air in this cabin, the only light.
“Nurse!” she yells, and I look back
over the sad heads, eggs in a carton,
faces pressed against
the mite-ridden blankets
and pillows they fought for,
and there she is, beaming.
“Nurse,” she says. “Where are we?”
I take her hand
and look out the window.
I scratch my head, smile
and say, “Somewhere
over Idunno.”
She’s the only passenger
who’s ever gotten that joke.
Up here, nearly everyone is miserable.
I count on small joys to get by.
The woman in 38C says, “Oh, Nurse!”
and the woman next to her
who probably thinks we’re somewhere
over Idaho, that wonderland of Hemingway
and golden potatoes,
rolls her eyes and bangs the computer keys
until the seatbelt sign goes on
and the captain says,
“We’ll be experiencing weather.”
which is what people say
instead of scary things like storm and turbulence
and pretty soon the plane is bouncing
and the woman with the computer
grips her armrest
while the old lady throws her arms up
like she’s on a roller coaster and yells,
“They should charge extra for this!”

 

by Lori Jakiela (former flight attendant)

breezy, sunny, cool today in los angeles.  i puttered around attending to various tasks.

in the kitchen.

i'm finishing my travel journal.  i came home with lots of blank pages this time.  a good 1/3 of my book unfinished.  i did a lot of my writing in the tiny notebook i brought to carry in my purse.  i like writing on location.  finding a cozy nook to jot things down.  ideas, impressions, stuff.

 blogging AND travel journaling are difficult to do at the same time while traveling, but i knew my summer was free so i didn't mind so much not finishing the journal.  now i'm going back and coloring in some rough sketches.  also adding more sketches {from photos}. and of course adding in photos.

it's engrossing.  

i  made a blurb book of norway.  waiting for it to get here!  the first thing i did when i came home oddly enough, was to make an iphoto book of my trip to paris last year.  it arrived today and it's HUGE.  the paper is divine.  it is such a thrill to see some of my photos super-sized.  i'm going to go back in and add some small nifty labels to a few of the pages.  it's completely photos - no writing.

i'm wondering...have you made blurb or iphoto books of your travels?  did you have a preference?

and one more question...have you read GONE GIRL?  did you like?  

someone is feeling curious today.  like a cat.

my heart is made of tin

i finally hung up all my little mexican tin hearts.  they wanted to guard the turkish evil eye who has been repelling danger and evil from the door of moss cottage for the last couple of years.  i like looking at them when i put the key in the lock and step over the threshhold.  home.

in my norwegian treasure chest i toted back across the mighty atlantic are a small pile of vintage books.

we found them in a second-hand store in Bergen.  I was all ready to do battle about the price when the gentleman behind the counter insisted they were all 2 for 1.  he could not understand how or why we would not buy both since they come as a set.  such a reasonable fellow.  i dared not argue with such logic.

so i got my 4 and sister got her 2.  one of mine has a wild boar on the front.  i don't know where he's off to, but he looks to be in a hurry.  

run little boar, run away home!  your house is on fire! your children have gone!

i looked rather like that boar as i rushed over to the bookshelf to push my sister out of the way and get at these books.  the other patrons in the store looked alarmed.  i smiled to reassure them that it was all in good humor, but a grinning boar with big shining tusks does not exactly inspire calm in people. 

now you're going to just have to hold onto your shorts when you see this next book.  

 it is the home of my new visual journal.

the one in my mind that i have not built yet.

i approach these things slowly.

there is much to consider.  much sitting to be done.  much thinking to do.  much running my hands back and forth over this gorgeous golden & blue surface.

i'm ready for a smaller visual journal.  this one is about 6 x 8.  it is the largest of the 4 books i bought.

 it was extremely heavy with glossy magazine-like pages.  so i cut out the book block and left it in norway.  when you have a tin heart like mine it is not difficult to do such things.

don't fret. 

i placed it oh so carefully in the perfect place for someone to find it. someone like us!

i kept the fabulous end papers.

such handsome books!

each with lovely illustrations on the first inside page.

all destined for bold & wonderful adventures in their new lives at moss cottage.

did you take my forks?

i have not just been sitting around staring into space.  oh no sir i haven't!  i've been reading my unputdownable 11/22/1963

  and if you think it's all about JKF and grassy knolls you'd be wrong.  it's about time travel.  

TIME TRAVEL people!  

 compelling & well written.  plus it's giving me some good ideas about how to build a time machine.  because you know...that's me...always trying to hatch an escape plan.  i can't help it.

and also i've been going out to breakfast with my best breakfast buddy

skipping back in time to the era of diners.

and grits.

just don't.

and on the ride home we passed by this house from a certain FX series...do you know?  do you watch too?

