Pensive? No, Just Thinking

Seeing History Being Made

2011-06-14T22:54:00.142-06:00

Russ and the gentlemen at Farmers Union Oil Co. in Westhope, ND did a fine job of repairing our vehicle; it ran smoothly the entire way home. We took Hwy 83 south toward Bismarck; and because we were in the area, we took advantage of the opportunity to turn off onto Hwy 200 and go to Riverdale, ND so that we could see an historic even in progress: the water being released from the spillway gates of the Garrison Dam.

(Remember: click on any photo to enlarge it for greater detail.)

Faithful Reader, you may recall that, last fall, our family toured the Garrison Dam power plant and spent some time frolicking at the recreation area at the pond at the base of the dam's spillway. Looking north from the pond, this is what we saw back then:

What looks like a fence railing along the top is actually the series of gates that make up the spillway. On the other side of those gates (to the north) is Lake Sakakawea, formed by Garrison Dam's stopping up of the Missouri River as it flows south. To the west of the spillway is the power plant, through which water from the Missouri flows out of Lake Sakakawea and continues south--so the Missouri River enters Lake Sakakawea near Williston in northwest ND and exits the lake here in central ND and then continues alongside Hwy 83, flows between the cities of Bismarck and Mandan, and goes on through SD and southward on its way to the Gulf of Mexico.

In the photo above, notice the closed spillway gates and the dry concrete leading downward from the spillway to the pond beneath it. The spillway was built for emergencies: just in case the water level rises too high in Lake Sakakawea and threatens the integrity of the dam by trying to spill over the top of it, the spillway gates can be opened to release water, which would flow out of the gates and down the concrete of the spillway, into the spillway pond, and southward, forming its own channel on its way to join the Missouri River south to Bismarck and Mandan. Since the dam's completion in 1953, the spillway gates have never been opened to relieve the dam of dangerously high water . . . until now.

Yep, if you have paid any attention to national news in recent months, you know about the record snowfall in the mountains of MT that is melting and running off into the rivers that feed the Missouri River; and you know about the record rainfall in MT and ND that is further increasing the water level in the river; and you know about the resulting flooding that is damaging property and cities all along the river. Each dam along the river is needing to release water to protect the dam, which further raises the water level for riverside cities downstream--a terrible domino effect that is damaging all sorts of property in communities throughout several states.

It was a sad reason to visit the Garrison Dam today, but to see the water shooting out of the spillway gates was impressive in its own way. We parked in a lot to the north of the spillway, and a sheriff held traffic so that we could walk across the highway to view the spillway from an area to the south of the dam and on the west side of the gates. (Yes, so many people have been coming to view the open spillway gates that the county has stationed a sheriff there to facilitate pedestrian traffic across the highway.)

Here's a view of the spillway gates from the north side, which is the lake side of the spillway. Water is being flowing from this side out those gates onto the concrete spillway on the other side.

And here is the water rushing out each of the gates from Lake Sakakawea onto the concrete spillway on the south side of the dam.

The dry concrete from the photo we took last fall is no longer dry. This is looking southward from the spillway gates.

Susan took this photo from the window of the van as I drove east on Hwy 200 back toward Riverdale. The water rushing out of the spillway gates has formed its own channel across the countryside and flows off as far as the eye can see. At some point, it meets up with the Missouri River, raising the river's water levels for flooded and flooding cities to the south, including Bismarck and Mandan in ND.

Here's a zoomed-in view of the gates with water rushing out of them. It's impressive to me that technology designed and built half a century ago, and never used for its purpose between then and now, should function just as planned.

Here's a video clip to show the water in action.

After leaving, we continued on our way to Bismarck and stopped at the hospital to see my stepmom. She has been hospitalized for weeks (remember?) but is looking much better: she's eating better than before, has more strength than I've seen for a long while, and even suggested that we all go with her down the hallway to a room with an organ in it so that I could play some songs for her to hear. She got herself into the wheelchair, and I played the organ for a bit before having the girls play their piano recital pieces for Grandma and Grandpa. Beverly anticipates being released within the next few days, and she will be very happy finally to be home again.

After hospital visiting hours ended, we stopped at Kroll's Diner for supper and now are home. Thanks to vehicle troubles, we had a longer weekend away than planned, making it all the nicer to be home again now.

Unexpected Vacation, Day 3

2011-06-14T15:00:00.086-06:00

(Recall Day 1 and Day 2.)

Russ, the mechanic, expected the distributor for our vehicle to arrive around midday today. However, we had to check out of the motel by 11:00 A.M., so we ate our breakfast, took our showers, packed our suitcases, and walked the couple blocks from the motel to the automotive shop. A gentleman getting out of his pickup on main street saw us hauling our luggage and bags down the sidewalk, and he offered to give us a ride to wherever we were headed. More small-town hospitality! But we were just a half-block away from the van (still parked outside the shop, which told us that the distributor still hadn't arrived), so we declined his offer, packed our belongings inside the van, and walked around town again to kill some time.

As we walked yesterday and today, I kept jokingly suggesting that we move to warm and welcoming Westhope. Hillary agreed (she really likes the school's playground), but Suzanna and Abigail declined. They agree that it's a friendly community, but they kept mentioning things that we can do in Dickinson that we couldn't in Westhope. Our compromise: we will return to visit Westhope whenever we're in the area (which we are annually for Norwegian camp).

We spent a little time back at the school's playground, but then it started sprinkling, so we went to the city hall to get in from the rain. It's attached to the motel, and the town's library is there, so we sat reading for a while. A gentleman who works there (and who helped me yesterday to reserve our room for another night) offered us their TV (which we declined--we could have stayed and read all day), and the motel's maid saw us in there and shared her wishes for good news from the shop (everybody in town seemed to know who we were, why we were there, and what the status was on our vehicle!).

Then we went back to M & D for a late dinner and remained at our table to play cards. The employee/manager/owner, who yesterday offered us the use of his car, sat with us for a while again today to visit some more. The city hall/motel employee came to find us (I suppose it was a good guess that we'd be in the restaurant--how many other places in Westhope could we be?) and say that he had a meeting to attend, so he had locked the doors to city hall/the library--but if we'd like to return to our room for the afternoon to nap or watch TV while waiting for our vehicle, we could get our key out of the wall safe and go use the room for no charge. So nice!!

We didn't take him up on that offer, though, because not long afterward, the restaurant employee/manager/owner popped his head in to say, "Praise the Lord!" He was announcing that our vehicle was repaired and ready for us to go get. (A man who works at the automotive shop is married to a woman who works at the restaurant, so the husband called the wife, who told the restaurant employee/manager/owner, who popped in to let us know--gotta love a small town!) Before we could leave, though, he stopped us with, "Just a minute." Then he disappeared behind the counter and returned with a foam "to go" container and some napkins, telling us that he was sending some bars with us (cake and chocolate topping, as it turns out) for the road. So nice!!!

At the shop, I found Russ and the other mechanics and thanked them for their help. They expressed sympathy for our being stranded but again noted that we'd be welcome to buy a house and remain in Westhope (our three kids would be a nice enrollment boost for the school). (Yesterday the grocery store owner had pointed out that the post office was just across the street if we wanted to go fill in a change-of-address card.) We paid our bill (much cheaper than we had expected), got some fuel, thanked the friendly cashier, and headed west out of town.

If you've got to be stranded with car troubles, Westhope, ND is the place for it to happen.

Unexpected Vacation, Day 2

2011-06-13T22:58:00.084-06:00

(Recall Day 1.)

I knew from yesterday that the Farmers Union Oil Co.'s automotive shop would open at 7:00 A.M. today, and I was up and ready by 6:30 so that I could be sure to be there when they opened. Yesterday afternoon the van died while we were parked on the street by the Farmers Union, so that's where I walked this morning. I tried to start the van to see if I'd be able to drive it into the shop at least, and to my surprise, it started and ran just fine. I even took it for a drive out of town a ways and back, and it seemed perfectly normal. Still, I didn't want to take any chances of our getting stranded again while driving home, and I asked the mechanics if they could look it over.

The van's symptoms returned after they got the vehicle in their shop, and Russ (the main mechanic looking it over) was conscientious in diagnosing the problem, even enlisting the advice of a Ford technician via a telephone hotline. They determined that the problem was the distributor, a new one of which Russ could get delivered overnight from Minneapolis, MN to Minot, ND and then driven by courier to Westhope by midday Tuesday. That meant we'd be staying one more night in Westhope.

So I reserved our motel room for another night and walked back to tell Susan and the girls the news. We decided to make the best of it. We walked to M & D Pizza Place for a dinner of delicious burgers. An older man (and also employee, manager, or owner of the restaurant) stopped by to visit while we were there. He asked if we'd like to borrow his car to drive around while waiting for our own vehicle to be fixed--and he didn't know us from Adam! Small-town hospitality is amazing.

We walked to Opdahl Grocery to buy some snacks and a deck of cards for some evening entertainment as well as some food for breakfast the next morning. Susan and the girls had been in the grocery store earlier, so when the owner saw us back in there, he said, "Should I not ask?" (about the prognosis for the vehicle). He (and nearly everybody else we encountered) joked about our remaining in Westhope and how they'd happily welcome us to their community. Then we took a walking tour of the town, spending some time at one playground on the grounds of the school and another next to the town's swimming pool.

On the west side of Westhope Public School is an awesome collection of playground equipment. We started at one set of swings and worked our way north through the rest of the options. Two little kids who live across the street from the school joined us, too, and were friendly little tykes.

That slide is made of many rollers placed one next to the other so that one doesn't slide down it so much as one rolls down it. We've never seen one like it before.

We enjoyed making one another hover in mid-air.

The school features an old-school merry-go-round: splintery wood, rusty metal with hard edges and welded joints . . . a lawsuit just waiting to happen. Just like they used to make 'em!

We found three little frogs hopping around the playground equipment. The girls named them P.J., Willie, and Shepherd. We let them go again in the shade of the school building, figuring they'd be too hot hopping around out in the open.

I've never seen this item on a playground: it's a disc on the bottom and a steering wheel at the top, both of which spin and both of which are set at angles. Here the girls are trying to keep things spinning while pumping with their legs to rotate the angled disc and using their arm muscles to turn the angled wheel.

On the east side of town is a swimming pool with a playground next to it. We were hot and tired from playing at the other playground and then walking around town, so Suzanna and I took advantage of the opportunity to rest in the cool shade of the tube slide.

We returned to M & D and shared a loaded pizza for supper before heading back to the motel for the night to snack, play cards, watch TV, and pray for good news in the morning.

Unexpected Vacation, Day 1

2011-06-12T22:00:00.049-06:00

Earlier this afternoon, we left Lake Metigoshe en route to Bottineau, ND for juneberry malts at Denny's Pizza Inn before departing for Dickinson, ND. Well, we made it as far as Westhope, ND, which is where we are right now. Yep, automotive troubles have left us stranded in a small town in rural ND on a Sunday night! Ready for this tale?

After we left Bottineau and traveled west, we noticed some chugging of the vehicle as we drove: intermittent jerks, as though it wanted to stall every three or four minutes as we drove at highway speeds. We were just a few miles east of Westhope before the vehicle stopped wanting to maintain speed. At first, I wasn't able to accelerate past 50 mph, and the top speed just keep declining from there until the vehicle was jerking by the time we entered Westhope. I pulled into the Farmers Union Oil Co., which was a very fine place for the vehicle to die and refuse to start again. Their shop isn't open on Sundays, so we are stranded for the night in Westhope.

The friendly cashier in the convenience store dialed the Gateway Motel in town and handed me the phone, and I was able to get us a room for the night. We got out our luggage and walked the couple blocks to the motel, used the self-serve system for retrieving our motel room key from a wall safe, and brought our things into the room. We walked back to the convenience store to buy sandwiches and beverages for supper, which we ate in the motel room while watching TV.

Let's look on the bright side:

The direct route out of Bottineau toward home would be Hwy 5, but it's closed due to flooding. That's why we took Cty Rd 6 that runs through Westhope--a town that has a motel and an automotive shop. Otherwise we'd be sleeping in the van tonight on the side of the highway!
We got stranded here before the convenience store's hours of operation ended for the night. Gas station sandwiches, bags of chips, and bottled soda may not be a glamorous supper, but it's better than literally nothing at all!
The convenience store cashier was kind and helpful, as was the motel employee on the phone.
Our motel room is spacious and clean and has been remodeled fairly recently. And it's got cable TV, so we have plenty of options for viewing.
We have clothes and toiletries in our suitcases because of our weekend spent at Lake Metigoshe. Had this just been a day trip somewhere, we'd be stuck here with no change of clothes and no toothbrush or toothpaste in the morning!
We're safe and sound, we're fed, and we're in clean and warm beds for the night.

Camp Trollfjorden, Year 3

2011-06-12T14:26:00.012-06:00

In 2009, our family attended Trollfjorden Language and Cultural Camp (at Lake Metigoshe, ND) for the first time (remember?) to learn more about our Norwegian heritage. We enjoyed the experience so much that we returned again last summer (remember?). Thereafter, I was invited to join the camp's board of directors (remember?), which pretty much guaranteed that we'd be returning to camp again this summer (and each summer for the foreseeable future). The overall schedule for the weekend was the same as in past years, but I do have photos, videos, and anecdotes to share of details unique to this summer's camp experience.

(Remember to click on a photo to enlarge it for greater detail.)

We left early enough Thursday to make a stop for dinner at Denny's Pizza Inn (home of the best pizza in the state) in Bottineau, ND before we headed to camp. Then I had some pre-camp board/staff meetings to attend before camp got underway. There was registration late in the afternoon followed by supper and a tour of the Norwegian craft options available for classes the next two days. Then we gathered for a program on the experience of Norwegian immigrants to America. That was followed by folk dancing and then some shut-eye.

One end of the retreat center was reserved as the sleeping quarters for the girl campers, so Suzanna, Abigail, and Hillary slept in bunk beds in adjacent rooms there. Another end of the retreat center housed the boys, and adults were in bedrooms in other spots. One corridor in the middle of the retreat center has eight theme rooms in which staff members stay. Susan and I were put in the Ojibwa room. It was the fanciest "camping" quarters I've ever seen!

These items were on display during Thursday evening's cultural program. In the middle is a wooden trunk, and the items around it are examples of some of the things that a Norwegian immigrant would have brought to America. We heard stories about traveling to, and settling in, the U.S.

A sign in the great room where we gathered both for the programs and for the dancing. Literal translation: "Now shall we dance. I like folk dancing."

There were nearly 70 people at camp, which is a full house for our facilities. That makes for a large group for folk dancing!

Can you spot the Mobergs?

Friday and Saturday began with early-morning helse turer ["health walks"] on trails through the hills and trees on the south shore of Lake Metigoshe. Then we ate breakfast, took language classes, took crafts classes, ate dinner, sang Norwegian songs, had more language and crafts classes, and shopped at the butikk (more on that in a sec) before supper. Friday night there was another cultural program, this one on the North American travels of Viking explorer Leif Eriksson; and Saturday night we gathered around a bonfire near the lake, eating s'mores and singing Norwegian songs. Both nights ended with more folk dancing indoors (followed on Saturday with a late-night snack of rommegrøt [a porridge made from cream and topped with sugar and cinnamon]).

I had treasurer duties to do during the day, so I didn't sign up for craft classes this year. Instead I used that time to tend to treasurer tasks, including setting up and running the butikk ["boutique"] each day (with Susan's help--a "perk" of being the treasurer's wife!) so campers could purchase T-shirts, Norwegian candy, souvenirs, and gifts. Hillary worked on small crafts with the other children her age, making (among other items) a canvas handbag decorated with Nordic designs as well as a wallet made out of red, blue, and white duct tape to create the Norwegian flag on it--clever! Abigail took a rosemaling [a style of decorative painting] class, decorating the frame of a mirror to hang in her bedroom. Suzanna took a Hardanger [a style of Nordic needlework] class, making a small bell pull with blue and pink stitches on tan linen.

Each morning we gathered outdoors to sing the Norwegian national anthem in front of the Norwegian flag.

Rolf, one of the staff members, portrayed Leif and gave a detailed monologue on his life and travels (accompanied by a slideshow of related maps and photos).

Saturday morning we walked along a trail that has wooden troll faces hidden among the trees for us to find all along the way!

Susan was asked to help prepare the smørbrød ["butter bread"], the name for open-faced sandwiches that are made to look fancy and are common throughout Scandinavia. We ate these for dinner on Saturday.

Camp photo!

Here is the board of directors for the camp: Helene, Kari, Sonna, Bonnie, Jolene, and I.

We Mobergs "talked up" the camp to our fellow lodge members back home, so three of them attended camp with us this year, and one brought along her granddaughter from Fargo. Representing Hardanger Lodge 4-652 are Dave and his wife Cathy (past president), Lynette (current president), Susan (secretary), Hillary, Abigail, I (youth director), Suzanna (musician), and Lynette's granddaughter Amanda.

Gotta have a family photo near the Norwegian flag.

Here is the group gathered around the bonfire, singing and roasting marshmallows. The lake is visible through a break in the trees.

This morning the whole group of us attended church together at Metigoshe Lutheran Church, located on the grounds of the retreat center. And, like last year, we got to chat with my cousin Marsha's daughter Tracy, who is a counselor for Camp Metigoshe in the summer. The camp counselors help to lead music for the church services, and it was "toe-tappin' music" (in the song leader's words) that was more energetic than some of the older Trollfjorden campers are probably used to at their home congregations! Then, before everybody packed up to return home, we had a final meal of vaffler ["waffles," made in little heart shapes and served with whipped cream and berry sauce] and Scandinavian pannekaker ["pancakes," made much lighter and "egg-ier" than the cake-like American version]. Susan and the girls waited for me to attend some post-camp staff and board meetings, and now we're on our way back to Denny's Pizza Inn for juneberry malted milks before we head back to southwest ND!

At Metigoshe Lutheran Church, the congregation faces this bank of windows that looks out upon the lake--beautiful.

Hospital Visitors

2011-06-08T21:47:00.001-06:00

My stepmother is still in the hospital in Bismarck (remember?). The girls had orthodontist appointments in Bismarck this morning, so we went to see Beverly afterward. We took Dad out for dinner at Red Lobster and then returned for more visiting with Beverly, leaving when they brought in some blood for a transfusion to boost her energy. (Getting her energy up and strength back are the priorities now that they have cleared up her infections.) It has been a long road to recovery, but it seems that she is "on the mend." Here's hoping that she will be feeling like normal and can return home soon.

At Long Last, Our Home Theater

2011-06-07T21:24:00.032-06:00

Don't judge me too harshly. One of our Christmas gifts to ourselves was a Blu-Ray Disc/DVD high-definition home theater system with surround sound speakers . . . that I just today set up. What?! We've been busy. Actually, our multi-state road trip at Christmastime did keep us preoccupied, and then school/work resumed soon after we returned, and I scootched the box out of our way until I had time to get to it. Well, now that we're on a summer break, I have time. The girls watched today as I unpacked and sorted all the pieces of equipment, and they helped me hook up wires and troubleshoot until everything was functioning properly. The sound is great; the picture quality is great; and the Internet connection via our home theater system means that we can view online videos on our big-screen TV, as well as select whatever movies we wish to view and download them in high definition from online movie services. It even plays the radio and our CDs, making them sound spectacular, too. Success!

