Ørnes II

Yesterday, I mentioned laundry. I did not mention that while I have become accustomed to hand washing my clothes, it does not compare to getting all of your clothes clean (they were all dirty) at once without getting your hands wet. Hang them outside to dry? No problem! The sun will dry them all at once, too!

Today was the perfect example of how to enjoy life while on vacation. I got up around 9:30 and had breakfast before bringing in my dry clothes. I took a shower, got dressed, and practiced fiddle for at least an hour and a half. I shared my photos with Roald (I finally got them onto my computer!). I read the newspaper for a while. At three we had middag, which is often translated as dinner, but is usually served at 3, which is a long time after breakfast if there is no lunch in between, but not late enough to really be called dinner I think. Then we all rested - I slept until 5:30. More sitting on the porch, reading the newspaper, and labeling photos, interrupted at 7 by coffee and waffles (also not dinner). At about 9:30pm we had kveldsmat (evening food), which looks a lot like a typical Norwegian breakfast, just twelve hours later in the day. In between those things I made phone calls and chatted with Roald and Oddhild. Teeth brushed and in bed at 11:15.

Now, I will back track. Middag was fish balls. Fish balls in white sauce with curry powder on top, with carrots and potatoes. Oddhild hadn't made this fish balls herself, but she did make the sauce. Thanks to my previous experience with fish balls in Östersund, I had no trouble digging in to these without making that face I make when I'm trying new foods. i have to say, middag was phenomenal. Our Swedish fish balls from a can did not compare to fresh ones with a home made white sauce plus yellow potatoes and sweet carrots. Yum. For dessert we had gele with vaniljesaus. I'm not sure how to prepare a more Norwegian meal.

I've heard in the past that sleeping on a full stomach is not recommended because it can cause bad dreams. Perhaps that is why I dreamt that my family (mom, dad, sister, and myself) were filling in at a very popular and therefore busy lunch counter. I don't remember much of the details, but somehow Dad was at the cash register telling stories and the line of customers got longer and longer. By the time the owner returned, in the dream, Sonya and I were completely humiliated, the line of customers had wrapped around the corner and out the door, and Dad was oblivious. At least it was just a dream!

On my way to brush my teeth, I heard accordion music coming from downstairs. We had been listening to the radio earlier which always broadcasts a wide variety of music, generally including the Cardigans (today's hit For what it's worth, I love you). This sounded a little closer though. So I grabbed my camera in addition to my toothbrush and floss. Good thing, too! Roald was playing on his accordion, something I've never seen him do before. At the risk of repeating myself, it was a perfect end to a perfect day.

Ørnes I

Things change slowly in Ørnes, but they do change. The young cousins grow up. The older cousins have children. There's a bedroom off the entry now, so Roald and Oddhild don't have to climb the stairs anymore. Roald also has an automated lawn-mower; it randomly cuts the grass and returns to it's docking station to recharge every day. He is in love.

Some things don't change. Roald, my grandfather's first cousin, and his wife Oddhild met me at the ferry. They look just like they did when I first met them. (Could that have been 14 years ago? Geez, time flies!) They carried my bags to the car; this time it's an Audi. After stopping at the grocery store, we made it up the familiar drive to their house.

I was sent upstairs to put my things in one of the guest bedrooms. Since I'm the only guest right now, I get the best guest room. When I came down, we had waffles and coffee on the back porch. We talked about people we knew and how everyone is doing. We drank more coffee. Una (one of the now-grown-up young cousins) dropped by. Over the years it has become clear that she is a very frequent visitor at her grandparents' house; she tends to show up in the early evening and Roald and Oddhild always seem happy to see her.

We exchanged gifts. I got a pair of hand made (by Oddhild) pot-holders. I gave them a linen dish-cloth with a pattern of fishing cottages from Hudiksvall.

We talked about family. The women outlive the men. Roald thinks my great-grandmother (his aunt) Olga visited Norway just after the end of the war in late 1945 or early 1946. I'd never heard that. Arthritis runs deep in the family.

I don't know whether or not it's a blessing or a curse to be a night owl, but this is also, clearly, a family trait. Only here would an 'early evening' consist of a light meal at 10:15 before hanging out the laundry. The sun goes down around 10, but when we all headed to bed at 11 it was still light out.