Hello again.

So, it’s been a while since I’ve updated this. The garden on the roof worked out pretty well, Charlie’s had her first birthday, and I moved back to Norway.

I don’t really know how it happened but it suddenly became pretty obvious that for some reason it was the next thing to do. So I’m now moved back in with my parents, although I”m working on painting and decorating a room in my brothers house so I can move in there sometime in the next couple of weeks. Although it is stunningly beautiful up here (parents’ place), it’s just too far away from everything, so I think Mandal (brothers place) is going to work better.

Charlie is thriving up here, it’s really nice to see her outside in the vegetable garden or just running around on the grass, picking berries and eating them straight off the bushes, getting filthy and wet digging in the dirt and generally  having a great time. We made a little hut out of big ferns the other day.

At the moment it feels really weird being back, everything is so expensive and I have no money, and I keep trying to find some sort of reason or sense in being here.

So far I guess what has become obvious is how lucky I’ve been over the past two years to have been with people who see things much the same way as me. I really miss that. I find myself wanting to explain something that people here just can’t understand. I guess I just have to live it.

Other stuff: We went for a hike to Preikestolen when I first got here, it was pretty stunning.

I also went to the Slotfjell Music Festival with Lena and Charlie. It was cool, but obviously quite a different experience from the other years, as they have not involved bringing a one year old!

So, to sum it up: I’m in Norway, I have no idea why I’m here or how long I’m going to stay. Not many things seem to make sense at the moment.

It’ll be like an experiment in living a normal life for a bit. I have a feeling I’m not going to like it. My next move is to get a job. And then, I guess, becoming… Normal. Ugh.

I’ve got a new project, I thought I would make a container vegetable garden on the roof! I’ll make two big platforms on either side of the skylight, plant lots of veg in wooden wine boxes lined with plastic and stick them on the platforms. I’ve already got some seedlings (tomato, aubergine, peppers and strawberries) inside at the moment, I’ve hung them up in the skylight so they’ll get lots of light and warmth. they seem to like it:)

What I’m planning to grow:
Tomatoes – Red Robin, Gardeners Delight & Millefleur
Cucumber – Crystal Lemon
Sweet Peppers – Sunnybrook
Aubergines – Diamond
Alpine Strawberries
Carrots – Paris Market
Rainbow Chard
Pea – Sugar Bon
Lettuce – Mixed Leaves
Potatoes – Anya
Onions
Garlic
Various herbs

and flowers:

Nasturtiums
Brugmansia Arborea

I’m really enjoying growing stuff, and the idea of having something green around is just wonderful. It’ll make it nicer to sit outside as well because I won’t get blinded by the big white roof area!

Nothing much to say about other things, Charlie will be 10 months next week and is doing brilliantly, the super clingy stage seems to be passing and she’s started to walk on her own. And she’s got 4 teeth!

We’re still trying to figure out the space thing, where and what to buy and who goes where. The Ark (the big barge up the river) seems to be back in the picture though, looking quite likely at the moment:)

Halloween Photos:)

We had dinner at Waldringfield, Charlie dressed up as the toothless fairy, and we carved pumpkins.
From the beginning; Mine, Barbaras and Rolands, Robins, Helens. And the thing at the end is for  Nessuno Importante, it is the shape I did with my eyes closed.

I’m going to Norway for Christmas, yay! I’ll arrive on the 18th of December and depart on the 29th. So I’m just coming back to England in time for New Year. I’m quite looking forward to it, now I just have to come up with christmas presents for everyone… And on those lines I will post a wish list for myself & Charlie

Me:
Dressing Gown
SLR Camera (one can always hope)
Great Books
Moomin DVD’s in english
 Long sleeved tops/Cool T-shirts
Slippers
Colourful Tights 

Charlie:
Warm socks that stays up
Warm and reasonably windproof hat
Toys that makes good sounds
A Skwish 
Wooden toys
Good books
A windproof coat

