The Three Tantes

Kaleb woke up sneezing this morning, which was soon followed by a runny nose and fever. He was down for the count and laid on the couch all day (missing out on yet another birthday party). Kory went to Filadelfia Kirke without us. Sabina came over, wanting to go to the Agape church right after Kory left. I told her Kory was gone and that Kaleb was sick, but she could ride her bike down there and go without us. She asked if it cost anything to go and I told her that it was free. She then asked if the cake afterwards cost anything and I told her it cost ten kroner (and worth every kroner I might add – best deal in Norway). She looked a little disheartened so I asked her if she would like me to give her ten kroner ($2) to buy cake and she perked right up. I gave her the money and off she went to church -- all by herself. That was easy. I wonder how many other folks would head off to church if they knew they got cake afterwards (believe me when I say even if you aren’t a church going type person, it’s worth sitting through the service just to have a piece of a Norwegian cake afterwards.) I saw Sabina later in the day and she was happy she had gone, so it seems she’ll go again, and I do hope she does.

I tended to Kaleb all day, ironed, vacuumed and made dinner. We invited the three “Tantes” (aunts – Kory’s mom’s sisters) over for mid-dag (dinner). It seems fitting they were our first dinner guests since they are such fine old ladies. (L to R in photo: Tante Aslaug, Tante Kari and Tante Ruth – she’s the one that lives in our condo.) They couldn’t have been more impressed with our place, and how “koselig” (cozy) it was. Tante Kari wondered how I knew what to bring since I didn’t know what furniture I was going to get and everything matched so perfectly. (God did that – not me.) They think our living situation is more than a miracle and they were just shy of genuine shock over the whole situation. They squealed for a very long time over every detail, (including my ability to converse with them in Norwegian) and again at dinner over all the things they tasted. Tante Kari had never eaten yams in her entire life (she’s at least 80) and she wondered if I added food coloring to them to get them that color. I’m glad they were so pleased as it was a genuine challenge to make that meal. I brought along my Cuisanart food processor so I could make some of my favorite foods like Potato-Cheese soup. It needs to be pureed and I discovered too late that it was a waste to bring that machine. The electrical converters I brought to deal with the voltage differences between America and Europe only go up to 85 watts and that food processor sucks at least 110 watts so it blew out a few fuses before I gave up trying. I served the worst looking soup in my entire life as I tried to puree it with a hand mixer but the carrots just wouldn’t mush up like the potatoes. I apologized all over the place, but it still tasted good so I was off the hook for presentation. Then I made this Lemon-Blueberry bread that is to die for but I haven’t gotten used to the difference in Celsius and Fahrenheit ovens and I cooked it too hot so that the top burned and the innards were raw. I was quite frustrated with the whole thing but thought I’d serve it anyway because I had no other options and all the stores were closed. I just served it with a little Vanilla Sauce on the side (it’s a good backup plan for any dessert you’re not sure of), and the Tantes all raved about how good it was (and yes, they all covered theirs with Vanilla Sauce.) Like I said, they are fine old ladies.