And when I came back it was WINTER!



Winter at the church across the street from my language classes.

My last post's topic concerned the mild November weather here in Trondheim.  On November 18, I took off to the States to visit my older brother in Oregon, my family in Chicago and my Japanese boss in Irvine.  I was gone for 16 days.

My brother, who suffers from a mental disability, is doing well at his group home in Dallas, Oregon.  Dallas is in the heart of the Willamette Valley wine country.  Some day I'll go wine-tasting there.  They make world-class pinot-based wines ranging from classic Burgundian style reds and whites to California styles to a unique Oregonian style that is somewhere between California and France.

My brother and I went to Salem, Oregon, stayed in a hotel there, and did some sorely needed clothes shopping (for him).  After getting two suits, four pairs of slacks, two dress-shirts, two ties, and a stylish overcoat, John just might be the best-dressed man in Dallas, Oregon.  We reminisced about the old days, trips to Lake Tahoe, Mom and Dad, music and the like.  We ate steaks and burgers for dinners and lunches and junk-food cereals for breakfasts.  We met our lovely cousins Stephanie and Diane for lunch one day and I could tell that John really enjoyed seeing the cousins whom he had not seen in a year and a half.



Thanksgiving at The Larkins

I left John and Oregon to celebrate my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving, with my family in Chicago.  I have been in Chicago several times for Thanksgiving and this was by far the warmest ever.  I think it got into the 60s which would be 30 degrees warmer than other Thanksgivings there.  Ryan and Wendy live within walking distance (or short bus ride) from Devon, Patrick and Piper, which is great for everyone.  I stayed with Ryan and Wendy in their apartment. 

The day before Thanksgiving, Ryan and I went to a Birrieria near his apartment to eat birria.  Neither of us had ever eaten this Mexican stew before and we were anxious to try it.  At this particular restaurant they make traditional Jalisco style birria with goat!  It was absolutely delicious.  I mean really, really, good.  We were so excited, because we went in with a certain amount of trepidation, but were we surprised!  Great fall food.

Thanksgiving with my family was wonderful.  It was my first Thanksgiving with my granddaughter Piper.  She amazes me. 



Piper is a "ham" when she knows her picture is being taken.  Can you read her t-shirt?

The turkey dinner was delicious.  I like the way that Devon labels the table (she covers the table with brown paper (like paper-bag paper)):

 
After dinner, Piper showed Ryan and Wendy her prowess with the iPad:

Wendy, Piper, Ryan

 On Friday the weather was so good that we played bocce ball in the park.  I don't remember who won (it wasn't me).  Saturday I offered to babysit Piper so that the 4 other adults could go out to dinner together.  They don't get to do that often.  Piper was an angel.  I found "How to Train your Dragon" on TV and as soon as she saw it, she became mesmerized.  It was quite funny how entranced she became.  TV might be Newton Minnow's "vast wasteland", and I might even agree, but it is a great sedative.

After Chicago I flew to SoCal and spent a week with my Japanese boss.  I stayed with my stepsister, but she barely saw me due to my long days with the boss.  The weather was delightful, so it came as quite a shock to come back to wintry Trondheim last Sunday.  It has snowed every day this week and the thermometer has hovered between 30 and 33 degrees Farenheit.  It is very pretty but it's so strange to have the sun rise at 9 a.m. and set at 3 p.m.  All the winter pictures, including the one at the top were taken around 12 noon.

The local school, from the bus.

Our local market, taken from the bus.