Time for the last candle to be lit. It doesn’t feel like 3 weeks ago since we lit the first one. The snow we received the other day has already melted away but it is very frosty and cold outside. I made a batch of toffee a few days ago, but they are already gone so I made another batch this morning. With my new microwave pitcher it is really easy and quickly done with no stirring or measuring the temperature.
This afternoon I will join my mother and sister for a Christmas concert in church. I am so grateful I have them both in my life and I cherish every moment we have together!
Take care of your loved ones and let them know you do! Have a great Advent 4th and Sunday!
Baking gingerbread cookies
A quiet Saturday with house chores – laundry, vacuuming etc – and a great afternoon for the boys with my mother baking gingerbread cookies.
We ended the day together with my parents enjoying their Christmas ham and homemade mashed potatoes. Yum. Served with green peas and carrots. And a glas of must which we always have for Christmas and Easter.
Guess what we had with the coffee afterwards.. homemade gingerbread cookies.. And my mothers great saffron buns. Not a bad day!
Movie-time
Finally Friday.. A very chaotic day with a lot of running around, carrying, stressing, ordering things. But also a fun day – I much better like being this busy rather than not have anything to do.
After work we met up at our house to pick up the kids and and the car. Then drove back to town to grab a burger before it was time for the yearly movie visit with the whole gang – or 15-16 of us anyway.
This year we saw the last Hobbit movie – “The Battle of the five armies”. I thought it was quite good – a bit slow in the middle though. Amazing how they can make 3 movies out of a book that is not even 300 pages long. We might have a movie-marathon and watch all 6 Tolkien-movies in a row… Or maybe not..
The blue building in the photo is “Konserthuset” – the concert hall in Stockholm. I like how they have decorated it with lights now over the holidays.
Xmas tree
Snow still here – but it has been raining today so it might
not be here for much longer.
One more present purchased today. I might be very close to done now. Feels good. We have decorated the house too and tonight we decided to start early and bring in the tree. The kids had fun decorating it and even Nelson (my goat) got some glitter on him. You can see him under the tree down to the left.. lol
A prayer tonight. And every night for as long as it takes.
Winter wonderland
Just came back home from a short day at work and a great lunch with a dear friend whom I haven’t seen in a while. We had a really good chat and decided to not wait so long before we do it again. Sounds like a plan.
Going home from the city it started to rain / snow but when the subway reached the suburbs it was all white everywhere. About an inch or so and still snowing. The decorations on our house looked so cozy and nice and it is about time that we get some snow. Lights up the world a little bit in this dark time of year.
Handball
After an extreme day in many ways it was the perfect ending to spend a few hours with my mom and dad cheering on our team Bajen. This time it was a game of handball and we are not doing great this year so it was important to win. And so we did. With one goal.. but still..
Those are the best games – when both teams struggle and takes turn being in the lead. Providing the “right” team wins in the end of course.
It was great to stand up and shout for a bit.. lol.. I think I needed that today. Handball is quite fun to watch – it is a quick game with a lot of goals. And our goalie did some heroic rescues tonight!
Good deed
Every year I buy a copy of this magazine from the same
homeless person. I know it isn’t much but at least it is something. The magazine is actually quite interesting to read – it is partly written by homeless people.
After an afternoon at the hospital I am off to listen to a Lucia parade in church tonight.
My niece is participating and I am sure it will be as amazing as always is. God knows I need all the peace and quiet I can get right now.
It was a great concert! She did good! *proud auntie*
Advent 3rd
Today we light the third candle of Advent and I decided to go to church this morning for mass. It was a really lovely service with a childr
en choir singing and young adults training to be youth leaders taking part of the mass.
This afternoon my youngest and his cousin are having their big Christmas performance in team gymnastics. I really look forward to that.
It has been a really cold weekend and we did get a touch of snow yesterday, but that was it. The streets are covered with ice and it is really really slippery outside so one has to be extremely careful both walking and driving. Be safe everyone!
Lucia
Today it is Lucia and I watched the Lucia parade on national television this morning. It was amazing as usual.
Listening to the charols and watching the parade brings back so many good memories from my time in the church choir.
We participated in a lot of Lucia parades every year – in hospitals, military bases, prisons, elderly homes and in church of course. It is such an emotional moment to listen to the choir sing the traditional songs. So many feelings – both happy and emotional – that bubbles up to surface.Wrapped all the X-mas presents I have bought so far. Put stamps on all the X-mas cards I will send. And baked some “lussebullar” of different kinds. Therapy work to keep focused.
Light a candle and say a prayer – an extra one is needed today.
Lussebullar
On December 13th we celebrate Lucia and if Lucia takes place on the weekend we have the celebration on the Friday instead.
We had some non-alcoholic moulded wine (glögg) and saffron buns (lussebullar). A few lit candles and a nice coffee. It was a great start of a day that quickly turned into chaos and stress. But I will bring the morning with me in my thoughts.
A prayer is in order again. Life is not great right now.