Summer vacation

Finished the semester today with two breast cancer surgeries. Finally the last 9 weeks of intense praktical studies coupled with work in the ER have come to an end. It was a period of getting up at 5:30 every day, of leaving the house at 6:45 and coming home at 8 pm - mostly because either dentist appointments, orienteering or dog training followed immediatly after work. For 3 periods in the past 9 weeks, I worked for 12 days in a row before I had a weekend off. Almost every week I had a 15 hour workday, when, after spending 7 1/2 hours as a student in the OR, I went downstairs to the ER to work my regular 7 1/2 hr evening shift.

Ahead of me are 9 weeks of summer vacation. Time for the house and the garden. Time for travel and friends. Time to cook proper meals. I started already this afternoon by cooking spoonbread with fried bananas and steamed aspargus for dinner. Then I watered the plants, fed the cockatails and cleaned their cage. In the garden I rediscovered the strawberry plants under the weeds. They are blooming prolifically and I covered them with netting and also wrapped up the cherry tree in netting.

A phone call to Father, and a surprise visit from my brother-in-law and his familly rounded off the evening.

Giving Thanks

My job keeps reminding me of how fragile life is. One minute you can be going about your business, next minute you're dead, or someone you love is dead, or dying, or has had their life turned upside down because of an accident or a stroke or something. I keep getting reminded of how important it is to live with the awareness that each day could be your last, and to be prepared for death or disability.

Today we went to see "The Little Match Girl", performed by the dance/drama juniors of Ingvild's High School. It is a heart-breaking story, of indifference, self-service, peer-pressure, the turning from need with the excuse that others surely will care for the needy. Ingvild danced in the performance: the waiter bringing in the roast with a gleefull grin, and the snow falling on the dead matchgirl...

Audun and Irene came to watch the performance as well. Afterward we had our thanksgiving dinner: turkey with stuffing, gravy, corn og the cob, baked sweet potatoes, waldorf salad, brokkoli and brusselsprouts steamed in butter, and cranberry relish. Cranberries were hard to get this year. My regular supermarket couldn't get them, but there's this ethnic store, run by a turkish family, where I go to get Tofu, halva, real greek feta made of goat and sheeps milk, haloumi etc, and they ordered them special for me. For desert we had pumkin chiffon pie and apple pie.

We talked about what we were thankfull for: Husband for his new job, which has made it possible to cut back on his medication. Irene for breaking up with Stian, and finding such a good friend in her new living situation. Ingvild for her Columbian boyfriend, and her job which she loves, we are all thankfull that Father is doing so well, and that Tormod finally got his drivers licence and has made a life for himself in the US. And the kids were thankful that their Father got better after his heart attack. Audun didn't say much about what he is thankful for, but seems to be pretty happy with his life, his job, new girlfriend, red cross youth, and has just aquired yet another elektronic toy: an I-phone. For myself, I am thankful for all of the above and also for the opportunity to start my anesthesiology training in january.

Winter came on October 28th this year...

It started on tuesday with a killing frost and just some light flakes in the air. Wednesday it started snowing for real. I spent the morning with a friend in the basement of her house learning to make Siruptynnkaker, a traditional Norwegian cookie. We started at 9am, and when we resurfaced at noon it was to emerge into a winter wonderland. We had 4-5" of snow that day. Then today, the temperature dropped to 16 degrees Fahrenheit. Brrr. The snow is still there. This is definitly winter.

