under the morning sun

I got up at 6 o'clock this morning to crochet a bag to my new xiaoren'er. Am I addicted? I don't know. I remember that I was extremely excited last night at half past midnight because I finally learnt a new technique of crocheting. If not it was Ove who started nagging so much, I would have finished the bag last night. Hehe :)Here is the bag. Not too bad, isn't it? as the first try. I also attached a purple button which was together recycled with this fabric. It was originally a shirt. After some tearing off this and that, I got some fabric, several lovely purple buttons and one Winnie the Phoo machine embroidered piece. I adjust the plan of her dress fabric. I was about to use another piece which has a similar color echoing her fire-red hair. Then I changed my mind, after notising her skin color got revealed darker in constrast to the dress color. Well, it could be also simply that my eyes just didn't work out after comparing and trying to match so many different fabric to her :) The current one is from Teresa (Hi, Teresa). We did this fabric swap last month, and she sent me lots of other goodies. This fabric matches particularly well to this Xiaoren'er hair. One small flower is made by the rest of the fabric that I used for her dress ( I did not waste anyting :D). It is quite easy to make. Another thing I notised: I've no idea why I chose green thread to sew the xiaoren'er,which turns out to have green lines all over her body and face...I would have taken more photos, but the camera has absolutely no power to live one second more. After two days of beeping indicating low battery charge, this morning after this photo it chose to shut itself off.

Monkey King? Not this time

I drop my Harry Potter book for this, my new xiaoren'er-to-be. She has joints! Yah, that means she can post various kind of positions to amuse me. I got the pattern from Creative Cloth Doll Making, which is an amazing book full of inspiration. However I have to first shrink the pattern by 70% ( the original pattern is scarily big for me. I love small dolls), so my finished version is no more than 25cm tall. I used the fabric I dyes a few days ago. I like the color of nature grey tea on fabric. I use them all this time, that means I will have to dye more, but I am looking forward to it.

The new xiaoren'er is still just a prototype, but I felt that I already fell in love to her. She has wooden joints, covered by a small piece of round fabric. I varied the pattern a bit, so it fits my taste of my type of dolls. I did make a small mistake. The head is composed of three patterns, and I sew the third one up side down, so the head becomes slightly longer and bigger. Ove says that head reminds him of Alien. OK, next time I will make a real alien for him. To be honest, I think this doll looks like Monkey King in Journey to the West, if not she already has too breats, I will really make it into one.
Jeg har skapet denne nye xiaoren'eren som jeg bruker en ny type kropp. Hun har nå ledd, og det betyr at hun kan posere flere forskjelige posisjoner som vi kan bli enda bedre underholdet.

Grunnmønstet som er til kroppen fant jeg fra boken Creative Cloth Doll Making, som er en svært god bok, full av inspirasjoner. Imidlertid måtte jeg forandre mønstret litt for å tilfrdesstille mine smak om en pen dukkekropp. Jeg krympet mønstret 70% fordi den opprinnelige var utrolig stort til å bli noe dukken min. Stoffet som jeg brukte er det som jeg har fargert noe dager før. Jeg brukte opp alt stoffet om en gang. Jeg må fargere mer, men det gleder jeg meg mye til :) Det er alltid moro å fargere noe.

Xiaoren'ers hod er litt langt og stort, fordi jeg gjorde en litt feil da jeg sydde den tredje delen på plass. I stedet for den riktige og normale måten sydde jeg delen opp ned. Selv om Ove insisterer at hodet ser ut som en fremmed skapning, syns jeg det hodet som akkurat nå minner meg om Apekongen fra Journey to the West.

My animal side

Your Animal Personality

Your Power Animal: Eagle Animal You Were in a Past Life: Whale You are active, a challenger, and optimistic. Hard-working, you are always working towards a set goal.

The Animal Personality Test

Ove says ' dont take that stupid personality test'.

Noe stoff til Kj's fiskepose

AUT_2807, originally uploaded by Ove and Lucia.

Disse stoffene er fra svirgermora mi til KJ, en av hennes sønner som er glad i å fiske. Ideen er at stoffet kan bli fiskepose slik han kan putte alle sine små fiskeutstyrer i. Vel, siden han var opptatt av å legge stener på baken foran og bak huset sitt hele helgen, hadde han ingen energi igjen til å sy posene etter baken endelig var ferdig. Haha, som dere kan se, svirgermor gir stoffet til meg fem minuter før hun dro tilbake til Stranda. Hun sa at jeg kunne bruke det til hva som helst jeg vil det til. Dukker? Kanskje, jeg har ennå ikke bestemt meg, og jeg har så mye av det. Jeg synes jeg vil sy en eller to poser til KJ likevel. Jeg trenger bare å bestemmer motivene som jeg vil bruke på broderi. Også jeg føler meg litt strikking-vennlig denne uken:)

Mobilveske til svigermor/Cellphone bag to mother-in-law

AUT_2790, originally uploaded by Ove and Lucia.

This is a small cellphone bag I made for my mother-in-law. She has an A in her name, so I embroderet a letter A with a small girl on it. The front sweet fabric is from Teresa, and the back one is very femine, I think. The lining is a shirt I got from fleamarket. Together with the lining, I recycled some buttons, a small Winnie the Pooh machine stitched pattern and the fabric. I am very happy.

Denne lille vesken er for min svigermor, som trenger en mobilveske. Hun har bukstaven A i navnet sitt, derfor broderte jeg A med en liten piken ved siden av på fransiden. Det søte stoffet som jeg bruker på foransiden er fra Teresa, og jeg hjøpte det bakesiden stoffet fra Oslo. Jeg klippet ei skjøt som jeg tok fra løppemarked for kanten.

Ola bjørn/Ola the bear

AUT_2786, originally uploaded by Ove and Lucia.

Ola was born five minutes ago, and he's already so active that I think he can become a very good football player. He could not wait to climb up the door handle, and pretend he was riding a horse. Ola is also very curious in everything around him, from flowers to his elder sister, Rosa.

Rosa is a very responsible big sister, and she likes to take care of her lil brother. She took Ola out to play football while she can pick up some flowers, that later she will use to make nail painter. Ola is very happy with his blue football, because he thinks blue is the color for boy. And he thinks all footballs in the world, especially the ones for World Cup should be blue! He also said ' I think I can play better than Beckham.'. Who knows. Otherwise he likes to play hide amonge flowers and flirt with bees and butterflies.

Ola bjørn er født fem minuter før. Han er så aktivt at han ikke kunne vente til å klatre opp døra. Han er også veldig nysgjerrig i alt, fra blomster til hans søster, Rosa.

Rosa vil ta ansvar av å passe på Ola. Hun tar ham ute og spiller fotball. Ola liker sin blå fotball fordi blå er den guttens farge, syns han. Ha sier 'Jeg kan fotball enda bedre enn Beckham!'. Ellers vil han gjemme seg i blomster og leker med bier.

Rosa, Orgas lil søster/Orga's lil sister

AUT_2779, originally uploaded by Ove and Lucia.

Welcome to meet Orga and Rosa, the two lovely bear babies. They are just two day old, and they love to play with each other. Rosa, the lil pink one, is Orga's sister, and she loves to lay on her big brother's soft and wide stomach, looking at the blue blue sky.

Both of them are very happy with the weather today, so they decide to come out for a trip. Rosa is fond of flowers, so she insists on taking several pictures with the flower of her favorit color--yellow. Orga and Rosa like to make new friends. If you want to take them home, you can find them here.

Her presenterer jeg Orga og Rosa, som er svært vennlig barnebjørner. De er to dager gammel, og er veldig fornøyd med i dags vær, som er fult av sollys, derfor går begge to en tur ute å sole seg.

Rosa er så glad i blomster at hun vil ta bilde med disse gulle blomster. Hun er Orgas lilla søster, så hun liker å ligge på stor bros magen og ser på blå himmelen.

De vil gå hjem med dere også, fordi de er glad i å lage nye venner. Dere kan finne dere her

Det betyr flere dukker

AUT_2771, originally uploaded by Ove and Lucia.

Min svigermor kom på besøk akkurat nå, og se hva hun har brakt til meg. En veldig stor pose stuffing. Å, jeg er så glad og fornøyd. Jeg har allerede sett flere dukker foran øynene mine.

Tusen takk, Anne.

Orga on sale

Now is Orga available here at Hand og Hjerte

I will make him some brothers soon, so he won't be too lonely.

Jeg vil lage dem

Ove and I have a day off today due to a one-day holiday of some religious reason (I did ask him why, but he does not know why all Norway has it free today). We have cleaned the entire apartment, and it started when we opened eyes this morning. I've done twe rounds of clothes washing, now the third one is on.

In addition to this huge project ( I hate ironing pants and shirts, but fabric is OK...), I continue my reading of Mollychicken's blog. And I find this tutorial of making fabric flowers. It looks easy and nice, so I will try it out once, and use it on my new shopping bag. I put the link here in case you're also interested.

