We are still alive!

Hi All,

Sorry no posts for quite a while...just terribly busy but in a good way. I'm teaching two courses in American studies with five hours of lecture to prepare each week. Bill has been a great help and has given three lectures (for which the University pays him) on the Revolution, Constitution and the Civil War.

The kids are doing well. Mark has a skiing/hike this Sunday about an hour north of here with his scout troop (his Scout leader, Kjetil, is, I'm convinced, one of the nicest guys on the planet). Tomorrow we have to get him a pocket knife because icicle whittling is a standard activity when the boys stop for hot cocoa.

Tonight Mark told us that his school's music class listened to Pink Floyd's "We don't need no education" and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts' "I love rock and roll." Hmmm....

Walter had a rough day because he didn't do well in his soccer practice. Some of the other kids are quite good, and while Walter can hold his own, he hasn't mastered some of the fotball moves that other kids his age have. He is pestering me every day for an Arsenal jersey. Usually Bill and I cave after 30 or so "Can I have this, can I have this please?"

Love to all,

Martha, Bill, Mark and Walter (Saratoga sends his love absentia)

"I skied home from school today!"

Mark and Walter are getting lots of opportunities to ski...in school, in scouts and after. They love it. Walter made a boat in woodworking class with an Icelandic flag.

quick post--it's late

Hi All,

Please forgive the dearth of posts. Just frantically busy preparing lectures...on everything from King Philip's War to Jean Toomer's Cane.

Two city buses collided today downtown. The shifts between snowy and icy weather, even for Norwegians, has created turmoil.

Bill has just finished a lecture he is giving on the Revolution.

Good Night

Maps and Views

Bill's pic of the sky a few weeks ago.


Snow, snow, snow....slushy mostly. Bill said he felt lucky to have his knee-high rubber boots. Yesterday I stepped into a slush puddle up to my mid-calves.


I found this puzzle of a 16th-century map of Scandinavia at a resale shop and we all had a fun time working on it--lots of sea monsters attacking ships. Here's a description of the map: Carta marina, a wall map of Scandinavia, by Olaus Magnus. The caption reads : A Marine map and Description of the Northern Lands and of their Marvels, most carefully drawn up at Venice in the year 1539 through the generous assistance of the Most Honourable Lord Hieronymo Quirino.