Their Last Day

We all slept in this morning, which was more than blissful. We didn’t have a thing we HAD to do or anywhere we had to go, so we just played it by ear. Everyone requested I make those sourdough pancakes for breakfast again, so I did, and they were just as yummy as the first time (thank you Dal for that sourdough starter!). The Norwegians bought some sourdough starter in San Francisco, so they are all looking forward to making pancakes when they get back home. Inger bought a special book for me to write down their favorite recipes to take with them, so before everyone else was up this morning, I wrote down the pancake recipe as well as some others. At least they liked the food. I can’t always say that about my trips to Norway, but I do have some favorite things, so I’m happy to oblige.




Our friends, Nancy and Willie Schaub, live down the street and have the kind of house that you only see in magazines. It has high ceilings and is immaculately decorated. Anyone would be impressed by it, but especially a Norwegian, because of the size and style. I called Nancy and asked if we could come on over for a little tour. It’s a shame to have a house as nice as theirs and not share it with the world, and I was thankful they are gracious enough to do that. I think it should be a regular stop on the tour of the Northwest that we do with other visiting relatives and friends from Norway, as it’s about as impressive of a house as it gets. I could tell they agreed with me by how far down their jaws were hanging as they walked from room to room. Even her laundry room is a showplace. Go figure. I want Kaleb to hang out at her house for only one day, and then see what it looks like after that. I try not to be jealous of such a masterpiece, but it is a pretty dreamy place. I’m just thankful I don’t have to clean it and since it’s right down the street from where we live, I can go see it anytime I have a craving for perfection. Even the twins were impressed as one of them kept pestering his dad to get the floor plans so they could go home and build the same house in Norway. Bjorn used to be a carpenter, but I don’t think there is even a building lot in Norway that could hold the footprint of that house, as it’s pretty huge, and they don’t really do HUGE in Norway – that’s an American thing (see photo of the Norskies in the entryway).



So after that tour, when they were mightily impressed, we took them over to another friend’s house to see her art studio. Sharyn Sowell is an incredibly gifted artist that I am humbled to call my friend. Her medium is paper and scissors – she cuts out images that blow my mind. She’s pretty famous and her work is on everything (including all the new Kindle covers coming out of Amazon.com). She designs cards for many companies including Hallmark. She designs fabric, scrapbooking supplies, stamps and all kinds of beautiful things one would have in their home. She’s incredible (see her website at www.sharynsowell.com). She is often under deadlines to get her orders done and yet she begged me to bring the visiting Norwegians over to see her studio. She has an antique printing press she wanted the kids to try, which they did, and loved. Right in front of us, she cut out an absolutely beautiful flower and gave it to Inger. She’s also one of the most generous people on the planet, and Inger was more than a little pleased to get an original piece of art. Sharyn actually gave her several, as well as a really cool memory book (which she’ll use for Tobias’ confirmation next year) and a Cricut cartridge with her designs on it. (Cricut is a cutting system that scrapbookers and artists use). It was probably Inger’s best day in America as she got to spend time with a kindred spirit who loves art and making beautiful things, and as a bonus, her boys got over their long held fear of dogs. Sharyn has four of the sweetest pups on earth and the boys were terrified at first, but by the time we left, they were hugging and kissing the dogs – truly a miracle. Bjorn busied himself working the press and making copies of different images Sharyn had put on printing blocks. What an unforgettable experience (see photo).



We stayed much longer at Sharyn’s than I anticipated, and I felt kinda bad because she was working on a huge deadline, but she never once made us feel the pressure to leave, because that’s the kind of person she is – gracious in every way. But when we finally did leave, we went into LaConner and dropped Inger and Bjorn off to have a look around while we went back home with the kids. Kory let them fire off the potato cannon and they played on the zip line and hopped on the pogo stick and walked on stilts and just goofed off around the house, which is something they all need before they spend 24 hours heading back home tomorrow.



We bought a Greek dinner at an auction a while back, so tonight was the night it was delivered to our house (see photo). We invited Willie and Nancy over to have dinner out on the deck with us and the Norskies. When one of the twins sat down to eat he raised his hands toward heaven and shouted “Hallelujah!” The other one copied him. I guess they’ve caught on to Kory’s mantra. It was pretty cute. It was our last meal with The Visiting Norwegians, and it was a good one. I’m going to be sad when they are gone. They promised to return, however, so that’s a good thing.



We visited with Willie and Nancy while Inger and Bjorn tried to get the boys to bed, and the last of their things packed up. They bought more than they expected, and now they have eight very large suitcases to lug home. Bjorn is quite worried about it all, since he’s really the only one that will be handling it, but I know he’ll do fine. They more than paid for their trip with all the money they saved in the process. Their time spent here wasn’t just about good memories, it was about good bargains as well and they have 27 new pairs of shoes to prove it. They might need to build Willie and Nancy’s house afterall, just to have a place to store all their new stuff, however.