tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6071603Sat, 13 Jun 2009 07:46:18 +0000Marie in Swedenhttp://www.coolabah.com/ausblog/marie/noreply@blogger.com (Kate)Blogger590125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6071603.post-4241106064516846736Thu, 26 Feb 2009 11:41:00 +00002009-02-26T15:41:37.503+01:00I know that before Tuesday, I've been gone awhile here. Sorry about that. It's been a combination of busyness, server connection problems, busyness, an online Scrabble tournament and busyness. I don't think Blogger likes me very much at the moment. We'll see if this one posts - so much over the last month has just refused to connect to the server. No posting. No commenting here or on other http://www.coolabah.com/ausblog/marie/2009/02/ska-vi-kramas.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Marie)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6071603.post-5987670872851269204Tue, 24 Feb 2009 19:27:00 +00002009-02-24T21:37:07.297+01:00 When we think of Easter and food in Australia, it immediately conjures up images of freshly baked, spicy hot cross buns. The debate about hot cross buns is both heated and intense, with differing opinions about whether there ought to be peel-or-no-peel in the hot cross buns, sultanas or fruitless or alternatively whether people expressing an affection for chocolate hot cross buns ought be http://www.coolabah.com/ausblog/marie/2009/02/killer-buns.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Marie)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6071603.post-935321376014831947Sat, 17 Jan 2009 15:00:00 +00002009-01-31T16:16:11.154+01:00Wind From the SeaAndrew Wyeth, 1948Many years ago, I encountered Andrew Wyeth's "Wind From the Sea" and sat rapt with the magazine in my lap for some time, entranced by the tattered lace curtains blowing in the unseen wind from the sea, by the old window and the rather bleak (in conventional terms anyway) landscape beyond the window.At the time of my encounter with the painting, I was not old http://www.coolabah.com/ausblog/marie/2009/01/wind-from-sea.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Marie)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6071603.post-2164155398881790095Wed, 07 Jan 2009 21:20:00 +00002009-01-07T22:21:16.677+01:00What do you mean there is no thirteenth day of Christmas? Where are you living, anyway?Yes, yes, yesterday was the twelfth day of Christmas, with the celebration of the Epiphany, the day when the Magi (Melchior, Balthazar, and Caspar) arrived to visit Jesus as an infant. It is celebrated in many countries as an extension of the Christmas festivities and the official day to dismantle Christmas.Buthttp://www.coolabah.com/ausblog/marie/2009/01/on-thirteenth-day-of-christmas.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Marie)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6071603.post-5623092590411434444Mon, 05 Jan 2009 21:20:00 +00002009-01-05T22:47:26.707+01:00Once upon a time, the holiday of Christmas revolved around celebrating the birth of Christ. There were angels and wise men and frankincense and myrrh. But some of my more irreverent friends don't quite see it in the same light. Indeed, one of those friends came down for a visit yesterday and presented me with The Holy Toast as a birthday gift. While I'd like to think that she appreciates the http://www.coolabah.com/ausblog/marie/2009/01/in-name-of-father-and-son-and-holy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Marie)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6071603.post-8863743436870920952Thu, 01 Jan 2009 21:42:00 +00002009-01-02T19:23:16.774+01:00New Years Resolutions, do I hear you ask???Nothing. Zero. Zilch. Nada.That's about it. One good thing about the New Year is that it is my birthday as well, which has its advantages.1. I can usually work out exactly how old I am in exact years, months and days.2. I always seem to have a public holiday on my birthday.3. I always get fireworks.4. The coming in of the new year is also an anniversary http://www.coolabah.com/ausblog/marie/2009/01/happy-birthday-and-happy-new-year.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Marie)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6071603.post-7146014871485857855Wed, 31 Dec 2008 17:54:00 +00002008-12-31T22:34:55.252+01:00My big red Advent star is glowing softly in the window beside me. The little silver snowflake tealight candle is turning slowly in the shadow of the poinsettia and the tree is sparkling, sparkling, sparkling behind me. I can sit and take stock of our Christmas celebrations, which were lovely, though tinged with sadness as we learned one of our dearest friends was terminally ill. It has taken me ahttp://www.coolabah.com/ausblog/marie/2008/12/christmas-wrap-up.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Marie)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6071603.post-6458656897331156078Wed, 24 Dec 2008 08:21:00 +00002008-12-24T09:24:24.615+01:00God Jul to all of my readers who celebrate it. To those of you who celebrate proximate holidays, merry ... those. And to those who celebrate nothing at all, well, here's hoping you make it through the season with your sanity intact.I wish we had the pretty snow scene featured above, but it is just a leaden grey sky and cold. In a few minutes, we'll be packing up the car with dog, food and http://www.coolabah.com/ausblog/marie/2008/12/god-jul.