Service Day

29 April 2013

Both Kory and I spent our day in service to others.  It’s not a bad gig.  Kory finished up the bench he was building for Turid and then installed it.  I spent the day in the kitchen over at Philadelphia Church helping Cousin Kari make food for the Jesus Women event tonight.  I cut up lots of veggies for pasta salad and thankfully, didn’t cut a finger.  I’m still working with one finger out of commission, as I squished my right pointing finger pretty good before we left for Norway.  It really should have had stitches, but I’m a stubborn lot and felt it would heal fine on it’s own.  It really hasn’t, but at least it didn’t get infected.  There’s still a huge open gap with lots of dead skin around it and my best friend is a bandage, keeping it dry and safe.  Oi.

I left one kitchen for another as I had to come home and make food for Kory and Kaleb.  I decided Shepherd’s Pie was on the menu so I had several pots and pans going on the stove for different aspects of it and when I opened the spice cupboard to get something, I’m not sure exactly what fell out, but it was glass and it shattered on a glass bowl sitting next to the stove.  Glass bits flew everywhere.  At least they weren’t shards, they were tiny round bits, but they got in all the pots and pans on the stove and all over the floor and countertop.  I couldn’t have been more ticked.

I picked out all the glass I could see, then had to go tell Kory and Kaleb my dilemma.  Food is so darn expensive here I hated to throw out all the food on the stove.  I asked their opinion and they both said they would just eat carefully, rather than throw it all out, and if a bit of glass was in there, so be it.  Talk about living on faith!  But we made it through dinner with no cut lips and no apparent glass in our food, but everyone was eating rather gingerly.  So far, so good.  Just glad we didn’t have company coming.

So then I was back at Philadelphia Church for the Jesus Women meeting and stayed for two hours to help Kari clean up the place.  It’s after 11pm and I’m beat. 

Kaleb woke up today complaining of a sore throat so he’s been doing homework all day at a snail’s pace, then turned on the TV for several hours tonight just to veg out.  It was out last day of partial sunshine today as the weather turns tomorrow.  I so wanted to at least go for a walk, but that didn’t happen.  Oh well, we helped others and not ourselves.  I just have to look at it as if I suffered for Christ’s sake, somehow.

Sunday Visits

28 April 2013

We were fairly social again today by attending Agape church this morning then heading over to Philadelphia Church afterwards.  Both places have a café so we spent time in both of them, chatting away with folks we know.  I really like that system here in Norway, that the big social time comes right after church where people sit down and have a cup of coffee together.  I also like it that there’s not much else to do, so people linger.

There was a big soccer jamboree going on next door to Agape, so Kaleb left the café for a while to go find his friend Toban, just to say hi.  He then went home with Daniel’s mom at Philadelphia so he could spend extra time with Daniel.  It’s not much socializing, but it’s something.    

Tonight Daniel’s family and our family were invited over to the Bjerknes’ for dinner.  Kaleb and Daniel both used to be good friends with Andre Bjerknes, but he’s grown up much faster than the other two boys, so it’s like they are strangers with each other.  There were five boys and six adults at the table.  Our house would never accommodate that but they pulled it off just fine.  Kory ate some fish, and it sure wasn’t fat free, but we all trusted God he wouldn’t drop dead afterwards.  He enjoyed every bite.

The dinner party lasted until well after sundown as the boys went upstairs, the men sat and talked about man things and the three of us women yacked away about all kinds of things.   I was hoping to get some ideas for future columns about Norway, but the conversation never went in that direction.  

Again, the weather was conducive to being outside today, but we were otherwise engaged and didn’t even go for a walk!  I guess I need to decide what I’m really here for – nature or nuture.

A Very Social Day

27 April 2013

It sure was quiet this morning with Kaleb out of the house.  Kory and I sat with our coffee and electronics for a few hours and just read and relaxed.  I never get that kind of time back home as there’s too many things to do and too many questions to answer.  I guess there’s many things to do here, too, but I just haven’t kicked into production mode yet.  I’ll enjoy the down time while I can get it.

