It's Wednesday

Laundry is in process,
Dishes are started,
the front room is straightened,
the dog needs food,
the kids need lunch,
at least the bed is made.

Yesterday afternoon I moaned about my online list friends (My Moms) not commenting on my blog or responding to my posts to them, and boy did I get nearly instant gratification! They were evidently in the woodwork wondering.

I shall post about Norway as soon as I figure out where I left off, and will also write some other brain dumping type doggerel.

Oh, and lest she thinks I forgot her already, CONGRATULATIONS to the new Norwegian Mommy!!

The Good the Bad the Ugly

The Good: a forgiving husband

The Bad: Bees in the kitchen and a sick 3-year-old daughter

The Ugly: Dead bees on my kitchen counter, my rangetop and even some on the floor.

(Borrowed from the famous Nordic Goddess)

Nasty Little Bastards

A moment of exodus from My Norwegian musing to cry foul.

My Mother Bear Growl is rising up and ready to ROAR. Dh, BD1 and BD2 went to the park this afternoon for a little picnic and play time. BD1 took her backpack with some toys and books with her. They put the backpack on the picnic table and went a few yards away to play with the "flying disc" and the dog, and just a few minutes later returned to notice that the backpack was missing.

They looked all over the park, the adjoining school, the office building, the trash even, and nothing; it was gone.

Why would someone want to take a dirty, old, broken purple backpack? We did the "reward, lost backpack" sign, and have kind of waited to hear something all afternoon, but nothing. I think some kid or kids was being very mean.

Just made my heart hurt. Just about everyone in the neighborhood knows BD1 (and BD2 for that matter), since we walk to school with her backpack and we seem to be always chasing the dog; so why wouldn't someone return it.

Had to vent.

Missing Norway

Have been home for two days, I think. Wednesday night BD1 and I returned from 19 hours of traveling. I did get warm finally, after loading the car--one huge suitcase and 4 smallish ones.

(I'm being a bad mom right now. BD2 has a fever and has been kind of quiet all day; we slept for a couple of hours this afternoon while BD1 went swimming with school friend. So, now that BD1 is home, she's watching TV and BD2 is attempting to color. I am trying to ignore them while I update my blog.)

My head is still in Norway. It surprised me that when BD1 and I did some marketing yesterday afternoon that I really missed Europe and the ways of marketing there. Marketing was great fun in Norway. Doing normal everyday things in foreign countries gives me a kick. I love to go to the market, for example, and my husband tries to get a haircut from a local barber when we are out of our own country. Weird, eh.

Back to missing Norway. We both felt so welcome, so at home, and the thing I miss the most (not counting people) is that gorgeous veranda. It's now famous because of my Norwegian friend's blog of her own. Such a peaceful feeling overcomes a person sitting on the veranda, drinking a glass of wine, a cup of tea, just closing your eyes and smelling the rain, having a smoke, celebrating or contemplating. It is such an inspirational place, and a comforting place as well. Ok, ok, I will attempt to not make it a shrine.

One especially great thing about the veranda in the summer: it was daylight nearly all the time, so it didn't matter what time you sat there, there was always a good view and something to see. The trains coming and going from the small train stop near the house, trekking through the forest and hills, making their comforting whistle calls just, I don't know, comforted me. The huge magpies and their calls added to the enchantment of being there. We heard only a very few planes; perhaps that was part of the peacefulness of being there. Never heard a helicopter at all. No emergency vehicle sirens, no car alarms, no heavy equipment trucks and their obnoxious horns, and only the far away barking dog sounded.

My head of course is still fuzzy. BD1 has already acclimatized to the home time zone, but I feel as if I have a vague sinus infection and cotton in my head.

oh, the time! Just phoned my dh and he's only 15 minutes from home. Have to go pretend I've been cooking all afternoon and "rustle up some grub." That reminds me: I also had a craving for M's "cowboy dinner" to be described later.

more later, of course.

Cold

For the first time here I am cold. Not quite freezing, but my pajamas and robe are not enough to keep me warm. The clothes I brought are miserably lacking for warmth. Good thing I brought my "plastic" rain jacket ($12 at Ross, thank you very much) as it is the only thing really that provides me some warmth.

