Leather shopping in Barcelona

This spring, when I first got the idea of making leather tags with initials on I began searching on internet for shops that would ship tools to Norway. To my surprise, the tools were not as highly priced as I first had imagined. However, once I added the shipping, which was much more pricy than I could ever imagine, I postponed the whole project.

Then some time before leaving for my mum alone vacation in September I began searching for leather shops in Barcelona. After hours of searching on the net, I found a shop that looked promising, wrote down the address and crossed my fingers that they would have what I needed.

I reserved an entire day just to find the place, which was unnecessary since it’s quite easy to find once you have the address. After a walk through the city there it was. A beautiful old store, with tall heavy doors, dark wooden furniture, marked by wear and tear during I don’t know how many decades.

It looks old, smells old and I can just imagine how this shop must have thrived in it’s glorious days, when most people still made their own belts, bags, coin holders, purses and everything else beautiful that can be made out of leather.

Just as I entered the shop I tried to take a photo of a row of old suitcase locks, which I shouldn’t have done… Because seconds after, a petite lady with short hair and strict eyes behind thin glasses came out of nowhere and told me that it was strictly forbidden to take photos (she looked like the kind of lady you would want to be very obedient to). And right that moment I saw the sign that said “No photography!” Yay, for making good first impressions!

Fortunately, the same lady asked me if she could be of any help, and she could. After I explained what I wanted to make she found several different tools for me to choose from. She also showed me the different types of leathers they had.

My favourite discovery was a big box of leather scraps in all kinds of colours sold by the weight. I chose my tools and as she weighed the leather, I asked the leather shop lady if she would please let me take a photo while she was weighing the leather. To my luck, she tilted her head to one side, broke out in a big smile and said in a patiently and forgiving voice, “OK then, go ahead, and take your photo” (“Venga, vaaale, haz tu foto”). So there you have it, the hands of the leather shop lady, which was a cute softy after all. She made my day.

In case you want to visit, the address of this beautiful leather and tools shop in Barcelona is:

Comercial de Guarnicionería SL
Passeig de Picasso 14
08003 Barcelona

August in Yonder

August was largely about Denmark.







Our dear friends Dorte & Jakob welcomed us with an authentic Danish lunch in their beautiful garden. (We actually didn’t see Astrid for the three days we were there as she spent her hole stay in their garden. She had a blast with their daughter’s toys, and would only come inside when hungry and exhausted with play).





We went for walks along the shore and saw beautiful houses like this one

We barbecued "skumfidus" (my favourite Danish word meaning marshmallow)

We witnessed how one little girl helped another little girl (and my heart melted)



We exchanged cooking recipes



We admired this painting made by our fellow friend and Cast B mate Kicki Julie Jørck



And we shared good talks in their beautiful garden and house.



After our three days with Dorte, Jakob and their kids we all left together for Copenhagen. Were we were headed for a reunion with lots of friends that Dorte and I travelled together with almost 15 years ago. Back then we were 126 kids between 17 and 26 years old from around the world.

We travelled together for eleven months and visited 26 states in the USA, 26 cities in Mexico, Montreal and Toronto in Canada, and several cities in Sweden and Finland. I stayed with 97 host families! I did community service in half of the cities we visited (and was on stage crew - set up the stage - in the other half of the cities).



This year 50 of us met in Copenhagen. Counting our spouses and kids we summed a 100 and something people. I had been looking forward to this since 2008 when we had our last reunion. Every 5 years we have an official reunion were almost every one of us get together. In between each five years we try to make a smaller reunion. This was the small one.



It is amazing how after all these years we still make an effort to see each other. Our friendships have matured and grown stronger in pace with us growing up and becoming more mature. In spite the fact that there are so many different people in our group I truly love them all and feel blessed to have them in my life. Even if we are spread all over the world I know they will be there for me if and when I need them. They always step up no matter what the challenge is. No matter who is in need of encouragement or prayer.



Inbetween all the planned activities we managed to sneak in a visit to Granola Café were we shared coffee and conversation with our friends Karina & Jeff. I also bought some more Kusmi tea here.



