Winter Sports in Norway

This is how much Forrest likes winter...not much...he starts to look evil.

When we look out the windows we see snow. The snow is higher than some of our windows. Forrest doesn't like it. We kick him out into the snow and he creeps around like it is a mysterious substance. A few weeks ago he came running down the street and leaped into the air and landed on the snow and sank. He pulled himself up and slinked away. Most days he sits in our windows and watches the other cats - the Norwegian cats and the birds outside. A lynx was hit by a vehicle here in Gjøvik, so maybe Forrest is just afraid of the bigger cats or the bears or the moose. Chicken.

NK on the other hand loves the snow. I helped him get out the door today with all of his ski gear on. They regularly have ski day at school. They ski all day. It is the Norwegian communing with nature thing. They strap on their skis and their backpacks and away they go...all day skiing and enjoying the Norwegian mountain air.

In these photos NK was working with his private snowboard coach. He is wants to learn tricks so he can do extreme stuff...great. He has a small inexpensive board he practices his tricks on and then his bigger board to learn the technique of real snowboarding.

Living on a mountain, NK can strap his stuff on and away he goes. We have a good downhill course not far away, but the Nordic tracks run close to our apartment - so there is no driving to ski.

A lot of kids ride their sleds to school. NK doesn't have a "mushing" style sled, but many of his friends do and in the photo below, NK and one of his buddies are having great fun. With room for one to sit and one to drive they can have hours of fun riding around the mountain.

We found a great apartment company in Oslo which allows guests to rent for one night or a month at a time. The apartments are located in great locations and they come in different price brackets from budget to luxury. These apartments are much less expensive than a hotel, and the apartment we have stayed in recently on weekends in Oslo is located near the castle and the center of Oslo. It is in the budget class - and reminds me of my college apartments. Very basic - but very clean and perfect for weekend getaways! Close to the apartment is this outdoor skating rink. NK loves to skate - since we have a rink close to our apartment in Gjøvik. Here he is trying out his moves.

The World Cup speed skating competition was held not to far from Gjøvik in Hamar. Hamar is across the Lake Mjosa from Gjøvik. The skating hall in Hamar was designed and built for the 1994 Olympics which although based up the road in Lillehammer had the speed skating competition in Hamar and the hockey competition in Gjøvik. The hall in Hamar looks like an upside down viking ship.

When we arrived at the Viking Ship hall we looked for the American flag. The American section was down front in the center of the hall. I breezed up to the usher and stated that we were with the American delegation and presto magico we were front row center. Come to find out the American fans weren't even Americans they were friends of the Americans from Norway and the Netherlands. They thought it was great that REAL Americans came to Norway to support American speed skaters. Apparently these fans fly around the world to support the skaters. They looked a little perplexed when I stated that we live nearby and we were bored so we drove the short distance to the Viking Ship and then told the ushers that we were with the American delegation. But - they were great and we had great fun visiting with then as they spent two hours trying to catch us up on speed skating and the American team.

It was great that the predominantly Norwegian crowd cheered every athlete - but boy did they go crazy when the Norwegians competed. We waved at the American skaters and they smiled and waved back - even they looked surprised to have "fans" NK wore a hat with an American flag and we sat above the huge American flag. Every time the TV cameras focused on us NK got a big cheesy grin on his face and said "hello Dale". He is convinced his buddy Dale from Wichita will see us on ESPN. Okay, so maybe I posed too.

It was a lot of fun and we cheered like crazy. In a few hours we got caught-up in our new favorite sport. I think it really inspired NK who wants to skate more and he has been practicing a lot of new moves...although a few nights ago he tripped himself with his own hockey stick...but then he laughed and thought it was hysterical that he "checked" himself.

The Viking Ship in Hamar. Of course when I snapped the photo from a moving car we drove past a bridge which partial obscures the Ship. Oh well, you get the picture. Heeheeeheee.

