Ahhh, Wonderful Tax Money…

So for those of you folllowing me on facebook you probably read that we got tax money back. The Captain more then me naturally and with the Brazillian/Norwegian tax agreement, the Captain got back a HUGE chunk of tax money which I can say, allowed us to pay off credit cards so we have no credit cards left, PLUS left a little left over and I had got a little also. The immediate thought was a little vacation with the kids, and that is still a do-able thing but we also needed lots of things that we just never have deemed neccessary….things that we could get by with but wished we had new of. Such as sheets for our bed (we had sheets but with holes, old stuff…definitely needing an upgrade there), and carpets for the floors…we’ve avoided them because of the dogs…dog fur and carpets = bad combo…but they really warm a house up and we missed having carpets…the wish list was long, let me leave it at that, so the last week I’ve been trying to get some things on that wish list and below are some of the results…a couple new carpets for the living room upstairs and downstairs, a couple new lamps, a fake plant for downstairs because no one remembers to water the plants downstairs, they sit in the window and seem forgotten until they wither away to nothing….I got the kids some wooly slippers, the girls each got a spotted pair and Thomas a charcoal grey pair…keeps their feet toasty in the winter.

I keep trying to take a photo of these flowers the “Captain” got me…hehehe…they are so beautiful and I don’t think the correct color comes through but I think you can still enjoy them….so pretty…

I had some old bananas laying around and the best thing I know to do with old bananas is make banana bread. Now, for the Norwegians reading this, please do not confuse Banana bread with Banana cake….it’s two totally different things…I’ve never tasted Banana cake but hear it’s very very sweet, Banana bread is sweet but not terribly sweet…my mom use to enjoy a slice with a little butter on it..the contrast between the salty butter and sweet banana flavor is irresistable!! I use the Better Homes and Gardens Recipe for Banana bread and usually I double this and it gives me two loaves but if I don’t have enough bananas then I just make one round…it’s a plus to toss in one more banana then it says…gives much more banana flavor and I also add a 1/4tsp of Allspice…YUM YUM….

1.5 cups of flour

1.5tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 Egg

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup mashed banana (approximately 3 medium bananas- but remember the extra banana- so make it 4 bananas)

1/4 cup cooking oil (I used rapseed oil but any neutral oil is fine)

1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel which is optional and I never add…sure it tastes good too, but I don’t see the point and rarely have lemons to peel in the house.

1/4 cup chopped walnuts.

Now the instructions tell you to mix certain things at a time…I throw it ALL into one bowl, mix together and pour into a prepared (that would say, buttered bread pan) and then bake at 350 (180C) for about 50 minutes. I put the nuts on the top instead of in the batter but it doesn’t matter how you do it…the results will be great!

Not to mention the house smells devine while this is baking..and this is the wish of every great homemaker, to have a yummy smelling house? Right??? ;-))

So, most of you who have read my blog awhile, know that I live in a log cabin type house, if there isn’t logs on the walls it’s panel…plain pine colored panel. I LOVE my log cabin home but too much of a good thing can be well…..not so good. So I finally broke down (thanks to the help of tax money) and got some paints to paint some of the wood panel…not the logs, but the panel. I didn’t get for the living room yet upstairs, going to try a light color in the entry way and the little toliet room first, which are one and the same color, and if I like it I’ll continue it in the living room. It’s called Reflection from Jotun SENS series. Was going to surprise the Captain with the remodelling but after talking to him and realizing in order to do the job correctly I’d need to remove wallboards and such, I decided to wait and let him remove them so I don’t ruin them and then I can paint! So in about a week or so I should have some photos to show you…cross your fingers it will look as good as I hope. I’ve seen other log homes with some painted parts in it and I like it…just have to hope it will look as good here.

We’re still looking for a co-owner home for Nanna Banana. She’s a sweet girl who I think could honestly thrive in a home where she gets ALL the attention. She adores the dogs here but she also adores having all the attention herself and almost seems more at peace when she is getting the attention rather then sharing it. So if anyone in Norway is reading this and thinking Nanna might be for them, contact me and let me know what you could offer her and we can discuss the nitty gritty details of what kind of agreement I have in mind…it will really be in Nanna’s best interest and then something that will protect both my interest and the new owner’s interest in her. So nothing scary…take contact if you are super duper people with a big heart and a loving home to share with Nanna :-)

Until next time my friends….

