It is birthday celebration time, so we are up a bit earlier to get ready for the festivities. It is Tante Berit's birthday and we have family and friends coming to visit and celebrate with us. But first we have our breakfast - and today it is early enough to call it breakfast rather than brunch. And, of course, we have it out on the porch. It is still a bit cool, but a nice day out. After breakfast we begin the preparations for the party. While we are trying to keep things simple with minimal cooked food, there is still lots to get ready.
Shortly after noon, the guests start to arrive. They include Jorgen, Lise and Linnea, Jan Ivar and Tonne and cousin Live and Frode. But before we get to eat, there is some work to do. Jorgen and Lars head down the slope and chop down a few of the birch trees that are getting to big and thick. Chopping them down is the easy part. The hard part comes when we need to cut them into lengths and then haul them up the steep slope. They are then piled up near the work shed and the final task is to cut them into shorter lengths to prepare them to become firewood. They are stacked under the eaves of the shed to dry. It is amazing how small a pile the chopped logs made.
It is now mid-afternoon and time for the festivities to begin. While the trees were being chopped down, the rest had gotten the table set with all the food and drink. We started off with one of the highlights - the fresh rommergrut. The homemade stuff is the best. Then we dug into all the breads, cheeses and cold cuts.
We had a great time sitting out in the garden under the huge tree at the long table. The conversation flowed with the drinks and there were plenty of laughs. It was a great meal. But it was not over yet.
From here we retired to the porch for coffee and dessert. And the dessert was yummy - cakes and strawberries with cream. In no time the strawberries (and a bit more slowly, the cakes) were polished off. The bottles of single malt and other liquors were brought out and liberally sampled. We hung out on the porch for almost three hours enjoying the warmth of the late afternoon sun and the company.
The guests slowly started to depart and we began to clean up. Tonight there is no need for dinner - we have all eaten too much already. So, we begin to clean up and once everything is put away we just sit back and relax and enjoy the quiet evening. It was a great day.