Overload

I never really PLAN to be this busy.  Somedays, it just happens.  Our time is running very short now so we have to squeeze things in where we can.  I spent the morning, before church, preparing most of the dinner for our friends coming tonight because I knew I’d be slammed. 

We went to Agape Church, then had a meeting afterwards about our trip to Israel, then spent time praying for our pastor who at this point, doesn’t know if he can go because of some currently undiagnosed problematic pain in his back.  We rushed home and didn’t even get the vacuum cleaner set up to give the place a once over, before Kory’s cousin’s daughter, Kristen, came by with her almost two year old son, Lucas.  She doesn’t keep in touch with any other family members (including her grandmother, Tante Aslaug, who lives right next door to us), so we are honored she wanted to come say hello and see how we are doing.  I didn’t want to tell her I needed time to prepare dinner, so I just did my best.

Fortunately, I had some food to offer her and a cup of coffee, so we spent a few hours catching up with her and her busy life with two small children, trying to get a college degree and being a single mom.  Her parents live near Oslo so she has (by choice) no other family to help her out whatsoever.  It sounded all too familiar to me when she said her family gives her such grief, it’s just easier for her to steer clear of them.  She’s a good mom, though, but man, what a hard life.

Kristen left about a half hour before our other guests arrived.  We were all three scrambling through the house trying to get it back together (two year olds and twelve year olds can sure cause disarray).  I also had to get the last minute things for dinner ready and Kory set the table.  We were in hyper mode, for sure.

One thing I must say that I love about where we live is that we have an intercom system.  When someone rings at the door downstairs, they must take the elevator up and it gives me at least three minutes leeway before they are actually walking in our door.  In those three minutes, the clean, folded laundry went flying into the dryer because I didn’t have time to put it away properly.  The dirty dishes ended up in the oven because no one could see them there and we were using the BBQ tonight.  Other dishes got stuffed in the frig and out of sight, and everything else ended up in our closet with the door was shut.  It was like Mary Poppins did her cleaning magic in those very short three minutes and no one was the wiser.  One never knows what lurks under the surface of things at our house, that’s for sure.

Last week when we had guests over, right before they arrived, I told Kory the worst thing about having people over is they all bring flowers.  I’m right in the middle of doing those last minute things and then I have to get a vase, cut the stems, put in that long lasting powder stuff and put them on the table.  It interrupts the flow of dinner.  I know, minor inconvenience, but still, it’s been a predictable routine yet it still throws me for a loop.

Well, last weekend, both our guests walked in with flowers and one of the women said, “Here, let me help you with that,” and she got the vase, cut the stems, arranged the flowers and put in that powdered stuff.  I was totally thankful for that.  Then later in the evening she told us she did that because she’d just read in an advice column that day in the newspaper that guests should never bring flowers to their hostess because they are so busy trying to get all those last minute things ready for dinner.  Kory and I just cracked up.  But the funny thing is, not a single person has brought flowers since that column came out!  They must all “read and obey” around here, so tonight we got a bottle of wine from one couple and a fancy wrapped bag of chocolates and gourmet coffee.  Too funny.  So much for the “funeral parlor” ambiance I had going on.

Our friends, the Rørstads and Sølnørdals, came for dinner tonight.  One of the guys is a third cousin to Kory and the other is Kory’s old childhood neighbor here in Norway.  We met them quite by accident at a rest stop in Washington state six years ago and have been getting together regularly ever since.  We just love those guys and we had some pretty good laughs with all of them tonight.  They always rave about my cooking, which I’m thankful for, but I think they love my stories the most.  I’m sure visiting us is like going to the circus for them, as our life is so chaotic and crazy compared to the perfectly ordered and high-class life they all live.  But they appreciate the differences and always leave just shaking their heads in disbelief about what’s happened with us since the last time we saw them. 

The good news for Kaleb was that Ole-Petter said we could use their cabin for one night in June to have a little party with Kaleb’s pals from school, so I’m thrilled about that.  It’s a great cabin and hopefully God will provide some good weather to go with it so we all make some good memories that weekend.  We sure made some tonight.  Hallelujah!

