Easter Break Begins!

There was quite a bit of excitement in our world today, since it was the last day of school until the 26^th of April.  All next week is Easter break with Thursday and Friday being national holidays, along with Easter Monday.  Many head for the hills, so the grocery stores were packed with people stocking up on supplies to take to their cabins.  Kids were excited school was out for such a long time and many adults have next week off, also. 

I went to a prayer meeting this morning for several hours, with some of the best praying women I know.  We prayed for everything from a revival in Norway, to those suffering in Japan, for our children, and those who are going to be Confirmed soon.  We prayed for healing for some who needed it and for God’s direction in our lives.  It was powerful, as those women really know how to pour out their hearts to God.  I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house.  Afterwards, we had a good chat while we ate lunch (see photo).

Kory spent the morning on another drawing.  He’s trying different mediums, so it’s good he has no interruptions.  When I got home, we went searching again for a mattress for Kaleb’s bed, but didn’t find just what we were looking for.  We stopped by the thrift store to look for a different light fixture for our bedroom and while we didn’t find that, I did find a few more treasures.  It just never stops. 

While I was at the library, posting my blog, I ran into Sabina, our ex-neighbor girl.  She came up for a little visit and gave us the cutest little Easter craft she made at school (see photo).  We showed her pictures of our house in America and invited her to come for a visit sometime.  I think she and her mom will visit next year.  She’s so starved for attention, she just hangs on Kory whenever he’s around.  I’m sure it’s because she’s never known her dad.  I hate to think what her future holds.

Kaleb went home with his pal Henrik after school and called me to say he was bringing Henrik home for a sleepover.  He’s hoping for non-stop sleepovers all week as some of his friends will, thankfully, be home. 

I made an incredibly yummy dinner tonight for Tante Kari, Tante Aslaug and their cousin Oddrun and her husband Oskar.  Kaleb and Henrik walked in just as I was putting the food on the table.  They ate by themselves in the living room (see photo below) while all us old folks carried on quite the conversation in the kitchen (see photo above).  Everyone raved about the food.  I thought it was pretty good myself.  Since Tante Kari can’t taste or smell a thing, she just dumped her whole salad plate (which I had so carefully arranged) in the center of her plate on top of all the other food and ate it all blended.  It looked like a pile of mush – but it’s just what she does because she has no taste buds (she lost them when she gave birth to her youngest child.) 

I was a bit worried about the menu because I tried a new recipe and it included pasta.  Many old people in Norway have never eaten pasta, but they seemed to be fine with it.  I sautéed zucchini, red peppers, mushroom and scallions, then added toasted walnuts and crisp bacon to the cooked penne pasta – it was divine.  I also made a salad – butter lettuce topped with thin slices of ham and served with a warm dressing made from balsamic vinegar, olive oil, sautéed shallots and toasted pecans.  It was also incredibly good if I do say so myself.  I think it helped I was so hungry.  Kory put some chicken breasts on the BBQ (that were pounded thin and coated in butter then squirted with lemon), and we just had ourselves one heck of a good dinner.  Lemon crème brulee and coffee was served afterwards.  I need to make that meal again, but thankfully, we have leftovers.  Even Henrik liked his first American meal.

The Tantes think I should be exhausted by now with all the company we’ve had, but it hasn’t happened yet.  There’s a lot of adrenaline going through me when we are in Norway and I’m also hoping to pay it all forward, so the last week we are here – maybe I won’t have to cook a thing as everyone wants to return the hospitality and have us over.  It makes it easier to clean out the kitchen before we go.

Kaleb came home with a fat lip today (see photo)– he accidentally got hit in the face with a soccer ball during gym time by one of his good friends.  It split his lip pretty good but the swelling went down alot before he got home, he said.  He needs to be toughened up a little, so I didn’t baby him too much.  Henrik said fairly nonchalantly, “It happens all the time.”  Not to my sweet boy, it doesn’t.

