Monday, Monday...

Finally, Vestina had a free day from her job and our schedules collided so that we got to spend the entire day together! It was like having a daughter hanging around in the house, we are so comfortable together. She still cracks me up like no one else can. It was SO good to spend time with her again. She hasn’t changed a bit – still wondering what to do with all the men in her life and still contemplating all her options. Fortunately, she takes what I say seriously, so I was able to give her some of my opinions to further chew on. I also helped her find some “models” for future haircuts she must give as part of her training. I didn’t realize she had to spend so much time finding people who want a free hair cut. Around here, I’d think people would jump at the chance to save the $100 a haircut costs, but people are leery of trainees and foreigners, so she has two strikes against her. Fortunately, we’re pretty well connected here so I found several people who will trust their hair in her hands. They won’t be disappointed.




I invited Valesca and her husband and daughter over for dinner tonight too (see photo) and it was such a joy to have them here as well. We mostly talked about the difficulties in being a parent (they daughter is 2 ½) so it was very educational for Vestina to hear our perspective. When I suggested Valesca and her husband need at least one date night a week, I had no idea the going rate for a babysitter was over $20 an hour, and with the cost of a movie (forgetting eating out because that’s prohibitive), they said they tried it once but just being gone a few hours to a movie cost them over $150, so they can’t have too many nights like that. They are from Brazil so they have no family here to help out with childcare. Man, did I feel their pain.



Kaleb didn’t join us for dinner because he was off doing his own thing again. He went back to school today with his old classmates. I loaded him up with school work, which he did when the other kids were doing their book work portion of school, otherwise he joined them for all the lectures. He loved it.



When I dropped him off this morning I walked him to the classroom just to be double sure it was OK. All the kids that knew him from before broke away from the groups they were hanging with and nearly mobbed Kaleb. It was so nice to see all the smiles welcoming him. He came home and did his piano lesson, then went right back up to play with his friends. He was supposed to come home for dinner, but Andre’s mom agreed to feed him so he continued to hang out there.



A very nice young guy from Agape Church started a small group for boys 10-12 years old. They will be meeting every other week, doing “guy things.” Kaleb wanted to go to the first meeting tonight, so he invited Andre along. I’m glad I wasn’t part of it. They “skinned and gutted” (according to Kaleb) three geese, then roasted them over an open fire and ate them (they had hot dogs too, just in case). Afterwards they practiced some target shooting. Kaleb thought the best part was when the guy’s dog nearly wolfed down one of the geese, and its jaws had to be pried open to get the goose out of it’s mouth. I wonder what’s in store for the next meeting. Kaleb can’t wait.



Kory continued to work on house projects today. He installed the new bathroom light we bought in Spain and it’s perfect, so that was one more thing crossed off the list. He also bought some window guards – things that control the opening and closing of the bedroom and kitchen windows. Before he installed them, the wind would make the windows flap open and shut, so that wasn’t good. Now we can keep the windows at just the right opening, without fear of break-ins or strong winds. We also spent some time early this morning looking for a bunk bed for Kaleb’s room. Now that the closet is in there, it’s easier to see how things will work. Currently the closet door won’t open all the way because it sits near the end of the bed and the bed is too long, but as we found out today, the bed that’s in Kaleb’s room now is the shortest bed available. All standard beds are four inches longer, so now we have to rethink the space a little bit and see what our options are. If it’s not one think, it’s another….



We head back home three weeks from today. Our time here is just flying by. All we can think about is coming back next year and being here for three months, which right now, seems longer than the seven weeks we are here, but I’m sure, it too will seem way too short. Oh, how we love this life.

The Lord's Day

Kory decided it was a day of rest for him, so he slacked off on house projects today. Of course, he still wanted to eat, so it was no day of rest for me. Funny how that is. I made the best of it though and invited over one of Kaleb’s second cousins, Miriam, and her family. They have a foster son Kaleb’s age, so at least by cooking a meal, I got to spread the love around a little.




We went to Agape Church this morning. I was hoping to take Kaleb with us, but when I called him at Andre’s house he begged to stay with his friends. He said, “I feel so much closer to them now…” and that got to me, so I relented and let him stay there among his mission field. I did tell a few people at church what happened yesterday with Kaleb and they announced it from the pulpit. Applause and shouts of Hallelujah erupted from the crowd. I couldn’t have been more proud, or weepy, as all during the service I just kept thanking God for Kaleb and that He is able to use him to impact the lives of his friends.



The sermon this morning was pretty good. Pastor Mark was comparing being a charismatic Christian with being a charis-maniac Christian. He’s pretty leary of the latter, as he admits he’s a “Charismatic Christian with a seat belt on.” I thought that was a pretty funny way of describing his sense of reserve and caution when dealing with the power and might of the Holy Spirit. He’s a funny guy.



After church today Agape held their annual “grill” out at the beach. When we went last year with them, Kory brought his big BBQ and everyone laughed at him being so American, since Norwegians just use their little lasagna pan sized “enganggrill” (one time grill) to cook their hot dogs. Well, apparently Kory sparked someone’s imagination and this year one guy brought his big American sized bar-b-quer off his back porch and cooked hot dogs to sell to those who didn’t bring a grill. When he saw Kory, he nodded and said, “Now it’s my turn to bring the grill…:” and they both laughed. I thought it was funny that Kory had such an influence. Who knows what the future holds for beach parties in Norway now.



We had picked up Kaleb and his friends Andre and Toban to go with us for a few hours to the beach because it was such a spectacularly beautiful day (see photo of Kaleb and pals). The boys entertained themselves by throwing Kaleb’s crocs in the river that feeds into the fjord, then waiting for the incoming tide to get the shoe close enough to grab it while leaning out over the rocks. I was sure one of them would fall in, but it never happened and it kept them busy for a good long time. It just warms my heart to see him pal around with a couple of kids, doing what kids do.



Kaleb wasn’t the least bit happy about having to leave Andre’s house this afternoon, then not the least bit happy about leaving the park to come home. He begged incessantly to be able to continue playing with those boys, so I called their parents and they all agreed to let them come to our house for the rest of the day. They were unexpected company for dinner, but fortunately I had enough food to feed them, as well as Miriam and her family. Four boys running around for several hours was all the better.



Kaleb told me tonight that Toban is now worried about all their friends not being Christians and he thinks they should talk to everyone personally and tell them they need God in their lives. Kaleb encouraged him to start with Andre, so Kaleb left the two of them alone while Toban prayed for Andre. Kaleb told him he can’t pray wrong, it’s only talking to God, and when he prays he should “feels different.” It was pretty cute to hear him giving instructions like that. Who knows, maybe the whole school will have a revival, as many have never even heard of having a personal relationship with God – He’s just an historical figure around here. We’ve been praying for Kaleb’s school pals for over a year, so maybe this is the harvest. He’s heading back to school tomorrow for the last three weeks, so we’ll see what God has in store. Hallelujah!

Back Home Again

We visited a little too long this morning for Kaleb’s liking with Kory’s mom’s cousin and his wife, but we managed to make it back to our condo right at noon. Kaleb had already lined up a sleepover at Andre’s and an afternoon playdate with Toban, so he had no patience for our second cup of coffee and the relaxed atmosphere spending time in a mountainside cabin requires. Soon enough we hit the road and drove home through probably the prettiest road I’ve been on in Norway. It’s impossible to take a photo of its grandeur because the mountains just jet up from both sides of the car and no camera has that kind of peripheral vision.




Something happens to my soul when I drive through the Norwegian countryside. I do think the Norwegian half of me has beaten out the Ozark Mountain Hillbilly other half because I feel so at home here and never stop appreciating the beauty of the mountains, the fjords, or the small little farms that dot the coastline. Inland in Norway the farms are huge, the barns are huge, the houses are huge. Years ago, those farms had to support the families year round, but the farms along the coast are much smaller since the sea provided most of the food for the families. It’s such a contrast. (I took this photo today out the car window while going fairly fast… it’s of a little village at the edge of the fjord about an hour away from home.)



It was good to be home. We weren’t in the door two minutes before Tante Kari came up to check on us and find out how our trip was. Kory spent some time with both Tante Aslaug and Kari, telling them all that we did. I unpacked and started the washing machine before driving Kaleb over to his friend’s house. This afternoon, the time was filled up with grocery shopping and household projects. Kory spent more time than he cared to, getting the dishwasher to work, and the pressure was on to finish it before the stores closed and he might need an extra part. I have been blessed this day, for THIS is the day I no longer have to wash dishes by hand. Hallelujah! I shouted out, “Thank you, Jesus!” after the first load got going. Kory replied, “No, my name’s Kory. You can thank Jesus, but I’m the one that installed it.” Ha ha.



Kory also began to assemble the closet we bought for Kaleb’s room last week. I’m hoping to unpack Kaleb’s boxes and thin out his inventory before he comes home tomorrow and starts to remember all that he has here. When Kory unwrapped the closet, he saw one of the pieces was broken so we had to rush it back to the store for a new piece before they closed. While we were there we bought a living room rug and happened to run into one of my old classmates, so I invited her and her family over for dinner Monday, when My Pal Vestina will also be here. We’ll have a little reunion of some of my favorite people from my Norsk class. Woo hoo.