Pinseaften

So begins another “oval helg” (long weekend). Tomorrow is “pinsedag” – the day of Pentecost, celebrating the arrival of the Holy Spirit after Jesus ascended into heaven. It’s a holy day around here – so much so that many things were closed today, because it was the day BEFORE the holy day (Norwegians like to celebrate things early), and of course tomorrow, all things are closed anyway because it’s Sunday, so then in order to really have a holiday, they celebrate the Second Day of Pentecost on Monday, so everything will be closed then, too. These Norwegians, they like their holy days.




When I realized we will be driving to Oslo on Monday (when all the country is shut down) to catch our flight to Spain, I had to make a mad dash to the grocery store early this morning to be sure we had appropriate road food for the eight hour trip to the airport. I love the fact I can take the elevator from our condo down to the first floor parking garage, walk to the other end of the garage, and come up in the grocery store. I didn’t even need a jacket, as it was drizzling a little. I stayed warm and dry the whole time. That convenience is the main reason why our condo is high priced real estate around here.



Last night Kory and I walked to the other grocery store, across the street, and because of the sky bridge that connects the two malls, we didn’t go outside once then, either. The grocery store across the street closes late - at 9pm, so we headed out at 8:30 to get a few things for the dinner we made tonight for Tante Kari and two of her sons, Odd and Rune, and the women they love. When we got to the store, not a single person was there except the employees. I guess grocery shopping on a Friday night just isn’t the hot thing to do around here. Any other time, the store is like a bee hive of activity, so now I know when to go.



I spent most of the day today preparing tonight’s dinner and cleaning the house. The dinner was something special, as I really wanted to treat Odd and Turid for all the dinners we’ve eaten at their house. Also, Rune and his girlfriend, Sol, gave us our kitchen table and chairs and two sofas and coffee table last year, so we are always feeling indebted to them, as we love that furniture. It was a good pay-back time and we had a wonderful evening. Kory bought some small lobsters fresh off the boat yesterday while we were downtown. He ate some of them for snacks, but had enough left over that I used them in a “twice baked” potato recipe that is to die for. Our dinner guests thought so too, so I am in good graces with them after that meal. Kory grilled up some yummy chicken and veggies and I made a salad and we had lots of wine (brought with us from America). I made a blueberry cobbler for dessert, severed with vanilla ice cream. The potatoes made the whole meal special, though, so I’m glad I took the time to make them.



Kaleb was gone all day but Odd brought him home when he came for dinner. He had a great time with his friends and wanted to go back after he’d eaten, but I could see he was tired so I suggested he stay home. He didn’t argue.



Kory put up the wallpaper (that textures the wall) for Kaleb’s bedroom today. The glue has to sit a day before it can be painted, but that wall is feeling rather comfortable already. It’s such a great solution for an extra bedroom. Tonight, Kory and cousin Rune installed our “new” dishwasher, but come to find out, we need some kind of ¾” to ½” adapter before it will be functioning. It looks perfect in the kitchen and after spending over an hour after everyone left, washing dishes by hand, I can’t wait to get it up and running.



Turid is going to call the hospital on Tuesday to see if they have any need for our condo for short term rentals to doctors (specialists) that come over from Sweden to work for two to three weeks at a time. It would be the ideal thing, since they would pay way more than a normal rental situation. The hospital has housing available for that need, but most doctors won’t stay in their building because it’s so dilapidated and depressing. Maybe we can get some kind of agreement with them to use it exclusively for visiting doctors. That would be sweet, but I’m not getting my hopes up. I’m still waiting to order an internet connection until I’m sure we will have income on this place once we are gone, as I need to keep our expenses to a minimum.



Tonight we talked a lot about the wonderful life we and everyone else has here in Norway. Tante Kari is adamant that we move here for good, so is Cousin Odd. He says, “Sell everything you have in America; come live and die here in Norway.” It’s tempting.

The Smile is Back!