I dag er det en fri dag på grunn av noe religion ferie, så Ove og jeg er hjemme hele dagen. Vi har gjort en stor rengjøring fordi svigermoren min skal komme på besøk, selv om jeg ikke kjenner når. Jeg har vasket klær og vaskmaskinen er på den tredje omgangen akkurat nå.

I tillegg til å rydde opp, fortsetter jeg å lese Mollychickens blog. Jeg finner en læring om hvordan å lage blomster, og jeg vil prøve den en gang, så jeg kan pynte min ny vesk. Her legger jeg inn lenken i tilfelle du også vil ha en.

Orga

When one starts working with children, the one becomes younger at heart and full of creativity. This week I spent some time with some twenty great children who are sweet, talented and full of creativity. Every second they can suprise me with something that I constantly said to myself 'That is wonderful. I want to make it into a softies.' ' That's a brilliant idea that I must try it out one time.'

I made this orange old fashion bear yesterday while watching two episodes of CSI. I name it Orga because it is so orange and so cute. I planned to sell it because it is very small-children-friendly. It is about 10cm long and 6cm wide, which perfectly fit into the small hands. And it is made of ull with embriodered face. Though Ove said I should save it to my own nephew and niece, who are at the age of loving all kinds of softies, I think I can make another three for them seperately with more characteristic feagures. It is going to be lots of fun.
Personally I think Orga also can be a sweet bag decroration, like how it shows with my shopping bag. I am not sure how much I should charge it. Anyone would like to give some suggestions?

Tiden til å farge stoff/Time to dye more fabric

I found it out yesterday that I no longer had enough skin color cotton fabric, so I decided to dye some. I use Early Gray Tea, the most economical tea I found in supermarket, and they are perfect for dying. I cook it for 5 minute, and put fabric and about a teaspoon salt in, then I let the mixture stay for one night and one day. When it get dried, the result is quite satisfying.

I borrowed Dolls and How to Make Them from library and found some very interesting patterns that I'd like to try out. Though the book I found on Ebay is with a different cover, it is written by the same author and under the same title. It is a quite old book, published in 1963. A very good book it is also.

I am very happy about the long weekend, which means four day free from study and work. I will use them on some crafts.

I går fant jeg at jeg ikke lenge hadde nok farget stoff til å lage en dukke til, så bestemte jeg å farge mer. Jeg brukte Early Gray Tea og kokte te posen i gryte for 5 minuter. Etterpå puttet jeg bomull stoff inn i tevannen, og pluss noe salt. Jeg lå stoffet legge i blanding for et døgn.

Jeg har lånt en bok som heter Dolls and How to Make Them. Boken som jeg finner på Ebay har en anneledes forside, selv om den er under det samme titel og er skrevet av den samme forfatteren.
Jeg fant flere dukker i boka som jeg har lyse til å prøve, men først må jeg forandre mønster litt, fordi dukkene i boka er for store for meg.

Jeg er veldig gald at jeg ikke trenger å gå på jobb i morgen. Da har jeg tid til håndarbeid.

Not easy to find a real good friend

My good friend, Pa, has sent me a very interesting survey to see how much details you know of your friend. We did it a round, great fun. Maybe you'd like to do it with your friends also. Here are her words of me:

1. Your name: Lucia

2. Where did we meet : Folkeuniversitet rom 607.Ja vel:-)Du er flink til å huske!(Folkuniversity, room 607. You are clever in remembering things)

3. Take a stab at my middle name: Det finnes ikke (u dunt have one)

4. Do I believe in God: Jada, men Buddah (yes, but Buddah)

5. How long have you known me: 9/10 måneder (9-10 months)

6. Do I smoke: Nei . No

7. What was your first impression of me upon meeting: You are en vakker kvinne ,men først gang trodde jeg at du kommer fra Japan:-) (You are a pretty woman, but I thought you were from Japan this first time)

8. Color of my eyes: sort,ikke blå:-) (black, not blue)

9. Do I have any siblings: Nei.Du er enkel barn.(No. U r the only child)

10. What's one of my favorite things to do:Leser og leser og leser og leser,...,tro jeg(read and read and read and read, ..., I think)

11. Do you remember one of the first things I said to you: 'Hyggelig å hilse på deg', som er det første kapittelet. Ja,da.Jeg er enig med deg!(*Hyggelig å hilse på deg. Nice to meet you, which is the first chapter)

12. What's my favorite type of music: Det er ikke lett å gjette,men du sa at du liker å synge,er det sant? (Not easy to guess, but you said that you like to sing, right?)

13. What is the best feature about me: Du er flink til å lære deg ting.(U r clever on learning things)

14. Am I shy or outgoing : Outgoing

15. Am I a rebel or do I follow the rules: both

16. What's your favorite memory of me: Du er flink til å lære norsk,og du liker å kose deg med mange bøker.(U r clever on learning norwegian, and you like to relax and enjoy yourself with many books)

17. Any special talents:språk, og å vare en veldig god venn(Language, and to be a very good friend)

18. And you Would you consider me a friend:you are already a good friend, and I would consider you a friend of lifetime.Det lover jeg!

19. If there was one good nickname for me, what would it be :.........:-)

20. If you and I were stranded on a desert island, what one thing would I bring? :*Deichmanske Bibliotek*fordi det har masse bøker!!! (Deichmanske library, because they have many books).

Sommer stoff

These will go to a customer who has ordered through Hand og Hjerte. I've noticed that as summer gets closer, more customers are interested in fabric in bright color. Is it something to do with psychology of summer, maybe. Two of the best sell are the two similar ones having white flowers on blue and red backgrounds. The apple pattern fabric is also popular. They are sweet and beautiful. Personlig I like the one with light green, yellow and violett flowers on white background. It reminds me fall. I don't know why, maybe it is because of the flower, which looks like falling leaf. I think it can become a very nice handbag. I just need to try it one time or another.

I wish these fabric will bring happiness and a nice summer to the customer and to us all.

Detter skal til en kunde som har bestillet stoff gjennom Hand og Hjerte. Jeg legger merke til at flere og flere kunder foretrekker stoffene som har motivet med hvite blomstre på blå og rød bakgrunner. De er faktisk en av de mest solgte i butikken. Det har noe å gjøre med sommer, kanskje? At sommer nærer seg blir det sterke og søte farger mer populær. Egentlig liker jeg stoffet med blomster i gule, grønne og lila veldig. Det minner meg om høst, og det kan bli en veldig pen vesk, syns jeg.

Jeg håper stoffene skal bringe glede og en god sommer til kunden og til også alle.

Panba, the new project

AUT_2741, originally uploaded by Ove and Lucia.

Since I finished Xiaoren'r - the English man 1610 (some details need to be fixed though) and I knitted ready the Indiana's body (lack of ears still), I decide to start a new project, well, start sketching a new project, to be precise.

I want to make this Panba, a panda's far related brother from the north. He took a summer vocation to Spain last summer. Here are some sketchings I made for him when he enjoyed his time.

Panba-- you're going to be my next softie.

Siden jeg har strikket ferdig Indianers kropp og har sydd ferdig min dukke, bestemmer jeg å begynne et nytt prosjekt--Panba. Han er en slekting til Panda fra Kina, men Panba er fra nord. Her er noe tegning jeg tok for han da han feriet til Spania sommeren i fjol.

Han skal bli min nest dukke.

en ny måte å lage hår

I used a new method to make hair to my xiaoren'r today. I used some of the plastic (or maybe Nylon? hard to tell) thread that I purchased from an immigrant 10kr shop several weeks ago. When I bought this, I knew I could use it for doll hair. The question is how. I found it out today.

The thread is perfect. It is easy to manage, and can create the volume of hair that I dream of I myself can have. However it takes a lil time to split the thread. I used pinneedle, and it took me nearly one hour, but it was fun.

Jeg eksperimenterer et nytt slag tråd til xiaoren'rs hår. Det ser ut som plastisk. Jeg kjøpte det fra innvandrerens 10kr butikk, og trodde at jeg kunne bruke det til dukkehår. Resultatet ser bra ut. Så er eksperimentet suksess. I tillegg til bilig prisen er trådet svært lett å kontrollere. Det er ganske tykk og hardt, så en små dusin tråd kan skape stor volum. Det eneste ting er at det tar litt tid til å sprekke tråd til mange tynnere 'hår'. Det tok meg nesten en time.

Jeg har brukt garn, bomull tråd og pels bånd som dukkehår før, men jeg foretrekke trådet jeg bruker i dag. Garn er greit også, men jeg lager jo ganske liten dukke med lite hod, derfor blir garn for 'tykke' hår til dukken min. Bomull tråd kan skape veldig fine resutater til dukkehår, men jeg må bruke så masse av dem til å skape hårene til en dukke. Det tar så mye tid og behøver noe teknikk.
Pels bånd kan skape søt og bra hår, og de er enkelt å holde. Problemet er at det ikke er så lett til å for tak av pels bånd.

takk Ove

AUT_2726, originally uploaded by Ove and Lucia.

