A 21st Century Pilgrim's Progress

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31298362241928533982011-08-13T19:52:19.967-07:00A 21st Century Pilgrim's ProgressAn artist's exploration of belonging through pilgrimages, essays, and artworks inspired by her ancestors. Primary themes are liminality, sacred landscape, petroglyphs, identity, connection, place, Animism, migration and culture.21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.comBlogger721100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-81054606198742035082011-08-13T19:52:00.000-07:002011-08-13T19:52:19.987-07:00The launch of Virtual Kindred

I have finally launched the Virtual Kindred website which comprises a number of different parts some public and some private. These include a virtual pilgrimage that Max and I built in collaboration; a series of private Ancestor pages that represent 5 generations; a (growing) body of private 'Kinfolk' pages for present family members who want to collaborate on the project; and a number of public

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-32716148063460027672011-02-28T19:09:00.000-08:002011-02-28T19:09:03.972-08:00More new(ish) works

I have just returned 'home' from a quick trip 'home'. And, in case the inflection is unclear, what appears an unusually clumsy sentence is, in fact, a clarification of my new way of perceiving the concept of belonging (and non-belonging) here and there. I am home - both in Australia and the USA - and this most recent trip has cemented (for me) that concept into fact. For some reason I can't

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-65917598822951873582011-02-28T18:30:00.000-08:002011-02-28T18:30:29.574-08:00More Ancestor Dada

The ImageThe Words Ancient shape-shiftershaunt the cellar of my dreamsand whistle and irresistible ambition These radiant shadowsapproach from the borderlineto tell a tribal storyof starry-eyed adventureand the perils of forgotten hope These divine witnessesprowl from beyond historyto awaken a terror of sumptuous thoughts and weave their proud lessonsinto my boundless bansheesoul.

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-41773334050794920242010-07-30T21:00:00.000-07:002010-07-31T03:21:26.899-07:00It begins in earnest

I have begun a kind of countdown: one year from now on July 30, 2011, my doctoral exhibition will open, supposedly marking the end of a journey and an accumulation of knowledge. I say, supposedly, because I have come to realize that what defines my life - and more importantly - what defines my place of belonging is that the experience of each moment marks a point in a continuum that tells my

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-90158502727117095662010-02-28T02:42:00.000-08:002010-02-28T02:42:36.028-08:00Mom would have been so proud

I'm not one to spend much time thinking about (or watching) anything to do with the Olympics but this spate of Winter Games brought something that would have thrilled my mother to the tips of her toes. None other than the Norwegian Men's Curling Team and those fabulous pants. My mother was inordinately proud of her Norwegian heritage. I say inordinately, because it was not based on any

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-82831640630275508622009-10-04T00:36:00.000-07:002009-10-04T01:59:40.699-07:00A Call Into the Wilds (of Norway)

My friend Sharon sent me a link today... an invitation to participate in Norwegian sound sculpture that involves (simply) calling a telephone number and speaking your name, which is then projected (via loudspeaker) into the Norwegian countryside. I immediately felt driven, not only to say my own name, but also Magnus' - as another means, I guess, of reconnecting him to Norway.The same could be

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-31881051228489755742009-09-10T01:57:00.000-07:002009-09-10T03:03:49.385-07:00Happy Birthday Dad

Yesterday would have been Dad's 82nd birthday and he would have gotten a kick out of this one 9-09-09. He loved oddities of numbers - so, I know that we probably would have been hearing about how this birthday was all made of 0's and 9's. It's also entirely likely that Dad would have mentioned this wonderment numerous times over the entire year leading up to the event. I guess he figured that if

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-30349496400683986762009-08-06T02:16:00.000-07:002009-08-06T02:30:50.460-07:00Dada Poetry The liminal

The imageThe words The art of evolution wrought from a landscape of defiant chaos this wayward wisdom at odds with the triumphing vandalism of our mothballed truth in this hopeful territory of starry-eyed terror, risk bruises the genuine conviction and eager life treads past the mauling gloom of virtuous narrative here, dilemma scuttles the deathly vessels of elusive safety &

