Norway experience - Svanhild

This old sailship - the "Svanhild" - was built in 1889 down at the seafront 100 mtrs away from our house. It has been restored, and the local neighbourhood committee arranged a visit "home" for the ship. So it happened quite by luck that we were there during the "Svanhild Day".
A welcoming committee dressed in period clothes were waiting on the pier, and the flags were flying at all the surrounding farms and houses. Jake noted the flags - we love our flag in Norway and fly it for every special occasion - family or more public occasions and in the smaller communities all flags will fly at half mast when a local resident dies.
We were all allowed to climb onboard for a special visit and to explore the ship. Here is the ladder from the sleeping quarters to the deck.
A great time had by all, and nobody fell overboard.

Norway experience - woodland

We visited the cemetery where my mother is buried and after tidying up around her grave, we went for a walk in the woods surrounding the cemetery. Along the path there was a row of hollow trees which was very exciting for the kids to explore.

Here's Doddlebug in his tree, climbing up as high as he could.


Turtle just managed to peep over the edge of his tree.
LP's new boots were perfect for our walk, particularly when it started raining in the middle of it. Shame LP and I didn't have rain-coats though...
Self-reliance/emergency preparedness course: "Build your own emergency shelter".

The Norway experience - the last day

LP and Turtle at the "Teknisk Museum" in Oslo, testing out the viscosity of various fluids by pumping bubbles through them. Lucie is in practice for a future at the gym on the step machine...... We had a great visit to the museum which can best be compared to the Powerhouse museum in Sydney or the Science Museum in London. The most popular section was this interactive Science area.

Concentration level was high as Doodlebug was balancing a beach ball on the jet of air from an overgrown hair dryer, trying to guide the ball through the hoops. He did not give up until he had it licked, and then did it a few more times just to prove that he had really mastered it.

And then, after a wonderful month, it was time to return to Sydney. Bye bye for now, hopefully it won't be too long until next time. We are thinking that we ought to do winter next time around.

Morfar took us to the airport and it was very sad to say good-bye.

This is at the airport in Helsinki Finland, while we waited to board our flight for the second leg of the journey to Hong Kong.

our holiday library

While on holiday we visited the local library. This is a library that serves a community of 6500 people.
The photos are of the children's section only and do not show the media corner that had one wall of audio books and another of DVD/videos. I was really impressed with the number of books and quality of the library in general and I told the librarian that this library (which is regarded as a "small" one) completely outshines my local library. He told me that the local municipalities in Norway prioritise library services and that the government has a "Culture Fund" which allots grants to libraries etc. I am glad to see a return from the extortionately high income tax paid in Norway. Of course, my children did not enjoy the library as much as they could have had they been able to understand Norwegian. They did, however, enjoy the DVDs and we also found a "Horrid Henry" book in the English section (yes..... the library also has a foreign languages section for chilren....).

Norwegian tooth fairy performs admirably!

Turtle lost another tooth and then proceeded to lose it. We had to write a letter to the tooth fairy explaining the situation. In the morning Turtle looked under his pillow and was very disappointed to find there was no money. This was until I explained that the tooth fairy works differently in Norway. By the bed was a glass of water and in the glass was a coin. The tooth fairy had been very understanding of Turtle's predicament and accepted the note in lieu of the tooth. Happy toothless smiles all around.

Salutations from Norway|

We made it!!!!! The longest journey of my life, but the children behaved amazingly well considering they had to stay in one place for 10 hours at a time. Those of you who know my children will know that they generally struggle to stay in one place for more than a few minutes.... They did really well, and I didn't even have to use Phenergan.

Cathay Pacific was wonderful, but I declare Finnair to be particularly stingy since it's the first long haul flight I have made where you have to pay for any mid meal snacks...... No pot noodles or packets of chips for peckish little children (or grown-ups). They also required payment in Euros of which I had none, so ended up paying in HK dollars getting a terrible exchange rate. Live and learn. Will arm myself with a couple of packets of biscuits for the return journey. Biscuits are fortunately still allowed on the plane since nobody has found a way of making explosive ones yet.

So, one week or so into our holiday I am happy to report that we are having a good time. Turtle is being suspicious of any foods Norwegian (with the exception of lollies and chocolate which he has deemed safe). Shepherd's pie went down a treat as it was declared to be Australian despite all the ingredients being Norwegian. I am sure if you are 6 yrs old this makes sense!

