A instead of O, two AAs rather than one

My mother called me this afternoon after she and my father read my post yesterday. She wanted to add some details to my story. Here's what she wrote:

The three of you were named after Grandma's mother whose name was Randi. And your name is spelled with the "o" because I wanted to make sure it was pronounced correctly here in the US. The Norwegian spelling is with the "a."

Then she said she wanted to send the post to our family in Norway, which is fine, but suggested that I correct the spelling first, so I have done that. I know how it is to have your name misspelled. It's not a big deal to me, but I like it better spelled correctly.

My last name is more difficult than my first. Here in the US, we spell it with a double AA in order to assist in pronun- ciation. But in Norway, it is a single A. Interestingly enough, my father's birth certificate has two AAs, but his brother has only one. Now that's confusing!

Photos: Bergen from atop Mount Floyen; family at the Viking Museum alongside one of the oldest Viking ships (built in 820 A.D.); with our Norwegian family in Skien (birthplace of playwright Henrik Ibsen); poppies and rock wall near Lysefjord in Stavanger.

If you'd like to read my first post about this Norway trip and see a picture of part of the big family group, go here.

Little Randi--in memorium

One of my all-time favorite family vacations was the trip we took to Norway two summers ago. We had the best time meeting people I'd only heard about for most of my life but never seen. All my immediate family went, except one of my brother-in-laws (who took care of all the animals of four households: 8 cats, 3 dogs, and a horse), so there were 10 of us for most of the two week trip.

We spent at least half of the time with relatives. My dad's parents were from southern Norway, so we made the pilgrimage from Oslo along the southern route to Bergen and back, visiting along the way. It was a delicious time on so many levels. One of the delights was a dinner with more than 50 aunts, uncles, cousins belonging to my grandmother's family. Such a gathering of family!

They obviously were very close, but they made us feel as if we were more than American curiosities. My parents had been over to visit them before, and a few of them had been to America to visit my grandparents, but this was the first time for the 3 grandchildren (my sisters and me) and the 4 great-grandchildren. (We all thought it the most beautiful place we've ever seen...not an ugly view anywhere!)

For me, there were two ladies who were of particular interest: the ones I was named after--"Little Randi" and "Ingeborg Randi." I'm thinking especially of Little Randi because my parents received a call today saying she had passed away. I felt so sad when I heard this. I immediately remembered her as I saw her last, so excited to see us, talking to us like crazy in Norwegian, oblivious to the fact that we didn't get very much of what she was saying. Every now and again she'd say "Ya, ya." And we'd laugh and say it back to her. And she'd laugh and smile...and all that mattered was that we understood clearly the meaning of family.

I feel her loss tonight.

Photos: The view from Ingeborg Randi's home; my nieces and "Little Randi;" my nephew and Little Randi; the three Randi's (Ingeborg on the right, myself on the left); lupin in an old church graveyard where several family members are buried.