Here are five things I learned in April, one about history that I learned by reading and four observations from my life.
- When Norway gained independence from Sweden in 1905 they looked around for a king and chose Prince Carl of Denmark, who became King Haakon VII (the first Norwegian king since the 14th century). He insisted they hold a referendum to make sure the people wanted a monarchy rather than a republic. Another interesting thing about his reign of over 50 years is that when Germany invaded Norway in 1940 he threatened to abdicate if the country didn’t stand up to the Nazis. (I first heard of Haakon VII in this picture book; now I want to learn more!)
2. Moving long distance involves throwing a lot of things out. Even though we donated and gave away a lot of stuff I ended up tossing things (like food) in the garbage at the last minute because I couldn’t pack them — I hated this part of moving.
3. As hard as I try I continue to underestimate how long it takes to do things, like packing, cleaning our house, and loading the van.
4, Magic Erasers are life-changing. I’m so thankful that a friend suggested we try them when cleaning our house to sell it. They got all sorts of marks off the wall like nothing else.
5. Jollibee is a Filipino fast food chain that sells spaghetti, chicken, and burgers. We came across one near our hotel in Winnipeg and it turned out to be one of three in Canada.