The Farmer's Market

Kory was out of his comfort zone today, putting his artwork up for sale, so it’s a good thing I was in charge.  He wanted to leave an hour before we were supposed to be there, when it’s only a 15 minute drive.  I put the kibosh on that since we had two boys in the house that were up until midnight last night and needed all the sleep they could get.  Kaleb woke up at 6:30 claiming they weren’t tired anymore, and when I told him he couldn’t have a sleepover tonight at Daniel’s house if he didn’t go back to bed, he was asleep in seconds and still sleeping at 9am when I had to wake them up.  Kory was a nervous wreck.

Fortunately for us, it was a gorgeous day and it wasn’t at all a waste of time to sit out in the sun and enjoy the city.  Several people I knew came by so I had a chance to chat with some of my former teachers and classmates (including My Pal Vestina!).  Kory was impressed by how many people I know in this town.  And we even sold some of his artwork!  One print went for $40, another for $30 and another for $25 (I priced them differently based on how much I liked them.)  We had cards for sale too, so Kaleb walked around selling them individually for $4 each.  He sold 10 of them, so he was pretty happy about that.  I sold some, too. In all, we sold over $150 worth of copies that cost us less $4 to make.  Not bad, and we still have plenty of copies to try again another day.  We were only there for four hours, so all the better.  Kory wants to try and sell to the tourists when the cruise ships come in, so that might be our next effort.  To have local people buy his stuff is even more impressive.

I was surprised by how many old men stopped and just stared at Kory’s work.  Must be something about the buildings in Aalesund that caught their attention.  One kid even shouted, “Hey, that’s our house!”  So he got many nice compliments and those who bought his prints were extremely pleased with them.  I heard many comments that people’s walls were already full.  I can totally believe that.  Unfortunately, none of Turid’s prints sold but that might have to do with the fact she wasn’t there.  A friend told us that the artist must always be present in order for their work to sell.  News to me.

Kaleb’s friend Daniel was with us today but he got bored very quickly.  Kaleb, however, was quite the little hustler, especially when I told him he could have 50% of all he sold outside the farmer’s market area.  He went all over town and loved the possibility of making money to take with us to Turkey next week.  Nothing stops that kid when he has something on his mind.

Kory and I never got our walk today because after we came home and unloaded the art stuff we had to get ready to go out to dinner at Tone and Sabina’s house.  Tone texted me last night and asked if we could come over today (see photo of her living room).  Kaleb was at Daniels, but Kory and I went.  Tone wanted me to help her buy their tickets to come to our house in September, so we spent at least 2 hours on the stupid computer, applying for a visa and getting the tickets. 

What a bunch of government red tape the US requires for all who come to visit!  They ask if the person traveling to the US has leprosy, any sexually transmitted diseases, any mental illnesses, been arrested for anything in the past or if they are a terrorist.  Like a terrorist is going to answer that question truthfully. 

In order to get the entrance visa, Tone had to have a flight number, but in order to buy the plane tickets and find out what her flight number will be, she had to have a visa number.  The ultimate Catch 22.  I’m still not sure we did it all correctly because none of the questions or places to fill out information made total sense, but we did go back and modify the ticket information once we got the visa number.  Crazy system.  It reminded me of filling out American tax returns. 

One time Kory and I saw a very old building here in Norway that uses those skeleton keys.  There was a nail right on the doorframe, and there hung the key for the door.  I looked at him like that was the craziest thing I’d ever seen.  “What’s the point of that?”  I asked him.  “It’s to keep the Swedes out,” he answered.  So maybe this stupid government red tape of applying for a visa has a similar affect.  They are keeping out some people that just can’t figure it out, but I’m sure the terrorists aren’t among them.

After we got all that unpleasantness behind us, we had a little pow wow about the things she and Sabina want to see and do when they come to America for the first time.  It should be another whirlwind three weeks for us, but we’ll have to balance Kaleb’s school work around it, so it will be our biggest challenge yet.  Good thing we don’t have to work for a living.

Another Glorious Day

I didn’t even have time to post my blog this morning before I had to leave for a prayer meeting with The Praying Women.  There were five of us and we decided to “soak” for half an hour before we started praying.  We were “still” before God (I was on the floor), soaking in His presence – trying to hear His voice before we started in on our requests.  It was a powerful time.  The minute I was horizontal I felt like I was a slice of bread and warm butter just got smeared all over me, only it wasn’t butter, it was God.  It felt nice!  I just laid there in total bliss for what seemed like five minutes, but it was 30.  Sweet.  We had a very good time of prayer after that, and after that, some chit-chat, and of course, lunch. 

