kitchen window

This kitchen window is facing north, towards the neighbors garage... it's so much lighter when there's snow outside!

This year I wanted some kind of roman shade for this window, but found nothing I liked in the price range I liked ;).

So I sewed this roll up shade from a duvet cover I bought.

I made a small wreath from herbs... 

it smelled so good when I made it.

So much more fun to bake in a cozy kitchen :).

living room «mantle»

With a wood stove follows not exactly a mantle... but somehow I wanted to hang the kids stockings and display my mother in laws old ski.

Well, that's what I came up with!

With temperatures down to -10 Celsius (15 Fahrenheit) we're going through some wood in a day...

New Year and christmas recap

Happy new year!

The older the children get the more I appreciate holidays and school breaks... so good to have everybody home, even Mr Viking was home every day between christmas and new year!

Add the beloved aunt R to the mix (who spent her christmas break from her bible school year in England here with us) and everybody's happy!

Christmas eve we set up a long table in the kitchen/dining room and enjoyed traditional pinnekjøtt for dinner.

The table cloth wasn't ironed - but cloth napkins give the feeling of some luxary ;).

Mismatched wine glasses, my grandmothers silver cuttlery and my husbands grandmothers china.

Some straps of Hadanger lace and some burlap and a little greenery.

And my husband made the best mashed rutabaga (yellow turnip) I ever tasted!

fourth of advent

We finally lit the fourth candle (finally for the children - a little too quick for me).

December has been busy. Once more I spent a night at hospital, this time with my little girl who got a hard soccer ball kicked at her head, which resulted in a concussion.

We are thankful that she got over it quickly.

Than my husband lay new flooring in our entry - I'm SO thankful for this. The old stained carpet with it's strange blue color gone!!!  :)

Anyhow it's soon christmas and yesterday I finally got the chance to get some greenery from my in-law's  garden and made several wreaths and I added some greenery around the house...

... and finally the christmas feeling is here!

a little christmas in the breakfeast nook...

The christmas season started rather dramatic for us.

In summer I started again to work a little at the local nursing home (I'm a R.N.), so I was still at work Saturday evening, when babyboy crashed into a door while having something in his mouth, which lead to an injury at one of his tonsils and back in the throat.

After I came home (instead of hanging advent stars in the windows - as I had planned), I organized a babysitter to come over and packed my toothbrush while my husband went to the local ER with babyboy.

They sent us to town to the hospital.

I spent the night with him in hospital and Sunday morning the doctors decided it was best to sew the injury with some stiches under a general anaesthetic.

It was not a nice feeling, laying my unconcious baby down on the operation table, leaving him there while I had to leave the room.

But everything went so well. We could take him home with us already the same day. And now, three days later everything is just fine. ;)

I even got some christmas decoration up by now!

This year's advent's candles are nearly the same as last year's.

Just that I turned the mugs around. To keep the candles secure a little hot glue does the trick.

And I used red candles.

 In my childhood advent wreath's always had red candles.

Tomorrow is first of december.

The count down is about to start!

Lillejulaften

The day before christmas eve is called "Lillejulaften" (little christmas eve) in Norway. It's the day to prepare...

Oh Tannenbaum!

Actually I have a little ambvilant feelings for that thing. 

I mean think rationally... 

getting a huge green tree into the house, 

hanging all kind of stuff from it!?!

But it really makes a huge impact for getting the christmas feeling...

When I  painted my hutch this summer I was a little unsure how it would go with the christmas tree.

I love it. :)

The family bible of my greatparents opened at Luke2.

And with this post I wish all my readers, friends and family a wonderful Christmas!

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: 

and the government shall be upon his shoulder: 

and his name shall be called Wonderful, 

Counsellor, 

The mighty God, 

The everlasting Father,

 The Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

Preparations

I enlarged the dining table in the living room and

put my precious Hardanger-style embroidered tablecloth on.

We will have dinner here on christmas eve.

Tonight we finally will set up the christmas tree - after german tradition it's not to be set up before the 24th.

(And than the kids are not allowed to enter the livingroom before the feast beginns in the evening).

But I like to have it up some days before :)

And gift wrapping is going on everywhere in the house... and many secrets have to be kept ;)

I have used brown package paper for many years - with dried orange slices one year or clay hearts another.

This year - after some bloglandia inspiration - I added some doilies or simple fabric scraps.

Merry christmas!

Clothes

With the holidays approaching I find myself once again going over the childrens wardrobe. Keeping up with clothes for seven people is sometimes quite a task ;).

This dress I designed myself, my mother made the dress from red linnen and I made the apron using american patchwork fabric. My little girl had it for several years, but has finally outgrown it this year.

Last christmas eve she used her childrens bunad. 

It's a national costume, handmade by a 94year old lady. 

Norwegian women are very good at handiwork. It's beeing said nowegian girls get birthed with  knitting needles in their hands (ouch! - poor mothers!).

(here on the 17th of May - nationalday)

For this year I'm so lucky to have received several "hand me downs" from a dear friend of mine who has a girl some years older than mine.

The dress and blouse is from french  Mayoral. Vest by Hennes&Mauritz.

Blouse and pants by Mayoral. Cardigan hat and scarv made by a friend (one of those accomplished norwegian ladies;).

Yet another hand me down from Mayoral, she already used it last year, but it still fits this year.

I love it's simle style and beautiful details.

I have to admit its fun to have a girl to dress up. 

And as I love classic interior it's no surprise I like classic clothes.

I just have a little ironing to do and I can check off another thing of my

 pre-christmas-to-do-list.

Handknitted (not by me!!!) norwegian jumpers for the boys.

Christmas home tour

Welcome!

Entrè

Kitchen

Dining room

living room

my grandparents family bible opened at Luke 2

bedroom

PS. After our tree came up on the 22nd I added some pics.