A Lange Day

Today was a day we sought out more of Stuart’s roots.  One set of his grandparents came from farms about two hours drive from where we live, so we were up early, heading in that direction.  We were thankful we had no rain, but I should have been more specific when I talked to God about today’s weather.  The whole drive east was socked in with thick fog and all the fantastic views along the way were NOT.  I was pretty bummed about that since we took a more scenic drive out there, than back, and all we saw was pea soup.  But that was the only bummer of the day, that’s for sure.

Initially Stuart said he did NOT want to drive over Trollsteigen (socked in above), the switchback road that goes straight down a mountainside and scares even me.  Stuart is afraid of heights and he told me in no uncertain terms we needed to find another route.  So we planned to go that other route, but last night when we were visiting Tante Kari, she nearly scolded him when we told her he didn’t want to go on Trollsteigen.  She said if he is in Norway, he needs to go on Trollsteigen, and that was that.  She trumped his fear of heights and next thing you know, we were driving down Trollsteigen.  Stuart thought the fog was actually a gift from God so he couldn’t see just how steep the drop down was, but it did dampen the whole experience a little, I thought.  But thankfully we all survived to tell the tale and we didn’t encounter any big busses or motorhomes on the way down that very narrow one lane road.  Whew.

We had to pass up many photo opportunities along the way, and no stopping to enjoy anything, as the fog made us drive slower than we wanted so we were late arriving to Stuart’s relatives house.  His cousin, Kaare, couldn’t have been a nicer guy, nor could of his wife, Cora, or his sisters, Asbjorg and Kari, or his brother Kjetill, or his son Oddvar or his grandson Ivar-Arne, for we surely met them all today and spent the whole day with them.  Stuart and Kaare sure look a lot alike for being half-third-cousins-once-removed. 

When we first arrived on the Sandnes farm where his dad’s mom’s mom grew up, they had coffee and waffles, lefsa and homemade bread waiting for us.  The table was set with that fancy Norwegian flare, only it seemed like a little shrine with a photo I sent them of Stuart, leaning against the candlesticks.  I made the joke that it felt like a wake, as we were all gathering around to remember someone not there.  They moved the photo to the bookshelf right away. 

After a little food and chit-chat, we were taken on a scenic tour of the area.  Our first stop was the Froyset farm next door (photo above), where Stuart’s dad’s mom grew up and where she was living before she moved to America.  She had seven siblings but his grandmother is the only one with living descendants and they are all in America.  It was sad to realize that farm is no longer in the family, when the records show it was in Stuart’s family since the beginning of time.  Tax records go back to 1570 that confirm it, but surely they were there much, much longer.  That area has a known Viking village so it’s certain he comes from that local Viking stock.  I found an old door handle lying next to the old house that I gave to Stuart.  No one lives in the old house and they want to tear it down, but can’t because it’s so old (hundreds of years).   It was a good souvenir – something his ancestors certainly had their hands on a lot.

We next ventured across the fjord to the old Stave Church where Stuart’s grandmother was baptized and confirmed, and all her relatives for hundreds of years and generations before her.  The church was over 800 years old and made of wood.  We peeked inside the windows to see the elaborate paintings and decorations.  It’s only used once a year now, but the very cool “new” church (150 years old) is the one everyone now uses.

Kaare then drove us up to the top of the mountain for a nice overview of the area.  The house up at the top was the place where some guy named Bakken lived.  His son grew up in America and invented the pacemaker.   They were pretty proud of that.

Back at Kaare’s house, his sisters had set the table and gotten everything ready for an incredibly yummy bowl of Rommegrot.  It was the best darn Rommegrot I have ever had.  What a treat.   Good thing I sent them a note a few weeks ago and told them we were coming.  That grot takes a long time to make.

After we had Rommegrot we were taken up to Kaare’s brother’s, Kjetill’s cabin up behind the house on top of the mountain.  The view from up there was spectacular and the cabin was pretty shi-shi – very nice and very new.  It was like living in a dream and Stuart felt more than catered too.  All the siblings brought goodies to have with the coffee - cake, svela, and lefse.  We started joking that surely Stuart comes from royalty, with this kind of treatment.

The whole family couldn’t have been nicer.  Stuart felt bad he couldn’t speak to them in Norwegian so we tried to translate as much as we could but we obviously spoke to them more than Stuart or Judy.  Lots of photos were taken today, that’s for sure.  We all ran out of camera batteries before the day was done.

