bom + pigg

Kind of a cool word - bom. (pronounced boom) But not a cool thing. Bom is the fee you pay to enter Oslo. When you drive through the invisible border somewhere around Skoyen, you get charged 20 kroner. That is about 3 dollars. And now there is a new bom for Baerum county. This is just after my office building, so luckily I do not pay it every day. And that is 12 kroner, about 2 dollars. So, getting into Oslo, just to get in mind you, is 5 dollars. And in the winter time there is another fee. Pigg. An even cooler word! Piggdekk. This means studded tires. You have to pay a fee each time you enter Oslo with piggdekk. A good solution is to buy an electric car - no bom!

happy birthday under Christmas tree

Charlotte and I were walking home from barnehagen, and her little buddy next door was snowboarding (his dad pulling him along in the snow). He offered Charlotte a ride on his snowboard, and she sat on it and sled around, beaming. Then he said, wait! I have a present for Charlotte. A Christmas present. He made gifts for only two people in barnehage - his mamma and Charlotte. She said thank you, and his dad said wait til Christmas to open it. We took it inside and that night before bed she kept saying "happy birthday" or "where is happy birthday." Ahhh... now I get how that little mind works. Present = happy birthday. I said we ought to put it under the Christmas tree until Christmas Eve and she agreed and replied with "happy birthday under Christmas tree."

how many days of Christmas?

In the US we typically celebrate December 24th as Christmas Eve and December 25th as Christmas Day and that is it. We sometimes look at the calendar and see that the 26th is "Boxing Day" and we curiously wonder if this is something we should be participating in and should we get this holiday off too? In Norway, Christmas lasts longer. It starts on December 1st with advent. Remember, no separation of church and state here, so everyone (just about) observes advent and lights a candle every Sunday before Christmas, many go to church, and children indulge in a small gift every day from the advent calendar. December 23rd is "little Christmas eve", December 24th is "Christmas eve", December 25th is "First Christmas day", December 26th is "Second Christmas day" and December 27th is "Third Christmas day." Then, the days until New Year's Eve are referred to as "romjul" or "between Christmas." Then it becomes much simpler with New Year's. December 31st is New Year's Eve and January 1st is New Year's Day. Simple and sweet.

pappa sleeping

Nils was away for 12 days and Charlotte tried each day to figure out where he could be. She understood first that he was on an airplane, but that explanation was only valid for one day. Then Charlotte would hear a sound outside and say "pappa home?" or on the weekends in the morning, "pappa sleeping?" To her delight, Pappa will return today.

light in the darkness

I learned from last winter not to underestimate the power of darkness. It is mostly dark here now. Sun comes up around 8:30 and starts to disappear around 3:30 PM. In December it will rise around 9 and set around 3. Sounds cozy and nice, but our bodies need sunlight. I learned from experienced Norwegians the importance of candles, fire in the fireplace, and a trip to the solarium once in a while. And cod liver oil! Need your vitamins and minerals.

car wash

I thought I struck gold when I went to get the car washed and found out that it was a Thursday special and I could get the deluxe #8 for the same price as a basic #1! Yes, please, one deluxe #8. And a bolle for the little girl. We will cozy up in the car, listen to our favorite music, nibble on a bolle, and enjoy a little car washing. What I struck was not gold, but rather entrapment. A terrified toddler screaming "no, no!" and begging "finish! finish!" as the contraption encircled our car with spraying water, flapping brushes and foaming soap. I apparently have broken rule #1 of parenting. Never torture your own child with the things that tortured you as a child. As I saw fear come over Charlotte, I quickly recalled my car wash fear as a child, and how I tried to get out of my seat belt and huddle under the glove compartment to escape the scariness. Now I have to repair my broken heart for scaring my little girl, and repair her faith that Mamma can be trusted. My conscience may not be clean, but the car sure is!

roller ski

I admire the dedication that some skiers have... the season is not over when the snow melts away. For cross-country die hards Winter is just half the fun! The rest of the year they pound the pavement in their roller skis.

harvest moon

We caught a stunning glimpse of the Harvest Moon on Tuesday! Interesting that the Harvest moon is actually a legend from Norse mythology. I checked into it and learned that all full moons have their own special characteristics based on position in the sky and time of year, and the full moons of September, October and November - as seen from the northern hemisphere - are well known in the folklore of the sky. All full moons rise around the time of sunset. In general the moon rises about 50 minutes later each day, however the Harvest Moon rises approximately 30 minutes later, from one night to the next, which helped farmers bring in their crops. They could continue being productive by moonlight even after the sun had set. Hence the name Harvest Moon.

