First Day of School

(All the photos today are pictures I took in Trondheim, but my camera battery died so I was unable to download them a few days ago… but that’s good because I didn’t take a single picture today.  Imagine that.)

Since I was moving at a snail’s pace today, I still didn’t get all the “goods” put away.  Our place is a wreck with stuff strew everywhere, but no one is coming in the next few days as the cousins are all traveling to southern Norway to attend a wedding (Odd’s son), so I wasn’t too motivated to clean house.  Besides, I had to attend to Kaleb’s needs today and school officially started so I needed to get him focused on developing a schedule he can live with.

We are going light on schoolwork this year since he hit the books pretty hard last year.  I have a math program from Johns Hopkins University that he can do on the computer.  He has a writing program that will help him on the book he plans to write this year.  He has to keep up with his piano lessons, do a little PE and on Monday we’ll start in on some Spanish.  He can go at his own pace and do as much as he wants on math and writing, so he was at it for about five hours total today, which was plenty.

Since Tante Kari is so sick, I didn’t want Kaleb disturbing her with piano practice so we walked across the street to the Philadelphia Church and asked if he could use the piano there.  The office administrator, Liv, was on the ferry with us last year up the coast of Norway.  She was just fine with letting Kaleb use the piano so we had a good time chatting away while he practiced.  I need to keep an ear out for what he does because otherwise he just goofs off.  I wish that were not the case, but it is.

Liv told me a story that brought tears to my eyes when I retold it to Kory after I got home.  Liv was a missionary to Chile for many years.  At one point she acted as a translator and helped a Norwegian couple adopt a little boy from Chile in 1994.  That boy has always called her “Tante” (aunt) and he’s now in his 20s.  He asked his adopted parents if it was possible to find his birth mother and go visit Chile.  He was 3 ½ when he came to Norway.

Liv is still in contact with people in Chile and she put the word out and incredibly, the mother was found.  They made their initial contact through Skype.  She was an unwed 16-year-old when she had him, living with her mother.  Her mother died and she had to go to work to support herself.  She gave the boy to relatives, but they were unable to care for him so he went into an orphanage.  Because she hadn’t been to see him in a long time, he was eligible for adoption.  Liv was the one escorting the adoptive parents down to Chile to get him, and the day before they were to leave, the birth mother showed up.  The judge wouldn’t allow the adoption because she reappeared. 

 (photo below is of "modern art.")

Seeking God’s will in the situation, Liv asked God what they should do, and when she opened up her Bible she saw a verse that referred to taking children out of the land of their birth, and she knew God would be with them, so they went anyway.  And sure enough, the birth mother realized someone else could give her son a better life, so she agreed to the adoption.

When they were leaving the orphanage, Liv saw a young girl on the side of the road staring at them.  She felt in her spirit it was the mother, watching her son for the last time.  When they Skyped, nearly 20 years later, both women remembered that moment very clearly, as it was indeed the mother.  She is thrilled to be able to meet her son, now grown up. Liv is going with them in October to be the interpreter again and to spend time showing him around his native land.  How cool is that?  I know all too well how it feels to finally connect dots to parts missing from childhood. 

(photo below is of stickers plastered all over the city - it says "save Norway's freedoms... stop the Islamization of Norway!")

The sun was out when we got home and the deck was dry enough that I was able to FINALLY put a coat of oil on the second half of it.  We’ve been waiting forever for the weather to cooperate, and today we got lucky.  It was downright warm out there, and not two hours later, the wind whipped up and a huge storm came blowing through.  The rain has been constant since then.  I’m sure the deck won’t dry anytime soon but at least I got that job crossed off the to-do list.

This afternoon we went to see how Tante Kari is doing.  She has her ups and downs and never knows when she will be feeling poorly and when she’ll be fine.  She talked a lot about dying, as she knows it won’t be long.  Her grandson is getting married on Saturday and she wishes she could go there, but doesn’t want to steal any of the attention away from the big day, if she falls ill.  Her big concern was that she’d die before the wedding and ruin any plans.  It’s hard to think she’s really dying, but her days are definitely numbered.  So, so sad, as we just love that woman and all her bubbly energy.

