Cottage Cheese

I had to title this blog cottage cheese, because anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE cottage cheese and am forever looking for good cottage cheese. You see in Israel there is the best cottage cheese which comes in several different fat contents, 9% is by the far the yummiest. There are also many different yogurty cultures that make delicious dairy eats. For whatever reason these things are missing in the US, however, right here in Isafjordur I have found such delicacies and am thrilled! We eat a lot, A LOT of dairy here. Let's begin, Skyr, which you can buy in wholefoods is Jacob's favorite. It's very thick, a lot like Greek yogurt, I prefer the other fattier (of course) creamier yogurts. There is also something called AB milk and it is fabulous, in a bowl with some meuseli and jam. Then as I was shopping yesterday for Rosh Hashanah - more on that in a bit, I found the cottage cheese, came home and was overjoyed!

So, since I last wrote it has been quite rainy, without as much sun as before, but as you can see many many rainbows. There are several that appear almost everyday and makes me feel thankful every time I see one. When walking to the market in the rain yesterday I actually got to see 4 rainbows and one was a double - not bad.

On Friday, Z and I went to a lunch lecture given by a PhD at MIT who is studying Viking weapons and fighting techniques. It sounds really interesting but ended up being so academic that it became almost dry. Poor guy - he looked like a viking so that was fun. Jacob met me there and then we headed to our first swimming class with Z. We went to the hospital and after much standing in confusion, figured out where we needed to go. By the way, you take your shoes off almost everywhere here, including when you enter the hospital. It is so nice and clean:) Z and I went into a small dressing room and it was as yet unclear whether Jacob could join us or not. We changed and found the small rehab pool with other parents and babies, yay, turns out Jacob could come. The pool was about waist high and warm like a bath. There had been a father in there with his baby but apparently for a free swim of sorts and he didn't stay for the class. Besides the three of us there were 5 other moms and babies. They sang several Icelandic songs during the class so I asked the teacher to write them up for me so I could sing along. One mom told us how much Zelia looked like us and so I eventually met her and her son. It turns out that all swimming pools are heated up on Sundays so that you can go swimming with your baby. Nice. Notice that the babies do not have to wear a diaper in the pool which is great. Don't you love the Wonder Woman bathing suit???

Friday night Jacob began not feeling well and Saturday woke with a fever which remained all day. This morning, Sunday, we went to the hospital where he was seen by a doctor. He has strep and now is on anti-biotics, whew. So, the plan to go to the market yesterday for everything we needed changed and Zelia and I went out on our own. The larger market is a good 35-40 minute walk away. I got going for her nap, bundled up and headed out in the intermittent rain. Remember I saw 4 rainbows....Zelia slept the entire way there but just as I was pulling out a shopping cart her eyes opened - had I left her outside she may have remained asleep, live and learn. We went through the market with our very large list for the meal on Monday night, hummus, Israeli salad, ceviche, kugel, pita bread (I forgot that) and fish dish. No brisket to be had here... After checking out, I still had Zelia wrapped on me, I managed to get all the groceries packed into her stroller and her inside with minimal complaining. However, not 10 minutes into the walk did she start screaming and then really screaming and so out came the wrap and there I was, pushing a VERY heavy stroller full of groceries, wearing Zelia and hoping it didn't start to rain too hard. We did make it home, I was tired and wet and she was asleep.

It's funny how just being somewhere else makes for new cooking, we have made Jok (Thai rice soup/porridge and Mapo-tofu - Zelia loved them both).

Other things I have noticed: most babies are in 4-wheeled carriages, sort of old fashioned looking, but with these great covers to keep out the rain and wind. The people don't have too much of a uniform look, blond and brunettes, not particularly tall and actually, if anything looks similar it is that they are a bit stocky, not as thin as I had expected.