Lesson from my father: What to eat first

My father and his brother were visiting
an aunt in their childhood. This aunt
was not a good cook, rumor says,
but children had to be polite.

This time she served the two boys a soup.

My uncle decided to eat what he liked
the least first - namely "the thick parts"
of the soup.

My father decided to start with what seemed
less distasteful - "the thin part".

In the meantime my uncle had struggled
through the thick parts and was just about
to start eating the thin part, when the aunt
ran over to him with the soup pot in her hand,
and before he could say anything, she
had poured a lot of new "thick parts" on his plate,
exclaiming "I see you love the thick parts!"

Sayings of Mr. Almgren

Today, after we finished a delicious meal,
my mother again used the saying of
a childhood neighbor.

This man, Frans Arvid Almgren, born 1868,
was originally a locomotive driver.
When he retired, he and his wife rented
an apartment in a house belonging to
my greatgrandfather.
My mother loved the gentle nature of
Farbror Frans (Uncle Frans).

Sometimes, Uncle Frans stayed at home
alone for weeks when his wife was visiting
their daughter in faraway Gothenburg.

Then he would prepare a fruit soup and eat
"smørskorpor" - twice-baked, dry breads.
On the "skorpor" he would add a thick layer
of butter.
After eating this he would exclaim in Swedish:
"Man blir så mätt så man tror
man aldrig skal bli hungrig igen."
(One gets so full of food/so satisfied, one thinks
one will never get hungry again.)

If you would like to make "skorpor", you
could try this recipe
http://www.abreadaday.com/?p=655=1


Another saying of his for seeing someone
in the morning:
" Redan uppe, och inte gråter!"
(Already up, and not crying.)
That one we have used in my family my whole
life!

It looks like...

It looks like



we have a budding comedian



with a sense of humor.

In the forest

The reason I went to the forest today
was to help my mother pick
"kantareller" - a yellow mushroom.
Latin name:
Cantharellus cibarius

We found a few we later had for dinner.
These tiny ones on the photo above will
have to grow some more.



I am not that big a fan of walking in the forest,
but with a camera it was OK.









And I know that my mother loves it.

Norway, land of shoes?

For the last two years in my other country,
I was using my crocks more or less all
the time.
Summer and winter.
They were so comfortable I did not care
about how they looked.



These were the shoes I came to Norway with
in 2006.
The boots I once got from my Norwegian
sister-in-law during a cold visit to Norway
(thanks!) and they were reserved for my
winter visits to Norway. Mostly.

Then there were my beloved crocks.

For those few occasions I could not get away
with the crocs, I used the black shoes.



These are the shoes I have now.
Funnily enough, I bought a pair of sandals
to use in Norway!
I bought a pair of black shoes, low heal,
for the few occasions I feel pressed to dress
up a little.
I have some extremely comfortable ECCO
shoes I got as a present.
Then you can see my low winter boots that
keep my feet warm when I have to be outside
for long hours in the winter.

Then there is one pair I keep at work,
not on this photograph, a pair of
strange-looking sandals looking like small boats.
http://us.mbt.com/Home/Collection/Shoes/Kisumu-Black-W.aspx

Norway, land of shoes?

If you want to know more about my strange-looking
sandals that should help me walk like a Masai , click
http://us.mbt.com/

A little bit more about Torderød

Highly recommended:
Taking the guided tour of Torderød mansion
in Moss on a Sunday afternoon in the summer.

I have now done it FOUR times.

Above is a photo I took last Sunday of our guide
Arnulf Johannesen. He is the chairman of a group
called Torderøds Venner (The friends of Torderød).
In addition to being an entertaining lecturer,
often with quite cynical and self-ironical remarks,
he also knows a lot about his subject.

I now have done this tour in 2007, 2008 and
now in 2009, and therefore clearly see the
progress in the ongoing restoration.
As the guide pointed out: "We are the crazy persons
coming up with the carefully researched plans,
and then others pay for it."