 

My New Work Place :-)

I’m really ashamed at how bad I am about updating my blog. Why any of you bother to check in here is beyond me, there are so many incredible blogs out there who blog daily and here I come with my once in a blue moon post…well, for those interested, I’ve been so busy getting my new work place ready. This past week I’ve been shopping twice with my bosses in order to get things for the kitchen. It’s really coming along nicely and I’ve gotten some really fun things! It is so much fun shopping with other people’s money ;-))

Our new barnehage (which would be nursery/kindergarten in English, with kids from 0-6 years of age) is really coming along nicely, it’s going to be the best in all of our community! The move was delayed because the outside wasn’t finished but as you can see in the photos they are really moving on the outside and everything is suppose to be done by next Wednesday when we can put the final touches on the place until the kids move in on the 8th of November!! So exciting!!

Top photo is the outside of the building near the main entrance. Second photo is outside the windows near my kitchen…this is suppose to be a bird (the playhouse)…they are making art out of the play equipment…I’ll take a photo when it’s all done so we can all see the bird, because to be honest I don’t see it yet, but I see one very cool playhouse!! The bottom photo is the 100 acres woods (from Winnie The Pooh) only ours is called 100 meter skogen. Only two of the playground equipment are up in there right now but there will be several others placed throughout and the guys working on this area were told to leave as much of the woods alone so the kids could play with things and use their imagination.

The first photo here is coming into the big kitchen area and common room. The kitchen I’ll work in and the common room will be one and the same. So you can see this from various angles in the photos above. Sorry about the bad lighting…and I hadn’t turned the lights on in the kitchen!! The second photo from the bottom (top) is my storage room- my new freezer is in there plus my new fridge (photos taken before they arrived) and I’ll get two more fridges for that room plus there is shelving on both sides. It’s a mess still but it will be perfect when the kids arrive…

The first two photos above are from one of the large kid’s areas..there will be three older children’s departments and three younger children’s departments. The last photos are from the younger children’s area…each of the younger children’s departments have their own little kitchen as I’ll only make food for the older kids. One of the neat things about the kitchens that I didn’t photograph (of course) is that they have a raised floor on one side of the kitchen counter so the kids can go up and be level with the counter and the adults and work at the same height as the adults. Pretty neat! The last photo here is one of the rooms where the baby strollers will be when the babies are sleeping..they sleep in their strollers in these rooms in the winter months.

The first photo is our personal room where we can take breaks and such, there is a kitchen in there also, but I took a photo of the sofa area as I love the colors here…it’s so fresh and clean…and then you have yours truly..with her “cooking hat”….I was joking around in IKEA’s children area and said, “look at me” and showed my bosses this hat on my head and they laughed so hard and said I had to have it to cook with…hahaha, they only got me this one but then on second thought they want me to pick up the hat with the birthday cake on it and the hat with fruit on it, tomorrow when I go back to IKEA…..

Yeah, I’m going back to IKEA tomorrow, after the dog show. Jackson is going to his first puppy show near Oslo…doesn’t he look nice all bathed and fresh for his first show…

I’ve had today off from work and I’ve done nothing but make homemade tomato soup (very spicy but so yummy) with roasted garlic, onions, peppers, and tomatoes. I had to have some homemade bread with this so I made some Norwegian Kurvetbrød…(basically rolls folks) which were so yummy. And then I made cookies…

Oatmeal raisin and chocolate chunk (with both white and dark chocolate). I used the following recipe but instead of chips I used chocolate bars chopped up…and some raisins…just a few cause Sarah doesn’t like raisins in her food…ugh..can you imagine??

Original Recipe Yield 3 1/2 dozen

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until just blended. Mix in the quick oats, walnuts, and chocolate chips. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets.
3. Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Ahhh, ya gotta love her, even though she doesn’t eat raisins in her cookies or cakes…

I bought some flowers tonight, there is a flower shop here that lets you mix and match to make your own bouquets..so I bought enough for two bouquets and I have one upstairs and one downstairs. I told Stig they were from him, because I’m sure if he was here he would have bought be flowers. Not sure he got my humour there but he said I was welcome….he guessed! ;-))

Pretty aren’t they? Even though I didn’t get such great lighting cause it was dark when I took the photos…

Doesn’t the Captain have great taste in flowers??? hehehehe…

Oh the new dishwasher came today, will take photos tomorrow if I remember and post them next time. What a luxury! Never thought about how great it is to have a dishwasher until it’s gone for several months!! I’m wondering how long it will take me to get  back to thinking washing dishes by hand is charming? hehehe…

Ok folks, have a super weekend and be happy!!