It has been cold here all week, yes. However, I have only on occasion been cold, and it has also always been easy to get warm. This morning, though, seems different. I know it will be better when I get some of that 7-11 Macchiato in me. Maybe I'll get two.

It's ironic, too, that this, our last full day in Norway is the first day I have awakened at a decent time, and the first time BD1 has slept later than I did. I will be "heaven" trying to get her awake at 4:am tomorrow!

We are going to see our dear K again this morning, to bring books and pastries, and then off to shop in the city center. I am driving!! The kids and I will go into town and try to have some fun shopping. Have to get those souvenirs, you know.

I think K may not come home tonight. Her condition is not as under control as the med staff would like. We haven't heard anything this morning yet, of course, so I could be very wrong, and would be very happy to be so.

My "kingdom" for a thick warm sweater!! (the only sweatshirt I brought is drying on a rack in the laundry room--no clothes dryers here!)

A quick update on my dear friend K. She must stay one more night in hospital, as she is still bleeding. She had stopped for a while, but now has begun again. When M gets home from work, we’ll trek into town and visit her.

It’s been a quiet day today, with big puffy clouds alternately appearing in bright blue sky with periods of rain. It is cold outside, too. With my southern California clothing, I can only stay outside for about 20 minutes. Then I have to get back inside because I’m too cold.

Wednesday morning, bright and early, BD1 and I will leave this beautiful place and begin our journey home. We’ll travel from Oslo to Brussels, Brussels to New York, and then New York to California. I think I’ll try to pack some things tonight so that we can play and maybe go sightseeing tomorrow. We have to buy those promised souvenirs, ya know! I promised BD2 I’d bring her a surprise, and after being gone for a week, it had better be a good one!

Norwegian kidlet is such a great little boy. I hate to see him go through this ordeal after such joy during the weekend.


I wish my DH had ESP. I want him to phone me in the biggest way, and getting an internet connection is time consuming at best. I cannot even send an email to him to ask him to phone, because the connection is unavailable. Now that I have a connection and a good signal strength, I'll try to email him to get him to phone. Or, maybe he'll read this and call. I miss him very much. That's all for now.

book list

While we wait for news from our dear K, and watch the rain fall, here is a long time-waster:

Rainy Day Book Meme
stolen from the Livermoore Wine Goddess, who stole it from the Norse Goddess

*bold those you've read
*italicise started-but-never-finished
*add three of your own
*post to your blog

