Today was my first day of hosting friends at our place since we arrived (see photo) – other than those that just stopped by for coffee or tea. Two pals from my Norwegian course came for lunch! Sandra, from England, came with her little miracle boy Karl-Alexandar, who I prayed much for even before he was even conceived. Sandra was flying to Latvia three times a year for in-vitro since Norway wouldn’t pay for it because she was too old (45). She’d been trying for ten years but once prayer became part of the picture – she got pregnant – a total miracle. She initially had twins, but lost one so it was another miracle that Karl survived. Oh, how I prayed he would. Then her water broke 10 weeks early so I prayed again that he’d hold fast. In Norway they don’t force labor like in America, so she was in the hospital for 3 weeks until he finally started showing signs of stress and they induced her. I was praying like crazy during those three week, so he was only 7 weeks early and even from the get-go, they said he was like a full term baby. He’s never been sick or had any problems at all. Just one miracle after another. I feel very attached to that cutie pie (see photo below).
Melinda, another friend from Romania, also came with her 7 month old baby girl (see other photo above). It was rather chaotic trying to have a meal with a 20 month old and a 7 month old at the table, but we managed to get in several laughs about our Norwegian class days. In catching up with them and who they still keep in touch with, it seems every woman in that class now has a baby. They were all newlyweds 2 ½ years ago, so they didn’t waste any time.
I made a “typisk norsk” lunch – shrimp sandwiches (see photo), just like in the cafes around here. They loved it – and so did Kory and Kaleb. I also made a salad, but Norwegians never eat them, and apparently, neither do some of the imports.
Kaleb chowed down his lunch quickly then took off on his bike to go have a sleepover with Andre – his friend that will be coming to America this summer to stay with us for three weeks after we get home. Andre is bringing his whole family with him (I’m friends with his mom). Kaleb was pretty excited to hang out with him and the other kids in that neighborhood. I won’t see him again before dinnertime tomorrow.
When I was at the grocery store this morning I had to dodge all the supply carts since their pump got repaired and they were starting to stock up all the shelves again with food. It’s so unusual to have shelves stocked during the daytime hours but no one here works the night shift, so it gets done when shoppers are in the store. It’s kinda messy and awkward, and I ended up taking several things I needed right from the supply carts as I didn’t want to stand around waiting for them to put stuff on the shelf. My ugly American nature came shining through.
When Melinda left this afternoon I hitched a ride with her down to my favorite thrift store and then I walked back home in the rain. Being able to buy things at a reasonable price is good for my soul. I’ve been going through sticker shock at the grocery store since prices are about 10-20% higher now from when we lived here - just factoring kroner vs. kroner, but when factoring in the devalued dollar, and what that will buy, it’s an additional 30% more just for that, so I’ve nearly had heart failure every time I go shopping. We are good about buying just what we need, but it’s no fun at all to spend so much money on food. A little “used” retail therapy reset my happy button. Most everything I bought was 10-20 kroner ($2-$4) which is well within my price range and it’s all handmade Norwegian stuff. The economics of things here is so weird. I also wanted to see what things are available in that store before I hit a flea market tomorrow.
Kory started drawing again today, so that made my heart glad. He also went down to the car licensing place because they sent him a message our plates were in, but by the time he walked there, it was just before 3pm and they were closing, so he couldn’t get the darn plates! They also told him we have to register with the “people register” place a little further down the street, which was news to us, so we’ll see what happens there. It’s also the same place we turn in our taxes so I need to get the 2010 tax info assembled this weekend so we can take care of two things in one long walk on Monday.
Kory and I didn’t know what to do with ourselves tonight with Kaleb gone and no wheels to take us anywhere, so we invited the two aunts to come on over for coffee and crème brulee (Kaleb made some for my lunch guests today and we had leftovers.) They were thrilled with the invitation. Kory got out his new i-pad to show them what modern technology can do and they just rolled their eyes. I showed them my Kindle and they just said, “unbelievable.” Then they asked what Facebook was, so I gave them a little tutorial on my laptop as I logged into my account and showed them all their grandchildren that I’m friends with and what their status is and what photos they’ve posted. Let’s just say that I’m sure some of those grandkids had NO IDEA their grandmas would be looking at their Facebook photos someday…so there were a lot of laughs and giggles over that whole portion of the evening. Then Tante Kari figured out right away what a great spying tool Facebook would be and she asked me to check on some of her ex-daughters-in-laws to see what photos they have posted and what the new loves in their lives look like. Now, that was funny. Women in their 80s sleuthing around behind other women’s backs. What a hoot. I guess you never get too old for some things.
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