70+ en

As mentioned in an earlier blog   about one of  Alexander McCalls Smith's novels, I was looking forward to this  novel in the Isabel Dalhousie series. It is no 11 in the series, and I have read them all with great pleasure. The main character Isabel, a mother of two boys and married to Jamie, is a philosopher and editor of a philosophical magazine. If you seek action or suspense this is not the book.  Isabel gets as always drawn into other peoples problems because of her kind, helpful and philosophical nature. This time it is an old schoolmate, whose matchmaking may have gone wrong, and she is worried about the consequences. The plot is rarely of utter importance, but so is the exploration of human nature, our differences, ethical considerations, the importance of little remarks and the philosophical thoughts. At the same time it is a cozy read with very likable main characters. I recommend reading the books in the right order as the story is progress...

In spring the bulbs are dominating, but the Pasque flower is a perennial. It is a wildflower, but it is a protected specie, so you will have to buy plants at garden centers, or buy seeds. I got mine from a friend 👍You can get this little downy plant in different colors - white and purple, but I am rather fond of the red / rose  variant. It lights up between all the yellow and blue colors flowering at the moment. The plant is toxic, so don't handle it too much. It should easily sow itself, but mine hasn't done that yet, or the weeding has been too thorough! I must try to remember to take seeds this year. Danish

Cast on 60 stitches and knit 6 rows and then pattern. When the cloth has the desired length, knit 6 rows and bind off. Pattern: 1.row: 10 p, 2 k 2.row: 2 p, 1 k, 2 p, 1 k, 2 p, 1 k, 2 p, 1 k 3.row: 1 p, 2 k, 1 p, 2 k, 1 p, 2 k, 1 p, 2 k 4.row: 6 k, 2 p, 4 k 5.row: 1 p, 8 k, 1 p, 2 k 6.row: 2 p, 1 k, 8 p, 1 k 7.row: 4 p, 2 k, 6 p 8.row: as row 2 9.row: as row 3 10.row: 2 p, 10 k 11.row: 3 k, 1 p, 2 k, 1 p, 5 k 12.row: 5 p, 1 k, 2 p, 1 k, 3 p X X 12 X X 11 X X X X X X X X X X 10 X X X X 9 X X X X 8 X X X X X X X X X X 7 X X 6 X X 5 X X X X X X X X X X 4 X X X X 3 X X X X 2 X X X X X X X X X X 1 You have to remember that all uneven rows start in the right side of the diagram and X=purl and ▢= knit. All equal rows start in the left side of the diagram and X=knit and ▢=purl. Danish

We have tried different ways of staying in Prague. Twice Vindrose Rejser have arranged hotels. The first time  (1991) we stayed at hotel Liben. It was at that time a rather modest hotel almost like a youth hostel in accomodation, but it was quite easy to get to the center of town by metro. The second time with Vindrose we stayed at Pension Unitas. It is an interesting place. Originally a convent build by the Jesuits. When Maria Theresa abolished the order in 1773, the convent was sold to the town and used for storage. Later it was used for concerts and among others  Beethoven, Wagner and Dvorak have played here. In the middle of the nineteenth century it was handed over to the Grey Sisters. After the election in 1948 the communist party gained power, and in 1950 the convent and the church was occupied by the Secret Police and the Grey Sisters transported to detention camps. The building was equipped with a prison, and enemies of the regime were interrogated and im...

The asparagus and the rhubarbs are beginning to show in the garden, and that makes it the time for defrosting the freezers, and make a status of what is left. There were lots of blackberries, so I have made jam and juice from approx. 5 kilos. Here is the recipe I use: Blackberry Jam 1 kg blackberries Stir blackberries and sugar together  n a pot and let cook for 10 minutes.  If  it is making much juice you can drain some of it from the blackberries in order not to get too liquid  a jam. I have an old sieve  where I have bent the handle upwards. I lower it into the  cooking blackberries, and remove the juice in the sieve with a cup. The juice is made to boil again, and then removed from the heat and Atamon is added. Then it is poured into cleaned bottles  Take the pot from the heat and add citric acid  and Atamon, and put the jam in cleaned glass jars. Atamon is a special Danish liquid preservative - consisting of water, preservative...

The first asparagus from the garden this year. Cooked 2 minutes in the microwave oven with 2 tbsp water at 800 W. Tastes delicious with a slice of smoked ham and homemade rye bread with butter. Danish

Using some of my yarn residues. Cast on 60 stitches and knit 6 rows and then pattern. Remember to start and end all rows with 3 k. Knit till the cloth has the desired length and then knit 6 row and bind off Pattern: 1.row: 2 p, 4 k 2.row: 3 p, 2 k, 1 p 3.row: 2 k, 2 p, 2 k 4.row: 1 p, 2 k, 3 p 5.row: 4 k, 2 p 6.row: 1 k, 4 p, 1 k X X 6 X X 5 X X 4 X X 3 X X 2 X X 1 You have to remember that all uneven rows start in the right side of the diagram and X=purl and ▢= knit. All equal rows start in the left side of the diagram and X=knit and ▢=purl. Danish

Sunshine made it possible to practice to put up our new tent. It is fairly easy, when you don't have to assemble a lot of tent poles. Now you just pump air in "the poles" and the tent is up. The good thing is it can stand alone, and you can use your car without having to take the tent down. We need to practice a bit in parking the car in the right distance when we return  🌞 so the tent can be fitted to the car again. It didn't take long to take the tent down and pack it together but it takes up rather much place in the car. Danish