Here we are, walking in the French baroque
garden, standing under an oak that is quite rare
in Norway - I forgot the name.



There used to be another mansion in Moss
that could have ended up another cultural
perl. It was Rabekk.
But unfortunately the only part left of Rabekk

is the this gate, now near the obelisque at Torderoed.



This mirror, now in the ballroom at Torderod,
was once in another mansion in Moss, namely
Melløs, but that was demolished too.
Instead the town built an old age home there.
Can you hear Arnulf Johannesen's comments?
The mirror was first placed in a school where
fortunately it survived many years till one principal
thought Torderød would be a more suitable place.



This room is the White Hall, the next room
to be renovated. It used to be the room the
ladies went into after dancing and being
entertained.
Our guide told us that the walls were never
white, so it must have been the furniture that
was white.

Anyway, next year I hope to be back to see
how that room will look.

Where did my ecological eggs come from?

It might not be so unusual for you, but today
was the first time I traced the eggs I had
bought at the supermarket right back to the
farm that had produced them.

Starting with the website
http://www.nordgarden.no listed in the box,
I then clicked on egg producers, and got a list
of numbers referring to the farmers.



From the printed numbers on the egg
(here reproduced in a slightly unnatural color
to show the number), I found that this
particular farm has around 7500 hens and
gets around 6000 eggs a day.
http://www.norgarden.no/egg-produsenter/28316-article24023-13694.html

Thank you to the couple Rune and Tone
Skogli Garseg for taking full responsibility
for my six eggs!

Lesson from my father: Eating

My father wasn't too fond of vegetables,
to say the least.
But his mother, my grandmother, would
cut raw carrots into sticks and serve them
standing in a glass of water, and that he loved.

But he also had a saying about carrots:
"Eat carrots as long as it is considered
to be healthy."
(Spis gulrøtter så lenge det er sunt.)

I think that for me that means that what
is considered healthy to eat NOW, may have
been considered unhealthy in the past, and
may be considered unhealthy in the future.

A Lesson from my Mother: Picking Berries

My mother has loved to pick berries and
mushrooms her whole life.
Being in the forest.
Finding the right places where these grow.
Bringing home her hard work in baskets.
Making jam or preserving what she picked
in other ways.
My mother excels in all this.

A few days ago she went to a farm where you
could pick the raspberries yourself and pay
according to how much you had picked.

My mother came home with six of these:



Then she revealed that it had been very
exhausting to pick the raspberries.
She said that next year she may not pick
any berries, because her back hurts and
she easily tires.



So we ate some raspberries with cream,
and I kept thinking that this was a life lesson:
We may love doing things very much,
but one day our body tells us to do less,
and then to stop doing it.

Lightening in the middle of the night

Photo:
http://www.tryggogsikker.no/html/686.html

Last night I must have slept really deep.
Several friends told this morning how they
had stayed up because of the thunder,
the lightening and the heavy rain.
I did not hear anything.

One house in Moss was probably hit by
lightening and a fire broke out.
Fortunately for the owners they were away
on holiday. Nobody home.
Unfortunately for them, they must now return
from their holiday to face the practical, emotional
and financial problems caused by this fire.

I could not help ponder for a moment what
would have happened if the lightening had
hit my house.
Wooden houses....
Second floor.....

Here is a series of photos from this fire in the
net version of the local newspaper Moss Avis.
http://moss-avis.no/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=MA&Dato=20090716&Kategori=NYHET&Lopenr=162465378&Ref=PH&Profile=1247

Indian food at New Anarkali in Oslo

I find Indian food very tasty.
The food and service at the Indian restaurant
New Anarkali has been excellent during
my five visits there.






From my point of view, it is a great advantage
that there is no problem finding
vegetarian choices in their menu.





I will certainly be back!

What did Vigeland want to tell us?

Vigeland Park in Oslo

"Well", said Anne, "I have something really
important to tell you, but it is a secret.
I must whisper it to you."
Her friends closed in to hear what this
was all about.