Jeg syntes at jeg ikke lenge hadde flere tomater igjen for i dag, jeg lei meg så mye. Men ikke lenge siden jeg oppdaget en pose full av tomater som Ove kjøpte til meg i går, som jeg har glemt totalt. Tusen takk, Ove. Nå har jeg lunsj:D

Jeg må ha tomater hver dag, samme med noodle min. De er min favoritt mat. og de ser pene ut.

32 things

I spent almost one week reading Wee Wonderfuls blog(yes, I read through each blog THOUROUGHLY), and am still not finished yet. So much fun there. Today I stop at this post and decide to write some things of myself also.

Four jobs I've had
-anchor woman and journalist and translator and proofreader and editor at a TV station (yes, exhausting, very exhausting)
-trainee for NSEC (Norwegian Seafood Export Council)
-researcher and translator for BOCOG's website(depressing, very depressing)
-PR representative for a phonecard company (boring, very boring)

Four movies I can watch over and over again
-Kungfu Hustle
-Angels in America
-Breaking the waves
-Titus

Four places I have lived
-Beijing, China
-Shanghai, China,
-Kløfta, Norway
-Tokyo, Japan

Four TV shows I love to watch
-CSI Vegas (my alltime favorit)
-CSI Miami
-CSI New York
-CSI Beijing ?

Four places I've been on holiday
-Jiuzaigou, Sichuan, China
-Lankawi, Malaysia
-Oslo, Norway
-Saint Peterburg, Russia

Four websites I visit daily
-my gmail account
-hand og hjerte
-flickr
-my blog

Four places I'd rather be right now
-in front of my study desk
-library
-death
-wherever I can find a sea crocodile

Four dishes I love to have right now
-chilli
-ice cream chocolate
-ice cream strewberry
-ice cream all taste

Plan

Earlier today I went down to my store room looking for my raincoat, guess what I found! Two of the never-finished projects. Great, now plus these two, I have a PILE of projects unfinished, not mention the four panda bags and one small A bag.

Here I have a kangaroo with only a tail, a koala with one arm(both from November last year), an idinana with one leg, a earless and eyeless pig(hehe, I create so many monsters)...I actually have a rat with one arm and one leg. Also my xiaoren'r is still faceless, bald and without socks and shoes.

Well, something you dont see from this post is I have one short jacket left with half shoulder done, a poncho that can hardly reach my breats, and a crochet shopping bag which is currently only big enough for two toilet rolls...a table runner that has two sides not done....erhhhh, way too many.

Crisis. When I have these many unfishined projects left, new projects and more ideas just jump out all the time. It's time to some self-dicipline and to start planning to finish them before I forget them. The plan should be practable and interesting.

Here we are

Day 1, knit ready Indiana
Day 2, make ready English man 1610
Day 3, knit ready my short jacket
Day 4, make Anne's cellphone bag
Day 5, work and study, but can do some small projects that can finish in two hours
Day 6, work and study, but can do some small projects that can finish in two hours
Day 7, knit ready Koala
Day 8, sew two small bag
Day 9, knit ready kangaroo+make Barbie dress
Day 10, sew another two small bag
Day 11, stitch ready the May girl+ begin The bootless cat project
Day 12, Make ready bags to Mariana
Day 13, stich my green cross stitch+ progress of my poncho
Day 14, table runner
Day 15, time to start new projects

mail day--my shoes arrived

Two months ago I ordered some handmade shoes from Yunnan, China, on ebay. God bless Internet! Then I have been very patiently waiting for they arrive, and today is the day. Haha. I fell in love on first sight of the package, which is FULL of stamps. No kidding. It has stamps everywhere(the photo only shows its cover and back side). It actually has more on its cover, button, both sizes and back. I've only thought of to do something like this with my own post, but I've never got a chance to do it...the post service cost 127 yuan, that means I have some hundre stamps on that package. Haha.

AndI love the stamps also.
The shoes are great. I am very happy that I ordered three, each of different color and pattern, instead of one. I am thinking of which one I should wear for this summer first? or should I wear all of the three? or should I make a three-summer plan? This is difficult. I love the black one the best, but it is a bit big for me. The yellow and the white are also nice. Difficult to make a choice. They all look fabulous and beautiful. I think I would probably never put on them. What if they get dirty? I would rather look at them everyday. The only thing left now is waiting till it stops raining...

Fire panda

AUT_2706, originally uploaded by Ove and Lucia.

These pandas are done today. I will make four small bags with each of them, and they are going to be small gifts to my sweet nephew and nieses. However, I know very little of how to make bags, actually I know very little of how to make anything other than dolls, so I will read this book, hopefully I can learn some techniques.

These panda are from Ranma 1/2, a very popular cartoon series from Rumiko Takahashi. Well, her style is not really my type, but I just fall in love with the panda figur, which is Ranma's father when he gets wet in cold water (Ok, it's funny and lil complicated to explain, but it's much fun to read the books yourself:D). I have read these books when I was around 14 years old. You can imagine how suprised when I found these books available in the local library here in Kløfta.

It is a small world.

Disse panda er hva jeg broderer ferdig i dag. Det skal bli fire små vesket, men jeg er ikke sikkert om fasjoner og farger. Imidlertid er å lage vesker ikke min fordel, derfor vil jeg først og fremst lese denne boken i kveld og i morgen til å lære noe om å lage vesker.

Jeg synes panda ser søte ut. De er fra Ranma 1/2, Rumiko Takahashis tegneserie. Jeg leste dem i kina da jeg var liten, og liket Ranmas fars panda figur det beste. Dere kan innbile hvor overrasket jeg var da jeg fant bokene fra lokal biblioteket her på Kløfta.

Verden er liten.

Et etui til Ove 钥匙卡包A small bag for Ove

This is a small bag I made for Ove. I planned to make it for his cellphone, but it turned out to be way too small, so it is right now used as a key card bag. I used the fabric from Teresa. The O is for Ove, and I also embroderet a small sheep next to it. However, it turnes out to be a pig...I have absolute no idea why and how.
Dette er etuiet jeg lager til Ove. Jeg planla at han kan bruke den til mobilen sin, men det blir for liten etter jeg var ferdig med kantene, så kan det passe bare til hans nøkkelkort. Stoffet er en swap fra Teresa, og jeg broderte O for Ove, og en sau. Imidletid sauen blir noe som en gris. Jeg har igen peiling hvordan og hvorfor.This is the back side of the bag. I dont know how to make lining looks good. Can anyone teach me a bit?
Her er baksida av etuiet. Jeg kan ikke gjøre kantene pent nok. Jeg vil lære hvordan det gjøres. Kan noe lære meg?
本来是给老公做的手机包,但是做完滚边以后, 手机就装不进去了. 晕死. 更可气的是, 我明明绣的是只小肥羊, 可是结果出来怎么看都像是只小肥猪. 还好我老公不挑, 只要做了他都用.但是我也不能太对不起原材料了, 是吧.

Noe fra min mor

This is precious. My mother has knitted three sweaters for me in total. Not because she does not want to make more, but she has very bad shoulders. Both my mum and I are left-handed, that we do most things by left hands, eating, drawing, lifting heavy things...and knitting. My mum's shoulder cannot sustain too long time working, but she still managed to knit three sweaters in on year. All the three sweaters were made when I was twelve, the year I graduated from primary school, the year my parents came back to China after six year working overseas, the year I stop living together with my auntie.

It was difficult for me to find myself, to really find where I belong. I did not feel I have families. I knew I had parents, but not families. It was strange, and it was very sad feelings, because the results could be helpless and hopeless. I was confused, sad, and angry.

My mum is a very typical mother, but she is very traditional Chinese mother also, though she does have feet of size 39. She could sacrifice all she has for the one she loves. She does not say much, but she did a lot for me, even sometime I was wrong. I had difficult times trying to understand why she and my father made a choice of something else other than to stay with me when I was so little. I still feel that six year was neither easy nor pleasant, though my auntie treated me very well. I'd never been close to my parents. I dont know much of them, and they dont know much of me. As I grow up, the difference between us show, and we both has hard time in this relationship.
My mum visited me in February, when my wedding was about to be held in this foreign land. Ove and I chose to not to do it, because my father was not in China at that time. It was kind of pointless, to me, to hold a wedding ceremony without father. Though I know it clearly that even he was in China, he would not agree to this marriage. We both have too much pride. We both believe we make the right choice. I think my mother is brave, that she chose to come. I even feel sorry that I made her into such a difficult situation that she must make a choice from love to her daughter and to her husband. I may be selfish.
Mum brought this green sweater to me. It was the one I wore the most of the three she made for me. I wore it for two years. I love the color and the pattern, so she thought I could still wear it, because I liked it so much. Unfortunately, I grow bigger. The sweater now could hardly cover my bellybutton. She still left this to me when she left us and went back to China. I've been looking at it for several weeks. I was thinking to cut it and make a short jacket for myself, but it was unbelievablely difficult. It is something my mum made for me. It is precious. I know it would be even more difficult for her to knit another sweater like this for me.

