December 2011
12 posts
3 tags
Christmas day walk
I left behind the noise and busyness of Christmas day for a solo walk up the hill. You have to duck under these branches to continue up the path. It was like the entrance to my own secret world.
Continuing up the hill you lose your breath but it’s worth it when you turn around to look out over the water.
It had been a while since I surrounded myself with only nature. It felt...
4 tags
Lussebullar/ Saffron buns
I’ve come to associate the baking of these bright yellow buns with Christmas-time.
The dough smells so good. Easy for little hands to learn how to shape it, too.
Poking in the raisins is fun. Per remembers doing that as a kid.
Decorating was going on at the same time. I got a huge amount of fir boughs from a friend whose family has a Christmas tree lot.
Oh you feel...
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“¨When despair for the world grows in me and I wake in the night at the least...”
– Wendell Berry
(remembering my grandfather today, who loved the forest, nature, and wildlife)
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Head in the clouds
3:12 pm: I’m sitting in the car in a parking lot because both kids just (surprisingly) fell asleep on the way to the grocery store. It’s very quiet. It’s been a very hectic, all-uphill kind of day. I’ve been busy making breakfast and getting everyone dressed and cleaning up messes and setting up activities and making lunch and cleaning up the lunch mess and...
2 tags
Old Faithfuls
The Christmas boxes have come out of hiding:
But when the decorating and crafting and baking are done for the day, there are still the Old Faithfuls to fall back on:
4 tags
In every room so hushed
We celebrated Lucia Day on Tuesday morning before it got light out. Per and Astrid came parading into the bedroom where I was sleeping carrying coffee and treats. (We were supposed to eat saffron buns called lussebullar, but we hadn’t quite baked them yet…so we had Finnish Christmas stars with plum jam, and ginger cookies.) They were dressed up, Astrid as a tärna, (girl in long...
1 tag
Green balloon
Here we are in the living room. We have just come home from FRED café where we had a cute little chocolate cupcake and a beautiful sandwich cookie and a latte in a nice cup and here I am standing in the living room thinking damn, I should have taken some pictures of those baked goods and that latte for the blog. But then I am forgiving to myself and think, you didn’t do that because you...
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The outcome
I’m enjoying staying close to home lately. I’m enjoying the advent candles early in the morning. I’m sick of cleaning up under the high chair but there’s a Zen to it.
I’m tired of cleaning up messes but they’re beautiful and I love them dearly. There’s dignity to the work I’m doing.
And I learn all kinds of things every day, especially...
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Zigzag tea?
What we did today for a good long while instead of cleaning up:
Once you start making up tea flavours, you just can’t stop.
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I´ll dance with you, I´ll laugh with you, Until...
Things are looking gradually more December-y around here. I’ve enjoyed this Elsa Beskow calendar A’s grandparents sent her from Sweden last Christmas. Especially love this December illustration.
We’ve been lighting our advent candle this week during breakfast when it’s still dark out and at supper when it’s dark again. Gives the kitchen a warm cosy feeling.
...
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Time for you and time for me
Spent a lovely day out in the country yesterday playing outside, cutting down a little advent tree, and visiting Fancy Lucky Vintage.
Auntie Eva gave Astrid this Chinese lantern for her birthday. We lit it and watched it float away and then had “cosy couch time with popcorn”, A’s idea we obediently obliged.
Oh how when I’ve been in the city too long the...
3 tags
The 4 candle we looked at all year
There are still bits of birthday-ness all around the house. Soon to be replaced with Christmas-ness, so I took some pictures before I put things away. I like the semi-deflated after the party feel to these. Still pretty, still party, but a bit melancholy somehow.