Tjuetredje Desember

Today is the last day and Christmas has begun! I started the day with my daily tea in a mug M made me, it was black tea with cinnamon, rooibos, ginger, vanilla and irish cream, it was very good actually.

Then my mother came and I started on dinner and decorating.

This is a cross stitch I designed some time ago.

Somebunny was delighted that we got a tree, it is from my father-in-lawns yard so it is ok for the bunnies to munch on.

And after dinner we ate blueberries we picked this summer at my mother's cabin.

I know which decoration is M's favourite, can you spot it?

Since I have so many pink items around I decided to have more glitter, pinks, silver and gold this year. The star is from my grandparents so it is quite old.

And since it is the night before Christmas here in Norway we had to of course watch "Grevinnen go hovmesteren", it is equally funny each year and something I really have to watch.

And I am done with another pair of wrist warmers, the two that are left will be done by the time I go to exchange their gifts. And I must confess, I started another scarf, mostly because I thought the scarf I was making needed to be bigger, so I started again in the same coloured yarn and a bigger hook. I have given the rest of the gift and said that the rest will come eventually so there is no rush, just happy hooking with family watching Christmas traditions.

Fjortende Desember

This day I awoke rather late since we had so much fun into the night the day before, so I had my tea with leftovers and some cake. Green tea with cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, pepper, anise seed, melon and orange. Quite subtle flavours.

Later in the day after I did some pottering around the house then *Kio came over, we had taco spaghetti leftovers from Friday and ventured out into the cold to have our semi-weekly water gymnastics, today it turned suddenly a lot colder, around minus seven so on the walk to the swimming pool we saw northern lights in the hill. It was all green and pretty, it was my second time spotting northern lights since we live a bit too far south so it felt really special. I am glad I got to see it with *Kio.^^

And we were so good in our class that everyone got a price from our instructor properly dressed in a santa dress. We got ginger bread, clementine and a chocolate, I choose the piece named banana because then I could pretend I was healthier than I was;)

Haha, but then we really ate a banana and some lussekatter.

Yes, I have a bunny-towel. From H&M home I think, in the children's department.

On the way home we spotted shooting stars too, it was quite an eventful day.

When I got home this little lady told me that her daddy was boring and please don't leave me and I had a hard time going to bed. But I bribed them with some yummy hay so I could finish my blogpostXD

As you can see I have started on the second wrist warmer, so hopefully at least one will get finished in time.

Picture borrowed from Ellos

Oh, and I finally got to buy new drapes, I have been trying all December but they kept running out, but now I have eight and am just anxiously awaiting the shipment and I can't wait until I have decorated our apartment:D

Femte Desember

It was even Saturday, December fifth in the advent calendar book today.

Today M and I had another breakfast with Christmassy youghurt, today's yoghurt was dark chocolate and M had date, it was delicious. And the tea fitted as well, it was  black tea with liquorice, cinnamon, cloves, honey and melon. I couldn't taste the melon, but it was good, mellow and fit for a quiet lazy breakfast.

I made ribbe, I think that is one thing one needs to know how to make, so I am stacking up adult points, and M likes it so.

I remember after my grandmother died and no one seemed to know how to make Christmas dinner and I was appauled and terrified I wouldn't get the proper dinner we always had. And I could not for the life of me understand why no one had practised before hand. I think they knew how to make it but was unsure because it was my grandparents kitchen and all. But I vowed I would learn how to make all the things I liked before the person who used to make it died so I could always eat that particular food and think of them. Christmas is after all all about tradition and it is important to eat the things one has always done in order to get in the spirit.

In other traditions, I have spent the day making Christmas cards, 

I love receiving cards, so I try to make a point in making and sending cards, if I don't send any I can't expect to receive any either. But this year I have tried to make them smaller and less detailed, they still look good I think, even if they are tiny, but then I have the time to make 25 cards to send.

I am halfway now, so hopefully I will be able to have everyone ready to send on Monday?

Traditionally I am always a bit late, but never later than my birthday which is the date the postal service says is the last date one can expect the gifts/cards to be on time for Christmas on.

The stamps I bought last year really make the cards look spiffy. With some good looking paper and some trims and voila you have festive cards that don't take forever to make. I haven't sewn a single card this year, but I have sewn some "Merry Christmas" wordings to put on the cards.

We got our first Christmas card today, all the way from Finland.