Jobs, Houses & Cars

Cheers! JH & Ted cooking-up something in the kitchen & toasting my new job! Yes, my new job! I have a new job! Yahoo! I had an interview with a company before the holiday season. They have offered me a job and I start on Monday, March 3! I had planned originally to wait a while until working in Norway. But, my Norwegian language has come along quite well, and I really miss being employed. I am an awful housewife. I just hate it. I try to do things, even good deeds, and I find myself missing a career and being intellectually challenged by a career I love. Yahoooooooooooooooo!

I will be working with international business contracts. From bid to closure and the eventual product delivery, I will work with contracts including importing and exporting of supplies and products into and out of the US, Canada and Great Britain. I will speak English with clients/customers and Norwegian at the office.

So - since I will have a job I guess this means we will be staying in Norway. It also means we will need a permanent place to live, so we have been looking for a house. We have made some bids, but the housing market here is crazy. Forty-year old town houses are going for over $300,000 and a decent single family home runs $400,000-$500,000...yes, US dollars. CRAZY!

I am almost having anxiety over the amount of money we will spend on a house. After 12 years of marriage to JH I have become fairly frugal. He converted me. I would rather have a small house (less cleaning and less stuff) but yet we need space to spread out. Living in a small apartment with only 1/2 (or less) of our stuff is so cramped. We went to our storage to get my "work clothes" and now I don't have a place for them. So today I am trying to rotate closets, and clothes and stuff to make our stuff fit.

Even our front foyer is a mess. So many shoes, boots, cold weather clothing, alpine skis, Nordic skis, snowboards, ski boots, guitars, shoe heaters...we can hardly walk in our apartment. So, a smallish house or a townhouse would be a good fit...I hope. Not too big and not too small. Although we need to TRY to not fill our next house STUFF! We need a house big enough to host you...yes, the folks who read the blog. Well, don't all come at once! But, we have had people lining-up times for possible visits later this year. The friends and family who have already visited get to sleep in NK's room. He has a bed with a trundle and also a futon. But - we should actually have a real guest room when we buy a new house. Another yahoo!

Today we will go to look at another car. We have narrowed it down to either a new Subaru compact or a used Toyota Corolla. I am leaning towards the used Corolla because of my anxiety over the cost of a house in Norway. Geez, how do people afford to live here? We have two masters degrees and great jobs, but how will we survive in this economy? I don't know. Although I do know that I am becoming more assimilated into the household goods economy...I bought a new clothes dryer the other evening and I thought wow, $800 what a bargain! Or $4 for bread for NK (he likes "kid" bread) - what a bargain! Or $150 for new shoes- what a bargain! I guess it has happened. I am becoming...Norwegian. Yikes.

Northern Lights? Maybe. This formation was hanging around above Gjøvik.

Christmas Catch-up Photos - better late than never!

The Ole & Eli Myklebust clan in Myklebust paying homage to ancestors on Christmas eve. It was rainy and a little windy at this small cemetery along the coast on Harøy (Island).

This is an antique bed used by JH's grandfolk. Hanging next to the bed is a bedspread/blanket, handwoven as a present to an ancestor of JH's in the 1800's.

NK at the grave of his great-grandparents at Myklebust.

The setting sun shining on our farmhouse at Myklebust. For the first time since the 1960's or 1970's there was a house full of family celebrating the Christmas season. It was the first Christmas we spent with JH's folks and siblings.

The children each took turns cutting down the Christmas tree. We went on a mission to find a tree a few days before, but since it was raining like crazy and windy we just took a smaller tree along a cattle trail near the island's main road in an old pasture owned by the family.

Hello Christmas tree. The children and Henrik did a great job decorating the tree on Christmas eve.

This tree had two tops which had grown together and then continued to sprout. We decided not to "axe" this special tree.

A rain photo of the kids (and Henrik) and the tree in the wagon being pulled by the old tractor back to the farmhouse.

Filip loved his new snow sport helmet. Ski slopes here he comes!