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Marie)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6071603.post-2539221849492389170Tue, 23 Dec 2008 21:00:00 +00002008-12-23T22:00:17.844+01:00Honestly, I have not forgotten you or my blog. I have been so busy with Christmas preparation and a few other things that blogging time this week has been non-existent. I've also managed to damage the ligaments in my left knee for the second time this year, so I've been hobbling about the place, high as the proverbial kite on painkillers, which doesn't help matters. Can I just say right here thathttp://www.coolabah.com/ausblog/marie/2008/12/marie-has-bad-hair-day.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Marie)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6071603.post-2228099086692237867Sun, 21 Dec 2008 16:11:00 +00002008-12-23T19:09:14.082+01:00This morning we lit the fourth and final Advent candle. In a few short days, it will be Christmas! These Advent candles are not just a pretty centerpiece to have on the table during the holiday season. They represent a ritual, a time to slow down during the busy season and remember why it is that we go through all this craziness.By stopping to light a candle, reflecting on what the holiday is http://www.coolabah.com/ausblog/marie/2008/12/little-latitude-goes-long-way.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Marie)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6071603.post-3752764496416064921Tue, 16 Dec 2008 15:30:00 +00002008-12-16T22:13:12.473+01:00It's a dull and depressing sort of day today. So grey, dark and bone-chillingly cold that it feels as though it will never be bright and warm again. It's on days like this that one really has to fight the urge to give up, so the trick that I've learned from the Swedes is to keep busy and to actively look for any little signs of joy there are around.One of the reasons that the lighted candles wornhttp://www.coolabah.com/ausblog/marie/2008/12/if-we-make-it-through-december.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Marie)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6071603.post-6222301406838981730Sun, 14 Dec 2008 20:20:00 +00002008-12-14T21:21:36.061+01:00Today, we lit the third Advent candle. Wow, the time is just speeding away now and Christmas feels so close. When I was growing up, we called today, the third Sunday in Advent, Gaudete Sunday. As my parents were fairly strict Catholics, they instilled in us the idea of Advent as a period of anticipation before Christmas, and as with the pre-Easter season of Lent, they felt it should be a time of http://www.coolabah.com/ausblog/marie/2008/12/if-only-you-could-hear-sound-of-snow.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Marie)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6071603.post-5902708014945415730Sat, 13 Dec 2008 19:05:00 +00002008-12-14T10:43:16.754+01:00The night treads heavilyaround yards and dwellingsIn places unreached by sun,the shadows broodInto our dark house she comes,bearing lighted candles,Saint Lucia, Saint Lucia.December 13th is a special day in Sweden. It is the day that the official countdown to Christmas begins, with the celebration of light, in the form of Sankta Lucia (St Lucy) whose name day it is today.It can be hard for http://www.coolabah.com/ausblog/marie/2008/12/lucia-light.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Marie)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6071603.post-7684471129522954558Fri, 12 Dec 2008 19:11:00 +00002008-12-12T22:14:06.045+01:00Yesterday, we spent the day going back and forth to Eskilstuna, so I could be seen by a specialist at the district hospital. I must have been subconsciously worried about it, because I awoke from a really bizarre dream where Elvis invited me for lunch with him in the hospital cafeteria! Why, oh why it was Elvis, who I don't even like, is anybody's guess. But I can tell you that when I volunteeredhttp://www.coolabah.com/ausblog/marie/2008/12/snowflakes-that-stay-on-my-nose-and.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Marie)8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6071603.post-855875077924529268Wed, 10 Dec 2008 18:48:00 +00002008-12-10T19:54:47.566+01:00Today's Lars-Göran's birthday. We woke up to a lovely blanket of sparkling, white snow which made him groan. Whatever is wrong with the man? It's a landscape to make you smile. But not one of which he is fond. He said he wished he was in Australia at the moment, where it is summer, but between you and me, I think he'd die in an Adelaide summer.As is the tradition in Sweden, we served him http://www.coolabah.com/ausblog/marie/2008/12/birthday-boy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Marie)8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6071603.post-2464403075570307321Tue, 09 Dec 2008 13:13:00 +00002008-12-09T14:41:55.580+01:00I don't normally do posts about political events or current affairs. However, this is something basic that is dear to my heart.Tomorrow, December 10th is Human Rights Day.2008 is also a very important milestone as this year marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which seeks to uphold and protect the freedom, dignity and equality of all people..In this season of http://www.coolabah.com/ausblog/marie/2008/12/10-december-human-rights-day.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Marie)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6071603.post-4716731969503646640Mon, 08 Dec 2008 15:18:00 +00002008-12-09T13:39:35.548+01:00Last week we lit the first candle on our Advent wreath. I was brought up in a very strict Catholic household and these customs were very important to us. The first candle is traditionally the candle of expectation or hope, drawing attention to the anticipation of the coming of the the infant Jesus. This week's candle, the second of the Advent period, is the candle of peace, which represents the http://www.coolabah.com/ausblog/marie/2008/12/julmys-p-julibacken.