I know the last post said that we just bought a boat, but, that’s not technically true. What happened was that the day after i wrote the last post Roland and Barbara went to see Maureen and Peter and they suddenly wanted more money for it and stuff. Long story short, it looked like it wouldn’t happen, but then Roland got the idea that he might still buy it as a work space for him with the financial aid of his brother, Laurence. I’m totally in love with the place so I’d live there if we buy it. So it looks like it might happen after all, just with a different twist

Wow, big news. Sam & Robin is engaged, and we found a place to live! All six of us that is, Roland, me, Barbara, Charlie, Robin & Helen. It’s a huge massive barge just up the river with about 1,5 acres of land with it, and the land next door has been used by the people on the barge for over 20 years so we get the right to use that as well and also the next door mooring!

The land is beautiful, The beginning of an oak forest with beautiful trees and a stream running through, although it is a bit clogged up at the moment. There is also a tree house and lots of outbuildings, including a house/shed that’s apparently been lived in for 4 years which means we have the right to convert it into a living space:)

The boat it self consists of an upstairs living room/ kitchen area, roomy and light with big windows and a fabulous view. Downstairs there’s 5 big bedrooms (sleeps 13 altogether) an alcove at the back of the boat which will be an office space, separate shower -toilet and bathroom.
The amazing thing about it is that the whole boat feels so roomy, there’s nothing cramped about any of the rooms or hallways. It’s amazing!

The people who live there now are smokers, so the whole boat will need repainting and possibly a bit of modification in places.  But it’s all pretty straightforward, and it’s the sort of decorating that’s loads of fun! It wasn’t actually on the market so Maureen and Peter (the people who live there now) will need about 6 months to figure out what to do next and clear everything out, before we can move in.

It’s beautiful. It’s magical. I love it! The pictures are rubbish but the place is nice

Her name is Charlie May, and she’s now 12 weeks old. She can roll over, and walk if I hold her hands. She loves flying, and is still a greedy pig! She’s started teething but in between that she’s still a very smiley and happy baby:)

I made her a dress out of one of Barbara’s old evening gowns, and although you can’t really tell from the pictures it actually worked out really well. I’m quite pleased with it, as I’ve never made anything like it before and it was all a big experiment!

The weekend with scary family went quite well, they are all slightly less scary now. And I finally got the signature I needed for the passport application for Charlie, so maybe I’ll actually get that sent off soon!

We have new neighbors; A woman called Sam has moved in next door with her 12 year old son George, on a narrowboat called Ray Of Sunshine. She’s really nice, and the boat is pretty! She likes looking after Charlie as well, which is practical for showers and stuff^^

She arrived 4 weeks ago today. The birth took 7 hours from the first contractions, I was at home on the barge with  two midwifes, no painkillers but lots of Malteazers.

She weighed 2980g (6lb 9 1/2oz) when she was born, but has guzzled so much milk she’s now about 8 lb and has grown out of her smallest clothes already, the greedy pig.

Oh, and she hasn’t got a name yet.

… But nothing’s happened yet.

I’ve got some more pictures though:

36 weeks now:

So, I’m now 32 weeks along and starting to panic a bit about everything. I’m totally unprepared! But I’ve decided on most of the stuff to get, it’s just a matter of actually getting it, so I guess it’s not as bad as it seems. It’s pretty weird though.
I bought this beautiful cotbed for £5 which is totally not going to fit anywhere, I guess I’ll have to ebay it or maybe I can use bits of it to make something smaller and more useful. Otherwise I’m going to make a hanging cradle.

At least my belly has finally started growing a bit. This is the development so far:

And i’ve finally finished the baby blanket, rubbish photo’s but here they are:


It’s made of a mixture of alpaca and silk, and has got yellow woolen pompoms at the corners. It’s super soft and cozy, I’m pleased

Apart from that, I’ve pretty much decided on a homebirth, (or boatbirth as it turns out) cloth nappies and a sling rather than a pram. It all sounds very ecological