Why?

Well it seems that I have special powers - a sort of sixth sense. There have been two events over the weekend that have prompted Lars-Göran to look at me with a new found respect (or maybe fear).

The first concerns this little scene that greeted him on Friday afternoon:



This flurry of activity by the fire brigade was in response to a fire at Lydia Restaurant, just across the road from the church. No, I didn't light the fire, but a few days earlier I had predicted it. We went and had a look at the restaurant as it has recently changed hands and introduced some Lebanese food. I wanted to peruse the menu and to take a squizz at the tasteless extension they had built on the side of the place. This is a lovely, old building and they tacked on a hideous 1960s style glassed in box shaped room. I looked inside and commented to Lars-Göran that the combination of big curtains and candles on the table was not smart and that after a drunken work Christmas party it would go up in flames.

Turns out that I was right (or maybe a more militant member of the Architecture Police decided to take action).

The second event occurred last night. We went to the church at 10pm for a carol service. We'd been out already during the day and I had felt cold while coming home. So this time I dressed in my other hat and put the furlined hood up on my jacket. Of course, Lars-Göran packed up laughing and asked me where the snow was and if I wasn't being just a bit in denial about the warmish weather. I told him that I had requested snow from Santa and he would deliver it tonight. Hearty laughter ensued, BUT who was laughing when we came out of the church an hour later? There was heavy snow falling steadily and I was toasty warm and well covered to be out enjoying it.

You have to love Santa. He always comes through.

I have received mail from people wondering just how dark it is during the afternoon. To give you an idea, we took a couple of photos on Saturday just after 3pm. The first is a view across the harbour area:



Remember folks, this is mid afternoon, the sky is still blue (sort of) and dusk has just began. What a pity there wasn't any snow to brighten it up - though my good friend Santa took care of that a few hours later. The other view is looking across to the lake and park. You can also see some of the houses and apartments with their Christmas lights up. It's all mostly white lights and fairly minimalist, but classy.



As I mentioned above we attended the carol service which we enjoyed very much. Possibly I enjoyed it more, because most of the carols are new to me so I didn't have any expectations. Lars-Göran was not impressed with some of the modern arrangement done to traditional songs and I understand how he feels. When you have a particular favourite song, you don't always appreciate people mucking around with it. Still, I loved the singing, especially the choir leader's version of Ave Maria and the setting in a beautiful, vaulted church allowed the voices to rise up and create a really special atmosphere.



It is quite different to carol services back home, which are often held outdoors on a warm summer evening. There is really no other feeling like going to these. One of the special Christmas events was always the big Carols by Candelight in various Australian cities. In Adelaide, we all went down to Elder Park, on the banks of the Torrens River in front of the Festival Theatre and made an evening of it, with a picnic tea with friends and enjoying soaking up the joys of a summer evening and being together as a community singing in Christmas. The sight of all those glittering candles gave me shivers down the spine every time. My on-line friend Vegemite Rules has written a beautiful summary of the Melbourne carols service here that is worth reading. Check out her posts about this year's magnificent Myer christmas window displays as well.

Something that we don't get in Adelaide, and especially not at Christmas time is SNOW!!! And this morning, this was my view outside my kitchen window.



While my husband was curled into a foetal position on the sofa screaming "Nnnnnnooooooo!!!!!" I was feeling like a happy little Vegemite. So much so that despite the insanity of even thinking about venturing to the shops in the last weekend before Christmas, I did it anyway.

As you can see, it is not exactly a mad rush here. Though it does look rather nice with the snow lying all around. Look, there is even one person walking in the street!



This was no challenge, so we ventured into Stockholm to check out what the last weekend frenzy looked like in Sweden. The window displays were gorgeous and I spotted one or two moose accessories that really wanted to come home with me, but Mr Grumpy wouldn't let me have them. I'll have to go alone another day now I know where the shop is.



It was busy, but not excessively so and I was amazed that even this many people would brave the biting cold just to shop. While it was much colder in Stockholm than in Nynäshamn (despite us being only 50 km away) there was no snow around. Ha! Ha! There was plenty of ice underfoot, though so it was lucky I had my halkskydd with me. This is a view looking down Drottninggatan, the Stockholm equivalent of Rundle Mall.



Pretty crowded I admit, but most people were in a good mood and many seemed to be window shopping and enjoying a coffee rather than rushing about loaded down with multiple purchases. We wandered around a big department store, Åhléns, looking at the Christian Dior counter for perfume and the book section. We also wandered down to an open air market nearby called Hötorget (the Hay Market).



I really like the colours of the plants on sale here for Christmas - amaryllis, hyacinth, poinsetta, holly, wreaths of pine. It's so fragrant and a reminder that there is life still sprouting even in the darkness of December. It is worth mentioning that it is not a huge hotel opposite. It's another big department store called PUB, where Greta Garbo worked for some time in the millinery department.

We checked out the fruit and vegetables on sale there - some at reasonable prices as well. I even saw cherries! They are a real Christmas fruit back home so I was surprised to see them here in mid winter. They looked wonderful - but at $22 a kilo just a tad expensive. I did however buy some warm brända mandlar to munch on and we descended like a couple of vultures on the second-hand book stall. We are both hopeless when we get in front of a book stall. We never leave empty handed and today was no exception. Despite the sub-zero temperatures and stinging wind we managed to stay long enough to buy a big bag of books between us.

Where are we going to put them?

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, our dear little Australian cockatiels (Bruce and Sheila) have been busy demolishing the Christmas cards. This time, they have taken a real fancy to one from our friend Kirsty who lives in Sydney. I guess they understand the Aussie connection. And they show incredible good taste in eating the one featuring mince pies.



Mmmmmm....mince pies! Now there's something I miss at Christmas time. I must try and see if the English Shop has any left, or at least a jar of the fruit mince mixture. I'd make my own, but the chances of getting any suet in Sweden is about the same as a blizzard hitting Adelaide on Christmas day.