Settling In

It is Friday night and as we watch A-M and J's favorite tv show (Denmark dance show) I thought I'd write a quick blog and share our week. As the title says, we are starting to settle in here well. Tonight was the first we had a meal at home, with just A-M and J. The past four nights we have either been to other family members houses for supper, or had the whole immediate family here for supper. Suppers with a group of people have lasted as much as four hours, or spending the entire night at the table. A new experiance for us (B at least). This mostly just happens in Canada for special occasions, so perhaps our being here is the cause for such long suppers and that is not the norm. Anyways, leaving off with C and J dropping us off here in Kastbjerg, we took a quick trip around the country with A-M and J, visiting an ancient Viking grave, as well as the town of Mariager, with a quaint little downtown. The last picture on the previous post was a little fountain in the downtown square. The above picture is us climbing around the viking grave to make it to the top. The top picture on this post is the monument on the top, marking its location, as well as warning any entriprenuring farmers that digging the grave up for development is strictly prohibited! The picture below is of the oldest building in Mariager, now used for a resteraunt, and dating back to the 16th Century. It is a wonder that it is still standing, and the crook in its timbers is understandable! The first day we went into Aalborg for K's research A-M and J drove us in and took me around town while K got aquianted with the archives and started her research. It went well with A-M and J considering they knew very little English, and I knew very little Danish. Equiped with a ordbog (dictionary) and lots of patience we made it around town seeing many sites. The picture below is K's archive building, an building designed to look like the adjacent church, but never used by the church. The next day K and I took the bus from Kastbjerg into Aalborg, and have continued to do so each day this week. I have been able to tour the town while Kirstin is in the archives, taking pictures, and sketching buildings and details I find architecturally interesting. The picture below shows were I sat the first morning to sketch the Utzon Center, newly built, and designed by Jorn Utzon, the architect who conceptualized and designed the Sydney Opera House. The photo below is of the main square in Aalborg, a crossing of a number of streets as well as two major pedestrian shopping malls. The brown building with three gables is the pride of the town, a building built in the 17th century by a rich sea merchant, Jens Banks. It is a great example of renaissance architecture and one of the nicest buildings in town. I finish off this blog with a phot of one of the two largest churches in downtown Aalborg. It is called Budolfi Kirken. Supposedly K has some relatives buried in the church, but we were not able to find any record in the church of that. The church is very beautiful, painted white and has many very interesting architectural features. I will do a post some time soon with just photos of the church, as I found many interesting angles and features.

Great news!

Check it out: Alberta delivers great news for midwives, expectant mothers. Hurray for that!

Fra Aalborg

We've finally have a reliable source of internet. K's mom's cousin's son's girlfriend has loaned us a nifty little USB device, like a wireless modem, to use while we are here (ever heard of such a thing E?). It means we can have Internet reliably again, so we can blog more :) Briefly, we spent some more time with J and C the last couple days we were still in Copenhagen. The picture above is of Vallø Slot down near Copenhagen. It used to be a boarding house of sorts for rich nobles' unmarried daughters, but now is rented out as apartments for anyone who can afford it. Wouldn't that be neat to tell people you live in a castle! After that C and J took us to see the ocean and we have a lovely picnic down on the rocks near some white cliffs. There was an old church near the cliffs edge that has slowly been falling off the edge, so the congregation has moved to a new church several hundred metres away, but leaving the old church. Pity that a medieval church is falling away, but thus is the way by the ocean. That night was Kulturnatten (Culture Night) in Copenhagen, so we went down to see the happenings. Many musicians were playing, most public buildings were completely open for people to see, and there were lots of people roaming downtown seeing what there was to see. The highlight was going into Tivoli gardens to see the light displays, and taking in a few rides.

