Asbjørn’s sweet tooth knows no bounds. He’s never been one to turn his nose up at a treat, but lately his gluttony has reached new heights. On Wednesday afternoon Debbie, Helena, and Melanie came by for fika and Debbie had made a scrumptious German chocolate cake, complete with Betty Crocker coconut/pecan frosting. After the four of us, my husband, and the kids had stuffed ourselves (leaving a bit of room for the delicious flan she also brought, of course), we went into the living room to check out the wall for Lydia’s new room. While we were talking, I heard the tell-tale sounds of dog tags clinking against stoneware coming from the kitchen and when we went in to inspect, we discovered that Asbjørn had helped himself to the remainder of the cake! There must have been a third of it left, but he made pretty short work of it.

All that chocolate did a number on his digestive tract, as one might expect, but he was back to his old self by Friday morning. After spending most of the day basking on the sunny porch, he came along with us to Olof’s parents’ house for a nice family dinner. For dessert we had rhubarb pie and a strawberry cream cake, and after we’d all had our fill there was plenty left to pack up for Olof’s sister and brother-in-law who would be flying in late from Stockholm. As we passed through the kitchen on our way to pack up our things and go home, we found that Asbjørn had gotten up on the counter and eaten the rest of the strawberry cream cake, even licking the platter clean. At least it wasn’t chocolate this time, and he seems none the worse for wear (although I think he did get something of a sugar high, because as we were walking out to the car he took off running and ran full-speed like a maniac around the house a good half-dozen times before we managed to get him in the car).

Now that his yen for tasty treats has been awakened, I’m afraid there’ll be no stopping him. Just a few minutes ago the kids were finishing off their Saturday candy, and Asbjørn was right there with them, a hopeful gleam in his eye and a puddle of drool at his feet.