Candy time - finally

At last I managed to finish the Christmas candy of this year. Mmmmm...

The shortes day of the year

Today it's the shortest day of the year. Here in Lund the sun will rise at 8.35 am and set at 3.36 pm. Not too bad, I have to say. In Knivsta, where we will live next year the sunrise is at 8.48 am and the sunset is at 2.50 pm. Then comes the "extremes": in Brugg (where we lived while in Switzerland) the sun is up between 8.12 am and 4.39 pm whereas in Boden, where I grew up, it only shows itself over the horizon between 10.03 am and 12.59 pm. This is however very much compared to places above the polar circle, like Kiruna, where the sun neither rises nor sets at the moment. They have to wait until a bit into January to see the sun again, after 25 days of darkness with only a bit of dawn immediately followed by dusk. But on the other hand, the sun never sets there between May 30 and July 15! Feel free to compare to this. Now, what do you say about that? One thing is sure: it'll only get brighter from now on.

Snowstorm

It's snowing today. A lot. And since Skåne is so flat, it's not only snowing, it's snowing horizontal. In this beautiful weather I took Inga to the gym for the last mother-baby-class this year. The walk there was ok, the walk home was another workout session. :-)

Lucia

So, yesterday it was the day of Saint Lucia here in Sweden. I didn't have the opportunity to watch any Lucia train this year, something I hope will change next year since it's such a beautiful thing to experience. Take a look here to see for yourself (it's mostly in Swedish of course, but since music is universal I am sure you can enjoy it nevertheless):

Luciamorgon

In this show, some of the most popular singers in Sweden contributes. The man, telling the story behind Lucia, is a well know actor (and luckily for you who don't know Swedish, the stories are quite short).

This link will work until January 13th 2011.

Saffron buns

Yesterday I finally got down to baking the traditional Saffron buns that we eat this time of the year in Sweden. Tomorrow, December 13th, it's the Lucia Day here and the tradition is to eat Saffron bread and gingerbread cookies on this day while listening to the Lucia and her maids singing seasonal songs. The dough to the buns gets a really nice yellow color from the saffron.

Yesterday night Matts and I had an evening fika consisting of the saffron buns, some Zimtsternen as well as Swedish mull wine with almonds and raisins. Yummy!

Winter wonder land

Life is not a bed of roses

Right now I am dead tired of many things. Like getting Inga to eat, something she just won't do. Or not being able to clean the place since I cannot do that and take care of Inga at the same time, at least not fast enough to make a difference.... And being too tired to make the fun things, like candy and baking (but I am not giving up on that just yet). On top of this my grandfather died early this morning. He was old and suffered from Alzheimer's and now he is home where he belong, with Jesus. But still, he was my grandfather and I loved him, and when loved ones die it's sad no matter what.

So I admit it, my life is far from perfect - it's just like everybody else's life. It's just that I in some ways thought that I was stronger than this. That I would be closer to the perfect housewife and mother, baking and cleaning with a smile on my face. But then again, what does it mean to be strong? And do I have to be strong on my own? What I know about being a Christian tells me no, I don't. It's just so hard to go from theoretics to practice...

In the jar

So here they are, ready to be eaten. I already tried one, and it was really delicious!

This is how you make them:
Beat 3 egg whites hard. Add 250 gram confectioner's sugar and blend well. Take 1-1½ deciliter apart for the frosting. Add 1½ tbsp cinnamon, ½ tbsp kirsch or lemon juice and 350 gram grinded almonds (leave the peel on) to the rest of the egg mixture and mix well. Roll out between plastic film (the dough should be about 7 mm thick) and punch out stars in different sizes. Place these on a baking sheet and cover them with the remaining egg mixture. Let them sit 5-6 hours or over night at room temperature before baking them at 250 degrees Celsius for 2-5 minutes. Enjoy!

Zimtsternen

First step of the Swiss Zimtsternen is done. Tomorrow I will let them sit in the oven for a few minutes and then they are ready to be eaten.

