Ziarah - Plant Killer Extraordinaire?

Misty Poppins, my umbrella plant, decided that she didn't like the Norwegian Polar Night. At least that is my theory. First, her leaves started turning black or blackish. Then entire umbrella stalks started to fall off (you can see the place they used to sit on one of the photos above. After two weeks in my bathroom (warm and lots of light, she has started sprouting new umbrellas - no less than TEN of them! Unfortunately, according to different guides I've read, it seems this may be a... well.. a last attempt at surviving. I'm crossing my fingers, hoping that she'll live through this!

Spike the Dragon Tree is also going through a bit of a rough patch - He was repotted two weeks ago, since his roots started to come out of the pot, and I think the new soil was just.. all too wet for him. He too, has spent a few weeks in my bathroom, and now he's been loosing some of his spikes, they're turning yellow and falling off. He seems to be doing a bit better, though.

The Dumb Cane (terrible name for a plant, but it looks great) has also had some leaves turning yellow, but seems to be doing well otherwise.

So, Ziarah - Plant Killer Extraordinaire? That remains to see... At least the sun is returning - On Wednesday, the 21st of January, we'll see it again for the first time in two months. Only for a few minutes, if the weather is good, but I am looking so much forward to it! Might do some good for my poor plants too.

One plant that is doing great, is the orchid I got for Christmas. It is in full bloom, and the colour of the flowers even matches my curtains!

Competition results!

Drumroll!

Plant #1, The Shefflera Umbrella Plant will hereby be known as Misty Poppins or either of the names for short! A reference to Mary Poppins - Misty was Suzanne's idea (please contact me for your prize, I couldn't access your blog), and Poppins... well, it just popped into my head (pun not intended).

Plant #2, The Dracaena Dragon Tree got so many good suggestions. I was torn between Butch, Chuck, Gus and Spike, (briefly considered a compromise with Chuck Butch the Spiky,) but I ended up with Spike - Prize goes to Brandy.

Plant #3, The Peperomia Baby Rubber Plant will hereby be known as Matilda! Prize goes to Meghann

My plants need names!

So, I have three plants in my apartment, and they have been unnamed for a long time. (Yes, I have name for my plants. Let's move past that and accept it as my reality without further question, eyh?). After the parsley plant Oscar and Oscar II a.k.a. Oscar-the-Stump (R.I.P), I've been very lacking in creativity when it comes to names.

So, any suggestions are welcome, and if I choose to use one of them there will be a small prize for the person who suggested it!

The plants in question:

Plant #1

This is a Shefflera, also known as an umbrella plant. It can get really big.

Plant #2

I didn't know what kind of plant this was, but both Hilary and my brother's girlfriend helped me to find out - it is a Dracaena Marginata, also known as a Dragon Tree ♥

Plant #3

This plant is a non-variagated Peperomia Obtusifolia, also known as a Baby Rubber Plant. It has round and thick leaves, and it makes me smile.

More Christmas!

It's the 1st of December...

...and I have that Christmas feeling!

Yesterday was the first Sunday of Advent and I started decorating for Christmas. It's not all done yet, I need to buy curtains and vacuum the living room, but I have my Advent star up in the window glowing warmly - The majority of Norwegians have something lit hanging in their windows in the Advent period, and here in Tromsø that's especially visible, since the sun has gone away now and it won't come back until the 21st of January. So even though it's dark outside we can see stars and candles glowing from other people's houses. I have one electrically lit in the living room and a little red glass candle lit one in the kitchen window:



I've also found my little nisse-girl (more about the term "nisse" in Scandinavian folklore here), as well as the Advent Wreath, and I lit the first candle yesterday while working with some consultant reading by the kitchen table. By the way - wikipedia and most sites say that Advent is a Christian tradition, but here in Norway people don't generally associate it with Christianity, and so-called heathens celebrate Advent as well ;) The kitchen wall is empty and white because it's waiting for the perfect piece of rectangular-shaped something that I'm going to hang there once I find it...:



I've been busy reading some young adult books for evaluation lately (free lance work), but I've also had time to knit a little bit - First I made mittens - I followed this chart. The only problem was... Well, I watched Desperate Housewives while knitting the first one. I was relaxed and calm. Then I made the second one watching Dexter... The gauge came out completely different, and the second mitten looked as though I'd used needles two sizes smaller than the first one... So I frogged the second, but here's a photo of the first one, still waiting for it's mate:



I also finished my second ever torso sized garment - A Shawl Collar Vest that turned out nicely with comfortably soft yarn that I got in a RAK from medievalmouse on Ravelry - I've been wearing it every night since, it's so warm around the shoulders! Please ignore my tired look on the photo (I cut my head away from most of them...):

I have curtains!

