Turid's Birthday

22 April 2013

I had no idea it was Turid’s birthday today until after breakfast.  She was downstairs in Tante Kari’s place, working again, so I ran down there to have a cup of coffee with her and talk about her advanced age, now at 49.  She’s a grandmother already and her daughter (above) is soon expecting baby #2 this summer.  Can’t imagine the grandmother role in life, as motherhood is about all I can handle.  We had a nice chat.  It’s all about our social life here, and that’s why I love it so much.  Lots of time for relationships.

Kaleb started back homeschooling today.  The internet arrived in our condo with the flip of some switch somewhere in the land, so he was doing Honors Algebra II with Johns Hopkins and reading a textbook about American Government and another about World Cultures.  He needs something constructive to do or he just wastes time on electronics.  He’s as bad as Kory.  They both tell me I’m on my computer as much as they are, but I’m writing articles, making reservations, communicating with people, paying bills and researching things… I don’t ever sit and play games like they do – I have no time for such nonsense.

Even though we live at the mall now, running over there to get a few things at the grocery store takes just as long as driving into town when we are back home because here, I always run into someone I know and a good long conversation must follow.  Today I expected to be gone about 15 minutes, and over an hour later, I returned.  I ran into Kory’s mom’s cousins and we had one long talk about all kinds of things.  They are sisters - 75 and 80 years old and they were out shopping for new clothes to wear to an upcoming Confirmation.  The blouse one of them found cost $150 – the dress the other one got was nearly $400.  Sure glad I brought my clothes from home and don’t ever plan to buy clothes here.

Turid invited us over for dinner and cakes tonight for her birthday (above).  I had other plans to attend a Bible study, but I let that go in favor of time with Turid’s family.  It was a good choice.  I was proud of myself that I spoke to Turid’s two-year-old grandson and invited him to the table to eat cake, and he understood me perfectly.  I then told everyone my Norwegian can’t be all that bad if a two-year-old understood me.  Kaleb piped up, “But on the other hand, it could just mean that your Norwegian level is the same as a two-year-olds.”  He’s such a confidence builder, that kid.

I made pecan squares this afternoon to take over to Turid’s.  I brought most of the ingredients with me as pecans are outrageously expensive here and it’s not even possible to get brown sugar.  I also discovered today I can’t buy frozen corn here – just corn in the can, and raw popcorn is nearly impossible to find.  At six dollars a cup, it’s not going to be Kory’s nightly snack any longer.  We take so much for granted in America.

Turid’s son-in-law is a fish broker and he told us at dinner tonight the price of torsk (Norway’s favorite cod) is less than half it was last year because there are now so many cod in the sea.  According to him, the melting of the polar cap (due to global warming), has created a much bigger breeding ground up north for the cod - so they are having a population explosion.  Also, the biggest buyers of Norwegian seafood are the European countries that are on the brink of bankruptcy, so it’s a tough year for his industry.  It’s good for fish lovers though, as the price of cod is under five dollars a pound.  Now that’s affordable food!  It’s cheaper than a four-dollar can of beans, that’s for sure.  Too bad we aren’t eating so much fish these days.

Kory lined up a few home repair jobs he can do for Cousin Odd while we were at their house tonight.  I should say, I lined them up, as that man needs a project or he gets cranky and lazy.  With Kaleb not going to public school here, my patience is already running thin with the three of us in such tight quarters at our condo.  Kory’s spirits always lift when he’s being productive, and Odd is not a handy man, he’s a doctor, so he really needs Kory, because occasionally, Kory needs Odd’s expertise, too.

The big news of today was that Ikea has agreed to build a new store right next door to our condo!  Actually, it will seem like it’s right next door, but there will be a church between us and them.  Talk about a huge impact to the area.  Already the comments flooding into the newspaper are negative, as the parking and traffic situation around the mall are out of control, but it can only be good for property values around here because this place is the hotbed of all things retail.  It will be a few years before it’s built but, my oh my, what a difference it will make.  The nearest Ikea is a six-hour drive away and many from here still make that trek just because they have affordable prices.  What a treat to live right next door!  Our mall already attracts people within a 2-3 hour driving distance, as they come and shop the entire day, have lunch and dinner at the mall and return home in the evening.  Now, with Ikea here, they will need to build hotels, as people will come from an even further distance to do their shopping.  Crazy.

Kaleb went on a little bike ride tonight from Odd and Turid’s house.  We left to go to Turid’s art studio to get some supplies for Kory’s home repairs for them, so Kaleb went on a jaunt around our old neighborhood, seeing which friends were home so he could greet them.  I was so glad he did that.  I love it that he’s not just sitting home reading a book.  Maybe this year will be better than last.  That’s my prayer, anyway.