Kaare and his wife took us to the house where Stuart’s great-great-grandmother lived, and then to the cemetery where her children were buried.  It was all incredibly picturesque and serene.  Stuart was just overwhelmed with the whole day.  He was also impressed with the fact they had their Norwegian flag flying, as that’s only allowed for special occasions, but apparently, visitors from America qualify.  They really organized the day for us all and seemed to be very pleased to have these distant relatives come hunt them down.  We could have stayed on much longer with them, but we still needed to visit the Lange farm, where his name comes from.  It was another thirty minutes drive further east, so we had to leave about dinnertime and head out there.

I think Stu and Judy would have been happy to just go back to our place at that point, but I knew we didn’t have another day that we’d make it out in that neck of the woods, so we had to seize the moment.  We drove on out to Lange and took photos of Stu by the sign pointing up to his namesake.  I even got a HALLELUJAH out of him with his arms raised up in praise to God, as he stood next to that sign! 

I wasn’t totally sure of the exact house where his grandfather was born since all the farms on that street were named Lange, but we went to one house I thought it was and the woman there was more than kind.  She helped us pinpoint the exact place (above) by taking us down to the old folks home and talking to her husband’s aunt who knew everything about everyone around there.  Surely she did.  Stuart’s great grandfather was born in 1823 and she talked about him like she knew him personally.  She told us his great grandfather, Andreas Aarflot, who lived much further south, had moved to Lange in 1859 after the Lange farm completely burned down.  The guy that owned it lost all this buildings and animals.  It had been the biggest farm in the area.  Afterwards, he parceled out his land and sold it in chunks.  Somehow, probably through a shirt-tale relative, Andreas heard about the land for sale and bought it.  Knut, Stuart’s grandfather was born there a few years later.  Knut’s oldest brother, Edvard, got the farm and his granddaughter, Magna, now owns it but just yesterday she had hip surgery in Molde so she was in the hospital.  Her husband has begun to lose his mind, so he was now at the old folk’s home.  We met him and greeted him on our way out from visiting this elderly aunt.  Magna’s daughter lived down in the town so we were told by the aunt we MUST stop and greet her because if she found out that American relatives were in town and didn’t stop to say HI, she’d feel snubbed, so we had to do that on our way to the cemetery to find the grave of his great-grandfather.  It was all pretty cool and the area was so picturesque it was nice just a great place to go traipsing around.  Our last stop was actually the house where his grandfather was born so I took lots of photos there as Stu and Judy’s cameras were already out of battery.  Stu picked up a rock by the barn to take back to America as a good memory of the day, but it was so full of memories I’m sure he’ll never forget this day, no matter what.

I had to keep reminding Stuart today that his jaw was dropping every time I tried to take a picture of him.  The scenery was worthy of the jaw dropping posture, however.  The bulks of the photos I took of him today are either with his mouth gaping open or his lips pursed tight because I told him he had that look of shock and awe again.  He was pretty pleased.

On the way home we stopped at a picnic table and had a little coffee and some road food as all the restaurants were closed by then - it was after ten.  We got home just before midnight, so it really was a Lange (Long-a) day.

Shopping Day

We had planned to take our guests to the local folk museum this morning, but they slept right through that opportunity.  They both took sleeping pills last night because they’ve had a hard time getting a good night’s sleep with the jet lag and all, and I hated to wake them.  It didn’t help that we were up until midnight last night, so I knew they needed to sleep in.  I finally woke them at eleven this morning, since Turid invited us to lunch at her studio at noon.  They slept right through breakfast, too.  Oh well!

Turid is one kind-hearted woman and she put on a nice spread of salads and luncheon stuff in the heart of her art studio in Aalesund.  It was a real treat.  Afterwards, we drove into the city to try and hit all five thrift stores.  I don’t know what I was thinking.  We barely made it through two of them.  There’s just too much to look through and too many decisions to make.  Poor Stuart, he’d start looking at something and Judi would holler at him to come look at what she was looking at.  There was just too many cool things to sort through and I’m sure if suitcase space wasn’t an object, they would have cleaned out the stores. 

I should have taken Judi and Stu to some real stores before we hit the thrift stores, though, just so they could get the full sticker shock into their system, as they were hemming and hawing about the prices of things in the thrift store!  Wait til they get a look at what new things cost in Norway.  We did find a souvenir shop that kept them occupied for more than an hour as many things were on sale and they found several treasures to take back home to their families. 

Once we started walking around town a bit, we got the jaw dropping expressions from not just Stuart today, but also Judi.  We couldn’t go too far without having to stop for photos – something I can totally appreciate.  Our town is pretty fine and I’ll never be bored by its beauty.

The hours just slipped by this afternoon and they aren’t used to everything closing so early, so by five o’clock we had to drive back home as there wasn’t a reason in the world to stay in the city.  I made a quick dinner and after we ate, Kaleb took them on a tour of the mall next door.  They both felt like just vegging out at our place after being on their feet all day, but once we looked at the calendar and realized how fast the time is going, they decided to seize the opportunity while they could.  Kory and I used the time to start packing up for the 12 day trip we are taking on Friday, as the next few days are looking fairly jammed with activities.

