First Snow

As I was stepping out to take Peete for a walk this is what I saw. It looked like someone was sprinkling powdered sugar from the heavens. I don't think I have ever seen a first snow anywhere before.

As you can see from the photo above it was Peete's first snow too. He looked out at the layers of snowflakes falling down and then looked back at me for an explanation; I could not help but snap a picture.

We run through the forest in a haze of white and cold. The air is crisp and on the walk back the smell of burning wood makes you hurry home even if you don't have a fireplace. Winter is here.

Swedish Star

One major difference I see between Sweden and the U.S. during the holidays are the holiday lighting choices. During this time of year in the States most everyone has their Christmas lights up outside and are doing their best to outdo the neighbor's display from last year. The house with the most lights and most elaborate outdoor, life sized nativity set wins.

Although you will not see the same outdoor light displays in Sweden that does not mean that Swedes are any less festive, just a bit more tasteful. In Sweden one window in every house or apartment you pass by you will see a star like the one in the photo above. It's really interesting to just drive around and see which house picked what kind of star lantern. 

Julpynt (Christmas Decorating)

So the season for me has officially begun. I went and looked at couple cute shops around Skane and I have made plans on how to celebrate the season with festive yet tasteful Jultide decorations. It's so much fun for me to mix ideas from both American and Swedish traditions.

I learned from my husband that during Christmas time in Sweden many people eat and display Clementine oranges. Traditionally Swedes decorate the Clementines with cloves, but since we both hate cloves I opted to do something similar with cute, cheap red and white ribbon.

Thanksgiving: The American Family Tradition

Today is the first Thanksgiving in my whole life I have spent without my family. Usually I spend the day driving back and forth between events on my mother's side and my father's side(the glamorous life of a child of divorced parents). But today I sit alone in my little house across the world from my home country and my familiar treasured traditions. I feel a little lonely and sad but end up spending most of my energy thinking about all the things in my life that I am thankful for.
The picture above is a photograph of my Great-Great Grandmother's family that was emailed to me by a distant relative I have never met. In this new world of advanced technology we Americans are able to connect and transfer information about common heritage in a way that was never possible before. All I had to do was sign up for a trial membership with Ancestry.com, plug in the little I knew about my Grandparents and Great-Grandparents and a whole forgotten world was at my finger tips.
I found it kind of wonderful that on the first Thanksgiving Day I spent without my close family, I was given glance through a window to another time, and to another family that I am a part of.

Life in Grayscale

I have taken many photos of Sweden in many different types of weather, but the picture above shows the reality of life outdoors during most of the fall and winter in Sweden. Knowing that about the weather it's easy to see why interiors in Sweden are so important. We spend a lot more time indoors.