Until next time my friends….

Everyday Stuff….

Nothing too terribly exciting for this Monday, I went to work today at the new barnehage (nursery). Was going to wash up the new dishes and find homes for everything in my new kitchen and then help the ladies unpack toys and get those divided around…wasn’t planning to stay longer then 4.5 hours today, thought I’d go in 4.5 hours each day this week…but then I got started on this…

There had to be at least 50 million pieces to this thing and I swear, there is probably some little China man sitting in China laughing his head off at the thought of parents (and nursery workers) having to put together these gigantic architectual works with the 50 million pieces…see all those flowers, you have to actually attach EACH flower individually. God, what I don’t do for these kids I work with….hope they know how much I love them because I wouldn’t just do this for anyone…..ok, maybe I would…but still….it’s A LOT of work!!! I must have used 4-5 hours to put this together!! So with everything I did today I was at work for seven hours and came home with a sore back again. Last time I was at the new barnehage my back hurt also, I must be pushing myself too hard when I’m there?

Thought I’d add some photos from around the place for the Captain…he reads my blog and enjoys seeing photos of home…of course I usually add a lot of photos of dogs, so I need to add some other stuff…like Julia working on her moped…she’s such a tomgirl…

Photos of home are also good I think…makes him homesick…yeah…that’s a stuffed duck on top of the garage…some wise cracker tossed it up there…now, do you suppose we’ll get it down before the snow comes??

I was running the ATV around in the field the other day in order to exercise the boys…they had a blast running after me and to tell ya the truth, nothing like hitting the bump in the field and jumping a little with the ATV to get me to squeal with delight….

What do you know, more dog photos…how did they get in there??? hehehehe ;-))) Well, look how much fun they were having, had to share that with you….and isn’t this brotherly love just so sweet??

This love is also sweet…

I haven’t baked much lately but when I had four days off I had to bake a little…this was it for me…nice whole grain rolls…I kept a bag out and froze the rest…even though I’m not a fan of frozen baked goods…nothing beats fresh…it’s good to have some rolls to take out when we’re having soup or something..

Today we got some good news, Stig is getting tax money back :-)) Now we can pay down some debt and maybe even have a little vacation on the side…oh and the Captain thinks it’s time we splurge and get a new dishwasher…we’ve been doing dishes by hand the last three months and while it was charming at first, when you’re tired and just want to load and go…it would be nice with a dishwasher..so that will be an early Christmas present :-) Anyone care to recommend a dishwasher they are totally pleased with??

Have a great Monday everyone- until next time…

 

Homemade Mac N’ Cheese

There are just certain things one associates with comfort and homemade mac n’ cheese is one of those things. I have a recipe my mom used which is near and dear to me and a proven winner over many years. However, always wanting to try something new I found a new twist with potato chips on top instead of bread crumbs…well, sure…why not…but wait…it doesn’t stop there…there is also crumbled bacon…and parmesean cheese on top!! I mean, you can’t have too much cheese in mac n’ cheese now can you?

I melted 6tbsp of margarine (or you can use butter if you don’t give a squat about calories) added 1/2 cup flour, whisk this good and add 4 cups of milk. Stirring constantly. As the mixture heats up it will get thicker. Add 1/2tsp dried mustard, 1/4tsp cayenne pepper, and 1/4 tsp nutmeg. Salt and pepper to taste, a dash of hot sauce and a dash of worchester sauce. Mix this all and add 3 cups of cheddar cheese- mix until cheese is melted and add to cooked pasta..you’ll need about 1lb of pasta. Pour into a baking dish and crumbled about 1 cup of potato chips on top and I used one package of bacon that I cut up in bite size pieces, fry up and then put on top, finally add parmesean cheese over the top. I also added some pizza spices, like oregano, basil, rosemary, and a little timian. Bake at about 350 (180C) for approximately 35 minutes…and voila..

