Temp Job

I've had a temp job for the last two weeks for the Danish train company (DSB). It's for the debit department (I think that's what it's called in English). Anyway, it's been really good. I've never tried work like this before, but I've proven to be quite good at it. I've received many compliments. I'm thinking that I'll try to find a part-time job doing the same work. I like that I don't have to talk on the phone or do anything with customers. I just enter a lot of data into the computers and make sure that it agrees with the data they already had. If it's not in agreement, then there are some corrections to be made. It sounds really exciting, I know. But if I can't get a job singing, then I'd prefer to do something like this.

135 year old birthday party

Yes, 135 years! That is, 70 for our friend Irma and 65 for her husband Jørgen. Here is a picture of them.




It is very common for people in Denmark, when they have a "round" birthday (as Danes say), to have a big party. I would say there was about 50 people there. We were served a three course dinner. There were songs written with special texts to them.


I would say that these parties are a bit more formal than the average American party. You get pretty dressed up, and there will be a whole program in place for the evening. And it will generally be a long evening. We were there from 4 o´clock and were home by 10:30. We thought that was quite short. We had counted on a late night. Anyway, I think in general, that Americans are a bit more off the cuff. But it was a nice evening. I think Irma and Jørgen were very happy about it.


Andreas has known them many years. He has taught piano to some of their grandchildren. And Jørgen likes to think that it is because of him, that Andreas and I found each other. Apparently Jørgen told Andreas that he should look for a musican. So, he feels proud of that.


They are both music lovers and had asked us to prepare some classical pieces to perform for everyone. I sang "O mio babbino caro" by Puccini, and Andreas played Chopin.


Here's som pictures.

Roger Whittaker

How many of you know this face? Do you remember those old Time Life commercials advertising his music? I don't remember him being at all popular in the States. I'm coming to realize however, that Roger Whittaker (pronounced Vitaker) is actually very popular in Europe (at least in Denmark and Germany). Andreas' mom has been to many of his concerts and admits to having a bit of a crush on him. She says he is just so handsome. And right this very minute we're watching a really cheasy German variety show in which he is guest. It's so hilarious to see how popular he is! It's not just old people singing along, but young people too! He just got a standing ovation! And it's all in German! He speaks German too. I wonder if he's just moved over to Germany, he is so popular there. David Hasselhof is apparently not the only American to find fame amongst Germans! You go for it Roger!

UPDATE: Just to underline how popular he is here in Denmark, I wanted to mention that Ingegerd (Andreas´mom) has just told us that her sister from Stockholm is coming down to Denmark, so the two of them can go to a Roger Whittaker concert together! They are still devoted fans!

Living room art at a good price

Many of you know that I am a bargain shopper. I love to get that steal of a deal. And for a long time, I had looked for some inexpensive artwork for our living room. But to no avail. Anything I found at the right price was just crap. So, I decided to make something myself. I got inspired from some show on the BBC, where they just use fabric over a canvas. It's real easy to make, and really cheap. In Denmark, you can buy painters canvases in any size for very cheap. Here's some pictures. The first one goes over our couch.

The big picture right below is actually a table cloth. I thought it kind of looked like a painting.
Isn't it cool? If I wanted to invest more money into it, I'd get a frame for it.

My latest addition to living room art is my Christ pictures. I found some really cheap frames and then cut out some pictures from an old Simon Dewey calendar. I think they turned out really nice. I'm proud of them. Not bad for 20 bucks!

Puzzle Madness

Everyone knows how Janet is the master puzzler in the family, but how many of you know how good Andreas is? He loves puzzling, and in turn, I've gotten a bit into it myself. Here's a picture of our latest project. It's 3000 pieces. We have a deal that I always do the edges and then the next easiest part. Needless to say, I'm not as quick as he is. I think for every 10 pieces he lays, I lay down one!