Winter Begins

The leaves are beginning to fall.  I’ll be sorry when they all fall off.  That means I will see more of that ugly Tine creamery building.  On Wednesday we had rain and high winds.  A few of the trees are now bare, although some are still green.

Nothing unusual this week: just one funeral.  I spent the week getting prepared for the organ recital I’m giving on Sunday evening.

Nikolai, the child of Ann-Kristin & Trond Edvardsen, turned 5 on Thursday.  (I rent their basement apartment).  On Saturday they invited me to a coffee party to celebrate the event.

Well, there’s never a dull moment at organ recitals.  The weather turned quite cold, the high was only about 42 F.  The church was so cold Sunday morning that they tried to heat the place up with space heaters, but it kept on blowing fuses.  The organ recital began at 7:30.  Everything was going well until we had a power failure.  Jon, one of the employees of the church, tried to fix it but they ended up calling an electrician.  After about a 45-minute delay I played the rest of the program.  Fortunately, everyone patiently waited while the problem was fixed.  

Sunday (10-10-10) the sun rose at 7:45 am and set at 6 pm.  Total daylight is 10 hours, 15 minutes.

Week 41: winter began.  Sunday morning there was a dusting of snow on the mountains.  It looked liked a sprinkling of powdered sugar.  Each day there was a little more snow.  On Thursday, the 14^th of October it snowed.  According to the Old Norse Calendar this day is the first day of winter.  Like clockwork winter began in northern Norway.  Most people now have their winter tires on.  Quite a few years ago tires with studs were outlawed in Massachusetts.  The headline in the Boston Globe read, “Stud tires out”.

On Friday I had two funerals: one in Sandnessjøen Church for a 65-year old woman, and one in the chapel at the hospital for an infant that was stillborn.  This last one was so sad, of a life never lived.

I’m having a few problems with my macbook (computer).  It wouldn’t connect to the internet.  (All the other programs work fine).  I took it to a shop.  They looked at it and made some adjustments.  It does seem better but every once in a while I lose the signal.  I know the problem is with the macbook.  My iphone and ipod work perfectly fine.  I may have to get a pc.  Macs are not much in use in Norway.

Saturday I met Vera and John on the south-bound Hurtigruten.  They began their journey in Kirkenes and saw a part of Norway they hadn’t seen before.  If the weather had been better we would have taken the ferry over to Dønna and driven up to Dønnes and over to Rølvaag.    But it wouldn’t cooperate.  Instead we drove around Alstahaug: over the Helgeland Bridge, down to Søvik and Alstahaug Church and Museum, and back to Sandnessjøen on the valley road.

On Sunday Vera sang at the two services that played for: Sandnessjøen at 11 am and Alstahaug at 6:30.  The 11 am service was well attended.  They had presentation gifts for the 4-year olds.  There must have been about 120 in attendance.  The evening service was very sparsely attended.  In any case, Vera sang beautifully for both services.  The song was “Det er makt i de foldede hender” (There is strength in folded hands).  Monday morning they caught the 7 am bus to Mosjøen and from there the train down to Trondheim.  It was a short visit but at least they got a flavor of Helgeland.

Sunrise on 17 October is at 8:10 am, sunset at 5:40 pm.  Total daylight is 9 hours, 30 minutes.

Great fall weather

Monday morning was early (week 38).  I picked up my colleague Venera and we drove to Mosjøen for the Nordland County meeting of organists and district musicians.  Dolstad Church in Mosjøen had just dedicated their new Marcussen organ on Sunday evening.  I found the whole event very refreshing.  And it was great to meet colleagues.  The Friday before I found I that I was to play for a masterclass.  Everything went well despite the short notice.  It’s good to shake things up and take chances.  The cathedral organist from Bodø gave masterclasses in organ repertoire.  He is a gifted teacher and performer.  The other “star” for this convention was one of the professors from the conservatory in Oslo: W. Plagge. I had never heard of him but he’s quite famous in Norway.  He gave masterclasses/coaching in ensemble music.  He’s a fine pianist/teacher/coach.  But as a composer there is something missing.  The piece that was performed on Monday evening involved 6 or 7 instrumentalists and piano.  He seems to compose in a improvisational style, at times formless, dominated by the piano.  I wished to hear more of the other instruments, particularly in unusual combinations.

Two funerals and a wedding this week.  Thursday evening we had a staff activity: mushroom picking.  It  began with just two of us: Bjørnar and me.  About an hour later Tove arrived.  I picked a plastic bag full.  There are only two kinds that we picked: piggsopp (or spine mushrooms – hydnum repandum) and chantarelles.  Friday evening I went alone and picked another bag full.  I know they are edible: I woke up Saturday morning!  I’m hooked: Saturday afternoon I picked another bagful.  I put two containers of cooked mushrooms in the freezer.

I bought boots.  Now I’m almost ready for winter.  The past few days have been so beautiful.  My weather forecast apps on my iphone said rain.  How wrong, thank God.  On Sunday afternoon I picked another bag of mushrooms.

Sunrise on 26 Sept is at 7:02 am, sunset at 6:57 pm.  Total daylight is 11 hours, 54 minutes.  We are entering the dark period (shudder).

On Monday (27 Sept, week 39) I went out on yet another mushroom search.  I picked a plastic bag full.  I think I’m set for awhile.  On Monday evening I had a small dinner party with Katrin and Elizabeth.  I can’t have a large party, given the size of the apartment, plus I only have 3 chairs for the kitchen table.

The weather has been so beautiful this week.  But I notice that the days are rapidly getting shorter.  At 4 pm the sun is so low on the horizon that it feels more like November.  I checked out full-spectrum lights at the local appliance store.  They were sold out but will get more next week.

The weather predictions are excellent for the next few days.  While southern Norway is mired in rain we are blessed with cloudless days.  It would be great to see the northern lights on a clear night.  So far I haven’t seen them here.  According to the news report it has been 20 years since Nordland has had such a pleasant September.

Next Sunday (10 October) I'm playing an organ recital in Sandnessjøen Church.  I visited the local newspaper and asked if they would publish an article about the concert.  It will come out on Wednesday,  6 October in Helgelands Blad.  For this concert I'm going to set up a screen in the front of the church so the audience can see me.

I had this weekend off.  On Saturday I took the boat/bus to Brønnøysund for a couple days, to meet a friend of a friend, and to see the organ in Brønnøysund Church.  Many say it’s the best organ in Nordland.  Brønnøysund is only about 40 miles south of Sandnessjøen, but it takes 3 hours to get there by bus: there are 2 ferry crossings.  The weather was gorgeous on Saturday.  Sunday I took a long walk around Brønnøysund.  I thought that Sandnessjøen is a sleepy town.  Brønnøysund is hibernating.  I got some good pictures of Torghatten, the mountain with a hole through it.  I wish I had brought my bike – I could have had a nice ride out to Torghatten.  Well, next time.  Monday morning I took the bus/ferry back to Sandnessjøen.