I’ve popped up in a few places around the Internet these last couple days. My morning writing buddies have been gracious and kind to let me visit their blogs and talk about Resolutions for an Arbitrary Holiday, so if you’re interested in reading any of them, here are the links:
Over at Ofelia Gränd’s blog, I write about changing your life, something Petter and Isak from the story have in common. Something I’ve done myself. Clickety-click here to read about it.
Holly Day is a new addition to our morning writing crew, and she also lent me her blog to talk about my new release. There, I write about Ale’s Stones – the setting for the story – my roadtrip to visit them, and the one who inspired me to write this story. Check it out here.
This meme could have been made by Petter and Isak in Resolutions for an Arbitrary Holiday.
Have you bought it yet? If not, hurry on over to the Smashwords’ End of Year sale where it’s 50% off. Today January 1st only, since it’s the last day of the sale. My publisher also has a holiday sale through Saturday, and it’s 30% off at JMS Books.
…and 2020. You won’t be missed. But since I want my blog to be a happy, positive space, I’m focusing on the good things of this year, number one among them is that I became a grandmother. Who can be unhappy when such a monumental thing happens? 🙂
But this post is primarily for things that happened in December. I hope you don’t expect grand adventures or travel photos from exotic locations, because December was mostly spent at home in my tiny apartment. Because you know… 😀
But let’s not talk about that now.
December was mostly a gray and dreary month, consisting of rain, rain, and more rain. But every now and then a pink sky appeared to make me happy, and whenever it did, I photographed it.
I bought myself a tea and short story advent calendar, so I spent every Sunday morning reading a short holiday story written by well-known and classic Swedish authors (and one Danish author this year) and drinking the tea that came with it. The tea and novella in the picture was for second advent. The story was on the depressing side, but it was written by one of Sweden’s most famous poets, Dan Andersson, so it was beautifully written. So I liked it, even if I prefer my stories (especially holiday ones) to be a little more uplifting.
My daughter and I always decorate our Christmas trees with a theme, and this year it was “nature” and DIY, so we had a Skype date where we made our own ornaments. I put on some Christmas music, warmed some glögg (mulled wine), and had some skumtomtar (marshmallow santas) to eat with that as we made the ornaments. This is me making gold-painted pinecones. It was lovely, and the tree turned out fantastic. But I’ll show you that later.
Speaking of DIY: I also made my own gift tags for the Christmas presents for my granddaughter. I thought How hard can it be to paint a Christmas tree? It’s an abstract green triangle, right? So I gave it my best, and the end result (not in the picture) turned out great. So great, my husband asked me to paint a Christmas card to send to his nephew, too…which I did. It was fun. But I need more practice. Lots more practice! 🙂
December 13 is Lucia Day in Sweden, and I watched it on my tablet during my morning writing session. It was a responsible, socially distant celebration, outside in the snow. It was so beautiful I couldn’t stop crying as I watched it. I can’t wait until my granddaughter is old enough to participate in the Lucia celebration. I’ll be the Gramma who sits in the front, beaming with pride, and crying my eyes out because of the beauty of the tradition.
We spent Christmas with my daughter and her family, the only people we see during the pandemic. And this is the tree; everything is DIYed, except for the lights of course. We were very happy with how it turned out. And 85% of the presents under the tree was for the 3-month old baby. Just as it should be 🙂
My daughter had bought a bunch of festive headbands. If you follow me on Instagram you would have seen me in reindeer antlers and a Christmas tree headband, but there were more. Like this one with presents 😀
Christmas Eve (that’s the day Sweden celebrates Christmas) came with sunshine and a blue sky, so we went out for a walk.
…and then we did what a lot of Swedes do on Christmas Eve: watch Donald Duck. It’s a weird Swedish tradition and if you’re curious, you can read about it here. 😀
On Christmas Day, we went back home and I set up my Christmas present on my desk: a lovely moon lamp.
And finally, New Year’s Eve, which I spent alone at home with my husband with an epic charcuterie board, bubbly, and great music.
Nell Iris 