So in order to get presents for these kids, I needed to go to Toys R Us before Thanksgiving. Holy hell. A Saturday afternoon spent at that place in the holiday season is my version of what eternity in hell would be like. And to make things fun, God had a great laugh by making me go back to exchange both the gifts I got—on two different occasions. But I’ll tell you. It didn’t take away one bit from the absolute joy it is to give a gift to someone else. Especially a kid in need.

My nieces then asked a huge favor from me. They wanted to go shopping on Black Friday. I told them they owed me big. That was the day we were supposed to sleep in (or fake it while Grandma finds a way to make enough noise to bring the entire house out of bed). But no. I went shopping. On Black Friday. Kill me now.

After that I was beginning to have enough (not completely but near enough) of the material side of Christmas. That night we went to Longwood Gardens to see the Christmas displays. If you’ve never been, I highly recommend it. It’s so beautiful and the horticulturists who work there are master artists. Not just the display of lights but the various trees and flowers as well as the gingerbread houses and trains—oh my, it’s just so incredibly fun and breathtaking. I was so inspired I went out and bought more crap to decorate my house. Okay, so I wasn’t quite done.

But now, today, after spending a really fun dinner last night with friends and their adorable three-year olds, I started really thinking about the advent. I listened to a sermon online tonight about God’s will and plan for us and how we need to be ready and open for opportunities and to always seek His council before making decisions. So now I’m inspired for the right things. God. And preparing for this season when we celebrate the birth of Jesus. I’m going to light my advent wreath candle tomorrow and say a prayer. Something like this (note, this is something I got online from this Web site and it’s by Victor Hoagland, C.P.—the beginning part, the other part is by God via the prophet Isaiah):

As our nights grow longer and our days grow short,
we look on these earthly signs—light and green branches—
and remember God’s promise to our world:
Christ, our Light and our Hope, will come.
Listen to the words of Isaiah the prophet:

The people that walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those who lived in a land as dark as death
a light has dawned.
You have increased their joy
and given them gladness;
They rejoice in your presence
as those who rejoice at harvest,
as warriors exult when dividing spoil. Is. 9:1-2

Then all pray:

O God,
rejoicing,
we remember the promise of your Son.
As the light from this candle,
may the blessing of Christ come upon us,
brightening our way
and guiding us by his truth.
May Christ our Savior bring life
into the darkness of our world,
and to us, as we wait for his coming.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen

So I thank you God for pressing upon my heart the true reason for Christmas. I pray for all of you reading this that you have a joyous Christmas filled with love and mercy and time spent with loved ones. Especially those wonderful children who bring so much joy to our life.

Now please don’t go without enjoying a little laugh from an old sitcom, Laverne and Shirley. This is Lenny and Squiggy singing a powerful message about the holiday!

First thing in the morning we hopped on the train out of Bergen. If you’re traveling this way you may want to consider going light on the luggage. Or finding a hot dude to travel with who can lug it around for you. But all was okay and there was plenty of room to store the bags and get great views of the fjords and mountains. At the quaint town of Voss, we changed over to a bus. They were short on busses but these Norwegians know how to move fast and a driver was found tout suite (yes, that’s French but it sounds better than “gang,” the Norwegian word for right away) and a bus showed up for the rest of us who were out-elbowed by the others. The bus drive to Gudvangan took us through some even more picturesque countryside. (I love saying Gudvangen, it’s fun and rolls off the tongue. You should try it.) The real fun was the harrowing sharp, hair-pin s-turns down the steep mountain side. At the bottom of the hill the driver told us to breathe and we all laughed because we actually were holding our breaths. Now off to catch the boat.

Ahh, the boat. This was the part of Norway I was most looking forward to. The fjord tour. As we got onboard we walked through to the other end of the boat, up two flights of stairs and then back again to the other end of the boat to the only space that was left, this little corner in the back of the boat. I planted my butt down and Amy, Jen, and Butter found spaces along the bulk head. At first I was kind of upset that all these tourists had once again pushed their way onto the boat and grabbed all the nice seats up front. I was upset that is until the boat left the dock and then turned around! Poetic justice. We ended up having the absolute premier rock star positions on the entire boat. Our view was straight on unobstructed and it was truly magnificent. Mile after mile, we floated through the water that cut between steep cliffs hosting long, flowing waterfalls. Occasionally we saw houses and farms and wondered how they got their cable.

