Once upon a time...

....there were two little girls; growing up together. 

They were not sisters, yet they felt like they were. They lived with their old grandfather; once a fisherman and smallholder, and their mothers; Kristine and Monsina. Their mothers were true sisters, growing up in Øygarden (a small kingdom of islands).

The sisters and their father, Mons, moved to Bergen around 1898 and the two ladies found work at what was termed in their time; an eatery establishment. They also did laundry to make ends meet. As family history recalls; Nina Bull, the niece of famous Norwegian violin player Ole Bull, was one of their customers. Nina Bull was very fond of Alfrida and Ingeborg and treated them with items from her own childhood sent her by her uncle when he was touring Paris.

The dark haired girl is Alfrida Constanse who was to become my grandmother. She was born in 1905 and the younger girl in the photo is Ingeborg Elvilda Amanda; her cousin. 

 Monsina died young and her sister Kristina becoming the mother and caregiver of two little girls instead of one. Thus the two little girls became real sisters.