A bigger WOO HOO was when Kaleb called this evening to tell me that he started talking to two of his friends about the “point system” I invented to help him with a little behavioral modification back home. They questioned him on why he needed to do that and he told them it was because it was easier for him to see if he was being “Christ like,” because he’s a Christian. They asked what it meant to be a Christian and he told them that he’d asked Jesus in his heart and he tries to follow Jesus’ example, even though it’s nearly impossible for him. Both of his friends, Toban and Karl-Andreas, kept asking questions that he answered the best he could, until they finally told him that they wanted to have Jesus in their hearts, too. Kaleb said he was a bit surprised and didn’t really know what to do, but he prayed with them and told them to ask for forgiveness and to just invite Jesus into their lives. He said while he was praying for them, he got a “really warm tingling feeling” going from his arms all the way through his body. He was pretty excited to tell me about it, and I couldn’t have been more surprised myself. Our little missionary in Norway – who knew?



Kory and I enjoyed a very typical Norwegian dinner tonight – boiled potatoes, boiled carrots and salmon (baked though, not boiled.) It’s as fast as food can get on the dinner table because he was hungry. Most foods here are boiled or steamed. I was surprised when we cleaned out Aunt Ruth’s things and found that she owned, not one, but five steamers. At first I couldn’t believe it, then I realized you can cook an entire dinner, something different in every pot, just by steaming – steamed lamb, steamed potatoes, steamed broccoli, etc. It made me laugh, but also thankful I’m not THAT Norwegian – we only kept two of them. The other funny thing about her personal effects is that there wasn’t a single coffee mug in the entire house. Mugs are considered rather crass and a bit rude and no one really uses them. Even Norwegians, sitting home alone, will drink a cup of coffee out of a fine china coffee cup (with saucer) that holds less than four ounces. I think they love the process of refilling the cup after nearly every sip. Me, I’ll take a twenty ounce mug of steamin’ joe any ol’ day and drink it until it’s cold. OK, that may be the Ozark Mountain Hillbilly finally rearing its head. Kory will agree, I am a bit crass and rude sometimes, and not just while drinking coffee. But my son, he’s a class act all the way.

Angels to the Rescue

We were up earlier than usual this morning in order to have time to eat a bit before Berit drove us an hour to the airport. It was a little sad to be leaving, but Kaleb was getting restless as he’d had no interaction with kids all week. The drive to the airport passed by several salt works places as this part of Spain has a long history in that industry. We also passed by an area that is as famous around here as the Skagit Flats are in the Northwest for bird migration. We saw thousands and thousands of flamingos and other shore birds just hanging out by the marsh's edge, doing what shore birds do. People come from all over Europe to see them, as it’s a spectacular sight.




We arrived at the airport in plenty of time to do a little tax-free shopping, so we took advantage of the wine prices and loaded up our backpacks with the legal limit (3 bottles each). The wine we bought was only about four euros (around five dollars at today’s exchange rate), but in Norway, the cheapest wine possible to buy (and it tastes pretty cheap, too), is around 25 dollars a bottle. Six bottles won’t get us through the next three weeks as we have several dinner parties planned, but it helps.



The flight back to Norway was smooth and uneventful, just like one would hope a trip thirty thousand feet in the air would be. We arrived smack dab on time at three in the afternoon and even then we knew we were pushing it to get home by midnight. I figured the drive home would take longer than the drive to the airport on Monday, but I had no idea just how much longer it could be. There was much road construction, lots of camping vehicles, no place to pass, and even a huge accident that delayed us nearly an hour. I was starting to worry about driving so late, being so tired, and dealing with the last few hours to Aalesund being the most dangerous, but I trusted God for safe travels.



When we stopped to eat a quick dinner at a grocery store cafeteria, I was a bit stressed about how long it was taking Kaleb to finish his dinner, as I was in a hurry to get home. Kory had already driven two hours and was nearly sleeping at the wheel, so the plan was that he would sleep after dinner and I’d drive for about three hours, then he’d take the last two. Well, my three hours turned into five because of all the aforementioned delays. God surely heard the cries of my heart, and then my phone rang.



One of Kory’s relatives heard we were taking that long drive from Oslo to Aalesund in one stretch, and they thought it sounded a bit too dangerous. They just happened to be spending the weekend at their cabin in the mountains about two and a half hours east of Aalesund. They called and invited us to stop over for the night and have a good sleep, before we finished the journey home. Both Kory and I shouted a loud HALLELUJAH in the car, as it was more than a perfect solution to our dilemma. Hotels around these parts are few and far between, and at three hundred dollars a night, not really an option for us anyway. We were elated and so thankful for the invitation. Kaleb put up a little resistance as he was still thinking we’d get home at midnight and that wasn’t too late to go to a friend’s house. He finally understood the gravity of driving late when we were so tired, and he relented. I began to prepare him for life in a cabin, and I told him we might have to use an outhouse, but I was pretty sure they had electricity. I had no idea what was in store.



Walking into their “cabin” was like walking into a Norwegian travel brochure with all the classic knotty pine walls, floors, ceilings, decorations and feeling (see photo of just the kitchen). It was like heaven. Really, it was another blessing beyond our ability to accept it. The place sleeps 15. We asked them how they even knew we were on this trip, and they said their son, Bjorn (our old neighbor, Kory’s second cousin, and step-father to Tobias), told them. We stopped by his place last Sunday to check on the condition of the volcano in Iceland (he’s a pilot and has access to all kinds of websites) and he showed us on Google earth the cheapest place to park our car near the airport in Oslo. In talking to his mom yesterday he told her our travel plans and she decided it wasn’t too smart to make such a long drive after such a long flight. Lucky for us, she knew better. And this is why I love Norway so much – it’s not just the beautiful scenery and high standard of living – it’s the whole “it takes a village” mentality where everyone watches out for everyone else. People REALLY care about other people.



Once we arrived at the cabin, an entire “kveld’s mat” (night food) meal was waiting for us, along with a bottle of very good red wine. We slept well.

Time Goes By Too Quickly

This was our last full day in Spain. We head back “home” to Norway tomorrow. We had never stayed with Tante Berit before so we wanted to be sure not to overstay our welcome. Three full days was certainly not long enough for us, but maybe it was too long for her – she’s not used to having a rambunctious kid in the house. She hasn’t complained at all, but I’m a bit worried she is losing steam. She’s a very gracious hostess and took us to the beach again today, and in to town to do more shopping. Kaleb wanted a new Wii game that would play on the European version of Wii (we found out the games he brought from home aren’t interchangeable with the Wii systems here.) Berit took us to a very large store that is sort of a Super Wal-Mart on steroids. They have 54 cash registers and entire aisles of just one product, like dried pig legs (with the feet still attached) hanging from hooks. I also noticed the bagged salad was just around the corner from the ladies bras and underwear - that’s the kind of thing that happens when stores sell everything under one roof.




Kaleb and I were looking for Spanish candies to take back to his school chums in Norway. Most of the candy was the same as can be bought all over Europe, so it was hard to find something unique. Finally, as we were leaving the store, we saw a little boutique near the entrance to the store that sold all kinds of candy in bulk. It was called a candy store (Dulce), it looked like a candy store, but it sure didn’t smell like a candy store. The minute we walked in, our nostrils were assaulted with the acrid smell of various and sundry types of olives in their brine – sitting among the mounds of gummy candy we came to buy. It was the strangest thing, and for what reason candy and olives are sold in the same store, I have no idea. Apparently olives in this part of the world are a real treat. We managed to breathe through our mouths so we could stay long enough to pick out some real sweets, and then left in a hurry. Weird.



Tante Berit took us to an International Park in the center of town so we walked around there a bit and I naturally, took dozens of photos. It was all quite picturesque with fountains dotting the landscape and the entire park surrounded by various colors of bougainvillea woven in and out of the fencing. The center of the park has a huge pond that represents the Atlantic Ocean. The outline of the map of Europe created one of the pond’s edges (best seen from the air). Flags representing each of the European countries were properly planted in their spot. It was a clever idea and certainly one that celebrates the unity that much of Europe feels toward their neighboring lands.



Before we ventured back home again (see photo of Kaleb in Berit’s backyard), we stopped at a neighborhood restaurant for some lunch. I requested the left over Baccalou for dinner tonight so we opted to take it easy and go out for lunch. There was a British Pub not far from Berit’s house, so of all things, we ate English food while staying in Spain. Kaleb loved his “Bangers and Mash” (sausages and potatoes), Kory ate some poor little lamb and I had fish cakes. Can’t go wrong with British food and a cold beer on a hot day (Berit drinks the kind without alcohol because she’s the driver).



Kaleb has had trouble this week focusing much on school work, but I’ve gotten him to do a few things. I keep reminding him these little trips are why we homeschool him and just because we aren’t home, doesn’t mean there is no school. Have school, will travel.



