We didn’t hear a word today from the attorney on whether we get to buy The Sinking Houses or not. Our offer expires on Thursday so I guess we’ll hear something by then. I’m not the most patient person when it comes to these types of things, but I have no option. Kory had a dream last night we got them. One neighbor and one cousin also said they “feel like” we will get them. I’m letting God decide. The excitement builds with each day and we are getting calls from relatives and neighbors here anxious to know if we are going to buy them. It will be the best Christmas present Kory has ever gotten as he’s the most excited one. If we do get them, I hope I get a massage for Christmas.
We’ve had a heat wave come through last night so all the snow and ice is finally gone and we’re back to being in the 50s after being in the 20s for weeks on end. Ironically, our hometown in Washington is having a cold snap right now after being dumped on with several inches of snow. They may have a white Christmas. I sure hope we do. If not, we’re heading inland two days after Christmas so we’ll get our fill then. I found a place about six hours from here that gives dog sled tours. They even teach people how to drive the team and then they take groups on a twenty kilometer trip which lasts about three and a half hours. It’s not terribly expensive and it’s a dream come true for Kaleb, so I just booked it for the Sunday after Christmas. We also booked two nights in a yurt tent next to the dog kennels. The only thing that would make the trip better is if Kaleb could have a dog or two sleeping with him. But we also, just today, arranged for Kaleb to do his first dog-sitting here in Norway so we have a dog coming Thursday that will stay until Tuesday. Kaleb is downright giddy – whooping and hollering and saying, “This will be the BEST Christmas EVER!” Gotta love that.
Kory worked today and this afternoon one of his boss’s suppliers gave the employees a “julebord” – their term for a Christmas party. Literally translated it means “Christmas table” as everything to do with Christmas here is about the food. At the same party was the brother to the guy that built The Sinking Houses, so Kory talked to him a bit and will get in touch with the builder, should we actually buy them.
I had an interesting day at school today as our teacher taught us all the swear words here in Norway. She said the times, they are a changing, as what is considered a swear word now is completely different than what it was when she was a kid, and she’s younger than me. Historically, the most awful words that would never be uttered in anyone’s home have to do with the devil. Either saying his name outright (“he who must not be named”) or calling “on” him. Dastardly words that make even the hearty weak kneed. The Good Teacher Inga even blushed as she wrote them on the board. No respectable person would ever utter such a thing and I couldn’t even find them in the English/Norwegian dictionary (yet I found the American F word there.) But now, the effect of Satan’s name is starting to wear off slightly and even though kids are not allowed to utter it, the new generation has come up with even more repulsive swear words that have to do with “private parts.” Our teacher wouldn’t say them but I’m thinking they are similar to English words. She said it’s good we know some of the words in case we hear our children saying them or if someone tries to teach them to us, so we will know how socially unacceptable they are. Kory laughs about the fact that the swear word that starts with SH in English, is just an ordinary word here. Literally, it means something is soiled or dirty. But it’s also just a common expression that isn’t offensive. He said when his dad moved to America and said it at church, while giving a testimony, he had to educate his dad a little that in America it was a swear word so it shouldn’t be used, especially by Christians. It’s so funny to think of the power of words and how different they are in different cultures. But one thing I do know is that words ARE powerful. The Bible says we have the ability to “bless” or “curse” with just a word. And often what we speak does come to be. It was nearly twenty years ago on December 30, 1988 when I was so angry at my (then) husband, that I jokingly told my cousin, “I think I’ll just run off with Kory and move to Norway.”
We’ve had a heat wave come through last night so all the snow and ice is finally gone and we’re back to being in the 50s after being in the 20s for weeks on end. Ironically, our hometown in Washington is having a cold snap right now after being dumped on with several inches of snow. They may have a white Christmas. I sure hope we do. If not, we’re heading inland two days after Christmas so we’ll get our fill then. I found a place about six hours from here that gives dog sled tours. They even teach people how to drive the team and then they take groups on a twenty kilometer trip which lasts about three and a half hours. It’s not terribly expensive and it’s a dream come true for Kaleb, so I just booked it for the Sunday after Christmas. We also booked two nights in a yurt tent next to the dog kennels. The only thing that would make the trip better is if Kaleb could have a dog or two sleeping with him. But we also, just today, arranged for Kaleb to do his first dog-sitting here in Norway so we have a dog coming Thursday that will stay until Tuesday. Kaleb is downright giddy – whooping and hollering and saying, “This will be the BEST Christmas EVER!” Gotta love that.
Kory worked today and this afternoon one of his boss’s suppliers gave the employees a “julebord” – their term for a Christmas party. Literally translated it means “Christmas table” as everything to do with Christmas here is about the food. At the same party was the brother to the guy that built The Sinking Houses, so Kory talked to him a bit and will get in touch with the builder, should we actually buy them.
I had an interesting day at school today as our teacher taught us all the swear words here in Norway. She said the times, they are a changing, as what is considered a swear word now is completely different than what it was when she was a kid, and she’s younger than me. Historically, the most awful words that would never be uttered in anyone’s home have to do with the devil. Either saying his name outright (“he who must not be named”) or calling “on” him. Dastardly words that make even the hearty weak kneed. The Good Teacher Inga even blushed as she wrote them on the board. No respectable person would ever utter such a thing and I couldn’t even find them in the English/Norwegian dictionary (yet I found the American F word there.) But now, the effect of Satan’s name is starting to wear off slightly and even though kids are not allowed to utter it, the new generation has come up with even more repulsive swear words that have to do with “private parts.” Our teacher wouldn’t say them but I’m thinking they are similar to English words. She said it’s good we know some of the words in case we hear our children saying them or if someone tries to teach them to us, so we will know how socially unacceptable they are. Kory laughs about the fact that the swear word that starts with SH in English, is just an ordinary word here. Literally, it means something is soiled or dirty. But it’s also just a common expression that isn’t offensive. He said when his dad moved to America and said it at church, while giving a testimony, he had to educate his dad a little that in America it was a swear word so it shouldn’t be used, especially by Christians. It’s so funny to think of the power of words and how different they are in different cultures. But one thing I do know is that words ARE powerful. The Bible says we have the ability to “bless” or “curse” with just a word. And often what we speak does come to be. It was nearly twenty years ago on December 30, 1988 when I was so angry at my (then) husband, that I jokingly told my cousin, “I think I’ll just run off with Kory and move to Norway.”