I packed up one big suitcase tonight to see how much room I have to take things home.  There are a few “flea markets” coming up in the next few weekends and I’m itching to see what might be there, but also realize I can only bring so much home and our condo is quickly filling up.  I just can’t believe all these old handmade Norwegian, high-quality things sell for just a buck or two and I guess I feel the need to save them from the garbage dump.  One day, someone will be glad I did.  It probably won’t be Kory, however.

(Somethings just get lost in translation - the photo below is of an art school.)

The Long Road Home

It’s about a six hours drive from Trondheim back home, and we go through Molde, the town of Kory’s birth, on the way back.  We know from experience, there are some great thrift stores in that town, and it was our last chance to find that darn light globe.  We left just after nine this morning, with the sun shining over the coast, so the drive back was gorgeous.  At every turn, a new farm scene appeared with water and mountains framing it all in, so the drive home was pure heaven.  I decided to do the driving just to be sure Kory didn’t have any more problems with his wrist. 

We had a few tense moments on the way back.  For one, before we left I noticed gasoline was dripping out of the gas tank at a fairly regular clip – about a drop a minute.  It was enough that it left quite the slick under the car, so I was worried about that all the way home.  As it turns out, I guess I filled the tank a bit too full, because now that the tank isn’t topped off, the leak has stopped, so there must be a loose gasket somewhere.

The other kinda funny thing that happened, was that we drove past a view point and there was a pound of unopened coffee lying on the ground there.  We talked about whether we should turn around and go back and get it, as coffee isn’t cheap here.  It kind of reminded us of our “roadside pizza miracle” a few years ago when we found a freshly baked warm pizza just outside a Costco in Oregon.  It obviously slid off the hood of someone’s car, but it sure made for a nice dinner for us that night.  We wanted the same enjoyment out of free coffee found on the side of the road in Norway.

I drove a mile or so before we decided we should turn around and go get it – just for the fun of it.  When I pulled off the road to turn around, the car was on a downward slope in front of an old barn (see photo).  It had just rained, so the grass was super slick.  We have front wheel drive and we had too much weight in the back of the van, so we just spun out and couldn’t back up.  I panicked.  The further down the incline I went, the worse we spun-out.

Finally, we all got out of the car and scraped up as many little pebbles as we could find to put behind the front wheels.  It took several attempts and my stress level was going higher with each one, but finally, the car backed up enough to get on the main road.  Whew.  We felt it was a good life lesson for Kaleb so he could see first hand how to get out of a slick spot, but maybe the better lesson is to know how to get out of  a sticky situation… ha.

Once we were in Molde, we stopped at three different stores.  We finally found the lamp we were looking for – or close enough anyway.  I remembered from last year an antique store that had the same light fixture, and it was still there, so our quest is finally over – to the tune of $100 however.  But at least we can take it out of the deposit from the guy that rented from us and broke the thing to begin with.  I’m just glad we can stop looking.

I found a few more old Norwegian canning jars, and some pewter things I hadn’t seen before, so I couldn’t resist buying them.  It was like the dollar store for me, as everything I wanted was 10 kroner (about $1.40).  These are prices I can live with.

When we got home, I was completely exhausted.  I started sniffling and sneezing so I had to take five minutes to just sit down and close my eyes before I started unpacking.  We must have filled six shopping carts with stuff from the back of our van (see photo two below).  I even got a “new” bike on the last stop – for a whopping $28.  It’s really a nice one, too.  Kory bought another painting (below) that I really hate, but somehow it does something for him.  It might end up hanging in the closet as it’s dark and dreary and not very well done.  I can’t imagine why he likes it, but he does.  That was his splurge and it cost way more than anything I’ve ever purchased.

I tried to assemble all the stuff we bought on the coffee table so I could take a photo of it, but I only got about half of it on there before I ran out of room.  Same thing with the food items we got in Sweden… I don’t know what I was thinking.  I have no cupboard space to store all that inventory!  So much for advanced planning.  I was just trying to save a few bucks on stuff that I know costs more here.  There is a bit of room in our storage unit… but I’m using the old canning jars as storage for all the dry goods I bought so that will kill two birds with one stone there.  (My favortie purchase is the box with the handle on it in the top right corner, sitting on a sweater we bought for Kaleb... The box has 1946 written on the top.)

Kaleb is still coughing and blowing his nose and not in the least bit excited that school officially starts tomorrow.  Kory’s body parts seem to be working again so maybe he can tackle more honey-do’s now that we are home.  He’s now got new curtain rods to install.  I guess I’ll be putting the next layer of oil on the deck just to be sure we don’t have a repeat performance of his wrist flare-up.

