Saturday, October 23, 2010

Going South Next, Way Down South...



Way down South in the Land of...

n.o. courtyard homes

crawfish boils

cypress swamps (even on Univ. campus)


mardi gras (truck floats, throws)


beads (even on art car/trucks)
close up of beads
(traditional mardi gras colors: yellow, purple, green)

And--books too...
Gaston the Gator books:
Gaston the Green-Nosed Alligator
Gaston Goes to Mardi Gras
by James Rice
Cajun Night Before Christmas
by Trosclair, Howard Jacobs & James Rice



And more...Cajuns, Cajun French--Laissez le bon temps rouler?!
Blog (Big Move) Note: See me next in November at Rain in Lafayette (Louisiana)

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Princess, Golden Wreath, White Bear, Norwegian Forest

Yes, it's a Fairy Tale...


illustration by: Theodor Severin Kittelsen

White - Bear - King - Valemon

from Norwegian Folk Tales, Norwegian Heritage book
Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Engebretsen Moe
Translated from the Norwegian by Pat Shaw

Heritage Book Series by http://www.norwegian-heritage.no/
Published by http://www.fontforlag.com/

Authors Asbjørnsen & Moe on Wikipedia...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_Folktales

Folk Tale on Wikipedia...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-Bear-King-Valemon

Synopsis from Wikipedia...

A king had two ugly and mean daughters and one, the youngest, who was beautiful and gentle. She dreamed of a golden wreath. Her father set goldsmiths to make it, but none of them matched her dream. Then she saw a white bear in the woods, and it had the wreath. The bear would not give it to her before she agreed to go away with him, and got three days to prepare for the trip. The daughter did not care for anything as long as she had the wreath, and her father was glad of her happiness and thought he could keep off the bear, but when it came, it knocked his whole army about.

The king sent out his oldest daughter. The bear took her on its back and rushed off with her, but asked her if she had ever sat softer or seen clearer, and she said she had, on her mother's lap, and at her father's court; so the white bear brought her back to the castle. The next Thursday it came again, and the king tried his second daughter, and she also failed.

The third Thursday, the king had sent his third daughter, and she had never sat softer or seen clearer, so it took her to its castle. Every night, it turned into a man and came to her bed in the dark. Every year, she had a child, but as soon as the baby was born, the bear rushed away with it. At the end of three years, she asked to visit her parents. There, her mother gave her a candle so that she could see him. At night, she lit it and looked at him, and a drop of tallow fell on his forehead, waking him. He told her that if she had waited another month, he would have been free of a troll-hag's spell, but now he must go to her. He rushed off, but she seized his fur and rode him, though the branches battered her, until she was so tired that she fell off.

She searched in the forest until she came to a cottage where an old woman and a little girl were. The old woman told her that the bear had gone by; the little girl had a scissors that, whenever she cut in the air, silk and velvet appeared, but she said the woman had more need of it, and gave it to her. She went onto another hut, with another old woman and little girl. This time, the little girl gave her a flask that poured whatever was wished for and never emptied. She went onto a third hut, where the little girl gave her a cloth that could conjure up food.

The fourth night, she came to a hut where an old woman had many children who cried for food and had no clothing. The princess fed and clothed them, so the old woman had her husband, a smith, make her iron claws so she could climb the mountainside. With them, she reached a castle where the Troll-Hag was to marry the white bear. She started to clip out cloth. The Troll-Hag offered to trade for them; the princess insisted on a night with her sweetheart, and the troll-hag agreed but drugged him, so that she could not wake him. The next day, she bribed her way in with the flask; again the troll-hag had drugged him, but an artisan next door heard her and told the king. The third day, she bribed her way in with the cloth, and the king had not drunk the drink, and they could talk.

The king had them put a trap door in the bridge the bridal procession was to cross, and had it opened so that the troll-hag fell through it and died. They took her gold and went to his homeland for the real wedding, but on the way, they took the little girls, and the princess learned that they were her own daughters, whom the white bear had taken so they could aid her in her quest.