Paging Dr. Suzanna

2011-06-06T13:07:00.038-06:00

Here are the girls' current career aspirations: Hillary wants to be a herpetologist, a zoologist, or a science teacher; Abigail wants to be a pediatrician; and Suzanna wants to be an obstetrician/gynecologist. With at least two of them as doctors, Susan and I should be well taken care of in retirement.

To prepare for a career in medicine, Suzanna has taken advantage of an opportunity to volunteer this summer at the local hospital. Having completed 7th grade, she is now old enough to volunteer there; so she filled in an application and asked people to serve as references and sat for an interview, and they accepted her! She will volunteer one day a week greeting and helping patients at one of the hospital entrances; and one or two days, she will work in medical records with sorting and filing, etc.

Her first shift was this morning, and she enjoyed it! She has a photo ID and a shirt with the hospital's logo on it, so she looks very official. Today she spent a lot of time visiting with elderly men who engaged her in conversation as they waited for their appointments. Tomorrow she will learn what her medical records duties involve.

Smak av Sommer

2011-06-04T21:59:00.127-06:00

["Taste of Summer"]

Suzanna spent a good part of the day at the house of one of her friends, and Hillary attended the birthday party of one of her friends, which worked out fine for Abigail since it was her turn to be my helper for this week's Scandinavian Saturday supper. We chose a summer-y kind of menu that turned out to be very tasty. Click on the pic below (and/or any that follow) for a detailed look and then read on for all the delicious details.

The stars of the meal were these Dansk kylling burgere ["Danish chicken burgers"]. Abigail and I mixed together ground chicken, poultry seasoning, chopped shallots, Dijon mustard, chopped button mushrooms, small cubes of Gouda cheese made with dill in it, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, and olive oil. While they fried on the stovetop, we spread whole-wheat buns with a mixture of sour cream, fresh dill, capers, salt, and pepper. As the patties cooked, the Gouda melted within them, and some oozed out and formed a gently browned puddle beneath each burger that became a crispy, cheesy treat when we ate them! We topped each burger with spinach and sliced radishes. The burgers were so delicious: savory, moist, and mouth-wateringly good.

This spinat salat ["spinach salad"] contains cucumber, onion, and tomato chopped up and tossed with spinach. First we drizzled the greens with white wine vinegar and olive oil, seasoned them with salt and pepper, and let them sit while we prepped the burger buns. After we had put dill/caper spread on all the buns, we added the remainder of the spread to this salad and gave it a final toss. The dill and spinach tied this dish in nicely with the burgers, and it was fresh and refreshing all on its own.

Abigail and I made this potetsalat med grønne bønner og urter ["potato salad with green beans and herbs"] earlier in the day so that the flavors could meld as it sat through the afternoon. It's relatively easy to make but packs a huge punch in the flavor department! We boiled potatoes in salt water and then cut them into bite-sized pieces while using the water to boil fresh green beans. We chopped the beans, too, and tossed the vegetables with chopped fresh thyme, fresh dill, and fresh parsley. For a dressing, we combined crushed garlic, capers, lemon zest, olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and pepper. This salad's aroma was so piquant that we could hardly wait to eat it after removing it from the fridge and taking off the plastic wrap at suppertime. It was a very flavorful alternative to mayonnaise-based potato salads, and it went well with the burgers and spinach salad.

We have plenty of rhubarb in our back yard, so we cut some down this morning in order to make this dessert: isete rabarbra ["icy rhubarb"]. We mixed sugar, water, white wine, cardamom pods, vanilla extract, lemon zest, and freshly squeezed lemon juice and brought it to a boil. We cleaned 7 or 8 rhubarb stalks and sliced then thinly and then poured the hot liquid over them. Then we placed the rhubarb in the fridge so it could steep throughout the day while chilling and maintaining a firm texture. Before serving, we drained the liquid and topped each portion of icy-cold rhubarb with a mixture of yogurt, powdered sugar, lime zest, and freshly squeezed lime juice. The clean flavors of the liquid were distinct in the rhubarb, and the lime in the topping was a nice complement. However, the firm texture of the rhubarb was unlike what I'm used to from rhubarb desserts (in which rhubarb is usually baked into a soft consistency)--it was a bit like eating a bowl of slightly softened celery that had been soaked in cardamom and vanilla. Fun to try once but probably not something we'd elect to make again.

Ascension Day

2011-06-02T21:01:00.001-06:00

Today is Kristi Himmelfartsdag ["Christ's Ascension Day"] in Norway. We call it Ascension Day, but it's more fun for English speakers to say it in Norwegian. Twisted, I know. In any case, I hope you got to celebrate it, no matter what you called it.

Thrifty Tour of Norway

2011-06-01T10:05:00.000-06:00

Here is an easy way to visit Norway and enjoy its beauty without having to pay a cent or step away from your monitor:

Rainy Memorial Day Remembering and Partying

2011-05-30T23:28:00.047-06:00

This has been the rainiest, chilliest May in a long time. It continues to drizzle outside, and a cold wind is still blowing. This has gone on for days. It made for an unpleasant trip to the cemetery today to visit Susan's mom's grave for Memorial Day, and it drove us indoors for a barbecue that we were invited to attend at our friends' house. First, the photos:

Just as we did for my mom yesterday (remember?), we placed on Sue's grave a wreath and two bouquets. Red was one of Sue's favorite colors.

Sue's three oldest grandchildren (Hillary, Abigail, and Suzanna) and Sue's oldest child (Susan) at her grave. Sue died when Suzanna was a baby, so visiting her grave always elicits questions from the girls about what she was like. It's good for us to keep our own memories of her alive as we recall stories about her to share with her granddaughters.

From there we headed to the home of our friends Pam and Calvin. They had us and our friends Leslie and Dave (and all our children) over today for a barbecue that became an indoor party due to the miserable weather. They opened up their lovely home to us, and their cute kids hosted the other children, keeping one another entertained upstairs while the adults retired to the family room downstairs for conversation and games. Pam laid out a delicious spread from which we ate non-stop all evening. Both couples are hilarious, and we laughed ourselves silly the whole time we were there. We're looking forward to more get-togethers with both couples and their families.

A Very Roloff Sunday

2011-05-29T22:43:00.221-06:00

Faithful Reader, I told you yesterday that this morning would be an early one for me, and now I'll tell you why: the girls and I got up around 5:00 A.M. to head north and visit my relatives' graves, and decorate my mom's, for Memorial Day. Each year my sisters and I take turns providing flowers for Mom's grave, and this year was my turn. Susan stayed behind to attend the commencement ceremony this afternoon at the school where she teaches (and is a senior class advisor), so it was a trip for just the girls and me today. In addition to visiting cemeteries, we also visited out-of-state relatives who are in Williston for a few days. All the details--and photos, naturally--are here:

The girls and I picked up some hot chocolate and coffee on our way out of town and hit the Interstate in order to take Hwy 85 north. Normally we'd drive on Hwy 22 straight north of Dickinson, but a section of that highway has slid away (!) due to intense oil field truck traffic and high ground moisture from a very wet spring. Getting around in western ND these days is always an exercise in guessing which route will have the fewest number of trucks traveling it and the fewest number of potholes or sections of severely broken pavement to contend with. We opted to drive west to Belfield, north to Watford City, west and north to Williston, north and east to Tioga, and then north and east to Battleview, where my mom's cemetery is located.

North of Grassy Butte but south of Watford City, the beautiful Badlands of southwest ND offer gorgeous sights no matter the season. We snapped some pics of the clouds floating near the tops of the hills. Click on this photo to enjoy it in greater detail.

Just south of Williston, Hwy 85 crosses the Missouri River, which is currently flooded with extra water from unusually high amounts of rain and melting snow coming in from MT. Click on this photo (and then click on it again to magnify it) for a larger version and look for the red arrow, which marks where the actual river bank is . . . and then you'll understand how much of this water is not where it belongs but is instead covering park land, fields, pastures, etc.

The Misouri River feeds into Lake Sakakawea, from which the Army Corps of Engineers must now release water to control damage to the Garrison Dam . . . and downstream from the dam lies Bismarck, ND, whose residents are bracing for flooding that is expected to last for two to three months! It's not pretty.

On the east side of Mom's headstone, we placed this wreath (with a banner that says "Mom") and two pink bouquets. Then we walked around and visited the graves of other Mobergs and Aunes (my paternal grandmother's family) before returning for some final conversation with Mom.

Here are Mom's granddaughters posing at the west side of Mom's headstone (our flowers are on the other side). We shed many tears as we talked about our regrets (wishing that Mom had lived to get to know her grandchildren) and our happy memories (they like to hear me tell about what kind of mother she was). They like to hear stories, too, about the other relatives as we walk around the cemetery. We spent maybe an hour-and-a-half walking around, examining headstones, admiring flowers, asking questions, and telling stories. That might not seem like everybody's idea of a good time, but it's a good way to teach the girls to honor the deceased and to inform them about their ancestors.

After we left Mom's cemetery, we took the gravel roads to the cemetery at Scandia, a country church at which my maternal grandparents and other relatives are buried. On the way there, I pulled over and traded places with Suzanna, letting her drive several miles on the country roads. At home, she has been practicing backing out of the garage and driving into it, but this was her first experience actually driving. The traffic was minimal (we met one oil field truck), but the roads were a wreck (again: the high volume of oil field truck traffic), so Suzanna got a little practice dodging potholes, managing ruts, meeting oncoming vehicles, turning corners, and parking. She did very well!

After we had walked around the Scandia cemetery and shared stories about those relatives, I drove us back to Williston, where we ate fast food for a late dinner. Then we drove over to my aunt Lucille's house to visit my mom's sisters. Lucille lives in Williston, so we see her occasionally (see this and this). It is rarer to see Marcella, who lives in WA, and Adeline, who lives in KS--so, because they're both visiting Lucille for a few days, I phoned Lucille last week and arranged to stop by today.

Abigail, Shirley, Hillary, Duane, Adeline, and Suzanna. Adeline is the second-oldest of the four Roloff sisters, and she is married to Duane, who is a brother of Shirley, who was once married to Adeline's youngest brother Lawrence. The girls' minds were boggled when I explained in advance that a brother and sister from one family had married a sister and brother from another. "Isn't that illegal?" asked Hillary.

And here I am with Shirley (who is not only my aunt but also my godmother), Duane, and Adeline.

Abigail, Hillary, Lucille, and Suzanna. Lucille is the second-youngest of the four Roloff sisters (my mom was the youngest). She has lived in Williston or Tioga most of my life, so I have seen her more frequently than her sisters. Lucille's son Jerry lives in Williston and stopped by for a bit this afternoon, so we got to see him, too. Her daughter Jane passed away some years ago but had given Lucille some pretty baby-sized dolls, and Lucille asked the girls to take those dolls home with them today. So generous and thoughtful!

And here I am with Lucille.

Hillary, Abigail, Marcella, and Suzanna. Marcella is the oldest of the four Roloff sisters. She and her family used to live in Williston, so I saw them a lot while growing up. For many years now, they have lived in WA. The older Marcella gets, the more she looks like her mom, which makes it a double-treat to see her (because it's almost like seeing Grandma Roloff again).

And here I am with Marcella.

We had a very nice visit this afternoon. The girls enjoyed re-meeting my aunts and uncle and hearing stories as they and I shared memories. Here's an unusual detail: my aunts (and my mom) all have similar hands--fingers shaped the same, equally soft and warm to the touch--so holding their hands brings back sense memories for me of holding Grandma's hands or Mom's hands. I also see in their facial features or mannerisms hints of Mom's appearance or actions, so it's an especially warm feeling to be in their midst. Plus they're very caring and funny women. After a pleasant afternoon spent with them, the girls and I hit the road to return home, driving through light rain the entire way--melancholy weather that was appropriate for reflections on my deceased mother and other relatives and on the passage of time in general. Sigh.

Little Guests at the Scandinavian Supper Table

2011-05-28T22:57:00.146-06:00

Faithful Reader, you must recall that I teased yesterday that we had some baby-related fun scheduled for today. Well, Susan's cousin Todd and his wife arranged for us to babysit their kids overnight. Trae (three years old) and Tatum (nine months old) arrived this afternoon and will get picked up in the morning. Trae has spent the night with us before (remember this and this?), the second time getting to join us for a Scandinavian Saturday supper--just like tonight! However, I chose a menu this time around that seemed more kid-friendly (well, to non-Moberg kids, that is--you just never know how adventurous others' kids will be), and Trae ate it all up!

Click on any photo to enlarge it for more tantalizing viewing.

To find out what everything is--and to see dessert--read on:

I tried a new recipe for Norwegian kjøtboller ["meatballs"] . . . well, actually, I combined some new recipes to create my own. The meatballs contain ground beef, ground pork, buttermilk, dry bread crumbs, an egg yolk, minced onion, salt, pepper, allspice, ginger, nutmeg, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, minced capers, and dried dill weed. After browning the meatballs, I set them aside and then sautéed fresh mushrooms in the pan drippings. Then I added flour, butter, smoked paprika, beef stock, sour cream, salt, and pepper to make the gravy. I put the meatballs in the gravy to simmer until cooked through. They were very good! The Dijon and capers added a new dimension to the meatballs' flavor, and the smoky paprika was a surprising twist to the gravy.

As an accompaniment, I made Swedish Hasselbackspotatis ["Hasselback potatoes"], named after Hasselbacken, the Swedish hotel whose restaurant first served them in the 1700s. I peeled baking potatoes and sliced them not-quite-all-the-way-through ("accordian-style," as some food sites online describe it) before drizzling them with butter, seasoning them with salt and pepper, and baking them uncovered in the oven. I redrizzled midway through and, five minutes before removing them, put a mound of grated Jarlsberg cheese and a sprinkle of paprika on each potato. What a fun and relatively easy way to serve a baked potato! Some Web sites show that one could tuck garlic cloves within the slices or sprinkle herbs atop the potatoes or leave the skins on the spuds. I think we'll be having some version of Hasselbacks again sometime!

The other side dish was Norwegian erter og gulrøtter med dill ["peas and carrots with dill"]. I simmered frozen peas and sliced fresh carrots in water, but the star of the show was the sauce that I made separately and then poured over the vegetables. It was a white sauce made from butter, flour, white wine, cream, dill weed, salt, and pepper. After folding the veggies into the sauce, I garnished it with chopped scallions. What a creamy, tasty way to serve vegetables! The wine and the dill flavors were distinctive (white sauces are sometimes quite bland), making for a delicious compliment to the peas and carrots.

Dessert was an American favorite with a Norwegian twist: apple crumble served with kardemomme vanilje karamellsaus ["cardamom vanilla caramel sauce"]. I tossed green apple slices in the juice and zest from a lemon along with sugar, cinnamon, and salt. I put that in a baking dish with melted butter and topped it with a crumble made from flour, brown sugar, oats, salt, and unsalted butter. After it had baked, I drizzled it with the sauce, made by caramelizing sugar on the stovetop and then stirring in butter, heavy cream, vanilla extract, and ground cardamom. Cardamom is a popular baking spice in Scandinavia, and it was a lovely addition to the sauce. And when topped with a scoop of Schwan's vanilla ice cream, the dessert became something close to heavenly.

It was Hillary's turn to be my helper this week, and she did help with menu selection and grocery shopping. However, with Suzanna gone until late tonight (remember?) and Abigail absent for several hours today to attend a friend's birthday party, Hillary was needed to entertain Trae and Tatum--so I prepared the meal on my own today. Susan helped with cleanup, and afterward we chilled with our houseguests and then put them to sleep. It's going to be an early morning . . . stay tuned for details!

Friends and Family on Friday

2011-05-27T22:10:00.071-06:00

Suzanna was invited to a friend's birthday sleepover . . . in Rapid City, SD! Our friends are taking their daughter there overnight for a birthday treat, and she invited Suzanna to join her. Their family picked up Suzanna around 7:00 A.M., and they'll return tomorrow night.

Shortly after Suzanna left, so did we. We went to Mandan, ND to see our friends Travis and Sedie, who live in MA but are visiting Travis' parents at their farm outside Mandan. We met up with Travis and Sedie last year over Memorial Day weekend and again in July. But this year, they have something that they didn't when we saw them last year:

Anastasia Renee

A new baby! Yep, their son Vladimir now has a sister, Anastasia, born just a couple months ago. Travis served us pancakes, fruit, and coffee, and we brought Donut Hole (a local bakery) treats to share. Abigail and Hillary took turns playing with Vlad and doting on Anastasia while the adults visited. We were there for just a couple hours before heading to our next destination, but it's good to stay in touch with friends--and it's always fun to be around a sweet new baby!

Abigail got to hold Anastasia for a while as I chatted with Sedie.

Hillary helped Vlad get started in his new coloring book, a gift from us.

Then we headed to the hospital in Bismarck to see my stepmom Beverly. We visited her there on Mother's Day a couple weeks ago, and several days later she got to return home. Then she got sick again and this time was flown to Bismarck and admitted into the ICU. We learned today that she is much improved from when she arrived a few days ago, and they were expecting to hear this evening that she could be moved into a regular hospital room for the remainder of her stay. As a precaution against spreading germs, we had to "suit up" in blue plastic gowns and medical gloves, which explains this photo of Abigail and Hillary with my dad:

After bidding Dad and Beverly farewell, we ate supper (at China Star) and then returned home. Tomorrow we have more baby-related fun in store . . . stay tuned!

Indoor Picnic

2011-05-26T23:20:00.026-06:00

Susan and her friend Leslie teach together and, since last year, have been in charge of organizing the end-of-year faculty picnic for their school. Both last year and tonight, the event was held in the Recreation Center, which was great because, although one thinks of "outdoors" when one think of "picnic," one is delighted to be indoors when the weather is cold and rainy, as it was both last year and tonight. They gather door prizes, decorate the tables, and prepare food and beverages. This year's menu was fajitas and tacos, and Susan has spent the last several days making the meat. The crockpot has been full of seasoned chicken breasts, which she has then shredded and replaced with a new batch; and both she and Suzanna have taken turns frying up batches of spicy ground beef. Consequently, we have all smelled like a Mexican restaurant just from walking through our kitchen. But the food tonight was delicious, and the company was fun (Susan is friends with smart and funny people from work).

Household of Smarties

2011-05-24T22:37:00.030-06:00

The girls attend three different schools; but at each building, the school year ended with the distribution of awards. Abigail's school gave out awards yesterday, and Suzanna and Hillary's schools did so today. Each girl won the President's Award for Educational Excellence "in recognition of Outstanding Academic Excellence." They're very good students, so we weren't surprised--but we are surely proud and want the girls to be proud of themselves. Reading so much, studying, respecting teachers, putting forth effort in the classroom . . . they pay off in good grades and occasional recognitions such as this award. (Daddy is hoping for another sort of payoff: full scholarships when it comes time to apply to universities. Keep studying, girls!)