We visited the Tivoli



And after the kids were gone to bed and the designated baby sitters arrived on time we all went for a well deserved pub crawl. Cheers!

a break in the routine

It is one more day until this week’s weekend. However on Sunday I said I would tell you about last weekends highlight, and so I will.

We went to Sweden for the weekend where we had rented a summer cabin (actually it was more like a house) in a small beautiful fishing village by the name Fjällbakka. For anyone into Swedish crime writers Fjällbacka is the hometown of Camilla Läckberg. She has written several (I think it’s six) crime novels that all take place on the Swedish west coast included her hometown. I had never read any of her books. To be honest I had never heard of her. But when my neighbour L heard that I was going to Fjällbacka she went straight into her flat, took out a book from her bookshelf and said I absolutely had to read it while I were in Fjällbacka. So I did. As soon as Astrid were to bed, the fireplace was lit and my lovely mr. Yonder treated me with a cup of tea I opened the first page. Meaning no knitting, cross-stitching or embroidery was done.

We enjoyed the weekend with sauna, a slow walk by the harbour in Grebbestad (neighbouring village), and eating fish and selfish soup.Nothing extravagant, but everyday life coziness and the perfect getaway to make a change in our ordinary routine.

Barcelona Knits

“Barcelona Knits” er en gjeng jenter som treffes en gang i uken for å strikke, snakke og dele erfaringer med hverandre. Jeg har fulgt bloggen deres en stund og bestemte meg for at hvis Barcelonaturen klaffet med et av deres møter så skulle jeg ta turen innom. Og som tenkt så gjort. Siden det var juleferie var det færre jenter som møtte opp enn vanlig, men jeg hadde det likevel kjempekoselig sammen med de tre som kom; Crazy Vet, Sara og Mkazumi. Jeg lærte til og med to nye strikkeoppskrifter; en som heter wisp og et som Crazy Vet fant opp ved en feiltagelse. Jeg lært også litt elementær engelsk strikketerminologi. Mkazumi ga meg den ultimale ”du må i besøke disse garnbutikkene” guiden, som jeg hørt på med stor oppmerksomhet. Den jenta kjenner hver minste lille krok av Barcelona. Jeg på min side måtte kjøpe et kart, men klarte likevel å gå meg vill et par ganger mens jeg lette etter butikkene. Mer om det og garnbutikkene neste gang jeg får tid til å sette meg ned å dele litt med dere.

“Barcelona Knits” is a group of girls that gets together once a week to knit, talk and exchange experiences. I have been reading their blog for a while and decided that if my stay in Barcelona coincided with one of their gatherings I’d pass by. And so I did. Because of the Christmas holiday there were not as many girls as usual, but I still had a great time together with the three girls that came; Crazy Vet, Sara and Mkazumi. I even learned two new patterns; the wisp, and another one that Crazy Vet accidentally invented. I also learned some basic English knitting terms. Mkazumi gave me the ultimate “you should visit these yarn stores” guidance which I listened to attentively. That girl knows Barcelona like the palm of her hand, every single little street. I on the other hand had to buy a map and still I got lost a couple of times in my search. More about that and the yarn shops next time I have the chance to sit down and share.

“Barcelona Knits” es un grupo de chicas que se juntan semanalmente para tejer, charlar e intercambiar experiencias. He seguido el blog que tienen durante una temporada y decidí que, si nuestro viaje a Barcelona coincidía con una de las quedadas, me iba a presentar. Y lo hice. Como estábamos en plena Navidad no había tantas chicas como es habitual pero aún y así me lo pasé genial con las tres chicas que estuvieron: Crazy Vet, Sara y Mkazumi. Incluso aprendí dos patrones; el wisp y otro que, por accidente, se invento Crazy Vet. También aprendí unas cuantas expresiones de tejer en inglés. Mkazumi me dió la gran guía de “tiendas de lanas que te recomiendo visitar” y yo escuché atentamente. Esa chica conoce Barcelona como la palma de su mano, cada rincón. Yo, sin embargo, tuve que comprarme un mapa y aún asi me perdí un par de veces en mi búsqueda. Más sobre todo esto y sobre las tiendas de lana la próxima vez que tenga tiempo para sentarme y compartirlo con vosotras.