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Marie)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6071603.post-4263941595697945372Sat, 06 Dec 2008 14:30:00 +00002008-12-07T01:29:22.068+01:00There's a man who spoke wonders though I never met himhe said "He who seek finds, and who knocks will be let in"I think of you in motion and just how close you are gettingand how every little thing anticipates youThese words from my favourite Australian artist Nick Cave's song Are You The One That I've Been Waiting for, are very dear to me today. Eight years ago today, at just after noon, I http://www.coolabah.com/ausblog/marie/2008/12/every-little-thing-anticipates-you.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Marie)11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6071603.post-6215287899872300836Fri, 05 Dec 2008 21:45:00 +00002008-12-05T22:48:00.762+01:00 There is no biscuit which says "Christmas in Sweden" more than traditional Pepparkakor, commonly referred to as "ginger thins" in the US or "gingernuts" in the UK. Pepparkakor (literally pepper cookies) are an integral part of the Christmas eve feast in Sweden and are also used to decorate our Christmas tree. While you will usually see them in the traditional shape of a heart, the pig and http://www.coolabah.com/ausblog/marie/2008/12/oh-gingerbreadhow-i-love-thee.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Marie)9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6071603.post-4045980051254364914Wed, 03 Dec 2008 21:10:00 +00002008-12-06T15:07:37.914+01:00Yesterday we spent the day up in Stockholm, taking care of errands and also visiting a Christmas market at one of the castles. It was quite a tiring day, not helped by the miserable weather, with wind and torrential rain, but even so we didn't let it dampen our spirits. Despite the chill, the long drive there and back and the darkness, we had a really nice day.We began with taking Lambi to the http://www.coolabah.com/ausblog/marie/2008/12/trip-to-steninge-slott.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Marie)9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6071603.post-3310803086640852305Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:23:00 +00002008-12-01T13:25:22.866+01:00It’s definitely starting to feel like Christmas! It’s not only cold but yesterday the Christmas Market season started, which always makes me silly and excited. I really enjoy the atmosphere of the Swedish julmarknad, crowded with people all milling about, looking, shopping and sampling the food and mulled wine. Many towns and villages have beautiful outdoor markets at this time of the year, with http://www.coolabah.com/ausblog/marie/2008/12/sunday-stroll-in-nykping.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Marie)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6071603.post-6355663326190712364Sun, 30 Nov 2008 10:27:00 +00002008-11-30T11:53:58.994+01:00Today is the first Sunday of Advent. I love Advent in Sweden - there is a strong tradition that this is the first day of the Christmas season and when everything comes alive in anticipation of Christmas.We began our day with the lighting of the first Advent candle, setting up our advent stars and advent candles in the window and a traditional Advent breakfast.This consists of a special bread http://www.coolabah.com/ausblog/marie/2008/11/its-all-beginning.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Marie)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6071603.post-6737717667682485095Thu, 27 Nov 2008 19:10:00 +00002008-11-28T19:02:53.948+01:00 I've been on the lookout lately for one of the first signs of Christmas here - when Posten release their Christmas stamps.It might seem early to some to be thinking of Christmas cards, but when at least half of the seventy cards I send each year are to overseas destinations, you really can't be too early. I buy my cards early and as soon as the stamps are released, I am among the first to buy http://www.coolabah.com/ausblog/marie/2008/11/signs-of-christmas.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Marie)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6071603.post-6374150488629005641Tue, 25 Nov 2008 19:08:00 +00002008-11-28T17:37:06.569+01:00Of the four season of the year I have to choose from, I'd have to say that since I've been in Sweden, autumn would be my favourite time of the year. Some would argue that the whole season is one of slow descent into winter, complete with the slow decline of temperatures until it reaches the near zero level, which will stick around for a few weeks. It also is a time of seemingly overcast and rainyhttp://www.coolabah.com/ausblog/marie/2008/11/what-difference-some-snow-makes.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Marie)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6071603.post-7970651924607158287Mon, 24 Nov 2008 15:09:00 +00002008-11-28T16:05:49.104+01:00Now that Lambi is fully recovered from her operation, we've found that for the first time in her life, she is putting on weight. Since April, she has gained 800g. While that does not sound much, when you remember that she only weighed 3.6kg in the first place, it's quite a lot.As usual, I was in denial, claiming she was "just fluffy" or "getting her winter coat", but after weighing her at the vethttp://www.coolabah.com/ausblog/marie/2008/11/out-with-wilderness-dog.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Marie)2