1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman

4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. 1984, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's (Philosopher's) Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck 30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
71. Perfume, Patrick Susskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie
101. Three Men In A Boat, Jerome K. Jerome
102. Small Gods, Terry Pratchett
103. The Beach, Alex Garland
104. Dracula, Bram Stoker
105. Point Blanc, Anthony Horowitz
106. The Pickwick Papers, Charles Dickens
107. Stormbreaker, Anthony Horowitz
108. The Wasp Factory, Iain Banks
109. The Day Of The Jackal, Frederick Forsyth
110. The Illustrated Mum, Jacqueline Wilson
111. Jude The Obscure, Thomas Hardy
112. The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole Aged 13 1/2, Sue Townsend
113. The Cruel Sea, Nicholas Monsarrat
114. Les Miserables, Victor Hugo
115. The Mayor Of Casterbridge, Thomas Hardy
116. The Dare Game, Jacqueline Wilson
117. Bad Girls, Jacqueline Wilson
118. The Picture Of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
119. Shogun, James Clavell
120. The Day Of The Triffids, John Wyndham
121. Lola Rose, Jacqueline Wilson
122. Vanity Fair, William Makepeace Thackeray
123. The Forsyte Saga, John Galsworthy
124. House Of Leaves, Mark Z. Danielewski
125. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver
126. Reaper Man, Terry Pratchett
127. Angus, Thongs And Full-Frontal Snogging, Louise Rennison
128. The Hound Of The Baskervilles, Arthur Conan Doyle
129. Possession, A. S. Byatt
130. The Master And Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov
131. The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood
132. Danny The Champion Of The World, Roald Dahl
133. East Of Eden, John Steinbeck
134. George's Marvellous Medicine, Roald Dahl
135. Wyrd Sisters, Terry Pratchett
136. The Color Purple, Alice Walker
137. Hogfather, Terry Pratchett
138. The Thirty-Nine Steps, John Buchan
139. Girls In Tears, Jacqueline Wilson
140. Sleepovers, Jacqueline Wilson
141. All Quiet On The Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque
142. Behind The Scenes At The Museum, Kate Atkinson
143. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby
144. It, Stephen King
145. James And The Giant Peach, Roald Dahl
146. The Green Mile, Stephen King
147. Papillon, Henri Charriere
148. Men At Arms, Terry Pratchett
149. Master And Commander, Patrick O'Brian
150. Skeleton Key, Anthony Horowitz
151. Soul Music, Terry Pratchett
152. Thief Of Time, Terry Pratchett
153. The Fifth Elephant, Terry Pratchett
154. Atonement, Ian McEwan
155. Secrets, Jacqueline Wilson
156. The Silver Sword, Ian Serraillier
157. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Ken Kesey
158. Heart Of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
159. Kim, Rudyard Kipling
160. Cross Stitch, Diana Gabaldon
161. Moby Dick, Herman Melville
162. River God, Wilbur Smith
163. Sunset Song, Lewis Grassic Gibbon
164. The Shipping News, Annie Proulx
165. The World According To Garp, John Irving
166. Lorna Doone, R. D. Blackmore
167. Girls Out Late, Jacqueline Wilson
168. The Far Pavilions, M. M. Kaye
169. The Witches, Roald Dahl
170. Charlotte's Web, E. B. White
171. Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
172. They Used To Play On Grass, Terry Venables and Gordon Williams
173. The Old Man And The Sea, Ernest Hemingway
174. The Name Of The Rose, Umberto Eco
175. Sophie's World, Jostein Gaarder
176. Dustbin Baby, Jacqueline Wilson
177. Fantastic Mr. Fox, Roald Dahl
178. Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov
179. Jonathan Livingstone Seagull, Richard Bach
180. The Little Prince, Antoine De Saint-Exupery
181. The Suitcase Kid, Jacqueline Wilson
182. Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens
183. The Power Of One, Bryce Courtenay
184. Silas Marner, George Eliot
185. American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis
186. The Diary Of A Nobody, George and Weedon Gross-mith
187. Trainspotting, Irvine Welsh
188. Goosebumps, R. L. Stine
189. Heidi, Johanna Spyri
190. Sons And Lovers, D. H. Lawrence
191. The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera
192. Man And Boy, Tony Parsons
193. The Truth, Terry Pratchett
194. The War Of The Worlds, H. G. Wells
195. The Horse Whisperer, Nicholas Evans
196. A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry
197. Witches Abroad, Terry Pratchett
198. The Once And Future King, T. H. White
199. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle
200. Flowers In The Attic, Virginia Andrews
201. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien
202. The Eye of the World, Robert Jordan
203. The Great Hunt, Robert Jordan
204. The Dragon Reborn, Robert Jordan
205. Fires of Heaven, Robert Jordan
206. Lord of Chaos, Robert Jordan
207. Winter's Heart, Robert Jordan
208. A Crown of Swords, Robert Jordan
209. Crossroads of Twilight, Robert Jordan
210. A Path of Daggers, Robert Jordan
211. As Nature Made Him, John Colapinto
212. Microserfs, Douglas Coupland