Kaleb turned 12 1/2 today and spent his afternoon with Henrik again and came home in time for dinner.  He’s looking forward to us being gone for 12 days and he’ll be able to have a record breaking 12 night sleepover with friends.  He already has this weekend lined up to be with Toban, but the bulk of the time he’ll be with his friend Andre, who is coming to stay with us this summer in America. 

Tante Aslaug dropped by for a little visit tonight, too.  She hadn’t seen us since we’ve been back from Israel.  Kaleb, Stu and Judi came back while she was still at our place so she got to meet them.  Then afterwards we took Stu and Judi down to meet Tante Kari.  She’s been coming by our place the last few days, not finding us at home and wondering what we were up to.  She wanted to greet our American guests, also, so we spent a bit of time with her tonight, trying to translate the conversation between her and the Americans.  It’s been fun for Stuart to meet everyone, as previously they just seemed like characters in a novel to him.  He’s read all about them since I started the blog, but now he can see they are real people.

It rained off and on all day today and not once could we even see the tops of the mountains.  It was a great day to be shopping, but I sure hope the weather clears up by tomorrow.  We’re going on a road trip to visit Stuart’s half-third-cousin-once removed who lives on a farm where their great-great grandfather lived.  Strangely enough, those two guys look like they could be twins.  Stu’s cousin called and they have planned a huge day tomorrow with other relatives coming over, a trip out the cemetery and possibly up to their cabin.  We thought we’d just be spending the morning with this one guy, Kaare, but I think he’s planned the whole day for them to be together, so I’m sure it’s gonna be good.

Kory has been working on drawing faces as he knows he can draw buildings pretty well, but the human face is still a challenge.  He’s getting better.  Judi doesn’t like her photo taken and won’t let me post pictures of her on my blog, so I took a photo of the picture Kory drew of her this morning.  Ha ha!

Fairy Tale Day

We had our first big outing with the Americans today – heading out early this morning to drive over to Molde (see photo below), the town where Kory was born, but also the town near where Stuart’s relatives lived.  Many decades ago, a few spinster cousins of Stuart’s dad left him a little money in a bank account, and today he withdrew that money and closed the account.  I think they would have been pleased that he’s spending the money in Norway.  He gave some of it to me for his expenses, so I’ll be happy to use it up for him.  We bought him lunch out at a unique restaurant (with his money), and that already took care of a good portion of it.

Before we left Molde we visited the second hand store and dropped a good bit of money in that place, finding treasures of various sorts.  Then on we went to an area nearby called Hovdenakken, where these spinster cousins lived. Stuart has a photo of these ladies he’d never met, in front of their house.  He had great interest in finding the house, so we drove on over there to see what we could find.  The first thing we found was the cemetery and their headstone.  It was rather emotional for him to even see that place.  It was raining slightly and it added all the more to the mood of the sadness he felt over not coming to Norway sooner so he could have met them when they were still alive.

I went into a nearby store and asked the woman working there if she knew where Signe and Marte lived.  She said she knew them very well and used to work with one of them.  She told us how to get out to their place.  She offered to call ahead and let the neighbor know we are coming, but she warned us, their house had been torn down and a new house stood in it’s place.  After a few wrong turns we found the place, which was like a setting for a fairy tale.  The house had been torn down three years ago and the neighbor’s son had built a new one in it’s place, but the original barn and outbuildings still stood. 

Signe and Marte’s father was a boat builder, and half of his “shop” was still there at the water’s edge.  One boathouse, where the sisters later had a weaving loom, also stood (see photo above of Stu standing in front of it).  The neighbor (above) told of how Signe and Marte did everything the old fashioned way.  They had one cow, which they milked and made their own butter and cream.  They made their own clothes and grew all their own vegetables.  He said it was funny to watch them harvest the wheat, with Signe, the strong one pushing the huge wheelbarrow, and Marte, always thin and frail, pulling on a rope in front of it in order for the two of them to haul it up the ramp into the top of the barn (below). 

The neighbor guy we talked to grew up right next to those two sisters, and he bought their place once they died in the early 1980s.  The stories he told made them all the more real to Stuart.  It was a more than an idyllic setting and surely, if Stuart had made any contact with them, he might now be the owner of that land.  I think he’s feeling a bit guilty about that, as he was their only other relative.  He hadn’t kept in touch in their later years, and when they died, they left their money to the local government to build an old folks home (they had a lot of money).  We found that place, too.  We could have spent all day in that area, but we had to get back on the road as we had other places on the agenda.

