Mrs. Payne is happy!

...not that that's a spectacle - I have been happy before (many times, actually!). But these last couple of weeks have been a bit rough, with a baby who decided that nighttime sleeping is for wimps. And that she wanted to see what her mum would look like as a zombie. Well, now she knows, the experiment is over, and peace and quiet will again settle in the Payne home (it's all down to positive thinking, I'm sure!).

So today, Mrs. Payne is a happy woman.

Many things to be joyous about: Making plum and apple juice from our own fruit. Listening to Francoise Hardy and the "I'm Not There" soundtrack. Thinking of the fun I had on my riding lesson yesterday, on huge gorgeous fantastic Landino. Looking at the doggies snuggled up on their beds. Thinking about how cute Ronja was this morning, hair all messy, floral skirt over wooly tights and hiking shoes, happy on her way to school. Looking forward to Mr. Payne coming home. Freja having a long nap in her pram, in the fresh autumn air. Thinking about the special day that's coming up this weekend.

It ain't so bad, after all.

The girl and the hound.

I am so proud of Ronja! She helps me out with so much, and mostly with a smile. (I said mostly.) No task too small, no task too big. As you can see in the photos below.

Luckily, no bird (or wolf, for that matter) has caught Billie's attention while Ronja is on the other end of the lead.

Yet.

Glorious monday.

The littlest monkey is finding it fun to keep her mother awake at night, so this morning I almost fell asleep by the kitchen table. Luckily, I have someone to pull my hair...

...and put me in place.

Apart from that, the Paynes have had a very good weekend, slowly coming back to normality (if there is such a thing) after the hustle and bustle of moving. We had the Mrs. Payne-parents for dinner on Friday (they tasted excellent!), and Saturday was spent in kindergarten (we just can't stay away) for a dugnad (click on the word), eating cakes in a birthday party, and on the sofa with a (?) big glass of wine. Sunday was spent baking bread that never became anything else than porridge (I'll give you the recipe, I'm an expert!) and being generally lethargic. Have a good week, folks! I'm off to bed again...

Early poems.

When I was five years old, my dog suddenly died, of course to my great sorrow. Apparently I found that writing poetry could help deal with the pain, as many of the big litterates in the world have done.

(Translating it will probably do it more harm than good, but here goes: "Truls, Truls, you were my friend, but you are now dead forever.")

Words are superfluous.

Sometimes...

...it's hard to be a little baby.

Especially when mum feeds me porridge to slowly!

It can drive any sane person nuts to have to wait three seconds for the next spoonful...

...but luckily there's always a starry smile waiting to break through the tears...

Sugarplum!

These boots are made for walking...

...and that's just what they'll do!

Sometimes we all feel that we have shoes that are difficult to fill. So far Ronja's days at school have been good, but we all know that it is hard sometimes, to be a little person in a big world. Looking at this photo though, it seems like the little lady is more than ready to take on greater challenges!

Chaos is complete.

We have finally moved all our stuff over from the old place to the new (AND we have internet again!), but the mess never seems to end. When I move one thing to its "right" place, I instantly find something else that needs to be sorted out. And there's a lot of stuff, jeez! Mr. Payne has already done his back in from all the carrying, so we're all glad it's coming to an end. So my days now consist of pottering around trying to make sense of it all, while the little monkey is asleep and the bigger monkey is at school. Can't really say there's any reason to feel sorry for me, and in spite of snotty autumn-cold noses and done-in backs, we are a very happy newborn farm-owner family!