Treasure Hunting in Norway

Today we went to our first loppemarket of the season.  A loppemarket here in Norway is like a garage sale.  The only one we went to last year was right after we moved here and it was at Addie's school.  That loppemarket was a little different because it was at an international school.  Today's loppemarket was at a local Norwegian school.  They have been advertising heavily in our area and they got the message out.  We got to the school just after 10, when the sale started.  We were shocked when we had to park down a hill and around a corner and then walk back to the school.  There were so many people heading to the sale.  The playground area was full of stuffed animals, furniture, and skis.  Most of the good furniture was already sold.   I may have missed a couple of gems because I was so overwhelmed. We walked around outside for a bit and then we all headed inside because we were COLD.  The temperature this morning was around 4*C or 38*F, still pretty chilly.  We went inside and there were items for sale everywhere, clothes along the hallway, shoes, books,  and children's clothes in classrooms.  The gym was the jackpot for us, dishes/small items and toys.  I left Jon with the kids to look at the toys and I walked around all the tables, trying to get close enough to see what was on them. I made one full round and then I had to go back a second time.  I was able to get close enough the second time to check out this set of dishes.  I am in love with brown transferware, but in the US I found it to be hard to find and expensive.  Here at the loppemarket I found 6 plates, 6 bowls, a serving bowl and 3 serving platters.  One plate has a chip, but the rest of the set is in great condition.  I was so excited, but it didn't have a price and that made me nervous.  You never know at sales like this which direction the pricing is going to go.   Thankfully we were able to make a deal and I was the proud owner of a set of dishes.  I also found a "Norge" mason jar for my mom, a Norwegian cake plate, a rooster piggy bank, and the 3 tiered rack.  I loaded as much as I could into a bag that I had brought with me and staggered over to Jon and the kids.  By now we were all a little overwhelmed with the number of people, Garrett especially was ready to go.

I am so excited about these dishes!

Here is one of the plates.

This was Ben's treasure, he was so excited to find it.  I had one just like it when I was a little girl.  

It has been a big hit with all three kids today.

And just for fun a picture of Garrett.  This is the face he makes when he is asking for a bite of whatever you are eating.  He opens his mouth wide and says 'Ahhh' just like a little bird.