Berit’s swimming pool feels better every time we jump in. Kaleb and I played in it for a few hours after we got home, and I couldn’t be more sunburned, but I’m not complaining. Except for the itching, it feels good to be warm. Kory split his time between napping and installing a garden hose hanger for Berit. He just can’t get away from his handy-man fix-it life because he’s the kind of man that needs to fix problems all the time and he gave up on fixing me a long time ago.



We wrapped up the evening watching another hilarious version of “Alt for Norge” (Everything for Norway), the “Survivor”/”Amazing Race” sort of reality show that was filmed last summer in Norway with a bunch of Americans hoping to find their Norwegian roots. It’s full of incredible Norwegian competitions and it certainly contrasts the hardy lifestyle Norwegians live versus the wimpy sheltered life the basic American has. (I think it’s possible to see clips from this show on this website: http://www.tvnorge.no/programmer-tvn/alt-for-norge .) It’s worth having a TV in Norway, just to watch that show. I’m sure, after every episode, the Norwegian national pride goes up just a little bit. To think they can make Americans look like such idiots without even trying has got to be the highlight of their week.



(For some reason, it wouldn't upload a photo today - I'll try again later.  I feel like such an idiot!  Ha.)

Second Day in Paradise

We enjoyed breakfast out on the patio again this morning, followed by Tante Berit’s routine walk along the beach with her dog. Kaleb and I didn’t even try to keep up, as we headed right for the sand and started looking for treasures. He was pretty pumped yesterday after he found a perfectly round “marble” that used to be some kind of glass, but got shaped by the waves and coastline rocks. It was a pretty incredible find, and certainly one that would be hard to top. Today he found a pretty cool shell, but I forbid him from picking up anymore sea glass because we already have too much weight for our carry-on luggage. We picked up very light volcanic rocks instead. How it will all fit, is beyond me, but I still have a few days before that’s a big concern.




We went to a Scandinavian bakery today and bought some good bread, rolls and pastries. Across from that bakery was a Norwegian food store where nearly everything one could be missing from their homeland, could be purchased. Tante Berit just bought the daily newspaper, even though she has a special antenna on her house that picks up all the Norwegian TV channels there are. One can never know enough about Norway. She does admit to getting lonely from time to time and she genuinely seems pleased we are here. Her husband died two and a half years ago and she’s now been living in Spain full time for seven years (she’s 73). She always just buys a one way ticket in the summer when she returns to Norway to visit family. If the weather is too bad, she says, she gets on the next plane back to Spain. This sunshine and perfectly warm (but not too hot) climate is very addicting.



Kory is enjoying the time to get to know his aunt, and we are all still enjoying the perfect weather. Tante Berit took us to an open air market today that only happens on Wednesdays. We saw a similar market with similar wares when we were in Rome last year. I like the prices best, even if the selection is limited. We bought a few things, but really had to restrict ourselves because we didn’t pay for checked baggage and we can only have one carry-on item for our return trip to Norway. Too bad, because the Euro is VERY cheap right now. Last year we paid about $1.68 to buy a Euro, today I bought some for $1.22.



While we were sitting eating ice cream at one of the many beach side restaurants, some people Berit knows from Norway walked by. That woman’s ex-husband is the grandson to one of Kory’s mom’s cousins. I think the whole of Norway is related, one way or another. She was also entertaining guests down from Norway, as this is the Promised Land for those from Scandinavia and Great Britian that need an escape from the rain. Spain made a good move when they offered totally free health care to all resident retirees. Even though Scandinavia also offers free health care, the incredibly long wait to get any kind of treatment, frustrates many, and many die while waiting months for their appointment. (They joke in Norway that those in prison get better medical care than the elderly, but it’s not far from the truth. They deny the elderly much care because its socialized medicine and they watch their expenses.) It’s not so around here. Berit lives very near a super new and modern hospital and medical center and getting appointments are no problem, so that is one of the big draws for the migration to this particular country.



The open air market we went to today was a bit north from the neighborhood where Berit lives so we got a chance to drive around and see several neighborhoods in Torrevieja. She showed us where she lived her first three years here and it was in an incredibly beautiful place right next to the beach. I absolutely love the architecture here – all the while railings and brilliant bougainvillea blooming against the while stucco backgrounds with blue and while tiles accenting steps and walkways – it’s heaven for the eyes. The houses are mostly duplexes or entire blocks of houses connected one to another with the same style balconies and trim and fencing – it’s all well planned and quite balanced in appearance. I noticed some neighborhoods we passed today had the entire block walled off with a main gate to enter onto the street, then each individual house had its own entry gate for the car and pedestrians. Even though it seems a bit prison like, it’s all part of the charm of the city because it’s so well done and beautiful.



Tante Berit took us on a long walk along a real boardwalk by the sea, and it seemed a little like Atlantic City, a little like Hawaii, a little like Puerto Vallarta and a little like Greece… but really not exactly like anywhere else, so I guess this is Spain. We stopped and ate lunch at a seaside restaurant and Kaleb entertained himself with an entire outdoor gym set up in the sand in front of where we were sitting. It wasn’t electronic equipment, but it all worked just fine and gave him a good workout with a knock out view.



While we were waiting for our meal, the vendors came around trying to sell their (probably hot) goods. Musicians wandered by playing the accordion or clarinet, then asking for donations afterwards. Practically every person that passed us while we sat there had a dog on a leash (the majority fell into the Toy Dog category). Tante Berit doesn’t go anywhere without her dog either, and they are welcomed in many places, but not on the sandy beaches.



On the drive back to Berit’s house she stopped and showed us a tower that was built in the 1400s as a watchtower to keep an eye on the Barbary pirates that used to invade this coastline. It’s the only super historical place around here because 400 years ago this town on the southeast coastline was demolished by a very strong earthquake. In Berit’s opinion, it’s a pretty new town, but then she’s used to Norwegian history where many churches in Norway are between 700-900 years old.



Tante Berit’s pool felt especially refreshing after all the time we spent walking in the city. Kaleb and I goofed on in her pool while Kory replaced some light fixtures and Berit made Baccalou for dinner. She had asked Kory if he liked Baccalou and when he told her he LOVED it, I was a bit sad because I would have rather gone out to eat tonight since I’m not real fond of that stuff, but after I tasted her version of this very popular Norwegian dish, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. WOW! (It’s made with klippfisk – a type of salted, dried cod, potatoes, red peppers, onions and lots of olive oil.) She also made caramel pudding, baked in the oven the old fashioned way. That woman can cook! I think she’s in the market for a man, too. I’m sure if Kory weren’t related to her, he might consider a trade-in.

Our First Day in Spain!

Let’s just say this weather here agrees with us. Tante Berit thinks so too, and even though she may miss her family and friends in Norway, the weather in Southern Spain is so spectacular year round near the Mediterranean Sea, she just can’t live anywhere else. It’s understandable – she has a pool in her backyard, the beach just a short distance away, and good food at every restaurant in the neighborhood. I’m glad she invited us here.




We had breakfast out on the patio this morning, then took a long walk with the dog along the shore. Kaleb and I found ourselves lagging behind collecting sea glass. We must have gotten about five pounds of it before Kory and Berit turned around and came back our way.



Sandy beaches in this town are rare, as uneven lava coats this coastline. It is nice to look at, but difficult to walk on without shoes. Kaleb was excited to get his feet wet in the Mediterranean Sea and I was excited there were so many beautiful things to take photos of all day.



We spent the afternoon at Berit’s house and sunned ourselves a bit too long. We are all red as tomatoes, but no one is complaining. The heat felt good, the cool pool felt better. Being the handy man that he is, Kory offered to do any needed household maintenance things for Berit. She did need a few light fixtures replaced, so after a while, we headed into town to go shopping. Spain recognizes the afternoon Siesta time where all businesses close for several hours, then open again in the cool of the evening.



All along the shore, in the center of town, is a wonderful walkway, not all of it is made of wood like the boardwalk in Atlantic City, but some is made of terrazzo tile, (a kind of a mosaic pattern.) It was very special, and beautiful. I was surprised by how modern this city is and how many new buildings and public areas there are. Tante Berit said they have gone through a big building boom, but now it’s a bust as they are experiencing a 20% unemployment rate since the economy collapsed nearly two years ago. A lot of building projects just sit half finished, but there are plenty that were done before the downturn. Near where Berit lives is a very modern desalinization plant that cost over 28 million Euros. It takes the water from the sea, pulls out the salt and sells it, then sells the fresh water to all the farmers in the area that grow citrus trees. It’s a real win/win business, but it’s kind of odd to see mountains of salt piled up all over the place. How would they clean the salt if a bird pooped on it? It’s not like they can wash it.



In town, I managed to buy a few small souvenirs while walking around, and I even bought a new light for the bathroom in our condo in Norway. I’m sure I can fit it in my backpack for the trip home. It was only $12 (10 Euro), and the same thing in Norway would be at least a hundred dollars. Kory just shook his head, but he didn’t believe I could fit a bathroom sink in our luggage the year we brought that home from Norway, either. Berit found lights she also liked so tomorrow Kory will install them. I was so impressed with all the beautiful light fixtures available here. I never thought of Spain as being so hip and artistic, but there are several things I’ve seen so far that are very impressive. They have some cool fountains and incredible gardens and artistic designs in the center of the large roundabouts on the main highway. They also have plenty of graffiti and unkempt looking places too, but overall it’s not at all what I was expecting. It’s much better.



