Soon off to Herräng!

Soon, very soon, we're off to Herräng. I will not post bloggs frequently from now but totally disappear into the world of dance. My time will for the next week be from midnight til morning. Happily my daugther got a spot at the swing kids course this week, she's so much looking forward to this! Swing kids are like a camp of it's own and I will not be needed there daytime as a parent.



So at daytime I will sleep, hang out on the Herräng beach, meditate about summer and let my subconsious work on preparations for the concert with Bengt Hallberg wich is coming closer. Yes, I've brought my song book to keep the lyrics close at heart, for this special occasion.




It will be Leo's first Herräng, our little dog. He's a young one and I have good hope he will charm people around us. He's learning so quickly, like youngsters, and he will fall into the rythm. If you have any experiences you would like to share about how to camp in tent with a dog, I'm eager to hear!

Stay well everybody! Let the summer take over, and nothing can stop the international openminded crazy creative Herräng spirit!

Eva

A song, and hello Herräng dance euphoria

Summer joy and natures beauty....

We've been walking the old paths in the forest, seeing the tall pines, the lingon berry in full bloom. 
It's the peak of the summer. I need to go into the forest where no more traffic from the roads can be heard.

Just silence.

In the garden there's the old type of flowers that my grand mother used to have:

Yesterday evening I experimented a bit with my new camera/recorder. Here's an odd version of Kristallen den fina. I just found the original lyrics, older version.






...soon it's time to shift, we're off to dance in Herräng like crazy! I'll be dancing from midnight til morning the whole night long.


Good bye light summer nights in Dalarna.

Hello city.

Hello Herräng in a few days to come.

Cassiopeia-inspiration

Today has been a day for new songs. Walking and singing, seeing the flowers of the forest and in the garden. Tiger lilies, linneas and unknown beauties.

In the morning I gave myself a word for the day: everything I do today, I will do it in exactly the right time - without stress.

Like the turtle Cassiopeja walks with Momo through the rushing city, in the book Momo by Michael Ende.

Do you have a favourite way of returning to kairos time, time when you fully experience life, with no stress, the moment of now?

The work I've done today, I did it with joy. Cleaning the house a bit, also with joy. No stress, just letting each moment be, like in mindfulness and the idea of being focused. Experiencing life fully.
After lunch I took a long walk with the dog. He's so happy when he can run free in the forest!
The old path to the mountian farm where cattle was taken in early summer:


Stone bridge for the cattle while "buffring" on the summer path:

I've seen many stones today, maybe this one the biggest of them?


And I wrote a paper letter to a dear friend, an old friend who I know would have enjoyed the forest so much this day.

Eva

Kieslowski memories

Excuse me, is your name Marie Veronique?

A man asked me in the train. If my name is Marie Veronique. His voice asked in a soft and polite way, giving a slight impression that he felt uncomfortable to ask me.

Things like this can start my fantasy. What would have been if I had a french double name? How would that have formed me? What comes with a name? How much do we build up in expectations when hearing a name?

Who could this Marie Veronique be, the woman he must have thought of when he saw me? What was their history together? Long lost friends? The man must have been maybe 10-15 years older than me. What was their relation?

Are we twin-like, this woman Marie Veronique and I?

Could it be like the mesmerizing movie La doble vie de Veronique, by Kieslowski? I've seen that film a couple of times and I'm still fascinated by the whole story. And of course, the great soundtrack and the choir music. It's a story about two young women who are born at the same day in different countries, and they don't know each other. But they have a feeling of a presence of another twin somewhere, a secret twin.

Have you had a feeling of a presence?

The man who asked me went to by coffee or something in the dining-car, and we never saw eachother on the train again.

Hommage to a black back pack.

Some time ago, when Rosenbergs 7 was touring all over, I bought myself a black back pack, a ryggsäck. Made of thick fabric, with a hidden pocket where the straps could be hidden during flights. Of the brand Naturkompaniet. This was in the 1900-hundreds, well, it could have been around 1995. Now, some 17 years later, this black back pack is still serving me, as a long time companion and best friend. Zippers are original, I have only made one repair where a seem has given up. My friend is here in the photo to the left:


How many places have you and I seen together? You are a great globetrotter, my dear back pack. On ALL my tours you have been my favourite bag. Sometimes far away to South Africa, USA, all over Europe. You have followed me all over Sweden too, and our neighbour countries in the north.

I have started to wonder now if I should give you some holiday. I think you deserve that. Sit and dream of all the travels we made, and not carry too heavy luggage. We'll see, on some special occasions you and I will still travel together, I'm sure.

You are the type of stuff I like so much. Made in such long life quality that I can give you to next generation. Care and repair is always good. When I think of how the ground crew on airports treat bags, then I think it must be some magic with this bag, how well preserved you still are after many flights each year.

A couple of times you went missing after transfers with delay. Every time you kept coming back. I never worried too much, I knew we will meet again.

I went to the store where I bought you, Naturkompaniet. Unfortunately they don't have back packs of the brand Naturkompaniet anymore. I planned to go find you a partner, you see? Yesterday I ran into a bag just by chance when I was shopping in Falun. I was at Cykel and Fjäll to buy some spare parts to bikes, and on the floor there was one bag in the colour of Falu red paint, the last one of its type. A bag made for expeditions to Himalaya I should say, in really thick fabric and really well made zippers. Yes! Suitable for a touring musician.


Shopping in Falun has been wonderful! Not to speak about yesterday too, for the first time in many years I was shopping together with my sister! My best buy was a black dress for Irmelin concerts, plus equipment for my new ZOOM. If you are shopping in Falun and looking for some vintage clothes, go visit Myrornas. Oh heaven, so many dresses! This is the summer when I started to dress like Hemulen, one of the caracters in Tove Jansson stories. Oh, he's one of a kind, academic interests of botanical collections, of sports, and he's not a friend of the hattifnatts. He's always dressed in a dress.

I can agree.

You are always dressed in a dress.


Eva

Just before midsummer

Tonight I think I will not go to bed until after midnight, just to see and be in this moment of the brightest time of the year.

I want to feel it.

In my dreams at night I sing.

Eva

Summer's lightest. Herding calls and songs.

We've enjoyed two days of singing courses, I've had great students both days. I enjoy this so much I will mark in my calendar for next year. Course weekend in Övertänger, one week before midsummer.

John Bauer forest.

It's very light in the nights.

Tiger lilies and forest flowers are still in buds. Our garden is something in between a garden and wilderness. There's so much still to bloom later on.

I take a deep breath and just let myself be in this moment.

Eva