Some well-meaning but idiot tourists on our boat kept feeding the seagulls that were flying around us. While it did make for some nice photo ops, I vowed to stomp on the bird guy at the first sight of seagull poop. Some of these pushy tourists tried to worm their way into our space but we held tight to our real estate and got excellent photos during the entire three-hour cruise. Once we docked in Flam we had a couple of hours to eat, shop, and play. If you take this cruise/trip you can make plans to stop off overnight at any of these places and take extra fjord tours, or go hiking, or partake in some of the other activities available.

The next segment had us back on the train and up, up, up the mountain. We stopped briefly at a waterfall. Suddenly, some Celtic-like music started blaring out of speakers somewhere and a woman appeared out of the remains of an old stone house. As she danced around the falls and house she seemed like some kind of witch. It was pretty cool. At the top of the mountain, I bought a $13 cup of beer while we waited for our next train on the Flam railway.

The train from Flam took us by crystal clear waters that were formed from the blue and white glaciers dotting the landscape. We ended up going back and forth bus to train to bus to train to bus before arriving back in Oslo. It was a long day but a great way to see the Norwegian countryside if you don’t have time to really explore.

After keeping Amy awake the night before we decided I should get my own room with sound-proof walls. I do believe that aside from those little sleeping holes they have in Tokyo, this was the most expensive square foot of sleeping space I’ve ever had the misfortune of staying in. Seriously, when I spend $250 on a hotel room, I’d like to be able to take a shower without bumping into the sink, be able to not have to hear a concert playing outside until 1 a.m., and be able to get out of bed without jamming my toes into the walls. But I will say that the concierge’s at the front desk were nice and just a little cute, so we had something good to say about the hotel. Breakfast was pretty good too.

So that’s it for Norway in a Nutshell. One more day in the saga to talk about—so stay tuned!

Near Voss on the Norway in a Nutshell tour.

One of the many lush waterfalls on the tour.

 

The scary ride down the mountain.

 

Jen, Butter, and Amy get rock star parking on the fjord tour boat.

 

Along the Gudvangen fjord tour.

 

These guys followed us for awhile.

 

Another beautiful farm along the water.

 

The dancing witch by the waterfall.

 

This glacier flows down blue and white so clear and beautiful.

 

No words needed. On the Flam railway.

We arrived Monday night (July 4) in Oslo and immediately had to figure out the transportation system because the rail lines near Oslo were under construction. In fact, a lot of Oslo seemed to be under construction. Some very friendly and helpful people led us to the bus that would take us to the other bus we needed to catch to get onto the overnight train to Bergen. We took a lovely ride through the countryside as the sun set and darkness fell. Yes, there was some darkness in this part of Norway—being a bit more south than Iceland. When we got onto the train, we had to carefully figure out how to maneuver in the sleeping compartment. I felt like I was back at camp or college where you have three feet of living space and tons of stuff. The space between the bed and wall was as wide as the narrow part of my suitcase. Amy slept in the top bunk and we had a very cozy night listening to the sounds of the countryside passing us by. Trains can be a very pleasant way of traveling. The ride tends to be pretty smooth and comfortable. A note of warning should you decide to take the overnight train to Bergen. The guy in charge of waking everyone up has a key to your compartment and he isn’t afraid to use it. Amy and I were momentarily shocked to see a very large scandinavian man looming into our little closet first thing in the morning. Glad we were decent!

It’s now 7 a.m. and we are getting off the train in Bergen and heading for our hotel. Upon arrival, we asked the front desk clerk if we could check in early. Nope. Okay but we can store our stuff and go exploring, so that’s cool. I asked the young man what the temperature/weather was going to be like that day and he replied, “Did you come to Bergen for the weather?” Whoa, smart ass. I don’t suppose you notice the very weary look on my face that just changed to the look that says, “Just answer my question you stupid brat, I had a reason for asking it and don’t need some jerk like you treating me with such disrespect—especially considering I am a paying guest in the hotel you are working in.” After telling him yes, we decided against Tahiti and the Caribbean and wanted to visit Bergen for it’s beaches and spas, I walked away to change into the appropriate clothes for touring the city for the day.

Off we went for a quick breakfast in a bakery that someone recommended. It was okay. Kind of fun to see the locals coming in before heading off to work for the day. There were several young men that came in and flirted with the pretty girl behind the counter. The McDonalds around the corner that was located in a very un-McDonald’s type building would have been fine with me. Just kidding—I don’t do that when traveling. The horror! So moving on, we got our hop on hop off tickets and Bergen cards at the visitor center and started the day. Passing by the famous fish market and its stalls of seafood, clothes, trolls, fresh fruit, and more, looked very tempting.