A friend of mine suggested we should take a little boat trip out off the coast north of Molde and go have fish soup at Haaholmen (above),  a 300 year old fishing village.  It could have been better weather, but the gray skies and sea made it all the more of an authentic Norwegian experience.  It took a while to drive to the boat launch because we kept stopping to take photos along the way, as the scenery we were driving through really was spectacular (example below). 

We arrived at the boat launch just as a tour group was leaving the island and disembarking from a big Viking replica boat.  I thought the boat ran every hour, starting June 1st, as their website said, but in fact, it is still only running by appointment only.  I asked the skipper of the boat if there was a chance we could go out to the island and have some fish soup, since we were cold and hungry and we had Americans with us on their first trip ever to Norway.  He called over to the island and asked the chef at the restaurant if he would keep his place open for us, and next thing we knew, we had the Viking ship all to ourselves, heading out to this other fairy tale place.

The inn where we had lunch had only four places set when we arrived.  They were obviously expecting us.  They brought us a tureen of fish soup and some fresh bread.  Judi didn’t even get after her father for eating bread (she keeps track of his diabetes with an iron fist.)  We all chowed down a couple bowls of this soup (with a delicious bisque type broth) and then enjoyed a quick cup of coffee afterwards.  It was surreal to have this special place be so accommodating to us.  Judi and Stu were just shell shocked by the whole experience.  Every photo I took of Stu today, his mouth was open, jaw dropped in awe of all we saw and did. 

I joked while we ate the soup, that yes, it was an incredible experience, but they might not enjoy it so much if they knew a bowl of soup costs $50.  I had no idea how much anything cost at that point, but it turns out I wasn’t far off.  I went to pay before we got back on the return boat, and sure enough, it was $48 each.  I had to laugh.  I’ve yet to tell them how much it was, so as not to dampen their experience, because that’s just what prices are in Norway.  It also included the boat ride, so it wasn’t TOO bad, and I’m sure after that whole experience, we would all do it again even if we knew ahead of time we’d be paying fifty bucks for a bowl of soup.

We took a scenic drive home, but the rain kept it from being as scenic as it could be.  There was another thrift store open in a town we passed through, so we stopped there just a few minutes before they closed – at nine at night!  I found the most treasures, but Stu and Judi each found a few things they also liked just fine.

We got back late and Kaleb enjoyed his time being home alone.  He had to get his own dinner, but he sure wasn’t complaining.  He’d spent the afternoon at Henrik’s house and said both Andre and Henrik kept telling Toban today what a great time he missed this weekend at the cabin.  Toban felt even worse about being sick and missing it, but it was nice to hear the other boys had a good time.  I’m sure Stu and Judi feel the same about today.  It sure was something special.

Confirmation Day

Today was Tobias’ big Confirmation day (see photo above of him and his mom).  We were honored to be part of it.  We were up early and in our finest duds in order to conform to the standard attire expected on such a day as today.  We went to Agape Church for just the first half, then had to leave early to make it to the State Church to see Tobias get confirmed.  Agape showed a video of Kaleb being baptized in the Jordan River, so that was a nice surprise.  Pastor Mark talked on baptism too, but unfortunately, we had to leave before he gave the message.

We got the State Church (which is right next door to where we live), half an hour early and still had a hard time finding a place to sit.  That place was packed!  Kaleb’s nemesis at school, Morten, was sitting just a few rows in front of us with his grandparents and mother.  His older sister was being confirmed today, too.  We also ran into a few other people we know so it was a big social time, wrapped around many formalities.

Our guests from America chose to stay home this morning because they both were wiped out.  Stuart got a call early this morning that he had a little flood problem in his kitchen back home and Judi didn’t sleep more than two or three hours, so they just needed a day to relax at home.  It was good timing, since we had places to go and people to see.

After the Confirmation ceremony in the church we came home for a few minutes before heading over to Tobias’ house for dinner and cakes.  There were 24 of us for a sit down dinner, complete with place names at the table made from sand dollars they picked up off the Oregon Coast last year when they were with us for a visit.  The whole thing was very classy and formal and the food was yummy.  They had 13 cakes.  Every party in this part of Norway goes overboard with the cakes.  I’m still suffering, several hours later, because I had to try a little bit of nearly all of them.  Kory loosened his belt twice.