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-53184058581141341042009-08-06T02:09:00.000-07:002009-08-06T02:29:23.377-07:00Dada Poetry ancestral history

The imageThe words Awaking a symphonic shout of victorious spirit we remember the weight of our flawed heritage our everyday comfort testament to your beautiful last-ditch gypsy dream to defying gravity to defying tragedy your raw and adventurous grace our only blueprint for love for family for home

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-20880242867878089912009-08-06T02:01:00.001-07:002009-08-06T02:32:49.855-07:00Dada Poetry for George Tanner II

The imageThe words his deported story beckons tragedy yet his sweet faith deaf to the tread of failure blurred the perils of a predatory history a dark exile from childhood from heartland from home rising from this set in stone delusion he shifted the downtrodden & crippled vision stealing an unflinching tomorrow from inside his ash-filled past

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-23809964995838093762009-06-08T19:39:00.000-07:002009-06-10T05:12:39.702-07:00Long last pilgrimage post 2

Josie, Phil, Max & Ebbie welcoming the Pilgrim home Moving on from Colorado, I spent a few days in San Francisco then a few more in Wellington, NZ before returning to Perth. Unlike the rest of my journey, though, my heart just wasn't in this bit and I really only felt like I was spending time. I was more than ready to get home, to share what I'd done and seen and to get on with whatever I'd do

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-80444966963890259822009-06-08T18:48:00.000-07:002009-06-10T05:15:05.532-07:00The long last pilgrimage post 1

Been thinking it's time to wind up my travel posts as a way to move on to (the already advancing) new stage.My last post told the story of our ancestor feast, which marked -at least- a kind of pinnacle of my pilgrimage experience. All that happened before was a gathering - of resources, intentions and knowledge - which lead me to feel I was prepared to speak to my ancestors with the proper

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-70813341877327747732009-01-25T17:51:00.000-08:002009-01-25T21:43:30.550-08:00A feast for the Ancestors...my first!

With the stone in place and my confidence bolstered by our visit with Sal, I felt ready to prepare our first ancestor feast - to be held at the traditional time for ancestor remembrance, All Soul's Eve and All Hallows Day, October 31st & November 1st. Jim, Kathy and I talked about what we should serve and I did some research about traditional Ancestor Feast and Day of the Dead Foods. On Feast

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-87240149588011280322008-12-11T00:54:00.000-08:002008-12-11T01:45:39.943-08:00George Tanner meets Jim Tolstrup

There are still more adventures to unfold for you here, but the truth is I've been back in Fremantle for a couple of weeks now and the intensity of re-adjustment has my writing temporarily stymied. I can feel myself slowly catching up to myself - so, I'll return to the story soon, I promise.Part of catching-up has entailed re-reading a number of emails that arrived during my travels. With often

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-6758175128892826432008-12-01T16:38:00.000-08:002008-12-10T17:15:09.355-08:00What to say and how to say it. Who to ask and what to ask them.

Intuition is one thing, but right from the start I’ve known that this work was too important to leave to the whims of my intuition. Without my own cultural traditions to fall back on, I’d combed the anthropological literature for resonant beliefs and practices. Through my travels, I sought counsel from others who recognised that working with the ancestors meant calling on forces that can have

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-48173355473551193132008-11-04T09:23:00.000-08:002008-11-04T10:08:54.094-08:00The Globaloness Project

Jim put me on to this organisation and website and I’m incredibly grateful for it (you can find the link in my 'Favourite Websites' list on the right of this page). I spent a day (when I’d meant to be writing) caught up in watching one video after another. Each one a little miracle along the way towards my understanding of how the Sacred exists next to us; how we experience and express it; how

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-29207808453839999342008-11-03T16:48:00.000-08:002008-11-04T08:13:02.772-08:00Messages come from the most unexpected places

I spent the several days in Ft Collins, stuck in a sense of aimlessness – perhaps because so much had happened and I desperately needed the rest (not to mention some time to synthesise something of what I’d gathered, learned and experienced on the journey thus far), but from the outset my plan had been to carve a 2nd petroglyph here – for Jim – knowing that of all my family he is the one most

