This was a snowy week-end. The kids tried cross-country skiing and built four snowmen. Well, Maggie and Anna tried skiing. Peter couldn't because his ski boot fell the the ground next to his ski and he couldn't find it, no matter how hard he looked. Its tough to be seven and a boy. Maggie fell down about every 30 seconds, mostly because she was laughing too hard to keep her skis straight. And she was soaked in 10 minutes, which happens when you go skiing in your jammies.

Folks were skiing all around in front of our apartment. There were ski tracks leading this way and that and lots of dads pulling their children on sleds down to the grocery store. The best thing about the snow, though, is that it just lights up the outdoors. Even in the night, with the white frosting on the houses and cars and ground, things feel brighter and more cheerful.

Unfortunately, we've already lost all of our mittens. And after a long search for contact solution, I found that you can get it at a pharmacy for....$15 US a bottle. Gssgggghlhhhack.

Catfood?

Well, I thought it was supposed to be chili. When I opened the can it turned out to be catfood. Not really, but it looked and smelled just like it. Turns out it was some sort of Spam in brown gravy. A popular treat here?

The kids wouldn't touch hit because I said the word "catfood". I had it - twice. It wasn't horrid. But, this is one piece of Norwegian culture we won't tangle iwth again.

October 31 – 15:00

Today was Halloween, even in Norway. We had a traditional American celebration in school, with bobbing for apples, donut races, etc. in class. Here are some of mystudents showing off their wares. The newspaper came and wrote a big article about our day and all the learning we did . Cool. Anyhow, pumpkins are not native to Norway, so its cost about $40 for a decdent carving pumpkin. Needless to say, I didn't spring for that. So, we carved decorative gourds instead.

October 31 – 18:00

The kids trick-or treated, or "sugar or slash", as they say here. We went with some kids from Maggie’s class, Stine, Hannah, and Cecile. Stine’s mom, Berit, and I stayed home and ate bolle with brun ost and blearber jam while the kids raced around din the complete darkness.. No Snicker Bars. Lots of gummy coke bottles.


October 31 – 19:30
After trick or treating, we had kokao all together at Berits traditional Norsk dining table. The tables here are all sturdya dn slid wood and long enough for a banquet feast. Berit’s table will seat 10 easily.

Every female in Trondheim dressed as a witch on Halloween. Of the six girls in Magie's class, 5 were witches. Maggie was partly cloudy with a chance of rain (squiret). Mostly becasue I was the only mom in town who didn't have the energy to halp her make a real costume. She loved her creative one though. At the Halloween Party we went to on Friday night, 15 of the 18 women there were witches. And elaborate and beautiful witches too, with organically shaped hats adn slinky black gowns. I wore jeans and a sweatshirt. I gotta get alittle more spirit here!

October 22

FOREST DAY
Here in the great northland, spending days of school time in the forest, just walking about is generally thought to be a good idea. So, we had a whole school forest day. These two photographs illustrate the marked difference in school atmosphere between Norway and the States. Photo #1: My whole class (+Peter) In a tree. No lie. Photo number 2: Students spontaneously making a fire on a school trip. We actually had three going as little groups of folks would break off and make their own. No adult assistance of supervision necessary. Is that crazy or what?! And, so much fun.

SMASH!

October 10

This is one little slice of culinary delight I have found in Norway. SMASH – Bugles covered in chocolate. Oh my goodness. It’s a little drop of sin in every bite.

Ohhhh. Borg Colony.

October 14

This is an anthill. The little colored thing in the bottom right corner is Max’s shoe. Pretty darned big!

Mmmmm. Mushrooms!

October 15

MMMMM. Mushrooms. Allan took Max, Maya, Anna and me mushroom hunting again. The ground oozed into our shoes immediately, but glorious patches of hidden mushroom gold beckoned behind every tree. We were in heaven. The spongy ground and constant moisture make Norway prime mushroom hunting territory.

This back-to-nature moment was soon followed by a devistating bicycle accident where I was certain Anna had broken her arm. But, she was just fine in a few hours