Substitute Accompanist

2011-05-22T10:28:00.022-06:00

Today I had another first at church: first time accompanying the adult choir. Michael, the senior choir's director, teaches at the high school with Susan and asked her a couple days ago whether she thought I'd be willing to do that (their usual accompanist was going to be unavailable today). So she brought home the music, I practiced it a few times, and I met the choir about 45 minutes before church this morning to run through it with them. I watched his conducting very carefully; and at one point, he chastised the choir for not slowing down at a particular measure marked ritardando: "The conductor and the accompanist are ritard-ing, but the choir is not." So I must have been doing something right! It seemed to go well when they sang it during the church service, too. It reminded me of my teen days as a church organist and an accompanist for high school choir. Ah, memories.

Norwegian Pride, Swedish Food, and Norse Mythology

2011-05-21T23:07:00.041-06:00

Norwegians celebrated Syttende Mai ["May 17th," Norway's Constitution Day] a few days ago (remember?), but our local Sons of Norway lodge waited until today for its annual Syttende Mai party so that we could take advantage of a weekend day to have a potluck picnic and play some outdoor games. As Youth Director for our lodge, I was trying to figure out what I could do with the kids that would be Norwegian and fun.

I learned that Norwegians typically precede Syttende Mai with a community-wide dugnad ["volunteering"], tidying up the neighborhood before the big celebrations for Constitution Day--so I proposed the idea to the girls, who were "into" the idea of picking up garbage. A Syttende Mai celebration usually features a barnetog ["children's parade"], and the girls were willing to do their best to put on a three-person parade; they have miniature Norwegian flags that they could wave, and they proposed wearing bathrobes instead of bunads [literally "costumes," but really they're traditional forms of dress that correspond to distinct regions in Norway; see this].

None of that came to pass, though, because the picnic was canceled on account of rain. A continuation of days and days and days of rain, as a matter of fact. The lodge president phoned this morning and said that we'll just have to make our Sankthansaften ["St. John's Eve," a Midsummer's Eve celebration; see this] picnic next month all the grander to make up for it.

But we made today a very Scandinavian-themed day anyway. This is what we did:

One main event was the preparation of our weekly Scandinavian Saturday supper. At long last, Susan took her turn as my helper (which has been delayed for over a month for various reasons each weekend), so I wisely suggested recipes that would take advantage of her culinary expertise . . . and she ended up making two of the three dishes! (These recipes come from chef Marcus Samuelsson, who is Swedish . . . not a perfect match for Norwegian Constitution Day, but delicious food nevertheless.)

Scrumptious! (Remember, you can click the pics for better viewing of the food.)

Susan made the majssoppa med rökt lax ["corn soup with smoked salmon"], a combination of baked potato, corn, canola oil, shallots, garlic, chicken stock, sour cream, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper puréed and then topped with peppercorn smoked salmon, chopped fresh cilantro, and tarragon. The natural sweetness of the corn was a surprising element in an otherwise savory soup. It had a thick, smooth consistency and wonderful flavors from the herbs and the fish. Wonderful!

On the right of the plate is a slice of getost och kronärtskocka tårta ["goat cheese and artichoke tart"], which Susan made because it required a homemade crust, and I'm still a bit intimidated by the prospect of making pastry. It gave us (her) a chance to use my new Scandinavian tart pan (remember?), too. The crust consisted of flour, salt, butter, water, and chopped fresh thyme. The toppings included olive oil, artichoke hearts, garlic cloves, balsamic vinegar, sun-dried tomatoes, anchovy fillets, kalamata and niçoise olives, fresh thyme, baked potatoes, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, herbed goat cheese, and grated Jarlsberg and Gruyère cheeses. Chef Samuelsson writes that his recipe is "inspired by" his "love of Mediterranean flavors," and I can see that. The flavors were bold, distinctive, and utterly delicious.

On the left of the plate is my contribution to the meal: Scandinavian skaldjurssallad ["seafood salad"], served in two scoops atop a bed of mixed greens. It's a combination of baked potatoes, chopped shrimp, smoked salmon, crab meat, hard-boiled eggs, shallots, anchovy fillets, chopped fresh cilantro, and chopped scallion greens tossed in a dressing of freshly squeezed lime juice, mayonnaise, sour cream, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper. The lime juice gave the dressing a light zing that worked well with the creaminess and with the seafood flavors and the pungent shallots and scallions. All together, the three recipes made a great combination.

After supper dishes were cleaned up, we surprised the girls with a trip to the movie theater to see Thor. They had an inkling what we were up to when, earlier in the day, Susan had brought the girls to the library (at the high school where she works) to select books on Norse mythology, in which I then had the girls find information on the god Thor to read aloud to us at the supper table. (Once an English teacher, always an English teacher.) The movie is based on the comic books, which are based on the Nordic myths . . . but I don't know enough about either the comics or the mythology to judge how accurately the movie depicted either. I just know that we enjoyed the movie. The action happened more in Asgard (the realm of the Norse gods) than on Earth, and the special effects showed an impressively realized world of advanced technology and magical powers. And Suzanna called Chris Hemsworth, the actor portraying Thor, "hot," so there's that.

I'm a Superstar

2011-05-20T17:00:00.050-06:00

As members of the Sons of Norway, we receive a monthly magazine called Viking, which we like a lot. The June issue arrived in our mailbox today, and look what I discovered on the page dedicated to news about events from our particular district:

What's that? You don't see anything particularly notable? Well, let me zoom in for you:

Still don't see it?

That's I in the blue, seated on the floor! I'm now on the board of directors for Trollfjorden Language and Cultural Camp, one of our Sons of Norway district's summertime camps--and a camp that our family attended and loved both last year and the year before. Last fall I attended my first board meeting, and the photo above was taken at that gathering. One of the other board members belongs to the Sons of Norway lodge in Grand Forks, so when she submitted this photo, the magazine gave credit to her lodge (Gyda-Varden) in the caption that goes with the photo. However, we board members represent various lodges from across the state.

In any case, clearly I'm now a superstar with my photo splashed across the pages of a magazine with international distribution. (Too bad my name doesn't appear with the photo . . .)

Finale Concert

2011-05-19T22:06:00.027-06:00

"Why won't Abigail stop taking my picture?!"

Suzanna's final music concert as a seventh-grader was tonight. She played in the seventh-grade band, and later the seventh- and eighth-grade bands combined to perform a few numbers from their marching band repertoire. Those were Suzanna's favorite numbers, so I'll share them with you, too:

"Gimme Some Lovin'"

"A Salute to Freedom"

"Hot, Hot, Hot"

Pretty little trombonist.

Piano and Pizza

2011-05-18T22:06:00.029-06:00

Susan returned yesterday! (If you need to, start here and work your way backward a few days to know where she was.) She brought gifts, too: bookmarks and pads of Poo Poo Paper for the girls, and for me a tart pan from Scandinavian store Ikea. It's good to have her back.

Tonight we ate supper at church. We gathered for the annual end-of-year talent night and pizza party for kids who participated in the children's choir (remember last year's?). This was Abigail's last year being in the right age range for the children's choirs, but she didn't seem too traumatized by the transition. She and Hillary each played piano solos, and they also sang a duet version of "Amazing Grace." Other kids' talent included balancing acts, a violin solo, and magic tricks. More pizza was ordered than was consumed, so we even came home with leftovers.

Happy Syttende Mai

2011-05-17T09:24:00.006-06:00

Today is Syttende Mai ["the 17th of May," Norwegian Constitution Day]! Gratulerer med dagen ["Congratulations on the day"]!

Daddy's Home!

2011-05-16T23:04:00.082-06:00

Many thanks to Grandpa Gustafson for staying with the girls last night through this evening! He got them to/from their piano recital last night, school this morning, and swimming practice after school. In exchange, they made his meals and showered him with affection. Fair trade.

I spent the day driving around northeast Minneapolis, MN with my colleague Dawn (remember?). We visited with school administrators from an elementary school, a middle school, and a high school, all with highly diverse student populations (i.e., 80-90% of the students speak English as a second or third language and come from low-income families). We would like to take our own teacher education students to these three schools for experience working with students in settings featuring urban diversity, something they don't get much of in Western ND! The Minneapolis schools were receptive, so we will move ahead with this initiative in the coming months.

I came home tonight to find the sweetest thing awaiting me:

Suzanna decided to leave me a snack. I was supposed to put ice in that glass and pour the Mello Yello into it. The bowl contains several packages of microwave popcorn, one of which I was supposed to pop and serve myself in the bowl. And that's a note to me on the pad in the middle.

Suzanna wrote, "Welcome home! The sheets on your bed are clean . . . and we missed you! We have a little welcome home snack. Just press 'popcorn.' You know where the ice is, so help yourself! We love you, and we can't wait to see you in the morning! [heart] Suzanna, Abiail, and Hillary (Popcorn button, ice . . . DON'T FORGET!)" The clean sheets comment was to let me know that they had changed the sheets after Grandpa slept in our bed last night. And our microwave has a "popcorn" button that one can press and then let the machine determine when to shut itself off after most of the kernels have popped.

When I opened the microwave, I noticed that they had unwrapped a microwave popcorn package and put it in there so that, truly, all I would have had to do was press the "popcorn" button and wait for the magic to happen! Aren't they awesome kids?!

Susan remains in SC (remember this and this?) until tomorrow; but thanks to modern technology, neither she nor our relatives seem too far away:

That's our adorable nephew Davis, tucked in to bed and ready for a good night's sleep.

Susan is next to her little sister Cassie. Those are Cassie's kids Marly (on Susan's lap) and Davis.

And this is Cassie's sweet family: husband Nick and cute kids Marly and Davis.

Parentless Pianists

2011-05-15T22:09:00.067-06:00

Now, not only must the girls survive without Susan around (remember this and this?), but they must also do without me! After Sunday school this morning, I left town with a colleague to drive to Bismarck, ND to fly from their airport to Minneapolis, MN for work-related appointments there tomorrow (more on that later). That meant leaving the girls in the care of Susan's dad today through tomorrow evening. The girls are pretty self-sufficient, taking care of meals for Grandpa and getting themselves ready for school tomorrow (and they did all the laundry and cleaned the house yesterday while I made Scandinavian Saturday supper). But they can't drive (yet), and their piano recital was scheduled for tonight (while both Susan and I were gone). So Grandpa took them!

They captured the performances on video, too. Wanna see/hear?

Suzanna playing "Minuet" and "Spanish Guitar"

Abigail playing "Sonatina in C" and "Arabesque"

Hillary playing "Earthworm Do-Si-Do" and "Pirate of the North Sea"

Didja notice the sound of a man's cell phone ringing during Abigail's performance? And of his answering the call and carrying on a conversation during her performance? Yeah, classy, huh? They said that he received two other calls during the recital, answering the call each time and sitting there talking while the children were trying to concentrate on playing their songs and their families were trying to listen and enjoy the recital. Unbelievably crass.

Anyway, Susan and I are grateful that Grandpa could be with the girls since our out-of-town trips happened on the same weekend.

Scandinavian Recipe Redux

2011-05-14T22:03:00.095-06:00

Without Susan here this weekend (remember?), the girls had to spend the morning alone as I attended the university's commencement ceremony. After the speeches had ended and the reading of the pages and pages and pages of graduates' names had begun, I zoned out a bit until I heard my own last name read aloud! I looked up to see my cousin Joel's daughter Michaela walking across the stage. Then I looked over toward her cheering section in the bleachers, and sure enough, there were my uncle and my cousins! My cousin Myrna must have spotted me earlier because she had her eyes on me when I looked up and scanned the bleachers, and she grinned and waved! What a fun surprise. Michaela got her degree through our Bismarck campus, so I hadn't even recalled that she was a student of ours--therefore, it didn't occur to me that I would see relatives today (albeit only from afar).

And that wasn't the end of the day's activities . . .

I returned home in time to make dinner for the girls. Then we logged into Skype on the computer and had a video conversation with Susan, Cassie, Davis, and Marly! Marly slept in Susan's arms and then opened her eyes and verified our suspicions that she was a cutie pie. Davis talked and talked and talked, showing us his trucks and calling us each by name very clearly and then sitting to play with puzzles with his mommy. Such sweet little kids! Cassie and Nick must be awesome parents.

Here's Marly alongside the afghan that Susan knit for her. Such a sweet girl!

Technically, it's Susan's turn to be my helper for Scandinavian Saturday supper, but we're going to delay that another week. It didn't seem fair to try new recipes without Susan here to partake, so I proposed to the girls that we select some of our favorite dishes from Scandinavian Saturdays past. We did that, and here's what we ate:

The star of the meal was Swedish köttbullar ["meatballs"], a recipe that we loved when we tried it in April 2010. To go with the meatballs and gravy, I made mashed potatoes and stirred in some chopped fresh parsley. We had leftover steamed carrots in the fridge, so I doctored them up with butter and dill. It was a delicious meal.

Our dessert was Norwegian krem [which means "cream," although it's actually a grape pudding--so I really don't get the name of the food], a recipe that we enjoyed when we tried it in January 2010. It required lots of stirring while it thickened over heat, so I enlisted the girls' help with that while I washed dishes after dinner. It was chilled and ready to serve by suppertime, and I topped it with homemade whipped cream. "Grape pudding" may sound odd, but it is surprisingly refreshing and fun.

After we all cleaned up the supper dishes, Suzanna and I made a quick trip to the grocery store for milk for the next few days because I'm not going to be around to tend to that after tomorrow--read on . . .

A Weekend Without Susan

2011-05-13T22:02:00.034-06:00

The girls and I are Susan-less for the weekend! Yesterday she drove to Mandan to spend the night at her brother Jerrett's place so that she could get up early this morning and fly out of Bismarck to their sister Cassie's place in SC. Cassie and her husband Nick recently had a second child (remember?), and Susan is there to meet the baby (Marly Sue) and spoil her and her brother Davis for a few days. Wanna see Marly?

Marly Sue wrapped in the baby-sized afghan that Susan knit for her.

It was a long day: I got the girls to school, mowed the lawn, went to work, took the girls grocery shopping, made them supper, attended an evening meeting, and finally picked up Suzanna from a school field trip (to Bismarck to march in a "band night" parade) from which her school bus returned about 10:00 P.M. Sheesh! The next few days aren't going to be any less complicated--read on . . .

I Can Confirm that We Were at Church Tonight

2011-05-11T22:01:00.014-06:00

I'm done! Done giving and grading final exams! Oh, sure, there are a few end-of-the-year items still to tend to, but this point is always a major milestone in any semester.

Speaking of milestones: Tonight we attended informational meetings for two of our daughters on the confirmation program at church. One meeting was for next year's seventh-graders, who will just be starting the program; the other was for next year's eighth-graders, who will just be wrapping it up. We took Abigail to the first one and Suzanna to the second one. Because we had done this last year for Suzanna (remember?), we pretty much knew what to expect. Still, it was exciting for Abigail to learn the details and get her questions answered.

Why must these children continue to grow older?! Soon they'll be out of the house, and Susan and I will be weeping daily.

Eating Our Way Through Another Mother's Day

2011-05-08T23:00:00.074-06:00

Because we had plans to dine out with friends last night, I postponed our weekly ethnic meal to today, making it a Scandinavian Sunday instead. It was Susan's turn to be my helper, but I opted to cook alone and prepare a nice Mother's Day breakfast for her and the girls. Here's what I made:

Click the photo to see the tasty food in greater detail.

To find out what it all is--and what else we did today--read on:

In lieu of following recipes this week, I looked up (via the InterWebs) what food items are typical breakfast foods in Norway and incorporated some of them in the meal. I sliced hothouse cucumbers, tomatoes, and hard-boiled eggs and seasoned them with kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper. I toasted blueberry bread and spread blueberry preserves on each toast corner. I made sandwiches on a savory ciabatta (in lieu of the more Scandinavian rye bread that I looked for but couldn't find) with dill-Dijon spread, smoked salmon, chopped scallions, and sliced Jarlsberg cheese. And I served apple juice and, for the adults, caramel lattés. It may not be a combination that any actual Norwegian would recognize, but it was Norwegian-ish . . . and all the ladies approved, so it turned out to be a tasty start to the day.

After flowers and gift opening and then Sunday school and church, we took Susan out for dinner at El Sombrero for a tasty Mexican meal. Then we drove to Bismarck so that we could visit my stepmom, who was hospitalized there two days ago. I'm happy to report that the doctors are figuring out things to do to help her, and she was feeling much better when we got there than she has felt for a long time. When the hospital brought Beverly her supper, we took Dad with us for a special Mother's Day supper for Susan at Carino's, where we had fantastic food. (Dad paid, making it a Mother's Day treat for me, too!)

Hillary got help from Grandpa with her placement/activity sheet while waiting for the food to arrive.

We took Dad to get a motel room before returning with him to the hospital. When visiting hours ended, we bade them farewell. We stopped at a nearby Dairy Queen to take advantage of a Mother's Day special on our way out of town for a late-night return home . . . and then school tomorrow. Sigh. But we're very grateful for Susan: a fantastic mother to our daughters and the best partner a man could ask for. We love you!

Professional Musicians, Good Food, and Wine with Chocolate

2011-05-07T22:59:00.066-06:00

No Scandinavian Saturday supper again this week! Our day was just too full of other things to do. Here were the three main events:

First, our entire family was hired to provide music for a wedding service this afternoon at a local Catholic church. The bride's stepdad attends our church, at which her mom heard Susan and the girls sing one Sunday. She recommended the ladies to her daughter, who came to our house one morning with her fiancé to hear them sing and to get ideas for song options (remember?). I played the piano while Susan and the girls sang that day, so the bride and groom ended up asking us all to provide music today: I played piano for the service and accompanied Susan and the girls, who sang the songs for the wedding. It was our daughters' first time as wedding musicians (and they got paid, too!), and it brought back memories of the hundreds of weddings for which my sisters and I sang, played piano, or played organ during our high school years.

Second, Susan and I joined our friends Leslie and Dave for a delicious supper and hilarious conversation at Applebee's. Leslie's a teacher, and Dave's a police officer, so they both have interesting stories. Plus, they're funny people with whom we enjoy hanging out. We arranged to meet for supper tonight because we both had tickets to attend the night's main event afterward . . .

Third, we attended the second annual Chocolate Affair, a chocolate and wine tasting event to raise funds for the Western Wellness Foundation and its programs for children and families. We went with Leslie and Dave last year, too (remember?). It was even classier this year than last with a jazz quintet providing background music and regional chefs serving a delicious assortment of chocolate desserts . . . although the wine sampling was my favorite part! It was a delightful end to a fun day.

Regrets and Congratulations, Rachelle and Winston

2011-05-01T21:54:00.044-06:00

My stepniece Rachelle and her new husband Winston got married last week in CA, where he's from, and scheduled subsequent wedding receptions for this weekend in ND (where she's from) and next weekend in Washington, DC (where they met and will live). Our family was planning to attend their reception yesterday in Minot, ND, and Suzanna was even going to be stationed at the punch bowl (such a big girl now!).

Unfortunately, ND's wacky winter weather continues: a major blizzard hit this side of the state, shutting down roads and keeping us at home. Many other guests couldn't travel, either, so they hurriedly rescheduled the event for today . . . but we couldn't make it in time after Susan had fulfilled her job duties at church this morning (she's the Sunday school director). We're hoping to see photos, at least, the next time that we visit my stepbrother and his wife. In the meantime, congratulations, Rachelle and Winston! Here's hoping for perfect weather next weekend in DC!

