Thursday, August 13
I start the day with a coffee and write a blog entry. Fueled by a healthy breakfast/lunch of pastry and cookies I start my day of sorting, sniffling, shuffling and sneezing. Systa is at work today so I am hauling out the majority of the garage on the my own and figuring out what to do with it. When I ask Charly a question he tends to change the subject and take me to see something like a pretty flower, a family of ants or will tell me about a plan he has for the garden. I see the wandering hippy spirit in him.
Later in the afternoon we drive 1/2 hour to Systa’s recycling place and drop off a ton of packing materials, mainly packing peanuts. I have never seen anyone so torn about giving up a styrofoam bits. We manage to get rid of it all but end up taking back a steel railing, 3 nested side tables and 3 other mystery boxes that she didn’t want me to see. 3 steps forward, 2 steps back, but still progress. Oh, and we also collect 2 single mattresses for the 2 new workawayers arriving tomorrow. It is then I am informed this is where they got my bed. I take a deep breathe, remind myself this isn’t New York and there are no bed bugs. It is fine. No biggie. Just don’t think about it.
Charly drove me around to look at some of the local highlights or as he puts it ‘tourist stuff’. First up was the Jettegryter, otherwise known as the holes a hard swirling stone makes in softer stone over millions of years. We stop at a channel in between two fjords and watch the trout jump for the flies as the sun starts to set. This is followed by a stop at an old Viking church from 1200 called Holdhus Kyrkje.
On the drive home Charlie’s new diabetes monitor keeps beeping to tell him his levels are low so he keeps shoveling in cookies and apple juice. He warns me that when his blood sugar gets low that he gets very quiet and loopy. A reassuring thought as we are driving along the windy mountain roads. Eventually we stop for an emergency chocolate bar and all is well.
Back home we watch the naval ships practice locating submarines in the fjord from the front window while I show Systa how to sauté kale from the garden. Not a popular thing here. Another late dinner and go to bed with a much more aggressive cough than the day before. I’m grateful that I thought to buy bulk Ricola at the duty free.