213. The Married Man, Edmund White
214. Winter's Tale, Mark Helprin
215. The History of Sexuality, Michel Foucault
216. Cry to Heaven, Anne Rice
217. Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe, John Boswell
218. Equus, Peter Shaffer
219. The Man Who Ate Everything, Jeffrey Steingarten
220. Letters To A Young Poet, Rainer Maria Rilke
221. Ella Minnow Pea, Mark Dunn
222. The Vampire Lestat, Anne Rice
223. Anthem, Ayn Rand
224. The Bridge To Terabithia, Katherine Paterson
225. Tartuffe, Moliere
226. The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka
227. The Crucible, Arthur Miller
228. The Trial, Franz Kafka
229. Oedipus Rex, Sophocles
230. Oedipus at Colonus, Sophocles
231. Death Be Not Proud, John Gunther
232. A Doll's House, Henrik Ibsen
233. Hedda Gabler, Henrik Ibsen
234. Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton
235. A Raisin In The Sun, Lorraine Hansberry
236. ALIVE!, Piers Paul Read
237. Grapefruit, Yoko Ono
238. Trickster Makes This World, Lewis Hyde
240. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
241. Chronicles of Thomas Convenant, Unbeliever, Stephen Donaldson
242. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny
242. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon
243. Summerland, Michael Chabon
244. A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole
245. Candide, Voltaire
246. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More, Roald Dahl
247. Ringworld, Larry Niven
248. The King Must Die, Mary Renault
249. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert Heinlein
250. A Wrinkle in Time, Madeline L'Engle
251. The Eyre Affair, Jasper Fforde
252. The House Of The Seven Gables, Nathaniel Hawthorne
253. The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne
254. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan
255. The Great Gilly Hopkins, Katherine Paterson
256. Chocolate Fever, Robert Kimmel Smith
257. Xanth: The Quest for Magic, Piers Anthony
258. The Lost Princess of Oz, L. Frank Baum
259. Wonder Boys, Michael Chabon
260. Lost In A Good Book, Jasper Fforde
261. Well Of Lost Plots, Jasper Fforde
261. Life Of Pi, Yann Martel
263. The Bean Trees, Barbara Kingsolver
264. A Yellow Raft In Blue Water, Michael Dorris
265. Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder
267. Where The Red Fern Grows, Wilson Rawls
268. Griffin & Sabine, Nick Bantock
269. Witch of Black Bird Pond, Joyce Friedland
270. Mrs. Frisby And The Rats Of NIMH, Robert C. O'Brien
271. Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbitt
272. The Cay, Theodore Taylor
273. From The Mixed-Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, E.L. Konigsburg
274. The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Jester
275. The Westing Game, Ellen Raskin
276. The Kitchen God's Wife, Amy Tan
277. The Bone Setter's Daughter, Amy Tan
278. Relic, Duglas Preston & Lincolon Child
279. Wicked, Gregory Maguire
280. American Gods, Neil Gaiman
281. Misty of Chincoteague, Marguerite Henry
282. The Girl Next Door, Jack Ketchum
283. Haunted, Judith St. George
284. Singularity, William Sleator
285. A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson
286. Different Seasons, Stephen King
287. Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk
288. About a Boy, Nick Hornby
289. The Bookman's Wake, John Dunning
290. The Church of Dead Girls, Stephen Dobyns
291. Illusions, Richard Bach
292. Magic's Pawn, Mercedes Lackey
293. Magic's Promise, Mercedes Lackey
294. Magic's Price, Mercedes Lackey
295. The Dancing Wu Li Masters, Gary Zukav
296. Spirits of Flux and Anchor, Jack L. Chalker
297. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice
298. The Encyclopedia of Unusual Sex Practices, Brenda Love
299. Infinite Jest, David Foster Wallace
300. The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison.
301. The Cider House Rules, John Irving.
302. Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
303. Girlfriend in a Coma, Douglas Coupland
304. The Lion's Game, Nelson Demille
305. The Sun, The Moon, and the Stars, Stephen Brust -- maybe?
306. Cyteen, C. J. Cherryh
307. Foucault's Pendulum, Umberto Eco
308. Cryptonomicon, Neal Stephenson
309. Invisible Monsters, Chuck Palahniuk
310. Camber of Culdi, Kathryn Kurtz
311. The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand
312. War and Rememberance, Herman Wouk
313. The Art of War, Sun Tzu
314. The Giver, Lois Lowry
315. The Telling, Ursula Le Guin
316. Xenogenesis (or Lilith's Brood), Octavia Butler (Dawn, Adulthood Rites, Imago)
317. A Civil Campaign, Lois McMaster Bujold
318. The Curse of Chalion, Lois McMaster Bujold
319. The Aeneid, Publius Vergilius Maro (Vergil)
320. Hanta Yo, Ruth Beebe Hill
321. The Princess Bride, S. Morganstern (or William Goldman)
322. Beowulf, Anonymous
323. The Sparrow, Maria Doria Russell
324. Deerskin, Robin McKinley
325. Dragonsong, Anne McCaffrey
326. Passage, Connie Willis
327. Otherland, Tad Williams
328. Tigana, Guy Gavriel Kay
329. Number the Stars, Lois Lowry
330. Beloved, Toni Morrison
331. Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, Christopher Moore