I couldn’t bear the toothless grin on Kory so I called a dental clinic in his old hometown this morning. There isn’t much going on in that place so I figured someone might be free to glue in his missing tooth. I was right, and for less than thirty dollars, he can smile again without making me turn my head and moan. The dentist said the glue will only hold for a few days, so he’s keeping his appointment with the other dentist for Tuesday, just to see what he says. I hope this isn’t an on-going problem.

The rest of the world was back to work today, but all schools were closed so Kaleb and I had a free day. I guess having a holiday on a Thursday is all the excuse they need to make it a long weekend. It was good for me as I enjoyed sleeping in until ten o’clock. I had a lazy morning then Kory and I went to the mall to get a few groceries. Actually, he went to visit Tante Ruth while I did the shopping, since the condo and the mall are attached to one another. Tante Ruth was pretty chipper today but her eyesight is going quickly. If her sisters weren’t living next door, I’m sure she’d need to be in an assisted living place by now, but Tante Aslaug is good to come over everyday and help out.

Kory spent the afternoon with Odd buying materials to finish up his remodel. I used the time home alone to clean house and start packing stuff up. I need to separate out things I need to get rid of, what I’m taking back home, and what I’m putting in storage at our condo until the day we can actually live there. And let me just say how much I love those vacuum storage bags! I put all our extra bedding in one bag and it shrank right down to a manageable size. Same thing for wool sweaters. I have to conserve all the space I can as our storage place isn’t too big. I’m only just beginning with winter clothes and things I know we won’t need for our road trip, but at least I got the ball rolling. I think I was doing this same thing a year ago back home… trying to figure out what to bring and what to leave behind.

Kaleb came home tired and crabby tonight. He was up until four this morning on his sleepover with his friend Toben. So much for sleep. He had a good time though, so that counts for something. It was such a beautiful day we decided to have a BBQ tonight and we invited Tobias and his family to join us. Kaleb fell asleep sitting on the couch after dinner, which sort of put an end to playing any games afterwards, but we had a nice visit with all of them anyway. We are trying to talk them into coming to see us next summer, and it sounds like they just might do it. We thought we’d take Tobias home with us when we leave Norway next year and they can come get him. He’s such an easy kid to have around and he has a tremendous fascination for all things American. He speaks English better than anyone I’ve met here so I think it will be a good experience for him. The evening was shorter than I would have liked, but Kaleb needed to get to bed and Tobias’ five year old twin brothers were getting a bit squirrely. Bjørn, Tobias’ step-dad, is heading to America again next week, so hopefully we can score on getting a little more coffee. We just ran out of American coffee last week and it’s just a horrible way to start my day when I have to drink Norwegian coffee. Bleeeck. Bjørn’s frequent trips to America have certainly made our stay here in Norway sweeter. My girlfriend, Barbara, sent us a care package at Christmas full of lots of American goodies, including several packs of Starbucks coffee. I tried to drink Norwegian coffee a few days ago but had to resort to the last pack of coffee Barbara sent, which was decaf. The flavor is good, but I’ve been groggy everyday since. I need my caffeine fix, but not so much that I’d drink Norwegian coffee to get it.

I was drinking my coffee this morning reading the local paper – something the locals can do for hours on end. Today’s paper had an article about the gigantic increase in the number of immigrants to Norway. Currently ten percent of Norway’s population is made up of immigrants. Last year 11% of all the babies born here had Polish parents. One side-bar article said that Ålesund Kommune had no immediate plans to build a cemetery just for the Muslims, unlike other Kommunes in Norway. Muslims are a despised group, right up there with the Asylum Seekers. Odd told us that for every Asylum Seeker they allow in Norway, an average of 22 “family” members come to Norway a few years later – all getting approval to live here because they now have family here. Norway is now like the family member that just won the lottery and everyone wants a piece of the pie. If they didn’t have all the money from the North Sea oil, they wouldn’t be having such a good life, but then they wouldn’t be having the world knocking on their door trying to get in either. As The Good Teacher Inga says, “Everyone is just trying to improve their lot in life.” I guess that’s why I need my American coffee in the morning.