Roberta Writes – Thursday Doors and a song parody, On Reflection #ThursdayDoors #NorwegianFolkMuseum #poetry

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For Thursday Doors this week, I am sharing a few of my photographs from the Norwegian Folk Museum. You can join in Thursday Doors here: https://nofacilities.com/2024/07/04/wlfd-carnival/

This post is a first peep into some of the traditional houses featured at this museum. There are 400 buildings on display so this will be the first of a few posts.

Picture caption: Traditional Norwegian house at the Norwegian Folk Museum

Wikipedia says the following about sod roofs:

A sod roof, or turf roof, is a traditional Scandinavian type of green roof covered with sod on top of several layers of birch bark on gently sloping wooden roof boards. Until the late 19th century, it was the most common roof on rural log houses in Norway and large parts of the rest of Scandinavia.

Sod is also a reasonably efficient insulator in a cold climate. The birch bark underneath ensures that the roof will be waterproof.

The term ‘sod roof’ is somewhat misleading, as the active, water-tight element of the roof is birch bark. The main purpose of the sod is to hold the birch bark in place. The roof might just as well have been called a “birch bark roof”, but its grassy outward appearance is the reason for its name in Scandinavian languages: Norwegian and Swedish torvtak, Danish tørvetag, Icelandic torfþak.

You can read more about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sod_roof

I first learned about sod houses when I read On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder when I was a girl. The Ingalls family live in a sod house after Pa trades their wagon and horses for a house built by a Norwegian, and his crops.

Picture caption: A variety of different traditional Norwegian houses

Very low doors
Traditional bed
Passageway between the inner and outer walls

Picture caption: inside one of the houses

YT video: Inside a traditional Norwegian sod house

On reflection, a song parody

My song parody today is for Kay’s Let’s Go to the Museum painting challenge. This is the prompt picture: Automat, 1927 by Edward Hopper

You can join in the challenge here: https://bookplaces.blog/lets-go-to-the-museum-writing-challenge-2/

The picture brought to mind me sitting alone in the hospital coffee shop waiting for someone who is having surgery to come out of theatre. People often ask me how I manage to cope with all the hospitalisations and illnesses that cross my life path. This song parody is my answer to that question.

On reflection, a song parody of From a Distance

On reflection, our lives go up and down

With rough patches in between

On reflection, loves go right and wrong

And opportunities are not seen

***

On reflection, the road is bumpy

It effects the seeds we sew

We can be mean, or

We can be kind

It depends on how we grow

***

On reflection, we are all captains

Of our own destinies

We can choose to rise, or choose to sink

Stand tall or fall to our knees

***

On reflection, relationships can go astray

And our lives can fall apart

To succumb to grief, or

To succumb to hate

Is a decision we must make

***

Hope shadows us

Hope shadows us

Hope shadows us

On reflection

***

On reflection, relentless fear and pain

Can tear apart our hearts

On reflection, it can teach calm and patience

When anger and self pity departs

***

On reflection, trauma moulds character

Gives us the strength to soldier on

It’s a part of life

And a part of death

It’s part of being human (being human)

***

It’s a part of life

And a part of death

It’s the core of humanity

***

And hope shadows us

Hope shadows us

Hope shadows us

On reflection

***

Oh, hope shadows us

Hope shadows us

Hope shadows us

On reflection

This is the original version of From a Distance by Bette Midler

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Published by robertawrites235681907

I am a writer of young adult fiction and poetry

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109 thoughts on “Roberta Writes – Thursday Doors and a song parody, On Reflection #ThursdayDoors #NorwegianFolkMuseum #poetry”

  1. Those are lovely houses, Robbie. Thanks for including the information about the birch bark. I never knew that.

    “On reflection, trauma moulds character” – My father’s favorite comment while raising his two boys was “That will build character.” I suppose it’s true, even when it’s hard.

    I hope you have a nice weekend.

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      1. I know that feeling, Roberta. Once upon a time, I was afraid of hospitals, now I call myself a frequent flyer. You are welcome

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  6. Those houses are fascinating, Robbie! There were log cabins built by Swedish settlers here in the 17th century. I wonder if they were similar? I believe the Ingalls family lived in actual sod houses on the prairie, dug into the ground.

    Hope is important.