S

I am on a mission to find a mattress company that does not start with S. Sleepy's, Serta, Sealy, Simmons, and even Ikea has used the name Sultan for their mattresses.

retract the buffalo

Whoa! Just kidding. Populist president would be Ralph Nader. Okay, I will go for Obama instead. America needs change.

11 parties

I got my absentee ballot for the US election on November 4th. Am I the only one who did know we have 11 political parties in the US? Democratic, Republican, Indepdence (those 3 are fair enough) and... Conservative, Working Families, Socialist Workers, Right to Life, Socialism & Liberation, Green, Libertarian, and Populist? And the mascots are all mixed up. Democrat is a star, Republican an eagle (what happened to the Donkey and Elephant?). I might just vote Populist because theirs is a buffalo.

får i kål

It is the time of the year to consume heaps of cabbage and lamb! If you want to get a taste of Fall in Norway, get a big pot, put some lamb pieces (with the bone) in the bottom, layer some cut cabbage on top, then more lamb on top of that, then layer with cabbage. Sprinkle peppercorns in, pour some water (halfway up the stack you made) and cook for a few hours at a simmer until the meat pulls away from the bone. Salt to your liking.

re-use

This evening we sat outside in the sun and blew bubbles. Lots of soapy bubbles. Charlotte was beaming when she got to hold the bubble container and blow them herself. She spilled some soap when she bent over to pick up the bubble wand she dropped. I need not worry, she found a way to re-use the soap she had left. Blow a bubble, catch it, blow again, catch it, blow again...

Halloween ideas

Just a month and a half away! Loved your ideas last year. Any more suggestions this year for what the 3 of us can be?

waffle day

It is Friday. Make your own waffle day in the cafeteria. Heart-shaped waffles with strawberry or raspberry jam. Or if you are a Norwegian at heart (no pun intended) you can put some brown cheese on top instead.

Ibsen

A dive into Norwegian literature is one way to gain some intimacy with the culture. Henrik Ibsen it is. The father of modern drama, you know. I am starting off easy with A Doll's House, though he is more famous for Peer Gynt (influenced by Soren Kierkegaard). In A Doll's House he shows a gift of writing from a female's perspective, which at his time in the late 1800s was bold.

may I take your order please?

I took Charlotte out for pizza after her swimming class. We walked in the door, found her favorite seat (you'd think we go there every day, but we were only there once before and she already decided which seat was her "usual"), and the waiter came to ask us what we would like. He looked at me and then at Charlotte as he asked "what will it be tonight?" to which Charlotte excitedly replied, "pizzaaaa!!!" and she looked confused when I elaborated on her request, telling the waiter we would like a small Capri pizza and two waters. But she is getting the hang of how communication and conversation worked. We sat and talked, yes, actually talked, until the pizza came. She talked about her favorite parts of the swimming class, about the motorcycle pictures on the wall, the balloon she got from the waiter, her friends in daycare, the apple juice she was drinking, and things she saw out the window. The advice I have heard is right. Enjoy the first times when your children begin actually expressing themselves with words - it is pure entertainment and joy. So as we left the restaurant she waved to the waiter and said "tusen takk for maten!" which means thank you for the meal.

the fast lane

The fast lane here on the expressway is actually not the fast lane. The fast lane is the one furthest to the right (also known as the slow lane) because this is the lane where taxis, vehicles seating 7 or more passengers, and electric cars are found zipping by all the "regular" cars in the other two lanes who sit impatiently in the traffic jam. Counter to the American HOV lanes which are often used only during rush-hour or high traffic periods, these taxi/bus/el-car lanes are off-limits to any other vehicle at all times. Makes you think twice - maybe we should trade in for an electric car, or a 7-seater...

a little English with your Norwegian?