A summer afternoon in Barcelona city

Etter å ha vært på stranda en hel dag tok vi sykkeldrosje opp til bydelen Borne. Carlos fra Tenerife var sjåføren vår. Han har bodd i Barcelona de siste syv årene og snakket om hvordan byen har forandret seg i takt med den økte turismen. Han satte ord på noe vi selv har lagt merke til de siste årene; at byen ligner mer og mer en attraksjonspark for voksne som vil spise tapas, shoppe og være kulturell. For hver nye tapas bar som popper opp mister byen dessverre noe av sin opprinnelige sjarm. Heldigvis er det en stor by og mange bydeler har fortsatt sin autentisitet.

After being on the beach a whole day we took a bike cab to the part of the city called Borne. Carlos from Tenerife was our chauffeur. He has lived in Barcelona the last seven years and talked about how the city has changed in pace with the increased tourism. He put words to something that we have been noticing ourselves the last years; that the city resembles more and more an amusement park for grownups that want to eat tapas, go shopping and be “cultural” .Fortunately the city is big and have lots of areas that still have its authenticity intact.

Vi stakk innom Sagardi for et par pinchos og litt xacoli (baskisk muserende vin). Det var tidlig på ettermiddagen og ikke noe problem å finne ledig plass ved bardisken. Derimot var det et problem å begrense seg til kun et par pinchos. På baskiske tavernaer står godbitene på utstilling, og man betaler ikke før etter at maten er spist og tannpirkerne er telt.

We went by Sagardi for a couple of pinchos and some Xacoli (Basque sparkling wine). It was early in the afternoon so we didn't have a problem in finding space along the bar. However, we did have a problem with limiting ourselves to only eat a couple of pinchos. On Basque taverns the goodies are lined up on trays, and you don't pay until after the food is consumed and the toothpicks have been counted.

Origen 99,9% var desverre fullt, men vi gjør et nytt forsøk neste gang vi er i Barcelona.

Origen 99,9% was unfortunately completely booked, but we will go back next time we're in Barcelona.

Vi endte opp ved "La Vinya del Señor" hvor vi fikk anbefalt to fantastisk gode viner, samt ost og serrano skinke som tilbehør. En rolig kveld ved St. Anas plass.

We ended up at "La Vinya del Señor" where we were recommended to fantastic vines together with cheese and Serrano ham. A quiet evening at Plaza de St. Ana

La Barceloneta & The Bambolino Man

Hver gang vi er i Barcelona må vi en tur til la Barceloneta. Hvis det er vinter liker vi å spasere langs den trelagte promenaden, kjenne den salte sjølukta, og drikke rykende varm kaffe på en av de lokale kafeene. Det er stille og fredelig der. Dersom det er sommer tar vi med oss håndduk, solkrem og badetøy. Stedet er da fullt av folk; turister, hippier, coca cola- og øl-selgere, barn, foreldre, tanter, onkler og besteforeldre. Stedet er alt annet enn stille og fredelig.

Hvis du er i la Barceloneta på ettermiddagen kan det hende du får oppleve han jeg kaller ”Bambolino mannen”. Jeg så ham for første gang for cirka et år siden, og så pånytt i sommer. Denne mannen selger smultringer – også kalt ”Bambolinos” – ved å balansere et brett med om lag 100 smultringer på hodet samtidig som han danser, spøker, synger, bader (!) og sjarmerer strandpublikummet og kundene sine. Han er et show i seg selv og selger smultringer slik jeg aldri har sett noen gjøre det før. Jeg falt ikke for ”Bambolino-fella” i år, men det skal jeg gjøre neste gang jeg treffer på ham.

Every time we visit Barcelona we have to take a day at “la Barceloneta”. If it is wintertime we like to take a stroll along the wooden boards, smell the salty sea, and have a warm coffee in one of the local cafeterias. It is peaceful and quiet. If it is summer time we bring a towel, sunscreen, and a swimming suit. The place is full of people; tourists, hippies, coca cola, and beer sellers, children, parents, aunts, uncles, and grand parents. The place is everything but peaceful and quiet.

