Saffron semla and advent candles at café Tant Gredelin ~
still undecided whether saffron is a reasonable excuse for eating lenten buns this time of the year...
The red mailbox for Christmas cards only ~
never use it, have heard far too many stories about the mistreatment of mail put in this box from friends working extra at the postal services...
Rekorderlig ('proper', 'hearty') Christmas cider with cinnamon ~
didn't taste of much cinnamon but was rather nice and appley fresh in flavour.
Christmas trees for sale at Nibble Garden, Järna ~
me I'm a firm believer of not cutting down trees for Christmas purposes only. The notion alone makes me utterly sad.
Höganäs mustard jar from Apoteket ~
For many years every winter the Swedish state owned pharmaceutical retailing chain Apoteket (The Pharmacy) sells their own mustard (as well as other Christmassy items) in pretty jars. I am not a great fan of the mustardy flavour, but this year's jar from Höganäs (classic Swedish stoneware company) in gorgeous red was just too lovely to resist. When the mustard is finished the jar will come in use for other things.
Black socks with red stars ~
as I find knitting and crocheting, creative things in black usually boring and impractical (not that everything I make have to be practical always mind you) beyond reason really one should never expect a black custom order to be all black. I just couldn't resist adding little red stars and a rim on these socks and hey presto they were rather lovely me thinks.
Two kitschy gnomes and one pink plastic rabbit ~
what's not to love? The rabbit even jogs its head, very impressive that is.
Apple hook and bird feeder ~
I did think of the wee feathered friend not migrated and put up a new feeder stuffed with seeds in tree. So far fram from a massive hit. The blackbirds that are frequent visitors sadly don't seem to approve of the design. Any suggestions of a perfect feeder for blackbirds?
Knäck ~
the much loved Swedish caramel crunchy-chewy sweets essential for Christmas. It's far from easy to get the perfect consistency and combination of crucnhiness and chewiness. My mother's batch this year was just perfect ~
Stolkholm is on our bid list this year. I don't think we'll ever get it, but maybe someday I'll get the chance at my own local bottle of Rekorderlig. Despite the chill, it's another good reason to wish.
ReplyDeleteHello Pia
ReplyDeleteThank you for your windows into a Swedish Christmas! It looks wonderful indeed.
Like you we love to feed garden birds. The blackbirds like to eat off the ground or a bird table - so you'll need some kind of flat surface for them. Ours seem happy to have seeds scattered on the ground - but in the snow I put out a tray with food on for them.
Wishing you happy days,
Denise x
And here I was, thinking that those red mailboxes would be a thing of the past. Apparently, Christmas cards is still a booming business.
ReplyDeletePosts like this make me want to move to Sweden. Seriously.
ReplyDeletexox
now what may a 'bid list' be, heather? whatever it is, i hope you get a chance to sample stockholm one day (and not only in a box by mail...;)!
ReplyDeletethanks, denise! and thank you for the feeding blackbird tip, since i have put out a tray for them, still not sure if they have picked up on it. hope so indeed.
if there's one thing i hold sacred about xmas it is the sending of cards, per! heartfelt, carefully chosen to suit receiver though. but yes, those stupid red boxes should be a thing of the past indeed.
thanks for those kind words, heidikins:)