Christmas Holiday 2007 - Engarn, Vaxholm

From all of us to all of you - we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! This year our family have guest from Japan staying with us during the Christmas Holiday. It's going to be great fun to share our very traditional Christmas with someone from a completely different culture. Her name is Rina and comes from Tokyo.

The Gazebo at Engarn, Vaxholm
Från oss Alla till Er Alla önskar vi en riktigt God Jul! Hoppas att det blir en fridefull jul med lagom mycket av livets goda. Vi får se om Kung Bore kommer med snö det hade ju varit trevligt. Vi har en Japansk flicka på besök över helgen och det är så roligt att dela den väldigt traditionella svenska julen med någon från en helt annan kultur, det rör också om lite våra sedvanliga rutiner och det är jättekul.

TYRA

Update 28 December

A picture with girls the Nica, Rina and MLI in the kitchen at Engarn.

Seed is the small embryotic......

PhotoHunt small. Small is this weeks theme.

Seed - a very small most amazing thing. The seed is the small embryotic stadium of a plant.

Once upon a time there was a very very SMALL seed,

that grew into a very SMALL plant that grew into.....

a huge, old tree.....
...like this one the Giant Ash, can you see the small cow? Actually... she was a he and not very small. As a matter of fact he was a big terrifying bull.

This is a post of mine from last year, it is called - I'm so unimportant and small - that feels so good. It's in Swedish.


TYRA

Nu är det en vecka kvar till Julafton! Har ni handlat alla era julklappar? Bakat? Städat? Pysslat?....eller....

13 December LUCIA

My niece Emma in the Church of Vaxholm - Min 'lilla' brordotter Emma som Lucia i Vaxholm kyrka

Lucia brings light to Sweden Read about the history of Saint Lucia from Sicily!

"Natten går tunga fjät, runt gård och stuva. Kring jord, som sol förlät, skuggorna ruva.

Då i vårt mörka hus, stiger med tända ljus, Sankta Lucia, Sankta Lucia!"

Idag njuter vi av Lucia med sång, gott kaffe med lussekatter, kanske ett Luciatåg med Lucia (Lucior om vi är på dagis), tärnor , stjärngossar och kanske ett par nissar. Va härligt.

Ha en fin dag, skriv en rad 'vettja'

TYRA

The Swedish Saffron Bread

Butter glaced Saffron buns, the ideal recipe for 'antiwrinkle' bread.
Saffron buns sprinkled with sugar
Another perfect day in paradise, despite the weather. Today was one of those day that we didn't get proper daylight, very grey and no sun at all. Missy M and I decided to bake some lovely Saffron buns and play Scrabble. Perfect!

TYRA

From 'The Land down under'

PhotoHunt - long

Music to go with it, Men at Work 'Land down under'

The theme on this weeks PhotoHunt is long. Not that long time ago I visited the 'Land down under'. The pictures are taken outside Port Douglas, very long roots, long beaches and a cute fellow that loves looong naps. The last picture is from Great Ocean Road, The mighty Twelve Apostles are world-recognised icons and those stone formations was been sculptured by wind and water for a very long period of time. PhotoHunt long roots

Photohunt -Long walks along long beaches

Photohunt-Long nap, Koala Phascolarctos cinereus Koalas have a slow metabolism and sleep for most of the day.

Long time

The Twelve Apostles - Great ocean road. The relentless, stormy Southern Ocean and blasting winds gradually eroded the softer limestone, forming caves in the cliffs. The caves eventually became arches and when they collapsed, rock islands up to 45 metres high were left isolated from the shore.

PhotoHunt in Technorati

TYRA

Traditional or non traditional, that's the question

Advent....finally! I just love Advent. These four weeks before Christmas Day, 'the waiting for the arrival of an important person'.

This year I made a non traditional Advent candle holder with an Indian twist, 'Kerala style' with lush green ‘hills’, added an elephant, a lime fruit, spices and cinnamon sticks.

In Sweden during Advent we light all our 'Advent candle holders', the traditional ones have four candles and you light one for each Sunday until Christmas Day. One candle on the first Sunday, two the second etc. We also have the electrical 'candle holders' and an electrical Advent star that we switch one during the whole period of Advent.

Tänk va skönt att vi äntligen är inne i Advent. Nu får vi ta fram alla våra fina Adventsgrejer. Ljusstakar, stjärnor, mossa, svampar, röda bär.....sedan hyasinter, amaryllis, pepparkakor ojojoj så mycket härligt.

Det pinsamma var att jag hade helt glömt bort elljusstakarna igår, jag hade gjort iordning min icke traditionella 'indiska' adventsljusstake men helt glömt bort de andra. Det har en på jobbet som började prata om sina adventsljusstakar då jag kom på....oj! jag har glömt att ta ner dom från vinden! Det var Skyltsöndag i Vaxholm i helgen så mina tankar var väl där, har varit busy med att Julskylta. Att julskylta är jättekul tycker jag och det blev riktigt fint.

This weeks theme on PhotoHunt Red.

RED - Papaver in Tyra's Garden

Poppy from Tyra's Garden

PhotoHunt RED PhotoHunt in Technorati

Comment below -Ha det gott - skriv en rad 'vettja'