I think this sweater is the most precious thing I have in my life.

Hvor går vår i dag?

Jeg gikk ut å sende pakken fra Hand og Hjerte, og kommer tilbake nettopp. Det er så kaldt ute. Hva skjer med den solstrålende dagene? Går de vekk fra oss allerede? Å, nei. Det blåser så mye at jeg frøset. I morgen er det nasjonaldag av Norge. Før jeg gratulerer norge med dagen, håper jeg norge først og fremst får en solstrålende bursdag.

A new project

AUT_2678, originally uploaded by Ove and Lucia.

This is my new project, yes, I know I have lots of unfinished projects...I am working on them also. :) But this sweet Indiana is just irrisistable.

Mr. Bamse

AUT_2680, originally uploaded by Ove and Lucia.

Mr. Bamse is only bear I've made so far. I love his body, and his nose especially. His body is made of lin, and he was ready to go to bed, and he just finishs shower.

Angel

AUT_2681, originally uploaded by Ove and Lucia.

She was the first doll I made. But she was not completely done. I did not have the mood to make her legs when I found out how big her body became and how small her head was. Her head was made of Ove's socks, also her fists. I used a dish towel making her body. It just became enomourous when I stuffed her. But I love the embrodery I made on her body.

Katarina

AUT_2682, originally uploaded by Ove and Lucia.

Lady Katarina, a extremely proud lady, who always keep her nose up. Well, she got a good reason. She is the biggest doll I ever made. Her body was made of vintage fabric. I draw her face and used some beads to make her hat. She had a dress before, but it was too tight, so I decide to make her a new one.

Doris

Doris, originally uploaded by Ove and Lucia.

Doris, anther Kate Greenaway doll. She likes to play together with Charlotte a lot. She has hair made of thread, and I spent lots of time on her face. Her eyes and mouth are made of glasses and she's very proud of her dress.

She used to be a door doll during Christmas, so she had to borrow a jacket from Grandma, otherwise it was freezing.

Charlotte

AUT_2688, originally uploaded by Ove and Lucia.

Here we have Charlotte. One of the Kate Greenaway dolls that I tried to make. I like her dress and hair, which was made by colorful embrodery thread. I dont like her eyes much, because it reminds me of myself when I was lack of sleep. I paint her dress, and decorate the edge. Her shoes are great also, though they looks like boats sometime.

Kristin

Kristin, originally uploaded by Ove and Lucia.

This is Kristin. She was the second doll I made. she has knitted face and upper body. Her legs are made of toilet roll, so she can stands. She supposed to be an angel, but her outfits makes her looks like a lady working on a mill. Well, she is still an angel, can't you see the red wings I made to her:D

Girls of months

AUT_2691, originally uploaded by Ove and Lucia.

Here are, from left, the girl of January, February, March and April. I followed a magazine's pattern and cross stitch them. They are so sweet.

I have girl of May on the way. I think I an finish making her before May ends.

Grandma

AUT_2692, originally uploaded by Ove and Lucia.

This is grandma, one of my earlier projects also. She had an old dress before, however, since it is getting warn, she put on one of the barbie dresses that I made with too thick knitting needles and the wrong type of yarn...so the oversized barbie dress fits OK to her. I guess.

A past project

AUT_2694, originally uploaded by Ove and Lucia.

As I put on the dolls and crafts that I am working on, I think I should present some of my old dolls as well, so they wont be so angry with me everytime I try to play with them.

Here is ...ahhh, I forget her name. Karon? no, Caro. Her body is made of white cotton, and I especially like her sweater, which I made after the pattern from Melanie Falick's book of Weekend Knitting 50 unique projects and ideas .

Her long skirt was originally to be a frog body, then I gave up because it seemed like to be a giant frog. It became her skirt. the flower is still not finished yet. I got distracted. However, I did knit a poncho for her.

go piggie go

Siden forrige torsdag blir allting så flott for meg, at jeg nesten ikke kan tro på det. Først fikk jeg gode resultater om Master studie, så fikk jeg en jobb i dag (selv om jobben er bare en vikar jobb, men det er en begynnelse, ikke sånt?) Wow, livet går videre når jeg fremdeles forteller meg self å være tåmodigere:) Ya, jeg er veldig glad, enda denne rosa svinen som jeg synes er for stor ser bra ut.

Jeg gir aldri opp, verken av tingene jeg gjør eller av meg self. Mine foreldre synes jeg er sta, men jeg si at jeg har sterk vilje. Jeg er alltid klar om hva jeg vil, og jeg jobber til å gjøre det kjer. Jeg har allerede planer om hva jeg vil når jeg blir 55 år :da vil jeg gå til skolen å studere kokrodiler og alligator. Nå blir jeg eldre og eldre, gradvis lærer jeg å forstå at noen ganger er livet ikke så lett, eller går det ikke alltid som jeg ønsker det skal gjøre, men så lenge jeg ikke gi opp og fortsette å gå videre, blir hva jeg vil ha til hva jeg har. I denne verden ser jeg så mye som gjør meg så trist hver dag, så trist at jeg ikke vil ha egen barn, fordi jeg vil ikke de opplever hva jeg ser og hører hver dag. Jeg forstår ikke hvorfor vi dreper hver andre, hvorfor vi gjør det når vi har egne barn hjemme, hvordan kan vi fremdeles gjør det hver gang vi ser barna smiler. så mange ting forstå jeg ikke. Så mange ting vil jeg ikke forstå. Min mor forteller meg at jeg må lære å leve med disse tingene. Nei, jeg vil ikke leve med dem, jeg vil ikke leve med tingene som er feil og vold. Jeg vil ikke gjør enda en feil til bare for å tåle og leve med feil. Nei. Jeg har sett små barn i gata, hjemmeløs, foreldreløs, hjelpeløs, lever verre enn hunder. Jeg kunne ikke tro på hva jeg se, og hva de si. De er vår barn også, mine barn også. De lider for noe som ikke er sine feil. De kan ikke bli glemt bare fordi vår barn har det bra. Jeg prøvder å hjelpe dem. Gravis realiserer hvor mange de er, hvor hjelpeløs jeg egentlig er. Penger er ikke den eneste måten til å hjelpe et skadet hjerte. Jeg prøvde å gi dem noe som ikke er penger, noe som barna trenger men ikke de som bak dem trenger. Men jeg kan ikke gi dem et hjem, ikke utdanning. Jeg kan ikke være der hver måltid. Barna skal vokse opp. De må lære til å leve, til å ikke gi opp dem self. Disse kunne jeg ikke gi dem. Derfor må jeg studere mer til å gjøre meg self stekere, for å hjelpe barna som jeg vil dem ha det bedre.

A

Jenta er så søt, så vil jeg gjerne lage en. Jeg lånter boken Fra A til Å og fant så masse fint der. Denne jenta er kun en begynelse. Hva vil jeg bruke den til? Ærlig talt, det vet jeg ikke. Kanskje en liten vesk, eller en bokmerke, har dere noe god ide?

The girl is so sweet, so I decide to make her real. I borrowed the book Fra A til Å and found so much wonderful things there. The girl is just a beginning. What shall I use this for? To be honest, I've no clue. Maybe a small bag, or a bookmark? I dont know. Do you have some good idea?

En ny xiaoren'r på vei /A new xiaoren'r on the way

Dette er hva jeg driver med i det siste. Jeg begynner å lage en jakke til min ny xiaoren'r, som skal være en engelsk herre ca. 1610 -1612. Han skal til en mystisk venn. :D

Jakken er lagd av to lager stoff, en gull farge tyll pluss en lag stoff som jeg kjøpte fra en pakistansk stoff butikk. Stoffet er godt elastisk, og har sølv blomster mønstre trykket på. Men det er ikke så lett å bruke symaskin på det. Så bruker jeg hendene. :D Jeg først sydde to lager stoff samme, så tegnet jeg fordel og bakdel av jakken på vrang siden av stoffet. Jakken er lagd av fire deler. Etter jeg har sydde delene samme, lagde jeg en krage. I følge tegning jeg har, herre moten i 1610 var vanligvis i ferd med flere krager. Derfor vil jeg lager to krager det minste.

Jeg fant purpule diamante knapper fra min butikk, hand og hjerte. Jeg sydde dem på plass, og sydde tre gjennomsiktige trykknapper på vrang siden. Men jakken er ikke ferdig. Dere skal se mer av den senere. :D

This is what I spent a lot of time on recently. I finished body to the new xiaoren'r two weeks ago, but I've been distracted from other things, until two days ago. I finally got time to make something to him.

