Lurking around in the resthome

I'm going to try and be nimble with words and think on my seat to give you a flavor of life at "Hegratun"
We are just temporary where ever we are so now we rent an unused wing of this old folks home. It's a very interesting experience for me in many ways. The residents are very friendly and kind, and a few of them are eager to chat with us. Of course they are lonely, but there is a prevailing spirit of good cheer.
My cohort volunteers to go in after meals and help with dishes. She only does this when we are here, of course we have lots going on, so it doesn't work for her to do that every day.
The community is good at coming in and looking after the residents in different ways. A month or so ago the kindergarten was here and took the place by storm.
This week a choir came to sing for the seniors. They were a fun group of retired folk who just sing, they don't do parts, they just belt it out whether they can sing or not! Their leader, a man with eleven siblings, told us that he and his younger brother (also a member of the choir) were told not to sing at school because: "you can't sing, so you just sing inside yourself" Well now they have overcome this childhood repression and are making up for lost time! (My dad, who belongs to that same generation has had the same treatment, but he sings too now!)
We all sang several songs together then we had a beautiful coffee and Norwegian open faced sandwich party. It was really touching to see how pleased the seniors were and how much they enjoyed the treats. And I loved the singing. There is something about the Norwegian language that moves a primitive chord in me. I can't explain it, but that's just how it is.
If you were once Amish you might understand.
Oh, I thought I was done, just one more thing:
The knitting cafe meets here every second week. This is also nice for the seniors who are here, because they mix with others. Today was a knitting cafe day. We are invited too, so today I was sitting there furiously knitting away, then I discovered I had gone too far and had to unravel a bunch. "So do I unravel it all here now in front of all these ladies who are pros?...or do I put it away and sit here and twiddle my thumbs?" "Aw what the rip, just go for it" So then I had a lap full or unraveled yarn, but no big deal.
Afterwards we were invited in for dinner, we had "pinne kjøt" which is traditional Christmas food. It's cured lamb ribs, we ate it every Christmas eve when I was growing up. In the picture you see the mashed rutabaga, it's the orange stuff. It was truly delicious!

Life in the retirement home