We’ve been working for this for quite some time… and suddenly, this Monday, we were called in for a meeting, and asked if we could start in a week. That is, this coming Monday.

Start what? I hear you ask.

We’re going to take in young drop-outs on a daily basis on our little farm, in cooperation with the company that hubby works for, and the Norwegian social services.

So, this week has been rather hectic. The maximum number of kids is 15, and some of them will remain in town, to be guided in the complex world of education, apprenticeships and work experience. We’ve spent the week getting the local in town ready for them. The remainder of the group will come to us. We’ll have all sorts of activities, ranging from horseback riding, animal care, gardening, building, to cooking and crafts.

We know very little about their backgrounds, interests and challenges. Some may have psychological issues, some may have family problems. We’ll just have to learn as we go, and offer activities adapted to their individual levels of social and other skills, interests, and so on. Some may be hard put to get up in the morning, some will be rearing to go…

The first week, we’ll all be in town, getting to know each other, which gives us another week until they all come here. During that time, we’ll know more about what sort of activities are suited for them as well – and we’ll have time to do the finishing touches on the farm.

Exciting prospects, and it gives working from home a brand new meaning. Hubby will be spending most of his time here, as will I. We’ll both be earning good wages, and have an income from letting out the farm as well. So – in addition to making a difference (or so we hope) to people, our own financial quality of life will receive a major boost. Not a second too soon, to be honest.

I’m very, very excited – please wish us luck!

#1 Brat has come home from Africa, safe and sound, with loads of experiences in her luggage, as well as local crafts for everyone for Christmas. #2 Brat is well on the way with her design studies in Denmark – she’s a bit frustrated with the lack of structure within the school, but I guess that’s what you get when you choose a life within “the arts”…

Christmas has come and gone. It was the whitest in living memory around here, by Christmas Day we had around 20 inches of the white stuff. Since then, the temperatures have been stuck in the -20 – - 30 C, but yesterday spring arrived, and we’re now enjoying relative warmth with a measly -10. We did get one mildish day during the Christmas period too, and that’s when we went and did this:

Which was great fun, and a real dive into Winter Wonderland.

A very happy New Year to all!

I’m looking forward to 2010.

Photo: courtesy of Christina Aakervik

For those of you who read Norwegian (bwahahaha), allow me to introduce #1Brat’s blog – Hakuna Matata.

For those of you who don’t, I shall give you a brief summary:

The children think the three weird looking whities (mzungu) are the best thing since toasted bread. They are very much in need of physical contact and cuddles, and try to braid the girls’ hair whenever they can get their hands on it. The food is good, and preparing it is time consuming. (I hope we’ll be in for a treat when she gets home. Blogger’s note).

Every Wednesday and Thursday, the electricity is shut down, mainly to save water. Which means that the toilet is moved to a hole in the ground. They’ve been there just over a week, and they find this quite natural, and in some ways, better than the WC.

They’ve been off on excursions, on hired (manned) motorbikes, and in a local “bus” (matatu), which is a Hiace type vehicule, meant for 12-14, where one somehow manages to cram in 21… They’ve been searching for a working ATM (which took most of a day), and been to a giraffe sanctuary. They also tried to attend Sunday service, which this Sunday lasted from 9am to 3pm, as there was some sort of convention going on. They gave up after a while, but luckily, no one was offended.

The experience of being the “odd man out”, and being stared at, is new, slightly irritating, and gives food for thought.

Anything else? I don’t know if there is time for homesickness – I hope not. I wish my Brat all the best in this experience, and hope she makes friends for life. I’m sure she will fall in love with Africa – I believe most people do, once they’ve been there.

Stay safe, little girl, and enjoy!

My post on the matter has been collecting quite a few interesting comments…

Zegarki questioned my calculation, and quite rightly so. If a couple had 2 kids 2000 years ago, and their children had 2, and so on, for 80 generations, the resulting number would be much, much, MUCH larger than 16 billion people – emaning from that couple alone. 2×2x2×2 – 80 times. you do the maths, I’ve only got the Windows calculator available…

Mama Shujaa and Vixen both called me cousin, and I salute them back. The human species is interconnected, regardless of genotype and ancestry.