First, a jacket. I don't even start painting his face yet, and he is still bold. It's OK. :D The jacket is made of two layers of fabric. One layer of tulle, and the other of a kind of elastic fabric I bought from an immigrant shop. It does not look like cotton at all, and it has quite thick painting of flower in sort of silver paint. Quite thick, and the surface is not even, so my sewing machine is a complete waste in this case. Luckily, I am used to sew by hands. :D


The jacket is made of four parts, two on the front and two on the back. After sewing them together, I added a collar. According to John Peacock's sketching book of fashion throughout the centuries, English gentlemen in 1610-1612 had the fashion of wearing jacket which had several collars. Therefore, I will make mine two collars, at least. I purposely made his neck longer...:D

Then I found out some purple diamond like doll buttons from my Hand og Hjerte( Hand and Heart), but the jacket is not yet finished. You will see. :D

Hand og Hjerte

Detter skal til en kunde som har handelet hos Hand og Hjerte . Hun fortelte oss at hun ikke har mottatt pakken vi sendte til henne i april, så skal vi sende en anne pakke. Det er rart og trist at pakken gikk seg vill. Vi har kontakt postkontor til å oppspore pakken. Jeg våger ikke å tenke at så fint og pent stoff blir borte og blir lagt noe sted til de blir skitten, nei. Jeg vil gjerne har dem hjemme hvis de går seg vill.

Kanskje ikke så mange forstår mine føleser om dette. Når jeg bestiller håndarbeid materialer, tenker jeg om nesten ingen ting untatt når posten skal komme, og jeg sjekker postkasse mer ofte enn vanligvis.

På samme grunn tar jeg litt tid i dag til å klippe stoff. Å se på stoffene gjør jeg glad. Jeg tror poengen for mange som driver med en hobby nettbutikk mens de selv også gjør håndarbeid er at vi alltid kan leve med stoffene og andre materialer som vi virkerlig er glad i, og jeg er fornøyed at andre personer også liker det samme stoff som jeg gjør. Jeg innbiller at hva slags søte og kreative ting som stoffene jeg kipper nå skal bli til, en dukke eller en vesk, kanskje noe patchwork? Det er hva jeg tenker om når jeg klipper, folder og pakker stoffene, og jeg betrakter stoffene som mange små fornøyelse-bringer til andre personner som liker håndarbeid like mye.

Egentelig kjøper jeg stoffene og andre materialer fra andre hobbybutikker også. En av de som jeg ofte besøker er butikken Panduro i Oslo. Jeg kjøper masse perler og dukkeøye fra der, men jeg synes prisene er litt for dyr.

One customer of Hand og Hjerte tells us that she has not received the package we sent to her in April. It is strange and sad. I hate the idea that post got lost, especially when it contains so much beautiful and lovely fabric. So we issued a complain to post service and tried to trace the package. Meanwhile, I took some time today cutting, folding and packing a new package for the customer. It is sad that you don't receive what you are expecting. At least it is the same to me. I could not do anything when I order some hobby material, and I check my postbox more frequently than ever. I view these fabrics and other stuff I have at Hand og Hjerte as small happiness-messengers, because I really love them, so I choose to get them into my store. And it is always happy for me to see that there are other people sharing the same hobby and taste of beauty with you. While I cut, fold and pack each fabric, what in my mind is how many other beautiful things they are going to be: a purse, a doll, a quilted card, and many other things. There are so many creative wonderful people:DThus it is hard for me to even imagine that these fabric got lost somewhere on the way, and became dirty after rain showering. No, no, no, if they got lost, I want them home. And they will have a warm bubble bath. :D

Hilsen fra Teresa -- Vi swap

Mandag kom posten fra Teresa fra Portugal. Vi har snakket om å gjøre en liten swap om stoff. Se så masse fint hun sendte til meg, mye mer enn jeg forventet. :D Jeg er så glad.

Stoffene ser akkurat samme pene som de finnes på Teresas flickr. Vi snakkket om å bytte to møstre, og hun har sendt meg sju forskjellige stoff. I tillegg inneholder pakken mange søte ting: en purpur glans leppepomade, eller er det for øyne? en liten men dødekult kasse med Skotland motiv, og når jeg åpent kassen, fant jeg to røde søte øreringer, som Teresa har lagd selv. Det er mange gamle (vintage) knapper, to bånder av blå og grønn, som akkurak passer godt til dukkeklær, og to magnetisk knapper som kan brukes hvis jeg lager seker. Jeg er speisielt glad i steinene at hun plukket fra sin hjemmeby. Jeg var så glad den dagen jeg mottok paken, at jeg straks begynte å tegne litt om mønstre fra stoffene. Det blir sikkert et fint kort til Teresa, tror jeg.
The package from Teresa arrived on Monday, and I was so happy and suprised when I opened it. We've been talking about to swap two fabric, but in stead of that, she sent me more sweet and interesting things. I love them all. Thank you SO much, Teresa. I was so happy that day that I couldn't help grab my crayons and started drawing the fabric pattern. They all look fabulous, and looking at them makes me happy simply.

In the package I found a purple gloss balm, I guess it is for either lips or eyes, or both?:) there is also a cool candy case with a Scotland-theme drawing on it. I like it. It is with so much detial and so vivid. In the case I found two red lovely earrings. I wore it when I was out to see doctor, and it brought me good luck:) I will name it my goodluck earrings, and wear it more often when I have tests :D Teresa also sent me many vintage buttons, that the color and pattern is so right for my dolls. I think she can read my mind...:) There are also two magnetic buttons that I can use when I make bags. I wish I can make bags that are as good as Teresa's. Last but absolutely not least, I found two stones that Teresa has picked up from where she lives. I like the stones. Now they are together with my stones, but I still pack them in the small platic bag. I dont want to miss them. And the fabric, they are just as nice as they see on her flickr. I felt I was the happiest and luckiest one in the world. Thank you, Teresa, for giving me such a happy day. :D

I dag har vi dugnad

I dag har vi dugnad på eplehage. Jeg traffer det fleste naboenen og vi har en god tid. Dugnaden starter klokka seks. Noen bringer koster med seg, men jeg har ingen stor kost, derfor bringer jeg min liten kost og brett, men jeg får låne en nabos stor kost.

Først hjelper jeg å plukke søpper. Eplehagen er ikke et stort område og det er helt ikke skiten, derfor er det ikke masse søppe å plukkes. Vi får en pose søppe til slutt. Etterpå begyner vi å spryte parking område, inngang, og trapper med vann, så koster vi vekk skitene ting.

Etter en time blir eplehagen enda pennere. Jeg møtet også mange naboer, og vi sitter ned og har vaffle etterpå. Vi prater og spiser og drikker, alle har det gøy. Ove og jeg finner ut at en av naboene våre er fra det samme sted som Ove er fra, Stranda. Å, det er en liten verden. :D

Jeg leser så jeg lever

Siden jeg kommer til lands har jeg begynt å lese bok på norsk. Jeg tror at å lese bøkene på språket av landet det som en lever i er en viktig måte å forstå landet og folket der. Jeg rekorderer også hver enest bok jeg har lest på norsk, for det er en måte å lære norsk. Jeg vil se at min lesning på norsk går videre fra barnebok, og jeg vil se hvor lang tid det tar.

Her er min boklapp fra September 2005 til Januar 2006. Etter Januar har jeg glemt å skrive ned hva jeg har lest. Heldigvis har jeg rekorden fra biblioteket. ;)

Sept. 2005
1, Jane Eyer
2, Folk og Røverne i Kaddemommen By, barnebok

Oktber. 2005
3, Klatrmus, barnebok
4, Trollskap
5, Hvordan man teller krokodiller, barnebok
6, Egon og Revungen, barnebok
7, Fisken, Erlend Loe
8, Ida og Emil fra Lønneberget, barnebok
9, Kult blir grusom, Erlend Loe
10, I et rom i et hus i en have, Finn Carling
11, Oskar
12, Fem Skogmus og en vaktmester, barnebok
13, En gang til, barnebok
14, Snehvit og tornerose, barnebok

November, 2005
15, Kurt Koker Hodet, Erlend Loe
16, Jonas

December, 2005
17, Kurt Quo Vadis? Erlend Loe
18, 1905 Harald Skjønsberg
19, Maleren Edvard Munch
20, Faren min, Stein Erik Lunde

Januar 2006
21, Tusenkunstern Thore Bjørn
22, Brødrene Løvehjerte, barnebok
23, Min første bok om vikingtiden
24, Mio, min mio, barnebok

Etter januar har jeg lest:
25, Utsikt til Paradiset
26, Typisk Norsk
27,Billedhuggeren Gustav Vigeland
28,Det røde eplet - Morfar er sjørøver
29,Kon-Tiki : Thor Heyerdahls eventyrlige flåteferd
30,Harry Potter og de vises stein
31,Harry Potter og mysteriekammeret
32,Harry Potter og fangen fra Azkaban
33,Harry potter og ildbegeret
34,Redd barna
35,Fridtjof Nansen
36,Da Norge ble oppdaget : europeernes utrolige opplevelser og inntrykk i det mangslungne fjellandet Norge på 1700- og 1800-tallet
37,Jeanne d'Arc
38,Tegneren Theodor Kittelsen
39,Min første bok om Astrid Lindgren

I tilleg leser jeg også engelsk fagbøk og hobbybøk på både norsk og engelsk. Jeg tror det er en god ting når du ikke har jobb: Du har tid til å lese hva som du vil :D

Å. Foreløpid leser jeg Den Uendelige Historie. Jeg har tre kapitel til. Når jeg er ferdig, vil jeg skrive noe om hva jeg syns om boken. Den er en fantatisk bok!! Anbefables +++++

Hva skal jeg ha til middag / what should I have fo dinner

One more sweet croc, originally uploaded by Ove and Lucia.

