doings

December 2011

1 December - After our comments on the warmest November for 111 years, winter has begun today. Snow is falling heavily - and more is forecast for all next week. We've "put up" the Christmas lights (photo, right - click for enlargement) - actually they're still there from the Christmas before last, but we've turned them on.

2 December - As you can see from today's webcam picture, the sun is trying to break through the mist to get to the snow, but not doing an especially good job.

3 December - Things going on in the lounge. Tim's office, which is in an outbuilding adjoining the lounge, would get very cold indeed if it wasn't warmed during the winter with a little electric panel heater. But we try not to use anything other than wood for heating, so we've had a door made from the lounge into the office so that the fire there will heat the office, too. Easy in a wooden house! Click photo, left, for pictures.

5 December - Flashes of blue light in the sky. We've had a very odd experience for the last couple of days, especially over breakfast early this morning. Flashes that seem like blue lightning have lit up the whole valley. It's not normal lightning because it's bright blue and there's no thunder attached (nor any kind of storm going on). A quick check on Google shows eight million similar reports from around the world over the past 5 years or so, including some from Scandinavia, so we're obviously not alone in this. It's repetitive, like a thunderstorm (so it's not power lines blowing up) and comes as one quick flash (like lightning and at least as bright) so it's nothing to do with northern lights or similar. But no-one seems to have any explanation of what it is.

Beth spotted this major news story in today's national newspaper Dagbladet. The headline reads "Margit the sheep missing in snow drama - We have no suspects, say the police". Click photo, above right, for whole report.

7 December - Katie played at the music school's Christmas concert this evening - always a great experience!

8 December - It's snowed hard for the past few days, but this evening heavy snow was joined by strong winds and other unpleasantness to nake driving very difficult. The main road through the county (photo, left) was closed at various times through the afternoon and evening due to lorries (mostly foreign ones not adequately equipped for this weather) littering the road and ditches. Tim was in Stavanger this afternoon and spent 3 hours getting home even in the big 4x4; other people were even worse off. We've suggested that Andrew doesn't go to school tomorrow and we're planning on a slow morning!
Shortly after the last entry, on 8 December, the internet went off for a week or so (as it does from time to time), and by the time it eventually returned we simply didn't have the energy to write anything. It had been such a very busy autumn that once we stopped we just couldn't get started again. For the same reason, Christmas cards and letters this year have turned into new year's cards and letters - please bear with us!

18 December - Katie's play. Katie, who's always enjoyed acting, was in a pre-Christmas play in Stavanger. It's a long way away and this involved many journeys and late evenings in connection with rehearsals, but the result was worth it. The play presented the Christmas message in a modern context.
Originally, Katie had a relatively small part, but the girl playing one of the lead roles had to pull out and Katie was given this part - which involved being on stage for the entire play (though during nearly all of it she was in bed - perfect teenage part, really!). Katie's conversations with her "big sister" provided the continuity framework for all the other events that took place during the play. The evening performances were open to the public, whilst the daytime ones were attended by many of the local schools. Katie's class made the journey to Stavanger to watch the play one day, which was really good. It was a large theatre, but packed out - several hundred people attended each performance. Click photo, left, to watch a bit of the opening scene.

21 December - gingerbread houses. Norwegian tradition says that before Christmas you build a gingerbread house, decorated with sweets,which is demolished and eaten at new year. Some of these constructions are very artistic - here (photo, right - click for another picture) from a local exhibition.

22 December - Shortest day! Now we can look forward to the return of the sun. (photo, left, from the house this afternoon - click for enlargement).

23 December - 9 lessons and carols at the cathedral. There's an annual Christmas service of 9 lessons and carols at Stavanger cathedral. This year, like last (see Katie's account of the day on 23 December 2010), Tim was the organist and Matthew was in the choir. Like last year we made a day of it, wandered around the cobbled streets of Old Stavanger and ate out - this time in a Chinese restaurant. It's very strange indeed to hear English spoken and sung in a Norwegian church (feels somehow entirely out of place). The elderly sidesman at the cathedral, chatting to Tim (in Norwegian, of course) at the back of the church afterwards, said that it all went a bit over his head because he hadn't done English at school. "Did you do English at school?", he enquired of Tim. "Yes, we did English". "Ah, you're lucky - but then you're so young [the sidesman really was very ancient] - schools are better with languages now". So it was a good day.

24 December - Tracy's birthday, celebrated as usual with a Norwegian Christmas dinner (turkey dinner tomorrow). (click photo, left, for a larger portion).