I got off the bus at the cultural museum and took a quick tour looking at the ancient Viking artifacts, American Indian artifacts, and some Egyptian mummies. An eclectical little place, and interesting, but I had little time to explore everything. So the hop on hop off bus took me around back to the downtown area where I got off to explore the Bryggen museum where they had an excavation of ancient lot where early settlers lived. Bergen (on the southeast coast of Norway) was once an international hot spot and the capital of Norway. The early settlers were smart and saavy players. After the Bryggen museum I strolled around the grounds of Haakon’s Hall and then went in for a look-see. King Håkon Håkonsson had the hall built between 1247 and 1261. It had very interesting decorations—these tapestries with what I would describe as kind of Viking hieroglyphics on them.

Feet hurting but the desire to explore overcoming the pain; I went over to the Floibanan Funicular and stood in line to take my turn on the train that took us about 350 yard up the steep slope of the mountainside. One of the things I was really looking forward to that I had to give up doing was hiking around and down the mountains here. The boot was helping me walk but all I could do was stare out at the scenery and down at the town of Bergen while doing some people watching.

My friends were on other missions that day and we met up later at the hotel. Before I headed back I took an ill conceived but pretty walk through town. Back at the Comfort Inn, I decided I had to stay close by to eat (no more walking) and had a surprisingly wonderful meal right at the hotel restaurant. I ate outside at a little table and just enjoyed looking out onto the European town as the sun set low in the sky. Nice.

So Bergen was a quaint town with some fun attractions. After keeping Amy up all night with my nocturnal chatter, we headed out of town for our next tour. Stay tuned!

Brygeen in Bergen. The Hanseatic houses line the wharf area.

View of the Bergen wharf area from the top of the funicular. McDonald's in Bergen. Not your typically golden arches.

 

The architecture in the Bryggen area of Bergen was very cool.

 

An artistic way of beautifying a sewer cap in Bergen.

 

At the top of the floibanan funicular.

 

McDonald's in Bergen. Not your typically golden arches.

Amy and Jen treated themselves to massages while Butter and I took our turns in and out of the various steam baths, waterfalls, and relaxing rooms. I find it humorous that when I put on a mask (of the “mud” kind) at home, I lock myself away so no one can see me. At the Blue Lagoon, everyone lathers on the silicon mask and swims around—nothing to be embarrassed about here!

Butter and I were in heaven. This place was meant for people like us. I did not want to leave but Amy threatened me so I had to obey and get ready to leave to catch our flight to Norway. The only downside to the experience was that it left our hair a mess. I could have walked out of there with dreadlocks. But no worries—a few showers later and my hair was smooth once again.

What I Really Think You Should Know About Iceland

I would like to go back again. I think I’d explore one of the big glaciers to get a better look at those, maybe try the ring road, and rent a car to visit some other areas and places. And of course—I’d spend an entire day at the Blue Lagoon. That may not be your thing to do, but if you like that sort of thing, get there early and reserve a nice massage appointment.

There were some funny things I saw while driving around. I think I’ve mentioned all the faces and creature like things I saw in the mountains and rock formations as well as the animals—sheep and horses playing and romping around like I’ve never seen before. The light of the night and the disparate topography all made this volcanic island a treasure to visit.

If you go, remember to stock up on alcohol at the duty free shop, be ready for all kinds of weather, bring a mask to block out the light, go with fun friends and/or family, reserve a tour with Goecco Adventure tours, turn in all your Kroner before you leave or you’ll get stuck with it, open your mind to seeing the hidden people (elves, trolls, and who knows what else), knock on the prime minister’s door and say hello, and take me with you!

I know I’ve forgotten some of the incredibly fun memories I shared with the girls, but as I leave you with these thoughts of Iceland, I’m recalling the guestbook at Inga’s. The first entry was written by some men who had quite a great time—telling us all how they got lucky. They signed their entry, “the French guys.” Pretty much every entry after that made reference to the French guys, getting lucky (or not) and was signed by such people as, “some English guys,” “three singing sisters,” “four friends from four different places in Germany (I think),” some “Canadian guys,” and of course, “Four American Girls.” (I wonder who those last chicks were.)

Goodbye Egil, Njall, and other saga heroes. Goodbye Inga and Olga. Goodbye Jonas, Ymir, and Villi. Goodbye goats and horses. Goodbye vomit dude. Goodbye taxi driver. Goodbye new friends from our tours. Goodbye funny viking hats and troll dolls. Goodbye waterfalls, mountains, glaciers, volcanoes, oceans, hot springs, marshmallow farms, black beaches, lava fields, and ancient explorers! We came, we explored, and we left better than we were before.