Kristin has a great view from her house (see top photo).  We had to pull the blinds because the sun was so hot, but I would have had a hard time concentrating on anything if I could have just been staring out her window at those mountains and that water. 

I got home just in time to make a pot of coffee before Roar Bjerknes came for a visit.  He used to be a local journalist and has been a writer his entire career.  I wrote a story about him in our local paper – how I connected him up with a guy from LaConner.  It was fun to meet him today.  What a nice man!  He’s had quite the exciting life, too, always seeming to be in the right place at the right time.  He was the only Norwegian in Calcutta when Mother Theresa got her Nobel Peace Prize, so he was the first one to get an interview with her.  He wrote many articles about her over the years and had nothing but nice things to say about her.  He was surprised by just how tiny of a woman she was. He was asked to write a book about her for a Norwegian publishing house but he declined, feeling like it wouldn’t do her justice because he didn’t know her THAT well.  I told him that’s how I feel about writing my column on Norway, but I do it anyway, whether I know what I’m talking about or not. 

He’s spent a lot of time in southeast Asia and married a woman from there.  After his divorce, he had quite a series of unfortunate events, as it were.  He got in two car accidents, and still has injuries from both of them.  His house burnt down when carpenters were working on the condo below his and caused a fire.  Recently he had  bypass surgery that went wrong and needs to be redone.  They also accidentally cut a nerve to his legs while doing the bypass so he has terrible pain in his feet all the time. He’s on so many pain meds he can’t think straight enough to finish up a book he’s been writing… but as he says, “I’ve only used up 8 of my 9 lives, so I still have one to go.”  He’s in his early 60s.  Kory and I prayed for him and I just have to believe he’s going to be free from some of this craziness of being in and out of hospitals trying to bring some relief to various body parts.  Poor thing, but he still laughs and carrys on and it would be hard to know he’s suffering so much if he didn’t say something about it.  I’m hoping he gets to meet Larry soon, his long lost friend in LaConner.

So that was my afternoon.  We didn’t even get our daily walk in until sunset as I had to do some meal planning and grocery shopping before the stores closed. 

Kaleb’s friend Daniel came over to spend the night (Tobas said he was going to, but then had soccer practice again so Kaleb got stood up once again.)  Kaleb and Daniel were outside until 10:30 tonight just hanging out at the nearby skateboard park, swinging on a swing by the church and checking out video games at the mall.  It was kinda cool for them to be so in control of themselves, and it was light outside until 11.

Kory and I walked down by the nearest beach and up into another new neighborhood.  It’s fun to find dead ends and peek into yards and houses.  I still can’t get used to the fact we can just cut across anyone’s lawn or walk through their backyard, but we can.  No one says a word, but I still don’t like to “trespass.”  Kory accused me today of being too American.  Ha!  I love the mailboxes people have painted.  It’s such a deviation from the “standard” dark green ones everyone uses.  And around here, anything that’s unique – really stands out!

It Just Doesn't Quit

We woke up to another sunny day here in the land of Shang-ri-la, Norway.  I think I even got a little sunburn on my face today, it was so sunny!

After my morning cup of coffee and Bible study, I went to the library to post my blog and discovered their wi-fi connection was down.  So were all their computers.  I walked across the crosswalk to the mall to go get some money out of the bank before the dollar gets devalued anymore while we are here, and the cash machine was out of order.  I had to laugh, especially after thinking about my comments yesterday that few people take pride in their work, or even work hard, and then to encounter two situations that could easily help make my case.  The cash machine has been broken for days.

Kory and I went on our walk earlier today than normal because of the above mentioned “challenges.”  We took yet another new route in our neighborhood in order to get to the bank and see if my new debit card arrived.  I had one, but as Kaleb’s friend Andre said about his Nintendo “It’s not lost, I just can’t find it….” So I’ll say about my Norwegian debit card.  I had to order a new one and it’s been over two weeks and it still hadn’t arrived. They said they would send me a message when it came in, but I know better than that, so I’ve been checking periodically when I’m in the neighborhood of the bank during it’s opening hours (between 10 and 3). 

I took my number at the bank then sat down and read magazines while waiting.  Several people were in line at the automatic teller, but instead of pulling money out, they were putting money in.  It’s possible to swipe a bank card, then deposit cash and coins into an account.  Many people had bags of coins and they stand there dumping them in at a fairly slow rate so the machine can count it and make the deposit.  When I closed my eyes, I swore I was in Vegas, back in the days when the quarters made that clink clink sound as they spilled out of the slot machines.

