It’s just after midnight and the wind is whipping outside like we’re in a hurricane or something. The houses are so well built here in Norway, they can take it, but we might lose power. It’s quite the storm. Kind of fun actually, as there are no tall trees around to think about, like at home. I stood right next to our front door that is mostly glass, and didn’t even feel the slightest bit of air coming in anywhere. The houses are sealed up very tight which comes in handy when trying to keep the place warm. Kaleb is in bed, Kory is drawing, the fire is burning, and I’m clicking away on the keyboard. All is right in our cozy little world.
This morning we all slept in then we took Kaleb and his “bodyguard” to Barnaslekerland – a big indoor play area here. I think Tobias was a bit too old for such a thing, but he’s a good sport and ran around with Kaleb nonetheless. One of us had to stay on the premises and since I had a few errands to run, Kory stayed behind. Up until today, I haven’t driven our vehicle. I’m not all that comfortable with the rules of the road here and I especially hate the round-abouts. They are everywhere. In this entire region, I’ve only seen one stop sign and two stop lights – every other intersection is a round-about (some the size of a man-hole cover) and not everyone follows all the rules so they are a tad bit beyond my comfort zone. And everyone coming from the right has the right-of-way even on regular streets so Kory has been driving down the road and some car will come flying out from nowhere right in front of him and he has to slam on his brakes because they came from the right. Bizarre law. (Bigger roads have a special sign to show oncoming cars must yield first… but that panic feeling is always there that someone will nail us if we don’t keep a look-out.) But I stretched myself and just figured one of these days I’m going to have to drive, so I better do it today when the sky looked so threatening it would have been foolish to walk anywhere. And God kept all other cars away and I survived the trip (all ½ mile of it). I feel so accomplished! One of my errands was to buy rain gear, so if I’m not brave enough to drive the next time, I can walk – no matter what the weather looks like.
Tonight we were invited to some friend’s house for dinner on one of the outer islands. The storm was really raging out there but we were warm and toasty in their house. It was fun to watch the waves breaking over the jetty in front of their house and see the spray flying up as high as the street lights. Woo hoo. The guy is actually Kory’s third cousin but we only met him in the last few years so he really is first and foremost a friend. He and his wife are both extremely wonderful people. We had a fantastic evening at their house talking about everything from Norwegian Christmas traditions to the condition of the Norwegian and American stock markets. I love all the formalities Norwegians have … candles throughout the house, fine linens and china, everything so fancy. There’s nothing like it. But when we go to someone’s house we always run the risk of being served some strange food I’ve never eaten and I’m not much of an adventure-in-eating kind of gal. Tonight we were served deer meat for dinner, and so far in my 51 years on this planet, I’ve managed to avoid eating such a thing… but I felt so proud of myself for driving the van today that I thought I’d stretch myself just one more time and take a bite. I took two to be polite, and then when they weren’t looking I put the rest on Kaleb’s plate. That kid will eat anything. Kory said it was super good and he had seconds, but I don't eat much meat … especially from cute animals. I’m glad they didn’t serve the moose they just bought today because that’s one ugly looking critter, but I think I still would have had a hard time taking a bite out of that one.
This morning we all slept in then we took Kaleb and his “bodyguard” to Barnaslekerland – a big indoor play area here. I think Tobias was a bit too old for such a thing, but he’s a good sport and ran around with Kaleb nonetheless. One of us had to stay on the premises and since I had a few errands to run, Kory stayed behind. Up until today, I haven’t driven our vehicle. I’m not all that comfortable with the rules of the road here and I especially hate the round-abouts. They are everywhere. In this entire region, I’ve only seen one stop sign and two stop lights – every other intersection is a round-about (some the size of a man-hole cover) and not everyone follows all the rules so they are a tad bit beyond my comfort zone. And everyone coming from the right has the right-of-way even on regular streets so Kory has been driving down the road and some car will come flying out from nowhere right in front of him and he has to slam on his brakes because they came from the right. Bizarre law. (Bigger roads have a special sign to show oncoming cars must yield first… but that panic feeling is always there that someone will nail us if we don’t keep a look-out.) But I stretched myself and just figured one of these days I’m going to have to drive, so I better do it today when the sky looked so threatening it would have been foolish to walk anywhere. And God kept all other cars away and I survived the trip (all ½ mile of it). I feel so accomplished! One of my errands was to buy rain gear, so if I’m not brave enough to drive the next time, I can walk – no matter what the weather looks like.
Tonight we were invited to some friend’s house for dinner on one of the outer islands. The storm was really raging out there but we were warm and toasty in their house. It was fun to watch the waves breaking over the jetty in front of their house and see the spray flying up as high as the street lights. Woo hoo. The guy is actually Kory’s third cousin but we only met him in the last few years so he really is first and foremost a friend. He and his wife are both extremely wonderful people. We had a fantastic evening at their house talking about everything from Norwegian Christmas traditions to the condition of the Norwegian and American stock markets. I love all the formalities Norwegians have … candles throughout the house, fine linens and china, everything so fancy. There’s nothing like it. But when we go to someone’s house we always run the risk of being served some strange food I’ve never eaten and I’m not much of an adventure-in-eating kind of gal. Tonight we were served deer meat for dinner, and so far in my 51 years on this planet, I’ve managed to avoid eating such a thing… but I felt so proud of myself for driving the van today that I thought I’d stretch myself just one more time and take a bite. I took two to be polite, and then when they weren’t looking I put the rest on Kaleb’s plate. That kid will eat anything. Kory said it was super good and he had seconds, but I don't eat much meat … especially from cute animals. I’m glad they didn’t serve the moose they just bought today because that’s one ugly looking critter, but I think I still would have had a hard time taking a bite out of that one.
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