From Denmark with Love: I Could Get Used to This!

SK and went out to do some shopping before the Turpins get here tomorrow. We have all kinds of activities on the calendar between now and next Wednesday when they leave for their assignment elsewhere in Denmark, and I wanted to be sure there is food on hand. We also needed supplies for the meal we are fixing on Saturday for the center's Temple Day.

When SK and I were children, you paid a deposit on pop bottles, which you received back when you turned them in. It was a great thing when we were old enough to gather a sack full up and go (by ourselves) to turn them in for a treat, yet still young enough to not be embarrassed by the whole transaction.

Here in Denmark most pop bottles and cans come with a charge for the container itself, which you get back when you turn them in. SK has steadfastly refused to turn them in....he has some bad associations attached to that process. I think the embarrassment came with turning them in for a necessity like a jug of milk or a dozen eggs (by the way....we don't see dozens around here.....things come in boxes of 10). Over the months he has softened and goes with me to the machine that accepts the bottles and then spits out a receipt to be used at the checkout counter.

We have been saving those receipts for months, and for some dumb reason we decided to turn them in today. Today...in the midst of crowds of Christmas shoppers with short tempers. Today, when lines were long and delays were frowned upon. I am the bagger....I stand at the end of the counter and pack everything into the bags to take home. Since SK carries the card for the bank account and since SK speaks Danish well...SK takes care of the transactions.

Before starting, SK showed the clerk the little stack of receipts and she nodded fine. All of our items were scanned without a hitch. But then she started processing the receipts and couldn't figure out several. Each time she had to stop and summon help from a higher up....and each time each of the 9 people in line leaned around to frown at SK. He stood there helplessly. A couple of times he tried to say something to me (just for support I am sure), but I tried very hard not to look his way as I packed because I was trying with all my might not to laugh....in fact, I was nearly in tears.

If, in all those months I had even once said to him, "What is the worst that can happen with these?"...he would have replied the very thing that happened to him today. He is so so so funny! He finally finished everything and we picked up our sacks and started down the escalator....I couldn't hold it in any longer and I burst out laughing.....and he did too. We have been laughing about it all day.

Hey....we saved forty dollars!

It was another unusual and unusually easy Thursday. I awakened without a worry about food for the evening meal. Kasper was the Master Chef again tonight. It is magic. He had a lovely meal planned and came in like a whirlwind around 4 in the afternoon. He put a large pot of water on to boil, got the ham going and generally rushed back and forth between the stove, refrigerator, sink, drawers and countertops. He chopped and stirred and mixed and seasoned. At 7:00 he was rolling full-steam ahead with everything under control. So I went into the English Institute class!

One of our young women was teaching it. She is a graduate student here and is fascinating. She is an excellent teacher with a strong base of faith from which to teach. She asked excellent questions and generated some great discussion. It was so fun to be in there!

At 8:30, Kasper had the meal ready.....glazed ham, creamed spinach and brown potatoes (new potatoes cooked in a wonderful kind of caramel sauce....the sauce is thin enough that the flavor is subtle but oh so good...and thick enough to adhere to them.

Everyone loved the meal....it was a great success....a great Christmas meal. Next week even better according to Kasper. He is amazing and he is wonderful. I told several young women tonight they had better propose right away or he'll get away.

We said good-bye to Hannah and Gismo....our two cute young women who will be departing for the MTC on Saturday. They will each be excellent....but we will miss their smiles and their enthusiasm and cheer. We have grown to love them and hate to see them leave, but I am excited for them for the experiences that lie ahead for each one.