Today was my lucky day as my card finally arrived.  (Yet, no one sent me a message to tell me so – no surprise there.)  While we were at the bank, Turid called to ask where we were.  Apparently my Norwegian isn’t as good as I had hoped.  I talked with her yesterday and agreed to meet with her today to get the key to her studio so we can sell some of her art work this Saturday along with Kory’s –at the Spring Festival.  Apparently, she said we’d be meeting at noon at her studio, and somehow I missed that part of the conversation, so we had to hustle back home to get the car and drive into the city to meet her, as she was on a tight schedule.  Oops.

After we got home I made a little lunch and sat out on our deck to eat it, overlooking those mountains that take my breath away every time I look at them.  The sun was so warm and I was so tired I fell asleep in the chair and woke myself up with my own snoring.  Glad no one else was around.

Kory called the travel insurance company today to ask again why we haven’t been reimbursed for any of our expenses when he broke his back.  When he called a few weeks ago they said the money was just sitting there, waiting for an account to transfer it into.  He gave them our account number then, but I’ve been checking the bank daily, and no deposit has been made.  They said they needed to get approval to make the transfer.  So, we have no other option, but to continue to wait.  I guess this is how the Norwegians develop their unbelievably patient demeanor.

Kaleb had a fun day at school since they used three hours to learn how to make art on a computer, and another three hours they just made food.  He came right home from school because we were invited to an early dinner at Cousin Axel’s daughter’s house.  Miriam and her husband, Kenneth, just had their second child, but they’ve been foster parents for 7 years to Benjamin, who turned 13 today.  Kaleb and Benjamin have been hanging out together since they got Benjamin, so he asked if we could come to his party.  His parents are drug addicts so he can’t live with them. He has some affects from that, but he’s a sweet kid.  The whole family pitched in and totally surprised him today with a new laptop (see photo).  He rarely smiles, but he sure smiled today.  He’s grown a head taller than Kaleb in this last year and is very much looking like a teenager.  Hard to believe that phase is just around the corner for us.

Miriam’s oldest child, Elander, greeted us with a tiger’s roar (see photo).  He wanted his face painted for the party.  He’s a firecracker, that kid.  He makes me laugh.  His new brother Darian, is a very mellow child, and cute as a button (see other photo.)  We had a nice visit with that branch on the family tree.

One funny thing about Norwegian birthday parties is that all eyes must be on the birthday person when they “open up the cake.”  It’s a huge deal when they slice into it.  No one takes a picture of the cake before it’s cut, like we do, they take a picture of the birthday person with their first slice in hand.  It just seems odd.

Unfortunately, we had to leave after three and a half hours.  I hosted a home fellowship group at our house tonight so I had to get home and make coffee.   We arrived home just in the nick of time since one of the attendees was already in the elevator when we got there.  Fortunately I’d prepared everything before we left for the party, but it still felt a little rushed.  We had a great time of sharing though.  A new woman from Latvia joined the group and she had one powerful testimony about how God’s been working in her life.  And the best part was, we had to speak in English, for her benefit, because she’s new to Norway and doesn’t know the language.  Whew.

Kory went next door and watched a movie with his Aunt Aslaug while the meeting was going on, and Kaleb went in our room and fell asleep in our bed.  Our place is pretty small and there’s not many options for putting space between us, but so far, it’s been over three weeks and no one is complaining.

Another Sunny Day!

This whole school year I’ve been on a whirlwind routine back home and now I find myself settling into another type of routine, but it’s a lot more enjoyable.  I’d still prefer more spontaneity in my life, but the fact is, sometimes life is just routine.  Kaleb goes to school, I drink a cup of coffee and do my Bible study.  I post my blog once the library opens and head to the grocery store for whatever we need or whatever I find on sale.  Around noon, Kory and I go for a walk.  Does three days in a row of nearly the same thing count as a routine?  Maybe not.

I switched it up a bit this morning and headed for the store across the street, AND I went before the library was open.  My favorite brand of flatbread is not available at our nearest market, so I had a reason.  I always bring my shopping bags along because the stores all charge about 25 for each bag, but today I only took one with me, which was a big mistake.  They were having a huge sale and I couldn’t resist spending only 10 kroner on most everything I bought (about 2 bucks).  A can of black beans normally costs $4, but today, it was only $2 so I bought a few cans, and red beans too, and some garbanzo beans.  Enchilada soup is in our future.  I bought so many spontaneous items that my fingers nearly broke while carrying back the bags.  (Yes, I had to pay for another grocery bag because I bought more than mine would hold.)  The day began with pleasant surprises.  My favorite flatbread was even 10 kroner – on sale from 14.  I bought six boxes.