For a moment Anne nearly forgot she was
looking after her younger brother Per, but
holding his hand tightly, she knew she had
him close by.



But little Per had found something interesting.
Was it a stick?
Perhaps.
He lifted the stick, but the stick moved.



He had found a snake.
A harmless snake?
A poisonous snake?

The story does not tell.
But the statue with these figures in the
Vigeland Park in Oslo let me ponder
both the little boy's natural curiosity
and the older girl's role as a caretaker for
the little boy, but also her own need for
social interaction.

Artistic ropes

Isn't it fantastic to see what seamen can
or at least could create?



These two I saw at the Maritime Museum in
Horten, on the opposite side of the Oslofjord
from Moss.

Spot the differences!

The oven in the ballroom, after the renovation.



The oven before the renovation.

Torderød - a collage made in 2007

Women's dresses like psalm books

Sixty years ago.
Young woman telling her uncle she heard
that the dresses used by young women
one generation earlier had had as many layers
of cloth as the pages of a psalm book.

The old uncle remarked in a sad voice:
One weren't allowed to turn many pages
of that psalm book!

Torderoed = Torderød

This Sunday I visited the Torderoed mansion
here in Moss for my third guided tour.
I have enjoyed it every time!
What more, new things keep happening
from one visit to the other.



The main ballroom has been renovated.



Looking from the ballroom into the
ladies' room. The ladies room will probably
be finished by next summer.



Looking from the ballroom into the
gentlemen's room. That room has also
been renovated.


The kitchen.

If you have the opportunity this summer,
go to Torderoed on a Sunday and join
the guided tour at three o'clock in the
afternoon.

Dancing in the ballroom at Torderød

During the tour of the Torderød mansion
today - this was my third visit - we were in
for a pleasant surprise.

Four couples stood in the newly renovated
ballroom, waiting for us.



Then, as an unexpected performance, they
showed us two period dances.



We were transferred back in time to that
same room, two hundred, two hundred
and fifty years ago.



Thank you to the four couples and
to our guide!

Reader in training

Kate celebrating July 4th

"Unsuccessful" Chocolate Cake

It must have been around 25 years ago.
A recipe in the Norwegian newspaper
Aftenposten for an "unsuccessful" chocolate
cake - a real calorie bomb, it said - caught my eye.
The special part about this cake was that it
should still be "wet" (= unsuccessful) in the middle.

After baking it once, it became a favorite.
It was the cake for birthdays, guests, school
functions.

The exact recipe is probably still in my other
country, but my son did some research on the
internet and found these two recipes in Norwegian
for Mislykket sjokoladekake.

http://www.kakemonsen.no/sider/vis.asp?id=1180

http://kristineshusmorblogg.blogspot.com/2006/10/mislykket-sjokoladekake.html

"Unsuccessful" Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 2 dl sugar
• 200 grams of margarine
• 200 grams of baking chocolate
• 2 1/2 dl flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

Directions

1. Beat the eggs and the sugar until the mixture
turns white.
2. Melt margarine and
baking chocolate.
3. Pour gently the chocolate into the egg mixture
and add the flour and the baking powder.
4. Pour mixture into a greased circular 24 cm baking tin.
5. Bake at 210 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes.
6. Cake MUST be soft (unsuccessful) in the middle.
7. Serve with ice cream.

My son tried to make a version with
American measurements.

Norwegian Unsuccessful Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 0.8 cups sugar
• 7 ounces of margarine
• 7 ounces of baking chocolate
• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

Directions

1. Beat the eggs and the sugar until the mixture
turns white.
2. Melt 7 ounces of margarine and 7 ounces of
baking chocolate.
3. Pour gently the chocolate into the egg mixture and
add 1 cup flour and 1 teaspoon baking powder.
4. Pour mixture into a greased circular baking tin
with a diameter of around 9 inches.
5. Bake at 410 degrees for 15 minutes.
6. Cake MUST be soft (unsuccessful) in the middle.
7. Serve with ice cream.

Struggling with 15000 steps a day

This was yesterday.