Now off to Norway!

My hardworking boot gets dressed up with my new viking hat.

That's me way in the back soaking up the hot water at the Blue Lagoon while wearing a silcone mask.

 

An Icelandic lullabye on the plane pillow.

Bye bye and hushabye,
Can you see the swans fly?
Now half asleep in bed I lie,
Awake with half and eye.
Heyho and welladay,
Over hills and far away,
That’s where the little children stray
To find the lambs at play. 

Sunset at 11:30 p.m.

 

A artist's vision on a building in Reykjavik.

 

Many of the streets (gata) are named after saga characters, heroes, and gods.

 

Can you see the troll dude?

 

 

 

These guys were all across this mountain side.

 

This troll watches over a beautiful waterfall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

However, I still have the need to rant personally and this is a great outlet for that. Hmmm. There’s a lot going on now. Been out of town fixing up the beach house (okay, not really physically doing much, just complaining about contractors). And getting ready for my big trip. Watching the boys play baseball was fun. Last weekend I went to a party in Delaware. My friend Kathy’s daughter Kerri just graduated from high school. Kathy and Brian have raised two awesome kids. I’m lucky to know such good people!

Then there are all the things I want to do but don’t seem to get around to it. Like finishing the two books I started (writing not reading), the last two years of scrapbooking events, the collage on my wall, cleaning my bathroom, losing weight, exercising, learning Norse—you know all the important stuff.

Speaking of losing weight—only speaking now, not actually doing—I see we have a new food pyramid.

I guess it depends on what phase of life you’re in:

Just kidding. But it is important to watch what we eat. My little buddy Cayden knows this. He learned it from the dogs who like to surround him during meal times. They watch what he eats, he drops it on the floor, and then Cayden watches them eat. It’s a circle of love.

But the most important thing is to exercise regularly. Whether that’s stretching out on the dining room table or licking yourself after a good meal—it all counts.

So now that I’ve gotten the important stuff out of the way, I’m going to make sure to get enough of the base of the pyramid by starting in on the summer season of TV shows. Covert Affairs is pretty good. So are Eureka and Royal Pains. Maybe I’ll multitask and work on my scrapbooks while I do that. So long for now.

Happy Summer!

He did not touch the banana. Bananas not only are food but they are loaded with sugar, something he definitely likes. I’m thinking that maybe I should take him to the vet. After all, he will pretty much try anything including:

75 Advil tablets.
He once grabbed a bottle off the counter, chewed through it and barely survived. Cost me a bundle that one did.

Dead fish and random seaweed.
You got to watch the pups when they are young and first go to the beach. The stuff comes out eventually. Yuck. 

Drywall and a plastic electrical socket cover.
I can only imagine that he was sticking his tongue in the socket getting shocked and just not realizing the connection. What a huge dumb—.

Arthritis cream.
I put this horrible product on my hand once. It practically burned my skin off but for some reason he gave it a go. I found it on the kitchen floor with the packaging all torn off and the tube chewed open.

Cold ice pack.
You know those gel packs that you stick in your freezer and use for sprains? I left one out on the coffee table the other night only to come home the next day to see a corner of it ripped open. Yum!

Books.
When the Grendel dog was a puppy he took out half my graduating class in my yearbook. He also destroyed my chemistry and anatomy books from college. I didn’t care as much about them but I did have to throw out some others. I guess he thought knowledge was power and eating it would be good.

I won’t mention the other gross stuff he still eats (I have two cats in the house—just saying). So now we can add bananas to lettuce and carrots as his no-go items. What is the weirdest thing your dog has eaten?

Uncle Peek managed to delve a little into my father’s lineage so I know who my great-great grandparent’s are on his side. On both sides I’ve got a lot of French—which explains my adoration for all things cheese (and wine)—a good amount of Irish and Scots-Irish, all mixed in with a bit of German, Dutch, and English. An American mutt for sure.

(Okay, so weird segue here but keep going, you’ll get it.) One of my favorite shows to watch is the one where celebrities trace part of their family tree. It’s called, “Who do you think you are?” I’ve cried at the end of every episode. I love the history, the discovery of family you never knew—the story of your people and their struggles and triumphs. Good stuff.

Last weekend as I was purging my filing cabinets and watching the show, I came across some old family documents and decided to take a shot at ancestry.com. There has been one mystery that my immediate family has been wondering about for almost 50 years. Back in the 60’s my dad’s older brother disappeared. No reason for it at all. Friendly, warm letters were written home to their father from his travels and then nothing. My grandfather hired a detective agency to no avail. He just dropped off the face of the earth.