SO NATURALLY i had to jump out and take some pics.  and a kitchen window was open so i climbed in and took these.  except after my country fried steak i sort of got stuck on the ledge and my friend lewis had to yank me down and i ripped my pants.

sorry.  i like to make up stories.  these forks are from norway.  {dish towel too} which i bought because i happen to need forks because for some strange reason i cannot fathom, forks go missing in moss cottage and i'm convinced my friends are stealing them when they come over.  well someone is!

maybe it's YOU.

i made gazpacho!

 
i am HOOKED on Sarah Carey.  just love watching her daily cooking videos.  yesterday i made gazpacho.  i read pioneer woman's version and also remembered things a spanish friend of mine told me about how adding bread makes it creamier.  in other words i gathered evidence and then did my own thing.  but sarah inspired me, and my version is much more hers than PW.

in the photos above you can't see the red wine vinegar or olive oil.  everyone agrees really good olive oil is the key.  i like mine smooth not chunky so i used a strainer.

naturally the photos above are starring another dishtowel i got in norway.  

about the gazpacho...i forgot the red pepper.  but even without it, completely delectable.  seriously luscious.  crazy good.  all that.

i just had a bowl with crispy croutons on top.  oy.

i got 2 more crocheted panels for window tops at the aalesund, norway antique store i mentioned in the last post.  2!  a set!  ORANGE!  

they may as well have had my name on them.  when i took them to the counter the proprietor laughed and said, "the '70s!"  apparently someone decided to experiment with tradition.  i'm totally in love, that's all i know.

i was so taken with this little project alice chiang is trying to get off the ground.  

go watch her video over at kickstarter.  prepare to be charmed.

apricots & norwegian dishtowels

i took these

and made this...

apricots, sugar, lemon juice.  simmering in a pot for about an hour.  using a potatoe masher every now and again to puree.  the result?  tangy ridiculously delicious apricot jam.

because i like it when moss cottage has sun pouring into her rooms, the air conditioner on, and a nice pot of jam simmering on the stove.  that's why.

also because what i know to be true about food was reinforced in norway.  fresh delicious food, thoughtfully prepared, and savored, but not overeaten can result in weight loss.  my sister lost 5 pounds and I lost 7 on our adventure in norway while eating like queens!  also walking up and down hills doesn't hurt.

so i am recommitting to cooking and savoring real food and getting my backside into motion more often.  

this apricot jam is for THIS sandwich...  I found the recipe over at martha stewart.  want one?  okay.  i'll make 2.

the dishtowels in these pics are designed by a talented bergen norway design duo MARLENE M.  

we discovered their store on our last day in bergen.  i always get an extra jolt of excitement when i find something locally designed while traveling.

luckily the little crocheted panel i found at another place fits perfectly over my bathroom window.  i got it in aalesund, norway at the most charming antique store TRANKOKERIET ANTIKK.  the kind smiling proprieter  gave me such good deals on the vintage things i found to bring home with me.  we enjoyed a locally made pear soda there in her tiny salon which overlooks the water {only a few feet below the floor length window}  the old sea house that the store is in reminded me of The Ghost & Mrs. Muir.  remember that?

anyway if you're in aalesund, walk over there and check it out.  she has a dazzling assortment of treasure!

it is wonderful to be blogging again on my desktop.  so much easier.  so much faster.  blogging from ipad is convenient and nothing beats it for travel, but oy.  it can try the patience.  and...make one very glad to get back to blogging the old fashioned way.

p.s.  if you know of any savory dishes with apricot jam please share.  i have an entire jar after all!

Finishing up in the air and at airports...

I'm over the cold north on the long flight home. Looked out my window earlier to the whitest, most stunning mountain peaks covered in massive snow drifts & frozen lakes. I'm thinking that a trip like this, in the heat of summer, was a splendid idea. I'm sitting here on the plane poring over photos. Some of these I've shared on instagram, but for you who don't spend time there I'll include them here.
Our dining table looked like this most of the time. A big fat mess.
BUT...to be perfectly candid it was carol who made the biggest mess.

The stairs to Carol's attic hideaway were covered in this fabulous floral design.

The church across the street was being renovated so part of our view was of plastic sheeting. We didn't care. We were in Norway!
The other day we hopped on a silly little train to ride around town and sister turned to me and said, "We're on a tiny train in Norway!"
Both of us like to restate the obvious whenever possible.

