The days before christmas

I always love to take some time off before Christmas. I came to my parents place tuesday, and we have been able to do some shopping, cooking, decorating and just hanging out without stress this year. I am finished with all of my knitting, exept for the socks for Maria (but I have some time since I won´t see her until the 26:th). Yesterday we brought the tree in and today, after my sister and her sons have arrived we will decorate it. Tonight it snowed a bit, and I hope we´ll get some more snow before tomorrow.
Swedes celebrate more on Christmas Eve than any other day. I have always had a pretty standard swedish christmas, and we have always seen my grandparents and some cousins on that day. We start off by celebrating my mom, since the 24:th is also her birthday. She will get a feather and fan-patterned scarf from me this year.
After that we go to my grandparents, who live about an hour away. This year it´ll be my parents, myself, two of my sisters (k and e) and the boyfriend and two sons of K. Sister O is working this christmas and we will see her and her boyfriend the next day.
At one we start eating. I love the swedish christmas smörgåsbord. Lots of cold dishes, like herring, smoked salmon, liver pâte, ham with mustard, smoked eel, great cheases and all the "little hot" (direct translation) dishes like chipolata, swedish meat balls, Janssons temptation, oven baked omelette w/ mushrooms or espargus (grown by my grandpa), stew on elk meat and creamed green cabbage. Mmmmm. (the picture is not from our dinnertable, I stole it from somewhere but it gives you a picture).

To all this food we drink christmas beer and snaps, and sing snaps songs. I´ll make a rough translation of a couple of them

Hey brownie laddies, pour into your glasses and be jolly :// You live here a short time, with lots of toil and trouble, so hey brownie laddies, pour into your glasses and be jolly!

Imagine if I had my little snaps on a rope in my throat. I would pull it up and down, so that it would feel like many more! Imagine if I had my little snaps on a roap in my throat.

Of course, in swedish it all rhimes... My grandpa loves these songs. Now he is getting old (86 by now) and he is no longer, as I thought when I was younger, the strongest man in the world. He is pretty damn funny to have around still though.

At three we have had dessert, coffee and we are pretty full. The kids go up to see the disney christmas special that is on every christmas eve, and we stay around the table talking. At about 4.30 one of the men "goes out to buy a paper" and he comes back as santa to deliver the big sack of presents. It takes forever to read all the rhimes, and afterwards sister K with family will be in a hurry to go see her boyfriends family.

The evening is pretty soft. We eat the traditional boiled rice pudding with cloudberry jam for evening meal, drink some port and hang out. This year it´ll probably only be me and my parents for the evening.

Next year, when me and Andreas are married, we´ll probably make some changes. We will go to his parents place on the 23:rd (two hours from where my parents live and three from my grandparents), and stay there until the next night. They are not that many, only his parents and his sister. My sisters have moved in to their houses by then, and since their boyfriends parents also live in my parents town, they will probably get something together on christmas eve. On christmas day we´ll do the thing at my grandparents, and it´ll be better since my sisters don´t have to rush away to another thing later in the afternoon.

working like a bee...

This is one of the reasons I haven't posted much lately. WIP:s and some FO:s. You will get better pictures closer to Christmas, when it's all done. Here are:
bag - birhtday present for one sister. For christmas she will get felted wristwarmers, not yet on needles.
Fuzzy feet for other sister
Wristwarmers for third sister
bag for A:s sister
Lace scarf - my mom´s birthday is on christmas eve so it's her birhtday present. She will probably get a good book for christmas.
Striped scarf for second sisters boyfriend
Yellow and green hat for first sisters boyfriend.
I have abandoned the lovikka hat for boyfriend of sister #3 and he will probably get a simular hat as #1, not yet on needles.
The striped sock is for best friend. It took such a long time to do the striped part. I'll finish everything else before I do her second sock.
Buying presents for: dad, nephew (7), nephew (1) and A. Making figue jam for A:s parents and my grandparents.

The other reason I have been busy: thesis thesis thesis. It's actually moving forward. I might get it done in time. This is nothing more than a miracle.

I have frogged the Cosy and I am REALLY looking forward to the day I can go back to my Arisaig. I miss her.

new baby in town

So my friend had her cecarion (sp?) yesterday. I talked to her the night before, and afterwards I decided to make a fast hat so I could bring something when we greeted the newborn. Unfortunately it turned out too big, I could almost wear it... Here it is. A fast and easy project.
He is not named yet, poor kid. The father wants Darius, the mother wants Sakarias. I tried to talk them in to Sixten, but with no luck. Feel free to give more suggestions.

Things that worry me today:

• The tiny kitten that I saw on campus yesterday. It's getting cold out, but I know that my own cats feel very threatened with other animals and I don't want to trigger the whole peeing circus again by bringing it here.
• Will I be able to get a job after finishing my thesis?
• Who will we ask to sing at our wedding this summer? I have some friends that can sing, but I am very reluctant to ask them, for many reasons. Another friend has already said that she would prefere not to. And will we be able to get one of the ministers that I know and prefere?

Things that excite me today:

• Christmas is getting closer. I will see my family soon!
• I get a car today! Only for 10 days, but that's always something. God, I am going to crave a car even more when I have to return it come Christmas.
• I get a sewing machine today! I love my mom...

Mood: much better today

Yay! Elsa´s first wristwarmer down and the other one is half finished! I like these so much, much better then the gloves she originally wished for. I'll just tell her that this is the charm in getting christmas presents from a knitter - you never now exactly what you will get...
New Knitty is out also. Joy! I haven't had time to look in depth yet, since the only activity by the computer in the last two days have been watching 9 Gilmore Girls episodes . Seriously, I couldn't stop myself. It took those girls 9 freakin' episodes to make up! (and yes, I have been avoiding any democracy theory)
Anyway; thesis update... I just got back from the city hall after a meeting with an administrator and I got a lot of good stuff. I'll get to it this afternoon, after the drinking of coffee and eating of the cake Andreas made yesterday.

Moody

Well, I can´t decide my mood today. I have been crabby all morning, avoiding to start working for real on my thesis (which I will do eventually today). Andreas have been wonderful though. He came home a couple of minutes ago with flowers for me and he has put on Ella's christmas album which he knows that I love. I am so spoilt. So I feel very loved today, and totally not deserving of this goodness from him.
Yesterday I decided that I hated the gloves that I have been making for my youngest sister, and I can´t give her a christmas present that I myself hate. So I frogged them and started on wrist warmers for her instead. It'll be better but it is a couple of nights work for nothing.
By the way, does anyone know how to get mood icons easily on blogger? I have seen that they are very easy to get on livejournal but I don't feel like changing host right now. I don't like the ones on imood otherwise that would be an option.