It is fun to hear Charlotte blending Norwegian and English these days. She seems comfortable enough with both now that she just picks whichever words she likes best and makes sentences where Norwegian is favored but English words are peppered in. Like "kjoere bil airplane." Directly translated - drive car airplane, but to her it means fly an airplane. Or she likes to sing the Postman Pat theme song and twists the line "always early out" to "always tidelig ute." And the one she uses most frequently "ha paa shoes" which means put on shoes.

To salt or not to salt

When it comes to snacks, proper salting is important. Pretzels that are too salty require way too much work to eat. You have to scrape off the little white specks of salt from each and every pretzel before you can eat it. Chips that are too salty? Hopeless. The chip will break in your hand before you have a chance to wipe off the salt. Nuts? personally, I like a little salt. But too much salt, and you just can't stomach it. Not a dilemma on par with the crisis in Georgia, but a trivial observation made on Norwegian snacks. Not so easy to find the right amount of salting for an American's liking.

Eclipse!

We caught a glimpse of the lunar eclipse while we were up in the mountains this past weekend. We took a look with the binoculars. Wow! We could see the shadows on the craters of the moon! Quite something to see that in such a dark sky above the mountains.

Olympics

Lucky or unlucky as it may be, we have all taken a turn being sick since Friday. The lucky is that we got to see part of the opening ceremonies for the Olympics. The Fou drums were incredible! Really a show. I became acutely patriotic when I saw the US athletes enter the stadium. 600 some athletes compared to the couple dozen from Norway. And of course, when the US played soccer and I heard the anthem it struck again. What is it about sports and flags and anthems that makes us so patriotic?

Zachary and Grandpa Luigi...

It is your day! A very happy birthday to you.

jolly old England

Just returned from a jaunt to the United Kingdom where we indulged in english breakfast in the morning, hearty sandwiches for lunch, cream teas in the afternoon, and cottage pies in the evening downed with a few ales. And we did a lot more than just dine. We puttered around the stunning Cotswolds region, walked the streets of the great minds of the world at Cambridge, and then walked the streets of the upper crust of London in Kensington. We succeeded in driving on the other side of the road, both Nils and I. We visited Winston Churchills birthplace at Blenheim Palace and the 9th century pagan church in Stanton. Charlotte cuddled her Paddington Bear all the while and ran around all the towns admiring lions in the architecture, flags above the buildings, dogs on the streets, and teddy bears in the shop windows.

Happy Birthday, Dr. Greene!

I don't think Brian reads this, but in case he does...

proverb

While waiting in line at the foreign office for two hours for a renewal of my residence permit, we were entertained by casual conversation with an elderly air force pilot from India. He shared with us some jokes, but felt strongly about these two proverbs which we discussed a bit... 1) "a son is a son until he acquires a wife; a daughter is a daughter all her life" and 2) "eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a queen, and dinner like a pauper" and for him, breakfast is a banana, a bowl of oatmeal, a slice of bread with pickled herring, and a slice of bread with Norwegian goat cheese, washed down with a cup of coffee.

MIB

I know what you were thinking, but MIB here stands for Menn i Barnehagen (men in daycare). And this does not mean daycare for men, if you have seen that web video where women send their husbands to daycare. It means that in Norway (and other countries), there is a movement to encourage men to work at daycare centers. Research shows that children benefit from having more male educators and men in general in their lives. The daycare and early school years and often highly dominated by a female presence.

prayer for brumm

We say our prayers with Charlotte at bedtime, and she goes through her list of people to pray for. Tuesday night it was: Zachary, Bryce, Jason (Uncle Jason), Sinsen (Aunt Lindsay), Grandpa, Sinsen (again), Grandma, Mikkel, Gudrun, Mimi, Farfar, and Hannah (from daycare). Last night it was: Zachary, Bryce, Grandma, Brumm (winnie the pooh), horsies.

