Advent

Yesterday was the first Sunday of Advent, and in every traditional norwegian home a six-armed (electric) candlestick will be placed in the window, also often a star-shaped lamp is hung in another window.

These will shine all through December and into the New Year until Twelvth Night -the 12th day of Christmas, January 6th, when all the decorations are tidied away. Some even hold out till the 20th day, but I think that's something Reidar made up, to makeChristmas last longer. A lot of people also put lights on a tree in the garden. All these lights make the houses look so pretty and cheerful in this the darkest time of the year. The sun rose at 08.53 today, and set at 15.15, which gives us 12 hours 16 min. less daylight than we had at midsummer. It always makes me sad to drive in the dark when the lights have been put away, and I miss the friendly glow in the kitchen at night. So much so that I bought another small lamp which sits in the kitchen window and shines day and night to drive away the darkness.

On Wednesday we can open the first window on the advent calendar - always a reminder to we busy housewives who have gifts to buy and wrap, cards to write and send, rooms to clean and decorate, cookies and treats to bake, and 101 other small tasks to do before the big day. By the time we find time to sit down and catch our breath it's all over, the sun has "turned" and the days have started getting a little bit longer every day. Hooray!

...and some showers

Life is not all sunshine, and we do need the rain to survive.

What we don't need is bad health. On June 4th 1977 I stood beside Reidar in St Gwinear parish church and promised to stand by him for richer or poorer, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health til death do us part.

Now the time has come to make good my promise. His illness has taken a turn for the worse, and he is in hospital. A series of constant infections and a lot of unnecessary pain have left him tired out. Now he's got good pain relief, is able to sleep for longer periods, has had a blood transfusion, and his poorly kidneys are getting the attention they deserve. He looks rested and healthier than he has done for some time, and should be allowed to come home soon. If he continues to gain strength he should be able to get some more chemotherapy or radiation treatment. This will not, unfortunately cure his cancer, but will, hopefully prolong his life.

I know that I've kept my head buried in the sand, and every day that he's been able to get out of bed and lead a fairly normal life has been a day that I can pretend that the cancer has lost its power. Stupid really, but it was nice while it lasted. Time for some loin-girding, and doing all that I can to make his life pleasant, comfortable and safe.

Sunbeam!

I love this picture of Espen. The reflected light gives a very special effect. It also reminds me of the way our cats always seek out that stripe of sunshine on the floor to sun themselves in.
Espen is a ray of sunshine in our otherwise gloomy household. Han er bestemors lille solstråle!

Happy birthday Gwenyth Zillah!

It's my mother's birthday today. She was born on 22nd October 1913, so she's 97 today. This picture was taken almost a year ago, and she's holding Lawrence Henry (Laurie) one of her four great-grandchildren.

I wish I could be with her today, to help make her birthday special, but that's not possible because Reidar's quite unwell at the moment. I spoke to Mother yesterday and she wasn't specially looking forward to her birthday. She reckoned she'd had far too many. Just think of all the changes in the world that have happened in her lifetime and that she has learnt to accept.

Happy birthday Mother!

The unkindest cut of all

Ninja's been to the vet today, and he isn't feeeling all that great. He's had a full anasthetic and is still a bit woozy. You can't see his scars because he's sitting on them. Tomorrow he'll feel a lot better, and on Saturday he can go out in the garden again. After that hopefully all forgiven and forgotten.

Nicholas North

This is my one and only son-in-law, and as sons-in-law go, I think I picked a winner. My daughter Tamsin couldn't be in safer hands. She's loved and cherished, treated like a lady and maybe even a little bit spoiled.

We spent three weeks in their company earlier this year, and the prospect of having anybody to stay for three weeks can be daunting, but Nick remained polite and considerate, patient and caring, even when we all got a tummy bug! He's a prince among men, and I love him to bits.

Have a very happy birthday Nick!

Skyping with Espen (and Tamsin!)

I haven't held him in my arms since May, when he was only 12 weeks old, but thanks to Skype I see him every week, he hears my voice, and now I think he sees my face and we have begun to communicate. When he was tiny, he looked round to see where the voice was coming from, but now he seems to know. Through the wonders of modern technology I've been able to watch his growth and development. I've seen his first tooth (with accompanying grumpiness, red cheek and dribble) I've seen his triumph at being able to turn himself over or reach for a toy. I've heard his giggles and chirps. I can see when he's tited, almost before his mother.

His eager expression in this picture is not entirely for Granny, more for the computer with exciting cables and keyboard. I don't mind - I can see, from the other side of the world, that he's a chip off the old block.