It took me a while to put away all the groceries, as I had to reorganize some spaces.  I have no pantry and cupboard space is limited, along with freezer and frig space.  Fortunately, I’m spatial.  Tee hee.

Just after noon, Kory and I took off to go buy Kaleb a new mattress.  He’s been complaining way too much about the one he has, so it was time.  We parked the car near the store, then went on our hour plus long walk, in yet another new neighborhood.  I’m very motivated to walk when I can see things I haven’t seen before, and lucky for us, it was another gorgeous day (see photos).  Today we ran into Kory’s old boss, Espen, who is building a house in the neighborhood where we walked.  Another chance encounter.

My favorite part of the walk was going by the barnehagen (daycare center).  There must have been 100 kids out playing.  Four little boys were throwing rocks over the fence and when they saw us coming they asked me if I could pick up a few things that were on my side of the fence.  I did.  Then they proceeded to throw them back over the fence.  It was like playing fetch with a dog, only I was the dog.

After the walk we went in to buy the foam mattress at Skeidar.  I was the only one in the store but it still took the clerk 20 minutes to take my money.  She kept complaining about their new computer system.  Slow as molasses.  Then when we paid, we had to take the receipt out back for it to be loaded into our car.  Another 20 minutes.  They must have all been on lunch break. 

Kory has heard many people here complain about employee’s lack of motivation to do a good job in the work place.  There are no consequences for poor performance, so no one is trying to be good at what they do. 

People who have left this country complain about all the paperwork and how long things take to get processed.  I guess we’ve seen a bit of that but we haven’t been too impacted by it. 

The Good Teacher Inga told me her school is completely different now because they’ve changed some rules and if I were to move to Norway and need language lessons, I would have to apply to the school and it would take 12-15 months before the application was processed, before I could attend classes.  She said it’s insane because people need to learn the language when they first arrive, not years later.  We were lucky to come when we did.

Many people are talking about the long term affects of this type of on-the-job-laziness, which is obviously happening when it takes 12 months to shuffle one piece of paper from one desk to another, or 20 minutes to ring up a simple order.  I can rack it up to the “charm” of living in Norway because I have nothing else to do but wait all day for a mattress, but others might feel differently.  It will be interesting to see what the future holds for Norway, with that kind of apathy in the workplace.

Kaleb was gone all afternoon again.  I asked him if he missed me and he asked if I wanted to know the truth, so he didn’t really need to answer me after that comment.  He went on a field trip today with school to a museum where they learned about the middle ages and played a bunch of games from that time.  They were gone all day so he was happy he didn’t have to do any schoolwork for me, but I did make him play the piano when he got home.

Kory worked on framing up his art, then attended a condo association meeting tonight and went straight to a home fellowship group after that.  I hosted a Bible study at our place tonight for women from the Philadelphia Church.  We had a great time of sharing, praying and singing together.  They all loved the food I made and wanted recipes, but I’m sure it won’t be the same since I used some ingredients I brought from America.

I made “chocolate chip” cookies, without the chips because they aren’t available here.  I bought bars of dark chocolate (on sale for 10 kroner each!) and had the worst time trying to break them into small enough pieces they would work like chips.  When I grated them, the chocolate melted in my hands.  When I cut it with a knife, pieces went flying all over the kitchen.  When I put it in a bag and hit it with a hammer, I made very little impact on the size of the chunks.  I finally gave up and cut each small square with a paring knife, but it took way too long to make that dough.  I won’t be doing that again.  The women were all most impressed with their first taste of a genuine American cookie. (Cookies and pies are not part of this culture.)  I sent them home with doggie bags and warned them that Norwegian brown sugar isn’t nearly as good as the stuff you get in America, so if they “try this at home” it won’t taste as good.  They’ll try anyway.  (Such initiative!)

Fin Dag i Dag (Fine day today)

Kaleb was off to school before eight this morning, so Kory and I sat and had a relaxing cup of coffee while doing our Bible studies.  At ten, I headed to the library to post my blog and on to the grocery store to buy a few things on sale.  Kory’s been pestering me for some marzipan candy but I told him to wait until after Easter when it will all go on sale for 50% off.  So today was his big day.  Instead of a piece of candy costing $6, it only cost $3.  Lucky duck.