We loved the little lane our favorite kaffe shop was on. Norwegians are coffee connoisseurs.

When I look at these pictures I am back here again. Smelling the heady scent of wild roses.

Marveling at how abundantly everything blooms here and how little watering needs to be done I n a rainy climate. Tidy small patios right in the lanes. Last night we watched a woman set up her clothes hanger/ dryer in a lane outside her house. Getting ready to hang out her laundry in the sunshine at 8pm!
Imagine that!

We were delighted by these yellow poppies that bloom in every crack. The wild stands of foxglove in woodsy areas of Norway were also spectacular. Up north in aalesund we saw meadows and roadsides thick with purple lupines.

There were also blooming pansies in pots everywhere. Their bright colors only made more vibrant in the milky light of grey days.

That coffee shop I was telling you about. Just up the hill from the funicular.

This fine fellow operated a small old ferry across the harbor. You sort of climbed on when the boat was next to the dock. Gang planks are for sissies. We boarded the old fashioned way by jumping on! The boat chugged across the harbor and when we were almost across our captain stepped on the gas and sped towards the dock. Full speed ahead into the tied on tire bumpers... Chuckling with great humor as his 6 passengers tried not to scream out in terror.

I appreciate a salty dog with a sense of humor.

I'm finishing up this post in Toronto...getting ready to board the last flight for home. Back to the cat posse. Back to moss cottage. My Norway dispatches are coming to an end. I'm going to unplug for a few days and finish up my travel journal. Piddle. Listen to music. Drink a cold beer on the back patio. Have breakfast with friends. See you back here next week!

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so long Norway. I'll miss you...

I have a few more Norway posts that will be arriving on your digital doorstep from Los Angeles. We're heading out tomorrow on separate flights. Flying home.
Thanks for keeping us company. We enjoyed it!

the sun came out today! Our little house glimmered in its finest white tones.

we've been lighting candles every night. Mood lighting for journaling fools.

sister got really excited by one of her big thoughts. I think she was thinking about how much she'd love to sherpa my bags outside in the morning.

In the late evening light we strolled out for our last supper in Bergen.

the air was like silk.

the light golden.

Yesterday's coffee at sakristiet. If your fairy godmother takes you out for a round of kaffe talk this is where you'll go.

our last meal in Bergen at leone di mare where we were waited on my a charming fellow from genoa.

I had a pasta called strozzapreti in a cream sauce with homemade sausage, rocket. Oy. Unbelievable! Carol had gnocchi with seafood which she enjoyed also. We sat at a corner table by a corner window for 2.

Another fine meal at Enhjorningen in Bryggen ...in Bergen. King crab, monkfish, wine. Succulent and extraordinary. Every. Single. Bite. 

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hewwo

my name is tom. I don't like to pose for pictures. It is beneath me.

Kitterpants schmitterpants!

Moonstruck at midnight...over bergen. Swooning here at our dining room table till the wee hours of the morning.

a few delectable treats we've been devouring...

Everything tastes in Norway.

my name is Gunnar. I catch my own fishes from the cold north sea.

I bite.

these are my fighter paws.

the back kicker feet. ( Shortly after this pic he leaped to the ground and ran to kick the arse of another cat. I broke them up.)

hewwo. I am a nice girl catter puss. Fighting! Hmmmph... It's so uncivilized.

beef, lamb, chicken. I'm convinced the Norwegians can make anything taste delicious. Carol is doing a post on a crazy good tapas place we went to last night. Mmmmmmm. That was a thoroughly delectable experience... Go to tall tales from Kansas to see. (can't link from iPad)

Extremely savory. Looks like meat and potatoes. Tastes like heaven.

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details

today I share a few apartment details. And the feline king of Bergen.

and a few street details. Norway loves these blackletter fonts. I dig too!

Scandinavian design makes my heart race.

you knew darn well I was going to take you to get more paper. Maybe I need more. I might. Maybe.  The Danes are acknowledged throughout Scandinavia to be masters of design.  SOME of this paper is from the danish designer rie elise larsen.  it's only available in europe it seems.  The 3 handmade rolls on the left are of norwegian design.

the scene of my afternoon nap. Vacations are for leisure and relaxation. All this rest is what I need to furnish my mind with important ideas.

don't be a jealous cat. If you lived next door I would share.

The world outside the window is every bit as interesting as the one unfolding inside.

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this is not a wig

More pics from our Hjørundfjorden and Geirangerfjorden  experience...

We're in Bergen now. I'm days behind!!

This is not a wig.