P.S. Because we were planning to be in Minot, I didn't plan a Scandinavian Saturday meal for yesterday. And because the weather was terrible, I didn't venture forth yesterday to buy groceries for an ethnic supper. I'll try again next weekend.

Bad-but-Good News for Abigail, Gift for Me

2011-04-26T21:52:00.045-06:00

This afternoon featured two major events: one bad and one good. First, the bad: Abigail had another incident that resulted in a trip to the emergency room. Abigail was more "out of it" this time than last, necessitating assistance from the principal to help her out of the building and to drive her and Susan to the hospital, where I met them. In the end, however, we may have received the insight we were hoping for from the ER doctor on duty; for details, read Susan's synopsis here.

The good event was receiving a gift at the university's annual employee recognition program and pie social. This marks my fifth year of employment, so I was given a certificate and a nice gift (see below). As I walked up to accept them, the academic vice president announcing the awards complimented me as someone whom students describe to him as an excellent teacher. If they're going to be saying things about me, that's what I want them to say . . . and if they're going to be telling that to someone, high-ranking administrators are an ideal choice!

the certificate and gift

Can you tell that both the wrapping paper and the bow are specialties with the university's name and mascot on them?

a lovely desktop clock/pen holder with an engraved plate

Whole Lotta Churchin' Goin' On, Part IV

2011-04-24T14:14:00.164-06:00

He is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

(First read this, this, and this.) Happy Easter, everybody! Today was our fourth consecutive day of attending church services. Suzanna was assigned to serve during the 9:00 A.M. service, so that's the one we attended. It included familiar Easter hymns, songs from the choir with trumpets playing along, and extra "stations" for communion to accommodate the bigger-than-normal crowd (due to many congregants' visiting family members and the "C & E Lutherans"--those church members who attend only on Christmas and Easter) (which explains, too, why we had three services this morning instead of the usual two).

Before church the girls searched for their Easter baskets (which the Easter Bunny had hidden around the house but which were full of goodies to enjoy once found). After church we enjoyed a delicious Easter dinner, courtesy of Susan. And I have photos to share! (Remember to click a pic to enlarge it for a better view.)

our three beauties: Hillary, Suzanna, and Abigail

In each girl's Easter basket this morning, she found a new outfit (capris, tank top, and t-shirt); two pairs of flip-flops; a book by a Scandinavian author; a music CD; a pair of swim goggles; a collection of items from Bath & Body Works (body spray, lotion, shower gel, and hand sanitizer); and candy (pop rocks and chocolate bunnies). Susan got a zip-up patchwork sweatshirt; I got two pairs of jeans; and we each got hand sanitizers, candy, and Scandinavian travel mugs for our morning lattés.

But even more important (to me, at least) was the delicious meal after church. Susan prepared the main dishes; the girls helped with beverages and deviled eggs; and I set the table, dished up the pickles, and prepared the lefse.

After volunteering to light/hold candles at church last night, the girls were allowed to keep the candles . . . so we used them on our Easter table today. On the plate of lefse are some with white sugar and some with brown. One dish contains about four kinds of olives; another has dill pickles; and the last has pickled beets.

While we were at church, this smoked, bone-in ham sat in a crockpot and soaked up the flavors of brown sugar, maple syrup, and pineapple juice (recipe). It was very good. We love ham anyway and have it rarely enough to appreciate it sincerely whenever we do have it; but the smoky ham flavor was improved by the contrasting sweetness of its cooking broth.

A great accompaniment was this Delmonico potato bake (recipe), a variation on scalloped potatoes or potatoes au gratin. This dish included both hashbrowns and cubed potatoes along with onions, garlic, cream, chicken broth, nutmeg, lemon, and Parmesan cheese. Tender potatoes in a creamy sauce with savory flavors . . . so delicious.

This side dish recipe came from Food Network Magazine. It's called "creamy spring peas with pancetta": three kinds of peas, chicken broth, cream, freshly ground black pepper, and freshly squeezed lemon juice. It was just creamy enough to feel like comfort food without overpowering the freshness of all the sweet peas and crunchy pea pods with the tangy lemon juice. The peas, potatoes, and ham were an excellent match.

Susan made homemade "Jell-O"--in quotation marks because she made the gelatin from scratch rather than from a prepared box, like Jell-O (recipe). In addition to unflavored gelatin, it contained orange juice, ginger ale, mandarin oranges, fresh strawberries, and fresh raspberries. Refreshing!

Deviled eggs with paprika sprinkled on top.

An ice cream cake decorated to look like a pink Easter bunny. Our friend Monica wanted to do something special for our family and decided to buy us this cake from Dairy Queen--how thoughtful! We were too full after dinner to eat dessert, but this bunny is waiting for us to have a light supper of leftovers and then to eat it for dessert after that meal.

Notice the decorated hard-boiled Easter egg in the cup to the left and the ginger ale/pineapple juice cocktail in the wine glass to the right, beside the milk. That completed our meal. We had more than plenty to eat and will enjoy leftover for several more meals, I think. (I already finished carving the ham and gave Susan the ham bone, which she's storing in the fridge until we're ready to use it for split-pea soup or another tasty ham-broth-based soup.)

Happy Easter for Kevin, Susan, Hillary, Abigail, and Suzanna!

Whole Lotta Churchin' Goin' On, Part III

2011-04-23T21:09:00.110-06:00

(First, read this and this.) Tonight we attended an Easter vigil at our church. It was a bit different from the vigil services that we attended at our last church (recall this and this). Unlike last night's service, which started in light and ended in darkness, tonight's service started with dim lighting but ended with full lighting to symbolize the journey from death to resurrection, from sorrow to hope and rejoicing. The pastor enlisted 12 more volunteers again tonight, this time to light and hold their own candles while standing in a V formation in front of the altar as he read about the 12 disciples. Hillary, Abigail, and Suzanna each volunteered for that!

The bulletin for the service said, "The Easter Vigil service traditionally focuses on twelve readings of the Old Testament along with corresponding Psalms and prayers." In the interest of time, the pastors read from only four of them, but I had to investigate the tradition. It seems that the use of twelve readings for this service is ancient and that the original twelve are known. It also seems that the twelve listed in our bulletin aren't necessarily the same twelve used elsewhere. Here was our list:

the creation story from Genesis 1
the story of the great flood from Genesis 7
the test of Abraham's faithfulness from Genesis 22
the song of Moses after the Israelites crossed the Red Sea from Exodus 15
God's offer of mercy to all from Isaiah 55
"the wisdom of God is above all" -- not specified but maybe from James 3 (although that's New Testament . . .)
"God will give His people a new heart and a new spirit within them" -- not specified but maybe from Ezekiel 36
the valley of dry bones from Ezekiel 37
"the gathering of God's people -- restoration to life and wholeness" -- not specified but maybe from Isaiah 35
Jonah's calling to proclaim God's word from Jonah 3
"the spirit of the Lord is upon me -- good news, release, proclaim" -- not specified but maybe from Luke 4 (although that's New Testament . . .)
God's deliverance of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from Nebuchadnezzar's furnace from Daniel 3

For the last reading from Daniel, the children were invited to come forward as Pastor Lisa read a version from a children's Bible. There weren't many people in attendance tonight, and the vast majority were elderly, so all three Moberg girls went up . . . and were joined by one other elementary school-aged boy and one toddler held by her mom.

Then we were invited forward for a laying-on-of-hands blessing to affirm our baptism and confirmation. Then we had New Testament readings that proclaim Christ's resurrection; we had communion; and we had hymns and prayers that used the word "alleluia" after a long Lenten season of not getting to use that word in church. The Easter vigil service can be several hours long, but ours was under an hour (and still Suzanna overheard someone complain about how it should have been wrapped up sooner . . . and the complainer was the church organist for the night!). Because this congregation isn't accustomed to having a vigil service the night before Easter morning, it was probably best to "start small"; maybe over a few years we can work up to the bonfire and candelit procession and multiple readings and other elements that make up vigil services elsewhere.

Laboring for Her Room and Board

2011-04-23T14:22:00.137-06:00

My sister Sandy was my helper for this week's Scandinavian Saturday meal! Earlier in the week, she realized she'd be able to make a quick Easter weekend trip to ND from her home in NE. She left after work yesterday and arrived at our house around 1:00 A.M. today. She got a little shut-eye and then sneaked downstairs to wake her nieces (whom Susan and I hadn't told that Sandy was coming)! Then Sandy spent part of the morning in the kitchen with me, helping me to make an ethnic dinner. This afternoon we'll play a game of Norwegian whist (a card game from our childhood, thanks to our aunt and uncle Shirley and Lawrence), and then Sandy will leave before suppertime (which is why we had our "Scandinavian Saturday supper" at noon today) to go to our dad's home a few hours north of here.

Sandy's visit, like Sandy herself, is short but sweet.

Faithful Reader, I know that you're here for the photos. In addition to the usual tantalizing pics of the tasty food, this post features photos of Sandy and the girls (and me), too! Remember that you can click on any of them to enlarge them. Check 'em out:

The main course featured a soup, a fish item, and a vegetable side.

rækjusúpa [Icelandic "shrimp soup"] -- We sautéed carrots, onions, and celery in canola oil and then added dill, marjoram, rosemary, and paprika. We stirred in flour and then slowly added fish stock. We brought it to a boil and added cubed potatoes. When they were cooked, we added a pound of shrimp that we had roughly chopped. When that was heated through, we stirred in cream, white wine, and salt and pepper to taste. The end result was salty but oh-so-good. The mix of seasonings gave it great flavor, and it was hearty with all the vegetables and delectable shrimp.

lax i filodeg med varm potatissallad [Swedish "salmon in phyllo dough with warm potato salad"] -- In preparation for this dish, we toasted some caraway seeds on the stovetop and roasted some potato wedges (tossed in olive oil, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper) in the oven. Then we marinated salmon fillets in a mixture of olive oil, honey mustard, and fresh dill. We created stacks of thin phyllo dough, brushing the sheets with melted unsalted butter and sprinkling toasted caraway seeds and more fresh dill between the layers. We seasoned each fillet with sea salt and black pepper and placed it on a phyllo dough stack, wrapping each fish portion in its own phyllo packet and baking them all in the oven.

We made the potato salad by sautéing leeks in olive oil, adding the roasted potatoes to reheat, and tossing them in a mixture of sour cream, honey mustard, fresh dill, and dried currants. On each plate, we put a portion of the warm potato salad, then a handful of mixed greens, and then a salmon packet. In the photo above, you can see the potato salad visible underneath the greens and the salmon inside the cut-open phyllo packet; in the photo above that, you can see a roasted potato on the fork near the uncut packet.

The roasted potatoes were delicious all by themselves, but we enjoyed them in the creamy mustard sauce, too. Even the mixed greens added flavor because they contained tasty leaves from so many different kinds of plants. The salmon was cooked perfectly and had good flavor from the seasonings and good texture with the crispy phyllo wrapping. It took a while to clean the fillets and build the phyllo dough stacks and get the fish ready for the oven, but it was worth it in the end.

appelsinkake [Norwegian "orange cake"] -- I baked the cake last night while waiting for Sandy to arrive and frosted it this morning while she was downstairs surprising/awakening her nieces. It contains flour, baking soda, eggs, sugar, sour cream, ground cloves, cinnamon, honey, orange zest, orange juice, and golden raisins. The glaze is made from powdered sugar and orange juice, and those are morsels of candied orange peel for garnish. (And that slice is served with Schwan's vanilla ice cream, of course.)

It turned out to be a very dense cake, so the texture wasn't as light-and-fluffy as I would have liked. But the flavor was good, albeit not very orange-y (the cloves and cinnamon come through more clearly). Everybody seemed to like it, and I'm sending a chunk of it with Sandy to share with Dad and Beverly, too. And there's a reason for my choice of this dessert for the day before Easter: according to this article, oranges are very popular in Norway at Eastertime. Who knew?

Hillary, Auntie Sandy, Abigail, and Suzanna

Sandy got in on the Easter egg dyeing, too!

"Blood relatives": Abigail, Sandy, I, Hillary, and Suzanna

Whole Lotta Churchin' Goin' On, Part II

2011-04-22T22:46:00.001-06:00

(First, read this.) Tonight we attended a tenebrae service at our church for Good Friday. The altar was still stripped from last night, but there were 12 tea light candles on it with one pillar candle in the middle. The pastor enlisted 12 volunteers, each to come and light one of the tea light candles as he read aloud several verses about Jesus' disciples. A little later, as he read about the disciples' departure from Jesus after the last supper, the volunteers took turns snuffing out their candles. By the end of the service, the pastor had gradually shut off all the lights in the church, save for whatever back light keeps the stained glass window glowing even at night. We sat in silence, listened to a soloist sing "Were You There," prayed together The Lord's Prayer, and then left the church in silence.

Some additional elements from the service for your edification:

We sang "Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed"
We sang "Ah, Holy Jesus"
We sang "Let Us Ever Walk with Jesus"
We sang "Go to Dark Gethsemane"
We heard Psalm 130.
We heard Jesus' seven last statements before death.
We heard "Were You There?"
We heard words of hope from 1 John 1.

P.S. Afterward Susan and I stopped by our friends Michelle and Paul's house for a gathering in honor of many events: Good Friday, spring, belated Mardi Gras, recent birthdays, etc. Suzanna babysat her sisters for a couple hours (they watched a Disney movie) while Susan and I enjoyed the company of adults (and some tasty snacks) on a Friday night--a rare treat.

Whole Lotta Churchin' Goin' On, Part I

2011-04-21T21:03:00.096-06:00

In our church, the students in confirmation classes (grades 7 and 8) take turns assisting the pastors. On a rotating schedule, they are assigned to particular church services. The pastors are always joined by several adults who serve as deacons and assisting ministers (to read the lessons, help distribute communion, and read prayers) and by two confirmation students who serve as crucifers (the people who carry the cross to the front of the church as the worship team processes in from the back of the church at the start of the service), hand the offering plates to the ushers, and collect empty communion cups from congregants during communion.

Suzanna has been assigned to serve for 9:00 A.M. church on Easter morning, so we'll be spending the weekend here rather than driving to any family member's home for the holiday. And because we'll be here, we plan to attend all the special church services this weekend: Maundy Thursday service tonight, a tenebrae service for Good Friday tomorrow, an Easter vigil service Saturday night, and an Easter morning celebration on Sunday.

Tonight's service focused on Jesus' last supper with his disciplines and his service to them (i.e., washing their feet--see John 13). One memorable aspect of the service was at the beginning, when we were invited to come forward for a laying-on-of-hands pastoral blessing ("In obedience to the command of our Lord Jesus Christ, I forgive you all your sins"). Another was at the end, when members of the altar guild stripped the altar to prepare for the solemnity of tomorrow's tenebrae worship. The church's two choir directors (of the adult choir and the children's choirs) chanted Psalm 22 from the balcony as guild members, dressed all in black and wearing black gloves, removed the Bible, liturgical books, candles, communication dishes, and cloths from the pulpit and altar, piece by piece. As they did so, the lights over the altar area were dimmed one by one. After everything was bare and dark at the front of the church, we all departed in silence.

Job Fair

2011-04-20T19:03:00.043-06:00

Today I drove to Bismarck to join some of my students at an Education Networking Fair. It was co-sponsored by several entities, including participation by faculty in the education programs of the University of Mary and Dickinson State University (we have a campus in Bismarck). It was held at Bismarck State College on the top floor of the National Energy Center of Excellence building, an impressive structure with a south-facing view of the mighty Missouri River, of several bridges that connect Bismarck and Mandan, and of all the buttes and hills lying beyond the cities . . . I'm jealous of everyone with an office on that side of that building!

All the university students in attendance are just completing a semester of pre-service teaching (often referred to as "student-teaching") and are now looking for their first teaching jobs. Principals, superintendents, and human resource directors from about a dozen area school districts were there to say a bit about their schools, to announce what job openings they have and anticipate having, and to sit and make themselves available to meet with any students interested in those jobs. My students looked very professional and came with cover letters and résumés prepared to share. They were also unsure and nervous, which brought me back to the same point in my life: getting ready to graduate and looking for my first teaching job. It's exciting but nerve-racking. I hope they all get good jobs soon!

Multi-Generational and Multi-Lingual Sunday

2011-04-17T17:02:00.104-06:00

A couple fun events from today:

This morning Sunday school was a cross-generational event. Parents were invited to accompany their children, and all the other congregants were encouraged to join in, too. We sat in a gigantic circle in the fellowship hall in the church's lowest level, and a guest pastor (here from Vibrant Faith Ministries to host a two-day workshop that Susan attended--remember?) led us first in activities that got us to identify what "generation" we belonged to (e.g., Baby Boomers, Generation X) and how each generation tends to experience church differently. Then he put us into small groups, each with a mix of ages/generations, for discussion and sharing of prayer requests. As he pointed out, today we engaged in meaningful conversations with people whom we see every Sunday but rarely say more than "hello" to because they're not our age. *

This afternoon we had a Sons of Norway lodge meeting. Susan was at the church workshop, of course, but the girls and I attended. As lodge musician, Suzanna was in charge of playing the national anthems (Canadian, Norwegian, and American) that open each meeting (I always sit with her at the keyboard and play along). Then, as lodge youth director, I took the girls into the next room for youth activities while the adults remained to conduct the meeting. (As lodge secretary, Susan had arranged for another member to record minutes in her absence.)

The girls and I read aloud a Norwegian children's book: Pingvinen som Ikke Likte Kulde [The Penguin Who Didn't Like the Cold]. We laughed at the illustrations and used them to help us decode the Norwegian words throughout. Then we played Norwegian bingo; we used a bingo game from home, but I called out all the numbers in Norwegian, and the girls used what they knew about the numbers one through nineteen in Norwegian to figure out the numbers twenty and beyond.

We rejoined the meeting at the end so that Suzanna could lead the group in singing a Norwegian song: "Vårmorgen" ["Spring Morning"]--an ironic song choice considering the ice and slush on the roads and the falling snow visible through the windows as we sang! While enjoying refreshments after the meeting, the lodge's program director led us in playing a low-tech version of Wheel of Fortune, with each puzzle relating somehow to spring or Easter. The girls were only too happy to help out, serving as Vanna White and writing in the guessed letters on the whiteboards as lodge members competed.

* One of the topics that the guest pastor asked us to discuss in our small groups was an example of how each of us had been called to be brave. He asked for volunteers to share a story from their group, and Hillary raised her hand to tell her story. She was the lone Moberg in her group (each of us was spread out across the room, each sitting in a mixed-age group); and as she told about being brave while a kid at school made fun of her name, I teared up and wished I could have run across the room to give her a hug. Instead the pastor went over and did that. He put his arm around her and said some sweet and thoughtful things: that God knows her name and that it and she are special to him. The guest pastor did a good job facilitating the cross-generational Sunday school session overall, but that was a particularly memorable aspect of the experience for me.