In the neighborhood where Berit lives, all the yards have stucco fences and gated entries for both the car and people, right at the edge of the sidewalk, so each yard is very private and blocked off from public viewing. The houses all have bars on the windows just to be on the safe side, and nearly every house has a pool. Many Norwegians live around here. It’s their version of the snowbird migration to Arizona we have in the States, plus, it’s MUCH cheaper than Norway. We went out to dinner tonight (where we coincidentally sat next to a Norwegian couple from Bergen who told us it snowed today there) and we enjoyed a four course meal (which included a bottle of incredibly good house wine) and it was only 12 euro a person (about $14). That same meal in Norway would have easily been $150 per person, and in the States, maybe about $40 a person. I’d never cook again if I lived here. What a treat.



I took years of Spanish when I was in college, but boy is it hard to remember now. Kory caught me saying a sentence using half Spanish words, half Norwegian. Kaleb keeps correcting my Norwegian grammar, when I’m talking to Tante Berit, which I appreciate, but I’m thankful he can’t also speak Spanish because I’m just downright embarrassing. When we were at the lamp store, we kept flipping between Norwegian, Spanish and English. The Spanish employee that was helping us spoke quite a bit of Norwegian (which is quite telling as to how many Norwegians actually live around here). He heard me trying to communicate using all three languages and I was pretty proud when he complimented me on my ability to speak English so well. He had no idea where we were from.

The Rain in Spain Falls Mainly on the Plane in Norway

We made it! We were up at four this morning and out the door 43 minutes later. I only slept about three hours so I was pretty rummy, but I made up for it later on the plane. It was a six and a half hour drive (locals said it would take at least eight, but they always factor in lots of stops to drink coffee along the way.) Kory drove the first two and a half hours and we ate and drank coffee American style, while we were driving, then I drove the next two and a half. We finally stopped to stretch our legs for half an hour next to a lake and had a little food, then ninety minutes later we were at the airport – more than three hours before our departure time. It’s never a bad idea to allow some flex time, especially when driving over three hundred miles to get to a destination. We decided to drive to Oslo, rather than fly, because it cost as much for us to fly to Oslo from Aalesund, as it cost to fly to Spain from Oslo (we got a screaming deal on those tickets – under $500 for round trip for all three of us). And because of the volcano’s uncertainty, we thought it best to have just one flight cancelled, rather than two. It was a good decision.



Kory and Kaleb both slept a little on the drive to Oslo, but even though I was tired, I just couldn’t bear to close my eyes and miss any of the Norwegian landscape. It’s not like I haven’t been on those roads before, but every time we drive them, it’s a different time of year, or day, and the lighting changes things so much, I still wanted to take it all in. The saddest part for me was we couldn’t stop to take any pictures. I did my usual “drive-by shooting” out the window, but not often, as we were going pretty fast. There wasn’t another single car on the road for the first four hours. Unfortunately, there were several traffic speed cameras so we couldn’t go more than fifty miles an hour, but that wouldn’t be smart anyway because then one would miss all the landscape. (See photo of our drive through the ultimate “Grand Canyon” in Norway about 5:30 this morning – with steep mountains all around – those are tall tree tops at the bottom of the photo, to give some perspective – I pointed the camera UP, not OUT. )



While we were driving we saw several deer and elk and even a moose right next to the road. I’ve seen hundreds of warning signs for moose, but never once seen one in Norway, but sure enough, they aren’t just an advertising prop. We even saw what looked like wild emus. It’s hard to believe they are just roaming around Norway, but I think they are. The places we saw them were far from any farm land so they couldn’t be pets. We also saw two red foxes, which got Kaleb excited – both times they were crossing the road. Unfortunately, we killed two birds on our trip. Life is tough in the fast lane.



Our flight to Alicante, Spain was about three and a half hours long. We arrived tonight right on target at seven – no ash came our way so everything was as smooth as it could be. Thank you, Jesus! Kory’s Tante Berit met us at the airport and drove us forty minutes to her house in Torreviejo in Southern Spain, right next to the Mediterranean Sea. She left Norway several years ago in favor of the year round sunshine and warm weather this place offers. It was nearly 80 degrees when we landed and she is sporting a rather dark tan for a Norwegian.



Aunt Berit is now a widow and lives alone with her little pup, Carmen. Carmen took to Kaleb right away, which was a good thing for both of them. We don’t know Berit too well, as she is a half sister to Kory’s mom; the daughter of Kory’s grandfather he never knew. His mother was illegitimate and she never knew her father – she was raised by the father to her other sisters, Ruth, Kari and Aslaug. So this is branching into a whole new world for us to meet people Kory is closely related to, but has no history with. Berit couldn’t be nicer or more hospitable and we are looking forward to our days with her – and the sunshine and warm weather. So what do you call a vacation, when you are already on one? I feel guilty sometimes our life is so good, but when God says he will pour out so many blessing we cannot contain it, He really means it.

Pinsedag

Pentecost was in full swing this morning at the local Pentecostal church we attend across the street from our condo. It was an incredibly special day for us because both Pentecostal churches in town decided to join together for one service on this very celebratory day. I am sure part of their reasoning was because it’s a three day weekend and attendance would be very low at all churches in Norway, but it was a great idea, nonetheless. I joked with Kory as we looked around at the people in the sanctuary, when I said, “These are all the people in Norway who do NOT have a cabin.” About 42% of all Norwegians own a cabin, and most certainly, they were all at them this weekend.




Both Agape church and Philadelphia church were under one roof this morning – and since we split our time between the two of them when we are here, we had our whole church family together worshiping God. It was very cool and exciting to see everyone at once. Kaleb and I were elated the Agape worship team sang our all time favorite song “Uten deg” (Without You). Oh man, that song makes me cry every time I sing it. Translated, the words to the chorus are: Without you I am without hope, but with you, I have everything.” If that doesn’t encapsulate the Christian experience, I don’t know what does.



We invited cousin Axel (Tante Aslaug’s son) and his wife Kari over for coffee after church because there was no café time after the service (which is normal), being it was a holiday and all. They were heading out to visit Tante Ruth and didn’t want to go back home for a little bite to eat, so I informed them I had a little food at our house that needed to be eaten up before we are gone for the week. They didn’t hesitate to accept that invitation, so they came over and had this left over (but incredibly good) salmon/cream cheese spread I make and put on crackers, and Kaleb made waffles (the typical food served with coffee here in Norway.) After a nice little chat with them, I drove Kaleb over to Andre’s house for the afternoon so Kory and I could pack up and get ready for our trip to Spain while Kaleb had some extra play time with his pals.



We haven’t been in contact with too many people since we’ve been back in Norway this time because we’ve been waiting to have the condo done and ready for “viewing,” plus we’ve been pretty busy. But now when we get back from our week in Spain, we will only have three weeks left in Norway, so we need to book up as much time as possible for visiting friends and family. I texted one of Kory’s childhood friends to see about scheduling a time for them next week, and he called us right away, all excited we were in town, and wanted us over for coffee tonight! It was quite a push to make it there but we really wanted to get together with them, also. Getting to their place involved taking a ferry to cross the fjord, but they picked us up on the other side so we didn’t have to pay the $30 fare each way for the car – just the $15 for us. That ferry ride always provides jaw dropping views (see photo of farms lit up by the setting sun), but tonight they were a bit diminished by the low lying clouds in the area. It was still gorgeous.



We mixed a little business with pleasure on our visit with them, as Ole-Petter is one of the head guys at the biggest bank in Norway, so we inquired about all kinds of financial things to help us understand the system here a little better. Ole-Petter also owns one of the coolest cabins in the land, and Kaleb has a huge desire to spend the night in it, so we asked if we could borrow it for a night in a few weeks so Kaleb could have a sleepover with his friends there. They said “yes” before I even finished asking the question. They are the nicest folks. But now Kory is a bit worried about what may happen to their place with boys running loose. It’s not like they will be there without us. It’s also a little half-birthday bash for Kaleb. He otherwise LOST his big summer birthday party because of previous defiant behavior, but after that he made a pretty big turnaround so I promised him some kind of celebration. We otherwise don’t do much on his real birthday in December, so I felt a little guilty about pulling the plug on his summer one. This should do just fine and will cost a whole lot less.



Because we have to get up early tomorrow to drive to Oslo, we thought we’d try to get to bed by 8:30 so we had a few hours sleep before the alarm went off at 4am. That didn’t happen. We had less than three hours for our coffee visit with our friends before we had to go get Kaleb and head home. When we showed up at Andre’s house, his mom had made us a carrot cake, so she invited us to sit down and have coffee and cake with them! We didn’t get home until after ten. Kaleb went right to bed, but Kory and I still had a bit of packing to do so Kory was up until eleven, then I couldn’t sleep so I am now up until after midnight. It will be a long day tomorrow, but I’m excited about the trip. Now I just hope I can sleep.