Normally, there should be many speeches and poems read to the confirmant on Confirmation Day, but Tobias wanted nothing to do with that.  So we all sat quietly and ate dinner and just watched him beam.  It’s kind of like a party that celebrates his entrance into manhood, and it comes with a lot of cash.  To date, he’s received almost eight thousand dollars (40,000 kroner).  This is no small celebration.  One set of his grandparents gave him a treasure chest full of 10 and 20 kroner coins ($2-$4), totaling over ten thousand kroner ($2,000).  He enjoyed the process of counting it, and he kept counting the paper money as it showed up in every envelope he opened. Neighbors were even knocking at the door during the party, just to drop off a card.  It’s not the norm to invite everyone you know to the party, usually just immediately family (with us being the exception), but pretty much everyone the kid knows will give him some cash or a gift of some kind.  We gave him a little cash and the photo book I made of his time with us in America last year.  Everyone took some time to look through it during the party.  And I embarrassed him by not honoring his wishes, as I stood up and read a poem I’d written for him on this big day.  He wasn’t too mad, it seemed.

We had gorgeous weather today, which was nice for taking photos and letting the kids run outside.  Kaleb was a particular pest because I wouldn’t let him bring his Nintendo along to play with in case he got bored.  Instead, he ran around shooting at people with rubber bands.  He’s currently on my “list.”  It’s a good thing we’ll be gone tomorrow so we can get a break from each other, otherwise he might end up with some severe consequences.  That kid knows how to push my buttons, and currently, they are all pushed.

Judi and Stuart both took sleeping pills tonight hoping to get their body clocks adjusted to local time.  It’s not an easy thing to do, but hopefully tomorrow they will be on the mend and ready for their adventures to start.  Our first stop will be the bank where Stuart has had an account for decades, set up by cousins of his dad.  Good thing it was on the schedule for tomorrow too, because Tuesday all the banks are going on strike.  He may fall in love with the beauty of this land, but sometimes the inner workings of it can get pretty ugly.

Another Hyttatur (Cabin trip)

Sleep just isn’t going to happen much for me in the next few days, I can tell that.  I was up at six this morning working on my next article for the LaConner paper.  I really need it quiet when I write, and that was about the only time the cabin was quiet.  The boys even complained they couldn’t sleep because they heard snoring throughout the night.  The swore they felt the floorboards vibrating and it woke Andre up.  He was sure there was a car outside.  They weren’t exaggerating.  Kory’s snoring is legendary.  Thankfully, because of that, they all slept in until nearly ten this morning so I had lots of quiet time.

Judi and Stuart are suffering from jet lag something terrible.  They both got up in the middle of the night and just stared out the window for hours.  It doesn’t get dark now at all so it was easy to enjoy the beauty around us in the wee hours of the morning.  They were dragging all afternoon though and I wouldn’t let them take a nap or they’d be doomed for a week.  They were both rather rummy so it was good they didn’t have much to do today but watch a bunch of boys compete in some challenges.

We played the “Minute to Win-It” challenges right after breakfast.  The boys loved every bit of it and it went much faster than I anticipated because we were missing two boys.  They were all sad some of their friends weren’t there, but it couldn’t be helped. 

Norwegians have been well conditioned to be kind and tolerant and they always play games so everyone wins.  I kept mixing up their teams for that very reason, so the more skilled kids wouldn’t always have the advantage.  But Kaleb is still a bad loser and it came out a few times during the competitions.  Once when Kaleb pitched a hissy-fit, I asked Henrik why he was even friends with Kaleb and he said he think’s he’s okay to talk to and hang around with.  I asked him what other kids at school thought of him and he said some kids think he’s a little strange but some kids like him.  I’m thankful the Norwegians do teach tolerance, or Kaleb might not have any friends at all.  Judi was watching everything too and she’s had some experience with “unique” children in a past line of work.  She said Kaleb’s behavior is very typical of “high intellect” children.  Small comfort.

It was pretty cold today up in the mountains so our time outdoors was brief.  Most of the things were indoor activity anyway so it worked out well.  The boys had to get home by five so Kory left at four to drive them back to the ferry.  He gave them money for the fare and they got on by themselves.  Andre’s mom picked them up on the other side so we could save the ferry ride as Kory had to come back and get us.  We lingered however and had a BBQ salmon dinner at the cabin after it was all nice and quiet again.  Judi kept Kaleb entertained with one thing or another as he was like a caged animal without friends to talk to. 

The sun finally came back out as we were cleaning up and ready to leave.  We caught a ferry at nine.  The sun was hanging so low on the horizon and the lighting was so pretty, I decided to drive around a little to show them a few places before we went home.  We went by our old neighborhood so they could see “The Sinking Houses” where we used to live.  I also drove by Tobias’ house to show them how close he lived to us.  Bjorn saw us drive by and called me on my cell phone to ask why we didn’t stop in and visit.  Tobias is getting confirmed tomorrow so I knew they would be crazy busy but he wanted to show off his new man cave, so I turned around and headed back there.  They were all more than gracious to show us the table they set for dinner tomorrow and Bjorn’s new pride and joy “hagestue” out in the yard.  Too sweet.