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-698792402860234192008-11-03T08:11:00.000-08:002008-11-03T08:53:56.489-08:00Grateful we are here

A lot has come clear in the last few weeks. I’ve wrestled with certain questions about what I am doing. Not the least of which amongst those was ‘How do I do this so that it has meaning?’ I guess part of my hesitation comes from the fact that I have – I have been taught - no process by which I am confident that I can/will feel the presence of the ancestors in my day-to-day life; to establish an

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-87185221516958704312008-10-13T06:41:00.000-07:002008-10-13T06:49:47.309-07:00A warm welcome in Colorado

Kathy, Cherry and Tashi say Howdy.

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-68728018361983134682008-10-11T08:57:00.000-07:002008-10-13T16:51:29.688-07:003 Amazing Days with Suzi

It's been 13 years since I last saw my sister Suzi and I’m so glad I decided to visit her as part of this journey: we both needed it.From the moment she met me at Fayetteville Airport on Friday evening until she dropped me back there again on Monday, we didn't stop talking. We had a lifetime worth of stories to remember and years worth of news, thoughts and feelings to catch up on. I think we

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-26664535940798437372008-10-09T16:45:00.000-07:002008-10-09T16:54:24.708-07:00It’s not a Just Situation: Though We Just Can’t Keep Crying About It (For the Hip Hop Nation That Brings Us Such Exciting Art)

by Nikki GiovanniYou don’tJust wake up and brush your teeth and make up your bed and put on your favorite pair of blue jeansYou don’ton other eveningsJust sneak away from your sleeping loverJust to grab a bite of Quik StopJust to hop a train You don’tJust visit the 24 hour superstoreJust to get a few cans of spray paint AndJust happen to have a case to put

The real purpose of my DC adventure was art: I'd come here to visit some specific Museums and see some specific (long-time favourite) artworks. What unfolded was a glorious 5 day orgy of art. Better and more than I'd expected. I was excited - at long last - to be able to visit the Smithsonians and as soon as I'd checked in to my hotel, I headed straight out again for the NMAI (National Museum of

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-56627782084507384112008-10-09T09:36:00.000-07:002008-10-11T14:48:00.551-07:00Visiting the Temple of My Beloved

On the way to visit my sister in North Carolina, I stopped in Washington DC to spend a few days soaking up the various Smithsonians...a treat I'd never had the opportunity to enjoy before. I found DC to be an odd, oddly inspiring, and oddly unsettling place. As I walked around the downtown and Capitol districts, I was often struck by the granduer of the architecture and monuments around me: at

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-21302196774130347642008-10-02T20:37:00.001-07:002008-10-05T06:46:04.230-07:00You CAN go home again. Part 5

I returned to Noble Street with renewed clarity and enthusiasm: determined to discover whatever family history the house might hold and – as originally planned – to carve a petroglyph in a rock in the yard. I hoped the glyph might help move along the energy of all these stuck souls. I knew that the most difficult challenge of the next couple of weeks would be getting (and keeping) myself into the

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-33083021600374599662008-10-01T07:45:00.001-07:002008-10-01T16:20:16.189-07:00You CAN go home again. Part 4

Somewhat reluctantly, I left the Atlantic coast and drove west to Mystery Hill (otherwise known as America’s Stonehenge). It’s an interesting place of overlapping cultures and features a variety of ancient and not-so-ancient stone cairns, circles, and standing stones – some of which (apparently) date back thousands of years. I visited years ago, when the site was a hodgepodge of stones, but in

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-76680541649288027842008-09-30T18:11:00.001-07:002008-09-30T22:03:03.099-07:00You CAN go home again. Part 3

Awoke feeling uncertain, kind of aimless and (for the first time in this journey) unmotivated to charge onward in search of ancestors. The thought of searching through Portland for evidence of the Tanners seemed unappealing, so I decided, instead, to head to my favourite beach: Parsons Beach in Kennebunk. I just wanted to walk a beautiful stretch of beach and let my mind wander. On the way, I

