Today was fairly laid-back. We slept in and hung out in our jammies until noon. We made several phone calls this morning lining up social engagements for the next week as now we only have 23 Saturdays left in Norway and I want them all to matter. When we first got here it seemed like we had all the time in the world to have everyone over for dinner many times in the course of a year, but here we are, more than half way through the time and some folks haven’t even come over once. It reminds me of when we moved into our unfinished house in LaConner and I made a “punch list” of things yet to do. I made the comment to Kory I hoped the list was completed in less than two years as I didn’t want to live longer than that in a construction project. He laughed and said “Some things on that list won’t even be done in ten years.” I thought he was joking, but we have owned that house now over ten years and he was right. Time passes way too quickly. So, I have my list of people I want to have over for dinner while we are living here and I’ll be darned if we’re going to leave this place without making at least one meal for them all (Kory is related to a LOT of people.)
It was such a gorgeous day – very mild temperatures and partial sunshine so we had to get out and enjoy it a little. Kaleb didn’t seem to care that the weather was conducive to being outside – he was content to be curled up in the corner of the couch reading a book or playing his Nintendo. It took quite a bit of “encouragement” (bordering on threats) to get him out of the house. Tobias rode his bike over so the two of them took off for a long bike ride. Kory and I walked over to Odd and Turid’s, then Turid and I walked in the direction the boys were headed. It was just a normal kind of nothing-special day, but it was nice. Turid and I walked all the way to the shopping center at Moa (4 kilometers) and had a cup of coffee. Kaleb and Tobias met us along the way and I gave them each some money to go buy something at the store. I’m sure they spent an hour trying to figure out how to spend their money as they didn’t want to have even one kroner left over when they walked out. They were quite proud of their choices as they got some things on sale and were able to get chips AND a little candy, which they ate while watching a movie later in the day.
Tonight we went over to cousin Linda’s house for another wonderful evening of good food and conversation with her and her husband, Leif-Erik. We called to invite them over to dinner at our house, but they insisted we come to theirs, so now they are still on my list! We talked with them about a lot of things (we stayed til after midnight). Leif-Erik is a radio personality in Ålesund so Kory was picking his brain for tips on what to do and not do when we go back and speak on the Christian radio station. It was good to have some “insider” perspective on the whole thing and I think it helped Kory feel more comfortable. (I, however, never seem to be uncomfortable with the idea of talking about anything, to anyone, anywhere.) We talked a lot about the differences between America and Norway regarding their health care system and taxes. We also found out that Leif-Erik’s uncle (who used to be Prime Minister) was responsible for taking away all the “frequent flier miles” here in Norway. They had a big problem with figuring out how to tax that system because it just wasn’t “right” that one should get something for free and not pay tax on it. So apparently the political strategy in Norway is, if it can’t be taxed, it must be banned. (Airlines are no longer allowed to offer free flights to their frequent fliers. It’s the same idea behind carpenters not being allowed to work on their own houses – it’s too hard to tax those things so they just make them illegal.) Apparently the tax system here rules EVERYTHING and that’s why the natives complain so much about them, but at least they get something tangible for all the money they pay - like health care.
Leif-Erik had out their home videos tonight of their month-long trip to America nearly five years ago. They stayed with us for five days back then and I’d forgotten half of what we did, so it was fun to see it all on a big screen TV – like watching some kind of travel show. Kaleb got a little homesick for our house when he saw it on the TV but he noticed right away all the things that are different now from five years ago. It was also good for me to see just how many of those incomplete things have actually been checked off that “punch list” in the last few years. Sometimes I wonder where the years go and why it seems we are always so busy, but then seeing that video reminded me of many things – we have had a lot of company, we have completed a lot of house projects, and Kaleb has grown up a lot. That’s enough. (And none of it was taxed, so Hallelujah, we have it good.)
It was such a gorgeous day – very mild temperatures and partial sunshine so we had to get out and enjoy it a little. Kaleb didn’t seem to care that the weather was conducive to being outside – he was content to be curled up in the corner of the couch reading a book or playing his Nintendo. It took quite a bit of “encouragement” (bordering on threats) to get him out of the house. Tobias rode his bike over so the two of them took off for a long bike ride. Kory and I walked over to Odd and Turid’s, then Turid and I walked in the direction the boys were headed. It was just a normal kind of nothing-special day, but it was nice. Turid and I walked all the way to the shopping center at Moa (4 kilometers) and had a cup of coffee. Kaleb and Tobias met us along the way and I gave them each some money to go buy something at the store. I’m sure they spent an hour trying to figure out how to spend their money as they didn’t want to have even one kroner left over when they walked out. They were quite proud of their choices as they got some things on sale and were able to get chips AND a little candy, which they ate while watching a movie later in the day.
Tonight we went over to cousin Linda’s house for another wonderful evening of good food and conversation with her and her husband, Leif-Erik. We called to invite them over to dinner at our house, but they insisted we come to theirs, so now they are still on my list! We talked with them about a lot of things (we stayed til after midnight). Leif-Erik is a radio personality in Ålesund so Kory was picking his brain for tips on what to do and not do when we go back and speak on the Christian radio station. It was good to have some “insider” perspective on the whole thing and I think it helped Kory feel more comfortable. (I, however, never seem to be uncomfortable with the idea of talking about anything, to anyone, anywhere.) We talked a lot about the differences between America and Norway regarding their health care system and taxes. We also found out that Leif-Erik’s uncle (who used to be Prime Minister) was responsible for taking away all the “frequent flier miles” here in Norway. They had a big problem with figuring out how to tax that system because it just wasn’t “right” that one should get something for free and not pay tax on it. So apparently the political strategy in Norway is, if it can’t be taxed, it must be banned. (Airlines are no longer allowed to offer free flights to their frequent fliers. It’s the same idea behind carpenters not being allowed to work on their own houses – it’s too hard to tax those things so they just make them illegal.) Apparently the tax system here rules EVERYTHING and that’s why the natives complain so much about them, but at least they get something tangible for all the money they pay - like health care.
Leif-Erik had out their home videos tonight of their month-long trip to America nearly five years ago. They stayed with us for five days back then and I’d forgotten half of what we did, so it was fun to see it all on a big screen TV – like watching some kind of travel show. Kaleb got a little homesick for our house when he saw it on the TV but he noticed right away all the things that are different now from five years ago. It was also good for me to see just how many of those incomplete things have actually been checked off that “punch list” in the last few years. Sometimes I wonder where the years go and why it seems we are always so busy, but then seeing that video reminded me of many things – we have had a lot of company, we have completed a lot of house projects, and Kaleb has grown up a lot. That’s enough. (And none of it was taxed, so Hallelujah, we have it good.)