I then drove by a few more view points for Stu and Judi to see the mountains and water and farm lands with the light of the setting sun on them and that woke them up out of their jet lagged grogginess more than anything.  But by the time we got home and unloaded everything, they were ready for bed.  As we all were.  It was fun while it lasted, though.

The Americans Have Landed!

I was up at five this morning, trying to get things done before the day got crazy busy.  I had way too much to do, and definitely not enough time to do it.  Kory and Kaleb helped a lot when they got up, only after they suffered the rath of my stress.  Kory tried to compliment me on how well I organize events and I reminded him it comes with a price.  He understood.  Kaleb tried to calm me down by telling me I’m the best Mama in the whole world, which is exactly the opposite of how I was behaving at that very moment.  I had a one o’clock deadline in which to pick up Kaleb’s friends and take them up to the cabin for Kaleb’s “half birthday” party, and I knew it would be tight.  I had to think through every meal, and all the little things needed.  I had to be sure I had all the props for all the games/challenges the boys are going to play.  I had to make up gift bags and figure out prizes for each “round.”  (We’re going to do a “Minute to Win It” party where they compete in funny little tasks like on the TV show.) 

I had done much of the work even before we left for Norway, as I took everything with me we’d need, but there are always those last minute changes or additions that throw me off course.  So packing up for this event not only took time, but it took concentration.  I was going to make some brownies to take along and just as I put the mix and the egg together and started to read how much water to add in, Kaleb started complaining about the fact he has to always slice his own bread (95% of all bread sold in Norway is a whole loaf, never pre-sliced.)  He asked me “Why can’t we buy pre-sliced bread?”  It wasn’t a rhetorical question, he wanted an answer.  He kept asking it while I was reading instructions in Norwegian and next thing I know, I’ve added a liter of water to the mix, rather than 1/10 of a liter (1 dl).  So much for bringing brownies along.  That’s the kind of thing that really kicks up my stress level as many things need my full concentration.  Afterwards, Kaleb decided he’d dust the mini-blinds in our bedroom as an atonement for his behavior.

At the same time I was preparing for this party/weekend getaway, I was trying to get the house straightened up for company.  We have friends of friends that arrived today and are staying with us for a few weeks.   My plan was to wash filthy windows, mop the floors and dust some shelves, but that just never happened.  We picked up the boys on schedule, (Kaleb’s friend Toban was sick so he couldn’t join us, unfortunately) and we headed for the ferry.  The drive up into the mountains is less than half an hour from the other side of the ferry landing, but it’s one of the prettiest drives around here so at least I calmed down as I snapped a few photos along the way.

It was a fine day with no rain, so that was another thing that helped shift my mood toward the peaceful side of life.  And once we arrived, the boys helped lug all the food and supplies from the car, up the hill to the cabin.  Just being at this cabin is enough to turn the most sour person (like me) into nothing but sweetness (I still have a ways to go on that score, however.) 

The cabin is owned by friends of ours and we feel more than blessed to be able to use it whenever we want.  Last year when we borrowed it I left them a little pillow that says, “You never know how many friends you have until you own a cabin.”  I’m glad we are their friends.  It’s really a gem of a place and has all the typical Norwegian furnishings and decorations.  It’s like sitting in a magazine photo and it just makes me smile to be here.

As I was unpacking all the food and putting things away, my cell phone beeped.  It was the airline welcoming me aboard the flight from Oslo to Aalesund.  I used my cell number when making reservations for our company, and I’m so thankful I did because once I got to the cabin, I completely lost track of time and I would have never made it to the airport on time had my phone not beeped that message.  I had to fly out of the cabin, and drive back to the ferry.  I was even going a little over the speed limit, but just as I arrived at the dock, they closed the gate so I had to sit there for twenty minutes waiting for the next one.  If the sun weren’t shining so nicely outside, I might have been stressed out, but we haven’t seen much of the sun since we’ve been in Norway, so I just had to take a deep breath and enjoy it.  I used the time to wipe down the dust on the dashboard and shake out the sand from the floor mats.  We’ve owned our van for three years now and have never once cleaned it.  Once I got to the other side of the fjord, I drove into the nearest car wash and decided today was the day.  Little did I know the drive-through car wash would malfunction and leave me stuck in there for an extra fifteen wasted minutes until the woman waiting behind me went to get help.  I paid thirty bucks for the privilege of a clean car and a few claustrophobic moments I hope never to relive. 

