Concentration.

Sigh.

Home alone. Home - alone. Wow. Those two words have not been in my vocabulary for a while. But today, I am.
The rest of the circus (and sometimes chaos) that is my family are doing their daily stuff. Just me here. Well, and the kittens too. Oh, and the dog. Eh...and fourteen chicks in the cellar, and six chickens on the lawn.
(...)
Anyway, so I am the only human here, now. (If that's an appropriate term for a zombie, haha, see post below.)
And what do I do on my day off?
I clean the house, I tidy, I de-tickify (remove ticks from) and brush the wolfhound (that's a lot of dog to groom!), I do laundry, I move furniture around, I sort out the recycling, change linen, blahblahblah.
Just so I don't have to do all that on my working days.
Now, a coffee for ten minutes before picking Ronja up from the bus.

And yes, there is magic in this life, in this part of the journey that I am on, but sometimes I grab myself just wanting to lie down, flat down on the ground, and sleep.

The big sleep.

...or, the lack of it.
So tired, I could fall asleep anywhere. The equation is: Freja with a cold/ waking up many times a night + Freja waking up to start the day at 0515 am + busy days at work + work weekend with loads of activities with the students = zombie-Mrs. Payne.
But note: Happy.
Happy-zombie-Mrs. Payne.
It's time to stop writing now, and go to bed. Good evening to everyone, zombies or not!

How to pose for photos...

...and where.

(I am the) Egg, man.

Our adolescent chicks have started working for their money! The eggs are not very impressive in size yet (the bigger one in the photo is from our egglaying veteran, black Spanish woman Juanita/ Ho Anita), but charming enough, and shows good working spirit. Hired!

Scenes from the girls' room.

A month ago today.

Still, tears well up.
I was about to post another typically self-absorbed post about something puny going on in my life, when I started watching the memorial concert after the massacre and bombing in our country a month ago.
Suddenly, I felt really embarassed.
Not that I don't think the events of my family life are important, but it just felt wrong to focus on us, now.
I'll try again tomorrow, perhaps. 'Till then: ♥

Another step.

Here she is, our special schoolgirl! Proud to be in 2. grade.

And here is our other special one. Too busy to be photographed, off we go to BABA! (which means barnehagen/daycare, for all of you who are not in with the lingo.)

Must remember...

...to go here, regularly.

Because it's all starting, now.
Had my first day back at work yesterday, and lordy lord was my head boiling at the end of the day. I might have gone more stupid, or slow, during summer, but I think I prefer being a little bit dumb. Thinking is painful!
Hopefully, practice will make perfect with me too. After a while.
Students arriving on Sunday! And again I live the DIY dream/hell that is folkehøgskole - preparing for another school year is both exhilarating and frustrating. But all in all - a privilege. Lucky me.
And as of tomorrow, I have a second grader in the house! A certain someone is very excited.
But now: gooseberry crumble in the oven, and kittens to cuddle.
Nice evening to all!

Feline frenzy.

Yes, we've gone cat mad at Zoo Payne, and went ahead and fell in love again.
Everyone: Meet Sioux!

José & Georgia.

Every little thing she does is magic.

As she has started kindergarten this week, and properly (last week was just pretend, just getting used to it), she is now a big girl and surely does not need her mummy to read for her.

I miss her. Although it feels good to start work again, and to get things done with a little continuity (which is a rareity when you have a 15-month old around your feet all day), many times a day I stop and get the feeling I've forgotten something, or that I've left something somewhere, or that something is missing... And then I know, it's that little someone I'm missing.
And then, I realize I'm not getting a lot of continuity anyway, daydreaming like that, so I pick her up early.

Purr.

Farewell.

Stella has moved today.
We have cried our tears and despaired, but there was no other way. It's the best for us, and the best for her. And we have found a great home for her, she will be the dog in charge on a farm only a short drive from us.
Still, it's sad, and strange. Zoo Payne has one member less from today.

Joy/A year ago today.

Frejas kindergarten debut has been a success, she's been very happy and confident there. 

Imagine that, the little baby in the photo below has now turned into a bold and cheeky and very wonderful toddler. And the other one is soon to be a 2nd-grader! Time flies, and other clichés. I am savouring every day like the treasure it is!

Wishing you all a lovely Friday! These two stars and their parents are going to friends for pie today, yummy... 

Apart from that, this weekend has a challenge in store for us. But more about that later... 

An eventful afternoon.

This is what happens when we go out in the woods:

We pick some berries.

But eat most of them.

We find chanterelle!

We meet up with the local elk matriarch and her youngster.

We also met with the local elk bachelor, a goshawk and this lady.

Who says living in the country is boring?

The end of innocence.

Our baby, our little Freja is starting daycare tomorrow. Fifteen and a half months of staying at home with the family is over, she will now be a part of another little community.
We know she'll have fun and that she will be in the best of hands, and she seems ready for it.
But still.