A Beachy Day

We had a plan for today, but sometimes, plans just don’t always work out. Paula came with me to school again today. The plan was she would stay for the first two hours because we were going to see a touristy type film that highlights all the different areas of Norway, and she wanted to see it. So that part went well and even though she didn’t understand the words, the pictures said it all. The next part of the plan was that after the break she would go down to the ferry dock and take a walk-on ferry across the fjord to Kory’s home town of Langevaag to go shopping at the sweater factory there, then take the ferry back and meet me after school. But the problem was I didn’t go with her and she missed the boat. (Which wasn’t as bad as the agony she felt realizing her blunder would end up in my blog!) When she got to the ferry dock, she stood right by the boat as it took off because she thought “it was someone’s personal yacht.” I forgot to tell her that some ferries here don’t really look like ferries. She called me to ask about Plan B, which didn’t exist. I left class and met her at the ferry dock and we took the next “yacht” together across the fjord (it was way more fun than the last hour of my class, I’m sure). Paula didn’t find any sweaters at the factory she liked well enough to spend hundreds of dollars on, but it was fun to look anyway.

Kory came and picked us up in Langevaag after he got the snow tires taken off our van. We all ate a quick lunch at home, packed up some food for dinner, Kory loaded the BBQ grill in the back of the van, threw in some tables and chairs and we were off to the beach. We stopped to pick up a pal of Kaleb’s from school so Kaleb had someone to run around with. The day was just too nice to sit at home and the Island of Alnes was calling. Alnes has the best sandy beach in this entire area (and a great lighthouse which frames all photos very nicely) and we thought it was a good destination point to end this sunny day. Kory set up the table and chairs (in the photo it’s the little white spot on the beach just under the lighthouse) and he BBQ’d chicken and potatoes while Paula and I went for a long walk looking for beach treasures. We all ate dinner to the sound of the waves lapping against the shore, an occasional seagull overhead, and bit of a cold breeze blowing in off the ocean. There wasn’t another soul around, which surprised me. How could a day like today not draw more people to the beach? Maybe the fact we had to go through four tunnels and over one bridge to get there, and then take a ferry back because two of the tunnels were closed, was the deterrent. Or maybe the timing was the key – since most people just got back from Easter vacation. Either way, it worked well for us as I loved the solitude.

When the wind turned downright chilly, we packed up our stuff and headed to the other side of the island, which wasn’t nearly as windy or cold. Monstrous boulders line the north shore and the boys enjoyed jumping from one rock to the other and playing hide and seek among them. A gigantic ring of stones was set next to the parking area, and it was clear that people had been burning all kinds of trash there. And sure enough, while we were hanging out, an older couple pulled up in their car, got out a trunk load of cardboard boxes and other burnables, doused them with lighter fluid and lit them on fire. Kory asked them about what they were doing and they said that place was the island’s incinerator – that everyone goes to that spot to burn their paper. It was obvious from the “ashes” that more than paper ends up there, as many metal items were sticking out of the ash heap, as was an unbroken china cup, a marble, a beautiful clay vase, aluminum fishing floats, rusted springs and various other non-inflammable pieces of trash and household goods. The couple left as soon as the fire was roaring, which left the boys with some new entertainment. It made my heart glad that Kaleb really IS able to find ways to kill time without being in front of a piece of electronics.

Paula didn’t buy a sweater today but she did manage to do a little shopping prior to me meeting her at the ferry – she bought me some walking poles. It’s the kind of gift that Kory would be in big trouble if he bought for me, because it would be acknowledging that I’m not as steady on my feet (i.e., not as young) as I used to be, but Paula, being the “old” friend that she is, got away with it (mostly because we both know we are still 17 on the inside.) She was being very thoughtful and is trying to keep me from falling and really hurting myself when I’m up hiking in the mountains (or perhaps, just walking down the sidewalk.) Kory had a good laugh when I showed him my gift. I guess it takes the pressure off him now (literally) when we are out for a walk and I must maneuver over uneven surfaces (my knees just don’t hold up like they used to.) It’s nice to get a good gift from the RIGHT person, but funny too, that it would make a difference who I get it from. It’s good to have friends.