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-84612749341961300802008-09-29T14:46:00.000-07:002008-09-30T18:16:49.716-07:00You CAN go home again, Part 2

I felt unprepared for the energies of the Noble St house and uncertain as to what work I wanted to do there, so I decided to head north: to NH where Ed and I settled after grad school, where we’d lived for most of our married life, where Max was born and spent his first 10 years...where we had friends, habits & history. Obviously, for me, it’s a place thick with memories – most, but not all of

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-42273510935835713372008-09-26T09:00:00.000-07:002008-09-26T09:51:04.323-07:00You CAN go home again Part 1

It’s been a humbling few weeks. The first of it was spent on Nobel St in Malden, Massachsetts in the house where my mother and Uncle David grew up. The Noble St house has been in my family all my life: first it was my grandparent's house then My Uncle David and Aunt Barbara bought it from my Grandmother in the late 60s. They raised their family there and live there still. The house sits in the

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-53591659585687135342008-09-10T06:29:00.000-07:002008-09-10T06:36:09.495-07:00Evil Computer Genies at Work

My computer is fritzing and until I can work out the bugs, blogging may be difficult. I'm hoping it all turns out to be a minor glitch, so stay tuned. Thank goodness for online data storage!Meanwhile, I'm off to meet Patrick Dougherty (artist) today...

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-52365957116087531042008-09-07T15:51:00.000-07:002008-09-08T15:13:41.979-07:00Delivering stones to George and George (Magnus)

Uncle David took Dave and I to visit the cemeteries where George Tanner and Magus Tolstrup are buried so that I could put my stones on their graves. Aunt Barbara came along. We went first to Everett Cemetery to find the grave of George Tanner and looked up and down several rows before Dave suddenly came upon it. I'd brought along my stone from Maeve's Mound and had meant to justlay it on the top

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-68092483964746417092008-09-07T06:46:00.000-07:002008-09-08T13:20:03.550-07:00A Genuine Adams Family Reunion

Went to the Adams Family reunion and apart from Jim, Mark and Dave, it featured a room full of 40 or so people who I really didn’t know. I think most everyone was in the same boat. There were factions of people who seemed to have some on-going combined history, but for the most part people were strangers to each other...and almost everyone was a stranger to me.This reunion was the doing of my

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-31186012533195519162008-09-07T05:33:00.000-07:002008-09-07T14:18:45.766-07:00If you think you're enlightened, go home for the holidays

I Arrived in Boston just in time for the pre-reunion reunion: that is a reunion of the various, disparate factions of my family who are related through an intertwined series of marriages, divorces and liaisons. Follow this, if you can. First, my father Ed (Adams) married my mother Marjorie (Tolstrup). They had 2 daughters - me and my sister Suzi. My father's sister (Laura) married my mother's

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-69815805932581783192008-09-06T17:55:00.000-07:002008-09-08T19:19:21.466-07:00Between past, present and future in Bear River

I’d decided to stay in Digby, Nova Scotia – a lovely little seaside town, known as ‘The Scallop Capital of the World’ (apparently a valid claim as it boasts the largest scallop fleet anywhere) My first few days in Nova Scotia were spent engaged in genealogy research. I combed the documents and records housed at the O’Dell House Museum in the colonial town of Annapolis Royal with the help of their

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-35003420974839058342008-09-06T17:00:00.000-07:002008-09-06T17:02:33.268-07:00Dublin to Digby in 12 hrs flat

Leaving Ireland alone for Nova Scotia entailed a bit of a brain-tweaking process that began with a lonely and dark 5am left-hand drive to Dublin – followed by a flight to Heathrow, another flight to Halifax and finishing with a long and tedious 3 hr right-handed drive to Digby. The last drive had a bit of a surreal edge as I passed a series of boasting road signs: ‘Birthplace of Hockey’, 'Home of