Eating Like Norske Royalty

2011-04-16T22:01:00.104-06:00

After a busy morning, I was on my own to make this week's Scandinavian Saturday supper. (My helpers didn't abandon me, mind you; it was my turn to cook solo this week.) I purposely selected recipes that I thought wouldn't be overly complicated and, thus, would be relatively quick for me to make alone. Well, everything still took me a while, but I was able to make one thing at a time to decrease the stress of tending to several dishes simultaneously and trying to get them all to be ready at the same time. I made the dessert in the morning, and late this afternoon I got the main dish ready and into the oven before preparing the salad. Here's what I served:

hakket salat [chop salad] -- I didn't follow a recipe for this one. I just thought that the main dish (see below) would be well balanced by some fresh veggies, so I decided to make a chop salad (made by chopping up all the salad ingredients), except that I chose not to chop the greens. It had cucumber, green pepper, red pepper, celery, cherry tomato, arugula, and fresh dill, all tossed together and served with bleu cheese dressing. It was a refreshing start to the meal.

torsk gryte ["cod casserole"] -- I figured that a hot dish would be pretty low-key: just prepare it, stick it in the oven, and wait. I found several recipes for cod casseroles and took what I liked from each to make this recipe. First I simmered cod fillets in freshly squeezed lemon juice, fish stock, white wine, coarse mustard, crushed garlic, oregano, thyme, salt, and pepper. Then I flaked the cooked cod and, in a baking dish, I layered sliced potatoes, onions, green pepper, red pepper, and the fish. I poured the sauce over everything, covered the baking dish with foil, and baked it. Once the vegetables were tender, I uncovered the dish and sprinkled a mixture of breadcrumbs, grated Romano cheese, and grated Gruyère cheese over the top. I baked it uncovered for a few more minutes until the top was melty and crusty.

It was pretty tasty. I didn't like that the sauce was so liquid-y; I'm thinking that it would have been better thickened with cream or cornstarch or both. But it gave great flavor to all the ingredients. The oregano, thyme, and cheeses made the hot dish much more interesting than some of the original recipes, which basically called for fish, vegetables, salt, and pepper.

fyrstekake ["first cake" or Norwegian royalty cake] -- This was my morning project. I mixed together sugar, butter, an egg yolk, and milk. I gradually added a mixture of flour, salt, and baking powder until a dough had been formed. Then I kneaded the dough and spread 2/3 of it into the bottom of a spring form pan. I ground a bunch of almonds and mixed them with powdered sugar, almond extract, cinnamon, an egg, and a little water and spread that mixture on top of the dough in the pan. We had a couple Bosc pears on the counter that needed to be eaten, so I peeled and sliced them and tucked them into the almond layer of the cake. I was supposed to take the remaining 1/3 of the dough and form a lattice pattern on top, but I chose to drop the dough in dollops all over the pears, which created an interesting design on top while it baked.

We ate slices of the cake with scoops of Schwan's vanilla ice cream. It was really tasty. The bottom and top layers were buttery with kind of a shortbread consistency. The pears melted into the almond mixture to form a sweet and slightly gooey layer in the middle. Although a Norwegian maybe wouldn't recognize it as a royalty cake with the addition of fruit in the middle, I think that many tasty variations could be made just by adding a different fruit to the ground almond layer each time.

Vær så god!

Moberg Models

2011-04-16T13:28:00.045-06:00

Last night Hillary went to a friend's house to spend the night, so she wasn't with us as we went to Spaghetti Western for supper. We chose that place because the university student who gives Suzanna's private lessons on trombone was performing there as a lounge singer with a friend of his on the piano. It was fun to hear them perform American standards and light jazz songs (and he even played muted trombone on a few of them). We were all in a good end-of-the-week, delicious-food-and-fun-background-music kind of mood, so of course I had to take some photos:

Today Susan attended an all-day workshop at church (as the Sunday school director, she was there as a church employee and must return for Part II tomorrow). So this morning I got Abigail to and from Nurse Camp (remember what that is?) at the university, took Suzanna grocery shopping, picked up Hillary from her sleepover, and baked dessert for tonight's supper (read more about it in a few hours). I took the girls to Arby's for dinner (yum!), during which time I had to take more photos:

I love our family.

A Child Is Born

2011-04-14T19:00:00.027-06:00

In November we got news from Susan's sister Cassie that she and her husband Nick were expecting a second child. Well, their son Davis is now a big brother to a sweet little girl: Marly Sue! "Marly" is a family name on Nick's side, and "Sue" was Susan and Cassie's (and Jerrett's) mom's name. Sue passed away 12 years ago; we think Marly's middle name is a wonderful tribute to her memory.

Wanna see some photos of our beautiful new niece? (She was born over a week ago, but I'm just now getting around to sharing photos . . .)

And for even more photos as well as Cassie's own story about the birth, read this. We get to see this little sweetie pie in June, and WE CAN'T WAIT!

Banding Together

2011-04-11T20:59:00.028-06:00

Tonight was the public schools' All-City Band Concert, held in the main gym of the high school. Here are details of how the annual event works. Essentially, a couple songs are performed by each of the bands by grade: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9-10, and 11-12. The night ends with all the grades taking the floor to perform one or two pep band songs together. (This year the high school jazz band performed a few more songs after that.) With a 6th-grader and a 7th-grader in our family, we had to attend to hear how Abigail and Suzanna's bands sounded. Here is photographic evidence:

Abigail's band performed directly below where we sat in the bleachers, so it was easy to get photos of her. She's playing the saxophone that her Aunt Sandy used to play in high school.

Suzanna's band sat as far away from us as possible, and only the top of her head was visible to us from behind her music stand. So in the top pic, she is seated in the bleachers opposite of ours, waiting for her band's turn to play; and in the bottom pic, she is on the floor for the all-band performance of "Power Rock."

Our Songbirds

2011-04-10T15:38:00.092-06:00

Yesterday morning our family walked up the street to Trinity High School so that Abigail and Suzanna could perform in the 2011 Trinity Junior High and Elementary Solo and Ensemble Music Festival. Suzanna first performed in the festival two years ago (remember?); and when Abigail was old enough last year, she joined her (remember?). Hillary is still one year away from being old enough (one must be at least in fifth grade), so it was just Abigail and Suzanna again this year. And, again, we have audiovisual evidence of their participation! Wanna hear?

It started some weeks ago when Suzanna let her band/choir director know that she was interested in performing. He registered her for the festival and lent her some music to peruse, and she chose a vocal solo from one of his books. From that point on, it was up to Susan and me to help Suzanna rehearse and get the song in good shape for the festival. (I served as her rehearsal accompanist and played piano for her performance today, too.)

Abigail's band/choir director did not intend to participate in the event, so Abigail would have been out of luck had her older sister not been involved. Suzanna's teacher offered to register Abigail as though she were his own student (although the girls are at two different schools), which allowed Abigail and Suzanna to sing a duet. They chose a song with which they were both very familiar, each of them having sung it for choral performances in past months. [Abigail sang it when participating in Surround the State in Song last October, and it was one of Suzanna's songs when participating in the all-state honor choir in February.] (And, again, I accompanied them on piano.)

We were very proud of the girls' singing. Their vocal quality and overall performance techniques stood in stark contrast to those of the people who sang before and after them. Suzanna's teacher should have received the judge's comments and ought to be able to share them with her at school tomorrow, so we're all looking forward to reading those when the girls get home from school.

P.S. The batteries in the video camera died midway through Suzanna's solo, but you will hear enough in the clip below to get a good idea what Suzanna sounded like while performing.

"When I Close My Eyes" by Jim Papoulis

"Leave No Song Unsung" by Linda Spevacek-Avery

You Put WHAT in This Apple Pie?!

2011-04-09T21:58:00.116-06:00

Suzanna was my helper for this week's Scandinavian Saturday supper. I asked her what kind of food she thought we should make, and her only opinion was that it should be chicken. We decided to consult Scandinavian Food, Kari Diehl's online compendium of Nordic recipes, to see what we could find there. This is the meal we put together as a result:

As you continue reading to find out all the juicy details, recall that you can click any photo to enlarge it.

kylling danablu [chicken with Danish bleu cheese] -- We pounded butterflied chicken breasts until thin and seasoned them with salt and freshly ground pepper. We had fried several strips of bacon until crisp so that we could crumble one piece of bacon over each chicken breast. Then we scattered bleu cheese crumbles over that, rolled up each chicken breast tightly, and secured it with a toothpick. We dunked each breast in an egg and milk wash and rolled it in a mixture of caraway seeds and seasoned bread crumbs. While the stuffed chicken breasts baked in the oven, we made a roux from flour and butter, whisked in milk, and then melted more bleu cheese crumbles into that. We passed the sauce around at the table for each diner to pour over a chicken breast. We got a lot of positive feedback, both verbal and nonverbal, from our family members as they tasted the crunchy-on-the-outside, salty-and-cheesy-on-the-inside chicken with the savory, creamy sauce drizzled on top.

pastinakk pannekaker ["parsnip pancakes"] -- We grated red onion, parsnips, and a potato and let them drain in a colander in the sink. When the excess liquid was gone, we put the mixture in a bowl and stirred in an egg, flour, baking powder, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. I dropped spoonfuls of the mixture into a skillet of hot oil to fry up little parsnip cakes (that looked like round hashbrown patties) until crispy on both sides. Suzanna, meanwhile, stirred minced shallot, chopped fresh dill, and capers into sour cream. At the table, each person put a dollop of the sour cream mixture on a parsnip pancake, somewhat similar to how we put sour cream and chives on a baked potato. It was a tasty combination, and the pancakes were an unusual and fun way to eat parsnips. They had the crispy texture of a fried potato patty but the sweetness of parsnips, and they were a good accompaniment to the intense flavors of the chicken.

blandet salat med sitron vinaigrette [mixed greens "with lemon vinaigrette"] -- For a touch of fresh vegetables, we tossed mixed greens in a homemade dressing of olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice, minced shallot, Dijon mustard, grated lemon zest, sugar, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. The lemon flavor was distinct and made the dressing both tangy and refreshing.

kardemomme eplepai med gjetost ["cardamom apple pie with goat cheese"] -- We peeled, cored, and sliced Granny Smith apples and mixed them in a bowl with sugar, flour, ground cardamom, and cinnamon. In a pie crust, we sprinkled some shredded gjetost (a caramel-y brown cheese made from the whey of goat's milk), spooned the apple mixture on top of that, and then sprinkled more gjetost on top before covering with the top crust, sealing it, and baking it. The addition of cardamom was excellent, and we knew it would be as soon as we smelled it in the bowl. The gjetost, however, had us both a little doubtful. First of all, I know that some people like a slice of cheddar cheese on their apple pie, but we're not used to cheese as a pie ingredient in our family. Second, gjetost is definitely an acquired taste, and Suzanna and I had visions of the whole pie's being ruined by the flavor of goat's whey cheese melted into an otherwise sweet and spicy apple-y sauce. I must admit, though, that although we noted the aftertaste of gjetost with each bite, it wasn't unpleasant. It just added depth to the caramel-y filling and balance to the sweetness of the pie (and of the Schwan's vanilla ice cream that we topped each piece with).

Backfire

2011-04-08T19:28:00.079-06:00

Today was my first time attending a conference in Bismarck for pre-service teachers (what many universities call "student-teachers"), cooperating teachers (the K-12 teachers who host pre-service teachers in their classrooms to learn how to teach with them there as mentors), and the university supervisors and professors who train future teachers. It was held at the University of Mary and consisted of informational sessions in the morning and afternoon and a lunch and awards ceremony at noon. That awards ceremony was supposed to be an opportunity for me to surprise someone . . . but it turns out that I was the one who received a surprise!

The awards given out at noon were essentially "outstanding pre-service teacher" awards, one per ND university with representatives in attendance at the conference. Our department chose a recipient a month or so ago and then invited all our pre-service teachers to attend the conference. Our award recipient-to-be was the first person to express interest in attending, so we decided not to tell him about the award and instead to save it as a pleasant surprise for him today. I was appointed to be the university representative to make the introduction and present him with the award because I am his university supervisor, so I was eager throughout the morning as I visited with him or saw him at various sessions, thinking, "It will be so fun to see the look on his face when he hears me describing the award winner, begins to suspect that it is he, and then hears me call his name!"

However . . .

. . . not knowing what was in store for him during lunch, he had made plans with a Bismarck-area friend to go out to eat between the morning and afternoon sessions. Yes, he drove 1.5 hours to attend the conference but then skipped out on the lunch at which I was expected to present him with the award! As I sat eating and wondering where in the world he had gone, I texted him and left a voicemail message on his cell phone and watched the doors to the room in which we ate . . .but he was still "a no show" by the time I was called up to present our university's award. The crowd laughed when I explained the situation. I said anyway the nice things that I had intended to say about him, and I asked them to congratulate him when they saw him in the afternoon, promising to point him out as soon as he returned.

Our first session in the afternoon was a presentation to the entire crowd, so we all gathered in a large "lecture bowl" classroom. My pre-service teacher showed up for that session a few minutes in advance and started walking toward me, probably to ask me why I had texted and phoned him about lunch. Before either he or I could say anything, everybody figured out who he was, and the room burst out in applause! He was so shocked and discombobulated that he didn't quite know what to do! We ended up going to the podium so that I could formally present him with an engraved plaque, and he spoke a few words of thanks before we sat down and I explained the situation.

I had planned a surprise, and he had gotten a surprise . . but so had I, and none of it had gone as planned. However, it certainly was a memorable component of the conference for everybody there.

And next year, our university's recipient of the award will know about it before traveling to the conference.

Mentor Group Finale, Year One

2011-04-06T22:32:00.087-06:00

At our church, the confirmation program (that prepares junior high school-aged students to become fully participating members of the church rather than merely other members' children) includes a component referred to as mentor groups. For example, I am the mentor for a specific group of 7th-grade boys. Once a month we meet at the church on a Wednesday night for discussion, prayer, and activities that support what they're learning in their confirmation classes with the pastors. Tonight was our last formal meeting of the school year, and on the agenda was writing a "faith statement"--a sentence expressing what we believe about God and the church, based on words that we jotted down following each monthly meeting ever since last autumn (i.e., we were to synthesize the main ideas from each mentor group meeting into one statement of our group's faith).

I had asked permission ahead of time of each boy's parents to take the guys out to Pizza Ranch tonight so that we could eat and visit in a casual environment while crafting our faith statement. We had a good time (over good food) and ended up with a fine faith statement, especially considering the odd array of words that we had recorded after each of our meetings (example: "butterbraid" . . . which I could explain, if you really wanna know). Suzanna's group has two mentors, only one of whom could be there tonight; and she planned to take the girls out for ice cream. However, they happened to stop beside us at a traffic light, and Suzanna told the others where I was taking the boys . . . and shortly after our group got seated at Pizza Ranch, Suzanna and her group came in and sat at a table across from us! My boys were not impressed with that.

Afterwards I drove around town dropping off the boys at their homes. I might have to think of something fun and informal for us to do sometime this summer just to stay in contact as a group between now and next fall, when mentor groups will resume meeting. At the end of the 8th-grade year, the boys (and Suzanna and everybody else in the program) will be confirmed as church members who have completed instruction and are ready to "affirm their baptism," profess their faith, and serve the church as young adult members. And that will wrap up my two-year stint as the boys' mentor.

Pie and Cake in the Same Meal

2011-04-02T22:48:00.116-06:00

Hillary was my helper for this week's Scandinavian Saturday supper. The recipes came from the InterWebs (the pie), from Food Network Magazine (the fish and carrots), and from a colleague of mine (the dessert)--various sources but, surprisingly, a unified meal with very tasty elements.

You know you want to know more about the meal, so read on! (And remember to click on any photo to enlarge it for maximum drooling.)

From the hands of Hillary and Daddy!

glasert laks ["glazed salmon"] -- We brushed boneless, skinless salmon fillets with a glaze of olive oil, honey, Dijon mustard, and freshly squeezed lime juice. Then we seasoned them with salt and pepper and broiled them (under the broiler in the oven) for about 7 minutes. They were cooked through, firm but moist, and delicious from the glaze. A shot of more fresh lime juice at the table added just the right amount of zing to counter the honey in the glaze.

krydret gulrøtter ["spiced carrots"] -- We thinly sliced carrots, tossed them in olive oil, and spread them on the same broiler pan as the salmon but gave them a few minutes' head start under the broiler. Then we added the salmon; and by the time the fish was cooked, so were the carrots. Before serving, we tossed the broiled carrots in a dressing of olive oil, freshly squeezed lime juice, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, roughly chopped fresh mint leaves, sliced roasted almonds, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. The roasting blackened the edges of some of the carrots for a smoky taste that went well with the spices and herbs. Just when we think we have eaten carrots in every way that they can be prepared, we discover a new and delicious way to make them!

purre pai med ost [leek and cheese pie] -- We baked a pie crust and then let it cool so that we could add the filling to it. We chopped up leeks and onions and sautéed them with garlic and chopped fresh parsley in butter until the vegetables had softened. Then we stirred in a little flour and spooned the mixture into the crust. Meanwhile we had cut bacon into pieces and fried it until crispy; we sprinkled the bacon over the leek mixture. In a large bowl, we beat together eggs, cream, milk, Dijon mustard, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated Gruyère cheese, and a list of tasty seasonings: salt, freshly ground black pepper, nutmeg, fennel seeds, thyme, marjoram, and caraway seeds. We poured that mixture over the leeks and bacon and baked the pie. It was so delicious! Savory and exotic from the mix of herbs and spices and cheesy and all-around satisfying.

sjokalade ostekake ["chocolate cheesecake"] -- A colleague at the university has tweaked this recipe over the years and now has a version that is a big hit with all her friends and family. I persuaded her to share it with me, and Hillary and I made it today for dessert. We made a crust out of crushed Oreo cookies and melted butter, and we baked it briefly to set it. Then we added the filling made from cream cheese, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, and eggs. We baked the cheesecake and then topped it with a mixture of sour cream, sugar, almond extract, and cocoa powder, which melted on the still-warm cheesecake and formed an even layer on top. Before serving dessert, we brought frozen strawberries, sugar, and cornstarch to a boil and ladled the hot sauce over each slice of cheesecake. It really was tasty. I myself would have been happy with the crust and cheesecake minus the sour cream topping or the strawberry sauce, but I can understand why this recipe is oft-requested of my coworker.

Spirited Hillary

2011-03-31T20:21:00.045-06:00

Faithful reader, you may recall that the winter swim team season (which ended for the girls early last month) wraps up with a banquet for the team: a tasty pasta bar at the Elks Lodge followed by distribution of awards. Susan is out of town for a workshop in Bismarck, so I was alone with the girls . . . who were not alone because they each went off to sit at tables with friends on the team. I took photos of them as they received their plaques, certificates, awards, ribbons from past meets, etc., but they're all blurry because each girl went up, shook hands, accepted the award, spun around, and returned to her seat pretty quickly. But we have the awards themselves as physical evidence that tonight occurred! And a special surprise: Hillary won a "spirit award" for her age group, apparently for being a tireless cheerleader for her teammates at every meet. Congratulations, little girl!

"SC" stands for "short course." The winter season (November through March) is for short-course events held in 25-yard pools; the summer season (May through August) is for long-course events held in 50-meter pools.