All week I’ve been looking forward to today, since it was the only day I’d be able to attend a loppemarked (flea market).  They only have them in the fall and spring, and the bulk of them already happened before we got here.  It’s where the real bargains take place and Lord knows I need more bargains.

We picked Kaleb up from Daniel’s house on our way out to Langevaag (Kory’s old hometown ), where the loppemarked was happening (above).  It wasn’t as frantic as other one’s I’ve attended, and I could see why right away.  There wasn’t nearly as much stuff there and nothing incredibly cool.  I was toward the front of the line so I got to the handmade things straight away so I bought all the hardanger they had, without even looking at it first.  It was selling for 10 kroner a piece (about $1.80) and I didn’t even care if it had stains on it or not, I just had to add it to my collection.  Turns out I got some pretty good pieces, so that was my big thrill.  I also found a few small handmade wooden boxes and some wooden bowls I love.  Fortunately, the pewter stuff was too high priced for me so I didn’t buy any of that, but I did buy a new set of dishes for $12 as we only have a place setting for 6, and we need to pack them up before we leave since they were the china Kory got for a wedding gift the first time he was married.  I’d just as soon leave them here and let them get broken by whoever may live in our condo, but he didn’t agree… so now we have a set that can be broken and no one will feel badly about it.  

Kaleb got a big bag of clothes today from Daniel that he’d grown out of, so it felt like he’d been to a flea market, too. They don’t sell clothes at loppemarkeds here, for some reason.  But twice a year a local guy takes a big truck full of clothes down to Eastern Europe and passes them out to Christian organizations that deal with street kids.  Today was one of those days, so he parked his truck at the Philadelphia Church this morning and people brought boxes and boxes of clothes, shoes and coats to him.  The funny thing is, they have to pay about ten bucks a box to get rid of the clothes, to help pay for the cost of gas to drive the truck down there, and still, the cars were non-stop into the church parking lot.  I couldn’t believe people pay to get rid of their clothes, but they realize it’s for a good cause, so they do.

It only took about 20 minutes to sift through everything at the loppemarked, and my friend Sandra lives nearby so she invited us to dinner afterwards. We had about three hours to kill between those two events, so I thought we’d go for a little hike.

I went to the mall this morning to buy Sandra some flowers and was greeted by a marching band and a drill team right outside the main entrance (above).  They were calling attention to the fact that the Lion’s Club was selling bunches of tulips to help raise money for a campaign against drug abuse.  I thought it was so ironic that the Lion’s Club in Mt. Vernon sells tulips also!  I couldn’t help but buy some, even though they were three times the price of those back home.

Our intended hike in the mountains this afternoon, didn’t happen afterall.  On our way to the trailhead we stopped at the old sweater factory in town just to see all the changes made to that place and that’s where we ran into Kory’s 3^rd cousin (below) and his wife.  We hadn’t seen them in a few years and we were all so surprised to bump into each other that we just had to go sit in the café there and have a cup of coffee and talk.   We chatted the hours away with all that’s been going on with them and their family.  They are both just two months away from retirement, so it was great to have a nice visit in such an unexpected way.  And we weren’t about to do any shopping anyway - even though the prices were half off - because even just windbreakers there were selling for $500 instead of $1,000.  (It’s hard to wrap my head around the fact someone would even spend $500 on a windbreaker.)

So off we went after that pleasant visit to my friend Sandra’s house.  She gets the gold star for accommodating Kory’s fat free vegan diet.  Her husband found some “meat alternative” that tastes great, so she made stuffed bell peppers, with no fat.  She stuffed them with this “meat” and rice and some spices and they were delicious.  She also shredded some raw cauliflower and tossed it with fat free dressing and it was also great… topped off with a salad and homemade white wine and it felt like we were in some fancy restaurant.  I couldn’t believe the effort she went through, it was downright decadent.  