Last weekend I plugged Uncle John’s name and birthday into ancestry.com and found him! Yup. That’s right. It took some searching but I found enough information to go on and called some people in Florida where he had been living and where he passed away last year. All of the sudden, within a couple of days, I had compiled hard evidence and some background on John and felt it was time to call Dad to let him know.  

Right now we know that this brilliant Cornell graduate decided to spend the better part of his life as a migrant fruit picker. He was quiet, kind, and very religious. I was very glad to hear that he was right with God before he passed. My dad is going to get some of his things next week—maybe a diary! The story continues and yes, I think I’m going to cry. It’s too unbelievable not to. Tune in—maybe Dad will come back with some interesting stories to share. 

Share your interesting family history here. I want to hear your stories!

It constantly amazes me that there are people out there so desperate for power that they are deluded into thinking they can say or do anything and get away with it. I came across an article today that just cracked me up. The insane Chinese government, in an attempt to limit the influence of the Dalai Lama, has now gone and done it. They have banned reincarnation. Unless of course you have permission from them.

Really?!

The next thing you know they will be making it a crime for the earth to spin on its axis once a day. Because you know, if we slow down the spin of the earth, they will live forever and will no longer be afraid of returning as a dung beetle.

And they deserve it. Anyone who arrests a guy for freely giving out hugs (see video below)—a sign of love and affection that spreads joy to others—needs another lifetime to think about what’s important.

I myself will be returning as a Giraffe. I was really hoping to be a cat. I’m not really sure what that says about me, but according to the Reincarnation Station, “Almost 30% of people will be reincarnated as a higher form of life than me. I’m not perfect, but I’ve lead a better life than most. With a few changes now, my next life could be even better.”

Well I guess that pretty much sums it up. What do you want to come back as?

 In any case, I love to travel and have been thinking about the wonderful trips I’ve taken in the past. I was rooting for the Egyptian people as they demonstrated in public for their democratic rights. I think most of us are skeptical of the future outcome but I hope for their sakes things work out. When I visited Egypt with my parents back in 2007 I was very impressed with the people. Most spoke English and were very friendly and kind. Which is why I was very shocked and disappointed (not to mention horrified) that a mob of Egyptians raped CBS correspondent Lara Logan. You have to be pretty evil to take part in something like that.  That was definitely not characteristic of the type of people we met while there.

On a brighter note, I was impressed to see that they were protecting the Cairo museum and all of those priceless treasures. Having been blessed to see and touch them, it would be sad to see them destroyed and lost.

So I guess it’s one of those enigma’s that are crazy and wonderful about our world. You can be denied travel to an “enemy” state like Russia for decades and then all of the sudden after a wall falls down you’re able to see its beautiful landscapes. Or you can watch an Olympics take place in a city like Sarajevo only to see it destroyed a few years later by bombs and an ugly war.

Iceland has had its misfortunes throughout its history (which I am excited to learn more about) and Egypt has survived for millennia. What will tomorrow bring? Don’t know.

But if you know of any excellent things to do and see in Iceland and Norway, please share!

You know what that makes me? Rich. Super rich. I am richer than 99% of the people that populate this earth. And if you’re reading this then chances are, so are you.

So the first part of this story sounded depressing and bleak but I brought you back with that last part I hope. You’re rich! Woo hoo! It’s all about perspective. We live a life where wants become needs. You don’t need a cell phone or cable or Starbucks coffee or designer clothes or that sweater for your dog. I have been super blessed. God has given me a very comfortable life with lots of amenities. Everything I have has come from him.

This weekend my pastor used his dog as an example of our attitudes about money. His dog is an old sweet dog but if you try to take away his bone or toy then he growls and bites. He does this to his masters who gave him all of those things in the first place. He does that even when his master has a brand new bone he wants to give his dog to replace the gross one he’s been gnawing on for the past week. It’s the same way with us. We hold on to our money out of fear. But trusting in God and giving him back just a fraction helps us to release our fear. Giving back feels good because it’s right.

Now I am going to work on being more like my dog Grendel. Grendel does obsess about his bones—he won’t let other dogs or the cats near them with the one exception of his BFF Elwood. I don’t understand that relationship but it works for everyone so we won’t question it. However, Grendel will let me take food, bones, and toys right out of this mouth without hesitation. He’s a very happy and content dog willing to lay on his back with his stomach exposed showing his total trust in me. That’s how I want to be with God. Trusting in him. Loving him with my tail wagging.

Now that's trust and confidence.