Armstrong Collection

2011-03-29T19:54:00.000-06:00

Connie is a fellow member of a board of directors upon which I sit (for a local non-profit organization), and she and her husband recently made an impressive donation to the university: a rare book collection by and about President Theodore Roosevelt. Some of the 125 books are first-edition, others are special-edition, and others are limited-edition. I don't know the difference, but I attended a reception this afternoon to thank Connie and her husband, and the books were on display with table cards explaining what makes each book so rare . . . and it's quite a nice collection. The university's Theodore Roosevelt Center is fortunate to gain this asset.

Citrus and Mustard and Meatballs

2011-03-26T23:07:00.005-06:00

This morning an engaged couple and the bride-to-be's family came to our house to hear us sing/play through some possible wedding music for their upcoming nuptials. The woman's mom had heard Susan and the girls singing for church one day and phoned some days afterward to inquire about their availability to sing for weddings. After this morning, they now have some song ideas from us to share with the priest; and they'll get back to us on what music they'd like (or are allowed to use) and what combination of us they'd like to sing, play piano, etc.

This afternoon our whole family had back-to-back appointments to get our hairs cut. Abigail and I went first because she was my helper for this week's Scandinavian Saturday supper, and we had groceries to buy and food to start fixin' as soon as possible. Here's what we made:

Remember to click on a photo to enlarge it so that you can drool over each pic in all its detailed glory!

Read on to find out what that is and to see/read about what we served for dessert.

Svenska köttbullar

Svenska köttbullar ["Swedish meatballs"] -- We tore up a couple slices of bread and soaked them in a little milk. Then we added ground beef, ground pork, grated onion, an egg, ground allspice, ground cardamom, ground ginger, honey, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. We made meatballs and fried them in a combo of butter and canola oil. Then we removed the meatballs and deglazed the pan with beef stock. We whisked in some flour dissolved in water; and after the gravy had thickened, we whisked in heavy cream, salt, and pepper and then returned the meatballs to the pan to simmer in the gravy until it was time to serve them.

stekte poteter med sennep

stekte poteter med sennep [mustard-crusted roasted potatoes] -- We cleaned and quartered some potatoes and parboiled and drained them. Then we tossed them in a mixture of chopped shallots, chopped garlic, coarse-grain mustard, olive oil, sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper. We roasted the coated potatoes in the oven until the mustard had formed a golden crust on them.

grønne bønner med sitron og dill

grønne bønner med sitron og dill [lemon/dill green beans] -- We steamed fresh green beans and then tossed them in a mixture of chopped fresh dill, minced shallots, olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice, coarse-grain mustard, salt, and freshly ground black pepper.

It was all delicious! The potatoes were savory on their own, but there was nothing at all wrong with letting a bit of the gravy makes its way over toward a cut-open potato on my plate so that the starchy potato could soak up the hearty, salty, beefy liquid. The meatballs had a great mix of flavors from the gravy, from the spices and onion inside them, and from the honey that was mixed in with the meat. And the fresh green beans were a little tangy from the lemon juice and a little zippy from the mustard, a flavor that tied them in well with the potatoes, too.

varm sjokolade med appelsin krem og sitrus serinakaker

varm sjokolade med appelsin krem ["hot chocolate with orange cream"] and sitrus serinakaker ["citrus Serina cookies"] -- The very first thing that Abigail and I did after returning from the grocery store (before making any of the items above) was to make the dough for these cookies because it needed to chill in the fridge for two hours before baking. Its ingredients: flour, baking powder, butter, an egg, sugar, vanilla extract, and the zest and juice of an orange. We mixed it up, rolled it into logs, wrapped them in plastic wrap, and popped them in the fridge until after supper. Then we sliced the dough logs into individual cookies, sprinkled them with decorative sugar, and baked them a dozen at a time.

To make the hot chocolate, we broke up several chocolate bars and melted them in a large pan of milk on the stovetop. Meanwhile we whipped heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla extract until the whipped cream formed stiff peaks. Then we folded in orange marmalade. For each serving, we topped a cup of hot chocolate with a couple dollops of the whipped cream and then sprinkled freshly grated orange zest on the top.

The chocolate was rich, and the whipped cream was, too, making for a delicious beverage that had to be sipped, not gulped--not because it was too hot but because it was so decadent. The marmalade offered a very subtle orange flavor in the cream, but the orange zest on top was very citrus-y. Likewise, the orange flavor was more noticeable in the raw cookie dough (of course we had to taste it!) than in the baked cookies, but we could still tell it was in there--probably because we ate them along with the orange-y beverage. The cookies were crisp, buttery, and just sweet enough. It was a great ending to another delicious Nordic meal!

Happy Stomach

2011-03-25T21:26:00.032-06:00

Two great suppers:

Last night I had a supper meeting at the university (eat while listening to presentations), and the food (thanks to university food services) was delicious: a Caesar salad and savory dinner roll to start followed by pork loin with a mushroom gravy, roasted new potatoes, and steamed green and yellow beans--and a chocolate dessert with several layers of cake, custard, whipped cream, and frosting.

Tonight our family tried out the new Mexican restaurant in town: Don Pedro's. We tried one another's meals, and I did not taste anything that wasn't delicious. The requisite nacho chips that came with the menus were served with a warm bean dip and a chunky, spicy salsa. A couple of the ladies got seafood-stuffed items, and the seafood included scallops, prawns, and red snapper (not just the faux crab ["krab"] often used for seafood chimichangas, etc., at many restaurants). I had a variety platter that included a chalupa, a chimichanga, and a huge chile relleno, all of which were great. We'll be back.

School Canceled on Account of Spring

2011-03-23T15:02:00.033-06:00

After several days of temperate, snow-melting weather--and just a day or two into the official start of spring--the weather was nasty enough yesterday to prompt the university to close early and to stay closed today. Heavy rain turned to thick sheets of ice on the roads, and the temperatures remained just warm enough to insure that the snow stayed thick and fell onto warm pavement, upon which the snow became slushy on the bottom and heavy on top from all its moisture. Perfect snow for building a snowman or having a snowball fight, but miserable snow for trying to shovel off a driveway.

The highways and roads may have been in bad shape, but in town it seemed like a lovely afternoon . . . inappropriate for a "storm day" home from work. Ditto today! After the girls got home from school yesterday, they helped me clean off the driveway (they with shovels, me with a snowblower that wondered if I was seriously expecting it to deal with that wet, heavy snow--but better the snowblower than my back); we repeated it this morning after a night's worth of snowfall; and I went out again at noon before Susan came home from work to have dinner with me at home (yep, she and the girls all had school again today, even though the university remained closed).

More melty temperatures and snow are forecast for this weekend. And this is spring?!

Simultaneous Norske Obligations in Two Cities

2011-03-20T21:23:00.113-06:00

Last summer I was asked to serve on the board of directors for Trollfjorden Language and Cultural Camp, the Norwegian camp that our family has attended the past two summers (see 2010 and 2009). There are generally two board meetings between summertime camp sessions: one in the fall and another in the spring. At the fall meeting (at a board member's home near Glenburn, ND), I was elected treasurer, so I have had some money-related duties to carry out since then. The spring board meeting was today in Minot, ND, so I made a quick up-and-back trip today without the ladies. They couldn't come because they had an important event of their own to attend:

Our local Sons of Norway lodge's meeting was today; and Susan the secretary was needed to record the minutes, and Suzanna the musician was needed to play the national anthems and provide special music at the end of the meeting. Following the meeting was the annual memorial program, honoring those lodge members who passed away in the prior year. Last March Susan's grandma Laura joined us as the lodge honored Elmer, Laura's husband/Susan's grandpa. Today it was Laura's turn to be honored (remember?), so Susan and the girls needed to be there to represent Laura's family. Plus, Susan and the girls provided special music during the program: an a capella version of "Beautiful Savior" sung in harmony. I heard them rehearsing at home, so I'm pretty certain they performed "beautiful-ly" in the program.

I wouldn't know, of course, because I was on the road. I left about 8:45 A.M. (missing church and a parent/child pre-confirmation class that I was supposed to be at with Abigail) and arrived at Minot about 12:45 P.M. their time. The meeting was held at their Sons of Norway lodge's headquarters in the impressive Scandinavian Heritage Center. Their lodge has a great space in the lowest level, and we preceded our meeting with a meal provided by Kari, who had hosted the fall meeting at her house (and cooked for us then, too). For today's meal, Kari made a chicken-and-vegetable hotdish, baked whole-grain buns, and baked a sweet bread loaf (with dried fruit in it) and put thin slices of gjetost [a caramely goat cheese] on each serving. I shared some of the cookies that Susan baked yesterday, and the other board members said they liked them.

The three-hour board meeting was productive, and I left when it ended at 4:00 P.M. their time and got home at 6:00 P.M. our time. Although it's not the shortest route to take, I drove I-94 and Hwy 83 both directions because it's pretty quick. I got to hear some of the good programming that Prairie Public Radio offers on Sundays and enjoy the scenery along the way. I especially like driving the span of Hwy 83 that divides Lake Audubon from Lake Sakakawea; watching the Missouri River come into view near Washburn, ND and snake alongside the highway for some distance to the south; crossing the bridge over the Missouri River between Bismarck, ND and Mandan, ND; and taking in the view of Sweet Briar Lake to the north of I-94 between Mandan and New Salem, ND. People who think there's not much to see in this state aren't looking very closely.

My First Oxtail

2011-03-19T23:20:00.008-06:00

Susan was my helper for this week's Scandinavian Saturday supper; take a gander at what we served:

Here are more details about (and more photos of) what you see on that plate (as well as dessert, which I have a photo of, too):

oksehale ragu

We used Trina Hahnemann's recipe for oksehale ragu ["oxtail ragout"] to use up the cuts of oxtail still in our freezer from a side of beef that we purchased a while ago. There were just five small pieces in the package, so Susan bought a sirloin tip roast to prepare along with the oxtail. She browned the oxtail pieces and the roast in butter and olive oil. Then, in stages, she added flour, Cabernet Sauvignon, chopped shallots, chopped garlic cloves, fresh rosemary sprigs, bay laves, whole peppercorns, and coarse salt. She simmered it all in beef stock for most of the afternoon.

When I removed the meat to carve and serve it, I found the roast to be so tender that it just fell apart as I used a serving fork to shred it. The pieces of oxtail were mostly bone with a lot of fat and a little meat clinging to them; but that meat had an intense beef flavor that made it worth the work to get at it. And the flavors of the broth permeated all the meat in a subtle way, making the meat not only tender but also delicious.

potet gratinerte med pastinakk og kålrot

We used Andreas Viestad's recipe for potet gratinerte med pastinakk og kålrot ["potato gratin with parsnips and rutabaga"]. I thinly sliced potatoes, parsnips, and a rutabaga and mixed them up in a baking dish with some bay leaves. Then I mixed together whole milk, heavy cream, pressed garlic cloves, grated nutmeg, salt, freshly ground black pepper, and Gruyère cheese. I poured the mixture over the vegetable slices and put the pan into the oven to bake.

It took longer to bake than the recipe indicated . . . like, a lot longer. And even when we did sit to eat, I still wished the vegetables had gotten more done in the oven: soft to the bite in the way that I'm used to scalloped potatoes being. But the flavors were good, and the presence of parsnips and rutabaga added variety to a dish that could have been just "the same old" sliced potatoes instead.

kål med dill smør og bacon

We used another recipe from Mr. Viestad for this side dish:kål med dillsmør og bacon ["cabbage with dill butter and bacon"]. The recipe calls for Savoy cabbage, but Susan had to substitute Napa cabbage when she discovered that local stores don't sell Savoy. She quartered lengthwise a large head of cabbage and cooked it in boiling salted water. I diced and browned bacon to be used as a garnish. Susan plated the cabbage chunks and topped them with butter, dill weed, and the bacon.

We suspect that Napa cabbage wasn't a suitable substitute for Savoy cabbage in this dish because the result for us was a little waterlogged. Sure, the dill was a nice touch; but the texture of the cabbage was a bit off-putting (softened and difficult to chew). At least the bacon was crispy and salty.

rug og mandel småkaker

We used Beatrice Ojakangas' recipe for Swedish ragkåkor ["rye cookies"] but adapted it to become Norwegian rug og mandel småkaker ["rye and almond cookies"]. Susan made the cookie dough out of butter, sugar, rye flour, all-purpose flour, and ice water. She rolled the dough out in order to press out the ring shapes that she needed before baking them.

When we tasted one of the cookies, we decided that it needed a little something extra . . . so Susan made an almond glaze using powdered sugar and almond extract, and she iced the cookies with that thin frosting. Verdict? Much improved.

Hey, Nice Brass!

2011-03-18T21:50:00.031-06:00

The next concert in the Dickinson Area Concert Association's current season was tonight: a brass and percussion group called River City 6. We continue to be pleased with the quality of the performances offered in the concert series. The gentlemen in this group tonight were not only very gifted musicians, but they were also funny and all-around entertaining. We were amazed at their beautiful sound, impressive technique, and range of song styles (from classical to traditional religious to early 20th-century pop music to American musicals, etc.). The lone percussionist, who remained in the background most of the night (supporting the two trumpets, euphonium, trombone, and tuba), got a chance to shine, too, with a xylophone solo that demonstrated his speed and dexterity with the mallets. Time flew, and the concert ended too quickly.

Suzanna's Inspiring Solo

2011-03-15T21:55:00.035-06:00

Tonight we attended the second of two nights of school music concerts . . . both of them for Suzanna! She is in band class, so she performed with the seventh-grade band in last night's concert. She is in jazz band (an extracurricular activity), and that group performed last night, too. And she is in honor choir (another extracurricular), which performed tonight with the eighth-grade band and choir. I'm happy to report, though, that they're pretty musical groups, so it was enjoyable to hear even the groups that Suzanna was not in--but especially fun to watch her in action in her groups, of course.

Wanna hear some of Suzanna's performance?

Although the bands sounded good, too, I'll share a song from the honor choir. In it Suzanna sings a solo; watch for it at about the 1:00 mark. And pay attention to the lyrics of the song overall. The song is "Inscription of Hope" by Z. Randall Stroope, inspired by an inscription that he found carved into a cellar wall in Cologne, Germany, where Jews were hiding from the Nazis during World War II. The song is both a sad reminder of the Holocaust and an inspiring message of hope. Enjoy:

Suzanna's solo in "Inscription of Hope"

Cooking Gingerly

2011-03-13T22:03:00.149-06:00

Because of our busy schedule yesterday, I postponed the weekly Nordic Saturday meal until today: a Scandinavian Sunday supper instead. It was Susan's turn to be my assistant, but she had an all-afternoon workshop to attend at church; so I volunteered to make this meal by myself and have her help me next week instead (when it would have been my turn to cook alone).

All the recipes came from Swedish chef Marcus Samuelsson. I'll tell you what everything is:

Lower left: bräserad rödkål; upper left: ryktade potatis; right: beskär-fyllda stekt fläsk

beskär-fyllda stekt fläsk ["prune-stuffed pork roast"] -- I pierced two pork loin roasts and stuffed prunes, chopped fresh ginger, and chopped garlic cloves into the holes. I rubbed the roasts with olive oil and coated them with a mixture of marjoram, fresh ginger, caraway seeds, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper and then popped them in the oven. When they were done, I deglazed the roasting pan with white wine to scrape up the tasty brown bits from the bottom. In another pan I sautéed chopped shallots and fresh ginger in olive oil. Then I added chopped prunes, chicken stock, balsamic vinegar, the deglazing liquid, and some corn starch, simmering it until it reduced. Then I whisked in some butter, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper to taste and served the roasts on a platter with some sauce drizzled over the meat and the remainder served on the side.

Susan told me that it was perhaps the best pork roast she has ever eaten, and I must agree that it was super-tender and so, so tasty from the pungent garlic roasted right inside the meat and the pungent ginger coating on the outside along with the savory caraway and sweet prunes. We all had seconds and thirds of the melt-in-your-mouth main dish.

ryktade potatis ["curried potatoes"] -- I baked Yukon Gold potatoes in the skin until just underdone, removed them to cool, and peeled and cubed them. I cored, peeled, and cubed Granny Smith apples and sprinkled them with freshly squeezed lemon juice. In a skillet I combined canola oil, mustard seeds, and curry paste until the mustard seeds began to pop. Then I added the potatoes, the apples, and white wine vinegar, stirring until the potatoes were cooked through and the apples were soft.

It was an interesting variation on fried potatoes. The apples were an unexpected element, but I have learned over the past couple years that, in Scandinavian cooking, apples are often used in vegetable-ish ways. In any case, they soaked up the vinegar and offered both a sweet and tangy sensation with every bite. There was just enough curry in the dish to give it a spicy background. Delicious in their own right--but frankly, I thought the potatoes were even better when drizzled with some of the sauce from the meat used as a gravy.

bräserad rödkål ["braised red cabbage"] -- I chopped up and fried some bacon until crispy. Then I added chopped red onion, chopped fresh ginger, and a cinnamon stick and sautéed them in the bacon drippings. Then I added shredded red cabbage, marjoram, garam masala (an Indian spice mix; Susan made a fresh batch for me to use for this recipe), red wine vinegar, and wine and let it simmer for over an hour. When the cabbage was done, I added pure maple syrup and let the liquid cook away.

This was a nice variation on cooked red cabbage, spicier than some of the other recipes we have tried (thanks to the ginger, cinnamon, and garam masala) and mildly sweet from the maple syrup (which Samuelsson says is his twist--that in Sweden cooks would use beet syrup instead).

A very tasty meal!

Pride in Daughters and Other Local Entertainers

2011-03-12T23:08:00.133-07:00

Our daughters' former piano teacher, Mrs. Vold, moved away last summer, and we were grateful to have found a new piano teacher: Mrs. Arneson, who also plays organ and piano at our church--and who volunteered to come to our house for weekly lessons, which makes our lives much easier (i.e., no more shuttling girls back and forth, one at a time, across town to the piano teacher's house while trying to tend to other appointments and to the making of supper). There are differences, of course, in how each of those teachers gives lessons; but one thing in common is that both have their students participate in annual piano festivals sponsored by the National Federation of Music Clubs (the same group that oversaw the annual piano festivals in which my sisters and I performed throughout childhood).

The girls' piano festival was held today at the university, and the results are in:

Superiors in da house!

The girls each played two piano solos, each of them in a room with other pianists at her same level. The highest rating available to the judge is "superior," and each judge gave each of our daughters that rating for her performance.

There happens to be another category in which pianists can compete: a hymn category. I don't know if that was available to my sisters and me during our days of festival performance, but it's new to our family with Mrs. Arneson (Mrs. Vold didn't have them enter in that category), who had the girls learn two hymns apiece to play in yet another set of rooms with another set of judges who awarded each of our daughters . . . (wait for it) . . . a "superior" for her hymns, too.

We were proud as can be! And a little bit weary by day's end. We had to trek across campus from one building to the next to hear the six events in which our daughters were booked. At one point Suzanna was scheduled to play at about the same time in one building that her sisters were to play in back-to-back events in another building; so Susan and I split up so that everybody could have a parent in the room with her. And then there was an hour break for dinner, so we drove home to eat before driving back for another event. And then there was an hour break before the next event, so we drove back home again to wait. When the day had ended, we were ready for it to be over.