332. The mysterious disappearance of Leon, I mean Noel, Ellen Raskin
333. Summer Sisters, Judy Blume
334. The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Victor Hugo
335. The Island on Bird Street, Uri Orlev
336. Midnight in the Dollhouse, Marjorie Filley Stover
337. The Miracle Worker, William Gibson
338. The Genesis Code, John Case
339. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevensen
340. Paradise Lost, John Milton
341. Phantom, Susan Kay
342. The Mummy or Ramses the Damned, Anne Rice
343. Anno Dracula, Kim Newman
344: The Dresden Files: Grave Peril, Jim Butcher
345: Tokyo Suckerpunch, Issac Adamson
346: The Winter of Magic's Return, Pamela Service
347: The Oddkins, Dean R. Koontz
348. My Name is Asher Lev, Chaim Potok
349. The Last Goodbye, Raymond Chandler
350. At Swim, Two Boys, Jaime O'Neill
351. Othello, by William Shakespeare
352. The Collected Poems of Dylan Thomas
353. The Collected Poems of William Butler Yeats
354. Sati, Christopher Pike
355. The Inferno, Dante
356. The Apology, Plato
357. The Small Rain, Madeline L'Engle
358. The Man Who Tasted Shapes, Richard E Cytowick
359. 5 Novels, Daniel Pinkwater
360. The Sevenwaters Trilogy, Juliet Marillier (am on 1st book only)
361. Girl with a Pearl Earring, Tracy Chevalier
362. To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf
363. Our Town, Thorton Wilder
364. Green Grass Running Water, Thomas King
335. The Interpreter, Suzanne Glass
336. The Moor's Last Sigh, Salman Rushdie
337. The Mother Tongue, Bill Bryson
338. A Passage to India, E.M. Forster
339. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky
340. The Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux
341. Pages for You, Sylvia Brownrigg
342. The Changeover, Margaret Mahy
343. Howl's Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones
344. Angels and Demons, Dan Brown
345. Johnny Got His Gun, Dalton Trumbo
346. Shosha, Isaac Bashevis Singer
347. Travels With Charley, John Steinbeck
348. The Diving-bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
349. The Lunatic at Large by J. Storer Clouston
350. Time for Bed by David Baddiel
351. Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold
352. Quite Ugly One Morning by Christopher Brookmyre
353. The Bloody Sun by Marion Zimmer Bradley
354. Sewer, Gas, and Eletric by Matt Ruff
355. Jhereg by Steven Brust
356. So You Want To Be A Wizard by Diane Duane
357. Perdido Street Station, China Mieville
358. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Anne Bronte
359. Road-side Dog, Czeslaw Milosz
360. The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje
361. Neuromancer, William Gibson
362. The Epistemology of the Closet, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick
363. A Canticle for Liebowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr
364. The Mask of Apollo, Mary Renault
365. The Gunslinger, Stephen King
366. Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare
367. Absalom, Absalom, William Faulkner
368. The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway
369. Dreamhouse, Alison Habens
370. Hyperion, by Dan Simmons
371. Prospero's Children, Jan Siegel
372. Gaudy Night, Dorothy Sayers
373. Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond
374. Enchantment, Orson Scott Card
375. Cetaganda, Lois McMaster Bujold
376. Beauty, Sheri S. Tepper
377. The Hour of the Star, Clarice Lispector
378. The Patron Saint of Liars, Ann Patchett
379. Sexing the Cherry, Jeanette Winterson.
380. A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula Le Guin.
381. Assassin's Apprentice, Robin Hobb.
382. The Axis Trilogy, Sara Douglass -- bleh
383. Peter Pan, J. M. Barrie
384. Sabriel, Garth Nix
385. Neverwhere, Neil Gaiman
386. The Silence of the Lambs, Robert Harris
387. The Hot Zone, Richard Preston
388. The Dispossessed, Ursula K. Le Guin
389. The House with a Clock in its Walls, John Bellairs
390. The Wings of a Falcon, Cynthia Voigt
391. Gain, by Richard Powers
392. White Noise, by Don DeLillo
393. Koko, by Peter Straub
394. Giles Goat-Boy, by John Barth
395. Tam Lin, by Pamela Dean
396. Was, by Geoff Ryman
397. The DaVinci Code, Dan Brown
398. A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams
399. The Awakening, Edith Wharton
400. A Little Princess, Frances Hodgson Burnett
401. Matilda, Roald Dahl
402. The Blind Assassin, Margaret Atwood
403. Quicksilver, Neal Stephenson
404. The Difference Engine, Bruce Sterling and Willaim Gibson
405. Rust, DL Thurston
406. Kushiel's Dart, Jacqueline Carey
407. Across the Nightingale Floor, Lian Hearn
408. A Cloud of Sparrows, Takashi Matsuoka
409. A Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin
410. Rose in Bloom, Louisa May Alcott
411. Tale of Genji, Murasaki
412. Excession, Iain M Banks
413. Women's Room, Marilyn French
414. If Women Counted: A New Feminist Economics, Marilyn Waring
415. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
416. Operating Instructions: A Journey of My Sons First Year, Anne Lamott
417. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
417. The Bible, Various
418. The Iliad and the Odyssey, Homer
419. TaiPan