Gourmet burgers

We turned our backyard into a test kitchen for 4th of July and we upgraded our ketchup, mustard, lettuce, tomato to bbq sauce, sauteed yellow onions, and grilled red peppers. The result was YUM. Recipe: work some bbq sauce, worcestershire sauce, grill spices into ground beef. Shape into patties and grill. Cut red peppers into wide slices (almost like tomato slice size) brush with olive oil and grill. Saute thin rings of yellow onion in a pan with a generous bit of olive oil over medium heat until golden and soft. Paint a toasted bun with more bbq sauce, stack onions and a red pepper slice onto the burger and dig in.

july

Happy 4th of July and happy birthday Gudrun!
July is vacation month in Norway. Certainly not everyone takes vacation at the exact same time, but July is more or less when people take a long 3-4 week vacation. Sommerferie! Some venture to their Summer homes in Southern Norway or the coast of Sweden, or visit family around Norway, or travel abroad. From the 1st of July the traffic on the main expressway E18 thins, and the workday is much more flexible.

tape

We inherited a cassette tape (haven't used that word in so long, I don't know how to spell cassette!) last night from Nils' family and our ride home playing this tape in the car brought back some good 80s memories. "We are the world, we are the children... we are the ones who make a brighter day, so let's start givin'..." That was a good tune. Maybe I am in the minority, but "Tears are not enough" was my personal favorite. And I know my mom's was Bruce Springsteen's "Trapped." Whichever song struck a chord with you from the USA for Africa We are the World album, you hear it again and then suddenly you are transported back to 1985, sitting in the family stationwagon on a roadtrip perhaps. But, how impractical were tapes? Maybe we have forgotten now that we are spoiled with MP3 and CD, but there is no jumping ahead to the next track, it is guesswork with a tape. Rewind a little, play... no that wasn't far enough, keep rewinding, play... now we went too far, fast forward a little...good enough... hear the rest of the other song, and now comes the song you wanted to hear. So far the world has come in the past 15 years!

Don't sleep the summer night away

This is what Nils says, and with good reason. It is just too light and too beautiful! We went to the shore Saturday evening for a swim in chilly 50 degree (Fahrenheit) water, baby and all... and enjoyed the evening sun afterward. Never too cold to swim in Norway as long as it is Summer!

Everything's bigger in the USA!

I had always heard this expression, and thought of course it was true to some extent. However, after a year abroad, I can confirm that everything is a LOT bigger in the USA! Cars, soda cans, furniture, cereal boxes, milk cartons (any food item for that matter), roads, buildings, houses, everything! What's smaller? For one thing, the number of people who bike to work.

Japanese, Chinese, and Gordon Ramsey

I heard about an exclusive hotel in Tokyo called the Conrad, and I got a kick out of their restaurant selection. They advertise that the restaurants a visitor can enjoy are - Chinese, Japanese, and Gordon Ramsey. Is Gordon Ramsey so popular that he has become and ethnicity?

Eurovision Melodi Grand Prix

It is only our first year living in Europe, but we have become fast fans of the annual Eurovision song contest (Melodi Grand Prix)! This is a competition that has been going on in Europe for many decades. Each country has a national contest to determine who will be their contestant in the final contest which is for all of Europe. The final competition consists of two nights of semi-finals and then the final grand finale night where the winner is determined. It is really fun hearing the songs and watching the performances! The countries have such varying styles and tastes and of course there are so many languages. I was surprised that Malta and Andorra, such tiny countries, were in the race as well. Norway had a strong candidate who came in 5th place, but the final winner in 1st place this year, crowned Saturday 24th of May was.... Russia!

Happy Birthday, Bryce!

Or "byce" as Charlotte calls you.

Russ

"Russ" is the word for students who are in their last year of school. During the course of their final year of school, they are intensely working on a big project... converting an old bus to a dance party on wheels. Seriously! Groups of friends pitch in the money to buy a bus and all the stereo equipment and materials. They decide on a theme (like reggae, hollywood, etc) and deck out the entire interior to fit the theme. They paint the outside, hire a driver, and drive around partying for the 3 weeks that lead up to Norway's national holiday (17th of May). And one other twist - they have special pants they wear during these 3 weeks. Blue or red work pants depending on the type of high school they went to. They put the Norwegian flag on the pants, the town their school is in, and then as they visit these other busses while partying, they write the name of those busses on their pants. Sound like fun?