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-76850197853711878182008-09-06T04:24:00.001-07:002008-09-06T07:06:58.711-07:00Learning the Language at Loughcrew

Our last day in Ireland was spent at Loughcrew: A wild and remote series of cairns that feature some of the most complicated and beautiful glyphs in all of Ireland. The cairns are situated at the top of a steep hill and our climb wasn’t made any easier by the raw and biting wind.. We thought the combination of remoteness plus the weather might keep other visitors away, but we pulled into the

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-63223897702008976332008-09-03T13:50:00.000-07:002008-09-03T14:39:07.623-07:00Petroglyphs, poets, and a murder of crows

As all good pilgrims must, we went to Newgrange: Ireland’s most famous (and most visited) megalith site. Newgrange, along with two other nearby sites (Knowth and Dowth) form a huge complex of inter-related cairns that date back four thousand years.It was extraordinary and extraordinarily beautiful, but the experience left a little to be desired: Something on the order of 1000 visitors a day come

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-82742642229178854322008-09-03T09:52:00.000-07:002008-09-03T10:36:29.380-07:00Are we still in Northern Ireland? “God, no...this is the Republic!”

Still searching for ancestors, we headed for Northern Ireland. Griffiths Valuations had also listed a couple of George Tanners in County Tyrone, so we went to get a feel for the place. Along the way we stopped first at the Giant’s Causeway on the Antrim coast – an amazing place of towering hexagonally-shaped rock formations that are unique in the world. On the hike down the hillside, Jim found a

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-371542431042058872008-09-03T08:35:00.000-07:002008-09-03T09:52:39.459-07:00Learning to read the signs

We were headed for Carrowmore and expecting the worst – at least in terms of finding the place - but much to our surprise we found it with ease...and wondered – were the signs getting more specific or were we simply learning to read them.At the site there is a small visitor’s center, where were met by Simon, a guide who invited us to take a tour of the site. Our group of about 20 or so people

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-45311401218919163942008-08-29T03:18:00.000-07:002008-08-29T04:24:11.348-07:00Looking for ancestors in the land of Yeats

We were headed to Sligo, but our first stop was Stokestown – which is one of the places deemed likely as the place our Tanners may have hailed from - and the Famine Museum. The experience was powerful and transformative. The museum is set up in what was once the Mahon family estate, which itself was at the heart of the famine tragedies. Throughout the museum, the story of the famine and its

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-27613788429720520322008-08-28T16:00:00.000-07:002008-08-29T03:15:16.792-07:00Ich BLOODY Bein

Hannah..........Me..........MaggieOver breakfast on our last morning at Ballycreggan, we chatted with another pair of guests - a mother (Maggie) and her daughter from Dublin. Their family had built Ballycreggan house back in 1903 and it was clear that Maggie felt a bit put out that it had fallen out of the immediate family's hands, but was somewhat appeased by the fact that she really liked

In Roscommon we stopped at a local history museum/tourist ffice and spoke at length with avid local historian named John. We chatted about our search for ancestors and our intention to visit local ancient sites, but when we told him that we’d stopped at St Patrick’s well, he beamed. As it turns out, the site is a particular favourite of his: a sort of pet project. It lead to a deeper and more

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-74915110313610426212008-08-27T13:38:00.000-07:002008-08-27T15:14:09.698-07:00Singing for the ancestors

After Jim’s first Irish breakfast (mine too, but not substantially different from and English breakfast), I presented him with his pilgrimage present – a magnetic sign I’d had made for the car door that read: In Search of George Tanner. Jim & Sandy’s Irish Ancestry Tour 2008”. I thought he might have thought it tacky, but he was chuffed! We headed off towards the town of Roscommon to get a bead

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-35279055950245442002008-08-26T15:20:00.000-07:002008-08-26T16:22:23.616-07:00We’re not lost, we’re in Ireland!