TV watching is minimal due to the fact that there are only 2 TV channels to watch - one public and one commercial channel. The great thing is that the morning cartoons are completely uninterrupted by ads.... Advertising aimed at children is illegal in Norway, so no junk-food or toy ads. YAY!

The weather has been mostly good, although we had some spectacular rain for a couple of days. Australia could have done with some of it. The children are having a great time playing in the stream by the house and down by the seashore which is 15-20 mtrs away from the back door depending on the tide. The children are spending most of the time outside playing and I have trouble getting them inside for bed. It is hard to persuade them it really is bedtime when it is still bright daylight outside. At first they thought it was an evil scheme of mine to get them to bed early.

Onkel Knut had left a racetrack for the kids to play with. It was so big that the only place I could assemble it was in the barn. It took me 3 hours and the best of my engineering skills to assemble. Thomas was impressed and gave me a pat on the back for "doing a good job". A rare compliment and one that I treasure!

No photos yet because I have not found a way to upload. The internet is accessed at the local library which is beyond impressive!!! I am soooooo disappointed that my children do not read Norwegian because the choice of books here is phenomenal. I used to think Kuringgai library was ok...... but it fades by comparison.

Until next time - farvel!

"There is no me without you"

Thought I would share with you the book I have just finished reading:

"There is no me without you" is the story about a middle-class woman named Haregewoin Teferra in Addis Ababa Ethiopia. She lost her husband to a heart attack; then her 23-year-old daughter died from AIDS. In her grief, Haregewoin turned to the church and asked to be taken into seclusion. Instead of allowing this, the church presented her with two teenage orphans and asked her to house them. Despite protests from her friends and family, Haregewoin said yes. Once she opened her gate to the first two children, she never managed to close it again. Her compound became known as a haven: here was a woman who did not run away from AIDS-orphaned children or HIV positive people. From across the country, children were brought to Haregewoin . Her life shows what one human being can do for others in a time of crisis. As the brutal statistics about the AIDS crisis in Africa increase, Haregewoin is inspirational. Not only has she become a mother to these many orphans, she has also started a school and day-care system, and also a shelter for sick mothers.

I learned a lot about the enormity of the AIDS epidemic in Africa from reading this book. It is staggering to know that the number of AIDS sufferers in South Africa equal that of the population of Norway. And I learned a lot of the shameful facts about the pharmaceutical industry and politics as relating to AIDS drugs.

For more information go to this website: http://www.thereisnomewithoutyou.com/

Stop press! Missing tooth...

The front tooth that has been wobbling for weeks finally wobbled out completely this evening. This was a great relief to Turtle who was not sure whether the tooth fairy would be able to find him in Norway. Even worse was the prospect of the tooth coming out during the flight up there. Because, as Turtle will tell you, the tooth fairy is only 15 cm tall and can't possibly keep up with an airplane.

Perfect gap for a straw!

And, here are the gingerbread men we made today. Thomas decorated these himself, patiently lining up chocolate buttons. He wanted one to look like "Gingy" from Shrek ("No! Not the gum drop buttons!")

Leaving on a jet plane.....

With 4 more sleeps to go, the excitement level is rising. Morfar called from Norway and he is getting pretty excited to see us again. He hasn't seen the boys for 4 years and LP for 3. They have changed a little since then.


Tom Ted (Turtle's teddy) is ready to go. Someone needs to tell him that it is not winter in Norway and that he should swap the fleece hat for his Speedo's

The kids' new super smart passports arrived yesterday complete with holograms, microchips etc etc.

Check out my Slide Show!

Every air-travelling parent's nightmare

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=local&id=5472927
This is the story of the mother and toddler who were thrown off a flight in Houston.....
I don't know if this is the full story, but it is a jaw-dropper! My first impression after reading this story is that this flight attendant should seek employment away from airtravel, and possibly from the service industry altogether....

Reading it made me feel ever so slightly nervous about travelling with my 3 little darlings next week when we go to Norway. Thankfully we are not flying Continental Airlines, so maybe we'll be ok, but ... if next week's blog entries are from Hong Kong or Kazakhstan, you'll know what happened :)

A game of two halves.....

