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.