My Place In The Sun

This morning started just like most mornings except for one thing: the sun came out. I set up a spot to work on my quilt at my kitchen table but I started to notice myself becoming hypnotized by the warm rays coming through the window. When I came to Sweden on vacation during the summer I used to laugh at the Swedes I passed at the outdoor cafes in this same position. Now I really get where they are coming from, winter in Sweden is long so when the sun comes out you best soak it up. It seems that there is some sort of vitamin D deficiency that drives me to savor every ray of sunlight that makes its way through the Nordic sky. The satisfaction from sun filled moments like the one above seem to last all day long, at least longer than my coffee buzz that drops off like a fast sinking stone at about 11am....

Winter Charm

I have been admiring this farm house for many years now and it seems to look more and more charming with every new season that comes. As I make my way around the block, this property just keeps looking more and more darling from every angle.

From what I have seen, this farm is the best kept up of all of the farm lots in my little village. Most of the other farms in the area look long forgotten about. It makes me sad when I see a cute red house with white trim going downhill. It makes me wish that I could have helped with it in some way.
Even though I love the simplicity of our one bedroom house, I can't help but daydream of having a little farm like this one fine day.

Sunday Semla

 

Sunday:

 Swedish Coffee+Selma+Good Company= Perfection

Så mysigt (So cozy)

Well it's still cold, but today I am really seeing the beauty in the season. No more complaints. I am officially, very politely seeing the season off on its way. It is so very charming and cozy in Sweden during the winter months and as I said before, it’s just aesthetically pleasing in so many ways. It's like living in a holiday card. And the holidays are great, but to me they are most certainly over. I am making peace with it and adjusting my Californian ways to the situation at hand.

 I am told it will be two more weeks before the snow melts and soon after that I will see rolling green hills with little white flowers blooming evenly throughout. Until then here's my reality: cold, dead quiet and stop you in your tracks beautiful landscapes. When I get back from woods the path to my house is lit by lantern (a housewarming present from dear friends) and a candle holder I made out of ice. Mysig.So cozy.

This is What it Takes

This is what kind of outfit it takes for me to go outside right now. This is the reality I face every day. Even though I have all the right clothing now to get through the winter here, I still I am in disbelief that I need all this just to go outside. Sometimes when I look at my dog Peete ripping through the snow banks and sliding gleefully on the ice for miles, I wish I had fur.

woMAN'S Bestfriend

People often ask me how I am adjusting to life here in Sweden. For the most part I would say that things have been going pretty well thanks to a few factors. The fact that I can have a Skype call with friends and family in California makes the world much smaller and manageable. The other thing that I have acess to that makes my life here less isolating and more fun is my dog Peete. He was born the day we arrived to Sweden and I feel he was made for us. Peete never makes judgments on me because of my poor Swedish. His only requirement of me is that I take him for a run around the lake and that I tell him he is a good dog in both Swedish and English at least 100 times a day just for being cute.

No matter what happens throughout the day it does not really matter as long as when I wake up the next morning I have a wonderfully good looking husband lying next to me and this little furry face at my feet. Most of the photos I have posted of Peete he has been outside, full of energy, with his ears up. I thought today I would show a side of him that only my husband and I get to see. In the morning Peete has his ears back and he is just like the cuddly puppy we picked up. Being able to see Peete in this sweet way really helps later in the day when he hits me with my own running shoes.