Kreskowki thinks we should do something about overpopulation. We should get back to 4 billion, to avoid overuse of natural resources. Right. And who’ll have to go? What should the criteria be? The old Norse populations had a tradition of throwing old people (in those days, that would have been anyone over 35) off cliffs. Maybe that’s one way. Closing down hospitals and research centers is another. Take your pick. Genocide has been tried, but was probably a bad idea.

Schodow gave a lecture on the diversity of genes, and how that is a good thing for the survival of the species

Village Idiot said: “Jesus didnt have children, and even if he did your theory would still be wrong since Jesus was born 2000 some odd years after the beginning of time which had thriving ancient civilizations”
Jesus may well have had children. The Catholic notion of celibacy came way, way later. In Jesus’ day, marrying was a duty onto God, and having children was part of that duty. It’s much more likely that he was married than that he was not.
My theory, as you call it, is not wrong. Without interference from illness, war, accidents, natural disasters and infertility, any couple would have a staggering number of descendants after 80 generations. I picked Jesus and his alledged spouse more or less at random, to illustrate my point. As for the “thriving ancient civilizations” – most of them met with one or more of the calamities mentioned above.

Vince Ungar said my estimates would make a very large Christian population. Well – there’s no reason why kids would start doing as they’re told, just because Christ is their ancestor, is there? Anyway – Christ was Jewish, and remained so until his death. Any descendant of his would be Jewish also, especially if he had a Jewish spouse, since Judaism follows the mother, I believe. Did Jesus plan for a new religion, or was he working for a new path for Judaism? If the Jews had accepted him as their predicted Messiah, the world would have been a different place, and Christianism would not have existed, at least not as we know it today. Food for thought?

I’m inclined to agree with youdate, who said we will most likely never know the real answer, as there are too many powerful people with vested interests to whom the suppression of the truth is paramount.

So – we’re left to wonder. The Da Vinci Code? Good story, but the theories are old. Read Laurence Gardner. Now there’s a fellow who’s done his homework, and written about it too…

Me? I believe there may well be something larger than us. God, Mother Nature, the Greater Good – I don’t know, and I’m not sure it matters. I’m not comfortable with organized religion of any kind, and certainly not with the “devouts” who see it as their predominant duty to judge their fellow men. I believe in “live and let live”, and that the final judgment (if there is one) is between everyone and his Maker – whomever that may be.

The Brats are now back to school/travelling/have moved abroad. The ankle is still broken – that is: it’s been operated upon, fixed with several spare parts, and is not to be used for walking for another 4 weeks. Yours truly is moving about in a borrowed wheelchair, as crutches leaves one with no hands. No feet is quite enough, thank you!

I insert a pic taken on the occasion – for the squeamish amongst you: please don’t squeam, just scroll down.

And now, one taken 5 days later, after op # 2. (scroll on, scroll on…)

That was one summer well spent, I can tell you! This happened 3 days before our scheduled holiday, so I was popular with the Brats for a while too. Luckily, I was cooped up in hospital for a week and a half, so I avoided the ritual beheading that is fitting in those circumstances.

We’ve sent #2 Brat off to Denmark, together with a carload of stuff, most of which had no practical use, but loads of sentimental value. I remember the feeling… She’s now installed with her mattress, tiny table and sewing machine in a big, empty room. She has a kitchen with applyances, and a bathroom, so the basics are looked after. She also has to manage her own finances. Did I mention that I remember the feeling?

#1 Brat left for Kenya on Sunday. She is 20, so I had left most of the investigating to her. The result was that I got a name and contact number from her co-travellers at the airport… Back home, I googled the name, and found an amazing woman, Sarah Ngotho, who runs the Joy Children’s home near Nairobi. Please take the time to read her story, and about the home itself. # 1 Brat will work there as a volunteer for 4 months, while paying for her room and board. I believe this is one way these homes (and there are many of them!) manage to keep financially afloat. She’s worked all summer to be able to do this. Anyway – she’s arrived, is safe and sound, and probably in the midst of the experience of a lifetime.

