Ascension Day

Today is a national holiday in Norway so everyone had a day off. Most holidays in Norway are religious in nature and today was no exception. Forty days after Easter, the Bible says, Jesus departed this earth up through the clouds and on into heaven . On the calendar in Norway, this day is known as “Himmel farts dag” – literally translated as “Heaven speed day.” It’s funny to say it in either Norwegian or English but I tried not to say it at all because I couldn’t help but laugh and that just seemed too disrespectful.

Kaleb was quick to do his chores this morning so he would be free to play with his friends the entire day. He actually arranged a sleep-over at Toben’s house so he was gone first thing this morning and I don’t expect to see him until dinner time tomorrow night. I’m so thankful he has so many friends here and they are all very good kids.

Kory was up bright and early this morning too because Odd declared it a work day, inspite of the fact it’s a “red day” on the calendar. Odd was anxious to get the window out of his old bedroom wall and installed in the new wall Kory built for him, so they worked the entire day on his remodel project (see photo). They not only got the window moved but Kory installed a huge support beam to replace the old exterior wall Odd was so pleased to knock out. Odd loves to do the destructive work, but ends up making more work for Kory because he’s often a little too destructive. Kory just laughs. Odd is such a funny guy and he’s unbelievably satisfied with every little thing Kory does. He told me today he’s been waiting ten years to get this project done. I asked him why he didn’t just hire it out and he said because he wanted “control” over the work and the carpenter’s he talked to would only work during the week, when he wasn’t home. It’s funny he thinks he’s in control of the project when he doesn’t know a thing about construction and keeps asking Kory what they need to do next. It’s all a matter of perspective, and I’m sure Kory is good at letting him think he’s in control.

I was over watching the “show” for a little while this morning and having coffee with Turid while Kory and Odd were hard at work. It was weird to have a day off and not have Kaleb home. I just sat around all morning, with not much to do. I felt like a lost puppy. This afternoon I came home to a quiet house and collected all the information from the e-mails I’ve received with reservation numbers and addresses, phone numbers and directions to places, and made a nice little chart so all the information is together for our road trip. At least that part of my life is now organized and I feel confident we are well prepared. If one thing goes wrong, however, I’m in big trouble, but at least I have all the phone numbers written down if I need to start canceling things. It felt good to be done with all that planning as it’s taken me way longer to do it than I expected (mostly due to Kaleb’s slow computer response time). I miss my laptop!

Turid invited Kory and I over for dinner tonight so I was glad I didn’t have to cook anything. It felt so comfortable to be there again, as it had become our home away from home after all the times we’ve stayed there over the years. We sat out on their deck and watched the mountains light up from the setting sun, then turn a nice shade of pink, then glow in the aftermath of the sunset. So beautiful… and now the sky isn’t getting dark until about 1am so it’s hard to go to bed when there’s still daylight. I’ve been up until nearly one almost every night this week.

One peculiarity I’ve noticed about Norwegians after they eat a meal is that they like to sit around and pick their teeth with toothpicks, for at least an hour after they’ve eaten. Even in restaurants, all tables have toothpicks holders on them and no matter how fine the dining, the customers will sit and dig for that last little morsel of food, while carrying on a conversation. I find it a little disgusting, but it’s just the norm here. Kory has always done it at home in America, but it’s like he relishes it all the more now. It wasn’t a good idea tonight however because a few days ago when he was knawing on some dried fish (that’s hard as a rock), he knocked a cap loose and tonight, while picking his teeth, he knocked the whole tooth right out of his mouth. I guess it wasn’t really a cap, it was more like a fake tooth glued into place, but it’s the one right next to his front teeth so now he looks like some hillbilly from the Ozarks. Last week when he knocked it loose in the first place, he made an appointment with a dentist but couldn’t get in until next Tuesday, so I’m not sure what he’s going to do now. I just hope he doesn’t smile too much because he looks absolutely ridiculous.