In partnership with the Mount Horeb Area Historical Society, I invite you to join me in May, 2023, on a trip to the land of Chloe’s ancestors!
Click the image below to see what we have planned.
We’ve partnered with Borton Overseas for our 2023 adventure. The company began in 1894 as Sunden, Vanstrum, and Co., specializing in steamship travel for Scandinavian immigrants coming to the U.S. We’ll have over a century of experience supporting our trip!
Click HERE for itinerary, pricing, and registration information.
If you have specific trip and travel questions, you may also reach out directly to Amy, Borton’s Scandinavian Specialist. amy@bortonoverseas.com 1-612-661-4634 800-843-0602
Discounts are available for members of Sons of Norway, Swedish Institute, Danish American Center, and Norway House.
For the safety and peace of mind of all, the Mount Horeb Area Historical Society kindly requests that travelers be vaccinated against Covid-19 to participate in this tour. Please keep this in mind when registering.
You’ll find more information on our dedicated trip website, including more insight into some of the places we’ll be visiting.
I’m dreaming of Norway. You too? I hope you can join us!
I’ve scheduled some fun events for the coming weeks, including writing workshops (both live and virtual) and free virtual programs. I also have an important update on the Chloe Ellefson-themed trip to Norway.
To see all the news, follow this link to my newsletter. I hope to see you soon!
Click the image below to see what we have planned.
We have a Tour Norway With Kathleen website created just for the adventure! It’s your portal for trip information—hotel and destination links, a schedule of Constitution Day festivities (we’ll be in Bergen for the holiday), and more.
We’ve forged a relationship with Borton Overseas for our 2022 adventure. (Our original travel agent, who did so much to develop our plans, is enjoying a well-earned retirement.)
Borton Overseas began in 1894 as Sunden, Vanstrum, and Co., specializing in steamship travel for Scandinavian immigrants coming to the U.S. We’ll have over a century of experience supporting our trip!
Discounts are available for members of Sons of Norway, Swedish Institute, Danish American Center, and Norway House.
Note: If the pandemic presents any unexpected challenges for 2022, we will immediately contact you to discuss options. At this time, we don’t know if the Norwegian government will require vaccinations.
However, for the safety ad peace of mind of all, the Mount Horeb Area Historical Society kindly requests that travelers be vaccinated against Covid-19 to participate in this tour. Please keep this in mind when registering. The most up-to-date information regarding entry requirements will be provided as we get closer to our departure.
I’m dreaming of Norway. You too? I hope you can join us!
When I partnered with the Mount Horeb Area Historical Society and Group Travel Directors last yearto plan a trip to Norway , COVID-19 wasn’t on the radar. We forged ahead with a spring trip announcement, hopeful that we’d all feel safe traveling by May, 2021. The planning committee agreed that having something wonderful to anticipate could only brighten such difficult times.
Well, we get to enjoy that anticipation for a while longer than originally planned. I’m sure it will surprise no one to hear that the Chloe Ellefson tour to Norway has officially been postponed.
I’m as excited about this trip as ever, and we are committed to making it happen! Although we’re not announcing specific dates at this time, we hope to travel in spring, 2022.When we do arrive in Norway, we shall have special toasts all around!
If you’d like to be on our mailing list for trip-specific updates, let me know. We’re grateful for your interest and support. Please stay safe and well!
I write about special historic places in each of my Chloe Ellefson Mysteries, and nothing makes me happier than sharing them with readers.
Well, guess what?
I’ve teamed up with the Mount Horeb Area Historical Society to offer a trip to Southern Norway—the land of Chloe’s ancestors! Click the link below to see what we have in store.
When I decided on a Norwegian setting for Fiddling With Fate, the 10th volume in my Chloe Ellefson Mystery series, I chose the area that enchanted me most. Now, you can experience the Hardanger Region as well!
Important note: Although we’re making plans for a stupendous trip, no one can predict the future in these challenging times. We understand. We also know that anticipating an adventure can relieve stress! If the pandemic makes it necessary, the trip will be postponed for a year (with a possible adjustment in price), not canceled.
For more information contact:
Group Travel Directors 952-885-2133 800-747-2255 ext. 133 jtollund@gtd.org www.gtd.org
We also have a Tour Norway With Kathleen website created just for the adventure! It’s your portal for trip information, blog posts, and much more.
