syvde

I'm in a traveling state of mind today.  The weather here is warm but overcast and storms are expected to roll in later this afternoon.  But, look at the sky in this picture looking out on the Syvdefjord in Norway.  The mountains surrounding the fjord and valley are capped in snow.  Look how calm the water is on this sunny day.  It is the summer of 2001 and my dad, my sister and her son and my son and I are driving around Norway having an exciting adventure.  We came to visit some relatives that live in this small village at the end of a fjord on the western coast of the country.  The village is small with a main street and a few stores.  The houses spread out across the narrow valley.  The valley is surrounded on three sides by mountains and beautiful waterfalls flow down from the mountains.  Why is Syvde important to me?  My grandfather (Dad's dad) was born here.  He lived here for the first nine years of his life before his family immigrated to the United States through Canada in the 1890's.  They eventually settled in Minnesota and their story (and mine) continues from there.  I have been to Norway several times and I feel drawn to its' spirit.  My Norwegian heritage runs deep.  However, today,  with the weather being chancy, I guess it's time to work on a jigsaw puzzle.  I can do my traveling another day.