Uff Da Metal bookmark/page marker

Uff da! Interj. \oof\-\da\ can express surprise, relief, exhaustion, astonishment, and dismay. “Uff da” is probably the best, if not only, Norwegian expression used by Norwegian Americans and is the linguistic sibling of “ay carumba” and “oy vey.”

Lisa Hovis created this Uff da design to celebrate the ancestry of her paternal grandmother, Esmer Roningen Hovis. It features different rosemaling patterns from Lisa’s collection. Rosemaling is a Scandinavian folk painting method that flourished from 1700-1850, particularly in Norway. First used to decorate church walls and ceilings, it later spread to wooden items commonly used in daily life, such as bowls, chairs, cupboards, boxes, and trunks.

The rosemaling pattern in the exclamation point is from a wood bowl Esmer brought back from Norway, where she researched family history in the 1970s. The proverb written on the wood plate inside this card translates to ‘Morning has gold in its mouth,’ meaning ‘The early bird gets the worm.’ It is another heirloom brought back to the US from Norway long ago and currently hangs on Esmer’s daughter Mary’s kitchen wall.