I am incredibly excited about this trip. I hope you can join us!
Norwegian people have used symbols to express important thoughts since ancient times. Even simple carved, painted, or stitched motifs on building or folk art often had important meanings.
Agnete Sivertsen, director of the Hardanger Folkemuseum in Utne, introduced me to the ritual use of symbols in old Norway while helping me identify an artifact handaplagg (hand cloth) to use as a prototype for one described in Fiddling With Fate, The 10th Chloe Ellefson Mystery.
Hand cloths were traditionally worn during weddings in the Hardanger region. The geometric motifs stitched into this cloth are more than pretty designs. They have meaning.
After showing me the cloth, Agnete took me to the Hardanger fiddle gallery. The intricate designs embellishing many old fiddles are similar to the designs embroidered in the handaplagg.
My fictional handaplagg is introduced in 1838, when Gudrun stitches symbols into a handcloth for her granddaughter Lisbet to wear for her wedding.
Gudrun spread the cloth she’d been stitching over her lap. It was old, but she’d cared for it well. The linen was still crisp; the original black embroidery silk still dark and even. Her own grandmother had stitched her blessings and fears into this cloth. Most of the symbolism Gudrun understood, but she’d been young when her grandmother died.
The maker is unknown, but the handcloth is believed to date back to the 1700s.
Are there messages in the patterns that I’ve missed? Gudrun wondered, touching the old threads with a gnarled finger. Have I misinterpreted something I’m meant to pass on? Will coming generations understand what I’ve contributed?
When Chloe fictionally inherits a similar hand cloth, she takes it with her to Norway. She gradually discovers some of the meaning incorporated into her cloth—and many other types of folk art as well.
Squares like the one below represent agricultural fields; smaller stitches within represent seeds. Such motifs reflected hopes of a fertile marriage.
Detail of the handcloth pictured above. Hardanger Folkemuseum, Utne, Norway.Inked design on fiddle. Hardanger Folkemuseum, Utne, Norway.
Circles and spirals were often used to symbolize male power.
Fiddle, Hardanger Folkemuseum, Utne.
Ram’s horns (the reciprocal spirals at the bottom of the mangle board shown below) were invoked to encourage male fertility.
Mangleboard, Utne Hotel, Utne.
Sun symbols summoned all that was good and warm and holy.
Some symbols protected the family and farm. For example, crooked designs like those below may have been intended to confuse and drive away evil spirits.
Kroting (chalk painting) done during a class at Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum.
The stitched figures below may represent the disir, spirits who guarded women and linked their families from one generation to the next throughout time.
Embroidered cloth. Norsk Folkemuseum, Oslo, Norway. (My apologies for the poor image quality.)
At the end of the book, Chloe asks an expert to share her thoughts about the symbols on her handaplagg.
Sonja smiled. “I think the women in your family wanted to protect their daughters and granddaughters from evil, and to bless their lives with love and balance and holy light.”
Love and balance and holy light, Chloe thought. Who could ask for more?
Do any symbols appear within your own family heirlooms or ethnic heritage? Have you included any in your own handwork? Feel free to share!
I write about special historic places in each of my Chloe Ellefson Mysteries, and nothing makes me happier than sharing them with readers.
Well, guess what?
I’ve teamed up with the Mount Horeb Area Historical Society to offer a trip to Southern Norway—the land of Chloe’s ancestors! Click the link below to see what we have in store.
When I decided on a Norwegian setting for Fiddling With Fate, the 10th volume in my Chloe Ellefson Mystery series, I chose the area that enchanted me most. Now, you can experience the Hardanger Region as well!
Important note: Although we’re making plans for a stupendous trip, no one can predict the future in these challenging times. We understand. We also know that anticipating an adventure can relieve stress! If the pandemic makes it necessary, the trip will be postponed for a year (with a possible adjustment in price), not canceled.
For more information contact:
Group Travel Directors 952-885-2133 800-747-2255 ext. 133 jtollund@gtd.org www.gtd.org
We also have a Tour Norway With Kathleen website created just for the adventure! It’s your portal for trip information, blog posts, and much more.
I am incredibly excited about this trip. I hope you can join us!
I've worn many bonnets over the years: writer, reader, historical interpreter, curator, reenactor, naturalist, educator. I've never had a job I didn't love. How lucky is that?
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