Summer, finally

Nothing unusual this week (5-11 July): one funeral and two weddings for Saturday. Summer has finally arrived here. There were one or two days of rain but otherwise sunshine. I feel sorry for my friends in Boston with the heat wave. Here in northern Norway the warmest it has been so far is about 70 to 75 F.

Friday I went hiking in one of the Seven Sisters Mountains. It had rained on Thursday so parts of the path were slippery. At the end of the trail I slipped. Fortunately I didn’t fall but I caught my 4^th finger on a fence. Nothing serious but it’s a little sore. So I guess that’s a sign to give up mountain climbing.

Two weddings on Saturday the 10^th. Fortunately they were at the same church (Alstahaug). Both weddings were planned in detail. There was a singer for each and instrumentalists for the 2^nd wedding so extra rehearsals are needed. A trumpeter played at the 2^nd wedding. For the postlude they also brought in a tuba player, a drummer and a 2^nd trumpet player. Most of the wedding music is new to me. There are Norwegian wedding marches that are traditional here. So far the only wedding music that I knew are the Mendelssohn and Wagner marches, and also the Purcell Trumpet Tune.

After the service on Sunday I took a boat trip to Vega, an island south of here. We stopped at several islands on the way and back. The round-trip tour took about 5 hours. It was a perfect was to spend a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Rain is predicted for Monday.

(12-18 July). And this time the prediction for rain was correct. We had 3 lousy wet days. My relatives Turid & Gunnar arrived on Tuesday for a couple days. On Wednesday we drove to Dønna and Herøy but we couldn’t see much. Thursday was a gloriously beautiful day. Unfortunately that was the day they left for the trip back south. Friday was equally beautiful with heat. Rain was predicted for Saturday but they were wrong! Another beautiful day. Norway really is the land of extremes. Friday afternoon I picked up my passport from the local police station. My residence permit is stamped into my passport. Now the major bureaucratic obstacles are behind me.

There is a nest of little seagulls near the roof on the parish house. Sometime on the weekend the young ones got out and were walking around on the ground near the front entrance. When I arrived at the parish house on Saturday morning I was dive bombed by seagulls. It felt like I was transported to Hitchcock’s “The Birds”. What an strident screech seagulls make when they are angry.

Sunday morning we had 4 baptisms. There were about 70-80 in church. During the postlude the congregation usually sits quietly and listens. With all the children in church there was quite a racket during the postlude. As I told a few people at church, I would rather have screaming children than screeching seagulls.

4th of July

The Sunday services on 27 June went well, about 70-80 people attending the 11 am service in Sandnessjøen (with 4 baptisms). The bass trombonist is a great player. He was a godparent for one of the baptisms. The 3 pm service in Tjøtta went well. Many people said they hadn’t known that organ in Tjøtta Church had so much color. It makes me wonder how well my colleague plays. She’s mostly a pianist. Less about her later.

Sunday evening I took off for two days in Oslo. The flights were on schedule and I arrived in Oslo about ½ hour earlier than expected. Monday morning I met my 2^nd cousin Arlayne and her husband Chris. We went to the Norwegian Folk Museum, the Viking Ship Museum, Akershus Castle, and finally to the new Opera House. It was great to be with them, and to catch up of the gossip from that side of the family. Chris is an architect. It was very interesting to get his opinion on all the various buildings we visited. Tuesday I had expected to visit friends, but they were either suffering from bad colds or otherwise engaged. I used the day to visit music stores, bookstores, and walked around the Botanical Gardens, and the ruins of the medieval St. Hallvard’s Cathedral. The trip back to Sandnessjøen was on schedule. The weather is Oslo was quite warm, and thankfully sunny. It was about 80 F and dry. I’ve been told that since I now live in northern Norway (county of Nordland) I can’t complain about the weather.

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were regular workdays. The weather has greatly improved here. Friday evening I took a hike up into the mountains. I got up about ¾ of the way up Grytfoten, one of the peaks of the Seven Sisters. Not unexpectedly, I woke up on Saturday morning with stiff legs. On Saturday afternoon I had two weddings at Alstahaug Church.

The lilacs and rhododendrons are finally in full bloom. With all the wet weather we’ve had the insects, especially mosquitoes, are out in full force. As of today (3 July) sunrise is at 1:41 am, sunset at 12:42 am. The length of day is 23 hours. It appears that daylight decreases by about 12 minutes a day.

Sunday, the 4^th of July. In Dan’s family they used to say, “the best way to celebrate the 4^th of July is to drink a fifth.” Two services today: 11 am and 6:30 pm, with two different ministers. Sometimes I feel I have to play 35 hymns each Sunday, well 32, when each minister chooses different hymns. Today isn’t so bad except the opening hymn at the evening service has 10 verses. I’m afraid of miscounting.