Afternoon in the blue light

A peaceful Sunday afternoon in Richmond, Virginia.

Eirin

Thanksgiving in Norwegian

 

Some of the ex-pat families in our congregation decided they wanted to invite the Norwegians to a thanksgiving weekend at a cabin in Sirdal. It turned out to be the first weekend of snow. We were about 100 people and a few dogs. ;-) Lots of good food, snowball fights and pleasant company. Truly something to be grateful for.

-Joanna

Goodbye and good luck

I made a card for my manager, Geir, who is leaving my company now while I am away. It is not really a card, it is a box with a little book where the guys in the office can write a little something and wish him good luck with his new job. The bottom of the box unfolds and I have decorated it with words that describe him. The cards I have made in the past have been quite boring if i may say so, but this one I am actually quite happy with.

Then again it took forever to make it…

Cold roses

Christmas cards

Red leaves

The good people do

There is a lady in our friend’s church who needs an operation that her insurance is not covering. She’s got no chance of paying for this by herself so the people in her church are throwing a fundraiser, a craft bazaar.

So I am making some cards hoping people will buy them at the holidays. Not that I think it’s going to bring in the big bucks...

I am so grateful that I live in a country where insurance companies are not deciding if we will get the healthcare we need. However, because the people here have to deal with this sad system, they have to pull together and help each other. They have built a tradition for helping from hand to hand while we trust our system to take care of us. Not having a safety net causes so much pain, but it makes the kindness of the people around more visible. It makes me happy to experience all the good things people do for each other. I just can’t understand why they can’t put it into a system so people would get the care they need without going bankrupt.