Christmas Decorations

 I think I normally post a photo of our tree and this is it this year - not very different although there may be one or two more bits and pieces on it than last year - I know there's at least one because I bought one in Paris. 

I mentioned our little Scandinavian forest the other day; it's a bit compromised this year as we have had to leave space on the windowsill for Remaining Cat to sit. It's one of his favourite places and he's still a bit disoriented by being Only Cat now so we don't feel we can deprive him of it by spreading out wooden trees and adding reindeer.

Some of the larger things that used to go on the tree got transferred to a ribbon this year and hung on the wall below some of the cards

See those birds at the left hand side? I said I would have put them one at either end, but the OH informed me they had to be together so they could bill and coo. I didn't know he had that much romance in  him. 

And finally of course there is the (in)famous Christmas bunting

I do love it and I'm so pleased I made it all those years ago. 

Calling in Sick

 I should be chronicling our adventures in Stockholm, but I'm poorly. This is a common thing in December for me so I'm trying very hard not to blame it on the OH. This does not change the fact that deep down that's EXACTLY who I blame because my symptoms are very like those he developed when we got back from Stockholm. It's not Covid, or at least his wasn't as he tested. I haven't tested because we don't have any test kits, but his wasn't so I'm assuming mine isn't either. Also I am not seeing anyone except him - and Son no 2 who arrived in Orkney yesterday for Christmas - also we got booster jabs because we're old and live in Scotland, so basically I'm just trying to ride it out.

However as I don't like doing posts without photos here's one of our Stockholm Breakfast table.

The hotel dining room is a very calm place and it always makes for a soothing start to the day.

Totally Advent Unrelated

One of the things we did in Stockholm was to go the the Christmas market at Skansen If you've read the blog for a few years you'll know we did that once before. That time the place wasn't covered in snow and it wasn't -12, but hey!we coped. 

I'll do a proper round up of our visit with photos later on, but here's what we bought. 

Quite restrained. The two little 'people' are additions to the Scandinavian Forest we have on the hall window sill at Christmas time and the two boxes contain bars of marzipan. One flavoured with Calvados and one with Irish coffee. Yum! Eagle eyes readers will also spot a skein of yarn. What can I say? It was a lovely colour ( as were the others in the basket), we walked past the stall twice which was one more time than my willpower could stand and it's a beautiful blend of silk, alpaca and merino hand dyed by the woman running the stall. And it was on offer. I'm only amazed I didn't buy more than one. 

At last - A Yarn Advent!

 or at least a half one, which started today.

I really shouldn't be allowed near e-mail updates/newsletters from yarn dyers at 1.00 in the morning because my resistance is very low at that time of day. Which is how I came to order a half advent from a dyer new to me - Madrigal Yarns. I mean I must have heard of them to have subscribed to their e-mails but I'd never seen them at a show or ordered from them before. However the blurb made the advent sound amazing and you could buy a whole one, or one of two halves and they all came with a pattern specific to the one you bought, so I succumbed and ordered the Tokyo Past half advent. The other half one was Tokyo Future and it sounded like it might have  a lot of bright and possibly neon colours in it, so I went for the Tokyo Past which sounded as though it was going to be more about kimonos, fans and cherry trees. 

Today was the first day, so out it came. here's the box

and this is what met my eyes when I opened it

Isn't that wrapping beautiful? The design bits aren't fabric but that Japanese paper that feels a bit like it and the colours are lovely; I'm going to keep the bits for when I'm making cards. There was a ring row counter, which apparently we need for the pattern, a stitch marker and the thing in blue at the back is the pattern which we were warned not to open unless we wanted spoilers for the yarn. Which I didn't so that's still wrapped. 

This was the first yarn; a 50g skein in shades of grey and green. 

I doubt that my phone and/or monitor screens do the subtlety of it justice. 

I have two other yarn advents which will make their appearances here in due course. 

And here's Another One

 

The Yankee Candle Advent.

This is a 'repeat' from last year and likely to remain an annual purchase, since I burn tealights in the evenings  throughout the winter so I might as well have some special ones in advent. Or some of advent as yet again this 'advent' has 18 candles rather than 24. No idea why. Anyway I burned the first of them yesterday and it smelled great; the problem is that they're not labelled with their specific scents, there's just a list on the bottom of the box of the scents included. Details people details ... although I suppose if they sell them regardless why should they care?

Talking of details I see when I described my Bonne Maman advent I forgot to say that the days you don't get a jam you get a little bag of grey dust which is supposedly some sort of tea. I'm not sure either of us is willing to try it. 

Christmas preparations here are slower than usual this year, partly because we went away for the first week in December ( not sure I'd do that again, but who knows?) and partly because the OH came back lergified. I relate that to his determination to walk around Stockholm in minus temperatures inadequately dressed, but he won't have it; apparently the fact that all he wore was a glorified cardigan with a strange thin fleece lining is offset by the fact that it zipped up to his chin... Anyway we did get the tree up yesterday, although not decorated and the cards we've had so far are also up so progress is being made. I have one parcel and three local presents still to wrap, and about a dozen cards still to do, but that's not much in the overall scheme of things and we're definitely getting there. 

Well Here's An Advent For You

 well, not literally for you, but for you to look at. 

When I saw someone opening one of these on their Vlogmas posts on YouTube last year I laughed like a drain. Really? You can get one of those? And you have? 

which just goes to show that you should be careful what you laugh at, as this year I have one of my own. 

If you don't recognise it,  it's a jam advent from Bonne Maman. They are much more common than I ever knew. You get 19 little jars of jam like this in unusual favours - we had quince yesterday which I've neve had before, and in all honesty wouldn't rush out to buy quinces on the strength of it, but you know, it's something new.

Also if you buy it direct from the company as I did you get an extra parcel like this

with a small knife and three full sized jars of spread; caramelised apple, chocolate and orange, and chocolate and hazelnut. 

I don't intend  this to be  an annual thing at all, I just thought for one year it would be a fun thing to do. So I did it. 

This Year I Remembered

 

We are back, and courtesy of going out on the crack of dawn ferry and spending the night beforehand  on the boat we had time to change the bed before we left and so had clean sheets to come back to. 

Not only clean but new. For the last few years I have beaten myself up for forgetting, until everywhere is sold out of them, that I would really like  a Nutcracker themed set of bedlinen for Christmas. I'm a bit of a sucker for Nutcracker themed things. No idea why. 

But this year I remembered in September and in October I actually ordered a duvet set with a Nutcracker theme, It's even reversible so what you're seeing in the photographs is both sides; one on the duvet and one on the pillowcases. 

Very festive! 

Oh yes trip away. And Advents. More to come over the next few days...