Yesterday when we were walking around our neighborhood, I saw a really cool huge old bucket in the dumpster of a business we walked past.  I wasn’t sure if it was OK to take it not, so today we drove down there and I asked.  “No problem,” was the response I got, so I’m now the happy owner of a big old bucket from 1892.  Kory thinks I’m crazy to bring home such a thing, but he’s no one to talk.  They did plenty of dumpster diving when they moved to America when he was a kid – it’s just what immigrants do.  Our sense of style isn’t up to Norwegian standards, so one person’s garbage really is another person’s treasure.

When we were telling someone about the odd sized mattress Kaleb has in his room, they suggested we go down to a local factory that makes foam, and ask to buy a piece in the size we need.  We drove down there after I scored on the bucket, to ask them.  I would have asked for a piece of foam cut to a certain size, but Kory asked them for a mattress, so they said they don’t sell those directly to the public and we had to go to a store to find them.  So much for that idea.  If we knew someone that worked there, I’m sure we’d get what we wanted, but for now, we might have to spring for a new mattress (no pun intended – because there are no springs in it!)

Since we were near our old neighborhood we decided to take our daily walk down there to see what we could see from the other side of the mountain, as it were. (All the photos today were from our walk.) We drove out past Kaleb’s school and parked our car, then walked across a very tiny bridge to get onto the island of Turla.  We planned to walk the roads and check out the houses and yards, but we saw a sign for a hike up to the high point of that island, so we took it.  The trail was pretty soggy but we enjoyed some time in nature before the trail ended up back in a neighborhood that just happens to be where Kory’s cousin, Ketil’s, son has built a house.  Strange coincidence.  We walked as far as we could go on his road, then walked back along the main road.  It took 90 minutes total, so I’m well pleased with my little work out time today as I was sweating pretty good.  I so need more movement in my life.  Flitting about the condo from room to room just doesn’t cut it.

While we were out walking, we ran into my friend, Tina, the mother to Kaleb’s friend, Daniel.  She was out for a bike ride and she’d taken with her a slice of bread and a thermos of coffee.  It was such a nice day she just went out for a spin and a little time to relax by the seashore.  Norwegians love to just relax, wherever they go and whatever they do, there must be time to just “slapp av” (relax!).  Funny.

Sabina came by after school, not long after we returned from our walk/hike.  She’d spent all her bus money on candy at the mall and wanted to know if we’d loan her money for the bus ride home.  We invited her to hang out with us for a while and stay for dinner.  She didn’t have much else to do at home and I’m pretty sure she’d rather be here than there.  We challenged each other to “difficult” words – she’d give me one in Norwegian and see if I knew the English word for it and I’d give her an English word to see if she knew the Norwegian translation.  She was frustrated that I knew so many words so she had a hard time stumping me.  Kory made Kettle Korn for her, at her request.  She watched him make it so she can try to make it herself at home.

Kory is hoping to sell copies of his artwork this weekend at a Spring festival in the city, so we took Sabina with us to the thrift store to see about buying some frames to display his work.  She was thrilled the store has a FREE area, and she started stuffing her pockets with all kinds of goodies.  I nearly did the same, but tried to stay focused on the task at hand. 

Kaleb came home the minute I started saying Grace at dinner.  I hadn’t even set a place for him because I thought he’d be a bit later, but he was able to join us all for dinner.  I told him Sabina was our “vikar barn” (substitute child) for the day.  He didn’t think that was funny.  He spent the afternoon with Toban.  He said Toban felt bad about not connecting up with him this weekend, but he had trouble with his schedule and he apologized.  Kaleb was somewhat relieved he hadn’t done anything to cause him to stay away on purpose.  They will try again this weekend for a sleepover so I hope nothing gets in the way.

Tonight I scheduled a little reunion gathering at a coffee shop in the city with some women from my Norwegian class.  As of yesterday, about 12 women were coming, but by the time the event rolled around, only four showed up.  I’m sure it has to do with the fact that many of them have newborn babies, but several others had different last minute reasons.  The Good Teacher Inga had requested the gathering.  The four of us had a good chat nonetheless.  We’ll set another date before I have to leave, as the ones that couldn’t make it, really want to see Inga again.  She’s one of a kind.

I asked Inga about our car insurance.  Kory noticed when we got the bill (for $1,700 a year!) that it said we can’t drive over 8,000 kilometers.  I wondered what would happen if we did.  Inga said that car insurance in Norway is sold by the mileage driven.  The minimum amount is 8,000 kilometers, (less than 5,000 miles a year), but if we think we’ll drive more than that, we have to buy more miles for the year, otherwise, we have to pay a penalty premium for going over the amount that’s allocated.  We didn’t know that when we lived here before.  Good thing we’ll only be here three months at a time.

