As I told you in December, as part of Jolabokaflod, and my experiment with Hygge Living, I read Mr Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva. I decided, since I’ve never actually read a Charles Dickens book, that I should! I came upon a free one and downloaded all 1400 pages of Little Dorrit on…
Tag: What I Learned Series
Merry New Year!
This will be my last post of 2022! I want to share a book with you that I began reading on Christmas Eve as part of my Hygge Living Experiment (Cozying Up), that began in earnest in September of this year. I began following/practicing many of the Scandinavian traditions after my visit to Norway in…
It’s Been a Good Time to Read a Book!
I’ve had a very good time reading this book, Keeping Christmas, by Kathleen Stokker, and learning about the Christmas traditions in Norway! It fit in perfectly with my Norway series, which I am about to start up again, since we’re not through Norway just yet! The book begins with the link between Viking customs and…
Nordic Christmas Traditions: Birds at Christmas
One of the things I learned about Norway, is the folks really like the outdoors! They love the clean, fresh air, the farm life and simple living. Another Norwegian tradition, with an unknown origin (although they have ideas about it) is the sharing of the julenek, or the sharing of grain, as a Christmas…
Nordic Christmas Traditions: Let’s Take the Sauna and Ice Plunge!
What could be more Nordic than the sauna and the ice plunge? The oldest known saunas were found in Finland. They were simple pits dug into the slope of ground and used as a dwelling in winter. Brrrrrrr……. They added a little fireplace with stones….and by throwing water on the stones produced steam, which gave…
Nordic Christmas Traditions: Nisse
The word nisse may have derived from the Old Norse word, niosi, meaning “dear little relative.” Today a nisse (Norwegian) means a “homestead man,” who is a mischievous elf, that oversees the domestic household and the health of farm animals. He demands respect…….. plus a bowl of julegrøt (Christmas porridge) with butter, on Christmas Eve. …
Nordic Christmas Traditions: Gingerbread and Gløgg
How can one get through Christmas without gingerbread or gløgg? I know my family couldn’t! Making the gingerbread is a family affair! I love the fragrance of gingerbread baking! So, who made the first gingerbread and gløgg? Originally the term gingerbread (from the latin word zingiber, via the Old French word gingebras) meant preserving ginger….
Nordic Christmas Traditions: Fika (the Swedish Coffee Break)
I’m including a Nordic Christmas Tradition with the WeekendCoffeeShare today! So come on in and sit awhile, while we enjoy a fika! The Nordic lifestyle is one to be envied! Purity and simplicity are essential elements! In Sweden, Fika is translated as “coffee and cake break.” It is an essential part of the culture! It…
Nordic Christmas Traditions: Broom Hiding
The Winter months in Norway are dark and long……………..What better way to spend the dark, dark hours of the night, but to focus on winter stories! Many of these stories include mischievous sprits, elves, trolls or witches…….. In the Nordic countries it is said that witches roam the land during the darkest month of December….
Nordic Christmas Traditions:The Oldest Stave Church in Norway (Still In Use Today)
Have you seen my hubby’s walk to Undredal? The easiest way to get to the village of Undredal (population 100) is walking the three miles from a goat farm over the mountains to the other side, to the village. It was an awesome hike and only two men (one was my hubby) and the guide,…
Nordic Christmas Traditions: The Nordic Christmas Goat (Yule Goat)
I love learning the traditions that have been passed down through the centuries to get to the beliefs we celebrate today, don’t you? Since, I have been posting my Norwegian travels, I thought it might be fun to share some Christmas Nordic traditions. We’ve been visiting goat farms and have seen the goats for ourselves!…
The Nordic Christmas Calendar
Since I’ve been posting about Norway for a while now, imagine how happy I was to learn that the Jacquie Lawson 2020 Digital Christmas Calendar featured Norway this year! I have been getting her calendars and cards for several years and sharing them as well! As far as I’m concerned her digital goods are the…
A Book, The Revolution of Marina M
If you have been following my blog, you know I have been posting on the Baltic countries. We’ve traveled from Sweden to Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia and next on the horizon is Lithuania. It has been an eye opening adventure and following along historically, one of those “I had no idea!” times, on the way…
Christmas Oranges
For the last few weeks months I have been very busy with a project. More of that coming when it is completed, sometime in January. But, I thought I would share some Christmas posts that I have posted over the years to get us all in the Christmas Spirit! Today, its all about the Christmas…
The Atlanta Connoisseur’s Garden Tour: The Ryan Gainey Garden
I am glad I saved this garden for last…….one first glance and I knew I could spend hours here…… This is going to be a loooooong post. I want you to experience everything in this garden. This was the place of the home and garden of Ryan Gainey………now, I have to admit I knew Ryan…
ThatTravelLadyInHerShoes 