If you are in La Barceloneta in the afternoon you might also run into who I call the “Bambolino man”. I first experienced him about a year ago, and then again this summer. This is a man that sells donuts – also called “Bambolinos” - by balancing a trey with about 100 donuts on his head, while dancing, joking, singing, swimming (!), and charming his beach-audience and costumers. He is a show in himself, and he sells donuts like I have never seen anyone do in my life. I didn’t fall for the “Bambolino-trap” this year, but next time I see him I will.

Syv fotballer - Seven footballs

Etter et par dager I Girona fortsatte vi turen til Barcelona hvor kjæresten min kommer fra. Hans inntil nylig yngste nevø (vi kaller ham bare petit – som betyr liten på katalansk) har nå blitt storebror, og moren hans må bruke mesteparten av tiden sin på lillebroren. Og la meg si det slik at det å gå glipp av sol og strandliv på grunn av at lillebroren din er for liten til å dra ikke er lett å svelge for en seksåring, så da vi fortalte ham at vi ville ta ham med på stranda for en hel dag ble han helt ekstatisk, nervøs og utenfor seg selv. Han plapret i vei hele dagen, vi måtte dra ham ut av vannet, og forsøkte å forklare at det å bli blå på leppa var et signal på at det var på tide å komme opp på land og tørke. Den eneste måten vi klarte å få ham til å ligge litt i ro under parasollen var ved å lure ham til å snakke om fotball – hans nye pasjon.


After a couple of days in Girona we continued to Barcelona where my boyfriend is originally from. His until recently youngest nephew (we just call him petit – meaning small in Catalan) has just become big bother, with his mother having to dedicate most of her time to the baby. And let me tell you that missing out on beach life because your baby brother is too small to go is not taken easily by a six year old, so when we told him we wanted to take him to the beach for a whole day he became ecstatic, nervous, and absolutely beside himself of happiness. He didn’t stop talking the whole day, we had to drag him out of the water, trying to explain that blue lips is the code for spending some time on land. And the only way to make him stay under the shade of the parasol for a while was luring him into talking about football - his new passion.

Landsbybesøk på en skyværsdag - Visiting villages on a cloudy day

Etter halvannen måned med regn i Oslo gledet vi oss til sol og strandliv i Spania. Så da værmeldingen meldte skyer og regn trodde jeg at jeg skulle grine. Svigerbroren min kunne ikke forstå denne overdrevne lengten etter sol, men hvordan kan noen som bor på et sted med nesten 300 soldager i året forstå det? Til tross for dette var vi så heldig å få låne bilen til svigerbror og kona hans, og de viste oss to landsbyer på kartet som vi kunne besøke, Sant Privat d'en Bas og Els Hostalets d'en Bas. De kjenner området rundt Girona ut og inn og overrasker oss alltid med nye steder som de tar oss med til. Denne gang reiser vi på egen hånd med deres anbefalinger.

Jeg skal ikke kjede dere med å skrive noe om selve kjøringen, bare si at uansett hvor du kjører i denne regionen så er det noe vakkert å se som for eksempel de gamle tradisjonelle Katalanske husene, mais som tørker fra taket, de små bakgårdshagene, eller de lokale pottemakeriene. Som dere vil se fra bildene var vi heldige med været også, solen glimtet nemlig igjennom skyene innimellom.

After a month and a half of rain in Oslo we were looking forward to sun and beach life in Spain. So when we arrived to Gerona Monday night the 6th of august and the weather forecast showed clouds and rain I wanted to cry. My brother in-law could not understand this exaggerated wanting of sun, but then again how can you expect someone who lives in a place with almost 300 sun days a year to understand such a wanting? Nevertheless, he and his wife were so incredibly kind to lend us their car and showed us two villages on the map that we should visit, Sant Privat d'en Bas and Els Hostalets d'en Bas. They know the area of Gerona like the inside of their pocket, and always surprise us with new places that they take us to. This time we were going on our own with their guidance.

I am not going to tell you about all the driving just say that almost wherever you go in this region there is something beautiful to see, like the old traditional “Catalonian houses” , the corn drying from the ceiling, the small vegetable gardens, or the local pottery places. As you will se from the pictures we were lucky with the weather too as the sun glimpsed through the clouds once in a while.

