busy busy

ok ok , two weeks gone by without time to write...
I wake up each morning promising myself I will find the time and energy to write this blog, but in the evening I crash and fall asleep.
No worries though, I'm fine just tired after a long interesting day.

Today is wednesday and the kids are, once again, free. Off course there are lots of free days from school in the month of may but they also have every other wednesday off. Most kids would love it, but for Emma and Sam school means making friends and learning norwegian so they have changed their attitudes towards school a little and now feel sorry when the weekend starts and the ¨free¨ wednesday shows up again..:)
Nevertheless they, off course, have a great time on the farm. they help making cheeses, feed the chickens, roam around the forest and climb mountains.


Last saturday we did our first marketday in Bergen.  We have a great sellingunit/trailer but it broke down before we came and we are waiting for a new axen from germany...But there is a farmersmarket in Bergen every other saturday which creates good profits so we did not want to let it go by again without Myrdal Gard. There are a lot of tourists but also regular customers bying our cheeses there. So Jasper, me and Ab went there last saturday with some tables and vacumed cheeses and DID our first market.


We met some of our college farmers with other products like meat, bread, fish, juice and different kinds of cheeses. All very passionate people selling the products they make on their farms. Good vibes. The market day was also the first official ¨have to try and speak norwegian¨ day, so I did...
Listening to Ab for a while you get the feeling for the things you need to say: old cheese, young cheese, different herbs, prices, would you like a bag? etc. And off course Bergen is an international town with lots of tourists so you need to switch to french, german, english and spanish in a second :)
My brains were smoking! Smiling helps and most norwegians speak perfect english, and will help you get the pronunciation right when you take a minute to say the price in their language..
Unfortunately we got introduced to the typical Bergen weather so it rained most of the day, but nevertheless we sold plenty cheese. Jasper covered for our neighbour (cheese-selling) farmer for a while as well, when he had to get his car..
Home on the farm, Jasper is still producing lots and lots of cheese, five days a week. We had a little cheeseproblem due to bad milk. It is called smørsure/boterzuur/ buttersour?in-english?
Anyway it makes the cheeses bloat up and gives it a sour taste:
  We had to throw away the whole batch but don't have to pay for the milk. The problem lies with the farmer who delivered the milk. But the workinghours are lost, so hopefully it won't happen again.

Last week my mother and Hilbert came to visit and check out our new surroundings. I believe they really liked it. Although it's still quite cold (13C) the weather is nice whith the occasional rainshower.
It was a short visit and they will return in the fall. They brought a suitcase full of products from holland which are either much cheaper in holland or not available in Norway like ¨¨hagelslag¨, white clogs for the cheesery, chocolate and off course taxfree wine!

Coming up: mai 17th (national day) visits from Marcelle, Otto and Marlies, another newspaper interview, a footbal match for Sam and a Handbalweekend away from the farm for Emma, and the temperature promises to go up to 20 degrees C!!!!