Winter Break Part III

Let me start with - Jul i Ottestad was the best Christmas ever! We made pepperkaker (think gingerbread, but thinner) the first night. Alvhild had made the dough in advance. Rolling, cutting, and decorating was a joint effort from me, Åsmund, Erling, and Arne (Åsmund's brothers). We went for the speedy mass production effect, although there were a few individual pieces. The stack of hearts. A ukulele and electric guitar. Ukulele in relief!

On Christmas Eve, I went into town with Arne, Erling, and one of his friends. I bought violin and ukulele strings; they bought more presents. We sat for a while and drank coffee. I went on a mini shopping spree and picked up two shirts, a pair of pants, and a pair of tights in twenty minutes before we needed to leave town.

Family dinners included lots of laughter and good conversation. Before or after dinner most days, I played fiddle with Erling on piano. We found some sheet music and filled the house with happy music. I can't remember how long it's been since I've just played like that with someone!

True to Norwegian tradition, packages were opened on Christmas Eve. I wasn't expecting anything and was really shocked (and a little embarassed) to find my name on so many packages. I could tell that everyone had taken time to think about what I might like or need; all of the gifts were excellent.

Since Jan's parents were visiting, I had been kicked out of the standard guest room and found my way over to Alvhild's mother's guest room. This worked out really well for everyone. Not only was the bed particularly comfortable and warm, the family brunch was at Sigrid's on Christmas day. I managed to drag myself out of bed in time to be mildly helpful before the rest of the family arrived.

The highlights of the day were definitely the family quizzes. Erling and I somehow wound up as a team. A team that was ready to lose! The majority of the questions were about their extended family, a topic Erling was a little shady on, or more general Norwegian knowledge questions, where both of us were equally weak. There were also American questions, but I'm pretty sure I'm an atypical American, so those weren't really easy either. More clearly stated, we came in dead last out of the six teams. We also came in last on the geography quiz. There's always next year.

Later that evening we played a few more games. One was a board game about philosophers. We learned that the correct answer to all questions about French philosophers is Rousseau. Amazingly, Erling and I, with the help of Åsmund, did not lose that game!