Fjerde Desember

I awoke before the alarm bell with stiff and hurting hands, I put them under the duvet and tried to sleep more. I failed, so I sat in bed with my iPad and soon M awoke and we could eat breakfast finally. Very Christmassy today, yoghurt with liquorice and yoghurt with caramel. Tine makes such peculiar seasonal yoghurts that actually fit the seasons! 

And today's tea was black tea with ginger, cloves, star anise with masala chai, peppermint, and anise, I really liked this one, it fit nicely with my liquorice yoghurt. 

Then I went on another tradition that started when I moved out, my mother and mine pre-Christmas shopping trip. A whole day with different chores and lots of items checked off the lists. My mum is almost done with her list (I helped), I even gave her some friendly tips on gifts for me ^^

Then we had lunch, shopped some more and went home and had dinner.

M was home sick and vacuumed, I could tell for a short while, then I gave the little trolls new toys. They got one each of the same toy, since they can't share.

But apparently one was much better and they fought each other for it and ate it all up. Now our rug looks less vacuumed. But they had fun.

I _almost_ finished another hat, but I have no idea how it is supposed to be finished off, I am going to take another look at it with fresh eyes tomorrow I think...

But for now I am going to bed.

Tredje Desember

Todays tea was green tea with cinnamon, peppermint, liquorice and melon. Strange, and not very Christmassy, but very good. I had compaby over and we made some sort of eclaires, they were very good, but I think they would have been better if they were smaller and my oven was a little less eager to burn things because we had to take them out a bit early or they would have been black...

The cat is done! I am doing the Christmas table runner my mother found in her stash, I have a hundred things I should rather do, but when my hands hurt the big needle and thread are better than crochet and knitting.

But I have a finish!

Another hat, although, I did say I only had three left, but then there was another guest, and now I have three left after all. 

Andre Desember

Drinking my tea, yesterdays tea was very Christmassy with, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg and pomegranate and lemon, todays tea was also green with the same Christmassy things in bold but with melon, orange and anise. I think I like yesterdays better....

I am liking this tea tradition thing. 

I am hoping to finish this hat today, but tradition says that I will sit on Christmas morning making the last of the presents, so we will see. (after all, I have three hats, three wrist warmers, several washing cloths, and perhaps something secret left to do, think I'll make it?)

That is a tradition that I wouldn't mind we didn't keep. But I do love making things and it does make me feel in the spirit.

These two are never in the spirit, they have no idea how to share but the begging for treats is a skill they do possess they just tell me instead of santa.

Første Desember

I love Christmas, one of the reasons I love Christmas is all the traditions. Usually people like to change things around, I don't, I like to do things the same all the time, but at Christmas everybody agrees that they will do things like last year, like every year, James.

When I was little I got these cheap advent calendars of chocolate, so I still do, I love the feel of that awful chocolate in the mornings, they feel so stolen and childhood-like. 

When I was a teenager my aunt started buying my mum and me lottery ticket advent calendars, and she still does, only now M gets one too. I love tradition, and I have won a tiny bit of money from them before, which makes it a gift that keeps giving.

 Boyfriend gets a Finnish Scout Christmas calendar from his family so that is a tradition now too, it doesn't really do anything, but the pictures are always cute and Christmas-like, so I guess it helps to get one into the spirit of things...

And new this year is this tea calendar, I bought it half off last year to start this year, and so far I am loving it. Much more healthy than chocolate, but equally fun. M also borrowed an advent calendar book that we are going to read each day. (Jostein Gaarder, Julemysteriet, which I know some of my friends have as one of their traditions, I wonder if this too will turn into a tradition?)

Something that I hope will turn into a tradition is me finishing things, my mother just like me, have a bit of Start-itis where starting new things become too alluring and finishing things gets forgotten. The socks I found in her treasure chest almost done I quickly finished them and then mine as well. 

Yay me...

I still have three hats to make before Christmas, and I need to get a move on, things are going very slowly these days because my fingers are really hurting, my wrists, elbows, knees and shoulders are hurting a bit too, but it is the fingers that hinders me to do anything, but it gets better further into the day, so in the evenings I can craft a bit. I find it weird that they seem to hurt on both sides, usually when I have crafted too much it is just the right side that hurts...

So maybe I will start tomorrow with a chocolate, my new tea of the day and reading "Julemysteriet" until my hands are more mobile. Holding tea seem to help a bit too.