2010 as an appetizer

This year has been filled with a lot of ingredients. Some of them easy and sweet and others heavier.

The temperatur has been between 80° and -18° outside and inside we have tried to keep the house and water warm with the wood we have got out of the forest.

We have also shared the life of our parents and my siblings families during holidays, birthdays and other important occasions. Tonight we're gathering at my sisters house. My sister makes the main dish, my brother brings the dessert and guess what's my Mission...

We have sometimes struggled to keep everything going, but no life and relationships in or outside the family will developed without crashing sometimes. We can't always make it undone, but we can learn and forgive.

But there have been very good and beautiful moments this year that I always will remember. Many of these things are with the children but also all the moments in the nature finding so much beauty when I got really close with or without the camera.

2011 is still uncooked but I hope we all will fill it with things we both expect and wishes but also other good and wonderful things we can't imagine right now.

Finally, I give you my warmest wishes that you will have a wonderful New Years Eve and hopefully you will eat, drink and celebrate that we all meet next year!

Happy New Year!

Mamma Mia

I had heard about the musical on stage but when I saw the film I was shocked that my old favorite songs of ABBA was put together in a such a lovely story. Every song seemed to be written for the musical and not the opposite. There were so many grate actors and I laughed, weeped and sang out loud that time and I still do that when I watch it.

Lucky, lucky you if you haven't seen it! Then you really have something to look forward to.

If I ever loose my memory there will be one good thing about it,

I will watch Mamma Mia for the first time again.

If I remember how to put it in the DVD player....

The Snow Adventyre

We are spending some days at my parents home and yeasterday we walked to this little mountain very close to where I grew up. I have been playing here so much with my friends when I was younger and it's very nice to come here with my and my sisters family. We laughed a lot yesterday when we went down the hills with a kind of plastic mattress and landed softly in the snow. The photo above was taken in March two years ago, I had saved it on my parents computer. But the other photos were from the adventure yesterday. I excuse the bad quality, but I wanted to show you.

Come with me for Christmas coffee

I have invited you all, and we are now standing here outside, the snow is still falling and we are waiting for everyone to show up. Some of you are freezing but that makes it even more cozier when we open the door and get in to this cafe, shop, Museum or whatever you will call it.

It's a bit cramped but that makes the atmosphere even warmer among us. We are talking and admiring all the ornaments and other antique objects. Some of them for sale and others only to look at.

As usual I'm to shy to ask the women who works here if It's possible that I could take some photos for my blog. But than Nelle persuades me to do it. "I've done it so many times and they usually permit it", she tells me.

And it works! I ask and got a "Yes, please, take photos if you want." I feel very relieved, and very brave. I also turn around and my eyes send a thank-you-message to Nelle who watches me and gives me her wonderful smile.

Deidra admire the Mother and Child statue and Bart wonder if he is going to by that candlestick.

All of us find some Christmas presents, I think Jill and Barbara both fell for these vases and JMW finds some toys for her children.

Now it's time to sit down and have our coffee and choose between the cakes and cookies. The snow is falling outside the window and we are sitting here talking about life, Christmas, fashion, children, parents, food, recipes, writing ...

When we are supposed to leave the place the woman who works here ask for the name of my blog and tells me that she also has one. She doesn't write so much but she sometimes posts some photos from the shop.

Outside it's dark and the full moon looks at us behind the snowy sky and sees how we hug and wish each other a Merry Christmas before we leave the place.

Handicraft, but not from Santa

Some people show their creativity with writing, others also do it with their hands but not by using letters. My brother is a very handy man. Nowadays he and his partner are renovating an old house but before that he has done so many beautiful things with wood and fortunately I have some of the them in my house. I know that he will continuing this but with a house and toddlers it will have to wait maybe some years before he could to it as a full or half time work.

This bowl is lathed and I like that he only colored the outside.

In Sweden we have handicraft as a subject in school. Everybody has it with wood and fabric/sewing.

So these cute and violent teenagers have done their own aprons at school and the oldest one has also done the felted heart below.

Well, I also have to show you something made by my husband and myself. Some years ago he learned about forging and made these candle holders.

I took a watercolor course and made this and I don't think it's a very good one but I like it because it is a memory. I was in the beginning pregnancy with my third child and didn't feel well, but I had decided to finish this course and this painting.

Finally a sweet little angel made of my colleague and teacher in Wood handicraft.

Swedish Saint Lucia

Lucia with candles in her hair

After weeks of practicing everything became a success. 60 kids age 6-11 sang and it was so beautiful that I got tears in my eyes. It was my class together with two other groups. In the morning we sang for the school and in the evening for the families. I guess that you know that Lucia is a very important tradition here in Sweden. I asked my daughter to put on the crown when I had it at home for preparing the candles so they could suit the crown. I wish that I could have showed todays performance to you, but instead you will see our small Lucia collection.

My own island

This was our kitchen last summer. We had decided to do this renovation with a low budget and make the most of it by our selves. We wanted to keep some parts from the old kitchen because it was in good shape even if it has been there since 1966. It wasn't easy with all these demolishing and construction but with a little help from friends and family we were almost ready before the autumn.

This almost has continued and unfortunately still does. There are still moldings waiting for reaching the ceiling. But we have been using this new kitchen so much. I really love it because we can be gathered the whole family baking ore cooking and sometimes just sitting around the kitchen island (please tell me what you call it in U.S) spending time together.

Last Christmas when our families were here we used it as a "food table". Very practically for both warm and cold dishes.

Oh, I haven't arranged this photo, but as you know this blog isn't about home styling. Others do that much better. I don't know what I'm good at, when I visit other bloggers I admire them a lot but I'm so grateful for the response I have got from you who sometimes visit me and are understanding about my lack of good English. I am learning more and more...

Together with the Royalties

The Nobel Price has just been given to the prize winners and now they will be transported to the Great Dinner. We are stuck by the TV to watch it all. The flower arranges on the tables, the lovely dresses, the waitresses walking down the stair in procession hopefully without loosing control over the washer with food. But we are also getting interesting information and interviews with the winners. Some of them are powerful personalities and a word I will remember from this evening is Graphene (one-atom-thick planar sheet) thanks to Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov. It is a very special evening and I know that there are friends who get together and have their own kind of Nobel Party at home with good food and lovely dresses for this occasion.