Today it's Saturday all over the world...

In the middle of a hug




(except that I wasn't able to post it until now, which is Sunday afternoon)
My sister, Ingvild, and I was standing in the kitchen today, a batch of cookies baking in the oven, sunshine outside the window, when she suddenly says:
.

Have you ever thought about... right now it's Saturday all over the world?

.

I had not. Imagine what a huge thought, an amazing reality:

other girls and sisters cooking Saturday's batch of cookies,

people writing Saturday's entry in their journals,

some going to bed a late Saturday evening,

others just greeting the early Saturday morning.

Some've got a rainy Saturday,

others have got a sunny one, like ours.

Some have got a carefree one like we have,

other's Saturday will be cloudy in despair and mourning.

.

So many Saturdays all in one, so many people,

such a great God watching over,

caring for,

loving,

providing for: all of them.
.
Oh, I'm glad I'm not the one in charge, and while we left that part to our King and Creator, we
shopped,
made and ate cookies
finished a scutch (meaning the-first-copy-(in-cheap-fabric-)of-a-dress-I'm-going-to-sew)
cooked chicken for tomorrow's Tithing Chicken Salad
made daddy's home made pizza (we have two kinds in our family, mum's and dad's)
watched "Becoming Jane Austen" (which I don't recommend)
listened to country music
read and reread articles from Young Ladies Christian Fellowship
laughed
hugged
had fun
had more fun
had a jolly good time =) =)

I hope your Saturday was as sweet, beautiful and happy as ours

(I could wish you nothing better)'

åslaug

In Honor of ******, ******* and *******

-Because I love those girls so much =)

I didn't have a diaper pin (since none in my household wears diapers), but we do wear clothes, so I used a clothes pin instead.... =)

This morning the landscape was still covered in snow (this is the view from the kitchen window).

Flowers on the table. When you have no flowers in the backyard, you'll simply have to do with potted ones... They're still beautiful, though (even if they in real life are purple, not blue)






A clean kitchen =) such a pretty sight, isn't it?

.

And after cleaning the kitchen, it's time to be ambitious about everything that should be done today (should probably have been done yesterday as well, but was never completed).
.

It's time to be brave and jump right into sewing a blouse from a pattern (when you've hardly used a pattern before, and never by yourself). And after falling asleep on the couch (accidentially), ending up sewing both sleeve pieces together to one big sleeve (in stead of two normal sized ones) and having a good laugh (and lots of stiches to take out in the evening), it's time to make dinner (guess who...).
.
.
.
Well, you take a leek...

And start sharing the recipe for

.

.

OVEN BAKED TOMATO FISH

.

300-400 g fish filet (cod, coalfish etc.)
1/4 teaspoon (american teaspoon) salt


1/4 teaspoon (still american) pepper


2 tomatoes (I didn't know this, I always use 3-5), sliced anyway


1/2 leek (it's sort of obvious that you'll have to cut this one, isn't it?)


1/2 teaspoon basil


some grated cheese


15 ml whipping cream (I use milk)
.


.

Well, you actually start with the fish (not the leek). Cut it in pieces the size you'd like to get on your plate, put in greased pan and sprinkle salt and pepper over it (I never ever measure salt or pepper or basil, just so you know...). It should now look about like this:

Slice tomatoes, as many as you want...Put on top of the fish and sprinkle with basil

Cut leek and make a second layer of vegetables upon that poor fish (it doesn't mind, it's dead). See how small my family is? I can hardly fill half the pan (and that's a small pan). Little pretend to be-housewife-and-homemaker-and-other-things-she's-not putting this lovely fish-dish in the oven, and realising that the family is perfect in size (she truly couldn't manage another one!) But she does love her family, not despite, but even because of the small size and quiet ways. God has blessed her with something He knew would be perfect for her, only for her. Who is she to complain?

.
.

Fish dish (not family) is baked in a 200 celcius and 392 fahrenheit oven, for about 35 minutes



Meanwhile, use that beautiful, super-convenient apron sewn you by beautiful, super-convenient, dearly beloved and so missed friends far far away to carry some potatoes out to in the kitchen. Cut them, put them in a frying pan on the oven, put a lump of butter in the pan, sprinkle onion powder, salt and pepper over them, stir once, cover and leave (now, do remember to turn the heat on).
Get back in a few minutes later and stir again. Repeat this till potatoes are cooked (soft in the middle).
.
.
Set the table and give thanks to a lovingkind God who provide you with food, love, family, snow, laughter, friends (though far away) joy, peace and happiness, every single day =)
.

.

He is the Saviour.


The Messiah, the Lord.


Praise Him!
.


.

åslaug

The very first morning of the Christmas holiday

It's Thursday morning. I'm home. Being a child (or at least a growing up one) of the twentieth century means that you have many homes. I live on my border school in Lyngdal, and also here. My family moved five times during my childhood, and this was the last house where we all lived together. Now, as all the children (all three of us) have moved away, it still smells like home, looks like home and feels like home. I'm home.

This autumn have passed quickly. I've been feeling exhausted and things kind of just pass by outside my window (I do have a lot of fun watching, though). It's not morning anymore, it's dark outside the windows. The sun came, shone, and went away.