It was hard to make the transition form Norway to Ireland: I was excited to head off with Jim on our Irish adventure, but I wasn’t yet ready to leave Norway. My plan, to get to Ireland the evening before Jim arrived (early early the next day) was a good one and I’d planned to use the brief time in Dublin to catch upon blogs, email and maybe even some laundry – so I’d booked myself a regular –

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-40671267009055452592008-08-21T14:11:00.000-07:002008-08-26T16:18:36.153-07:00Wonderful Elisabeth from Ellevilla

Even though I've been in Ireland for a few days already, I can't move on from my Norway posts without thanking Elisabeth Holm, my gracious-vivacious-wondrous host at ElleVilla and new dear friend. Elisabeth, I meant what I said...Please come spend Christmas with us in Australia, where I promise to take as good care of you as you did of me.Thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything...

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-60167848234491443422008-08-17T13:14:00.000-07:002008-08-27T13:38:14.565-07:00I'm (literally) on a roll, now

I'm so grateful to Elisabeth (my former hostess, now adopted daughter-friend) for setting in motion the next bits of my journey. On her suggestion, I made contact with a wonderful woman named Aine Aske at the Larvik Museum. Aine is the Cultural curator/historian for Larvik - so the perfect person to ask questions about my ancestors and their history. As I mentioned briefly before, Aine was

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-81569256035066595692008-08-17T12:25:00.001-07:002008-08-17T15:10:44.084-07:00Forgive me if this blithers a bit.....

I've been keeping a little secret...that all started with the little walk I took out to Rekkevik and the silly little note I left hoping to make contact and find family...that very evening I had a response! I got an email from a man named Kai, who said he was the husband of my 3rd cousin once removed, Marthe (Tolstrup) Strøem. It turns out that the houses I found belong to descendants of Paul

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-15427534227729065022008-08-14T08:33:00.000-07:002008-08-14T09:22:59.348-07:00A fortuitous meeting, not exactly by chance

I met a lovely woman today who I feel I was destined to meet. You never know about these things, but during my preparations for travel to Larvik, I found her website and was quite taken with some of her art. Her name is Grete Lis Bibalo - and Grete, I hope you don't mind if I mention you here and talk about our conversation and your work. (If you do mind, you can let me know and I'll remove this

The whispering stone I picked up in Rekkevik for MagnusIntuitively it has felt as though part of what I need to do with this work I've undertaken is to reconnect Magnus with home and by doing so it will create a bridge for all of us to able to cross back and forth - through time and space - to each other. Somehow, the way to achieve this seemed obvious. All I'd need to do would be to bring a

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-27270142478800912522008-08-13T12:49:00.001-07:002008-08-13T13:39:46.504-07:00Some old photos of Larvik from the Larvik Museum

1665 Map of Larvik1783 Watercolour - Ships sailing into Larvik Dampskipbryggene Larvik 1820Tollerodden, Larvik 1850 Larvik Harbour 1855The following 4 photos are from 1877 -1885Larvik 1893

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-20568057883433154902008-08-13T06:18:00.000-07:002008-08-13T07:52:15.867-07:00And one just for Max

When he was in his early teens, my dear darling boy conjured up a fantasy character name...Greven...which, as far as he knew, he'd made up. Imagine his (and my) surprise when I discovered a Hotel Greven in Larvik! Not only Hotel Greven, but Greven-this and Greven-that. There are Grevens (and greves) all over the place!Turns out that Count Ulrik Frederik Gyldenløve otherwise (and mysteriously)

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-25757829466223815542008-08-13T05:58:00.000-07:002008-08-13T06:18:39.564-07:00Some Norwegian graffiti for Shaz

I honestly didn't see this graffiti at first - I'm so caught up in the loveliness of everything, here. I find it all enchanting. The experience reminds me of my first trip to Bali when all I saw was beauty - the sculpture, the temples, the colours, the people, the flowers. I didn't see the garbage-clogged ditches until my second trip, 4 months later and thought, "How odd that so much litter has

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-60718214840988952212008-08-12T11:09:00.000-07:002008-08-12T13:40:27.029-07:00Overwhelmed, gratified, grateful and very tired

A truly extraordinary, gratifying, enlightening and almost overwhelming day. I can barely gather my thoughts -so much transpired. I will, however, share some facts - in fairness to Dave who has inspired/directed so much of my search. I have definitive answers to a number of your questions, plus some additional info we didn't have before. I also have photocopied entries for everything from the

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-56469698291918846712008-08-11T10:29:00.001-07:002008-08-11T10:35:57.434-07:00If only you knew the half of it, Ibu Kate...

