Family feasting!

6 July 2018

Cornelia woke up around 08:00, which meant we all enjoyed a nice lie in (apart from IS, who had to go to work again) and had a leisurely breakfast together.  Bugsy had been promised porridge with Ingvill’s homemade strawberry jam, and scoffed an enormous bowl of it.  The jam was amazing!

The dogs needed walking, so Ingvill, Cornelia and I did a 2 mile trek along one of the logging tracks, while Ian ran a longer route, ending up at home.  Unfortunately for him, he didn’t know where the spare key was and had to wait some time for us to arrive back.  We, on the other hand, had had a fabulous walk together, with Cornelia pretending the dogs were horses and that she was “Princess Amy” and that Ingvill and I were both queens.  Of course.   She walked the whole way quite happily, and had a marvellous time.  It was really excellent exercise for her, and Ingvill and I just chatted together the entire time.  It was a perfect start to the day.

Once we’d arrived home, it was time for a quick shower before Cornelia and I needed to go to the airport to collect Amanda.  We went via XXL, a large sports store at Lagunen, where Cornelia chose herself a new water bottle to replace the lost Paw Patrol one.  It was a choice between Cars and Frozen, and it was no surprise at all that she went for the Frozen bottle!  Anyway, she was happy and had let me off the hook for losing her other one….

We met Amanda easily at the airport, and it was great to see her, although she was a bit tired after a couple of weeks of poor sleep!  We all had lunch together (bar Ingvill, who was taking Taschi to the dentist) before Amanda went upstairs for a rest, and Ian & Bugsy went down to the water’s edge to play for a while.

Next to arrive were IS and Daniel, who had arrived from Copenhagen. Amanda and him were off to Mjolfjell for a couple of weeks, so we were all very happy that they were able to stay the night with us. Vikki and Hassan also joined us, and there was a fabulous feel of family enveloping us, as we all chopped / barbecued / fried and drank together. Oh my goodness, scallops and prawns marinated and barbecued, homemade coleslaw, and fried potatoes…. so utterly scrumptious. It was just a fraction too windy and chilly to sit outside, so we all retreated to the dining room, plates piled high!

It was a joyful and happy evening and I feel so lucky to have spent time with these terrific warm people, all of whom Cornelia completely adores! She was racing from one person to the other, with such love and happiness. But she was quite clear that Vikki would be the one telling her her bedtime story tonight, which she kindly agreed to do! It was Troll Valley again, unsurprisingly, and after a quick kiss good night, she was out for the count.

It wasn’t a late night for anyone else either, so after a few more glasses of wine and a bit more chocolate, we all rolled off to bed!