So, I got my new curtains today, and wow, did they make a difference! The apartment is a whole new place, and I love it :) Here are some photos:

As you can see, I have quite big windows. It's great when it's dark up here, I'll get a lot more light that I would have gotten otherwise. I love my living room. I'll post some more photos of the apartment later on. Since almost everything is in order now, I plan on having a housewarming party the 30th of August, I think it will be great fun!

I haven't knitted that much lately, but I've been guiding, reading, watching ER, and living happily and relaxed. I did make some new socks, though! A new pair of Uptown Boot Socks from the book Favourite Socks:





ETA: The yarn is 100% merino, Sock Yarn from Midnightsky Fibers, the dye is called Windswept Lilac.

It's been a while...

So, I've been MIA for a long time now - So many things have happened in my life, and I've had my hands full. A month ago, my boyfriend and I broke up, and since then I've been moving my stuff down to my new apartment little by little. We can keep the old apartment until the 30th of June, so I still have some time to finish moving - I don't want to take it all at once since my ex is living up there, and it will be rather empty for him, and also because it would mean carrying and lifting a lot in just a few days.

The new apartment is at the ground floor of my parents' house, but with it's own entry - it's completely seperate from their living area. My dad has been renovating the bathroom and he's almost done. Four days ago, the kitchen was finished and ready, with a new kitchen table and my brother's old frigde (works like a charm). I even have a dish washer, which is a luxury for me. The place is 64 square metres, two bedrooms (one of them is dungeonlike - through a hatch in the floor down to the basement - a very beautiful little room), big livingroom (with widescreen tv and panoramic view over the city) and a cosy little kitchen. At the moment it's all very empty, since most of my things aren't here yet, but I have my tea, my knitting and a comfortable arm chair to sit in, so I've been managing all right. It's weird being all on my own, but I am definitely not looking for something new. I am going to stay single for a long time, it will be good for me. Here's the goldfish-thingy that's hanging from the roof of my dungeon-bedroom, not sure what it's called in English. Anyway, it's all in glass, and my friend Eirin gave it to me back when we were 15-16 years old. I really like the way it looks against the white walls:




In other news, my new niece was born the 28th of May. She is the most beautiful little girl, and they're naming her Silja (a Scandinavian version of Cecile, meaning "blind (to the evils of this world)" from latin "caecus").



I've knitted her a Sheldon - or perhaps more fitting seeing as it's all pink - a Shelda. The turtle shell has a bag of lavender in it, which should have a calming effect on the little one - however, she's the most calm baby I've ever seen! - Sleeps all the time and rarely cries - my brother and his girlfriend are lucky parents. I'm also working on a baby blanket for her in matching colours. Here are some photos:




Oh, and Sophia, the parents LOVED the squeeky sheep-toy, it's now in her crib with her while she sleeps, and her plastic bracelet ID-thingy (the one that all newborns have around their arm at hospitals) is placed around it. I haven't gotten around to knitting something from the vintage booklet yet, mostly because I've had five exams, in addition to living in two places at once... Tomorrow is my last exam - An oral exam in Spanish. I'm nervous, and I'm not very well prepared, so naturally I'm procrastinating by blogging instead of reading... Hopefully I'll pass. After that I'm going to work as a guide all summer, spend a lot of time with friends and family and be creative with knitting, drawing and card making. I'm taking a break from my studies this autumn, with a bachelor degree in English and a One Year Program of French well placed on my resumé. When I've had a well-earned year of relaxation and work, I'll probably start my master's degree in English. We'll see.