With all the festival hoopla, there was no time today to prepare a Scandinavian Saturday supper, so I'm postponing that until tomorrow. Plus, we had to get back to the university by 7:00 P.M. because we had tickets for a live performance and recording of Dakota Air: The Radio Show. If you have never heard of it, join the club; I hadn't either until I read that the production was coming to Dickinson. It turned out to be a terrific night of entertainment! It's a lot like Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion in that there is music from the house band, comic sketches by the cast, and guest performances by local talent.

The traveling cast had done their research and written skits and song lyrics with content related to our region and its history; and they were a troupe of talented actors and musicians themselves. And the local talent represented southwest ND very well. We heard regional humor from cowboy poet Bill Lowman; vocal solos by soprano Leah Walters; western and bluegrass music by the brothers (video clip) from the Waddington Family; comic skits by performers from Sneak Pique Productions; and one great true story and one great poetry oral interpretation by humanities scholar Clay Jenkinson.

It was a terrific night of entertainment . . . and it's not too late for you to experience it yourself! They performed a show that was both appealing to a live audience and suitable for radio broadcast; they recorded tonight's performance to be edited and played on Prairie Public Radio. You can check here for broadcast dates and times . . . or just listen to it online (using the same link). You won't be disappointed.

Last Laps (For Now)

2011-03-06T14:53:00.031-07:00

Well, we just returned from the final swim meet of the season. Similar to last week, I shuttled the girls to the swimming pool while Susan did her Sunday school director duties at church, after which she joined us, too. Again she worked at the concessions stand; and this time, I served as a timer (meet organizers hadn't arranged in advance for timers and looked desperate, and the Lutheran guilt was strong within me). Therefore, I didn't get to pay too close attention to the girls' times in their own events (I had to keep my eyes on Lane 8); but now that the meet has ended, we know that no Moberg qualified for the state meet this year (as Hillary did last year). However, they had a good time swimming and staying fit all winter and befriending swimmers on their own team and from other towns, so I'd say it was another success swim season (with the end-of-the-season team banquet still to come).

Green Overload

2011-03-05T23:31:00.146-07:00

Just like last weekend, our Scandinavian Saturday supper tonight was preceded by a day full of errands and followed by a trip to the university for an arts performance. Unlike last weekend, however, we managed to make several dishes for the meal. Suzanna was my helper today, and she ended up making most of the meal!

Looks good, doesn't it? I know you want to know what it all is, so I'll tell you:

Bottom left: Swedish skåskpotatis; middle: Norwegian fisk til en prins; right: Norwegian stekt gulrøtter med dill.

The main dish was fisk til en prins ["fish for a prince"], a recipe from the Sons of Norway. There's a lot of garnish, so it's pretty hard to see here that it's a platter of seafood in a creamy sauce. Suzanna poached cod fillets in fish stock. When they were cooked, she removed them and set them aside. Then she made a roux by stirring flour into melted butter, into which she then whisked the stock. She simmered it until thickened and then whisked in a mixture of egg yolk and heavy cream to finish the sauce.

She had already parboiled some fresh asparagus and removed the tails from some cooked shrimp. She plated the cod, laid the shrimp over the fish, and poured the sauce over the top. Then she put the asparagus atop the platter of seafood and garnished the whole thing with chopped parsley. It was a really mild but nice fish dish, made better by the addition of bright, fresh vegetables and herbs.

One of the side dishes was stekt gulrøtter med dill ["roasted carrots with dill"], a recipe from Ina Garten. Suzanna cleaned a bunch of carrots and sliced them diagonally into thick chunks. She tossed them with olive oil, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper and then roasted them on a baking sheet in the oven. When they were done, she tossed them with chopped fresh dill and parsley. They were delicious. The roasting brought out the carrots' natural sweetness, which served as a tasty contrast to the savory salt and dill flavors.

The other side dish was the reason that Suzanna made most of the other two dishes by herself: I had to keep a close eye on the skåskpotatis, a Swedish recipe from Beatrice Ojakangas that she translates as "creamy fried potatoes." I cut several potatoes in a small dice and one onion in the same size dice and then added them to a pan of melted butter and sautéed them until brown. Everything wanted to stick to the bottom of the frying pan, so I had to move the potatoes around all the time--and still a brown crust formed on the bottom of the pan. Then I added chicken stock to boil the browned-but-raw potatoes until the liquid had been absorbed (but first I used it to loosen the tasty brown bits from the pan). Then I added heavy cream, salt, and pepper, stirring it as it simmered until the cream had thickened to a smooth sauce. The result was an unusual combination: crunchy fried potatoes in a thick, creamy sauce that tasted a little salty and a little like browned butter, all topped with fresh parsley.

After the delicious meal, we attended a performance of Hilltop Holiday. It's an annual variety show that has been going on for years (Susan even performed in it when she was an upperclassman in high school) as a fundraiser for a student organization in the Music Department. It was good to support the students and to see their various talents on display in ways that we don't normally get to see them in the classroom or on stage for traditional concerts and recitals.

Parents' Night Out

2011-03-04T22:30:00.013-07:00

Every once in a while, the adults just have to leave the kids behind and go spend some time socializing with other adults. Tonight we went to Sanford's Grub and Pub to meet our friends Leslie and Dave for supper. I had a delicious steak; but better yet was the hilarious conversation, which is typical of an evening spent with them. Then we went to Applebee's for dessert before calling it a night. We came home to well behaved children, which was the perfect way to conclude the evening!

So Big!

2011-03-02T22:29:00.019-07:00

It's been a while since I have shared photos of our awesome nephew Davis. Today is a good day to do that because it's his second birthday! The kid is getting so big and looking less like a baby and more like a boy all the time. Here is photographic evidence:

Playing with his toys and wearing no pants: "Just like his father," according to his mom.

Davis and Mommy. That's Susan's sister Cassie, by the way. (Can't post the photos of Nick, Cassie's husband, since he's pantsless--see caption for photo above.)

Much Ado

2011-03-01T22:28:00.041-07:00

Tonight we attended a play at the public high school: Much Ado About Will, a collection of scenes from a variety of plays by William Shakespeare. It appealed to Susan and me due to our backgrounds as actors, directors, and English teachers (whose students read Shakespeare plays); and we've always been keen to have our children watch Shakespeare plays while they're young in order to struggle less when reading them in school in later years. That approach has worked; cable TV offers well regarded filmed productions of Shakespearean plays, which we have recorded and watched with the girls over the years, and they generally have no trouble figuring out what the characters are saying or what's going on in the plot.

That was true tonight, too. And I thought the high school actors did a fine job of delivering their lines with meaning, as though they were real people and not just robots uttering memorized words in the sing-song pattern of dramatic verse (can you tell that I have seen Shakespearean plays before that were poorly acted by high schoolers?). Our favorite parts were the scenes from A Midsummer Night's Dream in which the tradesmen, in honor of the royals' wedding, put on a play intended to be a tragic love story but resulting instead in laughs by the other characters and the audience alike. It was a fun production!

Youth Quaker

2011-02-27T21:55:00.066-07:00

After church at 8:00 A.M., I had to shuttle Abigail and Hillary off to the West River Community Center for a swim meet while Susan stayed behind to carry out her duties as Sunday school director. She joined us later to work in the concessions stand all day while I stayed in the swimming pool area and kept track of the girls' times in the events booklet.

And where was Suzanna during all this, you may wonder? Well, I'll tell you:

She spent the weekend in Billings, MT for a church-sponsored youth gathering. She and several other junior high students from our church left town Friday early afternoon to attend Youth Quake, a youth ministry event that, at their site, was called Billings Quake Zone. They got back late this afternoon, and Suzanna was excited and had lots of stories to share!

The whole schedule of events is here, but some of the highlights to Suzanna were

hearing concert performances by the Christian rock band Bread of Stone
carrying out a service project at Zoo Montana (helping clean office spaces) and then getting to tour the zoo exhibits
meeting kids from other cities and making new friends while interacting during group activities

We're glad that she had a good time, and we felt comfortable sending her away for a weekend spent at a church event . . . but we're glad to have her home again. She may be growing up, but she's still our little girl--so there!

Pride, Prejudice, and Fish

2011-02-26T23:54:00.076-07:00

For this week's Scandinavian Saturday supper, Hillary was my helper. We made a pretty simple meal because we had errands to do during the day and a play to attend right after supper--not a lot of time for multiple recipes or lots of dishes to wash. So here's what we made:

Iron Range fish stew with goat cheese on flatbread

From a cookbook by Beatrice Ojakangas, we made her Iron Range fish stew recipe, a northern MN version of Finnish kalamojakka ["fish stew"]. Hillary chopped an onion . . . and then was so traumatized by the effects on her eyes that she was pretty much done helping, so I did the rest. I cubed potatoes and simmered them and the onion in fish stock with allspice and salt (I also added carrots and celery, which were not called for in the recipe). When the potatoes were done, I put large pieces of pollock and cod into the broth to stew. When the fish was done, I stirred in cream, butter, and dill and added freshly ground black pepper (also not in the recipe) and a little more salt to taste.

When the stew was ready, Hillary returned to see how else she could assist--so she helped me put thin slices of gjetost [Norwegian "goat cheese"] on pieces of flatbrød ["flatbread"] as an accompaniment to the stew. It was a tasty meal. The fish was flaky and tender, and the broth was thin like a soup; but the dish overall was hearty due to all the chunks of vegetables.

Then it was off to the university to see a production of Pride and Prejudice, an adaptation of the classic novel by Jane Austen. When I phoned to reserve tickets, I asked if it was a family-friendly play; I was assured that it was but that children would most likely find it "boring." Clearly they didn't know our children; I got tickets for all of us, and the girls thoroughly enjoyed the play and understood the period language and other details, the high-society manners, etc. (And I, a former teacher of literature, have never read the novel, so it was fun to discover the characters and plot as the play progressed, as opposed to already knowing what would happen before the play began.)

Sweets and Tunes

2011-02-25T22:54:00.068-07:00

Our church is raising funds to update its organ with digital components that will improve its sound, capabilities, and longevity. The fundraising is going quite well, actually, probably because the committee in charge has been using a variety of approaches to soliciting funds. Their latest: a night of "Sweets and Tunes," an event held in one of the church's gathering halls this evening. Organizers had decorated the room with strings of white lights and set the tables with lace tablecloths, fancy centerpieces, and candles. There was a small stage set up in the middle of the room for the entertainment, which included . . . Susan and me!

We were asked to sing a love-themed song (since the night had a bit of a belated Valentine's Day theme), so we prepared two. We sang "Do You Love Me?" from the musical Fiddler on the Roof, and I sang "She's My Girl" by Tom Lehrer. (I played piano for both songs.) We were up early in the evening's proceedings, meaning that once we sat down, we were free to enjoy the rest of the night. We were served a plate containing a variety of sweet treats:

Can you make out the edible black musical notes and red heart pushed into the column of whipped cream, the edible mouse with his nose in the cream, and the tiny little bird perched atop the truffle in the red paper cup? Just click to enlarge for a better look.

Everything was delicious, but I was glad for the coffee to cut the sugar overload a bit. (And then I followed up with sips of the sweet punch, so it all evened out.) Between songs (from us and others), we all played music-themed games, such as listening to snippets of theme songs and guessing at our tables which television show each was from, or trying to write the correct decade by each song in a list of music from the last hundred years. There was a silent auction, too, during which people could throw in tickets to "bid" on several items, such as wine, chocolate, and handmade crafts.

We were ushered to our table at the start of the night and just happened to be seated with Brent and Kristin, the couple with whom we had so much fun when joining them out for supper a couple weeks ago. They plus the games plus the sweets plus the ambiance made it a very enjoyable evening.

Entirely Lemon

2011-02-24T23:52:00.047-07:00

One of my friends, Weston, loves lemons. One day he and I went out for dinner, and I watched him eat the lemon wedges that were served as garnish. He sucked the juice out of them and then consumed them, peel and all. I mentioned that I have made some tasty lemon-based food for some of the Scandinavian Saturday suppers in our household, and he has been pestering me ever since to make something lemony for him. So tonight I did.

At home I made the lemon mousse that was part of this supper last year. Then I brought it and a bunch of other ingredients over to his place to make the rest of a lemon-themed supper for him and his fiancée to enjoy: sautéed chicken breasts covered in paper-thin lemon slices and simmered in lemon juice, wine, and garlic; multi-colored spaghetti with a pasta sauce including lemon juice and Parmesan and Asiago cheeses; and roasted kale drizzled with olive oil, sea salt, freshly ground pepper, and lemon juice. After the lemon mousse for dessert, we enjoyed a lemon liqueur over ice. It was all very good, especially to lemon-loving Weston (for whom I even brought extra lemons for him to snack on while I was cooking).

I got a strange look from the grocery store employee whose check-out lane I used.

Adjustment to Nightly Supper Themes

2011-02-20T21:39:00.072-07:00

Faithful Reader, do you recall that, for almost three years now, our family has been dining each night according to a particular theme? Bless Susan for her willingness to play along; each week she plans meals to suit these nightly themes (with the occasional exception, such as dining out for a birthday, or needing to eat up some leftovers from the previous night, etc.). (And I'm in charge of the weekly Scandinavian Saturday supper, of course.) We have tried a lot of new and fantastic food these past several years as Susan has experimented with new dishes to fit those themes . . . and we rarely repeat a recipe, either--there are just too many out there that we don't want to miss out on!

Well, we also have some favorite cooking shows that we like to watch each week (because Food Network is a family-friendly choice when trying to find something to watch with the kids), and I recently suggested altering our nightly themes somewhat to allow for regular trials of the recipes that we see on our favorite shows. Here's are the changes:

Tuesday used to be Take-Out Tuesday, allowing us either to eat take-out food from a restaurant (we typically have very busy Tuesday nights) or else food that one might find at a take-out restaurant (e.g., burgers, tacos, etc.). The new theme: 'Tessa Tuesday, allowing us to eat recipes featured on The Barefoot Contessa, a cooking show hosted by Ina Garten.

Thursday used to be Thirsty Thursday, a night for us to have a favorite beverage (e.g., malted milkshakes) or try some new concoction. The new theme: Thrifty Thursday, allowing us to eat recipes featured on Ten-Dollar Dinners, a show hosted by Melissa D'Arabian.

Sunday used to be Ice Cream Sunday (a play on "ice cream sundae," of course), whose only requirement was that dessert involve ice cream (not a problem in our household, with our freezer always stocked with premium ice cream from Schwan's). The new theme: Subcontinental Sunday (as in the subcontinent of India), allowing us to eat recipes featured on Aarti Party, a show hosted by Aarti Sequeira.

Preliminary results from the new nightly lineup: DELICIOUS! We watch the cooking show host make the food; our mouths water; and a few nights later, we get to experience the wonderfulness of tasting the dishes because Susan has made them for supper. Anybody want to swing by and join us some night?

Food Service Memories

2011-02-19T23:50:00.043-07:00

It was another lo-o-ong Saturday for our family, thanks to a swim meet in Mandan, ND. We left in the wee hours of the morning in order to arrive in time for pre-meet warmups, and we returned home late after spending some time shopping. Thus, no Scandinavian Saturday supper this week.

However, we did have a great meal, thanks to a mid-afternoon stop at the Ground Round. Susan's brother Jerrett stopped by the pool to watch each of the girls swim this morning, and he joined us for a late dinner/early supper once the meet had ended. We chose the Ground Round partly because it's located near some of the stores where we intended to shop but also because we haven't eaten at one of their restaurants in a long time, and we have fond memories of it. Susan and I both worked at the Ground Round in Grand Forks during our university years, and I loved my coworkers and have many funny stories from our interactions at work.

So I was predisposed to be in a good mood walking into the Bismarck location today and enjoyed the whole meal: the salty popcorn and cold beer, the overloaded burger, the visit with Jerrett, the friendly service . . . a great dining experience overall. (The shopping afterwards wore me out, though, and the long drive home was very sleepy . . .)

Cruz Control

2011-02-18T23:50:00.028-07:00

We have season tickets from the Dickinson Area Concert Association, and the next event in the lineup was tonight. After supper we walked up the street to the Catholic school auditorium where tonight's concert was held. We heard Edgar Cruz, an acoustic guitarist who plays in many different styles. He played original songs as well as famous Latin songs, classical music, hits of the early 1900s, and rock staples. He's versatile! And he has a warm, easy-going presence on stage, making for a relaxing performance of easy-to-listen-to guitar music. You can hear him here, or watch him play "Bohemian Rhapsody" here.

Inconclusive

2011-02-16T23:48:00.039-07:00

Because of this, Susan and Abigail and I made a trip to Bismarck, ND today to meet with a pediatric neurologist. We intended to hear an expert interpretation of the symptoms that Abigail experienced last month and of the results of the CAT scan, EEG, and MRI that she underwent in the weeks since. The neurologist noted that the CAT scan and MRI showed nothing abnormal, although the EEG did show some abnormal activity in the brain. She listened to the details of the initial incident and Abigail's behavior during and after it. And her conclusion? "I don't know." Turns out that Abigail's symptoms aren't typical of any usual explanation from the neurologist's experience. Anti-seizure medication is an option, but then we'd be medicating Abigail for a condition that we're not certain exists . . . using drugs that impede brain activity, for Pete's sake! Or we could do nothing and just see if something similar ever happens again; and if it were to repeat, the doctor would be able to give a better diagnosis and prescribe medication accordingly. So we're probably going to wait.

A lot of family and friends have been waiting for news from us about what happened, and we certainly wish we had returned from the neurologist appointment today with something certain to say about the incident in January that started this all. Unfortunately we don't know much more now than we did before going to Bismarck.

Keep praying.

Love, Not Stuff . . . Well, Except for Flowers and Food

2011-02-14T23:47:00.034-07:00

Is there a Valentine's Day equivalent of Christmastime's Scrooge? If so, that's what I may sound like when I tell you that I opened the conversation at the dining room table the other day with something like, "Now, before we go buy things for Valentine's Day, do we really need to bring any more stuff into this house?" But we've still got Christmas gifts sitting out, waiting for us to find a place for them; and the girls just hauled in several awesome Valentine's Day gifts from Grandpa and Grandma this past weekend . . . so nobody flinched at my suggestion that we exchange just love, not gifts, for today's holiday.

Be that as it may, I still took the opportunity to slip away from work today to buy flowers for my four valentines: yellow roses for each of the daughters, and a dozen red roses for Susan. And after Susan and I were done with work, and the girls had finished their after-school swim team practice, we all went out to supper and had a delicious meal (including a huge portion of fried ice cream that we all shared for dessert) at El Sombrero, our favorite Mexican restaurant in town. What a joy to spend time with my four lovely valentines!