10 days of sun

With ten days of beaming sunshine behind us and another four forecasted for the long weekend ahead, there has been little time indoors to write! Would love to hear what is new with you, so write in a comment!

Patriotism

What do Celine Dion and Patriotism have in common? Someone asked me a while ago if I have become more patriotic since moving abroad. I thought, "no... I have never been extremely patriotic, and certainly not now." But then, I sat quietly on a Saturday morning, watching country music videos, waiting for the family to wake up. These were not pop country videos, these were country (really country) videos. The only time one can catch them is at 6 AM. And I loved it! I was never a big country fan, but seeing something I consider really American made me happy. And there are a number of odd things that have filled a patriotic space in my heart. Don't laugh now, but that includes Celine Dion (I know she is an import, but nonetheless), wide open highways, grilled cheese made with American cheese slices and white bread, our flag, and yes, country music.

Off

When both parents are sick, parenting is a real challenge. We tried to get Charlotte to watch TV with us one day last week before dinner. She wanted dinner NOW! Not after TV. We said we would be eating in 20 minutes, which was after the show would be over. She looked at us for a second, and then marched up to the TV and turned it off. Show over, right? We looked at each other and laughed. But... she did not have any tricks up her sleeve for how to make the pasta boil faster.

Liking alternatives

We have lived in Norway for about 9 months now. Things I missed from the States and could not do without are slowly finding themselves replaced. Like Cheerios. I am still pretty astounded that 'yellow box' cheerios as they are called do not exist in Norway (I wrote Nestle who distributes Cheerios here). Maybe you do not get a craving for Cheerios like I do, but, now I have found a great cereal called Mini Fras which is a fun substitute. And ziploc bags. They are expensive here and come in 1-2 sizes... not the fantastic array I was used to. But, we found that the plastic bread bags here work for most things, and if not, we use more tupperware-type containers than before. But it is funny how you get attached to silly things. We saw an American movie, and when Nils saw someone in the movie using a garbage bag, he realized... hey those American garbage bags were good! I miss those.

Movie theater for two

We had an anniversary date to remember. We had an entire movie theater just for ourselves! Just the two of us! THAT is how to have a date.

I passed!

I passed my driving test! The 'sensor' as he is called in Norwegian said I was an 'effektiv dame' which is an efficient lady. He meant I drive a little too rushed and fast. But otherwise I am 'trafikk sikkert' which is traffic safe. And he said I did a good job. The rules here are not that much different, but one has to learn new rules for roundabouts (which lane to be in, when to blink) and also to watch for who has the right of way. Unless there is a yellow diamond sign on the road you are driving, you have to yield to people coming from the right. It feels really unnatural after driving in the states for 12 years. And... no right turn on a red light!

Do you remember your first field trip?

How old were you? Where did you go? Charlotte had her first field trip today to the "Sensory Center" where she rode on a bus (no idea how the daycare leaders did this with so many carseats) and got to play with instruments and listen to music, touch all kinds of things with different texture, smell, see (of course), and probably taste a thing or two. I was surprised they dare to take little ones ages 1-3 out, but I commend it.

Driver's License

Sometimes you do not know what you have until it is gone! In Norway, there is very low tolerance for traffic violations. Driving while under the influence can result in losing your license... for good! And speeding, even maybe 10 mph over the limit can result in a suspension of your license for several months and steep fines. The moral is, follow the rules. Two of my colleagues just got their licenses back after 2-3 months suspension. I do not even have my Norwegian license yet (driver's test next Friday!) so I think I would be wise to be extra careful. Not cool to lose your license before you even get it!

Happy Birthday, Jason!

How much would you pay for chicken?

If you are vegetarian, I am guessing the sum is pretty low. But I have to ask, because I was surprised at myself that, without giving it a second thought, I purchased 4 chicken breasts for about the equivalent of $30. Just plain old chicken breasts at the grocery store. That is how much chicken costs in Norway. And the even more surprising thing... I still keep buying it!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Fove

Charlotte is running around lately playing pretend sleeping. At home at various times throughout the day she will say "fo-vah?" which is her version of "sove" which is Norwegian for "sleep." She burrows into the couch cushions and asks for a pillow (pee-yo) or tugs a blanket to cover part of her. Or she pats on the couch cushion and looks at me and says "Mamma..." "fo-vah?" and guides me down to the couch where I am to close my eyes and wear a pillow on my back. She puts her dolls to sleep, her stuffed animals, her little newborn cousin Mikkel, us... anything that looks somewhat living. And in the car sometimes, she closes her eyes and squints and "takes a nap."