Next we started our journey with the family up to north Jutland, but first makings stops at Kolding Hus, and staying a night in Ebeltoft. Kolding Hus is an old castle which had fallen to great ruins, but in recent times a fund has built a museum surrounding the ruins, and have restored much of the fallen walls and roofs to their original state, with modern materials of course. Ebeltoft is located on the ocean, and our room at the hotel had a good view of the water. The hotel restaurant was host to a number of parties the night we arrived, and as such there was a two man band playing "old" style music, much to the chagrin of C and J's oldest son :) The next morning after brunch we walked through the older part of town, and took a tour of the Ship Museum and Glass Museum down near the waters edge. The picture above is from the Glass Museum. One exhibit was a real time glass blower, who sold his work right there. Other exhibits included a study of light through glass, a set of pieces inspired by icebergs and glaciers, and lastly a set of pieces by glass blowers. Afterward we drove up to Kasteberg to where we are staying now. We were sad to see C and J and the family leave, but knew they had a great holiday to go away to. They were headed down through Germany to the southern part of France while the boys had holidays from school. They invited us down sometime, and we may just take them up on the offer :) Much more has happened, but that will have to wait for another blog soon. By B.

Små Snakke

Hey all Just a bit to say that yes we are alive, we are just up north with family devoid of internet. We shall try to upload as we can, but it depends on Brent finding internet at he explores Aalborg tomorrow. Day one in the archives was a success although they somehow lost the letter I sent them requesting certain records... Brent also saw a number of interesting places in the city with Anne-Mette and Jens Aage. Time for supper!

Fra Denmark #1

God aften alle paen mennesker! We finally hooked up lappy and what do you know, the little plug the micro store sold me to tranfer power is NOT going to work (grrrrr). Luckily, Jan had another one we could use. Here are a few images thus far. C&J have been SO good to us. We are incredibly blessed. Lagkager Hus: The butcher's for some polse (sausage): Amalienborg (we SAW the crown prince--up close!!), this is Prince Joachim's portion of the palace: A Royal Danish Guard: Beautiful houses: The harbour:

We have arrived and all is well

Hi all you lovely blog readers! Just thought I would send you a message letter-style to tell you that we are here! Brent's already taken lots of pictures that we want to share, but we have to wait until we can hook up our own internet, which will hopefully be tomorrow. But a few picture-less comments: - Seattle was...misty and rainy. The airport is quite pretty and has a TRAIN to get from different sattlelite terminals, of which the SAS departure gate was one of. We had four hours to kill there, so we took the train quite a bit. I was hoping to blog there, but internet was only free for AT&T customers (grrrr). The airport is quite pretty though, with a HUGE curtain wall facing the main run way with chairs and benches and rocking chairs and a food court so you can take advantage of the sight. - I HIGHLY recommend Scandinavian Airlines. We had a relatively large amount of legroom, the service was really good, the food was quite good, and, my favourite part (which you won't really understand unless you've been on a long-haul flight before) we got hot wet washclothes in the "morning" (our morning, Danish afternoon) to wash our faces and whatnot after the stale cramped and sleepy night flight. It felt wonderful. And did I mention the airplane food was rather a notch above airplane food? - Auntie Karen is in Denmark! She met us at the airport with Cat and the boys. I haven't seen her since Bedstemor's funeral, and even then only briefly. - The family met us at the gate waving Danish flags....and at the house with a Canadian flag hanging from the porch. We feel very very welcome. - Brent and I went for a short walk this evening and in the course of the walk were asked by some guys to help them push-start their VW commercial van. Apparently we look friendly/harmless?? - Cat and Jan live in the most beautiful house, with crown mouldings around the ceiling, a windy staircase, many many bookshelves and beautiful old paintings. But I don't think they have a stork living in their chimney. Kjartan gave up his room for us while we stay here. - The Danish keyboard is very interesting because I can do this ææææææ øøøøøø åååååå. Just thought you should know that. Sure would come handy for when I am typing in Danish! Well all, the floor is tilting and I feel like I am on a rocky ship sitting in my seat in Jan's office, which means K + 8 hours time difference = almost too much I'm off. G'night to you Canadians, hope your October 7 will be as interesting as ours was!

K.

And we're off...

In case you didn't know when or where we were going, here's a hint.

(You might have to turn the volume up, Danny Kaye sings a little quietly here). We'll be back at the end of the month!

World's Smallest Car

This morning, over breakfast with my family, the tv shot "Top Gear" came up in conversation. I remembered from many months ago my younger brother K showing me a segment on YouTube of the worlds smallest car. Its hilarious, and so I decided to share it with everyone.

Politics: No Place for Grown-ups

We saw this on the Mercer Report the other night...Rick Mercer is incredibly intelligent, funny and kind. And this segment had us laughing so hard we were crying...

