Christmas Season 2013/2014 - Mom's Tree

Mom texted me a picture of her tree as we didn't make it over for Christmas Eve dinner like we usually do. She said she'd keep it up a little longer this year as she was away in Leavenworth visiting Sam and his family between Christmas and New Year's.

Christmas Season 2013/2014 - Odds and Ends 7

Nutcracker shadows.

Christmas Season 2013/2014 - Dale's Story to Tell

Christmas Season 2013/2014 - Odds and Ends 6

Christmas Season 2013/2014 - Odds and Ends 4

I've been collecting mercury glass ornaments over the years. I love the colors.

Christmas Season 2013/2014 - Odds and Ends 3

My Secret Santa gave me this dishtowel with a black lab on it as a nod to Athena. Thanks Rachel!

Christmas Season 2013/2014 - Odds and Ends 1

This was a table decoration in the Norwegian Room and the American Swedish Institute. I like the deco look.

Photo taken December 31, 2013

Christmas Season 2013 - Russian Tea Cakes

My friend Noel makes Russian Tea Cakes every Christmas just as her mother did and, I believe, as her grandmother did as well. Her grandma, who was of Czech descent, refused to call them Russian Tea Cakes because of what the Russians did to the Czech people. I believe the family still calls them pecan crisps or something like that. Pictured above are some of the actual cookies made by Noel. She sent some home with us after her most recent holiday fete.

Christmas Season 2013/2014 - My Swedish Heritage and Disney Cartoons (Kalle Anke 2013)

What does my Swedish heritage have to do with Disney cartoons? On our recent (December 31) visit to the American Swedish Institute, Dale and I noticed that part of the Christmas displays included a showing of Disney cartoons (dubbed in Swedish) on a regular sized television set up in the old ballroom. Accompanying the showing was the following on a placard:

"A Swedish Christmas is a mix of many traditions, both old and new. While Carl Larsson may cringe, children no longer ask for fruit and nuts for Christmas, not when they can request the newest PlayStation or Xbox."

"The Christmas tree is traditionally brought inside just in time for Christmas Eve. Those in rural areas sometimes hack down their own trees with saw, ax, or whatever tools they have on hand... with varying levels of success."

"To outsiders, the most bizarre Swedish Christmas tradition is a ritual viewing of American cartoons. At 3:00 PM on Christmas Eve, all good Swedes tune in to the 1958 Walt Disney special, Kalle Anka och hans vanner onskar God Jul. ('Donald Duck and his friends wish you a Merry Christmas.') For reasons unknown, between 40 and 50% of the population watches the rebroadcast each year, bringing a touch of American nostalgia to Scandinavia."

Wow. Who knew?

Back in the late 1990s I used to show the kids an old VHS cassette titled Disney's Very Merry Christmas Sing Along Songs just before Christmas vacation. They loved it. I now have it on DVD. While it's not the same program as the one in Sweden, it is Disney and Christmas themed. So, just for fun, I watched it today as a tip-of- the-hat to my Swedish heritage.

New Year's Day 2014 - It's a Wonderful Life

Dale and I finished watching It's a Wonderful Life last night. We both commented on how the ending gets us every time. We were both crying like babies.

New Year's Eve 2013 - Ellis

To keep their son Ellis busy while entertaining, Alyn and Chris put him to work cutting out animal pictures (and for a 5-year old he cut quite well) from some old wall calendars. He then gluied them on paper. He picked out the lion cub for me and the blue jay for Dale.

New Year's Eve 2013

We went to the house of our friends Alyn and Chris for New Year's Eve. Our mutual friend Eric was there with his new beau, John. Chris made beef stew for dinner which was quite tasty. Eric brought tirimisu for dessert and we brought the champagne. We had a great time and left around 10:30 so they could get their son, Ellis, to bed.

Top right: Alyn lines their front walk with luminary bags. Quite festive.

Middle: Chris built a lovely fire in their fire place. Very cozy.

Bottom right: Champagne.

Left: We were home from Alyn and Chris's house by about 11:00. It's been a few years since Dale and I have stayed up until midnight. We weren't planning on it this year but as we all know, sometimes even the best laid plans...