The Day After

When I awoke yesterday it was 1:30 PM! The first thing, Karine tells me we have a problem. She is bleeding profusely and needs to go to ER. Plus, Magnus needs to go back to the party farm to get the gifts and music equipment.

I take K to ER, come back, go with M to the farm, then come back with the kids, and Magnus goes to hospital to see Karine.

Evidently, through too much standing and partying, she has broken a blood vessel, which is causing the bleeding. They gave her some coagulants and kept her over night. We hope she'll come home today (Monday), but we don't know if she will. Magnus has to go to work today, but he might take some time off to see Karine, I'll stay with J and S, hoping to somehow communicate with him since he does not speak any English except Yes, Thank you, No, and good bye, basically.

The Event

It rained and rained and rained some more. M (the groom) left a few hours ahead of us with the sound equipment and music, and dressed there. K and I stayed here and relaxed a little then we got dressed. Since it was raining, and we had to take a train then a motorcoach to the Party, we decided the kids could dress there.

After a 1/2 hour train ride to the center of Oslo, we hopped onto the motorcoach where a few friends already waited for us. When the bus was full, the party began, and we left for the farm/nursery/cheese factory/party location.

Load of food, loads of drink, and champagne flowed freely. People laughed; introduced themselves to each other, introduced themselves to me and other wise made certain that Sarah and I felt welcome. I got BD1 changed into her pretty dress and shoes, and did her hair. Proud mommy that I am, it gave me great pleasure that every person there told her she was beautiful and that she was the "belle of the ball." She looked every bit the princess she is. Poor thing; we had to awaken her from 2 separate naps--one at K&M's house, and one on the train.

Dinner was gorgeous. For the first time in my life, I tried venison stew. Fresh cheese, sliced meats, salmon, venison pate, rice, potato salads and fruit salads, and so many different desserts, including a cake decorated to look like a motorbike. Scrumptious!!!

Befor supper began and the noise in the room increased, the new bride rose to her feet and made a speech about how happy she was that everyone was there, how she felt lucky to have such beautiful friends and family in attendance, and in hers and the groom's life. She made a couple of announcements and everyone got to eat.

During dinner, the speeches started with K's diminutive friend, who had very graciously translated what she said into English just for me. I may post it in the blog--it was very very sweet and loving. The rest of the speeches I understood not a word. Everyone laughed quite a bit, so I suppose the speakers were very funny, especially the coach driver, who had driven nearly through a tree to get us to the farmhouse and had damaged his coach. He evidently told several off-color jokes and stories.