Tattoo

Our intranet where I work had a great April Fool's Day prank. We received an email - just as we normally do when there is a new posting on the intranet - regarding our new company logo that was just launched. We have recently had a lot of focus on our values and giving prizes to employees who embody our values (such as customer-focus prizes and enthusiast prizes). The intranet posting advertised our new logo and offered 10 giftcards that would cover a tattooing of the logo! It was actually strangely believable, since the text went on and on about how we are a young organization, we are a breath of fresh air in the market, and how a tattoo is a way to make our logo more visible and recognizable.

"hyttefra"

In a couple of years I may have my own word in the Norwegian dictionary! I started using the expression "hyttefra" before Easter break... colleagues were talking about heading up to their cabin early before vacation actually started, to catch some better weather. I agreed, but I said instead of working "hjemmefra" (from home) I would have to work "hyttefra" (from the cabin) since I still had some work to do. With growing availability of internet access from cabins, I wrote the Norwegian dictionary and suggested this word. They have noted it, and if people start using the phrase, they will put it in the dictionary!

Please don't stop the music

Some of you may have heard the song by pop singer Rihanna "Please don't stop the music" on the radio these days. The title of the song is my request to the radio stations here. There is clearly great respect for punctuality. If it is 3:59 and you are singing along to your favorite song, just as you get to the refrain and you are ready to give it all you've got, the music stops! Because it is now 4:00 and the next program starts. Maybe a news report, or an abrupt shift to jazz on the same station that was just playing easy listening tunes.

Hot dogs

They are everywhere! This was a big surprise to me. This is a very healthy country. I am always surprised by how active people are. It is truly ingrained in the culture. And the healthy eating! I could not buy a soda or a sweet in our cafeteria now matter how hard I tried! But... hot dogs... they find their way into almost any occasion. They dress themselves up in lomper (a floppy floury potato tortilla) as night food for weddings, they cover themselves in ketchup and mustard for any given outdoor gathering, they bathe themselves in thermoses of hot water and accompany long cross-country ski journeys and hikes, and they soak themselves in toppings at gas stations nationwide.

School

There is a hot debate going on in Norway. Norwegian schools have been in decline over the past decade. Students here perform poorly on standardized tests which positions Norway behind all other Scandinavian countries and below the global average. Why? I am still learning about the topic, but some reasons I have heard are that children are encouraged to be children and are not really pushed to learn until about third grade. Before that, all that is taught is just taught and if they do poorly, well... they will get it next year or the year after. Parents are less likely to challenge children at home, because if they become too advanced, their boredom at school will lead to negative consequences. Some parents pay for private schooling, often International schools, however in a socialist society, this seems to be frowned upon.

Stop signs answer

Most people have only actually seen three or so themselves, but when they guess, they presume there are maybe between 50-100 in the whole country. In other words... not much.

Stop signs

How many stop signs are there in Norway? Answer in next entry...

Oops

Good thing we have friends or colleagues who can double check us sometimes. I was preparing a note to a client the other day where I described some work we had to do with templates (called "maler"). So I referred to it as a "malerjobben" which I thought meant a templates job. My colleague politely held back her laughter and pointed out that a "malerjobben" is actually a painting job, like painting a house! Because "maler" is also a verb form of "to paint." And today I said I was looking forward to seeing the figures, referring to some business numbers related to our sales. Apparently "figuren" does not mean "figure" as I hoped. It means more like someone's body shape. So my colleagues got a good laugh about me looking forward to seeing the sales team's figures! I had to laugh at myself.

DIY

A lot of people are "do-it-yourself"ers. Opting to roll back their sleeves and delve into all kinds of projects around the house on their own, without the assistance of costly professionals. Many Norwegians adopt this philosophy whole-heartedly. Could you imagine chopping down your own trees? That means... climbing up them with a saw and branch by branch taking them down? Or never accepting a store's offer to deliver something to your house, but rather hitching a trailer to your car each and every time you need to transport something that does not fit in your car?