Since the soccer season is nearing an end, I thought we'd share a few glimpses of our little Tigers. This season Doodlebug was in the U8 and Turtle in the U7.



At the Carrington field. Doodlebug played defense this game and did a stirling job of keeping the ball away from the goal.

He earned "Player of the Game" for his efforts.
Posing with him is Best Buddy since Kindy, soccer teammate, fellow bookworm and Nintendo fan

Here is Turtle in action in his U7 Small Side Game.
He was enthusiastic in all his efforts and was rewarded.

Go, Tigers!
Both boys received their "Player of the game" trophies on the same Saturday. The trophies were proudly displayed on the shelf for a week until the next game.

I love to ride my bicycle...

Today Peter and I took the kids out to the BMX track in Terrey Hills. They had a blast at least until the first stack...
Both were kitted out in new elbow and kneepads and looked very cool.
Just 6 laps around the track makes for a very good night's sleep.....
Little Possum wanted to follow her brothers down the track but we managed to persuade her that bikes with training wheels were not allowed so she found a place to make some great mud instead. Happiness all around.


Turtle in the lead with Doodlebug close behind.


Turtle just zoomed around but is thankfully unsuccessful at the jumps still....

Doodlebug playing catch-up

Ready, set, ..............

Our little Sugarplum fairy

Little Possim was given this dress which she discovered has maximum twirl capability and so she put some ballet music on the DVD player and treated Turtle and myself to an impromptu performance of The Fairy Dance. Choreographed, produced and performed by LP.

USS Kitty Hawk

The aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk just left Sydney after visiting for a week one last time before going off to be decommissioned. I can't believe how big it is. About 7000 people are on board. And..... it brought some wonderful memories of going to see "Top Gun" starring Tom Cruise before he turned weird.

USS Kitty Hawk was named after Kitty Hawk, the town where the Wright brothers first took flight in their airplane. LP thinks that Pop flew the first airplane, but it was really the Wright brothers......

Meanwhile, back at the ranch..

Here is Turtle with this afternoon's creation. While Doodlebug was off doing his Egyptian thing, Turtle and LP had gone on the train to the city for an "expotition" with Marnie. They had a picnic down by the rocks in the Botanical Gardens watching the USS Kitty Hawk. Then they went on the Monorail to the Powerhouse museum where oodles of fun was had exploring various exhibits.

I don't know whether the USS Kitty Hawk provided the inspiration for the Lego helipad and the airplane and landing strip. All those red pieces around the H were perfectly fitted togeterh like a puzzle. Methodical little mind he has, our Turtle.

Walk like an Egyptian, part II

Here's Doodlebug getting his certificate at the end of the workshop..... He didn't want to pose for a photo....

Walk like an Egyptian...

Doodlebug just spent 2 half days at a holiday activity learning about Egyptian mythology. He now knows more about the ancient gods of Egypt than I do (not difficult since I have a scant knowledge in this area). Part of their workshop was to make these amulets. From top left:

Ankh (Granting life. All the gods carry it, and suffusing someone with life-force is represented by presenting an Ankh to their mouth),

Scarab beetle (the scarab had the power of seemingly giving new life from nothing but itself, and due to its habit of pushing dung balls was the symbol of the invisible power of creation which propels the sun through the skies)

The eye of Horus (Brings the blessings of strength, vigour, protection, safety, good health.... ). I have been educated....

Wonderful show!

Last night Peter and I went to see the Sydney Theatre Company production of "the 25th Putnam County Spelling Bee". Wonderful evening and not just because I got to be an adult for a night! I haven't laughed so much in ages. There were serious undertones as we learned of the backgrounds and insecurities of the spellers, but the show was full of funny jokes. There was some audience participation as 4 members of the audience were "volunteereed" to be part of the spelling bee.

Great cast including a surprising performance by Lisa McCune. I have only seen her in TV dramas and I must admit I had thought she was just another soapie actress. But , she shined in this production.... comedy talent and a wonderful singing voice as well. I will see her in a different light from now. The show also featured Magda Szubanski but she does not need any further introduction except to say she was on good form!

Turtle made a spaceship out of a cardboard box and I just love the details he put in like dials/buttons/knobs and a steering wheel.
I am glad he is still finding amusement in a box!