Søt, forferdelig søt. Krokodiler og alligator er en av de mange typer dyrer jeg elsker. Jeg simplethen kan ikke gå videre hver gang jeg ser en krokodile. De har vært for lenge siden, mye lengre en vi mennesker. De er mystiske og vakkre dyr som alltid minner meg om mange berømte professor og filosfer. De bruker mest tid kun sitter der og soler seg, uten bevegelser. krokodilene er høyt effektiv overlevender. De trives seg godt uten å spise noe for en hel uke, og når de spiser, spiser de alt, fra skinn til bein.

Noe menner at krokodiler er farlige, ja, kanskje, på viss måter. Men alt de gjør er ingen ting mer enn å oveleve. Dreper de de andre? Nei. Etter min menninger at de bare letter etter mat slik at de overlever. Men hva vi mennesker gjør er noe annet. Vi er den eneste dyr i verden som vil lage og bruke våpene til å drepe hverandre. Hvem er farligere da?

tre dukker / three dolls

dolls I got today, originally uploaded by Ove and Lucia.

Jeg fant disse søte dukker fra loppemarkedet den siste helgen. Den stående dukken på høyre kler seg på den Hannover måten.Den som står på ventre er i en norsk drakt, tror jeg. Jeg er ikke så sikkert på hvilket områd den liten dukkes drakt representerer. Ove synes den er fra noe sted nær øst europa.

Dukkene er lagd i flott detalj. Den norske dukken har enda en liv belte som en lekken, og den kan kles på og av. Jeg liker også stoffet som er brukt til dukkens forkle. Den er på nydelig farge.

Pack it up Small

Min god venn, Teresa, inviterte meg å delta en ny Swap gruppe 'Pack it up Small'. Ja, gjerne. Selv om jeg ikke er vant til Swap, og har nettopp gjort min første swap hos Teresa, liker jeg ideen svært godt. Jeg har mottatt så flott ting fra Teresa i går, og jeg vil legge opp bildene snart (etter lege besøkning i dag). Vi diskuterte om stoff, men hun sendte meg mer en bare stoff. Jeg var overrasket og glad da jeg åpnet pakken i går.

A good friend, Teresa, has invited me to join a new Swap group 'Pack it up Small'. Oh, yes, with pleasure. Though I am still new to Swap, and had just finished my first swap in life with Teresa, I love the idea pretty good.

Yesterday I received the package from Teresa. Oh, my god.You are so nice, Teresa. I love everything in it. I espeically love the stones and the Scotland small case. I will put on photos soon so everyone can share the joy with me. Teresa sent me things that are more than the fabric we've discussed about. I think I gradually start understanding the whole idea of doing swap. It is to get to know a friend and give both of you a huge suprise, isnt it?

Later today I will go to see a doctor for my spine (yes, again...who knows when it can finally be straight enough so I can sleep?), but I will put on the lovely red earrings from Teresa, and I think it will bring me good luck :D

Stitched snail

I made this on a wool blanket which is right now serving as part of my sofacase. ( which is of three parts, a piece of cotton fabric, pluss two wool blankets.) My plan is to embrodier it with all kinds of sticthes, and patchwork. Now I am done with a little corner. Hopefully I can finish this project before I buy a real sofacase.

We fleaed it again

Now I understand why flea markets are usually held at weekends, because then you can go there not only on Saturdays, but also Sundays. Yes, Ove and I went flea again. I successfully controlled myself to not to get too close to the clothes and fabric stands, but hopelessly I fell into the clay and china booths. And one thing I learned today of how to shop around flea market is: keep eyes open, and search every corner. I did not see a lovely doll house, which was just in front of me, by my foot, and I definitely have been dreaming of having one as my own after reading so many fantastic doll house blogs. It was taken by another woman next to me. She actually did not see it either, because the doll house was put under table, but her husband had sharp eye. He picked it up and fetched his wife, who was actually shopping other things on other stands...and the doll house was just there, all the time by my foot. I simply did not see it...(after that I did look at things both on and under booths, and my wallet got soon empty).

Here are some things I discovered today. Another croc for my croc and alligator collection. Now I have four, including the one Ove gave me as birthday present when we were in China. And the one on the left to the flower made of fimo and button is a lid of a tiny little jar, which is made in Spain. I like the design very much, simple but sweet. And the jar is no bigger than a pingpang ball, so I am thinking what I can put into it. Actually, I did not put anything in. Just looking at them makes me happy. I displayed and spent hours watching and enjoying the happiness of looking at all my flea market collections after the shopping from the market today...
And I got another crocdile. This one is a very tiny one, made of plastic, I think. He is definitely a cool guy, just check out the outfits.Look at his gesture. Doesn't he look like some Chinese politicians inspecting some contruction sites for Beijing Olympics 2008? 'There, that wall should be paint green, I think, for it is a green Olympic!'
See here, his backpack is with flowers on, maybe crocheted?

We also found this cool liqour container which is made in Holland. I need to do more research of it. It has 1870 on the house, and has a manufacturer on it. It is also a compensation since I lost the doll house.

Then I got these two lights. I like the pattern on it, and the white and blue color just suit my taste of a clear spring night.
However, it is a pity that I did not find any knitting needle or crochet hook...that means more flea market next weekend, I think.

En liten pengepung fra Dominica / A coin bag from Dominica来自多美尼加共和国的小包包

I found this coin bag made in Dominica, from a flea market in Norway. The bag is made of fine leather, carved and painted. I just get the tropical feeling when I look at this bag. It is so original and nice made, and not mention that I got it with very cheap price. I am now using it as my key bag, because I don't have much money to put in it, hehe :) Well, I think such a nice thing should be able to be with me everytime I am out. I dont always go out with money in pocket, but I do go out with keys always. :)
我在跳蚤市场淘到来自多美尼加共和国的皮质小钱包. 我第一眼就看上它了, 颜色和材料多有热带风情啊. 而且我特别喜欢上面的图案. 正面反面各有一只壁虎, 实在是太合我的心意了. 当然了, 如果是鳄鱼就更好了, 不过没关系, 我今天也淘到了一条鳄鱼.

今天太阳有充足, 又淘到了很多心仪的好东西, 真是愉快的一天啊. 生活真是美好啊.

如果星期一没有考试就更好了. 嘿嘿

Knapper fra loppermarked/ buttons from flea market

Knapper fra loppermarked/ buttons from flea market, originally uploaded by Ove and Lucia.

Jeg har handelet massevis av gamle stoff(vintage fabric) i dag fra loppemarkedet. Det vil bli vanskeligere og vanskeligere å finne gamle stoff etter hvert, særlig de som ikke er under produksjon lenge. Imidlertid ser motivene fremdeles pene ut, syns jeg. For eksampel, stoffet i bakgrunn har jeg funnet i dag, og er det ikke pent og søt?

Jeg har også funnet disse gamle knappene. På den samme grunn er de slage knappene ikke blitt produkt lenge, så er det den viktig tid til å samle dem nå. Knappene er på purpul og hvit, med litt forskje farger variasjon i strippene.

Jeg synes knappene kan jeg brukes som øynen til dukkene som er lagd av blømstre stoff.

Folk og røvere i Kardemomme By

Folk og Røvere i Kardemomme By(People and robbers in Cardemom Town) is one the Nowegian books I read, and I think it is a great book with so much wits in. So when I saw this book from a flea market I went to today, I got it as mine without hesitation.

I love the illustrations in this book also. They look so characteristic and funny. I am especially fond of the three robbers. They are so funny, and yes, I do think they need to take shower. I can smell them by just looking at them.


Solen skinner i dag. For et pent vær, og det blir enda bedre når en lørdag er med loppemarked, slik som i dag. Jeg tar meg pene klær og drar til loppemarkedet etter en tur til postkontoret, bibioteket og is-krem handelen. :)

Jeg fant denne berømte Folk og røvere i Kardemomme By og nå ligger boken på bordet mitt. Boken er en av de første norske bøkene jeg har lest. Den er svært morsom, og jeg har ikke noe imot å lese den igjen. Tegningene i boken er også karakteriske og hele morsomme. Jeg kan mange sanger fra boken faktisk :D

Tiny

find the way home, originally uploaded by Ove and Lucia.

