Things in my House Thursday

My grandfather was especially proud of our Norwegian heritage. He spoke about Norway...all the time. He would be so happy that we have a Norwegian student living in our home. For Christmas, in 1975 while I was away at college, I gave him this trivet for his kitchen. "East and West ~ Home is Best". My grandfather died about 20 years later and when my aunts were going through his things, my mother, who was a daughter-in-law, was on the sidelines. She asked for this piece and gave it to me for Christmas that following year. I had forgotten all about it and was stunned. Now, I cherish it and display it proudly in my kitchen.
I am sharing this with you today, as this is heavy on my mind. Line has shared with me that some of her friends from camp are not happy in their new homes and communities, maybe even considering going home. My heart hurts for these young people who are miserable, because you know that they have dreamt of this exchange opportunity for years, their parents have sacrificed to save money for them to come to the USA, and the host families have planned and prepared for months.
This is our first year to be a host family, so I am far from any expert. But I would hope that a host family would go out of their way to make sure that their new teenager is comfortable and has an opportunity to become involved and meet other people in the school and community. And I hope that the exchange student is patient and gives this a chance...things will be a lot different when school starts. Even American teenagers are bored in the summer!
I am happy that Line is interested in soccer, as she has met some nice girls...went 'hot-tubbing' after soccer last night. I was able to get a better photo of the turf from the south end last night. Those are the boys.

The girls took their turn on the grass. I asked Line about the mosquitoes...after all...this is South Dakota. She said they weren't too bad...

And what did I do while Line was at soccer, hot-tubbing and eating at McDonalds with the girls?

I got these pumpkins cut out. They require hand-stitching that I can do on our 7 hour car trip to Lincoln.

I stitched some turkey tail feathers and submerged them in coffee sludge.

Now they are ready for stuffing.