I made a quick dash out to the airport.  I got there 22 minutes before their plane was to land, so I swung into a grocery store across the street to grab a few things I realized I needed for the weekend.  I walked into the baggage area at the airport ten minutes before their plane was due but everyone was already off the plane!  They had a tail wind so they landed early, and there they stood, looking like something the cat drug in.  Tired and weary from at least thirty hours of traveling with no sleep.  Their luggage hadn’t arrived yet so at least they didn’t have time to stress out about me not showing up.  But it all worked out and their luggage made it, they made it, and I had nothing more to stress out about.  We headed back to our condo so they could take a shower and have a little soup and salad dinner before we journeyed on back over the fjord and up into the hills to the cabin. 

I’d asked Stuart and Judi if they wanted to spend their first night in a Norwegian cabin, and if they did, it came with the price tag of putting up with a lot of noisy boys.  There should have been six boys, but we only have four, so it’s not too bad.  They thought it would be a fine.  Well, once they took the ferry across that gorgeous fjord, and drove up into the mountains through that gorgeous farmland, and arrived at this more than gorgeous mountain cabin, I think they would have been happy even if there were twenty boys to put up with.  Their jaws just hung open the whole way and even though they were more than tired, they were stimulated enough by the beauty of everything around them, they stayed awake until our bedtime.  Judi made the comment about the Norwegian landscape that, “It’s just like l hoped it would be.”  Stuart said, “It’s like being in a fairytale.”  I couldn’t agree more.

Kristi Himmelfartsdag

Another Holy day has come and gone.  It never gets old to say “himmelfartsdag” (heaven speed day), the day Norway celebrates Jesus’ ascension into heaven.  Some churches have services today, some don’t.  Everyone has free from their jobs and everything is likewise, closed.  It worked well for us today.

My friend, Kristin, who hosts a weekly prayer meeting I attend, invited Kory and Kaleb and I out to her husband’s family cabin on a nearby island.  I couldn’t pass up the chance to go, even though we had guests coming for dinner tonight.  So I got up early and prepared everything for dinner before we left so we wouldn’t be rushed.

Kory got a ride from Inger to go pick up our car.  We had to go get Kaleb from Daniel’s house on our way out of town.  He cried and carried on and did NOT want to go with us, but I insisted.  I told him it’s a “typisk Norsk” experience to go to someone’s cabin and we can’t pass up this opportunity.  I also knew it would be better for him than just sitting around playing electronics all day.

So we were off early, driving about 30 minutes away to a small boat harbor in an area we’d never been.  Kristin and her husband met us with their boat as they’d spent the night out there.  The island his grandfather comes from even now only has three cabins on it.  His grandfather used to have to row across the fjord, then walk a kilometer to school each day.  They grew everything they needed and fished from the sea.  It was an idyllic Norwegian life back in the day, but now it’s just a place for people to have a summer cabin.  Only one 85-year-old man lives there year round. 

The cabin looks very modern but they have to collect rainwater to take a shower or wash dishes, and they need to bring drinking water with them on their boat.  There is a pit toilet inside the house but they use some kind of bacteria that keeps it from smelling up the place.  They have electricity and a fantastic view, so life is good there and the feel of nature is everywhere around them.  The wind was blowing something terrible all day but at least it didn’t rain.  We had a rough ride over to the island but it was fun - like a roller coaster ride - so we didn’t mind all the tossing and turning.

Kristin is quite the cook and she had homemade cinnamon rolls and a hot cup of coffee waiting for us when we got there.  She has class, that woman.  It was the first time I’ve met her husband and he’s a pretty friendly guy, so it was nice to get to know him a little.  He’s been going to that island all his life as there have been several generations before him living there.  His last name is the name of that island and at one point, his grandfather’s family owned the entire island, along with the small one next door.  He said his grandpa used to row his cows, goats and sheep over to the other island and let them graze there all summer long.  The image of a cow in a rowboat is just not something I can visualize.

We took a little tour with them around the island.  The wind was so strong, Kaleb used his jacket as a sail and tried to fly away.  He ended up grounded many times but had a blast catching the wind and getting tossed about.  I’m sure he’s never experienced anything like it before.  He was laughing himself silly and rolling in the tundra as he lost his footing time and time again.  It was fun to watch, but also hard to stand up straight because even without a “sail” above our heads, the wind was pretty strong.  We walked to the other side of the island and saw the city where Kory was born in the distance.  There were beautiful views everywhere we looked.  Norway is like that when the sun peeks out.

We were hoping to find some seagull eggs as many nests are there, since it’s so sparsely populated, but we could see that the ravens had beaten us to the task and had eaten all of them.  We only found broken shells.

Down by the water’s edge were many sea scallop shells, which trilled me to no end.  I love any kind of natural souvenir so they were happy to have me clean their beach.  Kory isn’t so happy to have our house filled with even more stuff, but I couldn’t help myself.