Note: The End, they live happily ever after (or so go most Fairy Tales told...)

A colored postcard of this illustration brought me to this Fairy Tale & then finally to a Book Shop where I found, in English, a Norwegian Folk Tales book with this illustration of the White Bear King Valemon on the cover...of course it doesn't hurt that I live in Stavanger, Norway either to find these things?!


The Nix (or water elf) as a (white) Brook Horse
Illustrated by Theodor Severin Kittelsen

More about Illustrator on Wikipedia...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodor_Kittelsen

More about the Nix as a Brook Horse...

Bäckahästen (translated as the brook horse) is a mythological horse in Scandinavian folklore.
If properly approached, and if you brought the Nix a treat of three drops of blood, a black animal, some ... (Scandinavian vodka) or ... (wet snuff) dropped into the water, he would teach a musician to play so adeptly "that the trees dance and waterfalls stop at his music."
It has a close parallel in the Scottish kelpie.
It was often described as a majestic white horse that would appear near rivers, particularly during foggy weather.
Anyone who climbed onto its back would not be able to get off again.
The horse would then jump into the river, drowning the rider.
The brook horse could also be harnessed and made to plow, either because it was trying to trick a person or because the person had tricked the horse into it.

New World Encyclopedia link...
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Nix

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Most Expensive, Best Geisha Coffee--sold in Norway



Geisha Coffee Panama
Hacienda La Esmeralda Farm

Top Ten Most Expensive Coffees (2010)...
1/2 pound bag $135.00 (top wholesale price 2007)
8 oz cup $15.00 (sold at a coffee shop 2007)

Best Coffee (2009)...
The 10 top scoring farms were from eight different origins and received scores of 84 or above:



Hacienda La Esmeralda (Panama)*
Santa Elisa Pachup (Guatemala)
La Pampa (Guatemala)
Finca Santa Anita (Costa Rica)
Grupo Asociativo San Isidro (Colombia)
Sumatra Mandheling Rainforest (Indonesia)
Capoeirinha - Ipanema Coffees (Brazil)
Fazenda Lambari (Brazil)
Gemadro Coffee Plantation (Ethiopia)
Monte Siona (El Salvador)

Rainforest Alliance Certified™ coffee farms
2009 Rainforest Alliance Cupping
Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA)



Sold in Norway...
3 Roasters
6 bags each in Auction for 2010
Weight - 132 lbs or 60 kilos per bag
Prices estimated between $7,800 to $9,000!!! or $26 to $30 per pound, these being raw beans & what will the end roasted coffee cost in Norway in NOK?!)

1) KAFFA as
2) Solberg & Hansen AS
3) Tim Wendelboe

(*Note Sold in USA, but not the State I will be living in next, nor the States I usually visit either - so what are my chances of tasting a cup back home?! better chance of tasting it here...)



Auction Lots for Hacienda La Esmeralda 2010 were from...

Mario Carnaval
Mario San José * KAFFA & Tim Wendelboe
Mario Enero * Solberg & Hansen
Barú
Caballeriza
Naranjo
Colgá



Sold in Rogaland region, in Stavanger area at...
TØRSTE SØSTRE (aka Thirsty Sisters)
Link to Thirsty Sister's Facebook page for the coffee shop in Sola

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=142986656910#!/group.php?gid=142986656910&v=info

Link to Thirsty Sister's Webpage...
http://torstesostre.no/

(*Note: this is where I read about this coffee to begin with, ever curious, went in search of more info on this special coffee...which was commented on by Anna Depew "Just drank my first cup of Hacienda la Esmerelda coffee. It tastes like a breath of fresh mountain air blowing over a bag of fresh ground of coffee. This is not coffee. It is gold. Pure gold." Now I want to taste a cup of pure gold at least once, is it on the bucket list? maybe just on the before I leave Norway I must try this list?!)