I found her on my sweater when I was sewing outside. She looked a bit confused struggling with the long wool fiber of my sweater, trying to find a way out. So I gave her a hand, and she could just follow the line.

A ballet star

I made her yesterday, but she was still naked then. I played with her a while in the evening (yes, I still play dolls, especially dolls I make), and discovered that she had much talent to be a good ballet dancer. So I sacrificed one scarf to her little skirt, and I was especially proud of the ballet shoe I made to her (but I did not have the patience to make her the other one...)

And it is a day full of sunshine today. It seems the little one did her job well. I take her outside and she simply cannot wait to dance. I think she's terriblely sweet and cute. I love her figure so much that I cannot help thinking that maybe I should make another one?

En fin dag A nice day

Det er god sollys ute i dag. Jeg pakker alle tingene som jeg skal bruke i dag og bestemmer å bruke dem ute, under sollys. Det er en veldig fin dag, og jeg har gjort mye. Det ser ut som sollys gjør meg mer effektivt, og selvfølgelig mer positivt. Hva jeg har gjort til nå inkluderer en hel ny xiaoren'ers kropp(med armer, beiner og hodet, med alle), fire kopper te (å drikke vann eller te er sunt), bok lesing av to kapiteller. Dessuten har jeg sett to fugler, tre flyer og en eddekopp.

Nå syns jeg mitt rom er utrolig kaldt. Jeg må tilbake til sollys, så takk for nå .)

It is very nice weather today, much sunshine, so I decided to take my day outside. I took out all the things I needed for the day I planned: sewing and stuffing a new xiaoren'er body, reading a bit, and just relax. Till now, I've finished the doll body, drunk four cups of tea, read two chapters, in addition to watching two birds flirting each other, and helping a lost spider finding way back home:) Sunshine is good. It makes more effective and positive.

Now I think my room is unbareblely cold. I must go back my warm sunshine now. See you :)

I want some sunshine Jeg vil sole meg

I'm here waiting for sunshine, originally uploaded by Ove and Lucia.

I decide to take this sunshine messanger into the Week 4 Whipup competition, and see if she could bring back more sunshine back home :D

I am sick today, having fever. I think it is quite common in spring, especially when I always feel I've put on too much clothes. I spent most of today sitting in front of computer, reading bloggers, and drinking much tea (if it still does not work, I will try chicken soup then). However, the one that really makes me feel much better is the little cat, that I knitted when I was in sofa. I give her a very important task: to check out if there is sunshine outside every 15 minutes, because she loves to horse around outside with all of those beautiful flowers, despite the cold that I cannot sustain.

She is a hard worker. Since the every first second she was born, she could not hold herself inside the room. She says ' I must go out to check the weather, otherwise how can I bring your news back?!' A very professional sunshine messenger. Here are she at work

When there is sunshine, the sunshine messanger will put on her ballet dress and dance a sun-como-como dance along the wooden bar in front of my home..She loves classic music, and she loves to dance with it, though she has only one ballet shoe. She told journalist from Meows 'Some people may think that I am just an overweighted fat cat, but you can never judge one by one's appearance...meow, meow. Have confidence in yourself and what you do! See, I am indeed a messenger, a sunshine messenger...I am confident I can bring you sunshine...here I am...if you miss sunshine, just give me a call...lalala'

I made this sunshine messenger because I love cats, especially of those who are a bit overweighted. And I terriblely longed for sunshine these days. One time someone told me that it is not healthy for cats if they are too fat, then they will have heart disease. I guess it is the same as humans. As long the cats enjoy their lives, I decide to not bother too much of their weight. Last month my father called and told me that he was planning to launch a weight-loosing program on one of my cats, QQ, because he thinks the cat is seriously overweighted. In his words ' how do you raise up a cat into a pig?'. However, seriously, I think my father should consider the program on himself...first.

I dag er jeg syk. Jaja, det skjer noe ganger. Her sitter jeg meg foran PC-en, i sofaen, drikker utallig masse te...Alt jeg trenger er sollys, slik kan jeg bli glad og frisk. Imidlertid har det vart skyet for mange dager. Jeg trenger en budbringer ute som vil gi meg beskjed når det er sol.

Her kommer en! Katten er min budbringer av sol. Hun vil gjerne bli ute og leke med alle disse søte blomstre, mens hun venter på solen for meg. Hun byr ikke så mye av kulden. Hun er perfekt!

Jeg elsker katter, særlig tykke katter. Selv om noen har fortalt meg at kattene ikke bør være for tykke, ellers får de hjerteproblem, synes jeg fremdeles at tykke kattene er min favorit. OK, men så lenge de trives seg om livet deres, blir det helt greit med meg. Siste måned sa min far at han ville slanke min katt QQ, men avorlig talt synes jeg at han bør slanke seg selv først...

Nissbot

This is Niss-bot. He was about to be a proud Santa Clause, however his mama does not think being a Santa Clause can be someone big in the future, after all you get only one chance to get your face shown on media for one entire year. So mama makes him into a robot, erhhh, after a Santa Clause reciepe.
Her presenterer jeg Niss-bot. Persjonlig vil han bli en nisse, men hans mama tror ikke at nissen passer godt til årstiden, derfor blir han strikket på en robot fasjon. Han er lagd av sokkegarn som jeg kjøpte fra Europris. Noen ganger har de virkerlig billig garn som jeg kan bruker til å knitte dukker.

Minst noen er glad 至少有个家伙还开心 At least someone's happy

最近因为可能下半年要开始找实习而头疼. 又读到报纸上写到有的当地老板因为看到应聘者的名字不是挪威名字就故意不给求职者面视机会, 于是我有一股无明火. 烧上心头, 郁闷了. 不过像这样的保有歧视观念的老板我也希望千万别让我碰见.刚才已经有人打电话过来联系面视的事情了, 所以我也消了一点火. 不过原则还是有的.

昨天下了一天的雨. 想到五一劳动节不能劳动, 只能在家窝着看乌云, 心中就甚为不爽. 心想着怎么每次都是我休息的时候就开始刮风下雨. 不是说过了复活节就是春天了吗, 闹了半天春天就是刮大风,下小雨, 天天都这样. 真TNND.

朋友问我我的www.willove.com到底还更不更新了. 这可真是我心口的痛的. 更新当然是要的, 但是我只会写稿子, 不会编程序. 所以写好的稿子攒在手里都捂臭了. 过期了. 又要重新写. 不行, 我从....明天开始, 一定要开始每天坚持陆续写稿子, 每三天(原来写的是两天)更新一次willove. 我大丈夫把话撂在这了. 一个星期以后过期(这句话不算).

对了, 忘了说正事了, 昨天下了一天的雨. 郁闷的很. 在家里溜达的一圈, 看了看唯一能够下雨还高兴的, 大概就是这个小东西了. 本人从小就喜欢蝎子,毒蛇,鳄鱼, 大灰狼这种另类. 据我妈说我小时候每年她都带我去动物园. 我第一个去看猴子(因为我属猴, 而且半不情愿), 然后就非要去看大灰狼, 一个人站在笼子前面, 也不说话, 就在那里看. 据说我上幼儿园听小红帽和大灰狼的故事的时候,是班里唯一一个小朋友觉得大灰狼去世的太惨了, 而哇哇大哭的(还记得大灰狼怎么惨死的吗. 在吃饱打盹的时候被猎人把肚子打开了, 然后好不容易.费了多少心机啊, 才吃到的小红帽的姥姥又跑了, 然后被塞了一肚子的石头, 又把肚子缝起来, 醒了以后口渴结果一头栽倒井里淹死了. 当时就觉得格林兄弟实在太残忍了, 让大灰狼死的这么不干脆, 受这么多折磨). 现在想想当时阿姨肯定是傻了.

上个星期逛街的时候看到的这个小鳄鱼, 一脸憨厚的样子. 喜欢的不得了, 于是就把它收了. 昨天让它出去好好的撒撒欢. 下雨了, 它好高兴啊.

Crocodiles and alligators are my favorite animals. It's been there since I was a child. I am fan of crocodiles, snakes, scorpios and many strange but beautiful creatures, that are full of myths. My mum told me that when I was small, she brought me to the zoo every summer. My first must-see was the monkeys, because I was born in a monkey year. Then it must be the big gray wolf. I just stood there and watched them, no words. She said she remembered how concentrated I was when I stared at those wolves. Well, to me they never are ordinary wolves. They are brothers and sisters to the poor big wolf, in The Red Riding Hood by the Grimm Brothers. I remebered I cried hard when I first heard this death of the wolf when ananny in kindergarten read it. I guess she might be well suprised.

I still think the death of bigby is one of the cruelest death ever described in my readings.

