Visitors from Norway

What a wonderful week we shared with Kory’s second cousin, Jens-Fredrik and his son, Bent-Jarle! This was Bent-Jarle’s fourth time to visit us and they get better every time. We always visit with Jens-Fredrik and his wife in Oslo when we get a chance, so it was nice to have his feet under our dinner table for once – and he even liked the food. It was his first time to the west coast of America and he assures us, he’ll be back. They came to see the Olympic Ice Hockey game and even though America slaughtered Norway, they were still glad they came as the experience couldn’t be beat. They had an extra ticket so Kory was able to join them and he too said it was like nothing he’s ever done before – just the energy level alone was contagious. They spent the night in Vancouver and did a little sightseeing in the off hours. Except for standing in line for an hour to buy Olympic souvenirs, they had no complaints and they all came home beaming and pumped up

Kory spent more time with them than I did as I had to stay home and crack with whip with Kaleb. I schooled him a bit more than my patience allowed and as a result, he lost the “privilege” of his big summer half birthday party. He lied to me again, when he knew the next consequence coming was the loss of that summer bash. Oh how he cried, but honestly, ever since then, he’s been an angel. I told him he can’t “earn it back” as he is hoping to do because once it’s gone, it’s gone, but he can start to earn points toward having one again next year. His choices were taking him down the wrong path and this consequence certainly got his attention and helped him do an about-face. It also saved me thousands of dollars and many hours of planning, which I don’t mind doing for my sweet boy, but when he turns ugly, that’s a whole other story. He tried to argue with me saying that I wasn’t just punishing him, but all his friends too, as they look forward to the party all year long and I reminded him that is how sin is, it often affects innocent people. I hope he learned that lesson well.


Kaleb and I went to the Seattle Children’s Theatre this week and watched a play called “Nordic Myths.” Kaleb kept whispering in my ear each time they got the slightest detail “wrong.” He’s read a few books on the topic and apparently considers himself an expert on the subject. I told him they prefaced the whole play by saying many accounts of the myths have minor variations but he was still adamant (to the point of annoying) that they were misleading. This is how my life is. Once he gets it in his head that things are a certain way, nothing can change his mind.  If only that were a good trait.


Friday we took the day off school and spent it showing our visitors around or neck of the woods before they flew home Saturday. The day couldn’t have been more beautiful so we went for a nice drive, a lovely hike, had a picnic in the park then watched the sunset at Deception Pass. It was good to be outdoors and to feel the sunshine. I drove them to the airport Saturday and Kory went back to setting tile on our porch. (Maybe it will be done by the time our next guests arrive in two weeks.)

Today we drove to Bothell to attend our old church, as a new pastor started today and our friends John and Dee Foreman invited us down to hear him and to have lunch with them afterwards. God answered my prayers as John offered to spend some one-on-one mentoring time with Kaleb. John has an incredible gifting with boys Kaleb’s age and has taught Sunday school for many years and can get kids motivated to do things parents never could. He speaks life into those boys – tells them all they are his favorite, tells them all they are perfect, and brags about them until they nearly burst with pride. I’m sure Kaleb needs more encouragement as both Kory and I are wrung dry. Help is on the way. Hallelujah!



And now here’s the next installment of “Nuggets from Norway” as seen in this week’s LaConner Weekly News!

Pancakes

There are some special pancakes made in Sunnmøre, the area of Norway where we lived, called “Svela.” I never understood why Norwegians eat French fries with a knife and fork, but they eat pancakes with their hands. They sprinkle sugar, jam or a thick syrup on them and roll them up and eat them like a burrito anytime of the day or night. It’s often used as road food, since eating out in restaurants is prohibitively expensive.
Norwegians refer to “Swedish pancakes” (those thin crepe like things filled with goo), as just “pancakes” (pannekake) – because they aren’t about to give the Swedes credit for anything. Pancakes and bacon are a very common item on the dinner menu in Norway, and Norwegians can’t understand how in the world Americans could eat such a thing for breakfast.
The pancakes known as Svela look just like our American buttermilk pancakes, but they aren’t the same at all. The key ingredient in Svela is something called “Hjortetakksalt.”
I bought Hjortetakksalt a few years ago and brought it home so I could make Svela in America. When I opened the package I discovered it’s a powder that smells exactly like strong ammonia (or pee, whichever you prefer). The scary thing is, if you literally translate the name Hjortetakksalt, it means “thanks to the deer salt”… so ya gotta wonder what’s in there. (It’s actually the secret ingredient that makes the pancakes a little bit rubbery so they can be rolled up without breaking.)
One day a neighbor girl, Sabina, went blueberry picking with my son, Kaleb. Wild blueberries in Norway are even more prolific than wild blackberries in the Northwest. I thought I would treat Sabina to good old fashioned American blueberry pancakes – since she’d only ever eaten Svela before.
It was Sabina’s first opportunity to sample some American cooking so she was thrilled to sit down to a plate full of my pancakes – until she discovered the blueberries in them. She looked at me like I was crazy. She preferred the ones without. I guess she’s used to the pee.