Socialites in Norway: the food issue

The party begins...It's been a busy and social week for the family.  We had our first friends over to the house, the Lubinska's from Bath  England, for hiking, waffles, sausages, hot cocoa, and coffee last Sunday.  Picking the view over ease, we slogged up a steep and muddy mountain to reach the top of "old man" - Gråkallen. We felt like old men in our hips and knees afterwards.

On Monday, I was invited over to professor Egil Sakshaug's home for dinner with some other festive work colleagues.  We started the night with french champagne, then salmon with yummy cavier from Sweden in bernaise sauce.  The cavier looked and tasted fantastic, but was made from algae not fish roe --  a fact appreciated particularly by us four geeky phytoplankton biologists at the table.  Then we toasted the best of Norway with a beautiful rare reindeer sirloin served with roasted "poteter" and lots of red wine....mmmm...

On Tuesday, it rained.  Took the girls to MacDonalds to celebrate Melita's first Volleyball practice and finding her jacket in the lost and found at a very distant bus terminal.  Yeah!  The Happy Meal -- something familiar in the world finally.

On Wednesday, Annaliese had a playdate with her girlfriend Aasne from school and her mini-golden retriever puppy Fia...I'm not sure which one is cuter and bouncier.  Then we headed to some very old and dear Minnesotan friends Kjell and Uni Hagemark for coffee and a lovely apple tort with brown sugar/cinnamon crust.  It was fun for the girls to look at the old photo albums with pictures of mormor and morfar as young swingers in velour and ski suits and particular me and my sisters as teenagers.  Rikke had some sporting large-framed glasses that were particularly amusing to remember.

On Thursday, I picked up two other  moms from the bus station downtown and drove to Birralee school for our first parent committee meeting.  Yes, I am finally volunteering for a school committee -- seems appropriate when on "sabbatical."  Of course, my contribution was serious and insightful, particularly when I mentioned that we need to plan a big "housewarming" party when the renovated school opens up in January.  One of the other mothers was adamant that 11th grade class make more healthful lunches for the middle school during their weekly fundraiser...I didn't want to interject, but what's wrong with the occasional waffle for lunch?  or sausage and bread?  She also complained that they cooked spaghetti bolognese from a jar.  Really? 

Just put that thought in perspective to another more silent mom from Chechnya sitting next to me.  On our way home, she told me that she came to Trondheim as a refugee, pregnant and with a husband in jail in Russia.  Amazing story.  She got him out of jail and he's now here in Trondheim, her child is thriving at Birralee, and she is one of the few mothers who managed to get a job teaching.  Wow, inspirational.

 On Friday, that's today, I won the wine raffle at work!!!  Yeah, it's a beautiful Spanish red wine Raustino VII Rioja.  Who can make it over to drink with me?   I'm ready, willing, and able.  Just don't complain if I serve sauce from a jar.