Last night just as we were getting ready to go to bed, I opened the front door to feel the power of the storm (it seemed too detached just watching it all through the window.) The door opens facing east so it was difficult to keep it open as the wind was very strong and blowing from the west. Because it was so tempting, I grabbed a handful of snow, closed the door, and nailed Kaleb with it. He was fresh out of a warm bath and only had on his bathrobe. He thought he’d retaliate so he ran to the back door to grab some snow off the porch there. Only problem was that that door opens to the west (where the storm was coming from) and he had such a strong grip on the door handle, that the wind got a hold of the door and flew it open full force – with Kaleb in tow. It was the most hysterical sight, as one minute he was standing in front of the door, and the next, he was literally, gone with the wind. It blew him out of the house, over the porch and onto the ground next to the steps. He was naked under his bathrobe so he got baptized in a pile of snow and needed rescuing. It was just too funny. Once he warmed up, we had an indoor snowball fight (and then had a big mess to clean up afterwards.) I’m sure he’ll remember that “Norway moment” for years to come.
The blizzard lasted through the night, but joy came in the morning! We woke up to blue skies and the prettiest white blanket lying over all the land. We enjoyed it as much as we could and we didn’t have to go far from our house to do that. Hills are everywhere – perfect for sledding and skiing. Kaleb was a natural on his cross country skis. So much so that he used them for downhill skiing as well. We have a big hill in front of our house and he went up and down it several times. (see video at the end) Sabina had her sled out but Kaleb liked skiing better as he said, “they feel more natural for me.” Boy is he ever a Norwegian. I on the other hand, haven’t skied for twenty years so I wasn’t nearly as graceful. We bought top quality cross country skis and boots and poles for me too – all for about ten bucks at a flea market and it was my first chance to try them out. Kaleb and I had several races back and forth across our lawn. He won every time but I still burned up a few calories in the process. It was a beautiful day, but it didn’t last long as the sun didn’t show up until after nine and it was gone again by three (darkness prevails now).
We had a big outing tonight as cousin Odd’s daughter, Hege, was the Fairy Godmother in the ballet Cinderella. Because the roads were dastardly, we decided to take the bus into the city. We went in a little early so we could walk around town and go have a bowl of soup at Lyspunktet – the café run by Youth With A Mission. The building where that café is housed is on the first floor of “Missions huset” which is a building owned by the Missions Church of Norway/Sweden. It’s the church that gave birth to the Covenant denomination in America (and where we are members). The building has a lot of memories for Kory because his grandparents lived on the top floor there during and after the war. It is there that he used to stay when his mom shipped him across the fjord when she got tired of him. He was quite nostalgic tonight reliving some of the memories in that place from those days.
Hege (pronounced Hey-ga) is an exceptionally gifted dancer. She loves ballet the most and it sure showed tonight. Hege’s mom, Turid, heard somewhere that if you sit for an hour or two a day in front of loud speakers playing music with a good beat while you are pregnant, your child will grow up to be very good at dancing and music. It must be true, as she did that when she was pregnant with Hege. Hege was clearly heads and tails above all other dancers on the stage tonight. She has the rhythm in her bones and it comes out of her naturally. Most of the other dancers just looked like they were trying to remember their next move. So we enjoyed that part very much, but once again I was taken aback by the cultural differences between America and Norway. The production tonight was put on by a dance club. There were over 300 kids participating so they worked in every kind of dance possible in the three hour performance. (We definitely got our money’s worth as it cost $100 for the three of us to go.) But some of the music they played was just downright obscene. They played some rap music for some of the hip hop dances and there were little boys Kaleb’s age dancing to American music that had the most vulgar swear words in it I’ve ever heard. I didn’t know they even made music like that, but then to have it be at such a “family friendly” production was incredible. I don’t know if they just didn’t understand what was really being said, or what, but apparently they are not affected by that kind of language like we are. Uff da. I know I must be getting old when I complain about the music, but I was mostly concerned for Kaleb, as he just hasn’t heard that kind of language. I asked him afterwards if he heard swearing in the songs and he said he did, but fortunately, the words he heard were the words on the mild side (and that he’s heard before). I’m sure the other words and phrases went right past him – I hope so anyway. Who would have thought we’d hear that at Cinderella? Good grief. This country is full of surprises.