Christmas candy

Last year I was pregnant and very tired at this time of the year. I managed nothing but work, basically. Baking and making candy for Christmas was out of the question, apart from in Oskarshamn, where Matts and I made candy together. My mother came and helped me out with cleaning and baking while I was working.

This year I have a baby and I just cannot start any big projects during the day, even though I really want to. Sometimes I try, but the joy of baking fades away as Inga's scream pitches higher and higher notes. So far I haven't done any Christmas baking or candy. But I have grand plans! So maybe, but just maybe, I will make those Zimtsternen tonight and the Safron buns on Saturday. And I might even make one, two or even three kinds of pralines. Just to get that Christmas feeling.

I'll keep you posted if I succeed...

Hugs and kisses

I never was a hugging person. I don't recall hugging my friends very often when I grew up, but I was very annoyed when my sister tried to hug me - our needs in that respect were very different. When I moved to Uppsala to study, however, I "learned" that hugs can be a nice greeting ritual and slowly I got used to hugging at least some of my friends when we met and when we said goodbye, more and more comfortable with it in the years.

To go from hugs to kisses, as in the cheek kisses common in Switzerland seemed a bit too much though when we were moving to the small country in the middle of Europe. Three cheek kisses every time - oh man, how would I cope with that? But my worries turned out to be needless. After a short while the kissing bit came quite natural. So natural that I, without thinking about it, greeted one of my best friends in Sweden with three kisses instead of a hug when we were visiting around Christmas...

How was this possible? The answer is easy. Cheek kissing is not as intimate at hugging since you simply don't come as close to the other person while kissing as you do in a hug. It's easier to keep the distance, so to say.

During our years in Switzerland we met people from all around the world and we greeted our friends in different ways. Sometimes it was tricky to know if a kiss, a hug or handshake was appropriate, but with time we found our ways in the greeting jungle.

And now? Here I am, back in Sweden, re-adjusting to the hugging culture. I think I'm doing ok...

The new star

This year we sadly had to replace the Advent candlestick that we had in the kitchen last Christmas since it doesn't work anymore. Instead I bought a new standing star that brings the Advent feeling into the kitchen.

Books

I haven't been reading in a long time. Last fall I read a lot, but then, from November on, I worked too much to have the inspiration to read. And then Inga came and all I have read since has been magazines - occasionally. But now, the urge to read has come back, vivid and strong. I started reading th Twilight books a couple of weeks ago, and now I have visited the library homepage to see if any of the books on my "want-to-read" list are available. And I plan on going to our local library tomorrow...

Changed plans

I was all set to go to church this morning - and even on time for a change! Make up was on, dresses were on both Inga and myself and Inga was ready to go in the stroller. I was just putting my boots on when Inga puked all over herself. So we are staying at home today, hoping it's not the winter vomit disease, but just a slightly upset stomach...

Chai Latte

After actually vacuuming and wiping the floors I treat myself to a homemade Chai Latte made on tea I just bought in the tea store earlier today. It's the first one I ever made so it's not perfect, but still yummy!

Inga likes it too...

Summer memories

The winter is here. Outside it's white and snowflakes are flying around in the air. The sun hides behind clouds, but the clouds aren't thick enough to completely block the sunlight. It's simply beautiful.

This summer we went to Öland, the second bigges island in Sweden, situated right outside the east coast of Småland. It is a beautiful place. At the southernmost point, one of Sweden's most known lighthouses stands, Långe Jan. I have been there once before, but then it was closed. This time, however, we were able to climb the stairs all the way to the top. The view is beautiful.

Beneath the lighthouse, naturum is situated. There are several naturum in Sweden, and they all educate the visitors about the local plants and wildlife. Around Långe Jan there's an ornithological station, so it's mostly about birds in this naturum.

A new start

It's been a long time since I wrote something here now. The time just doesn't seem to be enough these days. But it's all about priorities. At least mostly. Recently Inga has been very "mumsy" and I haven't been able to be further than about 50 centimeters from her, but this is about to change now. And I have some ideas about what to write about here so I just need to get started.