Unpacking

About nine months ago, the movers pulled into our driveway in Georgia. They boxed kitchen items and toys. They carefully wrapped beds and other furniture. And most of our personal belongings (what remained after several yard sales and countless trips to drop donations at thrift stores) were placed in some faraway storage facility, awaiting our arrival in Norway.

Nine months later, I sit in our home on another continent. Awaiting the arrival of another team of movers. This team will come today with all of those boxes and furniture. And after almost three months here, we will finally get to unpack and really settle.

I don't know exactly what to expect today. I imagine there will be surprise as we see things that we'd forgotten were around anymore (many things were packed when we sold our house back in September 2011). There will be excitement as the boys unwrap beloved toys. Maybe some disbelief as we wonder why in the world we thought it necessary to pack some of the items for the move. And probably a little anxiety and frustration as we try to find a place for everything!

One thing is for sure: this weekend promises to be a busy one!

Spisebord

We sat at a table as we ate lunch today. The first time we've sat as a family at home around the table for a meal since we left Oslo in mid-February. We are thankful for a great deal we found on Norway's version of Craigslist. We are now the proud owners of a lovely table and 6 chairs! Can't wait to see who might end up around this table over time :)

And while we're talking dining tables, I'll share a bit of humor with you...

A dining table is called spisebord [SPEEH-seh-bord] in Norwegian. It is a combination of the words for eat (spise) and table (bord). You see, in Norwegian, when you describe something it becomes one word. So you put SPISE and BORD together: spisebord. Take a look at the funny picture one of our Norwegian friends posted on Facebook. It shows you how we can really mess up the language with just the incorrect use of a space. Dining table? Or eating a table? ;)

Impromptu Date

We (Zack & Jenn) have Wednesdays off from language class. So this morning once the boys were off to school, we studied for a while and did homework. Then we decided to take the bus to Tønsberg, a nearby town we'd visited once before. We leisurely walked around the mall, and even found a couple of items we'd been trying to find for a while. Then we grabbed two kebabs (similar to what some cultures call doner, donair, shwarma or gyro) and found a bench by the fjord. The sun was out and it was 7C - a beautiful day! We enjoyed an outdoor lunch & beautiful scenery (and the rare chance to eat slowly and quietly :) ).

Unplanned dates are often the best dates!