Karl Alexander, her little boy and I had a bit too much fun together tonight though.  Everything I did with him made him howl in laughter, which I guess was only funny to me.  We got on Sandra’s nerves a bit as I got him riled up a too much, but it’s hard not to love the laughter of that little kid.  Kory had a hard time talking over all the ruckus, as I was entertaining that sweet faced boy.  Oops.  We left before his bedtime so he could calm down a bit.  I just love that kid.

On our way home, we stopped by Daniel’s house again, even though he wasn’t there, we just visited with his parents, Are and Tina.  Daniel’s confirmation is next Sunday so Tina was busy making table decorations and place nametags.  She’s so very creative.  She also gave me a copy of a magazine that has a story written about her in it.  I was so excited for her, as it was the story of how she was able to forgive her step-father for abusing her as a child – such a powerful story.  She shared it last year at a Jesus Women meeting here in our town, and now there are other areas asking her to share the same testimony in their town.  Forgiveness is powerful.

So we had a big social day today, which was just fine with me.  It was perfect in everyway, except for the getting-on-Sandra’s-nerve part.  I hope I didn’t wear out my welcome.

Quick - Take a Picture!

26 April 2013

My morning flew by as I sat with Kaleb down in Tante Kari’s condo (because there is an internet signal there) while he took a practice test for a difficult chapter in his Algebra class and I wrote a few articles.  I flippantly offered him $25 and a Norwegian chocolate bar if he got 100% on the real test because he’s never gotten 100% in any work he’s done in that class yet, so I figured it was a safe bet.  I don’t think the $25 motivated him as much as the chocolate bar.  He took his sweet time on the actual test, doing the work, checking his answers and double checking them, and darned if he didn’t get 100%.  It was a bittersweet moment for me because he needed that grade to pull his overall average up, but I sure didn’t want to pay him all that money.  He just snickered and gave me a know-it-all “hmph” sound when his score came back.  I know that kid is capable of a lot, so I guess just finding the right “carrot” is what brings out the best in him.  I need to load up on more chocolate.

Right after lunch I went to the mall to run a few errands.  I had to stop by the library to order some farm history books for a little family research I’m doing for someone I don’t even know that lives in Australia.  Then I was going to take our modem in to see if it could be diagnosed and I had a bit of grocery shopping to do because Odd and Turid and Rune and Sol were coming to dinner tonight (below).

Just as I left our condo to run the errands, my friend Tina called and wanted to stop by for coffee.  I haven’t seen her since we got here, so she met me at the mall and went grocery shopping with me, then came back to our place for coffee.  It’s a good thing I had some pecan squares in the frig, as one never knows when company will stop by. 

I thought I’d have all afternoon to get ready for the dinner party tonight, but Tina and I chatted away so long that when she left, I panicked.  I needed help from both Kory and Kaleb to pull it all off, so we were frantically setting the table, prepping the food and I sent Kaleb to the store more than once to look for ingredients I needed.  Crazy.  But dinner was in the oven when everyone showed up, so that was good, especially since the internet provider called right in the middle of all the madness and wanted to diagnose our modem problem over the phone.  Kory and I both had to talk to the guy and it must have taken a half an hour before it finally got fixed, but at least now we have internet again.  Woo hoo.

The worst thing about today was that it rained all morning, then the sky turned blue and it stayed sunny for hours, just as I had to go into the kitchen to start cooking.   Our kitchen is on the east side of the condo so we get morning light, but by the afternoon, the sun comes into the living room and it’s not even visible from the kitchen.  My heart just ached, as it was warm enough even that I could have pulled up a lawn chair and gotten a good dose of vitamin D on my skin, but instead I was in the kitchen peeling potatoes.  I tried not to be bitter about the timing of it all. (view from our deck tonight, below)

After dinner, the sun was so inviting, we all decided to sit out on the balcony and enjoy the few moments we could, before it disappeared again.  It was pure heaven. 

We had a nice evening with the cousins, even if the conversation centered around all the crazy people they know in this area, and the fact that those people had first cousins for parents.  Too much inbreeding going on in these parts.  Funny thing to talk about, but no family around here doesn’t have some of that in it.