M's father gave a very loving speech, and shared some letters M had written while he was an exchange student in Pennsylvania. Plus, he shared some postcards that his grandson the Norwegian Kidlet had written him when travelling.

BD1, by this time, had fallen asleep in my lap, and we moved her to a small settee where she slept for the rest of the evening. I was disappointed a little that she did not get to dance with the groom or with kidlet even once.

I, however, got to dance with the best man, who was a terrific dancer, and a great lead, but who danced with a woman who has two left feet. I was so embarrased and he spun me right round so to speak so much that I got dizzy and my nausea nearly, em, "errupted."

The party was beautiful, fun, laughter and festive spirits prevailed. Even knowing my dear friend is ill, we all managed to have a great time. A few moments of private conversation and tears with a couple of the other guests occurred, but other than that, Fun and Frivolity were the themes for the night.

We got back on the damanged motorcoach, rode to town, continuing the party on the coach, and reached the center of Oslo sometime near 0300 (am) Sunday. We hired cabs and came back to my gracious hosts' home, where the children got tucked in and the grownups stayed up for another couple of hours talking and laughing about the evening.

K & M have such great friends. Gracious and generous are better words to describe their social circle. Champagne seemed to be the gift of the night; we came home with 2 cases of champagne, and several bottles of wine, plus other gorgeous gifts.

At about 0530 we finally got to bed and dreamed away the morning. What a terrific trip this has been.

The Morning of the Event

Wow. What a grand group of friends and family K & M have! But first, I'll begin at the start of the day.

BD1 and I awoke at 0430 (am) and could'nt get back to sleep. After watching some kid shows on tv, and dozing, I tried to go back to bed, but still couldn't, even when I covered my eyes. So, when Norwegian Kidlet awoke, I "stole" the rental car and took a little drive. The local grocer wasn't open just yet, so I went off to explore the countryside. I didn't get lost, and saw some beautiful things: charming farmhouses, acres and acres of farmland on rolling hills, fields of yellow flowers (which I believe to be called "rape"--sort of a mustard seed), cattle and horses, farmers, people walking. It was just so pleasant to drive through this country.

Alas, the market had opened, and I bought some things, planning to cook it for dinner some night while I visited. Instead, I made a particularly tasty breakfast for K and myself; and omelette with roasted red and yellow peppers, fresh basil and parsley, tossed with some sun dried tomati, and topped with mozzarella cheese. With K's version of Norwegian coffee, some crusty bread, and sliced oranges, we had a veritable feast.

After some rest, it was time to get ready for the Party.

Here I Sit

What a beautiful day in this place. Here I sit at the dining room table at NMNB&G's house, at the window that overlooks a gorgeous valley with forest for miles, and an occasional house popping out of the trees. Fresh sunflowers at the table, charming country home next door, The now famous veranda where we can watch the cat sleep, watch the rain, read, do sewing, drink coffee (or champagne, as it was last night) and just enjoy peaceful moments of this life.

This is a perfect place for K (NMNB takes too long to type). I think the environment here, and her son's happiness at the relative freedom he has compared with living in the city, help her have a great deal of peace of mind.

You see, this trip was not just a frivolous trip to attend a wedding and party. My friend, my virtual sister, my most gracious host, is seriously ill. The "C" word disease, at a very bad stage, and not easily dealt with as far as a cure. She has already undergone 3 rounds of chemo, and has begun radiation therapy. She gets treatments at the best cancer center in Norway, and she has a great attitude, and I keep thinking she will beat it, primarily because of this.

However, I don't know if I could have the wonderful philosophy about it that she has if I had cancer. She is so calm, so gracious, such a beautiful person, and has reassured everyone around her who is so afraid of losing her--it astonishes all of us who get the privilege of knowing her that she is the one comforting us, when we want to comfort her.

I do think this countryside where she lives is the place she ought to be. Just a few days have helped my spirit immensely. I'll have to try to empty my head about all that some other time. Right now, it's time to look at some pictures with my Norwegian tour guide K.

Norway Journal Entry #1

This was supposed to be posted first, but I had sent it to my dh, but had not saved it in my out box. So, he sent it back to me so that I could add it to my new BLOG.

