Mark Edgren

We Are Blessed

Friday, 23. November 2007, 16:42:47

Just yesterday when driving home from work--yes we have to work on Thanksgiving--I considered how blessed we "Norway Edgrens" are . . .

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Timo Turns 17

Saturday, 17. November 2007, 19:53:30

Just when you think you're still young at heart and hip with the "in-crowd" . . . your son turns 17 . . .

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Nothing Much To Blog About

Wednesday, 14. November 2007, 18:29:39

But that shouldn't stop the diehard blogger. The last two days have been very cold (comparatively) and clear--about 25 degrees F, but the skies have been clear.

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The storm that was supposed to flood the Netherlands and east England came through the North Sea and gave us a lot of rain and very high winds. Last night it even gave us a little snow, and me without my snow tires on yet . . .

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The Duck

Thursday, 1. November 2007, 17:14:14

Every family has it's sordid traditions. Ours is no exception. I like to think my particular gift to my kids is wacky traditions they can shake their heads at later in life and reflect back on their strange upbringing. This runs the gamut from lurking around corners to scare the living daylights out of them to dragging them on hikes in the Norwegian foothills on Christmas day. But the tradition of the "Duck of Stupidity" deserves special recognition.

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Den Haag (Or "The Hog")

Wednesday, 31. October 2007, 20:27:39

Boy, those Dutch are some bicycling fools . . . I just got back from Den Haag (The Hague) tonight, and I used to think that the Norwegians in our area were bicyclers--now I know they are just amateurs.

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26 October - A Special Day for Elizabeth

Friday, 26. October 2007, 18:45:09

Well, the wrapping paper has been picked up, the cake and ice-cream consumed, but the memories (and the loot) linger on. Today was Elizabeth's birthday. As she told me, she has now officially lived half her life with me . . .

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Above The Arctic Circle

Wednesday, 24. October 2007, 19:05:37

Two 90 horse-power outboard engines propel a Norwegian army zodiac assault boat across a fjord faster than you might think. Unfortunately the ride was over sooner than we would've liked. We made it a lot faster than the French Foreign Legion did during the assault on Narvik--and, of course, we weren't getting shot at, which is a pretty good thing in my book. The scenery was, of course, spectacular, as only northern Norway can deliver. And for once, the weather was on our side . . .

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28 December

Thursday, 28. December 2006, 20:36:41

Again, it has been a while . . . ah well, I've been to Italy and back, and I've been lazy, etc.

Christmas has actually been an interlude of tranquility in our house--thanks in large part to Elizabeth and the rest of the family. Tree-getting, ornament placing, decorating, etc. all went smoothly with the result of a true Christmas ambience in our Norwegian hovel.

Minimal manning requirements at work resulted in some time off, which has really been a blessing. So we've played a few games and gone for a few outings locally (to include the dreaded "mini" and "micro" adventures) all without mishap (more or less).

We headed north to see the lighthouse up beyond Randaberg to the northwest of Stavanger. Not much to see, but we just wanted to get out a bit.

We went up to Dalevatnet on Christmas day along with a surprising number of crazy Norwegians who were all busily hiking along the rugged trail.

Today, we stopped by the beach at Borestranden, hoping that Angel the hound would chase a seagull and get into a fierce undertow to take her on a one-way trip into the North Sea--alas twas not to be--instead smelly, wet hound for the drive home.

It is nice to be in an area where we can get to the sea and a beach within 20 minutes . . . and at the same time get to a hike through woods and up rocks within the same amount of time.

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7 December

Thursday, 7. December 2006, 18:49:13

My daughter reminded me just the other day of how long it has been since I've blogged . . . after I had insinuated it had been a while since she had done so. So, with proper motivation, I decided to write. In fairness I was in Oberammergau, Bydgoszcz, and then Istanbul for almost a month altogether.

My brother is dedicating an entire blog entry to my recently passed 44th birthday. Uncle MoMo indeed. And this coming from the notorious husband of Aunt Coffee. The birthday feast itself was memorable--bet no one else in our family has had reindeer for dinner? It was O.K. (tasted like chicken--actually roast beef), but Elizabeth had a hard time eating it, which of course was greeted with much joy by the kids--one might even say gleeful joy. I raked in much loot of course, including my Norwegian sweater (reverse-engineered from mis-placed Amazon.com orders of textiles from the States) and a watch which allegedly updates its time from Colorado (if within 2,000 miles) and is solar-powered. Interestingly, Amazon.com won't ship some things to Norway (or APO addresses anyway)--we can find little rhyme or reason--books and CD's and DVD's are O.K., but clothing and sporting equipment isn't? My watch is kind of funny--what with being more than 2,000 miles away from Colorado and being in the dark most of the day during the winter, the solar-powered aspect is not too useful. I picked it out myself, and it works so far, but we haven't seen the sun in a while.

The lack of daylight, and darkness, and continuous rain does produce a wearying gloom on a repetitive basis. This is actually much worse than Washington state--believe me, you guys in Washington are living in a sunny paradise in comparison. We are not at the "depressed" stage yet, but I can see how it could be a risk. I used to disparage the idea of being depressed due to winter lack of daylight, but now I see how it is possible.

We will stay local for Christmas. I have one trip to Latina, Italy next week, then the States in January. Will also try for London in late January, then a trip with family to Garmisch in February.

We're doing well, all things considered. Roof over heads, food in bellies (sometimes reindeer), and most of our health (persistent sinus, allergies for 3 of us, bad back for Elizabeth). But, we count ourselves blessed.

All for now.

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