The ladies home fellowship group I’m part of with Agape Church met tonight so I was home for about two hours before taking off for that.  I didn’t have much energy to go, but I forced myself and I’m glad I did.  We had a great discussion and time of prayer, and that is always time well spent.  It was good to be back with that bunch of women.

Tanta Aslaug greeted us tonight when we came in.  It’s so great having relatives live next door.  We turned our phones off when we were in Sweden so we wouldn’t be charged for international calls.  When we turned them back on again, we had several messages for invites to put on our calendar so it seems our last six weeks here will be full.  Our social life is what we love the most about being here. Oh, and the thrift stores.  I just love those thrift stores.

Trondheim

Our last big day of “a vacation within a vacation” was today.   Tomorrow we drive home and go back to our regularly scheduled vacation in Norway.  What a life.

There were only two things I wanted to do in Trondheim today and we did them both. 

There is a small rock island in the harbor, not far from the Trondheim shore.  (Think Alcatraz - top photo.) We’ve gone past it on the ferry a few times and I’ve always wanted to go out there and see it up close and personal.  It’s only open a few months a year, so this was our lucky day to actually see Monkholmen.

We got a private tour, as we were the only tourists in town, it seems.  The wind was whipping up good and the rain came and went, but being from the Northwest, that wasn’t a problem.

The first records of Monkholmen were from the Viking days, when it was used as a place to execute people.  Their heads were stuck on the top of long poles for all entering the harbor to see.  Nice start.  In a total reversal of fortune - it was a Benedictine monastery for about 400 years.  After that - it was a prison for another 300 or so years. 

When Denmark ruled Scandinavia, they sent the worst of the worst criminals to Monkholmen.  Most prisoners died there.  One very famous political prisoner was there for 18 years.  He had his own room and even his own servant while there.  Another guy, at age 19, publically insulted his future (high society) mother-in-law and she had him banished to Monkholmen for life, where he stayed until he died at the age of 72.  The tour guide said there are ghosts in that place.  No kidding.

The Germans even used Monkholmen to defend the port of Trondheim.  There is quite the history around that place, and I was thrilled to see it and have it all to ourselves for a few hours this afternoon.  The sun even peeked out for some nice photo opportunities – until the battery on my camera went dead.

My other goal for the day was to find a few thrift stores (no surprise there), but I was sorely disappointed with the quality and quantity of them in Trondheim.  Our town of Aalesund seems to shine in that arena. 

We are still looking for those lamp covers, but no luck again today.  Kory found a new painting he likes for our living room, so for a whopping $36 we will replace the copy of a nice picture there now, for a real piece of art with a very nice frame.  I don’t understand why old original artwork sells for so cheap in Norway, but I’m so glad it does.  We also bought Kaleb a nice Norwegian sweater for twenty bucks.  Another mystery, there, as the wool itself it worth several times that amount.  Lucky us.

The rain came and went, as did Kaleb’s complaints about his sniffly nose and sore throat.  We called it an early day after eating a late lunch and just went back to the hotel where we all did our own things with different electronic devices.   It was good to have some downtime, especially since the skin on my heel split wide open from going barefoot so much.  Every step is painful and I think I need superglue or something to seal the darn thing back up.  Good thing tomorrow is a driving day.

We’ve had a wonderful time on this trip.  Sometimes I just can’t believe how blessed we are to be able to travel and see so much and experience things that just aren’t otherwise in our little world of Skagit Valley.  The day may come when all this comes to a halt, but we are sure appreciative for all the times we’ve been free to roam.  It’s something we all love to do, so I’m thankful we’re able to do it.

Leaving Sweden

With all the lightening and thunder we had late last night, I was surprised to wake up to blue skies and sunshine this morning.  A perfect day for a long drive.

Before we left, I had to make a few important stops.  I saw something I just had to buy for a friend back in the US, and the store didn’t open until 10, so we had to stick around for that.  While we waited, we found a drug store open that had just the right kind of brace to hold Kory’s wrist in place, so now it’s a sure bet he’ll be doing the driving on Wednesday back home to Aalesund.  Whew.