It looks like I burnt the bacon right? Well, sort of…but a lot of this is the new editing program I have called Photoscape which made it look so dark…it was good- trust me! Perfect for a fall day like this…

The only ones crazy enough to jump in the Mjøsa lake and swim these days are the ducks..the rest of us stand along the side and take photos…

Deciding I needed a new facebook profile photo that wasn’t a dog, I asked Sarah to take some photos of me today which she kindly did and the results weren’t too bad if I say so myself…the ol’ gal is aging but I’d say aging nicely…I mean..would you guess I’ll be 40 soon?? I wouldn’t say more then…30-35 maybe??? hehehe…

Ok, so I had a dog in a couple of those photos…can’t help it..they are so cute, especially that little rascal, Jackson! :-))

Have a great Saturday night folks- until next time…

An American Diner

I was recently informed about a place north of us which had an “American Diner”. I was told that Amcar clubs meet at this diner and that it was really American. I thought this was strange as I’ve driven past this place several times over the last years and never seen anything like a diner..guess that proves I’m not looking around as well as I should cause here it is:

Cadillac Diner

Unfortunately the page is just in Norwegian but if you have one of those google translator programs, try it out. At any rate, seeing this got my wheels turning again in my old gnoggin (head)….why do I not market in on my Americanism? This is another example of people marketing in on the American way, American food, etc..and this time it’s a Norwegian marketing American stuff.

I know another guy who is helping a grocery store chain design a BBQ line of products and is helping a place in Oslo start up with BBQ serving…he is American though. So my thoughts have been running with questions about why I don’t cash in on this American influence wave? I love making my American food for people and they love my food. I’m not a gourmet cook but why not open a little diner myself? Sell yummy burgers, great salads, super sandwiches, curly fries, and baked goods, milkshakes, and such? There is actually a place for sale right across the bridge, a tiny little place which needs a TON of work on it, but it’s right on the Mjøsa…it could be a great little diner.

I’d also love to introduce eating breakfast out to Norwegians…serving breakfast on Saturdays or something, just until they get use to the idea and we saw how it turned out…I miss that about America, getting up on a Saturday, getting dressed, buying a newspaper and going to breakfast somewhere before the day began…was so great. Now if you want breakfast you make it yourself…which is fine and dandy…but when you just want to relax on a weekend how great is it to go somewhere and have breakfast served to you?

This was our breakfast today…yum. Have to admit I wasn’t pleased with my biscuits, something went wrong but they were still edible but not as fluffy as I like…I’m into fluff…hahahaha..

The kids and I had bought some exotic fruit the other day also, a miniature pineapple which basically tasted like pineapple, and papaya which to me tasted kinda like a cantalope without a ton of taste..and the final fruit was even more interesting, in Norwegian it’s called Kiwano. Not sure if it is the same in English but it was interesting. Consistency with boogers according to my kids (don’t really want to know how they know the consistency of boogers) Thomas felt it was maybe more like jello in consistency (thank you Thomas for that decent description)…as far as taste goes, I was tasting banana and lime which is pretty  much what I read it was suppose to taste like. The seeds were the worst part of the fruit and the fruit had tons of them…

Nothing like seeds in your teeth to keep you from totally enjoying your fruit…but never the less we were all in agreement it was interesting to try something new…

Sorry, got a little off the subject with the fruit but thought it was interesting and wanted to share that with you all…

The more I think of a diner idea the more I like it..the guy who has the Cadillac diner is only open on the weekends so perhaps I could do something like that and keep my job at the barnehage until I see if the diner idea took off? The only thing that concerns me is that I’m not a business woman. I haven’t a clue how to run a business. Cook the food, greet the customers, no problem…easy peasy…paper work and all that stuff, UGH…haven’t a clue…which is why I usually don’t follow through on my ideas…I don’t have the guts or know-how to follow through. I’d say more know-how then guts..guts I think I have…but business is not my area of expertise…this is…

Mmmmm..my version of a Philly cheese steak sandwich..yum! I’ve also passed my abilities on to my children…at least some of them so far…Sarah created these sinful pleasures the other night for us…

Chocolate Peanut Butter Mini Cookies…you can find the recipe here.

Hmmm, I don’t know if I will ever follow through on my thoughts of a little American diner here, would be loads of fun, but I just don’t know if I could the whole thing, paperwork and cooking…anyone out there who wants to do the paperwork for me, take contact!!! hahahaha…

I know I’ve not been blogging as much as I should but life is busy when I’m by myself with the gang and work.

This week the kids have had fall vacation so they’ve been home all week. I’ve had yesterday and today off. Yesterday I did very little…but it’s ok, you need days to recoup…today I will do some housework, take the gang for a walk (have to burn off those sinful cookies and sandwiches), and today I’m going to attempt to make blue mussels for the first time. If it goes well you’ll hear about it…hehehe…the sun is out and autum is showing herself from the best sides…maybe I’ll get some photos later. They say we might possibly get our first snow next week…uff…hope not, still have summer tires on and not sure who I’ll ask to change my tires yet…I know I could do it myself but what’s the fun in that??? hahahaha..

Until next time my friends…