Pinseaften

So begins another “oval helg” (long weekend). Tomorrow is “pinsedag” – the day of Pentecost, celebrating the arrival of the Holy Spirit after Jesus ascended into heaven. It’s a holy day around here – so much so that many things were closed today, because it was the day BEFORE the holy day (Norwegians like to celebrate things early), and of course tomorrow, all things are closed anyway because it’s Sunday, so then in order to really have a holiday, they celebrate the Second Day of Pentecost on Monday, so everything will be closed then, too. These Norwegians, they like their holy days.




When I realized we will be driving to Oslo on Monday (when all the country is shut down) to catch our flight to Spain, I had to make a mad dash to the grocery store early this morning to be sure we had appropriate road food for the eight hour trip to the airport. I love the fact I can take the elevator from our condo down to the first floor parking garage, walk to the other end of the garage, and come up in the grocery store. I didn’t even need a jacket, as it was drizzling a little. I stayed warm and dry the whole time. That convenience is the main reason why our condo is high priced real estate around here.



Last night Kory and I walked to the other grocery store, across the street, and because of the sky bridge that connects the two malls, we didn’t go outside once then, either. The grocery store across the street closes late - at 9pm, so we headed out at 8:30 to get a few things for the dinner we made tonight for Tante Kari and two of her sons, Odd and Rune, and the women they love. When we got to the store, not a single person was there except the employees. I guess grocery shopping on a Friday night just isn’t the hot thing to do around here. Any other time, the store is like a bee hive of activity, so now I know when to go.



I spent most of the day today preparing tonight’s dinner and cleaning the house. The dinner was something special, as I really wanted to treat Odd and Turid for all the dinners we’ve eaten at their house. Also, Rune and his girlfriend, Sol, gave us our kitchen table and chairs and two sofas and coffee table last year, so we are always feeling indebted to them, as we love that furniture. It was a good pay-back time and we had a wonderful evening. Kory bought some small lobsters fresh off the boat yesterday while we were downtown. He ate some of them for snacks, but had enough left over that I used them in a “twice baked” potato recipe that is to die for. Our dinner guests thought so too, so I am in good graces with them after that meal. Kory grilled up some yummy chicken and veggies and I made a salad and we had lots of wine (brought with us from America). I made a blueberry cobbler for dessert, severed with vanilla ice cream. The potatoes made the whole meal special, though, so I’m glad I took the time to make them.



Kaleb was gone all day but Odd brought him home when he came for dinner. He had a great time with his friends and wanted to go back after he’d eaten, but I could see he was tired so I suggested he stay home. He didn’t argue.



Kory put up the wallpaper (that textures the wall) for Kaleb’s bedroom today. The glue has to sit a day before it can be painted, but that wall is feeling rather comfortable already. It’s such a great solution for an extra bedroom. Tonight, Kory and cousin Rune installed our “new” dishwasher, but come to find out, we need some kind of ¾” to ½” adapter before it will be functioning. It looks perfect in the kitchen and after spending over an hour after everyone left, washing dishes by hand, I can’t wait to get it up and running.



Turid is going to call the hospital on Tuesday to see if they have any need for our condo for short term rentals to doctors (specialists) that come over from Sweden to work for two to three weeks at a time. It would be the ideal thing, since they would pay way more than a normal rental situation. The hospital has housing available for that need, but most doctors won’t stay in their building because it’s so dilapidated and depressing. Maybe we can get some kind of agreement with them to use it exclusively for visiting doctors. That would be sweet, but I’m not getting my hopes up. I’m still waiting to order an internet connection until I’m sure we will have income on this place once we are gone, as I need to keep our expenses to a minimum.



Tonight we talked a lot about the wonderful life we and everyone else has here in Norway. Tante Kari is adamant that we move here for good, so is Cousin Odd. He says, “Sell everything you have in America; come live and die here in Norway.” It’s tempting.

Visiting Tante Ruth

If Kory had his way, he wouldn’t leave the house until that wall was completely finished and the furniture put back where it belongs. But I had a little of my way today and I dared him to stop in the middle of a project, get out of the house, and finally go visit Tante Ruth. I felt terrible we’ve been here for over two weeks and haven’t been to her new place. When we walked in and gave her a hug, and she figured out who it was (she’s totally blind now and can hardly hear), she said, “Imagine that! That you have the time to come see me!” I think it’s the kindest way I’ve ever been dealt a guilt trip in all my life.




I talked with her just a bit in Norwegian and she complimented me on how well I’m speaking the language (I’ve heard that a lot lately.) She then said to me, “But you don’t speak the local dialect. That’s OK,” she said, “We have enough people that do that already.” I thought that was funny. Kory had a nice chat with her, but Kaleb and I were in the wings, not making any noise so she could hear better. She can only hear if the person talking is about six inches away from her ear, so Kory spent a good ninety minutes on his knees in front of her, bending over to talk loudly into her good ear. She spent the whole time holding one of his hands and rubbing up and down his arm with the other. It was pretty sweet, but I guess Tante Kari hates that she’s so needy and clingy now. I think it’s understandable. Kory didn’t mind a bit. (Today’s photo is much better of her – we told her to smile.)



Tante Ruth asked Kory what she ever did in her life to deserve to go blind (she has glaucoma.) That was a tough one, for which he had no answer. She also wondered about who would be paying the rent now on the condo, and Kory assured her we would take full responsibility for it. She was relieved. She has no idea her stuff is all gone as she was telling him just where to find certain things in the condo. It was a bit odd since her sisters had told her that her things had been split up in threes, but I don’t think she understood what that really meant. All she was worried about was that no one have any arguments or cause any trouble over her stuff. It was so sad to see her in such a deteriorated condition (and so thin!), but her spirits were good and she insisted she not complain about a thing, because, she said, “You didn’t come here to hear me complain.” I thought that was ironic since her whole life she’s been a hypochondriac and has always been sick and complaining about every little thing (Kory even said once she was sure she had arthritis in her ears), but now that she really has cause for complaining, she’s chipper as a bird. Strange.



It was a scorcher of a day today so it was sad we were inside so much, but the visit was important and we certainly won’t wait two weeks to go back, even though those old folk’s homes give me the creeps with all those half dead people sitting around in chairs in the lobbies, not moving a muscle.



Kory drove Kaleb and I to the library in the city afterwards so I could get some more farm history books. I’m on a roll with my friend Stuart’s family. I’ve gotten nearly every branch back to the early 1600s (between eight and 13 generations back). I think I’ve entered over 500 names in his family’s database on my computer. Talk about roots! Before I started, all he knew were the names of his grandparents that all came from someplace in Norway called “Romsdalen” (a place very near where we live.) When Kaleb asked why I like to spend so much time doing this kind of research, I told him it’s like putting a puzzle together, but I have to go find all the pieces myself, they don’t come in a box. It gives the “detective” part of my brain something to do.



We dropped Kaleb off at his friend William’s house to play for a few hours after school, then he took the bus up to his best friend, Toban’s house to finally have a sleepover with him. Kory and I used the alone time to do a little more second-hand store shopping, but didn’t find much of what we were looking for. When we got back home we visited a bit with the other two Tantes, then Kory spackled all the nail holes and joints in the wall he built while I sunned myself out on the deck. I took a bold step today and sat out in just my bra (yes, I do own one), knowing only Kory and Tante Aslaug could see me (from time to time she peeks her head over the wall that separates our balconies.) I instantly fell asleep in the heat but I’m sure neither of them paid me any attention. Good thing, I’d hate to offend anyone.



This morning I got the “what-for” from the woman with the big boobs that lives downstairs that offends me when she suns herself. I was told by both Tantes that we can’t shake our rugs out over our balconies because the dust lands on the balconies below, but I was told it was OK to shake them out over the courtyard on the other side because it’s just common walkways on each floor below us. So, I had to shake the sawdust out of one throw rug this morning and that big boobed woman came out and yelled, “IKKE LOV!” (NOT ALLOWED!) Tante Kari said she’s also been yelled at by the same woman who screamed at her that it wasn’t allowed to hang rugs over the balcony railings either. Tante Kari said that neighbor woman is especially “sour.” After having seen her nearly topless, I’d have to say she’s right about that –both inside and out.

Building Walls

I walked Kaleb to the bus stop this morning to be sure he got on the right one. He did. He was with Sabina all day today at school and came home very tired because a lot of his “school work” included physical activity, so that was good. He said the school was a bit boring, but he was proud the teacher gave them a math assignment and he was able to complete it first. He survived the day. Halleluljah.




Kory was able to put the wall panels up today on the frame he built yesterday for Kaleb’s bedroom wall. (See photo… the sun is shining brightly through the windows, but you can see the “step down” idea I had.) It was exciting to see how my plan looks, now that it appears nearly finished. Tomorrow he’ll need to wallpaper and paint it. They don’t texture walls here, they use a fiberglass wallpaper that has a sort of woven fabric look to it, which they paint over. Personally, I hate white walls, which we have here, but I’m going to live with them for a while. Kaleb wants the inside of his wall painted orange, but I don’t think he realizes just yet he won’t see an inch of it, as it will be taken up end to end with a closet and shelving. The wall happened quicker than I expected, but slower than Kory hoped. Everyone that stopped by today thinks it was a brilliant idea because it didn’t make the living room seem at all boxed in or smaller, yet it provides privacy to Kaleb and it blocks the view of his bed from the living room. It think it is a clever design, if I do say so myself and I’m quite pleased with it.



