Colorful investigator moved home

Christine Sørby (36) hated her hometown as a 16-year-old, and only wanted to go to Oslo. But 20 years later, few people talk as warmly about the Kongsvinger region as she does. Country life is certainly not boring, when you just see the possibilities.

Name: Christine Sørby
Residence: Sander
Profession: Police investigator

You notice it as soon as you arrive at the small farm yard just by the banks of the Glomma. The calm, the air and the mood lower the shoulders and push the smiley faces sideways. Christine tries to stagnate the welcome joy of the dog Doris as she stands on the steps of her 100-year-old house. We are in the middle of the epicenter of the Odal woman's place on earth. Here she lives and lives with her husband Bjørn Kristian Næss.

“I grew up on a housing estate two kilometers over here. In my teens, I just wanted to get away, to live the urban Oslo life.
But after a few years, I dreamed of returning to the place that means the most, and the people who mean a lot to me."

Colorful life: Christine Sørby has moved home to Sander, after many years in Oslo. Here in the exciting and colorfully renovated living room.

Realized the dream home

Most of the land and forest have been separated from the farm for a long time. The small farm that Christine and Bjørn Kristian took over in 2017 has 8 acres of land, house, barn, boys' room, outdoor toilet and a basement. The residential house has been painstakingly refurbished with your own hands. The peasant character persists, at the same time as modern solutions and fresh colors have taken over the dream place. The house gives off energy, just like the colorful and active people who live there.

“I had 20 people with me to the viewing when we considered buying the place here, just to make sure we checked the condition properly and didn't go for an impossible project. After all, we've learned a lot along the way, and it's only the bathroom that we haven't cleaned ourselves, she says."

Christine says she really hates spending money. The interior is a good mix of "flea market" and new fresh colors. You can hardly get fed up with whimsical details and surprises indoors. The bright green sofa is just as good for home office use with a laptop in your lap, as a pleasant conversation over a cup of coffee. The colorful woman definitely does not brag, but still radiates enormous joy and pride at having moved back home and realized the dream home.

The police investigator

Right after high school, Christine left the small place Sander, in favor of Oslo. Apartment at Majorstua, with studies in graphic design and interior design pointed a completely different path than back to Odalen. She thrived in urban life. She had finished peasant life on the outskirts. Then Christine changed pastures, went to police school and got a job in Greenland in Oslo.

"I probably applied for a police job because I both like speed and excitement, and at the same time I am very interested in people.
I'm also curious and like to hear stories and get an insight into different destinies."

Now she works as a police investigator in Kongsvinger, and is very happy. It has already been three years in the Inland police district. The conditions are no greater than there will also be guards patrolling. She eventually knows the local community very well also through the investigator job - for better or worse.

Social network

A close-knit network of young girls and childhood friends from Sander moved to Oslo, but now four good friends have moved home to the Kongsvinger region again. Christine loves to gather friends and acquaintances on the small farm for social occasions. Over a good meal with accompanying drinks, creativity runs in many directions. Several projects of various kinds have already been conceived in these surroundings.

"We got married here in the barn in 2017, with 120 guests. We had grilled pig and cooked everything ourselves. Dancing is not our favorite activity, so there was fox hooking and other activities in the barn. Experiences shouldn't cost that much, she smiles."

Events and event knowledge are an important part of the life of Christine and Bjørn Kristian at Sander. Both have worked a lot with the Audunbakken Festival, and love to arrange and arrange gatherings of various kinds. With food and drink as a hobby and passion in addition, many get to take part in the experiences and the great hospitality of the couple.

The mover

Christine Sørby is a real homemaker who traveled the world, only to return to her hometown full of ideas and energy. There are not a few hours she has spent on restoration and renovation. And with the innate anxiety about spending money, she learns a lot and fixes the most incredible things with her life partner.

The dog Doris is also a moody and important companion and family friend on the farm. With full-time jobs daily in Kongsvinger and at Lørenskog, respectively, there is limited opportunity for animal husbandry. But the dog was still joined by two new four-legged friends this spring. The two sheep Torill and Frank are just as full-fledged family members, and just as important mood-spreaders as the others.

"For some reason, I had an idea this spring that I wanted to have cow lambs. Actually, we thought it would end with mutton cabbage when autumn came, but it certainly didn't turn out that way, she says.
"One day a nearby farmer called and said I could come and get the lambs. Cup lambs have to get milk and have to be fed with a feeding bottle, and I was able to do that five times a day because there was a lot of home office this spring."

The two lambs were a girl and a boy. The latter had to be castrated, as it was about to grow into a weather with curly horns. Now three four-legged and two two-legged enjoy a moody life together in the country.

Plans and projects

But enjoying does not necessarily mean sitting still, for Christine and her family. The boys' room will be restored so that it can be used by guests. The plan is to rent out rooms in the boys' living room via Airbnb, and offer quiet and pleasant rural experiences for guests.

An old earth cellar and potato cellar are being converted into a wine cellar. According to older neighbors, people sat and hid from the Germans here during the war - Christine sees potential and uses for all the farm buildings. The barn got 200 square meters of new floor and is used for parties and activities. Flea markets are the type of events that they have in the barn as well.

"I have been working on various projects for as long as I can remember. I like to create things, and here I have all the possibilities, she says."

Christine has arranged concerts and cultural events, and has created her own stage in the barn. Now she hopes that it will soon again be possible to arrange New Year's parties and large summer parties in her own home.