Starbucks

There is not a single Starbucks coffee shop in Norway. However... the coffee has sneakily made its way to Norway in the form of delightful bags of the coffee-brewers ground and whole bean French roast and Columbian coffees. I discovered a bag on a shelf of a little deli three weeks ago, and our house has never smelled better in the morning!

Easter = Marzipan?

As soon as the end of February came, the shelves of all the stores here filled quickly with Easter candy! Not the Cadbury creme eggs and jelly beans as one expects in America, but rather all types of marzipan. Marzipan eggs, marzipan logs with pastel sprinkles, marzipan figures covered in chocolate... marzipan, marzipan, marzipan. Although... I did find a special boutique that sells Cadbury creme eggs! I might make my own Easter basket to be safe. Marzipan is nice in small doses, but I am not Norwegian enough to devour a basketfull yet.

Animals

We hear lots of animal sounds these days from our little lamb... monkey "eee eee" sheep "baa" horse "neee" cow "muh" kitty kat "mow" duck "quack" snake "ssss" pig "some version of oink oink" owl "hoo hoo" chicken "bak bak bak"

Mikkel is here!

Our nephew Mikkel was born today, February 24th at 3:00 in the morning!

Princesses

Charlotte has a little lunchbox with princesses on it. She thinks a lot about her little buddies at Solhellinga. The other day she looked at her lunchbox, pointed to the first princess and said the name of her little friend Andrina (a nee na!) and then to the next princess and said Cecilie (cee ya!) and the last princess Frøya (fru yah!). It melted Nils heart.

Ski shooting

"VM" and "skiskyting" have been in the news a lot lately. This is a big deal for Norwegians. VM is the World Master competition, if I can translate it like that. And skyskyting is ski shooting, where the athletes are cross-country skiing with a rifle that they use for target shooting along they way at certain points. Big, big stuff here. Norwegians are often expected to bring home lots of medals.

Let there be light

And now that the shortest day of the year is long behind us, the days are filling up with light! It is wonderful to see more sun and have more light. However... now I can't sing in the car in the morning in the dark without anyone seeing me.

How about us?

And some adult news too... Nils wrote a chapter in an engineering book recently, and I have been accepted as a member in a committee that is compiling a new global ISO Standard for project management.

Hat!

The "owa" incident proved to be just the first of many times Charlotte will see something once and remember it for weeks. We like to look outside the windows in the morning. We say "good-morning" to things we see, like neighboring houses, passers-by, cars, etc. And we do the same in the evening to say good-night. One time we saw a dog at the neighbor's house. We have never seen the dog again. But, each and every time Charlotte looks out the windows she says "foof?" And we saw construction workers once wearing yellow hard hats. So every time since she exclaims "hat!" though there is no hat to be seen.

Boller

Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday are celebrated a little differently here. It is Sunday that is the big feast. 'Boller' are baked, which are sort of a Scandinavian sweet roll or doughnut. But not at all doughnut-like. More like dinner rolls, but a little sweeter and made with milk and cardamom. They are eaten year-round plain or with raisins, but during this feast they fill them with marzipan, whipped cream, or all kinds of other sweet creations.

Groundhogs

I did not hear any reports here in Norway about the Groundhog. Did he see his shadow? I sure hope there will be more winter in Norway since there has been so little of it so far. I want snow!

Audio books

How have I been missing out on these for so long? I just listened to 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' over the past couple weeks while I sit in traffic to and from work and it has been so fun! I look forward now to all the time I spend in the car. I have come to the end, so now I need to find a new story to enjoy. Any tips?

Owa update

Charlotte has been bringing me my slippers lately (nice service, eh?) and she tries to put them on my feet. But, when she puts the one on my formerly 'wounded' foot she still says owa! It has been 2 weeks! It probably did not help that when her pappa and I were changing her diaper, we somehow knocked a heavy snowglobe off of her dresser. It was a nice one with a sterling silver plated base and is quite heavy. Nils saved it with his foot so it did not hit the ground. But, ow! He saved it with his foot! And it was the metal edge that dug into his foot when he broke the fall. That was another foot owa. Any tips? I am afraid we have traumatized her!