It was yet another gorgeous day here on the coast of Norway, but again, I didn’t get out much. I was off early this morning to a prayer meeting that lasted three hours. We had a FANTASTIC time in soaking prayer, then praying for one another. I had some incredible visions while I was praying for people that were very specific and meant a lot to each of them, so it felt good to be used by God in such a way. I hated to leave, but I was invited over for coffee to my friend Tina’s house. She wanted me to see the new kitchen they put in since I was last here. We chatted for a few hours then her son, Daniel, came home from school so I brought home to play with Kaleb (they are friends). Kaleb loved spending all afternoon literally running around our place with him. They discovered having so many flights of stairs makes playing tag a real hoot. Kaleb used the elevator a time or two and I noticed some of the old folks that live around us sat and watched them play. I was hoping they were enjoying the kid energy, not disgusted by all the noise they were making.



Tonight I nearly forgot I was invited to attend a women’s home fellowship group meeting. I was praying for Kaleb as he went to bed for the night at 8:40, and then I remembered I was supposed to be somewhere at 8:30! I rushed over to the meeting, and there they all patiently sat, waiting for me before they started. They were supposed to meet last night but they shifted it to tonight because I was busy last night, so I felt even more terrible that I was late. Norwegians are very forgiving and tolerant people so no one was offended or upset. We had a great time of prayer and Bible study, good desserts and coffee, and I’m so glad I went, until that coffee kept me awake til after midnight (when I’m writing this.) The nap I took this afternoon probably contributed to the problem as well when I took a little time this afternoon to sun myself out on our deck (I quickly fell asleep in the heat).



One of the most common sights on a sunny day in the whole of Norway, is people sitting out on their decks or patios, soaking up some sunshine. They know how to get their Vitamin D, as they sit with much skin exposed. It’s VERY normal for women to be sunning themselves (or walking around the neighborhood, even) wearing just a bra on their top half. I kept my shirt on and sunned just my face, even though it was hot enough I could have gone shirt-less. There is an old woman that lives below us and over one unit that I often see sunning herself. It’s not a pretty sight. She has enormous boobs and her bra only contains about half of them. All I can think about is that BBQing on our deck is not allowed because the smell offends people, but then I wonder why they allow everyone to sun themselves in such a way. I’m so American.

A Day He Won't Soon Forget

Stakkars Kaleb (Poor Kaleb!) He was invited to attend a day of school with Sabina today. We was to meet Sabina on the #618 bus at the main bus terminal, right here next to our condo, at 7:30 this morning. He woke up at six o’clock, he was so excited. He sat around and waited to leave until about twelve past seven. He didn’t even eat breakfast because Sabina told him they have food at school. So off he goes down the sidewalk to catch the bus, as grown up as ever. I waited out on the balcony until the 7:30 bus passed by, knowing he was going to have a great day.




Kory and I were occupied all morning – he started building the wall for Kaleb’s room, and I sat and read more farm history books to find out all I could about the Norwegian ancestors of my friend Stuart. It was a gorgeous day outside, but I couldn’t tear myself away from the amazing progress I was making finding the names of all his dead relatives. I was sitting at my computer at 10:45 when Kaleb walked in the door. Something was up, as he wasn’t supposed to be home until after 2:30. He started crying right away, as he told us that he never did find Sabina. He’d gotten on the #618 bus heading into “Sentrum” (the center of town), but she wasn’t on the bus. I had told him her school meets in the same building that my school was at, and that the bus stops right in front of that building. What I forgot was that the first three months of my school, we were at another building down by the harbor, and THAT is where Kaleb thought he was going. He never saw the stop where he was to get off, so he stayed on the bus a few more stops, then got off and walked around the center of town, looking for that school, which he never found.



He thought he was a lost a time or two, but then he’d see someplace he recognized. When he found the library, he got his bearings back, but that took over an hour of wandering around, being quite frustrated and a little bit frightened. He gave up the idea of going to school and just wanted to find a bus stop so he could get back home again. I guess this is why he needs his own cell phone.



Once he found the library, he knew the bus stopped right in front of it, but it stops there before going out of town the wrong direction. The bus heading in the right direction was across the street but it was blocked off by fencing and he didn’t know about the underground tunnel he needed to take to cross the street. He got on the #618 bus, knowing he was heading the wrong way, but he knew eventually it would have to turn around and go back toward Moa (where we live) because all of Aalesund is just a cluster of little islands, so he took one heck of a long bus ride to get back home again. All in all he was gone for three and a half hours. I couldn’t have been more distraught over the whole thing. He recovered from the experience quicker than I did, but I was pretty proud he found his way back home safe and sound.



Kaleb was a little tense when he got home so he decided to relax a little in the library next door, reading books. It was so nice outside, I hated that he was indoors, so after three hours he finally checked out a huge book and read it at home, sitting in the sunshine. He didn’t want to be gone from the house too much, nor play with any other kids, even though Sabina invited him over tonight. She and her mother, Tone, stopped by after school to find out what happened to him. As it turned out, none of us realized there was a bus that came at 7:15am and it was running a few minutes late and Kaleb even had to flag it down when he got to the bus stop as it was leaving just as he arrived. We thought there were only busses on the hour and half hour, but for the morning rush, they throw in that extra run, and that was the bus Kaleb got on by mistake because he was so early. Stakkars, Kaleb! He’s going to give it a try again tomorrow, but I’m walking out to the bus terminal with him this time, even though I’m confident he now knows his way around town, and how the bus route goes. He’ll never forget that experience, I’m sure.



A few of my friends from our old home fellowship group at Agape Church came over for lunch today so I had a wonderful time visiting with them all the while Kory was busy cutting wood for the bedroom wall.

Tante Kari also came up this afternoon for a visit. She is just back from a long weekend in Oslo visiting her granddaughter and family. Cousin Odd also stopped by, too. He was out riding his Harley motorcycle on such a fine day.



Unfortunately, I didn’t get out much today, but this evening I was invited back to a Bible study I attended last year. As a special surprise treat for all the women, the hostess took us out to the island of Vigra for a little beachside grill and coffee/dessert hour (see photo). It was beautiful (but windy) and we all huddled around the “engangrill” (one time grill) they use a lot here to cook hotdogs in remote locations. I’m not much of a hot dog eater, but it had to be the best one I’ve ever had (wrapped in bacon, no less). It was a great time spent with a lovely bunch of women, in a beautiful place, just enjoying all of God’s creation. I didn’t get home until 11pm as we all wanted to stay until sunset. It was a typically wonderful kind of Norwegian outing – where it’s all about being together with others, out in nature, and being ever so thankful for yet another sunny day. Hallelujah!

A Busy Social Life

Most of my day today was spent being social. The tide has turned. There are several things I COULD have done, but I ran into LizBeth, my ex-neighbor (and bus riding partner) yesterday, and invited her to coffee today. I had to hurry through Kaleb’s school work this morning to get ready for her visit so I was a bit stressed, but it all worked out in the end. She loves our condo and coincidentally, she now works almost right next door. She changed jobs a few months ago and is only working half time and no longer takes the bus. I told her of our plans to use our condo as a business rental for short term situations and she offered to be our “agent” and do what she needs to do to get them rented and cleaned up afterwards. I didn’t even ask her or suggest she help, so I was quite pleased that she thought of that herself because she has a lot of rental experience. She has an apartment in her basement she has rented out for many years, so I was thrilled with her offer. We’ll see how things shake out over the next few weeks after we talk to some companies, but she would be a great help to us if we go in that direction.




One interesting thing LizBeth told me today was that the people who moved into our old place at the Sinking Houses only had a six month contract to live there. Norway had one of the worst winters on record for cold and snow. LizBeth said she couldn’t even let her little girls go out and play in the snow because they would have been lost – it was over their heads. It was also below freezing most of the winter. So I guess the people that became caretakers of The Sinking Houses didn’t know how to care for property the way Kory does, and all the pipes froze in January so they had no water coming in, and no way to get rid of the water in the house because the outgoing sewer drain pipes were frozen solid. They called up the Aalesund Kommune and complained about it, but the Kommune said there was nothing they could do, and there was only two weeks left of their contract so they just needed to deal with it. LizBeth said they dealt with it by putting plastic garbage bags over a bucket, using the bucket for a toilet, then throwing out the plastic bags in the garbage. When she heard about what they were doing (I’m not quite sure how she DID find out about it), she offered to let them move in to her basement apartment, where they are still living to this day – another coincidence. LizBeth was so disgusted with the Kommune that she told the renters they should just deliver their garbage bags right to the Kommune’s office downtown and tell them to deal with THAT. She’s a feisty one, that LizBeth. I like her.