The blizzard lasted through the night, but joy came in the morning! We woke up to blue skies and the prettiest white blanket lying over all the land. We enjoyed it as much as we could and we didn’t have to go far from our house to do that. Hills are everywhere – perfect for sledding and skiing. Kaleb was a natural on his cross country skis. So much so that he used them for downhill skiing as well. We have a big hill in front of our house and he went up and down it several times. (see video at the end) Sabina had her sled out but Kaleb liked skiing better as he said, “they feel more natural for me.” Boy is he ever a Norwegian. I on the other hand, haven’t skied for twenty years so I wasn’t nearly as graceful. We bought top quality cross country skis and boots and poles for me too – all for about ten bucks at a flea market and it was my first chance to try them out. Kaleb and I had several races back and forth across our lawn. He won every time but I still burned up a few calories in the process. It was a beautiful day, but it didn’t last long as the sun didn’t show up until after nine and it was gone again by three (darkness prevails now).
We had a big outing tonight as cousin Odd’s daughter, Hege, was the Fairy Godmother in the ballet Cinderella. Because the roads were dastardly, we decided to take the bus into the city. We went in a little early so we could walk around town and go have a bowl of soup at Lyspunktet – the café run by Youth With A Mission. The building where that café is housed is on the first floor of “Missions huset” which is a building owned by the Missions Church of Norway/Sweden. It’s the church that gave birth to the Covenant denomination in America (and where we are members). The building has a lot of memories for Kory because his grandparents lived on the top floor there during and after the war. It is there that he used to stay when his mom shipped him across the fjord when she got tired of him. He was quite nostalgic tonight reliving some of the memories in that place from those days.
Hege (pronounced Hey-ga) is an exceptionally gifted dancer. She loves ballet the most and it sure showed tonight. Hege’s mom, Turid, heard somewhere that if you sit for an hour or two a day in front of loud speakers playing music with a good beat while you are pregnant, your child will grow up to be very good at dancing and music. It must be true, as she did that when she was pregnant with Hege. Hege was clearly heads and tails above all other dancers on the stage tonight. She has the rhythm in her bones and it comes out of her naturally. Most of the other dancers just looked like they were trying to remember their next move. So we enjoyed that part very much, but once again I was taken aback by the cultural differences between America and Norway. The production tonight was put on by a dance club. There were over 300 kids participating so they worked in every kind of dance possible in the three hour performance. (We definitely got our money’s worth as it cost $100 for the three of us to go.) But some of the music they played was just downright obscene. They played some rap music for some of the hip hop dances and there were little boys Kaleb’s age dancing to American music that had the most vulgar swear words in it I’ve ever heard. I didn’t know they even made music like that, but then to have it be at such a “family friendly” production was incredible. I don’t know if they just didn’t understand what was really being said, or what, but apparently they are not affected by that kind of language like we are. Uff da. I know I must be getting old when I complain about the music, but I was mostly concerned for Kaleb, as he just hasn’t heard that kind of language. I asked him afterwards if he heard swearing in the songs and he said he did, but fortunately, the words he heard were the words on the mild side (and that he’s heard before). I’m sure the other words and phrases went right past him – I hope so anyway. Who would have thought we’d hear that at Cinderella? Good grief. This country is full of surprises.
1 comment:
Mickey-
Just want to know if this will find you. Let me know by e-mailing me at relliott@3bnetworks.com, please. It's so very wonderful to just hear your voice in the video...reminds me of better times.
Kind Regards...Rob
Robert Elliott
Post a Comment