Day off

Since coming home from Crete, I have either had an evening shift, been going onto or coming off a night shift. Today is my first full day off.
Woke up to frost on the grass, clear skies and a golden sunrise. Though I had to scrape ice off the car after work yesterday, this was our first frost here at home. I hurried to pack the onions which have been drying on the porch into paper bags and bring them inside, then turn off the outside water faucet so that it won't freeze.
After breakfast we took a short walk with Topsy before going to the gym. Really got my pulse up during the spinning class today. Perhaps it is a good idea to walk the dog first, so as to warm up, prior to the real work-out. It was a good workout and left me in a good mood.
While Husband was feeding his pigs I did the laundry, went shopping and started on dinner. Audun called while I was at the store. He was mystery shopping at different stores all around Mjøsa including Stange today and wanted to come by. It was so nice to see him! We haven't been in touch since Irene's birthday dinner, except for an e-mail while I was in Crete. Audun brought Ingvild home who has spent the last 2 days with her sister. The girls have their autumn break this week. We had a great visit over dinner. Audun couldn't stay long as he still had a couple of stores to do before his red cross youth meeting this evening. But was able to give him the honey and olive oil that I'd brought for him from Crete and a box of eggs.
Dinner was a new recipe: pasta primavera, though it should have been called pasta autumna as the veggies involved were cantarelles, broccoli, cauliflower, red bell pepper and the beans that I picked the other day. It was really yummy and everyone liked it.
After Audun left we walked the dog again, I sat down to knit on Irene's sweater while finishing Bridget Jones Diary , laughing myself silly over the part where she writes christmas cards while drunk. Did 45 minutes of Pilates this evening, watched an episode of Desperate Housewives and called Mother and Father, to get some advice about the absentee ballot which arrived in the mail today. I mean I know who I'm going to vote for for president, it was the other offices I needed advice on. Father told me about taking Tormod to get his drivers licence, and how he finally passed his road test.
All in all it was a good day. Tomorrow I start a series of 5 night shifts followed by a couple of evenings and a dayshift, making 9 consecutive days of work.

Thanksgiving

Audun messaged me on Thursday: Anja (his girlfriend) was free on Sunday (nobody has Thursday off in Norway!), if it wasn't too short notice. So I called the others, and they all said they'd come. Tormod wasn't sure about the friend he'd invited, but he'd know by 8 pm.

On Friday I had the day off. I made a list, gathered my shopping bags, got in the car, backed out of the carport and - slammed right into the side of my husbands car parked in front of the garage. Smashed the door on the drivers side clear into the frame so that now he has to climb in and out of the passenger side.

I was able to get everything I needed at the local grocery, except for pumpkin. Had to go all the way into town to an ethnic supermarket, where they gave me a 1/2 pumpkin of a kind I hadn't seen before. It had very dark orange meat, but stringy, like spaghetti squash. I baked it in the oven, got 2 cups for the pumpkin chiffon pie, 4 cups which I froze, and about a cup and a half of which I made pumpkin soup on Saturday, which was surprisingly delicious. Even Ingvild liked it!

Saturday I made the pies (apple and pumpkin) and the cranberry relish. You can get cranberries in Norway now. You didn't used to. Then on Sunday I stuffed the turkey with bread stuffing with onions, peppers, celery, sage and savory, and put it in the oven to roast. On the side we had gravy, corn-on-the-cob, steamed Brussels sprouts and broccoli, and baked potatoes, sweet, and regular. Oddly enough, after 2 hrs in the oven they were only barely done - quite hard actually. The turkey too took longer than anticipated - 3 hrs instead of the expected 2. Just as well that they all came on the 4:15 pm train, instead of 3:10 pm as originally planned.Audun had overslept and missed the first train.

I originally expected 9 to dinner. However, Tormod called on Friday to say that his friend couldn't make it; but by that time I'd done the shopping and it was too late to postpone. Saturday night at 1:30 am a message ticked in from Audun: Anya had a toothache and couldn't make it either. I started to worry that Irene and her boyfriend would cancel as well, but when I met the train at 4:15 all 4 were there: Audun, Tormod, Irene and her boyfriend. What a relief.

Except for the potatoes I believe the dinner was a success. Though I found the explanation for the potatoes when I was taking the meat off the bones after dinner. The turkey was completely uncooked underneath. It turns out that the bottom element of the oven wasn't working at all. No wonder I've been having trouble baking. I've had to give up baking bread, but hadn't been able to figure out what was wrong. Anyway, we've ordered a new stove to arrive before Christmas baking begins.

What do I have to be thankful for this year?
1. The insurance will pay for the repair on the Land Rover.
2. I figured out what was wrong with the stove, and I can afford a new one.
3. I have a plan to pay off my private debts in 13 months
4. The family has agreed on a plan to celebrate Mother and Father's 50th anniversary.
5. I'm happy and comfortable in my job in the ER
6. (and most important), the whole family together for thanksgiving!