turnips

guess who the day's nisse was... 

a nisse is an elf... maybe not plain and simple, but a scandinavian christmas elf-gnome who likes a little rice porridge on christmas eve.

after we dropped the guys off, greg ran back home because we forgot the slips to pick up our packages at the post office(s), and i went to the super best to order us a christmas duck.  then we went searching for one christmas gift, then for an extra used bike, which was not successful.  then i went to my school's christmas party, where we ate æbleskiver (little donut hole type things with jam and powdered sugar) and drank gløg (the mulled wine, with almond slivers and raisins), and played bingo and sang songs.

julemand showed up... 

during one song we all held hands and walked through the school, up the stairs, and down an outdoor, grated spiral staircase, holding hands, in a long line of people, and i told my friend from singapore, this would never happen in the u.s. ... it would be a liability.

later i stopped in a couple more stores along the pedestrian street and greg and i met up on the way home.  we spread our loot out on the floor... all for our guys, then, using questionable judgment, decided there needed to be just one or two things to wrap up (s.c. doesn't wrap his presents) and went back out, quickly, so that we got our exercise on our bikes today for sure.

we picked up the guys from school.  william and henry were playing cars together in one of the kindergarten rooms.  william's teacher sat down and talked with us awhile about how good william is doing with danish (long sentences), with his friends (fighting (physically) less... good-natured wrestling was getting out of hand for awhile for him and his friends), with his lunch (he eats for three kids).  for three kids!  they had their christmas lunch today and the menu was certainly impressive on a protein scale alone (fish, roast pork (with the crackling), meatballs, chicken and asparagus in a cream sauce), but she said it doesn't matter what the woman in the school's kitchen cooks, he will eat it.  give him turnips and mayonnaise, he has the entire table dunking their turnips into mayonnaise and eating them.  which is... to hear that... a relief.  because at dinnertime he is never hungry.  if we can get five bites out of him lately, we're hitting above average.  it will be interesting to see what the vacation brings (which starts tomorrow by the way!)... i found out just today that the cook at their school sells a little book of her recipes for the equivalent of a few dollars.  with his love of danish kindergarten lunches, i wish i'd known this earlier.

here he is tonight, sharp and in focus, and me, a little fuzzy, with my kindergarten haircut...

to my madison readers-- go stock up on your provisions soon.  i hear the blizzard is already closing down the schools on thursday.