Second Easter Day

I have yet to figure out why Norway has the day after Easter earmarked as a holiday, but they do – it’s the Second Day of Easter.  Yesterday though, was the only day Norwegians could fly their flags, even though Thursday and Friday were holiday’s also.  Go figure. 

All weekend long at the Philadelphia Church they’ve had special speakers and many guests in attendance.  Kory and I went today, for lack of anything else to do, because it was raining pretty hard and everything else was closed.  The guy speaking was pretty funny, based on all the laughter I heard, but he spoke so fast and with such a southern Norwegian accent, it was hard for me to understand the punch lines.  Uff.  It was good to have time afterwards to visit in the café with friends and family though.  They put on quite a feast for those in attendance for only 80 kroner (about $15).  Kory indulged, I opted out.  Most of the standard Norwegian buffet foods don’t appeal much to me.

Kaleb was supposed to have his buddy, Toban, over for the day, but when Kaleb called him, Toban had made other plans.  I’m hoping it was a misunderstanding about their time together and not that Toban is avoiding him.  I know Kaleb wears out friendships sometimes, so I’ve been praying for him all day that he’ll learn how to be a good friend and people will want to be around him.  The good news was though, that both Andre and Daniel called him asking him to come over to their places.  Kaleb initially turned them down, waiting to hear from Toban, but he finally gave up waiting and the three met together at Andre’s house and played together for the rest of the day.  He was there for almost eight hours straight.

Andre and Daniel both are addicted to electronics like Kaleb, but Toban is very physical and likes to play soccer, go jogging or bike riding, so I’m sure this is the age where those differences really impact the amount of time they decide to spend together.  Toban goes jogging just to keep fit (he’s 11!) and he is down at the soccer field every chance he gets, training and training.  Kaleb’s not that disciplined about anything in his life, but I sure hope that changes.

The rain finally stopped around dinnertime so Kory and I went for another long walk in a new direction around our neighborhood (see photos of all we saw!).  I love seeing different houses, yards, looking in windows, and enjoying the mountain views wherever we go.  Homes are all decked out for Easter with yellow flowers and candles in the window.  Norwegians use chicken and eggs as their symbol for Easter, instead of bunny rabbits, so many homes had such decorations in the window.  Tomorrow, it will all be gone. 

When I went to get Kaleb tonight, his classmate, Haavard, went jogging by where the boys were playing.  It seems he and Toban rode their bikes over to our place today to find Kaleb, but he was in their neighborhood, and Kory and I were still at church.  Oh well.  Kaleb had such a good time with Daniel and Andre, he said they are “moving up” on his friend list (previously, Toban held the #1 spot).  Kaleb, Andre and Daniel invented some game where they each have some kind of super power, so they were running around outside doing super human feats.  At least they were off the electronics for a while.

Kory has set up a little art studio in our bedroom so it’s kind of nice having him tucked into a corner, drawing away.  He’s been asking everyone he talks to about the art scene in Aalesund and how they market to the tourists.  It’s apparent, they don’t.  I think he has high hopes of changing that – telling everyone around here how Pike’s Place Market works, and pointing out ideal locations in town for such a gathering of artists.  I think he might even just stand on a street corner and sell his art, if he finds out it’s not against the law.  He’s very motivated to make money on his art now, after all the rave reviews he’s gotten from people who have seen it.  

I’ve asked many people how much they’d pay for one of his 11x14 copies, figuring the equivalent of about twenty bucks would make me happy as a clam.  Everyone scoffs at that amount, saying it’s way too cheap.  I try to explain the American marketing system, that if it’s cheap, it sells.  I don’t want to put the value of his art so high that people have to think twice about buying it, but everyone really thinks he could get $40-$50 for one copy!  They said if it’s too cheap, people will think it’s from China.  I’d stop complaining about Norwegian prices if he could make that kind of profit off a 32 cent print. 

As I am writing this, Kaleb is in bed and talking in his sleep – in Norwegian!  I find myself thinking in Norwegian and sometimes even talking to myself in Norwegian, too.  People keep telling me how well I speak it, but I know they are just being kind.  I have a long way to go, but I do like it that I know it well enough I can interrupt a story Kory is telling and either correct him, or give him the Norwegian word he wants to say.  He’s not too happy about that, but I consider it a sweet victory.