Aunt Shirley at Gramma Sharon's

2011-02-12T22:20:00.085-07:00

No Scandinavian Saturday supper this weekend. Instead, we drove to Williston, ND for the girls' swim meet there. We had an uneventful drive there early this morning, taking I-94 to Belfield, then Hwy 85 north through Fairfield, Grassy Butte, Watford City, Arnegard, and Alexander. I point that out because, on the way back, we took a different route with far fewer towns along the way: we took Hwy 68 south of Alexander and then turned off on Hwy 16 through the Little Missouri National Grassland, encountering no towns or cities until we reached Beach back on the Interstate, which we traveled east back to Dickinson. Hwy 16 was a beautiful drive: very little traffic, scenic terrain, deer along the roadside . . . all with the added benefit of the sense of exploration that comes when taking an unfamiliar path.

Even better than what we got to see on the drive home was whom we got to see while in Williston:

Dad and Beverly

My dad and stepmom drove the 50 miles or so from their home to Williston to watch the girls swim. Unfortunately, the cement bleachers for spectators at the pool are not very comfortable for anyone to sit on, let alone for people who have had back surgeries and joint issues. I knew that Dad and Beverly had some shopping to do before returning home, so I proposed that they stay only long enough to watch each of the girls swim in one event. Then I went with them to visit while they shopped, and we met up with Susan and the girls for a late dinner after the meet had ended.

We ate at Gramma Sharon's, a welcoming place with delicious food. While waiting for the food to arrive, I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to see my aunt (and godmother) Shirley! She lives in Williston and had come with a friend for some pie and coffee, and she was as surprised to see us there as I was to see her standing there! We had hugs and kisses and a quick visit until our food came. What a great surprise!

Shirley with me (her favorite nephew and godson, according to me), Hillary, Abigail, and Suzanna

Lutheran Luck and Laughter

2011-02-11T23:52:00.063-07:00

Susan and I had a fun night out tonight. A while ago, Susan got an invitation via Facebook to a birthday get-together for a woman who goes to our church. I'm not this woman's Facebook friend, so I didn't get that invitation and declined Susan's offer to crash the party, but I encouraged her to attend. Well, the woman later followed up with Susan to clarify that I was invited, too, so we decided to go. And we're so glad that we did!

We arrived at the restaurant to find a small group of people with church connections, essentially. Kristin, the birthday girl, is married to Brent, the director of the Bible camp that our daughters attend in the summer. One of his coworkers, Nathan, was at the get-together, too, along with his wife, Emily, who happens to be a confirmation mentor for a group of middle-schoolers at church, as am I. As the Sunday school director at church, Susan shares an office with Jodeen, who was at the gathering, too, along with her husband, Jerry (remember them?). The last person at Kristin's party was Kathy, who goes to our church, is attending seminary via distance education, and just happens to be from a small town near where I grew up . . . and is married to a man who was my oldest sister's high school classmate! (Small world.)

We had a delicious meal (it was at El Sombrero, one of our favorites), some tasty beverages, and great conversation. It was a little crazy to be invited out to celebrate Kristin's birthday since we didn't really know her very well, but we're so glad we went and got to know her--and the rest of the group--better. This group contains fun-loving people; after the food had been eaten, Kathy retrieved slips of paper from her purse, and we played a couple rounds of games while sitting at the table! We laughed hysterically as we learned a lot about their senses of humor and other personal tidbits that came out as the games progressed (and as the beverages got consumed).

It reminded us, actually, of the "game nights" that used to be regular parts of our life when we lived near enough our friends in the Red River Valley to gather weekly, shoo the kids into the basement, pour some beverages, crack out the board games, and let loose with the jokes and the laughter. This crew from tonight are no substitute, of course, but Susan and I wouldn't mind another chance to hang out with them all. Lutherans are fun!

Magnetic Personality

2011-02-09T22:27:00.039-07:00

The next episode in this saga was today: Abigail's EEG last week revealed some abnormal activity, so they scheduled her for an MRI this morning.

Susan took her in for that, and it seems that everything went smoothly. Abigail tells me that, after she and Mommy removed all traces of metal, Abigail was put onto a bed and slid into the tube of the machine that used magnetism to take pictures of her brain. They put earplugs into her ears because the machine was so loud, and "the metal structure" (Abigail's description) on her head not only held the earplugs in place but also held a mirror into which Abigail could look to see Mommy sitting against the wall behind her. The only time that Abigail was afraid was when a person came in to inject some "contrast medium" into her blood stream, during which she told Abigail, "I think I lost your vein." But the vein was found, the injection was successful, the tests were completed, and Abigail was back in school in under an hour.

We will find out the results of the MRI when we visit a pediatric neurologist next week. That doctor will also examine the results of last week's EEG and the CAT scan from the day of the incident and, we hope, offer us an explanation.

Keep praying.

Savory Swedish Salmon Soup and Sandwiches

2011-02-05T22:02:00.108-07:00

We had been planning to take our family friend Monica (whom the girls call their "in-town grandma") to Suzanna's concert this afternoon and then go out for supper afterwards. However, it's terribly icy out, so Monica (who had hip surgery not long ago) opted to stay in and invited us to come to her home for supper after the concert. We were going to take pizza to her, but this is Scandinavian Saturday in our household, and I wondered if there would be time before the concert to prepare something ethnic to pick up and take over to her after the concert. It was Abigail's turn to be my helper, and she was game for fixing Scandinavian food to share with Monica for supper . . . so that's what we did.

Monica had the table decorated in a Valentine's Day theme.

Monica was expecting us to come with boxes of pizza, and she provided some extras, such as pickles, mixed fruit, juice to drink, and German chocolate cake for dessert. She was surprised when we arrived with Swedish sandwiches and soup instead! This week's recipes came from Swedish chef Marcus Samuelsson:

majs soppa med rökt lax ["corn soup with smoked salmon"] -- In the oven, we roasted potatoes and whole-kernel corn in olive oil, kosher salt, and ground pepper. In a stock pot, we sautéed shallots and garlic in canola oil before adding chicken stock to simmer. We added the roasted vegetables to the stock and used an immersion blender to puree the mix. We stirred in sour cream and added tarragon, chopped fresh cilantro, and chunks of smoked salmon. The soup stayed warm on the oven while we were at the concert, and we wrapped the whole thing in towels to bring it to Monica's.

gravad lax smörgås ["marinated salmon club sandwiches"] -- We finely chopped red onion, tomato, jalapeño pepper, and fresh cilantro. We pitted, peeled, and mashed two avocados and then stirred in the other ingredients along with the juice of two freshly squeezed limes. We seasoned it with kosher salt and ground pepper and then packed it up to take to Monica's along with a loaf of rye bread, a head of red leaf lettuce, and a couple packages of cured salmon. At Monica's, we toasted the rye bread, spread it with the guacamole, and topped it with lettuce and salmon to make the sandwiches on the spot. The recipe recommended that we deep-fry our own root vegetable chips to serve with the sandwiches, but instead we opted just to buy a bag of veggie chips (beets, sweet potatoes, and taro root).

Monica was a willing guinea pig in yet another weekly experiment in Scandinavian cooking. It was a savory, satisfying meal with salmon as its star. And while Abigail and I tended to final details before serving the meal, Suzanna was able to show Monica video of her concerts, so Monica enjoyed the music without having to go out on the slippery sidewalks and steps to get to the auditorium. Fun night!

Suzanna the Honor Chorister

2011-02-05T19:14:00.059-07:00

The big weekend for Suzanna arrived: she participated in all-state honor choir (remember?) yesterday and today! She got out of school around noon yesterday to go with her music teacher to the university (we're so lucky that the event is being held this year in Dickinson--we don't have to travel!), and he turned her over to the conductor assigned to direct Suzanna and the other 99 middle-school-aged students chosen from across the state. They performed at concerts last night and this afternoon. Wanna hear a little bit?

"Fight the Good Fight"

"Tres Cantos Nativos"

The choir sounded phenomenal, especially considering both the youth of the kids and the very little time that they had worked together or with the conductor. Susan and I were so proud of Suzanna for singing with such energy in her face and body. Her eyes were fixed on the conductor, her posture was upright, her mouth was wide open, and she seemed attentive and "into" the performance. What a great experience for her, and what a great job she did. Brava!

The video clips above are from this afternoon's concert, and the photo directly above is from last night's performance (thus the different clothing).

P.S. Last night's concert included performances, too, by choirs from the University of Mary, the University of North Dakota, and Dickinson State University. The group from UND was the Varsity Bards, an all-male group that wowed the crowd with their mix of quality, energy, and humor. We were in stitches as they sang "The Pirate Song," a slow tune with a soft and simple melody that contrasted with the humorous goings-on onstage: throughout the song, the singers one at a time slipped into items of pirate apparel; and the conductor twice used a Nerf pistol, first to shoot the page turner off the piano bench and then to shoot the accompanist himself, leaving both of them sprawled on the floor in fake death while the choir continued singing. Funny!

Abigail's All-Nighter

2011-02-02T23:03:00.027-07:00

Abigail went in for an EEG today (catch up here), and the procedure itself was standard and uneventful. Here she is ready for electrodes to be attached to the special cap:

More eventful was our night leading up to this morning's EEG. Abigail needed to be "sleep-deprived" before sitting for the test, so she had to stay awake all night before going in today! I stayed up with Abigail until around 3:00 A.M., and then Susan got up to stay awake with her while I got a few hours of sleep. She and I watched some TV and played computer games. She and Susan played games on the Wii and then ate a big breakfast at 4:30 A.M. I took the other girls to school and then went to work myself while Susan took Abigail to the hospital. They got in some naps today and will sleep soundly tonight. We should hear test results in a couple days.

Keep praying.

Too Much Snow

2011-01-31T07:37:00.024-07:00

I just spent 1.25 hours in -20° F weather (-40° F with the wind chill) snowblowing and shoveling the driveway and sidewalks so we can get to work and school today. My sister Sandy asked me on the phone yesterday to post a photo to show how much snow we've got so far, so here's a look at the snow drift on the south side of our driveway. We haven't even yet gotten to February and March--two months typically with heavy snowfall--and I'm already wondering where I'll put the snow from the next time that the sky dumps white stuff on us.

Arizonan Missionaries and Indian Food

2011-01-30T22:04:00.076-07:00

Highlight of the morning: The majority of the church service was led by two guests who are in the area from their homes in AZ, traveling from church to church in our region to make people aware of Shepherd's Canyon Retreat, a ministry for pastors feeling overwhelmed by the pressures of their jobs. Those two gentlemen led us in singing familiar hymns and Sunday school songs, and they sang some contemporary worship songs to us, too, including an especially touching one that compared living life to running a race, and reaching heaven to crossing the finish line. When they noted that those who have passed the finish line then turn around to cheer us on as we run the rest of our own race, I couldn't help but think of Mom and other loved ones who have died; and Hillary and Abigail (who were seated on either side of me) and I hugged and cried through the rest of that song. (The lyrics also point out that the way we "run the race" serves as an example for those running behind us, so we serve as inspiration and example for others as we strive to live Christ-inspired lives.)

Highlight of the evening:

Susan made a meal of recipes from Aarti Sequeira, whose cooking show Aarti Party our family enjoys watching. The smells coming from the kitchen all afternoon were fantastic, and the food was delicious! Click the caption below each photo to read what's in that dish (and how to make it yourself).

beer, ginger, and garlic braised roast

Thai red curry mac 'n' cheese

broccoli and dill raita slaw

Our family eats the most interesting food, thanks to adventurous cooks (mostly Susan) and eager diners. Over the years, our willing daughters have eaten food that I had never heard of at their age (or, frankly, ever--many things that our family eats are new to them and me alike). Their classmates and teachers usually give them incredulous looks when they report at school what they had for supper the night before. I love that!

Icy Roads and Mardi Gras

2011-01-29T21:35:00.002-07:00

Last night we all retired early so that we could arise early and get on the road for the girls' swim meet in Minot. Warmups started at 10:00 A.M. Central time, which is 9:00 for us. It's usually a good three-hour drive to Minot, so leaving at 6:00 A.M. would have gotten us there under normal driving conditions. However, after a few days of above-freezing temperatures, things turned very cold very quickly last night, and I knew we'd want extra time so that we could drive slowly as needed. I figured a 5:00 A.M. departure would be good, so I got up at 4:00 to check the road report. The state transportation department's Web site offered a travel map on which all the state's highways were marked with red: no travel advised. Ugh!

The dad in me agreed with Susan, who promptly snuck into the daughters' bedrooms to shut off their alarm clocks and then went back to bed herself. No sense in risking everybody's lives trying to make our way across the state on icy roads just to get to a swim meet.

But the native North Dakotan in me thought, "Ah, we could probably make it. We could just start out and see how the roads are. I'll bet things will clear off once the sun comes out and the sand trucks and snow plows get out onto the roads." I mean, really: I'm from western North Dakota. We don't check the weather to see whether we should travel; we check it to see what to be prepared for when we travel. But we will travel, in any case. We have places to go and things to do, and if we were to let winter weather stop us, we'd never get anything done. We simply learn, while growing up, how to handle a vehicle on roads covered in black ice or how to use landmarks (e.g., highway mile markers on the shoulder of the road, hay bales in the ditches, fence posts in the pastures alongside the road) to navigate on a road in whiteout conditions when even the lines painted on the asphalt are not visible. Bring it on!

So, I felt a bit like a failure for not taking on the roads to Minot today . . . but later we heard from several friends who had been on those roads and who said we'd definitely made the right choice. We got a lot done at home today and were around this evening to attend the Mardi Gras celebration (see this and this) held at the Catholic high school just half a block north of us. Instead of making a Scandinavian Saturday supper this week, we opted for the Mardi Gras meal of crudités, deviled eggs (ironic for a Catholic school, no?), cole slaw, a rice dish, scalloped green beans, ham, fried chicken, homemade chicken noodle soup, buns, milk, coffee, and homemade bars for dessert. The line to get into the cafeteria to eat was long and winding, but the delicious food was very much worth it . . . and we got to visit with a lot of people while we waited in line.

Afterward we went into the gym, which was set up with concessions stands and game booths, like the midway at a carnival. Susan bought a fistful of tickets so that the girls could play some games, and then we stepped into the slow-moving mass of people crowding the aisles that ran between booths. It was so packed in there that there was absolutely NO getting past anyone . . . we just weaseled our way into the stream and floated along until we saw a game that someone wanted to play, at which point we jostled for the edge and pushed our way out.

We were instantly hot, uncomfortable, crabby, and regretful that we had bought so many game tickets . . . especially after seeing that most games required only one ticket to play, meaning we'd be there all night trying to use up all the dumb tickets! And immediately we saw that the other parents there were in the same situation. Everywhere we looked, we saw sweaty, red-eyed adults being tugged by eager little children, the parents looking around desperately for anyone without tickets so that they could offer to give away their own. Typical exchange:

Parents A: Say, could you use the rest of our--

Parents B: No! No! For God's sake, no! Jessica, run! And don't make eye contact!

We saw tons of people there whom we knew, all of whom were willing to exchange pleasantries with us but all too ready to make a dash as soon as the conversation turned to the topic of giving away tickets. We chatted a bit with our across-the-street neighbors, whose two young boys were yanking at their arms to get to the next game; and before we knew what was happening, Darren (the dad) had handed over several strips of tickets and disappeared into the crowd, leaving us with twice the number of tickets we had started out with and the sinking feeling that we would be stuck in that gym many hours longer than we had intended.

So we did the same thing to others.

Susan's cousin Todd, his wife Trista, and their kids were there tonight. Todd and Trista politely declined our offer of game tickets and deftly dodged our efforts to stuff the tickets in their pockets. So I handed a strip directly to their little boy Trae, and they were not willing to make him cry by ripping them out of his hand and shoving them back in my face (although they may have wanted to). I unloaded a couple strips of tickets on a former student who was walking around but hadn't yet gotten around to buying her own; and I gave a couple more to a little boy from our church as he and his mom stood in line for the cakewalk.

Oh, and our girls utilized some of the tickets, too, to play games and win little trinkets and stuffed animals. They kind of "got into" our own little game of Let's Find Booths that Require the Most Tickets Possible and Burn Through These Tickets as Quickly as We Can; and we split up to maximize the time, each of us using up tickets simultaneously at different games. The girls did enjoy playing and brought home some cute little items, although they had perhaps more fun just seeing and visiting with so many friends from school. I even won something myself: a chocolate bundt cake from the cakewalk booth!

We managed to get out of the carnival two hours after entering . . . which was about 3.5 hours after we had arrived for the meal. Still, it was a much better way to spend our time than driving white-knuckled to and from a swim meet today . . . and now we've got a cake!

Rest in Peace

2011-01-28T20:01:00.020-07:00

My dad phoned me with sad news today: last night his brother-in-law and good friend, Kenny, passed away. Dad and Kenny have been friends for decades. As young men, they even played together in a band that performed at dance clubs and other events across the region--and they had a TV show in Minot! Some time after my mom passed away, Dad married Kenny's sister Beverly, which brought Dad and Kenny back into more regular contact again. Kenny and his wife Bea often made special trips from their home in Bowbells to Dad and Beverly's home when they knew that our family was coming to visit just so that they could see us, something that our girls remember fondly and mentioned tonight when I told them the sad news. We'll wait to hear about funeral arrangements and, in the meantime, keep Bea, Beverly, their family members, and Dad in our prayers.

Mysterious Emergency

2011-01-25T23:03:00.074-07:00

With three children, we're not unaccustomed to getting the occasional phone call from the school to tell us that one of the girls has become ill and needs to be picked up and taken home. Today's phone call about Abigail, however, was a little scarier: in addition to having a headache, nausea, and dizziness that made her unable to walk without someone to hold her up, she could not make sense when speaking to others and didn't seem to know where she was (e.g., she told the principal that she couldn't find her bedroom). The nurse at the clinic said there were no more appointments available for the day but recommended that we take Abigail to the emergency room, so off we went.

We had to wait a few minutes in the lobby of the emergency room, and Susan and I got more concerned the more we conversed with Abigail. She couldn't retrieve the correct words for what she wanted to say, so she would either pause to think and then lose track of what she had started saying, or she would say a word that made no sense in the context that she was using it. Susan struggled to hold back tears; and when Abigail noticed, she tried to comfort Susan but called her Suzanna.

Soon we were admitted to a room in which a woman asked Abigail and us some questions and recorded all the details. Then we were led to a room in the ER, where Abigail got into a gown and was hooked up to heart and pulse monitors. At that point, she seemed to perk up a bit, behaving more like her excited self . . . although she still couldn't tell where she was. When she was told that they would collect blood and urine specimens to run some tests, she got worried and started to cry; but that was short-lived after we explained the procedures and assured her that they were simple. (In fact, she didn't even notice the prick of the needle during the blood draw later.)

They wheeled her away for a CAT scan, too, and Susan and I had our doubts about whether Abigail could hold still long enough for the machine to finish scanning her! But afterward the nurse said that Abigail had done well. And best of all? In very little time, they gave us the results of the CAT scan and the blood and urine tests: everything was normal. That seemed to rule out a lot of scary options, such as a drug in her system, a tumor, an organ dysfunction, etc. But we still don't know what caused her crazy symptoms this afternoon.

By the time we checked out of the ER, Abigail's main symptoms were headache, fatigue, and slowed speech. Tomorrow she will stay home from school, and Susan will take her to our pediatrician to see what he thinks. After that, an EEG to see if Abigail may have had some kind of seizure . . . and, if necessary, visits to more specialists after that. What a terrifying afternoon!