'...so he did not fire, but took a pair of scissors, and began to cut open the stomach of the sleeping wolf. When he had made two snips, he saw the little Red-Cap shining, and then he made two snips more, and the little girl sprang out, crying: 'Ah, how frightened I have been! How dark it was inside the wolf'; and after that the aged grandmother came out alive also, but scarcely able to breathe. Red-Cap, however, quickly fetched great stones with which they filled the wolf's belly, and when he awoke, he wanted to run away, but the stones were so heavy that he collapsed at once, and fell dead.'

If I were the Grimm Brothers, I would at least give my wolfy a quick death.

Read more of Chinese astrology
Read the The Red Riding Hood.
Alltid liker jeg dyrene som krokodiler, slanger, skorpioner eller det andre merkelige men vakre dyr. På en handeletur fant jeg denne lille pene krokodile. Jeg tror han er så koselig. I går regnet det hele dagen, så tok jeg han ute for å kose seg. Se på hvor pen skjell han har.

I virkeligheten har jeg sett krokodiler på dyrhager og på TV mange ganger. Jeg gikk til Malaysia tre år siden og så på en hvit krokodile. Den hvite krokodilen har en slags sykdom egentlig, derfor blir huden dens hvit. Jeg vil dra til nord australia til å se på de 'sorties', de krokodilene som lever i sjø. De finnes kun i sjøen rundt australia og sør Malaysia. Jeg har skapet meg mye kunnskaper om krokodiler, alligatorer or garnial, fordi jeg liker dem så mye.

Min mor forteller meg at hun husket det da jeg var liten brakte hun meg til dyrhagen hver sommer, og hun ville meg se på apene først, fordi egentlig var jeg født i den kinesiske ape år, og jeg er stol av den. Jeg tror ape er den klokkest dyren i de tolve kinesiske zodiac dyre, og ikke snakker om at jeg er en 'metal monkey' :D (Der hører litt rar). Imidlertid lå jeg stor interesser i å kikke på den store grå ulven. Mora min forteller at jeg bare stodde der, sa ingen ting, bare så på ulvene.

Jeg husker også at jeg gråtet mye den første gangen jeg hørte på The Little Red Hood av Brødrene Grimm. Jeg trodde brødrene var for hardt mot den stakkars ulven, som død på en av de meste grufulle måtene jeg har lest til nå.

'...so he did not fire, but took a pair of scissors, and began to cut open the stomach of the sleeping wolf. When he had made two snips, he saw the little Red-Cap shining, and then he made two snips more, and the little girl sprang out, crying: 'Ah, how frightened I have been! How dark it was inside the wolf'; and after that the aged grandmother came out alive also, but scarcely able to breathe. Red-Cap, however, quickly fetched great stones with which they filled the wolf's belly, and when he awoke, he wanted to run away, but the stones were so heavy that he collapsed at once, and fell dead.'


Les mer om kinesisk astrologi

Candy holder

It rains the whole day yesterday. Sad...that I did not wanna do anything but sob. Am I getting depressed again, or I've been like that always.

One of my life mentors told me that it is an ability to always look on the positive of life. I tried and still am trying, but maybe it is true that my ability of this kind is weak. I always think if the world is not positive itself, so what's the use of perceive it positively, isn't it a fool? Maybe I am the biggest fool of this thing.

But I still don't understand why I cannot get a job simply because of my name. Is it something wrong that a Chinese does not have a norwegian name? It is ridiculouse that when you have two bachelor degrees and loads of working experience, plus a piece of paper of norwegian proficiency test, but you still cannot have a job. Tons of application are gone with wind...not exactly the right time to be romantic though :) It is depressing when it is like this. I don't feel it is my problem anymore. I have the right to be depressed when I cannot be given chances to prove myself. Does it mean that I become a different person if my name becomes Lucia Nordmann? Whatever, I shouldn't bother myself of if. Anyway, I myself don't want a boss who wears a 'name-glasses'. Sad, sad, sad.

Sometimes we so carefully avoid using some words that may sound strong, such as discrimination, stereotypes...Yes, everyone loves 'equality, freedom, right...' . And everyone loves to believe in that they are people who enjoy and can give respect to the latter, a kind of ideal. However, self-evaluation is not always the same as the fact. It is the same from individual to country. Only when the thing it is no longer detail as so real to one individual who is suffering the truth, a general idea such as 'equality' that one can talk about after dinner is not something bad. Then it is only about one thing: do we live in detail or general, in reality or dream? Do we fool others or ourselves?

I agree that life is not easy, but not life is positive. It is unnecessary to be so, and it is not.

Sad, sad, sad...

Anyway, always look on the positive. So I looked around, and looked around hard. This candy holder that I knitted months ago jumped out. It is positive, it is sweat, and it is practicle. And it is real!

Time to have some sweats, so I can be sweat a bit :D

An old body

I går kveld begynte jeg med en ny xiaoren'er. Til min overaskelse fant jeg en gammel ødelagt dukkekropp da jeg ryddet litt. Den må være i posen som jeg bruker for alle mine ødelagt eller uferdige kroppedelene.

I started making a new xiaoren'r last night. See what I found then, a wasted body part. I found them in the bag where I put all my wasted and/or not ready crafts. Does someone else also have a bag like this? I am interested in what you have in them. In addition to this body part, I have a unfinished mice, with a body and one arm...or maybe it's a leg, hard to tell.
Ingen kan kastes! Det er ikke lett for meg å kaste noe. Jeg er vant til å samle alt som jeg har og jeg tror at jeg skal bruke i framtida, det har jeg gjort siden min barndom. Jeg husker at jeg hadde tons buss billetter på mange forskjelige farger, bokses av tannkrem, papir som brukes til å pakke såpe ( Jeg bevarer dem fremdeles i bokene og de lukte så godt). I hadde kandy papir også. Jeg har ingen klært standard av hva kan samles, og hva ikke kan. Det kommer an på følesen jeg holder på dem. For eksampel, den ødelagde kroppedel er fremdeles verdifull for meg. Samme for den lille krokodilen, også :)

I found it hard to throw things away. It's been there since my childhood. I had boxes of 'garbages'. I remembered that I had tons of bus tickets, boxes of toothpaste, paper used to wrap soap (I still have lots of them. They still smell good and I keep them in books). I also have candy wraps. Recently I am crazy of clothes lable. I am used to bags after bags of small things I love and I always think they are gonna to be something big in the future. There is no clear standard of what can be saved, what cannot. Most of time it is just my feeling that determines. For example, the wasted body part is still full of value to me.

...Also to the little croc, I guess :)

Use what you have--A Wardrobe

The idea is to Use What You Have at hand. It is perfect to me, because, first, I simply love collecting things that may be useless in others' eye, for example, I collect lables from clothes. Second, Use What You Have is a great idea to control my economy, especially to the one whose highest grade of economics course is C-.

I've been nagging with Ove for long long time that he needs to make a wardrobe to all my dolls and Xiaoren'er. The reason is nothing but the typical stereotypes: man for wood work, women for redwork. ( Narhhh...give it up). My dream wardrobe is one made in wood, and carved with some beautiful Chinese pattern at the corners, then I can paint it the Norwegian roses --Rosemalling.

Certainly, it is just a dream, till now. Ove is for ever busy with work and computer. Besides we do not have any timber board.

One day during Easter, I found out the washing power box was empty. Isn't it a great wardrobe? It has only a small openning on the side, which is perfect for I can use it as air circulation opening. Both of the broad sides are sealed, so I can easily cut and open a wardrobe door. Otherwise if I use a shoe box, I have to get some headache thinking of how to get a wardrobe door.

Ove helped me cut open one side, so we had a wardrobe door. But the original box is very ugly, well, as a wardrobe. I must decrorate it a bit before a give it to all my lovely doll clothes.

I waned to paint it, but I have only painting for timber...I've been planning for a timber wardrobe for lang, as I said. My water color was not enough, but I do have lots of cloth leftover. I collected them when I made doll and doll clothes. I did not know why, only thought one day they might be useful. And it was the day!

I did not design a speical pattern, because I was...lazy then. For the same reason, I did not even cut any pieces. Because I do not know how to make bags and dare not to make clothes, most cloth I used is for my dolls. Therefore, all my cloth rest is small. With a bottle of Allround glue, the basket of cloth leftover, and the plain wardrobe, I started my make-it-beauti-er project.

The result is quite satisfying, to me. I think it is very original, and it has its own style, maybe a country style. I got most of the floral cloth from a visit to flea market last year. I like it very much. I think I should save some. I didnot appreciate the beauty of vintage fabric much. However, after reading many fabulous blog and viewing photos from the flickr vintage fabric group, now I think they are beautiful and have a special taste of value in them.

I also visited a tailor last year, and she was so nice that she gave a full plastic bag of cloth leftover that she no longer needed. Some of the cloth was still quite big, to dolls. In the picutre, the black one with shiny dots, and the big flora on brown backgroud are all from her.

The next project : to make cloth hangers so that clothes can be stored pent in the wardrobe.