So now we know why no one lives in The Sinking Houses – they are unlivable, as I suspected. The sewer lines have separated too much from the houses and it seems, the houses may be torn down. One garage has already been removed. I know when the Kommune bought that place out from under us, they had plans to do some work on the ground to stabilize it more, but now it appears they may just have to tear down the houses altogether. I’m so thankful God closed the doors on us buying them, but Kory still grieves their loss. He’s not a gracious loser.



LizBeth left just in time today for us to make it back over to our old neighborhood to have an early dinner with Tone and Sabina (Kaleb’s first friend in Norway). It was wonderful to spend the afternoon with them and to eat Tone’s good cooking (she’s a pro at everything she does.)



We came home for about an hour before we headed back to Agape Church to attend a concert by the Watoto orphaned kids from Uganda. Just before we were leaving, Kaleb started crying and saying how much he wished we didn’t care so much about him and his safety so he could have more time to play on his Nintendo and have a cell phone. I’ve told him kids are getting carpal tunnel from too much time on those hand-held games, and they’ve also linked brain cancer to excessive use of cell phones, therefore he has no cell phone and he’s limited to an hour a day (or more if he earns it) of his Nintendo. He was crying buckets and asking why he is so deprived when all the other kids don’t get similar restrictions. He even went so far as to say he wished he didn’t have any parents at all because then his life would be much easier… then off we went to hear these orphan kids tell their stories of living in the streets of Uganda, with no hope, no food, no parents, and how thankful they were for this Watoto orphanage and how it changed their lives. After listening to that concert and watching those kids dance and sing for joy, I think there was a little change in Kaleb’s life as well as he realized maybe he doesn’t have it so bad afterall.



After the concert we went to look at a used dishwasher that was advertised in the paper. The house where it was at was very near Kory’s mom’s childhood home (see photo I took tonight of Solevaag). As thrilled as I was to finally be buying a dishwasher, I was more thrilled that I remember to bring my camera along so I could take pictures of that amazing landscape scene – it’s quintessentially Norway to me and my heart skips a beat every time I see it.



In the photo, there is a cluster of trees on the right side, down by the water. Kory drew that landscape last year with an ink pen, then he hid an image of a Viking ship in the water, that is really only visible if the picture is turned upside down. He longs to be Bev Doolittle, I think. Anyway, his cousins that actually live in that picture, saw his drawing on Sunday and I pointed out his cleverly sketched Viking ship in the water. To our amazement, they said that there actually IS a Viking ship lying in the water in that exact spot. Who knew. Kory sure didn’t.

Hip, Hip, Hoorah!

Today is THE DAY. It’s the day, 105 years ago, Norway finally signed their own Constitution, putting an end to Sweden’s rule over them. The rain in no way dampened the spirits of the Norwegians around here and the festivities went on as if it were a fine summer day. (Double click on the photo to see just how long this parade is – Kaleb is in there somewhere.)




Kaleb joined his old classmates in the parade down Myrlandsveien (our old street). All the kids were either dressed in bunads (traditional Norwegian costumes) or their finest black attire. The bunads are regional, so everyone from the same area wears the same patterned bunad. Trying to pick someone out of a crowd on a day like today is sort of like looking in a “Where’s Waldo?” book. If people aren’t in their bunads, many are wearing black, so it was even hard to find Kaleb in the crowd, but there he was, waving his Norwegian flag with the rest of them. He didn’t know the words to the National Anthem most of the kids were singing as they walked along, but he may have yelled out a “Hip Hip Hoorah!” every now and then. He’s always so disappointed that parades in Norway don’t have anyone tossing candy to the crowd – but most of the people are IN the parade anyway, and not many are lined up on the side-lines. No floats, no clowns, maybe one marching school band and then just waves and waves of school kids and parents, walking along shouting out things that let the world know of the pure joy they feel over the significance of this day.



We decided not to go into the city this morning to see the big parade, mostly because we slept in a little, but also because of the rain. I used the morning to finally organize the bathroom cupboards and Kory went down to the storage unit to dig out some tools so hopefully tomorrow he can start building Kaleb’s wall. The supplies are in, we heard. Woo hoo. It was a wonderfully relaxing morning and would have been more so if Kaleb wouldn’t have been pestering us to either watch TV or play with electronics. He was terribly bored just sitting home. Such is life. Once I offered to fill his time with school work or journaling, he discovered a pencil and paper and began to draw cartoons.



We had planned to go visit Tante Ruth today after the parade and school festivities that follow, but we ran into Tobias’ family and they invited us to their “grill” (BBQ) afterwards. It’s hard to pass up that kind of invitation, as all of Kory’s other cousins were otherwise occupied (Turid had to work today). We also received another party invitation from Andre’s parents, but we had to turn that one down. It’s so great to be included in things here – something we rarely experience back home.



We talked a little with Morten’s mom today – he’s the kid that beat up Kaleb a lot last year. She said Morten is doing much better now that he is on medication. She also said he was SO excited when he came home from school one day with a bag full of American candy Kaleb gave to all his “best friends.” He was so proud he holds that rank. Little does he know Kaleb gave him that bag of candy as a preventative move, hoping to keep his blows at bay. It’s worked well so far, but he hasn’t been around him much. In a few weeks when Kaleb goes back to school, we’ll see if his plan worked.



The strangest thing about this 17th of May, from others we’ve been to in Norway, is how late the spring is. Normally, tulips and lilacs are blooming this time of year, but the daffodils are just now blooming and there is hardly a tree with leaves showing. It’s the norm to cut birch branches and bunch them together with a Norwegian flag and tie them to fence posts or door fronts, but this year people had to hunt a little to find any birch branches with sprigs of green – most of them are still in the budding stages. I do hope the cold weather is behind us now, otherwise all my deck plants will surely die. The locals consider 17th of May as really the first day of “spring” and now they feel summer is soon on its way.



Before we headed off to Tobias’ house, we visited with several people we hadn’t seen since last year. It was a great time of greeting and catching up a little. Our calendar is now filling up fast as people either want us over before we head home, or we invited them over to see our new digs. Good thing I brought my calendar.



While we were eating our yummy BBQ’d dinner, we asked Tobias what he is looking forward to the most about coming home with us this summer. He doesn’t know the options available, so he had a hard time answering. I do know he’s looking forward to being in America, so hopefully he won’t be disappointed. We have lots of things planned, but nothing comes close to the excitement Norwegians feel for the 17th of May. Hip, Hip, Hoorah!

The Day Before THE DAY

We walked across the street this morning to attend Philadelphia Church at 11am. We wondered why we were the only ones there, and then we found out the service has been changed to 11:30 now because there is no bus that comes from downtown Aalesund out our way until after 11am, and many that attend the church, take the bus. Smart move on the church’s part but I think it’s a bit silly the busses don’t start running until after 11 on Sunday mornings.




Just as we were turning around to leave church and go back home for a little while, in came Liv-Hilde, Kory’s cousin’s ex-wife. She lives near Oslo now, but is remarried and attends church when she’s in the area staying in her cabin near here. We were engaged in her house nearly 20 years ago. It was her ex-husband (Kory’s cousin) that “helped” us buy our condo (that’s a whole other story). It was good to see her smiling face, although I know there has been much pain in her life over the years. She and her new husband also had a half hour to kill, so they walked across the street with us to check out what we’ve done to the condo. She initially helped Aunt Ruth pick out the flooring and tiles for the bathroom and kitchen, and she was very involved in the design of our place. She approved of what we’ve done and liked it a lot, so that was nice to hear. She especially loved that the washer and dryer are hidden behind closet doors in the bathroom. It’s more typical they are just sitting out in the open, so she commented on how smart it was to hide them away (I think that was even her idea way back when.)



Kory invited two of his mother’s cousins and their spouses over for dinner this afternoon, so we had to rush home from church and get things going. It was our first big entertaining moment where we had a full house and some relatives here we didn’t really know. Jenny (Kory’s mom) was born on the Solevaag farm. Jenny’s uncle got the farm because he was the oldest son. He had five children and they all live near the farm to this day, and are around Kory’s age. We have had good contact with four of those five children over the years, but one brother, Arnfinn, not so much, for no specific reason, so today was the day we decided to get to know him and his wife a little bit better. They came with his sister, Oddrun, and her husband and grown son. We’ve had many a fine meal at Oddrun’s house over the years so we may never even the score with her, but we thought we’d try anyway. They are all very nice people to be around, but I have a hard time understanding their dialect as they are from the country, and they use a lot of slang I’m not familiar with. At least they understand me when I talk, because none of them speak a word of English. I don’t think they get out much. (See photo taken of them in our living room having dessert.)