I've done nothing this wonderful day. At least it felt like doing "nothing". I've been playing piano, dancing, listening to music, singing, drawing, baking "kokosmakroner" with my very-much-beloved-sister, being visited by a sweet girl selling toffe and cakes, two boys played "ring på spring" (ring the doorbell, run away, wait until the owner of the house comes out, wait until she goes back in, ring the bell... and so on..) they got "kokosmakroner" and "mandariner". Dad came home in the evening and we had dinner. He brought presents (white, christmas tea), my very-much-beloved-sister and I watched a movie (Love Actually). Now everybody are snuggeled up in bed, except me. I'm coming =)

I've been thinking a little on what I am going to do next year. It's my first year, where I actually can decide for myself exactly what to do. To live/work at Lia Gård as a "husfolk" is todays option. I'll be thinking and praying over it (you're very welcome to pray too).

This holiday, I am only (almost) going to rest, try to get well, and enjoy =) and I'll try (really!) to post on the blog every day of the holiday. At least I'll make a try.

"Kokosmakroner"

(makes 24)

4 large eggwhites

225 g sugar

250 g shredded coconut

Beat the eggs whites ligthly, blend with sugar and shredded coconut in a pan. Let the mixture thicken over low heat while stirring constantly. Keep on till the dough keeps it's form. Use two spoons and put in down on a waxed paper. 180 degrees celcius in the oven in about 12 minutes. Chill and save for Christmas =)

1 Thessalonians 3:12

"And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you:"

I read the Norwegian translation in the newspaper this morning:

"Og må Herren la den kjærligheten dere har til hverandre og til alle mennesker, få vokse seg rik og stor, slik som vår kjærlighet til dere!"

That's a wish for all of you!

I hope your days before Christmas will be special and that they'll bring you close to the true meaning of Christmas; The Light came down to enlighten our world of darkness. Our Saviour was born as a child, we're still awaiting Him 2000 years later to come back, this time as a King.

Rest on Sunday

Reading the Bible

The view from my window

Some days I feel like blogging, but I don’t feel like I have anything to share. Other days I have so much to share and so little time to share it. Today is one of these days. I had a post finished that was supposed to be posted monday morning. It is about Sunday. My Sunday, which was a very nice one. Read and enjoy, and bake the cake; it’s incredible tasty!

Sunday was a lovely day. Saturday was cooking, laundry, cleaning, shopping and homework. Sunday was.... resting. Such a wonderful peace and quiet Sundays brings when you lay down your everyday work, sit down, open your Bible, spending time with God, or simply rest.

It’s not like the Sunday automatically becomes a day of peace and quiet by itself. But as the Sunday was from the very beginning a day of rest and restitution, so it becomes what it have always been if you just don’t make too many appointments to fill it.


Genesis 2:2-3: ”By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.”


So, at Sunday I rested. We had boiled eggs and warm bread rolls for breakfast, I had a nap after dinner, did some sewing, read stories from a childrens bible and read through the original text afterwards, had friends visiting for cakes and blackberry limonade. Sunday, was a precious, lovely day =)

And here’s the recipe on the loveliest chocolate cake I’ve ever tasted (takk, Marita!!!)

2,5 dl is about 1 cup

”Konfektkake”

225 g vegetable shortening, melted
400 g (4,5 dl) sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
60 g (1,5 dl) cocoa
stirred into the butter
3 eggs, one at the time
3 dl all purpose flour in the end

170 c in the owen for 25 – 30 min i 24 cm cake tin.

Frosting:
Bring 2 dl cream og 25 g (2 small tablespoons) butter (must be butter, not vegetable shortening) to boiling.
Stir in 200 g dark baking chocolate.
Put the frosting in the frigde

As the frosting is very thin in the beginning, you may want to put on the middle layer of frosting while the lower part of the cake is in the cake tin and then lay the upper part on top and put on the frosting on the top, before you put the whole thing into the frigde, just my experience.

Cut into to halves and put frosting in the middle and on the top. Cool in the fridge. Can be frozen.
Good Luck. Enjoy!!!

I hope your day was wonderful!
God bless you

åslaug

Chockladbollar

Chokladbollar är en riktig klassiker som de flesta tycker om.
Tid: 15 minuter
20 st
Du behöver:
· 150 g smör eller margarin
· 2 dl socker
· 3 ½ dl havregryn
· 1 dl kokosflingor
· 1 ½ msk vaniljsocker
· 4 ½ msk kakao
· 2-3 msk kaffe
Garnering:
· pärlsocker eller kokosflingor
Gör så här:
Rör smör och socker till en jämn smet gärna med elvisp så går det snabbt.
Tillsätt havregryn, kokosflingor, kakao, vaniljsocker och kaffe och rör till en jämn smet för hand eller med elvisp.
Kaffe kan man till exempel göra genom att blanda 2-3 tsk néscafé med 3 msk vatten.
Häll upp kokosflingor eller pärlsocker i en djup tallrik. Rulla små bollar av smeten och rulla bollarna i kokosflingorna eller pärlsockret.
Lägg bollarna i en burk och förvara i kylskåp. De går också att frysa in.