HERE is the little sushi fishie...

Anna gets new dress!

Here is Anna in her element - with a beautiful new dress that daddy brought from Gymboree in the States. She danced around for hours. It was cute at first. Then long. Then annoying. But, joy in a good thing.


Today Peter is wandering around the house making up melodies and dance moves for his song, "Never underestimate the power of greasy bacon." My favorite rendition is the angry voice that ends in operetic tones. He was trying that one out upstairs as he danced alone naked to warm up after sledding. I think it will be a hit.

LIttle sushi fishies

At the grocery store today I parused the paltry sushi take-out section near the huge vats of crayfish and shrimp one sees everywhere. I came upon these little fishies. Filled with soy sauce for take-away orders, they, and the food that surrounded them, exemplify Norwegian food to me. Elegant packaging with all the details precise and lovely - flavorless and efficient (and as in the case of the sushi, frightening) entrees.

Not to worry though, Mike brought me a suitcase full of candy last week, so my waistline will continue to rival the Nile river in inundation season. Cheers!

The Dentist Gets Better

Happily, the dentist did get better, much better. Opening the scarey door to the office we were greeted with new lighting, bright colors and clean, fancy little do-dads all around. I laughed out loud.

Then we meet Elizabeth. She's our dental hygienist. She was lovely. Each hygienist does their own appointments here and has their own space in which to work. Elizabeth's chair room was enormous and very high tech, with a person-sized tooth brush and tooth stools on which to sit. It also featured her tooth brush collection, which was hilarious. I an out of batteries, so I couldn't get any pictures, but I'll be back later.

So, Peter hops into the chair, Elizabeth spends about 2 minutes poking, he gets a squirt of fluoride and he's done. No cleaning, scraping, flossing, or polishing. I asked why not and she said that in Norway they do very little work on milk teeth. THEN, Anna and Peter both got a prize. Pretty easy.

Peter does have to go back to see the dentist in December.

The funniest part, though, was leaving. I started to explain to her about the receipt I would need for our insurance at home. She listened politely, bright smile on her face, and then explain that my request would not be possible.

Why? Because dental care for children is free. The kids are not even "legally" on our work permits yet. But, we have an address and that's all they need. Everyone has appointments in December. I know that dental care will be substandard, or at least minimal compared to what we are used to in the US, but I want to get the kids started now. Orthodontia is heavily subsidised too. Can you believe that?

At The Dentist One

Peter and I had an exciting adventure at the dentist here in Norway. He had an aching tooth last week, one that we should have had fixed before we left for Norway. But, alas, we didin't. So, with help from our friend Lisa, we scheduled an appointment at the Eberg Skoll Dentist. In Norway, children are assigned doctos and dentists based on the public school they attend. So, every kid from the area goes to the same health care providers. Kind of cool. Not much choice.

We had an adventure. Beginning with the building itself being quite difficult to find. Can you imagine why? When we did find it, we weren't so very sure we wanted to actually go in. The scene was not reassuring or soothing. It did get better...

Best Buds