I warned them they were eating true American food – Kory put some chicken breasts on the BBQ (a real delicacy here and not often consumed at five dollars per breast), and I put some huge potatoes in the oven to bake. I made a big salad and boiled some carrots. I tried to play it safe and not do too many weird things with the food, as Norwegians like their food pretty bland. I would bet not one of them has ever eaten a chicken breast in their life, and I know for a fact, they had never before eaten a baked potato. They’ve all eaten boiled potatoes probably every day of their lives, but no one ever thought to bake them. I had cheese, butter, sour cream, bacon, scallions, and corn (a Norwegian twist since they put canned corn on everything), sitting on the table for them to fill up their potatoes. They thought it was the most puzzling thing, ever. Arnfinn’s wife asked me how I knew how long to cook the potatoes and at what temperature must they be cooked. They were intrigued by the experience of slicing them open, squeezing them a bit in the middle to make a crater, then adding all those ingredients. They all managed to pull it off just fine and they cleaned their plates. Hardly anyone ate salad, as that is just not the norm here, but the carrots were nearly gone. When I served pecan squares and ice cream for dessert, they all wanted seconds on the ice cream. They complimented me on the Pecan Squares (they’d never tasted a pecan either – I brought those with me from America.) It was a foreign food festival in our house tonight, but no one went home hungry, I’m sure of that.



We are trying to use our BBQ as much as possible, before someone tells us we must get rid of it. Tante Kari informed us it is not allowed here. We thought maybe it was because of it being a fire hazard out on the deck or something, but as it turns out, it’s not allowed because people don’t like the smell of BBQ’d food. I find that so funny. If they all just BBQ’d food like we have in the U.S., they would experience the wonderful aroma of grilled chicken or steak, but when typical nasty Norwegian meats get put on a BBQ, they can really stink up the place, and even the locals don’t want it wafting into their homes. I hope we can use up our tank of propane before we have to give it boot, but then, maybe no one will complain about us because we are only BBQing American style.



At church this morning they mentioned several times that today is “the day before THE DAY.” Tomorrow is the most important holiday in Norway and the only one of two non-religious one – their Independence Day from Sweden. There’s nothing more important to a Norwegian, that to celebrate that they are no longer Swedes.

Sprucing Up

We have been shopping and shopping, trying to find some kind of wall unit/storage system/closet for Kaleb’s room. It’s the only place he’ll have to put his clothes, books and toys, so it needs to fit with the dimensions of wall that will hopefully soon be built. Today, ready or not, we bought a portable closet because it was a screaming deal for a little under a hundred dollars, brand new. I’m sure it was a mismarked item because even the receipt showed a price of double what we paid, but the tag on the display said it was 595 kroner, so that’s what they charged us. I couldn’t be more pleased. Now Kory just has to put it together, but he really does need something to do with his time. He fusses with things way too long if there aren’t enough projects stacked up for him to do. And now it seems he’ll be making some custom book shelves to go next to this closet because the remaining available space along that wall is anything but standard. I’m sure it will all work out just fine. Honestly, if it weren’t for the fact that TV has entered our lives, this whole process would have been a slam dunk, but we have to make room for a TV in Kaleb’s room now so that’s what’s made this project so challenging. (The photo today is of our condo “blokk” – we are on the top floor, second balcony from the right.)



Every week in the paper, at least one local company puts an ad in the “Wanting to Rent” column, asking for a short term rental of a furnished apartment in good condition. They pay a high premium for that but the cheapest hotel around here is over three hundred dollars a night, so renting an apartment for a few weeks or months is still a bargain when they have business meetings or training seminars that last a while. Cousin Rune knows a guy that rented out his furnished apartment for two months to some Japanese business men who were here doing a study on the fishing industry. He got 60,000 kroner for two months – an unheard of amount (about $10,000). There is such a demand for that kind of rental that Kory and I are leaning in that direction as to what to do with our condo when we leave. We don’t care about making a lot of money, we would just like the basic expenses to be covered while it sits empty nine months a year, so even just a few months of business rentals could cover that – and hopefully keep the wear and tear to a minimum. I’m currently keeping a list of all the companies that are advertising, and when we install a dishwasher and get Kaleb’s bedroom all set up, I’m going to contact the companies and let them come take a look and see if we can get some regular customers established. It seems to be the best fit, since our location is totally primo. The only thing lacking at this point, is internet access, but I can order that once I know we are on the right path.



Currently, to get an internet signal, I discovered I can sit outside on the walkway in front of our neighbor’s condo. It’s not ideal, but it’s better than sitting in the parking lot down below, right outside the library. I still need to bundle up, and sit in a lawn chair. If the sun isn’t shining, I don’t stay long because the wind has been rather cold and brisk in the shade lately. If the sun is shining, there is such a glare on the screen, I can’t see anything anyway, so I don’t stay long then either. I can’t believe how restricted my life is without internet, and I’m sure if this condo is being used by business people, they won’t take kindly to my cheapo method of getting a wi-fi signal from the library down below.



I thought My Pal Vestina and I were going to go on a hike today, so I kept myself busy doing little tasks around the house, waiting for her to wake up and call me. It was another gorgeous day and a hike would have been just the ticket, but instead I continued the sprucing up of our deck, washing windows and dishes, hanging things on the walls and running around shopping for different things. She never called. All the while Kaleb was still over at Tobias’ house. So Kory and I were home alone, wondering what to do with ourselves. I finally called Vestina, who had a friend unexpectedly come to town, so our hike got postponed to another day. It was a little disappointing, but not too terribly much since I got so much done otherwise.



Our deck now is looking pretty spiffy, with flowers in every pot. It was hard to pay over $40 for a small little Rhododendron, but I want a few plants that might last more than this season. I hope my plan works, and they survive, so I don’t have to spend over a hundred dollars on flowers again next year. Our place is looking more and more “typisk Norsk” by the day. The only thing NOT typically Norwegian is that nothing is very new. Norwegians like to throw everything out every few years and have all new stuff inside and out. I’m not that wasteful so I’ll probably still have all this same stuff twenty years from now. Once I like something, I keep it. That little trait of mine often works to Kory’s advantage. I like him just fine.

A Taxing Day

The sun was shining and I would have rather been outside more today, but somehow my time got taken up with Kaleb’s agenda. He wanted to go to our old neighborhood this morning to spend time with Tobias (an ex-neighbor kid), but while he was waiting for Tobias to wake up (that boy sure sleeps in late), he got a call from Andre, asking if he would like to go swimming with him and Toban. Kaleb was all excited about that possibility, and I thought it was a good idea too, until I heard Andre ask if I could go pick up them up and take them swimming. We live RIGHT next to the swimming pool, and they are about a ten minutes drive away. Their parents were working today but they were free from school and looking for something to do with their time, so I agreed to get them after I finished organizing the last of the kitchen cupboards.




While Kaleb was gone swimming, I took advantage of the quiet house to finally sit down and gather information for our Norwegian taxes for 2009. We are late in filing them, but we had to wait to do them until we were here because we needed help with a few things. The government has everything so automated, they send everyone the tax return already filled out, so all that is necessary is a signature, but if there are things somehow the government doesn’t know about, changes are necessary. Kory and I went over to the tax office to ask some questions and file our return. I’m sorry we did. The government’s version of our return showed we would be getting a few hundred dollars back, but as it turns out, they didn’t calculate the rent we received from Tante Ruth, so now we need to pay them a few thousand dollars. Ouch. I was bummed the rest of the day.



Kaleb came home from swimming with his buddies in tow. They hadn’t yet seen our place and they liked it just fine. Everyone thinks it’s so cool that we are attached to the mall and so close to everything. (That’s what makes this place special. I thought it would be noisier than it is, but it’s really pretty quiet, so I’m thankful for that. ) Kaleb was anxious to have his friends taste a particular kind of brown cheese we love. It’s not goat cheese, as I previously thought, so I love it all the more. Whoever thought to put cardamom and sugar in cheese, is brilliant. It tastes like candy and Kaleb could easily eat the half pound block we buy every few days, but I make him savor it and go slowly. Andre and Toban had never tasted it and were very happy to have seconds. Oh man, that stuff is GOOD!



The boys flew paper airplanes off our balcony down to the courtyard below, played a card game and then needed a little more action. They went to the mall with us to buy some groceries, then Kaleb suggested they go home so he could finally go over to visit Tobias. I drove them home, dropped Kaleb off at Tobias’ and headed back home to clean up our deck and plant some flowers.



The 17th of May is on Monday and everyone is working at a frantic pace to clean up their yards, patios and houses, so things are in tip-top shape for this every important national holiday. I don’t want to seem like a slacker and even though no one but us can see our balcony, it must look its best and be as festive as it can be by Monday. No pressure to conform here, no, not at all.



I needed something besides flowers to cheer me up, so I went diving into some farm history books I got from the library, looking for ancestors of my friend Stuart. I found quite a bit of information, which happily got my mind off the taxes we have coming due. Spending time with the dead is always so soothing.



Kory and I had to run Kaleb’s PJs, toothbrush and a change of clothes over to Tobias’ house as he decided to spend the night there. It was good to be back in the old neighborhood (see photo). No one is living in the Sinking Houses anymore. I suspect it is because the ground has gone down so much the sewer and electrical lines that were buried in the ground have now completely separated from the house. The houses are looking vacant and forlorn once again. But the bus stop next to our old house that Kory repainted with a Norwegian flag is still untouched with not one spot of graffiti anywhere. He’s so proud he left his mark on his motherland.