A Roll in the Universe

Tom could hear a humpback mother and calf from his house. The humpbacks migrate from Alaska down to Hawaii for the winter. I always thought they were chasing food, but no. They don't eat while on winter vacation. They merely give birth and then head back up to colder waters come spring. Tom had no photo of mother and child but I do. The above photo of a humpback mother and her calf, blowing its air hole, is from my summer vacation in Alaska in 2007. We were so lucky not only to follow this mother and calf and the calf's antics (constantly slapping the surface of the water), but we also got the rare treat of seeing humpbacks bubble net feed. You can see more whale photos from my Alaska trip here . I find it a bit amusing and rather fitting that today of all days, I post about a mother and child. I'm not Christian, and can hardly be called sentimental when it comes to babies, but even I am moved by the beauty and tenderness of the story of the baby Jesus. The beauty a...

Wordless Wednesday

Tom asked me in the comments what Norwegian Christmas porridge is. Strictly speaking, it's not Christmas porridge, just like pumpkin pie isn't Thanksgiving pie, but some things are more associated with a holiday than not. And so it is with the foods I've bought in handy-dandy pre-made single-servings: On the left is "rømmegrøt", sour cream porridge, also eaten in the spring, but then accompanied by a big pretzel and various jerkied meats. For Christmas, it is served by itself. It's heavy food. I'll be sprinkling cinnamon, sugar and raisins on it, probably on Christmas day. In the middle is my Christmas dinner, according to the traditions of western Norway. Here, we eat dried and cured sheep's ribs with mashed turnips (kohlrabi), boiled potatoes, and a bit of the grease from the ribs. The ribs are called "pinnekjøtt" because they are traditionally steamed over birch sticks ("pinne"); the drippings are often saved to use on l...

Sometimes shit happens with the best outcomes. I have yet to see how well, but it's looking good so far. The friends I usually spend Christmas with I won't be spending Christmas with this year. That means I'll be alone for Christmas. That's not a bad thing. I've done it before. So, after the initial disappointment subsided, I started thinking about alternatives. In the midst of this and the Christmas shopping, I got sick this week (I blame the Christmas ball for that - close quarters during dancing, you know). Today I'm home from work, tired of dragging my fevered self to work only to have to leave early. (With wonderful prescience, my mother sent me Vicks vaporub for my birthday. I'm using it!) My plan is to feel better for this evening's retirement party because I want to attend, at least through dinner. As the days count down to Christmas, I find that I'm looking forward to having several days to myself, answering only to myself. I ordered ...

Wordless Wednesday

In Norway, no regular stores are open on Sundays. Restaurants, movie theaters, gas stations and snack bars are, but not regular stores, like clothing stores, grocery stores or hardware stores. Except in December. In December, stores are open on Sundays, for five hours. It used be just one Sunday this month, then it became two. This year it's three shopping Sundays till Christmas. And for the first time, I have gone shopping on a Sunday in Norway. I knew what I wanted, so I made a bee-line for downtown Bergen's Galleriet , a city block of old and varied office buildings (my company used to have offices in those buildings), joined by a glass roof over the courtyard. As reincarnated shopping malls go, I rather like this one. Even the unconventionally colored Christmas decor was OK. There's a black and a white angel under the purple stars. Shopping on a Sunday is not all that much different from shopping on other days except that there are fewer people than on a Saturda...

One of the things I really like about Christmas is all the Christmas movies. You know, those movies that are about that special Christmas magic, which - with or without Santa, angels or a pregnant, unwed woman - manages to create miracles big and small in ordinary people's lives. My list of favorite Christmas movies include any and all versions of "Miracle on 34th Street" , where Santa has to go to court to prove he exists, the perennial classic "It's a Wonderful Life" and "*batteries not included" . Every year a new crop of Christmas films show up and I tend to watch them all. My mother sent me a link to just such a movie, 16 minutes of drama and delight. It's not a Christmas movie, but it definitely fits in with the spirit of the season, and is valid all year round. Enjoy "Validation" . Pass it on!