Kaleb spent a few hours over at Philadelphia Church “helping” his friend Daniel (Tina’s boy) with logistics for the kid’s gathering there tonight.  He came home and packed his bags, as he decided he would spend the night with Daniel, so he was off and running before the sun went down.  I was glad for that, actually, as he’s been home alone all week with no interaction with anyone.

So Kory and I had a quiet night at home after everyone left, cleaning up the mess and sitting down to read the news.  I tried to find some used tires for sale over the internet, but no luck finding them in our size.  It’s hard to believe in all the land there are no used tires that will fit our van, but the way Norwegians throw things away, it’s not that surprising.  Guess we have to bite the bullet and buy new ones, as we are taking a road trip in a few weeks and we need proper tires.  And I promise not to whine about how much they cost. 

Life After the Storms

25 April 2013

The storms passed, so today was fairly mild with a few sunbreaks.  I can get used to this. That’s the big news from Norway today… it’s all about the weather, as every other activity we would or wouldn’t be doing, depends on the weather.  We are not the hardy Norsk type that just carry on, no matter what – we are total weather wimps.  But thankfully today the outdoors didn’t seem nearly as frightful since the winds died down and the rain and hail stopped pelting the earth. 

Today’s activities included Kaleb doing schoolwork, Kory finally building the bench for Turid’s art studio (below) and me making dinner.  We had guests over, so it took longer than usual. 

My friend Sandra came over this afternoon with her adorable three-year-old son, Karl Alexander, (below) and her husband, Karl.  We had a jolly old time chatting away about the cost of living in Norway (she’s from England) and raising children in the Norwegian system.  Sandra just started working as a substitute at the preschool where her son attends.  It’s considered a minimum wage job, and she makes almost thirty bucks an hour.  Norway is expensive even for Norwegians earning kroner, but even more so when using dollars to buy everything, since the exchange rate is so low these days.  I wouldn’t mind going to work for a bit, just so I could buy things with kroner, instead of dollars.

I brought an entire suitcase full of clothes from America for Sandra’s sweet little miracle boy, which I was able to give to her tonight.  I bought enough clothes for the next two years, I’m sure.  She couldn’t understand how things can be so cheap, since a pair of jeans are a hundred bucks here, and I got jeans for Karl Alexander for six bucks back home.  I outfitted him for an entire year for less than a hundred dollars.  I love bargain shopping, so it was a real thrill for me as I used my “senior discount” at Ross on Tuesdays, and my 30% off coupon from Kohls, and even shopped in Oregon tax free.  I know how to make a dollar go far in America.  I’m always buying things on sale in the next size up for Kaleb, so I’m so thankful he doesn’t have any fashion sense (I guess he gets that from me). 

Sandra said that Karl Alexander has been talking about “Mickey, Kory and Kaleb” all week.  We’ve become his alter ego, as he sat down to eat something he liked, he’d say, “Mickey, Kory and Kaleb like this, too,”  or if it was something he didn’t like, it was, “Mickey, Kory and Kaleb don’t like this.”  When she and her husband were kissing each other last night in front of him, he said, “Mickey doesn’t do that.”  It was too funny.

Our modem stopped working sometime today so we are out of internet connectivity for who knows how long.  We’ll call the provider in the morning to see what our options are, but I’m sure it will include buying a new hundred dollar modem.  Oi.  

After our friends left, we all went for a walk around the “Ikea” property next door (it will be on the other side of the church above), just to see how it is now and try to imagine it as concrete and cars.  Kaleb will one day say, “I remember when that was just a field…” (below) as many old timers do around here in reference to the shopping mall that now sits where the cows used to.  Progress isn’t always pretty.

I creamed Kory and Kaleb at Rummikub again tonight.  We’ve been playing for chocolate, so it’s a good thing Kory never wins.  He’s been exercising every other day though, so he can eat fish when we have company.  That man will live to be a hundred if he sticks with the program.  That’s my prayer, anyway.