Even colder

This morning it is 8 degrees so I drove the kids to school. They refuse to wear real coats and I saw a fair number of boys in shorts at the high school. Clearly no one expects to be stranded outside for any length of time. I am sitting at the auto place having my brake pads replaced. They had "glazed" over, whatever that means. In practice it meant the brakes squealed like banshees so in addition to the driver of the car being embarrassing (see post from a couple of days ago), the car was also mortifying.

Marking papers

It is that time again. Here is a choice quote so far:

English's role in India has many faucets.

Brrrrrrr

It is 16 degrees fahrenheit outside - that's about minus 9 for you celsius folk. I slept well but Craig was plagued by the furnace clicking on as the gusting wind through cracks in the front door would tell the thermostat that we were about to be frozen in our beds. Then Zoe did one of her early morning vomits -- part of being an elderly dog. Oh and apparently I snored but I'm sure that part isn't true.

I drove Catherine to school wearing my Norwegian wool hat which she finds so embarrassing that she kept asking me to duck down incase any of her friends spotted me.

Eating my words and my xmas baking

Sam and I embarked on the Christmas baking - six mini bundt cakes which we planned to drizzle with a chocolate granache. The cake batter looked suspiciously wrong and the cakes emerged from the oven, flat and cookie-like, that is, delicious but wholly unsuitable for gifting to the neighbors. They could only be removed from the pan with a spoon. So none of us are hungry for dinner now.

A winter query

Snow! So it finally really feels like December. So I am polling my readers - who uses an electric blanket?

Just wondering.

counting down

Only one more week of term - yay. I gave my last real lecture in Language in Society class on Wednesday and it sucked big time. Nothing like going out strong...

This weekend we will do some Christmas baking. My goal this year is to gift to the neighbors before they gift to us - hah - take that Mormon housewives. We may even do Christmas cards this year.

Picture from the Holberg Prize Ceremony

Here is my father and Crown Princess Mette-Marit in Hakons Hall at the Holberg Prize Ceremony.