Not a grandmother in life .....

Grandma had a pantry in the back wall halfway down the basement stairs.

There was juice and jam that had been made from the berries from the garden. When I came to visit, grandma would fry pancakes and waffles, she went down to the jam jar and found some summer memories on glass. Then she folded her hands in a table prayer and said; now it's a party.

Grandma never used paper handkerchiefs, she had freshly made cloth handkerchiefs. A large stock in the bag and in the drawer under the telephone table in the hallway, they were distributed to known and unknown people who needed them. These pieces of cloth had countless uses. Sun hat for grandpa, to wrap knitting needles that were gifts, as a band-aid when my sister bit me, to hide behind when playing with small children, to pack a lunch in when we were going on a trip with lunch, as a plate when we were on trip or sometimes just to dry the nasal drip.

Grandma was often on city trips for several weeks.

Then we waited for fair weather and a fishing boat that was still going that way. She rarely traveled by scheduled boat or bus, only getting on when someone was going that way. She traveled with a rolling suitcase and shopping net. Because you don't have to buy poss.

Grandma had dinner at 1200, then extra potatoes were always boiled, she never quite knew how many people came by to get food. If there were potatoes left over, they were pounded with a little flour and milk, then fried until done. Warm potato cakes with syrup and a glass of cold milk. Grandma folded her hands again and said; now it's a party.

The best thing I knew was when grandma and grandpa were with us in the cafe. We were always allowed to eat as much as we wanted, to give the blessed children all they need of food, said grandmother. I still thought it was amazing how good these half rolls with cheese and ham tasted in a cafe.

Every day when dinner was over at grandma's, dessert came on the table. There were milk soups, juice soups, fruit porridge or puddings. You always have to have something sweet on your toes, she always said.

In winter, it could be cold in the old house at grandma's. She lit a fire in the living room and handed out home-knitted rags so no one would freeze.

In the icy hallway at Grandma's house was the telephone table. The phone should be for messages and you shouldn't feel too good when you talk on it. In her older days, she liked to talk for a long time on the phone, but if you asked her, she said, I have hardly spoken to anyone. So of course you haven't got hold of me, there must have been something wrong with the line.

The best thing grandma knew was to go on a trip, she had three wallets in her bag, one for small things, one for what was going to be loaded with big things and the last one as a reserve in case something happened. We joked that grandma always had enough cash in her purse to hire a helicopter home if necessary. The handbag was large as it also had an arsenal of knitting needles which she handed out to everyone she came into contact with.

When I got to grandma's, she let go of everything she was holding and was fully focused on us. Everyone felt welcome with her.

When I came out as gay to my grandmother, she said; it's fine now, but I won't tell anyone. Just me and you know this. I thought to myself, it's going to be a wonderful love life if only grandma and I are going to know about it.

Grandma took care of everyone around her, she shared everything she had and only recounted things that were nice. Everything else she heard, she never said again.

Grandmother goes to the association meeting to knit socks. The association ladies read a little in the Bible about creating bazaars for income for the heathens. I never quite figured out who they were. I then understood that they lived outside Haugesund in a town.

When I was out travelling, I always had to call my grandmother. She was very happy when she could tell, beaming with joy; Torstein rang, and he rang me again.

Grandma was happy to share with all of us; so when she fell, she had given away everything she had in the house several times. We all knew how bad this was, so fortunately for family peace, everyone took this with a smile.

For one of her big days, grandma got a new washing machine, she still had the old one for washing white clothes and kitchen washing. It was a large elto from 1960, with a roller on top. There she stood with a hood and front apron and had washing lines all over the basement. If he was not in the north, she let the north wind take the clothes dryer.

For the holidays, grandma always made dry waffles and chrome cakes for the whole family. We delivered the boxes, and they were filled with love and baking.

Grandma and her friend Lilly were to travel to the city alone by public transport. It was carefully planned and thought about for a long time. The big day came and the two old wives set off on their journey. The shuttle took Espevær to Bømlo, a taxi to the ferry, the ferry to Sveio, now it was just the bus to town. When the two old ladies got up from the ferry, they saw to their horror that they had taken a round trip and that the ferry was back at Bømlo. So they had to go home to Espevær again without town flower and with a list of errands in town.

The first money I earned was when my grandmother looked after us. She wanted to appear as a good housewife and bribed us with money so that we would sleep before mum came back.

When grandfather retired, grandmother and he were to travel, grandmother then had to have a passport for the first time in her life. She makes an appointment with the hairdresser to be ready for a passport photo, you have to be at your best when you are to be photographed. She was so hot and pretty in her passport photo, that after 2 weeks in Russia on holiday without any recognizable food and little hot water, she left looking so white that. They almost didn't recognize her from the picture.

HOUSE FATHER TORSTEIN