I just got some information from a friend of ours with Swedish roots, and it just so happened her family came from near we were staying, and it also just so happened the library was right across the street from our hotel.  I knew if I went in there, I’d find out valuable information for her in her search for dead ancestors, so I couldn’t resist a little effort in that arena before we left too, so we stuck around for the library to open as well.  I could have stayed all day.  I got her back a few more generations on that branch of her tree, so it was time well spent.  I was getting a parking ticket as I left, but I talked my way out of it, so that was lucky for me.  We left town soon thereafter. (Bell tower from a church, above.)

Kaleb has had the sniffles all day and is still reeling from the fact he has no Nook for reading, and now his laptop isn’t charging either.  He was fairly sour today in spite of the wonderful weather we enjoyed on the drive west back into Norway.

Kory actually wanted to stop at a few thrift stores to look for the lamp cover we need for our bedroom lamp that got broken.  No luck finding one, but there sure were a lot of treasures I could have bought.  Sadly, I used up all my Swedish money and didn’t want to take more out of the bank.  It hurt, as some of the things were good bargains, but I did get a few things this morning before we left town, so my need for old stuff got satisfied there anyway (you’d think Kory could satisfy that one for good!)

We took eight hours to get to Trondheim, and without stopping I could have made it in six.  We ate lunch in the car and then dinner in the hotel once we arrived at seven o’clock.  We were just too tired to go out so we snacked on stuff we already had. (Photo below is of a neighborhood ski slope in Sweden.)

Kory’s been good about buying salads in grocery stores and I made the best salad dressing to take with us, so he’s not gone hungry.   For anyone that wants a good fat-free dressing, this is the bomb:  3-2-1 dressing – 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar (we buy the 18 year old aged stuff that’s pricey, but so so good.) 2 tablespoons of mustard (the Norwegian Bergen’s mustard is the best) and 1 tablespoon of maple syrup.  Blend that up and it makes anything taste good. (Photo below was an area that looked just like the drive over to Leavenworth.)

I also brought freeze-dried soups with us from America that are fat-free and vegan, so they supplement meals perfectly when we don’t go out.  (I had one whole suitcase full of food for Kory that I brought over here.)  Overall, I realized I stressed out way too much about what he would eat on this trip.  We’ve ordered veggie pizza with no cheese, and not worried if there was oil in the crust or sauce.  He ordered stir-fry veggies and rice in Chinese restaurants and asked them to fry the veggies in water, not oil.  He eats a lot of fresh bread and jam, snacks on fruit and baked garbanzos I made before we left.  I brought instant oatmeal from America (not available here), and that’s worked for breakfast.  I also brought my little Magic Bullet blender so if he’s hungry in the evening I made him a smoothie with protein powder and fruit and that gets him through to morning.  We just take one day at a time with this diet of his, but being a bit prepared and planning ahead have sure made the difference.  It’s no fun to have a hungry guy and no options available, as he gets pretty crabby when he’s hungry.

The best thing that happened today was that I saw a mama moose and two babies!  I’ve only seen moose warning signs in Norway and Sweden, but never a real moose.  Today, however, I saw the real thing right next to the road.  I was even able to turn around and go back and get close enough to take photos.  It was so exciting for me as I’ve always wanted to see one!  Thank you, God.

When we crossed over the border back into Norway, I had to laugh.   They always have a “Goods to Declare” and “Nothing to Declare” lane – so if you bought too much alcohol and need to pay a duty tax on it, you are supposed to go to the little toll booth and pay up.  Well, apparently they only collect taxes from 9 to 5 because we passed by the border about 5:30 and they were closed!  Too funny – that’s so Norwegian – not wanting to make people work too late in the day.

It was good to be back in Norway again.  Norwegian farms are just so cute and well maintained and always provide roadside entertainment.  In Sweden, all the roads are cut through areas no one lives so it’s only trees on both sides of the road (see photo way above) with very little visible landscape anywhere.  Kinda boring to drive it, even though the roads are nice and wide and the speed limit much higher than in Norway.  I guess I like the pace of travel in Norway – as it’s possible to enjoy the journey and not just rush to the destination. 

So here we are in Trondheim.  We arrived just before sunset so we watched the sky turn shades of soft pink and gold over the railroad tracks near our hotel, as the sun sank into the ocean.  Only one more day of adventures before we head home on Wednesday, where we’ll stay put for the last six weeks of our time here in Norway.  It feels good to be back in familiar territory.