The three biggest kids waiting to head to church for Christmas eve service. We got a late start to church and it was packed! We sat in the choir loft on folding chairs. The sermon was great. The island has a new (young) minister from a neighbor island. He delivered the Christmas story with such great enthusiasm...which is how I think it should be delivered. It was like a pep rally and everyone was uplifted with excitement about such a great story of hope...okay maybe the kids were all charged up about presents, and the adults about the big dinners waiting at home, but the story of the birth of Jesus was delivered the best I have ever heard it told.

Homemade Norwegian style mittens for all the kids. And NK was modeling his Norwegian sweater that Eli had made for him. Emilia models the mittens - and the new iPod.

And princessa Matilda models her fairy princess outfit!

Rapper NK with the gangsta belt. My little homeboy.

Santa (Jule-Nissen) showed-up to surprise the kiddos. He brought a special gift for each child.

Go Arsenal! Filip loved his new soccer/football jersey. Straight from the back streets of Prague.

For hours and hours the cousins entertained - singing in English and Norwegian, from pop to rap. Hours and hours of fun!

We ate such fantastic food - fish, land, beef, pork, turkey, cheeses and berries, wine and root vegetables...dinner party complete everyday. Gourmet and divine! So, of course, we did lots of hiking around the island.

The sun disappears behind the coastal mountains to the land of Thor and Odin.

The kids loved feeding some of the sheep in the neighborhood.

Again and again we set all the best china and crystal in the old diningroom and stocked the table with feasts!

My mom was caught on a walk enjoying the vistas the island offers. Behind her is a view of the fjord and a large island that hugs the coast.

The children on one of the family walks. They had great fun spending time together running and playing.

Eli's handpicked cloudberries were a big hit! Covered with cream this is may favorite dessert! Eli brought different types of berries she had picked - blueberries, cloudberries, raspberries, and a couple I can't remember the translation for.

The boys were enjoying an old shed near the farmhouse.

NK loves his uncle Bjørn! We had spent sometime at Bjørn's place in Belize (Central America) in the spring of 2007, and NK was so happy to spend Christmas with him too.

Shall we go thata way or thata way?

Bjørn, JH and Margareth. We aren't quite sure when we will all be together again - ?

The two mom's plotting something. Maybe they are plotting another meal, or over throwing a small country?

The big kid and the little kid playing video games.

NK took sometime to ride his ATV. Although it rained nearly all of the five days on the island, it didn't stop NK from riding the ATV all around the farm.

It was awesome having my mom (NK's nana) here in Norway for the holidays. It was cold, very snowy, in the mountains, very rainy along the coast and we did lots of driving. We saw the incredible which is Norway, but most important we spent lots of time together.

Comments are Updated on the Winter Wonderland Post

Another We Ain't In Kansas Moment

Actual "Obscene" Abercrombie Photo

Today, I read online about a Abercrombie & Fitch store in Virginia that displayed advertising posters of scantily clad models. Apparently, the "law" showed-up and arrested the manager of this mall-based store. I agree that I am just old enough, wise enough or middle class enough that I don't get the whole britches hanging off the bum, but this is a little scary. Slippery slope decency laws are well, slippery.

Before Christmas, I was walking in the local mall here in Norway and Bath and Body Works (an American chain store) had huge photos of a very tan and quite muscular and sweaty set of buns. Was I offended? Nope. I asked NK what he thought and he was surprised that I asked. And so, with the wide assortment of unclad folks on magazines at the supermarkets check-out counters in a country with the lowest homicide rate in the world, a country with one of the lowest (but rising!) rape rates, and one of the lowest rates of reported sexual harrassment, Norway, must have a lot of offended folks with the naked bodies on beaches and photos scattered about - right? Wrong. Norwegians just ain't afraid of the human body. Which brings me back to, well...backsides and decency laws. Again, I don't like looking at other people's selection of undergarments nor looking at crack, but decency laws and decency law enforcement scares me. It is slippery. Almost as slippery as the buns hanging in the mall, and a lot more scary.