Playing Hooky

I got a good night’s sleep last night. So much so that I realized I have way too much to do and way too little time to do it, so I stayed home from school and packed. I was sad all day. I hate that we have to leave. But I also hate that I have to pack up. I hate moving, but this isn’t quite the same thing. There are so many questions I have to ask myself over each and every item. Will I need this in Norway in the future? If not, can I give this to someone? Should I just throw it away? Do I need to take it back home with me? Will it cost more to send it than to just buy a new one in the States? Do I need it for our road trip? Can I do without it for the next few weeks so I can pack it away now? It’s like hyper packing and it takes way longer than just throwing everything in a box and putting it in storage. I made some progress though, so that was good. I just hope I made the right decisions.

Kory went over and helped cousin Odd and Tante Kari peel 20 pounds of shrimp for Hege’s Confirmation party tomorrow. When he got back he started cleaning out the garage. It’s amazing how much stuff we can accumulate in a year’s time. I’m so thankful we’ve had a garage and an attic so most of our stuff was out of our daily view. Now it’s scattered all over the house with half filled open boxes in the hall, the laundry room, living room, bathroom and both bedrooms. I hate the disarray but the day ran out of hours before I was able to fill all the boxes.

We were invited to an end-of-the-school-year party tonight by one of my classmates. Kaleb was quite perturbed that he missed a potential sleep-over with a friend to go to an adult party, but the hostess really wanted to meet him, so there was no way out. Kaleb was dreading it until we arrived and she offered him unlimited use of her laptop so he could play games on the internet. We didn’t hear a peep out of him all night. I would have preferred he learn to schmooze a little bit, but he was quite content to sit on the couch with his eyes transfixed on a computer screen. It was a wonderful party and so fun to meet the husbands of the women in my class. It completes the picture of who they are and why they are here. We had a few good laughs especially when the woman from Brazil told us her and her husband have their weekly marriage counseling session using SKYPE – as they still use their therapist from before they moved here but now they have to do it using web cameras and the internet. Too funny. The Good Teacher Inga came, which made it all the sweeter. I finally relented and gave her my blog address. She’s been wanting to read my blog but I’ve hesitated giving her the address because I wanted to feel free to write what I want without worrying what someone thinks of it. But now the cat is out of the bag. My life is an open book anyway and I’m leaving town soon so I won’t be around for the feedback. I told her I only write good things about her, but I’m sure my opinions about things don’t always agree with hers. Oh well!

We didn’t get home until after midnight but I’m so glad we went. The drive into the city and all around this area is lined with wild Lupine, now in full bloom (see photo). I’m not sure what makes the different colors but I’ve seen mostly the dark purple/blue color, but there’s also white and various shades of pink, almost burgundy. It’s just incredible how many Lupine plants there are around here. It reminds me of the drive up to Alaska in June where the Lupine lines the sides of the roads for miles and miles. I love it.

A few weeks ago when we hiked out to see the Viking grave, I had to go so slow because of the pain in my knees. They often feel like they are going to give out on me and I’m so worried about falling. We were on the hike with Tobias’s mom, Inger, and Inger’s brother works in a factory that processes shark liver oil. Inger told me if I started taking shark oil every day, in two weeks time I’d feel the difference, and I must say she was dead on. Tobias brought over some “samples” from his uncle and I’m absolutely amazed by the results. It’s considered a folk remedy here in Norway for all kinds of ailments, mainly strengthening the immune system, but the whole lubricating the knee thing has got to be the best one. I haven’t had any pain in my knees for days and they even feel strong enough I can trust them to walk down steps without holding the hand rail. It’s like ten years of aging just vanished. What a thrill, and at my age, I gotta take the thrills where I can get them!