home for christmas

three flights, one missing bag, nearly 24 hours of travel later and our peeks is home for christmas. bob is so happy to see her and we totally get him. i took the day off to make The Soup, vacuum and secure all her favorite snacks. her good friend, who wants to spend christmas with us(!) came along to the airport to pick her up. husband met us there between meetings. then us three girls came home to snuggle up with the kittens on the couch and watch christmas movies (love actually was first up). aside: dang, it does not age well, and yet remains weirdly charming. i have a quite a lot of work to do up to christmas, but the whole week off between christmas and new year's and i'm looking forward to making good food, playing loads of cards and board games, building a big lego set (i still have a couple stashed away) and having lots of good conversations. now, just to make it through the next ten days of work. 

sugar kittens

they say it's going to be a white christmas in the black hills, with snow beginning mid-afternoon on christmas eve and continuing on to christmas day. so, i leave you with visions of sugar plum snow white kittens, dancing in your heads. merry christmas, one and all.

it's all about the food

a note actually sent to my sister a few days ago...posting it here to give you insight into how my brain functions. and also to serve as grocery list/memory, since this blog is where i keep my memory.

and here is the mail in its entirety (with capital letters stripped for the blog and slight edits for the sake of humor):

--------

anyway, I was pondering our menu for the cabin.

we should try one of those local dive burger joints the night we get there.

december 24:

breakfast: if we're going skiing, something quick - i saw a yummy-looking overnight french toast bake thing that someone posted on FB, making it the night before means we pop it in the oven, eat and run. At the speed of panicked turtles.

dinner:
- oyster stew
- nice sandwiches with good bread (that asiago bread you mentioned sounds good, but we can also make bread - we will need posh cold cuts/nice (read: not iceberg) lettuce, tomato, aioli, fixins to go with them)
- risengrød (i have already bought rice, which i'll bring along) with cinnamon sugar and butter for the nisse and oyster-stew haters and to have something danish for the child and her far.
- snacks to graze upon: bacon-wrapped dates, veggies/dip, possibly some nice fruit sliced up.
- potato leek soup
- croutons/oyster crackers
- wine, port, cocktail fixins

- hot chocolate, hot toddies and christmas cookies/candy - we can set the kids to making candy/cookies, child labor is underrated today


december 25:

breakfast:
- you are the waffle queen, so I place you in charge of this, but we need bacon and syrup and possibly some kind of fruit compote and whipped cream to accompany our waffles.
- also, mimosas, because it's obvious that we need to start drinking early. i can be in charge of the compote.

dinner:
- beef wellington
- green bean casserole
- hasselbagt potatoes or flødekartofler
- a christmasy salad (think citrus fruit, red cabbage, pomegranate and black currant vinegar)
- kale? spinach? you can never have too much of either of those
- sauce (husband is in charge, because it will help him over/provoke his PTSD over the first thanksgiving he came to the states and was placed in charge of the gravy)
- dessert? cranberry tart with white chocolate (see pinterest)
- risalamande (husband wants this traditional danish christmas dessert and I'm sure S will too)
- nigella's log-looking roulade (see above)

- wine, port, cocktail fixins

snacks: chex mix, more bacon-wrapped dates (you can never have too many), olives, cheese, veggies, dip (there will be whining if we don't have snacks)

december 26:

breakfast: ? (i'm on strike.)

packed lunch: big loaf of bread that we hollow out and stuff all of the leftovers into, then slice into slices to be eaten at lunchtime.

that's what i've got...

------

what will you eat at christmas?

christmas is coming

christmas is coming. and we'll spend it in the states for the first time in a decade. hard to believe it's been that long. our bags are nearly packed and the laundry is nearly done. dinners are made from what's left in the refrigerator. i'm looking very much forward to seeing the child and i think she can't wait to see us. we've found a beautiful place to spend christmas and i'm hoping we will make good memories there. loads of good food, wine, games, skiing and fun are on the agenda. i go with an open heart, together with the person who loves and supports me most in the whole world. and i am hoping for good times and laughter. and making memories that will sustain us in the years ahead. 

* * *

an interesting take on helping ease the pain of alzheimer's

which is all-too-painfully of interest to me these days.

* * *

need a new podcast?
you can also find one here. or here.

the yearly christmas tree hunt

most years when we do this, it's raining. it was muddy, but dry this year.

sabin, in despair over the trees we liked.

she was hoping she was adopted.

husband, pointing out where he could cut this one so that it was the optimal height.

husband's requirement for the tree was that it was a "brave choice."

this would have been pretty brave.

and rather alternative.

see, you want brave? 

this one was my first choice.

i liked the light green ombre effect.

sabin said it was so 2013.

this was the one the girls picked.

it probably would have been the best choice.

however, husband did not deem it a "brave" choice.

sabin tries to interfere at the last moment.

alas, to no avail. we got the tree with the weirdly bare branches.

sabin said it was the tree equivalent of one of those hairless cats.

this wasn't our tree (ours was already netted when we returned),

but i think this may be my favorite photo of 2015.

all wrapped up

professional wrapping job by the sweet guy in the shop in germany.

he said he'd studied wrapping for 5 years.

it's so beautiful, we're thinking about not opening it at all.

i am not known for my wrapping skills.

but using my own little felted acorns and keeping it simple

with silver and gold-toned kraft paper, string and a few little aspen cones,

i think i've finally managed a wrapping job i don't have to be ashamed of.

this acorn cap, i experimented using purchased felted balls. 

they were a bit too big.

