Attribution: Jonathunder, GFDL 1.2, via Wikimedia Commons
By Bill Stokes
Kickass, the doorstop dog, agrees with the keeper that if you are fortunate enough to have had Norwegian women in your life you are one lucky dog.
The keeper speaks with the authority of having had a Norwegian mother and all the Norwegin ancestry that went with that: grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins and guys like great-uncle Charlie who explained that he sometimes carried a revolver in the event that he ran into a Swede.
They were all great people, and the keeper was reminded of them as he and Phyllis were guests of their Vista West neighbors Joyce and Jim Holter for a wonderful traditional Norwegian holiday dinner that included lutefisk, lefse and all the other good tastes the keeper recalled.
The lutefisk, which suffers a most unfair public reputation, was especially tasty—skillfully prepared by Joyce to be the unique cod dish that it is, and even passing muster by Phyllis who still favored the meat balls.
The keeper’s mother, being a teetotaler, never had any of the Norwegian traditional drink Aquavit in the house, so that part of Joyce and Jim’s hosting was a most unique treat; and after Jim’s explanation of how Aquavit is authenticated by crossing the equator, the keeper determined that he must add a bottle to his liquor cabinet—freezer, Jim says, in the event he and Phyllis host the Holters.
We will toast you, Mom!Â
Photo by Bill Stokes