Souvenirs. John Prine and Steve Goodman

We heard this song on CBC Radio 2 this morning. It's one of my favourite John Prine songs (okay lets face it, I have a lot of favourite John Prine songs). Which compells me to write several things. 1) B and I are, in case you hadn't noticed, passionate about music. We have several favourite radio stations. Alberta's own public radio station, CKUA (about which I have written much elsewhere) used to be our absolute favourite, but recently we've been really disappointed with their programming. Brother-in-law E introduced us to Radio Paradise a couple of years ago, and it has also become a great favourite, although technically it is a rock station and at times it's a bit too rocky for me. Still, we've learning a LOT about music from RP, and I love that you can vote on the songs and comment about them. Finally, in the last little while we've become CBCers more and more. I like the classical programming (B's not such a big fan) and the morning announcer, Tom Allen, is both informative and funny and he plays a good mix. Which brings me back to John Prine. 2) Growing up, John Prine was an artist that my Dad loved and we kids all loved to hate. But as we grew older, we all discovered how much we actually really do like him. His music has a way of touching you right where you're at. And this song, Souvenirs, is one of those. I often feel like though I am very young (a fact of which I am continually reminded by various social groups in my acquaintance) I feel much older in my soul. "I hate reading old love letters, for they always bring me tears. Can't forgive the way they rob me of my sweetheart, souvenirs." For some reason this line really touches me. Here's a live clip of John Prine and Steve Goodman singing the song back in the day (love John's mustache...he looks like our neighbour) The song gets cut off, so if you like it, you'll just have to go out and buy the album.

ARTIST: John Prine
TITLE: Souvenirs
Lyrics and Chords


All the snow has turned to water
Christmas day has come and gone
Broken toys and faded colors
Are all that's left to linger on
I hate graveyards and old pawnshops
For they always bring me tears
Can't forgive the way they rob me
Of my childhood souvenirs


{Refrain}
Memories, they can't be bought'n
They can't be won at carnivals for free
It took me years, to get those souvenirs
And I don't know how they slipped away from me


Broken hearts and dirty windows
Make life difficult to see
That's why last night and this morning
Always look the same to me
I hate reading old love letters
For they always bring me tears
Can't forgive the way they rob me
Of my sweetheart souvenirs

Harvest 2008

Last weekend B and I drove up to Lacombe so B could work in the office for a couple of days...and it also worked out that we were able to be around for the weekend, just as my Dad's new combine arrived. Dad got it operational on Friday and then Saturday was combining day. Saturday morning was still too wet to start, so we ran an errand over to our longtime friends H&I, who own a dairyfarm nearby, and we put a big stack of straw bales up in the loft of the barn. At around noon Dad and T and B did some sample combining and then we took a sample across town to the elevator, where we were informed that the barley was just dry enough. So Dad and T and B spent the rest of the day out on the tractor and combine and in the grain truck. Meanwhile, I caught the close-to-last window for harvesting apples and consequently made some sauce and delicious crab-apple jelly. It was an absolutely delightful weekend.

More Cowbell

More Montana Trees

Non-working blogger...

Bah! I was all excited about sharing a whole forest of interesting tree pictures today, but the upload feature on blogger is most definitely not working properly today. Grrr. Patience has never been a virtue I have been in great excess of... So please stay tuned and check back on the "Montanan Trees" blog...there's more to come!

