Grøt

Grøt - pronunciation hmm, well, it sort of rhymes with foot, book, look. This is a food, sort of like a porridge. I am not sure exactly what time of day and on what occasion it is normally eaten, but I know there is a sour cream grøt or rice grøt (like rice pudding) served around Christmas time. But people also say that it is kind of a Saturday lunch, or something to eat after you have been out in the cold skiing. It is delicious! Rich and satisfying. There is even a semolina grøt that tastes kind of like cream of wheat. Usually sugar and butter are put on top and sometimes cinnamon. And it is tradition to drink black currant juice (kind of watered down) along with it. Charlotte eats it every Monday at daycare. She looooves it.

Ice Cream - we had a parents meeting for our daycare last night. The caregivers were telling us about a birthday party they had on Monday for a boy who turned 1. They thought it would be so koselig (you read my prior blog entry about this word, right?) to have ice cream cones together, everyone sitting around the table and celebrating Philip's birthday. Well, one girl started touching the ice cream in front of her with a face full of surprise since it felt so cold. Charlotte dove in and tried to eat it all until she realized how cold it was, which was when screaming ensued, and the birthday boy did not have any interest in it whatsoever! We had to laugh.

Helly Hansen - you might have seen this brand of outdoor gear before. It is the premier brand in Norway, made here and adored here. Charlotte is now fully equipped from head to toe in HH rain gear and winter mittens. Why do we buy the best things for our kids but not ourselves? Maybe I will cave in and buy myself a nice HH jacket for winter.

Valg 2007 - it is election year here! Vote 2007. I am learning about the political parties and leaders. A very good time to be introduced to the country's politics. You may have heard of Jens Stoltenberg. He is the prime minister of Norway. Some of the parties are the Worker party (Jens is the leader), the Right, Christian, FRP, Center, Socialistic Left, and Left. There was a school election and the Right won. We shall see what happens in the real election!