It was nearly like a summer day today with unbelievable sunshine and such clean, fresh air. I opened all the windows and went for a nice walk around the neighborhood after church. Kory and Kaleb went for a big “explore” on a street they had yet to venture down while I made dinner. It was almost like there was a parade going on as so many people were out for a Sunday afternoon stroll. Gotta love days like today, especially in January!
Tonight we invited a “samboer” (living together but not married) couple over that we consider our first NEW friends in Norway. Therese and her daughter, Cornelia, came over for lunch a few months ago without Jan Ola. Amazingly, they aren’t related to us or anyone we know. We met them the first week we arrived in Norway because they had a studio apartment in their basement and we were desperately looking for a place to live. We had such a wonderful visit with them back in August we decided to keep in touch. We ran into them at a flea market in the fall and exchanged phone numbers and then I had Therese over in November. She offered to give us a BBQ they were going to throw out so we said we’d have them over for dinner as a thank-you and cook them something from the “grill”. So tonight was the night. Kory grilled up some salmon and I made some other yummy stuff to go with it and they couldn’t have been more impressed. They jokingly said I should open up an American food restaurant in one of the empty houses here as it surely would be a hit. And in the course of the evening we showed them Kory’s art work and they thought we could set up an art studio in one of the other empty houses. Then I got out my latest haul from the Salvation Army store (which I discovered is just around the corner from my new school). I’ve been buying wool sweaters there for about $20-$25 a pop, practically new and most of them handmade. Incredible bargains if I do say so myself. I’m buying them for gifts to take home. One sweater I pulled out to show them was exactly like their daughter’s sweater that Therese’s mom made for her. Same pattern, same colors and it fit Therese perfectly (see photo), so I let her buy it for the 159 kroner I paid for it ($22) so they could have matching sweaters. She was downright giddy. Then she thought I should open up a sweater boutique in yet another empty house. They were full of funny ideas tonight so we had a lot of good laughs. They are really a nice couple and their three year old daughter played well with Kaleb too, so it was a great way to spend an evening. I think they might come visit us in Mount Vernon sometime, as they love to travel. I hope they do.
When I was making dinner for them tonight I was reminded again just how different some of the packaging is on the food here. Mayonnaise comes in a tube like toothpaste. They just squirt mayo on bread in a squiggly line and don’t use a knife to spread it. Mayo also comes in boxes with a little plastic package inside that needs to be cut open. It’s meant to be used all at once as there is no way to seal up the bag. Some lettuce comes in a package that’s best described as an air pillow as you could sit on it and not hurt the lettuce. Other lettuce comes in a little pot, with dirt, roots and all. All the red peppers and cucumbers and some other veggies come vacuum packed in plastic. Jam comes in a container like a ketchup bottle so the kids can squeeze it on the bread themselves. Most bread is not pre-sliced and comes in paper bags. Everyone always squeezes the bread in the store to see how fresh it is because it turns rock hard in about an hour. In fact, most of the food here goes bad very quickly as the government doesn’t allow all the preservatives we use in America. Starburst candy is prohibited in this country because the yellow dye #2 in it is considered a carcinogen. Norway has pretty strict pesticide and chemical laws but surprisingly, organic food is just now coming on the scene. Food here is very expensive, but even so, I can buy organic stuff here cheaper than at home. Go figure.
I gave a little speech at Filadelfia Church this morning. I spoke on what “church” means to me (I’ve been going my whole life). For part of my talk I shared that after all these years, I went and looked up my old Sunday school teacher, Mrs. Faast, so I could tell her how much of an influence she had on me when I was growing up and how I always felt the love of Jesus coming out of her. She was moved to tears. I was so glad she was still around to hear it, as I’m sure most Sunday school teachers never get to see all the “fruit” they produce from their commitment to teach young children. In my speech I said a lot of other things too, and afterwards many people came up to me and told me my talk was very powerful. I was surprised by how many men were affected by it. They shook my hand and thanked me for sharing. So that was nice. I invited cousin Turid to come to church to hear me talk and she responded with, “Why? I can hear you talk anytime I want. I just need to pick up the phone and call you.” I just love that woman’s practical side.