Below: Eric's tirimisu.

Christmas Season 2013 - New Year's Eve Day at ASI Part 3

Left: Tomten

Top right: Long shot of the tomten in the turret near the music room.

Middle right: Dala horse rides.

Bottom right: FIKA

Christmas Season 2013 - New Year's Eve Day at ASI Part 2

Left: The fireplaces at the American Swedish Institute are works of art. This one depicts Thor.

Top right: The courtyard and south facing side of the mansion while waiting for a table at FIKA.

Middle right: The courtyard and south facing side of the mansion after lunch - the sun came out.

Bottom right: Gas stove in the kitchen of the mansion. I've been in this great house many times over the years and was surprised as I have never seen this section of the house. It turns out it just opened this past fall.

Christmas Season 2013 - New Year's Eve Day at ASI Part 1

Yesterday Dale and I made a visit to the American Swedish Institute for lunch at FIKA. The following is from the restaurant's website:

"FIKA is the acclaimed New Nordic cuisine restaurant helmed by Executive Chef Dustin Thompson inside the American Swedish Institute. [It is c]ited by the Minneapolis Star Tribune as having the 'Best lunch in Minnesota'..."

"...FIKA boasts a seasonally-inspired, family friendly menu dedicated to regional ingredients and Nordic traditions with a contemporary twist."

Top left: I started with a cup of glogg (The word is pronounced like you're saying the word glue with a /g/ at the end. I know this because our kind waitress pronounced it for me after I asked. She added with a smile that "there is no judgement here.").

Top right: Dale and I each ordered a cup of the cabbage soup. Divine.

Bottom left: We shared and order of meatballs with lingonberries over mashed potatoes. Also divine.

Bottom right: We also both ordered the salmon smorgas (open faced sandwich) with beet relish. Yes, this too was divine. It was ALL divine. On top of this the portions were very reasonably sized.

Christmas Season 2013 - New Year's Eve Eve: Butcher and the Boar

Dale and I went to Butcher and the Boar for dinner last night. I had wanted to go for New Year's Eve but they were booked. Thankfully they weren't to busy last night. I had steak and he had BBQ'd octopus. Also had a couple martinis.

Christmas Season 2013 - Athena

Dale posted the above along with the following on his blog:

"Joe made this collage of pictures of Athena he took last night while we watched It's a Wonderful Life. It is indeed."

I agree.

Christmas Season 2013 - It's a Wonderful Life

It's probably been about 4 or 5 years since Dale and I have watched It's a Wonderful Life. I'm not sure why the long break as we had been watching it every year for a while. The first version I saw of this movie was one starring Marlo Thomas in the George Bailey role. This was way back in the 1970s and I was probably around 10 or 11 years old. But back to the 1946 version. We didn't finish watching it - Dale fell asleep.

Christmas Season 2013 - The Garden in Winter

Christmas Season 2013 - Orange Pomander Balls

According to The Old Farmer's Almanac, "medieval herbalists used pomanders - mixtures of fragrant dried herbs in cloth bags or perforated boxes - to ward of illness or bring strength and good fortune." 

As a child, our Christmas mornings began with opening stockings once everyone was awake. Stockings were always chock full of good stuff. One year Mom put an orange in each of our stockings and I was very perplexed. Not disappointed, just perplexed. Why would I have an orange in my stocking when I could walk to the kitchen and grab one from the fruit basket? Mom explained how she and her siblings always got an orange in their stockings as a child and what a rare treat it was to have citrus fruit in the winter. It made sense as far as I was concerned and I appreciated the mini-history lesson. Due to this story I try to incorporate oranges with cloves stuck in them into my Christmas decorating.

I've read that in the 19th century, the well-off would use orange pomanders as part of their Christmas decorations because oranges were considered a rare treat and something of an extravagance. The citrus scent combined with the smell of cloves smelled heavenly and probably helped to alleviate basic household odors. How to make them? I use a pin to help start the holes for the cloves and then simply add the cloves. Nothing could be easier and they look and smell great.