What else? Hubby has a new job. He’s released from the slave labor camp he was in, and has got a job for a company who helps people to get back into the workplace. The pay is OK, and the hours are wonderfully adapted to family life. The bonus is that our little farm may be involved too. We have toyed with the idea for some time, of offering the use of this place for rehabilitation through activity/farm work/socializing. It looks as if this is now going to happen. Fingers crossed.

# 3 Brat has started his apprenticeship to become a carpenter, and # 4 has just started her first year in our equivalent to High School. # 5 is in second grade, and # 6 has just turned 3, and is insisting that he’s being home schooled…

That’s about it from here, I think. Oh, yes – it’s been a wet one.

This, of course, would be true of any couple living in those days. Luckily for our planet, it doesn’t happen that way. War, the Black Plague, the Spanish Flu, bad hygiene, more war – all these things have made sure that we’re now a measly 6 billion people.

Theoretically, though, we’re all related to Jesus Christ – and to any old couple who lived back in the day. And to each other, come to think of it.

Hello, cousins!!!!!

This is true for social security disability payments in this country, and it seems, also in the US. Here, David has to fight Goliath on his own, which David rarely does. He can’t afford a lawyer. In the US, there are instances that can help. Allsup is one such agency, and according to themselves, their success rate is phaenomenal.

I know people here who fall between the rules, and have to go to the social services for what they (and social workers) percieve as handouts, although they’re very really unable to provide for themselves. A service to counteract this is necessary in this country too. Even though you have to pay, there is a maximum fee, and it comes off the sum awarded. Which is a much better deal than using a lawyer who charges you continuously.

I believe in fending for yourself, but I also believe that if you’re unable to do so, you should have the right to a worthy existence. Without having to beg for it for years, while not being well in the first place.

With summer comes a recurring phaenomenon here at Brat Camp home base. The old name of our area is Iron Valley. This has a reason. It used to be a place where iron was extracted. We draw our water from far down in the rock, and there’s always a hint of iron in it, but in the summer it becomes very apparent. Our faucets clog up, and we have to dismantle them every now and then to remove iron fragments from the filters. I’m guessing that we’ll have to replace them one by one, as the clogging up takes its toll. I’ve thought of putting in something upmarket, like Kohler faucets, but to be honest, I don’t think it would matter. I’d end up having to replace them too, and be beating myself up for not having put in something cheaper.

The lambs are growing – shoot, I promised pictures. They’ll be let out soon – they’re big enough now to not go through the fence. Pictures, I said. Well, I haven’t been able to upload any for some time, as Firefox crashes every time I try. Does anyone know why that is?

I’m working in IE right now, and I’d rather not, but at least I can upload pictures, as this Miracle Boy self-portrait shows.

I’ve finally found time to take a trip to the cabin this weekend – turning the heating off is, if nothing else, an economical thing to do. Even up there, the danger of frozen pipes has somewhat subsided by now. Alone? No. 3 Brats will be in tow. And my cousin is coming, possibly bringing another 2. Oh, joy!

Plumber alert is off. Theory # 1 is back in circulation. What, say you, is Theory # 1? Well, it has to do with #6Brat, strangely enough. As the hose on the pressure valve got totally out of control the other day, and I had to turn the heater off completely, I also turned the water intake to the thing off. And what happened when I was half way? No more gushing. I turned the electricity back on, had my shower, and came back to check the situation – nothing. It seems like Theory # 1, involving #6Brat and his busy little fingers, must have been right all along. The water valve is just at 2-year-old-level (must have been designed by a man), and fairly easy to twist.

As of now, I’m holding my thumbs, and I’ve taped the knob stuck in it’s current position. Just like the freezer thermostat, the knobs on the DVD and VHS players, TV and stereo system. And the stove. This place looks like an ad for packageing tape. The only problem is that I don’t have a remote control for the stove, so I have to unwrap it every time.

Oh, well. I hope he’ll gain some sense as he grows older.

I also do translation and proofreading work to the tune of 6-700$ per month, which is not too bad, and it pays the electricity bill. Hubby is working far too much, and getting far too little reward for what he’s doing, so every little bit helps.

Summer holiday? Don’t think so. Hubby will be lucky if he manages to get every other weekend off. Right now, life sucks quite a bit. The Brats are rays of sunshine though. Just thought I’d mention it.