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        1. Hi Merril, I didn’t find another reference to a sod house in the books, but I may have forgotten. It is true that there weren’t many trees on the prairie and the sod house I mentioned was due into the bank of the creek with a sod front wall and a sod roof. Pretty clever use of resources.

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      1. If you sing and want to sing your parody, I can process the music (remove the vocals) and send it to you, and you could record yourself on your phone; send me your recording, and I could mix it all together for you.

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  18. Terrific post, Robbie. One of the most fascinating aspects of history to me is seeing how people found solutions when modern tools didn’t exist.

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  20. So much in this to enjoy! I love the sod houses and their history, and your parody song lyrics are great.

    For the record, the first recording of From A Distance was by Nanci Griffith, three years before Bette Midler. But this is the true original, by the woman who wrote the song, Julie Gold:

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      1. Hi Robbie. To be honest, I didn’t either until I wrote a tribute post for Nanci after her passing a few years ago. I prefer Nanci’s version – I’m a fan, so I would, wouldn’t I! – but I love the feeling that Julie Gold puts into her song.

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  21. The sod houses are interesting, especially the grass grows on top of the roof. I enjoyed reading the info about them. I love the song parody and the reflections. I hope your hospital visits will diminish and allow you to relax and enjoy life. Thank you for the link to Kay’s challenge.

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  22. I didn’t see any mention of cow poop used as a sort mortar on the log cabins. I think sod was a big building, insulating and roofing material world wide, from indigenous to pioneers. Nice pics! I’ll light a candle for you and the hospital waits.

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    1. Hi Phil, Wikipedia didn’t mention the cow poop but it sounds quite reasonable. Dung and daub was a building method here in South Africa. I’m glad you like the pictures. It was such a good trip. Thanks also for your kind thoughts, things are improving day by day.

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  23. Thank you for this post, Robbie. Like you, I learned about a sod roof when I read On the Banks of Plum Creek. You photos are wonderful, and your On Reflection song parody is very good.

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  27. Yes life is up and down. The wife of a friend of mine, well she was a friend of mine too, died from cancer a couple of days ago. Today we celebrated 4th of July but now after our party Rollo is terrified of the fireworks. There’s pain and happiness one after the other. Your poem captures it beautifully.

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  29. Thanks for the description of sod roofs, Robbie. I never understood how they worked. I liked your pictures and video. Examples of such simple living make me want to simplify how I live. And, great job on your parody – you have so many creative juices flowing!

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    1. Hi Barbara, the sod roof information is fascinating. So practical and workable. I’m delighted you enjoyed the pictures and video. Song parodies seem to be my latest passion. I always thought songs were poems set to music and now I am proving my point.

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  30. I did not know about the birch bark as the main component of a sod roof. Great info, Robbie, and I enjoyed learning more about the homes. And thanks for the song parody. It was actually quite moving and explains a lot about how you cope with the difficulties in your life. It’s relatable so I’m glad you shared it. ❤

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    1. Hi Diana, I didn’t know it either although it is actually mentioned in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s book. I just didn’t pick up on it when I read it. When we are in a bumpy and hard phase of our lives, there are never really any alternatives but to soldier on. I always think you might as well do it with good grace and a measure of positivity otherwise you spend half of life miserable.

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  33. I remember reading the Wilder book with my kids, too memorable to forget, especially the sod house. Thank you for sharing the different varieties with us, Robbie. And I love your song parody: yes, “hope shadows us” and to live in its shadow is a great gift of grace!

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    1. Hi Dora, I am pleased you have also read the Little House books. I really loved them when I was a girl. I read them to both my sons. I believe that hope is vital to the survival of people. We have to have hope to stay on our life paths.

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  34. I think we would all choose our own trauma rather than to endure someone else’s. We learn to adjust, and like you said, trauma molds us into who we become. I love all your phrases of hope. Your life rings with hope in spite of what you have had to endure. Your poem is so beautiful, it would make a beautiful song in the same vein of Bette Midler’s song.

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      1. You are such a good mother, Robbie. What you can count on is that the trauma is making him into a wonderfully strong individual who knows he’s loved.

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  35. “Hope shadows us” is a lovely thought, though many times impossible to believe. You sure have my sympathy. Waiting is hard enough, but waiting in a hospital can really eat you alive. Those sod houses are amazing to me — how people make homes out of their environments is a special kind of art form, I think. They illustrate how we adapt — now that I think of it, that’s kind of what your parody is about too. Clever.

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