i'm so glad i gathered these little cones and acorn caps

out in the yard while they were there.

it's about time i grew up and learned to wrap.

i'm so proud of sabin.

she put together totally handmade presents for her friends.

she made the boxes, filled them with wood shavings from far's workshop.

and she made homemade body scrubs, body butter and lip balms.

a couple of my homemade honey soaps

and these are little pamper kits fit for teen divas.

we're even going handmade for the cats.

these felted toys have bells inside.

about time they had some felted things they're allowed to play with.

they've been hard on the bobbaloos.

tomorrow it's christmas in denmark.

it'll be just the three of us.

we're going to bake cookies, watch home alone, eat some good food.

and then open presents in the evening.

hopefully, husband will finish the chimney so we can use our new wood-burning stove.

on the 25th, otherwise known as real christmas,

husband's big girls will come, as well as his danish sister and her family.

we'll have turkey and all the fixings, according to my traditions.

modified for my location, of course.

in that our turkey came from the danish butcher stuffed with minced pork and cream.

it's a lovely bird and i can't wait to see how it will turn out.

merry christmas, one and all!

may your loved ones be close, the wine be plentiful and your stocking full of goodies.

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas

it seems that we're nearly ready. tho' we still haven't baked christmas cookies. there's still time before family descends upon us on the 25th (which the silly danes think is the day after christmas). i pick up my turkey tomorrow at the butcher (i found one at last, tho' it wasn't easy and it's only 5 kilos, so kind of like a big chicken). we got the tree decorated today and even decided to get a second tree - a little one - for our monsters from manila. we set it up, but the light went before we got it decorated, so i'll have to show you tomorrow. i've been feeling a bit under the weather - fever, aches, chills - and i do feel a bit behind. i didn't finish all of the handmade gifts i wanted to make. but this christmas thing comes, relentlessly, whether you're ready or not. i suppose it will all come together somehow or other in the end. and the comfort of taking out beloved ornaments and hanging them on the tree helps. quite a lot.

the christmas rush

does the christmas season leave you feeling like this?

every year, i vow it won't. and every year it does.

the hunt for the perfect christmas tree

it was a beautiful day today, so we went out to get our christmas tree.

since we moved here, we've just cut down one on our own property.

but this year, a neighbor has bought a christmas tree farm, so we decided to support him.

do you think this one is about right?

we'll take it.

kidding.

how about this short, chubby one? (our ceilings are low, after all.)

husband tried to get us to think outside the conventional beauty standards for christmas trees.

more than once.

in the end, we chose a tall slender one.

(gee, wonder whose idea that was?)

sabin did the honors of sawing it down.

it is a rather fetching little tree.

and husband carried it.

that's what he gets for always saying he's superman.

getting a slow start on christmas

i've been wrapping sabin's calendar presents one at a time, but today i finally pulled myself together and wrapped the rest of them and put them into a stocking for her. i hadn't been that good at wrapping every day and she actually got to open 3 this morning. i don't know what it is, but the christmas spirit has been slow to arrive this year.

the storm blew down a rather fetching stick and i brought it inside and hung a few ornaments on it and hung it up in the entryway. it's not the most inviting room in the house, despite being the one we all step into when we arrive. this surprisingly helps quite a lot.

we don't have our big tree up yet, but despite today's steady drizzle, husband and sabin went out and found a little one for her room and cut it down. it smells wonderful and it does make for a very warm, cozy atmosphere.

sabin and i decorated it together. her calendar presents are a daily ornament this year, so she'll keep decorating right up 'til christmas. the cats were pretty excited about it as well. i hope they're going to leave it alone. it was a good way to spend a rainy, dreary sunday - indoors, getting into the christmas spirit.

with sleep, optimism returns

what a difference a day makes. and a good night's sleep. awoke this morning, throat still store, but feeling like i shook off the cold before it really came on. when you're rested and not feeling drained, it's amazing how much more optimistic you can feel towards the world. i made these little felt trees during the market (at least there i used my time wisely). they're to inspire a crafty couple of hours at my local library next week. i hope a lot of kids will come and want to make their very own little felty christmas trees. simple discs of felt, a bit of yarn, a bead, sticks from the yard and a glue gun. simple and sweet. and making me feel like i can face the world again. one sweet little felty christmas tree at a time.

more soon...

it'll be here before you know it

i'm not usually one to prepare too much ahead of time for christmas, but thanks to the naturey christmas crafting event at the library, a neighbor who has gone into the christmas tree business and an upcoming christmas market here in town, i'm much more on top of things this year. and you know something? it's rather fun. this was my first attempt at a sweet little stacked felt christmas tree. i'll be making some more, for sure. tho' i've got to find some felt in more christmasy colors. this was just the felt i had on hand.

happy monday one and all!

twiggy reindeer

inspired by about four different pins on pinterest, a suggestion from the ever-fabulous lisa, and a lot of sticks that blew down in our recent storm, i decided to make some little twiggy reindeer. we're holding a christmas hygge event at the library in december and have promised to make nature-inspired crafts with the kids (and adults for that matter) who come. i thought i'd try this out to see if they're a good solution for the event. i think they are, tho' i have yet to solve the glue gun issue - i think you can see my glue a little too much, but regular glue didn't really work so well, as it takes too long to dry and be stuck and let's face it, i lack the patience for that. maybe i just need to be more careful with the glue gun and not use too much.

all you need to make them are some fetching twigs, a branch with plenty of y-shaped bits for the legs, some little bitty pine (or aspen) cones, bits of ribbon or string and felt and a glue gun.