Letters from the north

[tarjear]

November

Now that Halloween's over, and we've officially entered the greyest month of the year, the days can suddenly feel a bit dull. Gone is the spooky nights of October, we haven't quite gotten to the warm Christmas spirit of December, and we are left with the grey, steely days of November.

I am, as many people are these days, trying to spend more time reading, and the cold dark evenings of early winter supply me with the perfect excuse for lighting a candle and plopping myself down on the couch with a book (for several, as I tend to switch between different titles, rather than focusing on one at a time). If you have a favourite book, or just a good old recommendation, feel free to share in the comments; I'm always looking for new stuff to read, and I'm sure others are too!

Hope you all have a lovely November, and that you will read many good books this winter!

[tarjear]

Happy Halloween!🎃

These are the pumpkins @granny-core and I carved today. We are planning on spending the evening reading scary books, watching scary movies, and waiting for trick-or-treaters🍬

Hope you all have a spooky night tonight!

[tarjear]

A little update

Hi guys! Long time, no see!

For quite a while now, I've wanted to start posting again, and I figured today might be the day. First of all, a little update, for those interested in where I've been the last few years:

Most excitingly, me and @granny-core got engaged last autumn. I did not expect being proposed to at my own birthday party! In fact, so little did I expect it, that I was probably the last one there to grasp what was about to happen. We're getting married next summer, in our hometown. It's all very exciting, and a little scary, apparently your wedding has to feature at least two hymns if you want to have it in a church!

Secondly, the aforementioned birthday party was in fact my 30th! Now my knees and back are aching, and I make weird noises when getting up or sitting down.

And for the main reason I've maintained radio silence for a while now: I finished my master's last spring! A lot of my time and energy went into that, and it's almost as if I'm still tired from the effort. The last year I've been working part-time, and doing freelance research part-time, while looking for jobs in my field.

I hope to be able to post from time to time going forward, but seeing as I've said that a few times already, I'll be honest and make no promises!

[tarjear]

[tarjear]

[tarjear]

[tarjear]

Nothing like a hearty stew when autumn comes around🍂

[tarjear]

[tarjear]

[tarjear]

Magpies can get drunk, it turns out!

This happened a while back, but I figured today might be a good day to post about it!

I was walking home from class, when I came across a magpie lying in my path, apparently struggling to move. It twitched a little, and did not seem well at all. Fearing the worst, I called @granny-core​ for help. We got the little fella into a box, and called the vet so it could get the help it so clearly needed. We had to wait a few hours, so we just kept it safe in its box, until our appointment. In the meantime, I searched around a bit, and found out that magpies can get drunk off of fermented fruits, and I found it nearby a mountain ash.

Since I’m not a trained professional, we still took it to the vet, and he had no idea what might be ailing the poor little guy. He gave us two options: he could put it out of it’s misery, or we could take it home and give it a day or two to see if it got any better. We obviously chose the latter.

When we got home I went to the store to buy som magpie-friendly food, while @granny-core​ watched over the bird. It had gotten a lot better since I found it, and when I got out of the store, the bird had gotten loose. It clumsily hopped around on the lawn, and flew away. We followed it to make sure it was able to fend for itself. After making sure, we let it fly off, and it seemingly managed just fine. We don’t know if it was actually drunk, but considering how it looked, how fast it recovered, and how close to some fallen berries I found it, that’s our working theory!

I’m not sure how it works in other countries, but luckily, in Norway, the state pays the bill if you bring an injured or sick animal (other than your own pet) to the vet!

[tarjear]

If you find yourself in need of an easy cake recipe, I have just the thing for you! Just take a sponge cake (I used store bought when I made it), slice it in two or three layers, and fill the layers with chocolate ganache, sliced bananas, and whipped cream. Top the whole thing with whipped cream, and serve. To make ganache, bring cream to a quick boil, and pour it over chopped chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has dissolved, and you’ll have a lovely, thick chocolate sauce.

I made it yesterday when a couple of friends and I celebrated Pride, which in Trondheim happens to be in September, probably due to the city’s large student population. Sadly no one thought to take a picture of it, so you’ll just have to trust me that it looked good!

[tarjear]

I made these cinnamon buns earlier this spring, but now seems to be a good time to post them as we enter the “baked goods” season! Have a lovely week!

[tarjear]

[tarjear]

Summer is coming to an end, and autumn is drawing near. Today, @granny-core and I went foraging for mushrooms on some nearby lawns. We found quite a lot of birch boletes, which we used to make a delicious mushroom soup and invited a friend of ours over for dinner. I just love picking mushrooms, and if we have the time, we’re planning on going for a hike in the forest next week looking for more. I especially like chanterelles, as they taste lovely, and don’t have any poisonous lookalikes in Norway. 

Hope you all have had a wonderful weekend, and that you’re staying safe!

PS: Don’t go foraging for mushrooms unless you know what you’re doing, as there are many dangerous ones that may be indistinguishable from the edible ones to an untrained eye. If you’re new to picking mushrooms, try memorizing one or two types, and stick to those, and if possible bring along someone with experience.

[daisyprayers]

Ottawa woman with rare pain disorder denied medically assisted death

Ophelia Brown and her family have been turned away after months of fighting for access to medical assistance in dying.

I have the legal right to a dignified death. I qualify for the procedure under the law passed on March 17, 2021. Every doctor in my province has refused to even assess me, let alone turn me down after an assessment. I’ve made the choice to remove the feeding tube that keeps me alive. My death will not be dignified, it will be painful and scary. But it’s the only option I have left.

[granny-core]

I am reblogging this to bring attention to my friend Ophelia’s situation. They want the word spread so nobody else will have to suffer through being denied their right to a dignified death.

I deeply wish there were more I could do, but for now, all I am left with is trying to amplify the voice of my dying friend. Please take some time to get to know their story if you can.

Nobody should ever have to experience what Ophelia is going through right now.

[tarjear]

Spring is here, and that means more energy to practice my hobbies! Though I love being a student, I do wish I had more time to do other things, like reading for fun, and cooking. As summer nears, so do final exams, but at least it’s warm out, and the flowers are blooming. These pictures are from when I decided I needed some homemade marmalade, a week ago. Oranges are in season from december to right around Easter, so I just about made it in time! I’d recommend cooking marmalade, if oranges are in season where you are; it’s delicious, easy to make, and really cheap compared to store-bought, at least here in Norway. If anyone is interested, I might post the recipe, though it’s quite easy to find online. Hope everyone has a lovely spring!

[tarjear]

Happy New Year!

Though it would be naive to think that the changing of a date will fix everything that went wrong in 2020, it’s okay to be optimistic that, statistically, 2021 as a whole should be less of a stinker than its predecessor. I hope all of you are still hanging in there, and that 2021 will be a step up, and that at least some of the damage sustained in 2020 can start healing! So happy new year, may this one offer you happiness and safety!