Sent from my iPad

our day on the geiranger fjord

 

3 boats 1 little bus. A spectacular day spent fjording.

Pure wonderment. Cinematic beauty. LARGER THAN LIFE.

Floating in a perfect cocoon of salty sea air and clear blue water. I did a lot of this: nothing.

Staring at all that snow melt water falling over rocky cliffs. Cradled by the Sunnmøre alps. Yes. Somehow there really is an alpine coastal mountain range. I don't understand it either. Pure green nearly vertical mountains, some rising 5600 ft. straight up from the fjord.  Abandoned farms which were once home to people, goats, cows. Conditions so challenging only a truly hardy people could carve out lives up here. Some climbing ladders to get to their homes. Some mothers tethering their children to ropes so they didn't tumble over the edge.

Avalanches, rock slides, paddling across a fjord daily to bring water for humans and animals. Nothing was easy. But they did it. They did it all. Growing apples, apricots, and pears. Many died. More lived. If you come to Norway you can hear their stories on the little boats that ply through these waters. Touching and beautiful the way the people who worked this land are still remembered and spoken about.
Lost goats rescued by brave men. Search and rescue teams who rescued the brave men. 7 human and 4 goat lives lost. Stories like that.  The kind that make your heart twist and wrench and feel glad to be alive.

And then there's us of course. 100 years later. Drifting through the glassy fjord water in our boats. Still not believing we are here. In Norway. In the summer. It's true. It really happened.

sister threw my glasses overboard. I had to buy new ones. There weren't a lot of options. But since I always wanted a nice pair of ROUND white glasses to accent my ROUND face I thought I'd give these a go.

my sister only looks innocent. She is not.

Here we are riding through a technicolor landscape in our tiny bus. Rambling down little lanes? Passing mountain lupines, meadows with cows wearing leather collars. flowers flowers flowers. 5 people on board. Fjord hopping. Snow and green and rushing rivers and still waters.

Impossible to capture the whole thing on camera.

the majesty of it all.

I snapped photos and taped them to the inside of my mind so I would remember.

It was 2 seconds after this photo that my old glasses met with an untimely end.

did I mention the wooly warm blankets you get to wrap yourself in. Warmth for a land just below the arctic circle.

as usual this is part 1. I can't fit it all into 1 post!

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aalesund Norway

Sister and I went on a walkabout through the rain in aalesund. Soft drizzly drops. Cool & gray. We found a secret passage leading up through a wooded hillside. Queen Anne's lace made clouds of white blossoms along the path.

We found a school with bright plastic trucks and pails scattered across the school yard. Signs of life everywhere but few actual people walking about. Quiet.

there are a few shops and restaurants.

we stomped around looking for action.

sister was perplexed at the absence of inhabitants. She endeavored to study the situation more carefully later.

there are no lack of lupines, pansies, queen Anne's lace, wildfowers, and a vast assortment of other blooming plants. drunken bees gorge on nectar cocktails. The scent of flowers hangs in the air.

the plant kingdom in aalesund is rich & happy.

We were also happy when we saw our dining room at our hotel. They layout complimentary spreads of food morning, noon, and night. Waffles are served between 1-6. Our room is big and we spend lots of time watching all manner of sailboat float past our windows.

the buildings are mostly art nouveau with assorted iron and plaster ornamentation. Pretty.

Like in Bergen, the water comes out of the tap icy cold & delicious. We gulp it down. 2 horses drinking from a trough.

we think a lot of our other sister Dottie, who we know would be in boat heaven here.

We noisily slurp down great bowlfuls of fish soup. Sister quite a bit more noisily than I!

a sweet little place. Still...I miss my beloved Bergen.

In a few hours we'll leave the snowy mountaintops of aalesund behind and get our head and tail feathers pointed south.

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here I am

We found a large antique store with a wide assortment of goodies. But the best part was this tiny seating area literally on the water.

We sat and stared, watched the gulls play diving games and fly in formation, sipped our pear sodas which are locally made. And dreamed about being sailors on the 7 seas.

In an atmospheric setting such as this the mind plays tricks and writes stories. I'm on my second novella and carol is on her 3rd opera.

Next time we conduct botany experiments and study the flora and fauna more rigorously.

For now we are content to find a shabby rocker where we might sit and spin tales, untangle sinister plots, and in general lend our keen crime solving abilities to aalesund's cold case file.

First case: figure out where all the inhabitants have gotten off to and who is partying so late at night and listening to johnny cash and waylon jennings at 2 am.

hmmmmmmmmm...

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