Chatting

Some more words our little talker has started saying: hat, scarf, eyes, sheep, night-night, boo!, juice, off, cars, outside.

Un

The prefix 'un' is sort of 'u' in Norwegian. So, 'uheldig' as you saw in my prior post means 'unlucky.' Makes sense. But there are some 'u' words that take a little more brain-stretching to understand. Such as 'udyr.' 'Dyr' means 'animal.' So, does 'udyr' mean 'unanimal?' It sort of means 'monster.' And 'uvær' means 'unweather?' It kind of means bad weather or 'storm.'

Owa!

I had a little wound on my foot, and Charlotte became very concerned. I left my sock off so it could dry out and heal, and she would come by me, stop what she was doing, squat down to peer at my foot, cock her head and say "owa!" as if she knew it hurt. She then sat on the couch last night, took her socks off, and examined her feet thoroughly. She picked off little specs of sock dust and said "owa!" I tried to explain that her feet were okay, and Mamma's owa was not so bad either. She does not forget easily, though! This morning when I got her from her crib, she tugged at her socks and said "off" and when i helped her get them off she said "owa" again.

Uheldig

= unlucky. Sometimes one has a streak of bad luck. Mine was this past weekend. I cannot even remember every little unlucky thing since there were so many, but here are some of the lowlights... I tried to wash a chenille blanket. This is something I will never do again! Our washing machine broke down in the process and the blanket came out half of what it used to be. The entire chenille fabric came off! The washer got clogged and Nils and I spent the better part of Sunday night flushing the machine to get all the fluff out. We eventually were successful, but now despise chenille. Then, I thought a workout was in order to relieve some stress. I took Charlotte so she could play in the daycare, but... the daycare employees overslept! No one came even after half an hour so we had to go home. On my way to catch the bus for work this morning, in the rain and slush, I discovered my engagement ring was missing! I had to spend an hour and a half retracing my steps and being late for work. I eventually found the ring at home in our entryway. So, fortunately everything turned out well in the end God proved to be on my side, but my patience was definitely tested.

Bryce

Charlotte misses her cousins dearly. She says their names a lot and she is pretty stuck on saying Bryce. Whenever she sees a picture of somebody and we ask who it is, she says "Bryce!" whether girl or boy, young or old.

Croissants

Nils is a talented baker of yeast breads. This I knew. But... he really knocked our socks off when he made homemade croissants last weekend! What better treat than to wake up on a Sunday morning and dive into a homemade latte and a basket full of fresh buttery hot croissants?

Painting the kitchen

With the New Year comes new projects! Our first one is painting our kitchen. It was a pale whitish/yellowish/green color before that clashed with the cabinetry. So, we bought a bucket of gray and after some cleaning and spackling, we will throw it on the walls and see how it looks. Next project is building a bar/counter with cabinets along an empty wall in the kitchen.

Ice

After a heavy snowfall and warmer temperatures, the whole region here is one big ice-skating rink. I took Charlotte to Solhellinga (daycare) this morning and could not get myself out of the driveway! Completely iced over. I tried putting mats under the back tires, I tried rolling the car onto a patch of snow for a little more traction, but then I just kept slipping closer to the house. The daycare leader had an idea... we took a giant playmat and put it under the back tires too. No luck. Then, she thought of the sand in the sandbox. She put on her boots, I watched the kids, and she went out, sprinkled sand all over and got the car out! When I pick her up, I think I will skip the car, put on my boots, and walk.

Inuit babies

I guess we had a long day and were starting to think a little strangely... Nils asked me very seriously, how do the Inuit change their babies diapers? Isn't it too cold to get the baby naked and change a diaper? Good question! I tried to find some info and found that maybe they go diaper free or use sealskin. "Diaper-free parents around the world learn the telltale signs of elimination. For example, a squirm, a particular cry, a certain glint in the eye. We take the infant to a-potty or hold him over a toilet or sink or a tree and say "pee-pee" or make a "ssss" sound - this is baby's signal to let go. Some parents also use sign language."