Damp Pilgrimage shoes touch Blue Larkavite (as the pilgrim looks out from the harbour) Dry Pilgrimage shoes under Larvik birch (as the pilgrim breathes in fresh woodland scents)

An evening view from Larvik Harbour. It occurs to me that if Magnus sailed from Larvik, this would have been the view he saw as his boat pulled from the harbour. It is, at least, a scene he knew (minus a few buildings).Sunday morning I left Oslo for Larvik in the pouring rain. No matter. Throughout the journey, I could barely contain my excitement...especially after I entered Vestfold. Suddenly

This button was made for me...an Australerican/Ameralian in Norway who just so happens to loathe George Bush. Translated it means: Bush is kangaroo shit. I'm not kidding. You can't make this stuff up! Why kangaroo and not armadillo shit? Your guess is as good as mine. You've gotta love a climate so harsh that it forces people indoors to conjur up and act on their truly strange and somewhat mad

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-12281807749592101462008-08-11T06:55:00.000-07:002008-08-11T08:04:45.538-07:00Storm Troopers in Oslo

Norwegian Parliament Building Saturday afternoon the clouds parted, the sun was shining and all of Oslo was outdoors enjoying a warm summer day (an autumn day anywhere else). As a final farewell to Oslo, I thought I should take some snaps of the city. Hammer Dulcimer player on Karl Johann's Gate (main street of Oslo)Suddenly an invasion of StormTroopers swarmed the street (don't know why or how),

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-50565249231587487292008-08-11T05:45:00.001-07:002008-08-11T13:36:18.097-07:00More fabulous viking artifacts from the Historisk Museum

Just a few more photos from the Historisk Museum...of Viking artifacts including spindle whorls and weaving weights, swords, glass (amazing), keys and a mystery glyph on stone.

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-26513672712008943162008-08-11T05:09:00.001-07:002008-08-11T14:34:02.340-07:00St. Hallvard and the Pilgrim

I'll try to wrap up my Oslo posts quickly, then will get on to some Vestfold posts (so that Dave can stop gnashing his teeth!). Everywhere in Oslo there are these glorious manhole covers (based on Oslo's coat-of-arms) which, as it turns out, depict St Hallvard - the Patron Saint of Oslo - whose story goes something like this...In the year 1043, a young man named Hallvard Vebjørnson was about to

In an antiquarian bookshop in Oslo, I found some engravings from paintings done in the mid-19th century by Adolf Tidemand - one of Norway's most famous artists. I'm not usually keen on such things, but these engravings depict scenes of everyday Norwegian life during the time of Mathias, then Magnus Tolstrup. Somehow, and despite the fact that I am on a strict and tight budget, I just had to have

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-68181683485739579122008-08-10T03:44:00.000-07:002008-08-11T06:54:36.206-07:00Vikingskiphuset and Historisk Museum

My 1st day in Oslo was spent at the new University of Oslo's Viking Ship and Cultural History Museums. Both were amazing - though the Viking Ship Museum is more of a tourist attraction and was packed by bus loads of tourists and at least half of the 42,000 American cruiseship passengers currently berthed in Oslo harbour. Who knew I could grow irritable at the sound of a mid-western drawl or texas

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-39352316577021917342008-08-09T09:30:00.000-07:002008-08-09T09:57:35.461-07:00An extraordinary 3 days in Oslo

My time here has been a blur of walking, exploring and absorbing: I find I am inspired to understand the Norway Gustav Frederik Moller and Emma Lorentzen knew...the one they left. And so, I have gone looking for things they might have seen in Old Oslo (Christiana), that is, the area of the city, near the Akershus Fortress, just east of the main harbour.Overlooking the harbour is a row of very old