Link to the Coffee Farm...
http://www.haciendalaesmeralda.com/

Photo Credits: all from Hacienda La Esmeralda webpage

Link to read about how the Farm is Sustainable in regards to - People, Land, Energy, Buyer...
http://www.haciendaesmeralda.com/Sustainability.htm

Link to read about "the" Geisha varietal...
http://www.haciendaesmeralda.com/Thegeisha.htm

Link to NYTimes Article, May 2010...
http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/ristretto-hacienda-la-esmeralda/

Link to CNBC Video - Coffee the New Wine (more than one media source seemed to like to use this line...) Today - On the Money program
1=10252&from=06/64">http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/the-dollar-8-cup-of-coffee/6dc62lg?tab=m2243>1=10252&from=06/64

Note: I use to be mesmerized by Jamaican Blue Mountain (smoothest coffee I've tasted to date & the most expensive I've ever purchased by a 1/4 lb, that I shared with a coffee tasting group a long time ago in a land far far away from here too) or Hawaiian Kona Coffee (have yet to visit Hawaii, but on the list)--now I will have to try a Geisha Panama Coffee & of in all the places... Stavanger, Norway?!

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Klara Arrow (aka the Willow Lady)



Klara Arrow
Liss - Mona Wammen - Pettersen


Who am I?

In 2000 I discovered a fantastic pilstativ, and life afterwards has not been the same...

"Klara Arrow" comes from some good friends who could not resist a little friendly bullying when everything was about Arrow!

Arrow is a fascinating nature material. Take a look at my website and let yourself be carried away.


Where am I?

The workshop can be found at Lyefjell, between Bryne and Algard. Kwas the way 1.
Open Thursday 15:00 - 18:00

Closed October 14

Parking at the Assembly Hall - go 40 meters down (up) on the footpath.

Tel: 99 55 63 46

Link to her webpage....
http://www.klarapil.no/

Note: Google Translated this - we think arrow = bolt, as in a bolt of willow reeds (not like a bow & arrow or a bolt of lightning either)


from an Aftenbladet article...

Lyefjell: Arrow in the shot
In 2001, Klara Arrow bitten by the bug - pilflette. Now she will infect others.


According to Liss- Mona Wammen -Pettersen , or Klara Arrow that she likes to call itself , there are no limits to how much exciting one can make with the arrow. (Photo : Cornelius Munkvik )

Posted 4/29/2008

Workshop and shop

Not many years after Klara Arrow had been on the course she quit her job as a nurse.

All her professional attention should now be given the prolific merge.

- Course , I have held for three years already. In the beginning, mostly for friends, but eventually emerged also addressed other participants, says pilfletteren , who started his artistic career in the garden.

In November last year , however, she moved into the old telephone building on Lyefjell .

- 1 May is officially opened . I hope people will stop by and get the eyes to the wonderful hobby , "said Bow and smiles.

Fascinating

According pilfletteren no shortage of work for someone who will hold classes and teach pilfletting .

- Now comes the summer and the coming gardening activities. In the future there will be enough pretty hectic, "said Arrow .

The most fascinating pilfletting thinks she's creativity .

- All you need is the arrow, scissors and a knife and you're going. Arrow , which is related to selling , can perfectly well be grown in Norway, she says , showing a cuttings .

- You stick this in the ground and waiting for the great annual shoots will sprout, "she says and continues:

- Allows you to create just about anything , baskets, fences, Crazy , chairs, nets ...
Everything possible , emphasizes pilfletteren .



Photo Credits: all mine taken at her workshop, except for the one that went along with the
Aftenbladet article...I wish I could copy & paste the smell in there, all that willow smells so incredibly fresh & lovely inside her workshop--I would love to can & keep that scent?!

And below, another Aftenbladet article, entitled "Happiness is a Living Windscreen" (when you Google Translate it) with 20 something photos of Klara Arrow working in her house garden, you can drive by there too--how cute it is for what looks to be a small space, it's on the other side of town from her workshop...

Link to 2nd Aftenbladet article...
http://www.aftenbladet.no/nytte/article1210487.ece