I love Christmas. There is something about the season that is warming and comfortable. It makes me feel like the world is somehow more united, people flood out to the malls and (mostly) put up with each other while buying gifts for others. Ok so I know it is a little delusional to think that everything is so apple pie (or should I say mulled wine) during the season but for me, the season is perfectly cosy!
So this year, things have obviously changed. We moved to Sweden not long before Christmas and into our home just a couple weeks before we were to leave for England to spend the holidays with Neil’s family. Our Christmas tree was about 2 feet tall and although I decorated with a few strings of lights (in the basement where we have been dwelling) there wasn’t a lot to signify Christmas at the Holden household. I was willing to accept this mainly because I knew that we’d be heading to London (which is always very charming at Christmas) en route to Hailsham and Eastbourne to spend time with Lauren and Neil’s family. Picking Lauren up at Heathrow Airport was a lot of fun. It was cool to be on the other side of the arrivals for a change and I was so emotional when I saw her. It had only been a few weeks but it really did feel like months since we last saw each other!
Christmas was good. It was so great to spend Christmas day with both of Neil’s parents back at the same house Neil grew up in. Lauren got the chance to experience an English Christmas complete with sausage rolls, pigs in blankets and trifle! Neil’s siblings brought a ton of treats for boxing day as well and the whole family came together. I have to say this was an improvement on their Christmas last year with Neil’s mom still being in the hospital at the time. What a difference a year makes!
Lauren came back to Sweden with us to celebrate the turn from 2011 to 2012. Although we didn’t plan a ton of sightseeing, we managed to show Lauren around the area we live in and introduced her to a few of the Swedish traditions that we know of (Glögg for one). We had a fantastic dinner out at a local Japanese restaurant called Mikado where we enjoyed sukiyaki which was served similar to Shabu Shabu but you dip your cooked meat into beaten raw egg. It was a delicious experience and we received a lesson in Japanese culture at the same time.
New Years Eve turned out to be a sort of backward experience. We went into central Gothenburg to watch the fireworks at 5PM which are very well known. Our experience was slightly less than impressive because the area was so foggy that the fireworks lit up the sky into some lovely colours but we could not actually see them. We rushed back to the train station so that we could beat the swarm of thousands of people exiting the area. We were lucky because we managed to get a seat on the train before it filled to capacity and set off to take us home.
We celebrated NYE by having a variety of pickled herrings, liver pate, cheese, crackers and glögg. After a break we then enjoyed a cheese fondue with bread, vegetables and meatballs for dipping.
As the time neared midnight, we noticed (from the basement) that there were popping sounds outside which of course were very recognisable as fireworks. Sure enough, the whole neighborhood (and surrounding neighborhoods) were lighting up the sky with a brilliant fireworks display. Even our immediate next door neighbors were setting them off right over the house! It was brilliant. We live in a fairly rural area which gets very dark at night so the fireworks were even more dazzling! We sipped our sparkling wine and pineapple juice while outside sounding noisemakers! It was so much fun! I have never seen anything so cool on New Years!
The only trouble with the changeover to 2012 was that I had to see Lauren off at the airport. Its tough to say good bye! I miss her!
On a positive note though, just a couple days after Lauren left, all of our things from Canada arrived! Our bed, our clothes and my jackpot! Boxes of Kraft Dinner, Mr. Noodle ichiban soup, Lipton Onion Soup Mix and Stagg chili!!! It was awesome!
Yesterday was a lot of work though. The movers arrived 1 1/2 hrs early at 7:30 am. I was up and dressed so it wasn’t that bad but I was annoyed that they didn’t bother to protect the floors. They traipsed throughout the house in their shoes without any regard for our home. I spent the 2 1/2 hours they were here freezing with the door wide open and marking off the inventory sheet to confirm that all of our items were received. Once the door closed and everything had arrived safely, I was overwhelmed with both excitement and the urge to put everything away! Although we don’t have all the furniture we need, we have enough to get by and I was able to unpack the majority of the boxes! I think I overdid it but our kitchen feels like it belongs to us and we got to eat dinner using our wedding plates and cutlery!
The best part of yesterday was that we were able to move out of the basement and sleep above ground! I managed to make the bed up with all of our newly washed bedding, covered the windows in bed sheets and oh it was a wonderful sleep!
Until next time…