Happy birthday

42 years old! So now we are the same age. We woke up Ellen with birthday song and the tasty peanutbutter and jelly pancakes we got from Rick and Jennifer for Christmas. Then a lazy day where the hardest work was to check out a house for sale in the neighbourhood. Supper was a very nice roast with good Italian red wine. Dessert was a Russian cheese cake. I don't know what made it Russian, but it was good. Axel helped cook the roast and accompaniments and Rita the cake.

My heart will go on

Rita has also become quite excellent with her flute. Her teacher keeps giving her more and more challenging musical pieces. Rita is excited about the challenge.

Do re mi

Axel is really improving his trumpet.

Resting bedouins

Bedouins have taken over the living room. Tonight they are tenting here where will they be tomorrow? We hope the camels are dung free.

New years eve II

And fireworks...

New years eve I

Silly hats and good spirits. We all love New Years Eve. It has been a tradition to celebrate it with our good friends David & Nadya and Kirsten & Jens for the last 4 years. I cook, Jens buys the drinks and David champagne.

This years menu ended on 5 courses all involving or including beer somehow.

1. Cured cod marinated in a Belgian blonde.
2. Fresh oysters and Stout
3. Cured duck with a sauce of apricot, chili and English brown ale.
4. Roast veal, artichokes with a chorizo marinade and sauce made of Belgian ale. ( I forgot the zucchini - Ellen teased me afterwards: a real meal for men - lots of meat and little vegetables).
5. Pistachio and beer ice cream with baked rhubarbs.

It was fun to make. I have never had raw oysters before. It's not the last time.

AfterChristmas

Not afterski but after Christmas. When we got home from Norway we had the traditional cold cuts and lobster soup. Opened gifts from the US and Mom and Far. I had found a pumpkin ale. It was better than the one I remember Tom serving me many years ago.

Trysil III

Fixing the car. Tire chains was a must. The first night, we just stopped on the way up the mountain the wheels on the Fiat spinning around and car not moving. Read the manual and mount the chains...easier said than done but we were 3 good heads so there were plenty a warm hands to take over when the other got cold.

Trysil II

On the way up we drove behind a German car with a Christmas tree on the roof top. We laughed about it. Imagine driving all the way from Germany to Norway with a tree - you would think they had trees enough. Well, Ellen could stand Christmas without a tree but almost had a conniption fit when she heard the price: 400 NKR for a tree! Luckily we only wanted a tiny tree although we could have needed one with more space for the gifts :-)

Trysil I

Christmas was spent in Trysil, Norway. We had a great week of skiing and enjoying company and Christamas with my parents, Merete and her daughters. The weather was cold, snowy - at times windy and at times foggy. The kids and I went to the top of the mountain one day. It was a bit extreme. Visibility was 3-4 meters and it was cold cold cold but also kind of fun.