Tonight we invited a “samboer” (living together but not married) couple over that we consider our first NEW friends in Norway. Therese and her daughter, Cornelia, came over for lunch a few months ago without Jan Ola. Amazingly, they aren’t related to us or anyone we know. We met them the first week we arrived in Norway because they had a studio apartment in their basement and we were desperately looking for a place to live. We had such a wonderful visit with them back in August we decided to keep in touch. We ran into them at a flea market in the fall and exchanged phone numbers and then I had Therese over in November. She offered to give us a BBQ they were going to throw out so we said we’d have them over for dinner as a thank-you and cook them something from the “grill”. So tonight was the night. Kory grilled up some salmon and I made some other yummy stuff to go with it and they couldn’t have been more impressed. They jokingly said I should open up an American food restaurant in one of the empty houses here as it surely would be a hit. And in the course of the evening we showed them Kory’s art work and they thought we could set up an art studio in one of the other empty houses. Then I got out my latest haul from the Salvation Army store (which I discovered is just around the corner from my new school). I’ve been buying wool sweaters there for about $20-$25 a pop, practically new and most of them handmade. Incredible bargains if I do say so myself. I’m buying them for gifts to take home. One sweater I pulled out to show them was exactly like their daughter’s sweater that Therese’s mom made for her. Same pattern, same colors and it fit Therese perfectly (see photo), so I let her buy it for the 159 kroner I paid for it ($22) so they could have matching sweaters. She was downright giddy. Then she thought I should open up a sweater boutique in yet another empty house. They were full of funny ideas tonight so we had a lot of good laughs. They are really a nice couple and their three year old daughter played well with Kaleb too, so it was a great way to spend an evening. I think they might come visit us in Mount Vernon sometime, as they love to travel. I hope they do.
When I was making dinner for them tonight I was reminded again just how different some of the packaging is on the food here. Mayonnaise comes in a tube like toothpaste. They just squirt mayo on bread in a squiggly line and don’t use a knife to spread it. Mayo also comes in boxes with a little plastic package inside that needs to be cut open. It’s meant to be used all at once as there is no way to seal up the bag. Some lettuce comes in a package that’s best described as an air pillow as you could sit on it and not hurt the lettuce. Other lettuce comes in a little pot, with dirt, roots and all. All the red peppers and cucumbers and some other veggies come vacuum packed in plastic. Jam comes in a container like a ketchup bottle so the kids can squeeze it on the bread themselves. Most bread is not pre-sliced and comes in paper bags. Everyone always squeezes the bread in the store to see how fresh it is because it turns rock hard in about an hour. In fact, most of the food here goes bad very quickly as the government doesn’t allow all the preservatives we use in America. Starburst candy is prohibited in this country because the yellow dye #2 in it is considered a carcinogen. Norway has pretty strict pesticide and chemical laws but surprisingly, organic food is just now coming on the scene. Food here is very expensive, but even so, I can buy organic stuff here cheaper than at home. Go figure.
I gave a little speech at Filadelfia Church this morning. I spoke on what “church” means to me (I’ve been going my whole life). For part of my talk I shared that after all these years, I went and looked up my old Sunday school teacher, Mrs. Faast, so I could tell her how much of an influence she had on me when I was growing up and how I always felt the love of Jesus coming out of her. She was moved to tears. I was so glad she was still around to hear it, as I’m sure most Sunday school teachers never get to see all the “fruit” they produce from their commitment to teach young children. In my speech I said a lot of other things too, and afterwards many people came up to me and told me my talk was very powerful. I was surprised by how many men were affected by it. They shook my hand and thanked me for sharing. So that was nice. I invited cousin Turid to come to church to hear me talk and she responded with, “Why? I can hear you talk anytime I want. I just need to pick up the phone and call you.” I just love that woman’s practical side.
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