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-33034244673064931542008-08-09T08:03:00.000-07:002008-08-10T12:46:00.738-07:00The MS INNVIK - My Floating Home

Berthed just across the water from the brand new Opera house (and pride of Norway) is my home in Oslo - The MS INNVIK.Billed as an alternative theatre, a minimalist B&B (for the intrepid) and summer café, the INNVIK is a refitted car ferry and lives up to it's reputation on all accounts.As I entered on the first evening, a sign outside advertised the night's performance as Hedda Gabler and (silly

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-85440335785528528612008-08-09T00:19:00.000-07:002008-08-09T00:33:37.719-07:00There can be no pilgrimage without proper shoes

My pilgrimage shoes leaving home My pilgrimage shoes in Oslo

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-594245970796628042008-08-09T00:06:00.000-07:002008-08-09T00:18:36.328-07:00One last UK post

Couldn't resist posting a picture of this place. Our B&B hostess highly recommended a local place in Whitcombe on the Moor for dinner. She called ahead to make reservations, gave us directions and when we arrived we found it was called the RUGGLEstone Inn. Couldn't resist taking a picture (and taking account). I wonder if it has anything to do with OUR Ruggleses. (sounding very LOTR here - which

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-15506082854447240742008-08-08T11:05:00.001-07:002008-08-08T11:38:13.367-07:00What can these stones be?

A little surprise for Max that I can't contain any longer.Steph and I spent a day walking around Tintagel - 1st stop Merlin's Cave below the cliff to gather rune stones for Max. A promise fulfilled. Here they are, Max - waiting to be carved and cast: I expect only the most glorious divinations to result.Tintagel was remarkable and has all the elements one would expect from a place of power. Very

I have the feeling that this blog is never going to quite catch up to me until I'm in Boston - but that's a good thing. For now, though I'm in Oslo and there are still photos from the UK that need posting. So, I'll back up a bit even though that was then and this is now.The first are from Totnes, Devon where my ancestor John Chapin was born in the 16th century. The photos are of the interior of

Meant to walk to Merrivale Stone site, but Steph an I couldn't see 5 feet in front of ourselves. Still, I can't help but feel I've had the real Dartmoor experience. Wild, otherworldy, austere and very, very beautiful.

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-71401704090328547072008-08-06T12:15:00.001-07:002008-08-06T12:20:09.920-07:00NORWAY!

I've just landed in Oslo and am sitting in the café of the MS Innvik (across the Oslo Fjord from the New Oslo Opera House). I'll be staying here and exploring Oslo for the next few days before going to Larvik. But for now, I'm overwhelmed and a bit tired after a long day's travel - so, I promise...tomorrow, I'll post more and add some juicy photos.

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-83577418499729169032008-07-26T20:19:00.000-07:002008-07-27T06:34:58.748-07:00There and back again

The last month or so has been filled with an intensity that demands recording. I’ve gone through a number of rapid-fire, almost metamorphic changes. At the first, I felt filled with fears and sadness: intent on what I was leaving, fearful of what I’ll fail to find. My journey seemed ill-conceived and filled with irony. My search is always for deep, unshakable connection, yet my deepest connection

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-34862318113767493652008-05-17T23:24:00.001-07:002008-11-19T02:56:42.731-08:00Carving Glyphs in Bluestone

After a hesitant start, cutting lines into stone felt natural. It surprised me how much the stone speaks for itself, leading the direction of the design by how it resists or guides the chisel.Bluestone seems to chip quite a lot and I wonder how different granites will react to being cut.It's heavy going, I will need to think carefully about the size and complexity of the glyphs - though I like

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-46318424484587436842008-05-14T01:21:00.000-07:002008-11-19T02:56:42.942-08:00Pilgrimage Tools

21st Century Pilgrim's Progresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13060166480322649135noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3129836224192853398.post-32400436092631049862008-05-13T07:45:00.000-07:002008-11-19T02:56:43.108-08:00Pilgrimage Shoes

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