We left at 7am 16th June, a Wednesday, and after 3 flights and 19 hours of travelling, we reached Oslo and a great welcoming hug from Karine, waiting for us outside customs.

The flight from Long Beach to New York was great. Love those JetBlue TVs! Got to watch all of the Sound of Music, which I believe I have never done before. Note to Scott: Princess Bride also played on one of the movie channels, but I could not bring myself to watch it without you there with me. The flight crew just made the flight even more enjoyable. Worth every penny to fly JB from Long Beach.

Going through Security at JFK processed a lot more quickly than I expected, and we found our AA terminal fairly easily. It was only 2 Air Train stops away from Jet Blue. We had a 3 hour layover in New York, before we boarded our plane to Brussels. American Airlines served us dinner which was not half bad, and showed two movies, Big Fish and The Wedding Singer. The flight was smooth going all the way, and Sarah was impressed to learn that after 3 hours of flying, we were still over the Atlantic ocean.

During the flight, Sarah and I both stared in wonder at the sunset that seemed to last throughout the night and magically transformed into sunrise. All night while flying, there was at least a thin orangey/melony line on the horizon of the sky. Sarah and I were both impressed.

Customs in Belgium was easy; got a stamp on our passports and went on our way. We had only one hour to get to our next flight, and we made it just 5 minutes before the boarding annoucement came over the PA system. Pretty good, since I took about 5 minutes to get some chocolate and cigarrettes for K. Belgium is certainly beautiful; I think I'd like to spend more than an hour there sometime.

Landing in Oslo went great. Customs was non-existant. We'll have to beg when we leave to get our passports stamped.

After greeting Karine, getting some Norwegian currency, and freshening up a bit, we left for Aneby. Don't ask me to pronounce it.

more later

Norway!

My daughter and I just got to Norway yesterday, and today we witnessed a civil wedding ceremony. She was an honorable ring bearer/bridesmaid, and I got to take pictures. All things considered, the New Missus Norway Bride (NMNB) says, the ceremony and in fact the whole day was quite civil.

Please, my friend KW in Massachusetts, please don't be too hard on my grammar. I'm trying to type in English on a Norwegian keyboard adapted to English. So my bad typing/writing style may not be all my fault!

The new Mister Norway Groom (NMNG)treated all of us to a beautiful lunch after the wedding ceremony. A lot of Norwegian was spoken around us, and BD1 and I played hangman and drew pictures on the butcher paper table "cloth"--plus when it was appropriate, all the conversations were translated into English for us. Then NMNG also treated us to fabulous desserts, which we all shared. I never thought I'd like strawberries drowned in balsamic vinegar, but they were yummy, as was the very different dark chocolat-y creme brulee and the brownies, as well as the rich Italian ice cream (gelato?)

On the way back to the house of NMNB&G, the two beautiful children ("kidlet" and "BD1") fell asleep on NMNB's shoulders. What gorgeous scenery! What space they have between their homes! What great little grocery marts (Meny)with all kinds of exotic (at least to me) choices of food!

BD1 is still asleep;which worries all the adults about her adjusting to the time change. I got a smallish nap in the car and so I think it's 1:00 in the afternoon. So here I am, typing away at nearly 10:30 at night, and it is not dark at all! Looks like it's only about 7:30 pm, by California summer standards. We three adults are doing our separate things, NMNB is setting up the seating arrangement for tomorrow's party, NMNG is eating a snack and watching something silent on the TV, I am typing into my new little blog, and we are listening to the music planned for tomorrow, with occasional bouts of conversation in between.

There are so many stories to tell, but this post is long enough. I plan to use this as a journal, venting place, event-sharing when I return home. I hope readers enjoy it.

-MM

What a beautiful family I have as friends. They are gracious hosts, beautiful in and out, and have just treated BD1 and myself like visiting royalty. They have a great group of friends, too. I get to meet even more tomorrow night at the Wedding Party.

NMNB was radiant and stunningly beautiful at the ceremony. So was NMNG, but then, it's usually the bride we focus on at a wedding, isn't it.

testing testing

Is this thing on?