Snow Bar

What else do you do when it's nearly blizzard conditions and the roads are upgraded (or would that be downgraded?) to black?  Tonight we were signaled down by a giant spotlight shining in our window to come on down and enjoy the "snow bar".  The hood of the neighbor's Volvo wagon covered in snow, with some bottles of alcohol I'm not overly familiar with (or wasn't until now) nestled in.  Never a dull moment around these parts! 

Oh, and here is something interesting.  This bread is a traditional Christmas bread here in Southern Belgium, called "cougnou".  It's shape is supposed to represent baby Jesus (but one of my kids said it was more like a snowman...I have to agree).  It's a delicious bread baked with sugar chunks, oh boy.  Inside the belly area is a little pink baby.  I thought that was the baby Jesus at first, a pink marzipan similar to the little piggies sold all around, but no, it's chalk.  You are supposed to eat the bread, and save the chalk to write good luck wishes above your front door on New Year's Eve.  Will do!

  Below is a shot of the goods I collected on the grocery outing this morning.  I went grocery shopping with our landlord and two other neighbors to France, where we picked up cheese, wine and these baby Jesus breads.  We then headed back to Belgium, where the beer and chocolate are much cheaper.  I like skipping back and forth over the border..."We're in Belgium, ooh, now we're in France, oh, back to Belgium!".  Someday the novelty may wear off, but until then it's really quite fun!

Note the partially eaten bread, the delicious cheeses that hopefully can make it another day until Christmas, locally brewed beer (in fact one of them is brewed at an abbey that is also a school we are looking at for next year.  A school with a brewery, why not?)  some wine from France that I'm hoping are good, a jar of Speculoos that deserves it's own post entirely, and of course some chocolates.  

Merry Christmas and please start booking your visits!!!