Montanan Trees

Trip to Montana

On the weekend B and I took a roadtrip with J&M down to Montana; mostly for the fun of it, but also to see Molly's family, do some shopping and experience the landscape that is Montana. We had bright sunshiney weather when we needed it, which made the trip that much more enjoyable, and a big thunder and rainstorm, which made the air cooler and less dusty. We stayed in the small town of Dutton, where Molly's mum grew up and in fact stayed in the house that Molly's mum grew up in! Molly's grandparents were incredibly friendly and hospitable--expecially considering B and I were just strangers. They went out of their way to make us feel welcome and were interested in our lives and willing to share about theirs--something unfamiliar and welcome to me, who has never really had deep grandparent relationships. We drove into Great Falls Friday night to do some shopping, each of us coming away with some interesting and cheaper-than-in-Canada purchase (I got to visit a Victoria's Secret store for the first time ever!). Grandma Marci expected a fashion show when we got home, and we were glad to do so (well, except for my VS purchases). ;) Saturday we had breakfast with Grandma Marci and then drove out to the mountains over what really could be called the equivalent of a Forestry Trunk Road--it was clay-y and wet and full of potholes. Thankfully, we took Grandma's Jeep rather than attempting the road with our little Matrix. We visted the grandparents' cabin and the outfitting lodge where both Grandma and Grandpa have worked over the years--Grandma as a head cook and Grandpa as an outfitter and wrangler, which he was out doing when we arrived there. We climbed up to the top of cliff across the valley from the cabin--a hike Molly had done before and wanted to share with us. It was absolutely beautiful there--dry like Kootenay Plains but also clearly further south, with the danger of rattlesnakes, with cacti growing along the way and with the sweet smell of sage. Sunday we drove home again, stopping several times to do geocaches along the way, and making it back across the border completely painlessly. It was a most memorable trip!

Where I'm From

I found the template for this poem/musing/list on a friend's blog and I just love the exercise. So here's a little insight into me. Thanks Shannon. :) Where I'm From I am from sweaters with thumb holes; From blogspot.com and Coffee and S'Cream I am from the grey house with the purple door except that our door is around back where the door bell doesn't work; where the neighbour kids laugh and play and smile shyly through the fence at us. I am from masses of thriving shasta daisies and blossomless poppies and sunflowers, from learning how to grow in Calgary's soil and climate and waking up each morning to disvover how our garden has changed. I'm from cuddling under the heavy wool comforter on the morning of the first snow. I am from freckles and bad knees; From Bedstemor and Beppe, whose legacies reach far beyond arthritis. I'm from all kinds of music played all the time and insecurity and a tendency towards bitterness; From "don't take any wooden nickels" and whuppins. I am from precarious Baptistness with a touch of Lutheran symbolism and a lack of Christian Reformity and a desire to drop the denominations and gain the relationship. I am from Frieslanders and Danes, from frikadellers and Johnny's skinny pancakes. From late night Pink Panther and Marx Brothers movies borrowed from the library and watched forwards and backwards, sped up and slowed down to the point where me and the boys could all quote all the words; From Jane Austen movies and folk concerts, music and geocaches and hikes and runs, From getting married young and learning who I am while learning who Brent is, and sharing these experiences of growth and change. From all the pictures stored up on Brent's computer that I am in and Brent isn't--because he's the one taking the pictures. From being surprised how normal I look in the pictures--more than normal: being surprised that I might not actually be as awkward and frumpy as I feel inside. From being amazed and proud at how talented Brent is at photography and from visiting interesting places knowing that he will unlock previously unknown beauty from them through the lens of his camera. From being frightened and excited about all the places we will go where photographs are waiting to be discovered. And hoping that these images will need my words to accompany and complete them. Edited to Add: Thanks George Ella Lyon, for stopping by and claiming credit for the original poem. :)

Today's Links

Just some websites we've seen in the past couple of days that might be of interest.
 First, I have to endorse the very cool site for avid readers: www. goodreads.com And if you decide to join, please add me as a friend...I'm always interested in learning about other books I should read. Also, see my goodreads widget on the right hand side of our blog.
An interesting solar community in Okotoks. How much would we like to move there... http://www.dlsc.ca/how.htm
Brent's famous!!! Or at least his photographs are. :) A blog about photoblogs: http://www.blogonphotoblogs.com/ And where Brent is featured: http://www.blogonphotoblogs.com/image-of-the-week-9
 Food for thought about births, deaths and carbon emissions. Look how much faster people are born than they die. It's almost enough to decide not to have kids. Almost, but not quite. :) http://www.breathingearth.net/