På oppdagelsesferd i Gøteborg - Discovering Gothenburg

Noen synes sikkert det er tragisk, men jeg elsker å lete etter tekstilforetninger når jeg er på ferie. Jeg elsker muligheten til å finne et type spesielt stoff jeg har lett etter lenge eller oppdage et stoff jeg ikke visste at jeg vil ha, men som jeg faller pladask for idet jeg ser det. Hvis jeg i tillegg finner en knappebutikk kan du være sikker på at feriebudsjettet går ad dundas. Dette er noe av alt det fine jeg fant (og kjøpte) da jeg var i Gøteborg.


Some people probably think it is tragical, but I love to look for textile shops while on vacation. The possibility of finding a special kind of fabric that I have been searching for or to discover a fabric I didn't know I wanted, but that I fall in love with on the spot. If I in addition find a butten-shop you can be sure that the vacation budget exceeds all limits. This is some of the fabrics I found (and bought) while in Gothenburg.


I have been looking for tweed like this since I "discovered" tweed on moonstitches blog. After inspiration from moonstitches and 6.5st, this fall as soon as I have bought myself a sewing machine and have moved into a new appartment (did you notice in which order that came...) I will make one.

This two fabrics fall into the category " I didn't know I wanted them but fell in love on the spot". I have no clue what to make of them, but I know I will have to use them in a small project soon. I simply cannot stop touching the white one.

These two flannel's are ment to be used for the back of two baby quilts that have been written down on my "to do list". They are incredibly soft!

These fabrics are to me tipically Swedish and alsoNorwegian. They remind me of summer, kithcen and cosy homes.

Gøteborg - Gothenburg

Denne uken har jeg vært på en større konferanse i Gøteborg i forbindelse med jobben. Alltid like spennende å møte mennesker fra rundt omkring i hele verden. Turen til Gøteborg var også en fin anledning til å bli bedre kjent med mine nye kolleger. Etter to uker i ny jobb stortrives jeg både med kollegaene og arbeidsoppgavene. Jeg kunne ikke ha vært mer heldig enn det jeg har vært!

Den absolutt beste gatronomiske opplevelsen vi hadde i Gøteborg var på Fiskekrogen. Lenge siden jeg har spist så mye god mat, drukket så god vin og fått så god service. Dit skal jeg definitivt tilbake - Anbefales!

This week I were in Gothenburg on a big conference in relation with my job. It's always exciting to meet people from around the world. The trip to Gothenburg was also a good opportunity to get to know my new colleagues better. After two weeks in this job I love both my colleagues and my work tasks. I couldn't have been luckier!

The absolutely best gastronomical experience we had in Gothenburg was at the restaurant Fiskekrogen. It's been a long time since I have eaten such a good food, drunken such a good vine(s) and received such a good service. I am definately going back - I recommend it!

Barcelona

Endelig fikk jeg tid til å sette meg ned å skrive litt. Turen til Barcelona var fantastisk. På bare én uke fikk vi sett og gjort veldig mye. Vi fikk blant annet besøkt La Pedrera, La Sagrada Familia, La Casa Batllo, Puerto Olimpico, Paseo de Gracia, Fuente de Montjuic, og akvariet. Siden vi hadde leiebil hele uken fikk vi også besøkt byen Girona og en del landsbyer som ligger i nærheten av Girona. Hele turen var en opplevelse. Er så glad jeg fikk dele dette med bestemoren min. Hennes absolutte favoritt av stedene vi besøkte var Fontenen ved Montjuic. Ved neste Barcelona tur skal vi besøke de stedene vi ikke fikk sett denne gang, som for eksempel; Parque Guell, La Barceloneta, Tibidado og Barrio Gotico.

Finally I have some time to sit down and write a few lines. The trip to Barcelona was fantastic. In just one week we have seen and done a lot of things. We visited La Pedrera, La Sagrada Familia, La Casa Batllo, Puerto Olimpico, Paseo de Gracia, Fuente de Montjuic, and the aquarium. Since we had a rented car during the whole week we also visited Girona and several villages in the nearby areas. The whole journey was quite an experience. I am so happy I could share this with my grandmother. Her absolute favourite was the fountains at Montjuic. Next time we visit Barcelona I want to show her all the places we couldn't visit this time, like for example; Parque Guell, La Barceloneta, Tibidado and Barrio Gotico.