We had a late “grill” (BBQ lunch) with them before they took us back to our car.  Kaleb wanted to stay on the boat just because it was so fun to be tossed about with the wild ride on the waves.  He never complained once all day about being bored or missing his friends, so I’m sure he had as good of time as we did.  I only wished it could have lasted longer, but we had to get home and get dinner cooking.

Kory invited a few guys (and their families) he knows from Seattle for dinner tonight.  Josef Kloven’s dad was good friends with Kory’s dad.  Josef’s mom just arrived from Seattle, so she came along, too.  The other guy, Byron Eggehorn, his parents in Seattle are old friends of Kory, so he was also invited.  He lives about a block from us but I’ve never met him before.  Both these guys married Norwegian women they met after they came here to study with Youth With a Mission, so it was funny we had a house full of people from Seattle but we all spoke Norwegian together.  We had a nice visit. 

Then, just as they were all getting ready to leave about 9:30, Cousin Odd and his wife, Turid, dropped by.  They were out for a walk and decided to come check on us and ask about our trip to Israel.  They were happy to eat up our leftovers once they arrived, so it’s a good thing I made extra food.  We had a nice chat with them, too but then it was past time to get Kaleb to bed, so we all called it a night. 

Our house feels like it has a revolving door sometimes, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.   Except for feeling a bit exhausted right now, it was a wonderful day and the kind of day I’ll relive in my mind once we return to the states and settle into our boring routine where no one drops by and everyone is too busy to even come over for a cup of coffee.   I just love the life we have here and I will miss it terribly when we are gone.

Back Home Again

(Our sidewalk)

Kaleb was up hours before he had to leave for school today, which was good since he finally had enough time to make his own breakfast and lunch.  He was off without incident, ready to be back in school and to meet up with his friends.

I had a long list of things to do like laundry, grocery shopping and preparing for this weekend.  We are borrowing a friend’s cabin and five of Kaleb’s friends from school will be sleeping over night in it, along with us and two guests from America.  I had to use some quiet time today to think through everything I’m going to need to take along, and how to organize the days we will have six lively boys with us.  I had to make several trips to the store to get food, as I know food just disappears when boys are near.

Kory helped me get some things ready as I’m pressed for time.  Tomorrow is Ascension Day, which in Norway, is a National holiday so everything will be closed.  We have guests coming for dinner and we’ll be gone all day, so I had to prepare some things ahead of time.  Such is life.

Kaleb called me after school and told me he and Andre were going to ride their bikes over to Daniel’s house – which is a long way from where we live.  I love the fact he can be so far from home and I don’t have to worry about him.  He called later and asked to spend the night, so he’s back into his very active social life.

Our car was supposed to be ready this morning but there was a problem with one of the parts that got installed on it, so it had to be redone.  We were without wheels all day but now we can go get it in the morning and pay later.  It’s good to have friends that own car repair shops. 

We were invited out to dinner tonight to Inger’s house (Cousin Odd’s ex-wife).  She had a little dinner party and wanted her friends to meet us so we were there all evening (until midnight!).  We told lots of stories and had a nice visit with her friends.  I was especially pleased to meet one of her friends who volunteers at my favorite thrift store.  She recognized me right away.  I went on and on about all the great finds I’ve gotten there and she asked me what kinds of things I like.  I told her, and she said she’d keep an eye out for stuff for me, since she receives in all the stuff and sees it first.  Woo hoo!  Talk about having the right connections!

Another friend of Inger’s was surprised to hear that Kory was the one that painted a Norwegian flag on the bus stop in our old neighborhood.  She walks by there all the time and when she heard him tell that story she said, “So you’re the one that did that!”  She looks forward to seeing it every time she passes by.  She also listened intently to Kory telling the story about our old neighbor when we lived in that neighborhood, how he used to dump his cut grass on our lawn and how he stole a downpipe from our garage one day.  Kory went on and on about this guy and when he was done, she said quietly, “He’s my cousin.”  Kory felt terrible.  It’s a small world and around here, you never know who is related to whom. 

One of the guys there tonight didn’t say much but we told stories about Kory’s old childhood friend Ole-Petter and when we were done he said, “I work with him.”  It’s not six degrees of separation around here – it’s more like one.

I told everyone tonight how patient I thought Norwegians are, as demonstrated by the fact they NEVER honk the horn at anyone.  In Israel, it’s just part of the way they drive.  They use the horn more than Americans do, but in Norway I’ve never heard a horn honk once.  They are so polite, or so I thought.  I was informed tonight that it’s against the law to honk the horn.  Well, that explains it.  There’s something new I seem to learn everyday about this land.  Some of it strange, some of it not.  Sometimes it keeps me awake at night, but now it’s late and I must sleep.