Gaillardia Aristata

Windows In Edinburgh et al

Today's food for thought: Windows in Edinburgh. Good news for old windows, potentially. Oh to live in a house with old windows. Might sound like an odd thing, but after reading a blog about the joys and trials of counter-weighted windows, I've gained a great appreciation for them. Also, any intrepid blog readers out there want to offer advice on power adapters/converters for laptops? With Denmark looming up in the distance, we need to invest in something that will make European 220 volts into 110 volts that my lappy can use. Do we need an adapter? a converter? both? And where's the best place to get this doohickey? Having a frustrating and not-so-proactive afternoon, so we pulled out the album Camino by Oliver Schroer. Schroer came recommended to me by my cousin G, and he was just the thing for this afternoon. Thoughtful and provocative, introspective without lulling us to sleep. Just that much different from "normal" classical violin music to require us to lean in and listen more carefully. There's no real good videos on youtube or I would attach one, but you could listen to clips on Schroer's website, or order an album. Last night for supper we made Smoked Salmon Bisque. It was incredibly tasty. We didn't have Old Bay Seasoning, like it called for, but I looked it up on wikipedia and made my own version. Mustard, cinnamon, ginger, pepper, celery salt, bay leaf...what could be better? Finally, we went to Avenue Diner on Stephen Avenue this morning with E&B. If you haven't been there, I highly recommend it. Great food, great ambience, cheerful and kind staff. A great way to start off the day (with two of our favourite people!).

BBC and Jane Austen

BBC: One of our favourite things about our trip to England (and there were many!) was BBC television. It was so very different than American broadcasting and different still than CBC. Their news coverage is relayed in a far more friendly manner; the weather is divided up into reports on hourly changes; the everyday evening programming is more than just Law and Order and CSI (try gardening shows and cooking shows and history shows!). Back home here, we are rarely disappointed by BBC movies, and luckily for us, the Calgary Public Library has lots of selection! Jane Austen: I have loved Jane Austen's writing since I was a little girl (perhaps empire waisted dresses should come back in style?!). And the many film adaptations of her novels rarely disappoint. Except Northanger Abbey--the film adaptation of it is horrible. Incidentally, we never made it to Jane Austen's house while we were in England, which is really too bad. A good friend of mine did go, however, and she brought me back a book! Last night we borrowed the 2008 BBC production of Sense and Sensibility. The Emma Thompson-directed and Thompson and Kate Winslet-starring S&S is very lovely, but this new version, as a made-for-tv movie drawn out over three episodes, tells the story in much greater detail (at times embellishing beyond what the book includes). And it's lovely; I highly recommend it.

This morning's song

A song and a music video for you. I'd really like to see K-os live sometime. Which reminds me, Dougie Maclean is coming to Calgary again. If you can make it and enjoy folk-celtic music, I highly recommend you check out the Calgary Folk Club on Friday September 19th. You'll be glad you did.

The end of one month and the beginning of another

On the weekend we had the privilege of taking care of E&B's pets, in particular their affectionate and enthusiastic dog Kiera. We had a wonderful time entertaining her--mostly because her need for walks became our outing to go geocaching (more on geocaching later.) On Sunday we decided to go for a geocaching/picture-taking/Kiera-outing trip to East Central Alberta. The day was drizzly and cool but we didn't care, we were going regardless. I did a total of three geocaches and would have done for if the Dalum Community Hall had not been playing host to an overnight wedding party. All in all, we travelled to Delacour, Rosebud, Wayne, Dalum and Standard in the course of the day, stopping often to stretch our collective eight legs, take pictures and find caches. It was a wonderful trip. And now it is September, and we must stay carefully on track in order to be ready for our trip to Denmark. Already I am feeling overwhelmed with things. I have to do more translation and more conversation practice. We need to build up some more funds and Brent needs to get some serious work done. We need to converse with our Danish family and ensure we're all on the same page as far as when we're there and what we're doing. It's so different than our England trip because in England we didn't know anyone, and could plan according to our whims. In Denmark we have tons of family and one family in particular we are going to spend time with, and we tread a fine balance between allowing them to be hospitable and taking too much advantage of their hospitality. I'm nervous about this. September is the time for back-to-schooling and this year it is a time of re -focusing and "New Year's Resolutions" for me. Setting some daily, weekly and monthly goals personally and for school. Getting reconnected and recommitted to our church family; figuring out how to work towards the ideals that I posted here earlier in the summer. I especially need to take further steps towards the sewing part. But one thing I have realized over the course of the past week is how truly blessed we are--what a good place we are in right now. We both have good jobs; we have hobbies that fulfill us and that keep our minds and bodies active; we have a wonderful church body by whom we are continually blessed and who nudge us continually to remain committed to serving in Christ; we lack for nothing to meet our physical needs. And especially, we have family and old and new friends who love us and challenge us. We are so blessed.