White fluff.

We had a slight snowfall last night, and the bird feeder has a whole new architectural look. I will gladly admit that I think nature is absolutely beautiful right now. The atmospehere is really something, especially in the morning, when the moon is up and the light is blue. It makes me grateful for the contrasts the seasons give us.
(And no, I am not being ironic now.)
(Not now either.)

First Sunday of advent yesterday, and we've opened the box of Christmas lights and decorations. Yippie!

Project: making a Christmas calendar for Ronja. Coffee, cute baby and sleepy dogs. Out skiing with my fantastic pseudo-husky Stella later. Making the best of it, again.

Wishing everyone a lovely day!

Today:

Happy it's Friday, even though I'm home with Freja anyway for the time being. Looking forward to the weekend, spending days with my favourites, sleeping a little bit longer, having breakfast longer, more space, more time. Pizza. Red wine. Snuggles. Lucky me.
To celebrate this Friday, I'll post two snapshots I find amusing.

Here is Billie the Wolfhound. Or - is it really a man dressed up as a dog?

Freja is completey baffled at the sight of the camera. (Or the person behind it?)

Good day to you all!

A continuous line of hellos and goodbyes.

Looking through old photos, I found this one, taken three years ago today.
Ronja, three years old. My heart sinks by the look of the little troll. To me, being a mother is a constant process of sorrow and joy - sorrow because you keep losing your child, she grows out of herself and into another all the time. And of course, joy because it's amazing fantastic mindblowing to be a part of her life and to welcome her into all the new phases she's entering, and have the privilege to be the one who's guiding, loving and supporting her.

Freja exploring bread.

The smaller joys of life.

I have finally taken the step to paint our dining room table, after having planned it for ages. The table has been in my family for years, it's around this very table that I have shared countless meals with my mum, dad and sisters. It was in its original wooden pine finish, kind of eighties-looking (the pine period of the 80ies is NOT the kind of retro I'm into), but still - it was a difficult decision. After listing up pros and cons, considering the nostalgic patina of the original look versus a fresh look, blablabla, I made an executive decision, and did it.

And I LOVE IT.

So Dad, you wanted to see how it ended up, here it is. Ready to take on years of meals ahead!

(No, it's not white. It has a hint of mint.)

The Paynes broke free again...

...and went with faboulous friends to a spectacular place in the mountains. Love!

Making the best of it.

Winter, that is.

Welcome, Cinderella and Prince Charming!

We have two new additions to our band of chickens - a hen and a cockerel, of the Norwegian Jær-høns breed. The new inhabitants have moved in with much drama though. The three ugly sisters are very jealous of Cinderella's beauty, and Prince Charming has eyes for nobody else. Hopefully, the ugly sisters will lead him into temptation soon, so we can have small chicks hatching from all of them. It's what he's paid to do, after all!

The newcomers in all their glory.

Cinderella finds it all too intimidating, and decides to hide behind her hero, ostrich style.

One of the ugly sisters, striking a very threatening pose towards Cinderella.

How to baby proof your house.

...or, shall we say, how to house proof your baby?

This is Freja. She actually agreed with me that it was a great idea to sit in the very small basket.

How couldn't it be -

- when it's full of treasures?

Lo and behold! Scrolling through old photos, I discover a pattern. This mummy invented the wheel twice! Because here is Ronja, about six months old. Loving the basket too!

This is how we do it. Simple, and easy.

Six years old!

Sweet lovely funny fantastic Ronja was six years old last Friday!

We love you, sweetiekins!

Her birthday is two days before Halloween, so we usually do the whole scary theme on the party, and this time too. Ronja had planned it all well in advance. In fact, she actually planted the seeds of the pumpkins in our kitchen garden with the birthday party in mind. And here are the results:

Pretty scary, huh?

As always, our little troll wanted to dress up as a witch on her birthday. Which is great, because then her mum gets to go nuts with the facial paint, and makes her daughter look REALLY scary. This photo is as you can see from the party. The look had already worn off a bit, her hair wasn't like a birds nest anymore, but still, a proper witch.

But, writing about this absolutely forces me to post another witch-photo of Ronja, from a masquerade they had in kindergarten last winter. I think it is the maximum nuts I've gone with the facial paint so far. The other kids were properly scared! (Moahahahahaha!)

No need for watchdogs when we are armed with a little witch like this!