Christmas questions

I ws tagged by Ange :o)

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
Hot Chocolate

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Wrap. Always.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
Colored & white outside. Only white inside.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
No. Mistletoe isn't a scandinavian thing.

5. When do you put up your decorations?
Some go up on the first advent. Lights go up then (outside lights stay on until mid february to help with the infinite darkness). I add decorations every weekend. We bring the tree (always a live tree) a week before Christmas. It stays until Nuutti's Day which is closer to mid January.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish?
Finnish sweet potato dish.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child?
My godfather worked as Santa and many a Christmas I'd join him on his route as an elf. It was fun peeking into other families holiday.

8. When and how did you learn that Santa isn't real?
Hmmm... see above.. :o) He's real in our hearts.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Yes. All of them. That's when Santa comes here.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?
I have enough to decoarte three or four trees... so I alternate. One year red, one lots of color, one year silver... whatever I'm feeling.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?
Love it. As long as I don't have to shovel it all.

12. Can you ice skate?
Sure. I need new skates though, had to toss my old ones last year.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
Not really... sad isn't it...

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
Slowing down. Enjoying the smells and sounds and lights. Appreciating family.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?
Any cookies I've baked.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Visiting graves. It’s a Finnish tradition to visit graves to place candles on Christmas Eve. I can’t tell you how beautiful it is to have a huge cemetery lit with thousands of candles. It’s something I like to do by myself most years. Just to find that quiet time amidst all the “noise” of the day. If we are at home on Christmas Eve, I drive there after 8pm, after we’ve eaten Christmas dinner and Santa has brought gifts. Just me, candles and matches.

17. What tops your tree?
A star.

18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving gifts?
Giving.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?
Oh come all ye faithful

20. Candy Canes on the tree?
Not a one. However you'll find them in with my hot chocolate.

In a holiday mood, I'm not officially tagging anyone.
But if you feel like you'd like to answer these, go ahead.
Have a ball!
Glass ball...
ornament...
boxes of them...

...somebody stop me....

Oh ornaments...

Here they are.

The two biggest boxes.
Then there are the girls' boxes and atleast one more.
Lots of treasures in these.

Like my favorite birdies I made of wool yarn.

Then there's the angel I made for Saara some years ago and the cutest garland ever.
Click on the pic to enlarge it and tell me if you can figure it out.
I'll hum you a hint: mmmm m mmmm mmm m mmmmm mmm mmm mmmm mmm mmm..

You know that one don't you?

So last year I had a colorful tree.
This year I'm feeling like purple and gold...

With crystals.
Lots of shining crystals.

The middle ones are older, the others are new for this year.
Couldn't pass that mini chandelier.
Now where should I hang it?
hmmm....
Too big for the dollhouse, LOL.
(I'll show more of my decorations there in days to come)

I also have two cute ornaments I made on sale at my Etsy store.
They're real angels.
Really.
Looking for a good home.

Stormy day today .
Wind and rain.
I already hit the grocery store.
Hopefully I won't need to put my nose outside today.
Yuck.
Where IS winter?

Oh, I know...
...in Chicago.
Darn. (sorry, Laura)
A bit too much to the west.
Sigh.
I read in the paper today that it is the warmest winter in 500 or so years in Europe.
Who says there is no global warming?
This is ridiculous.

Happy 89th birthday Finland!

She looks more beautiful every year!

We're getting ready to watch the presidential ball.
Criticizing outfits is half the fun.
Spotting familiar faces the other half.

Cheers!

More rain

And a short school day.

Tomorrow is Independence Day for us.

Perfect mall day.

Had to find a 40th b-day...oh...a 80th b-day (40+40, heh) present. Ended up choosing some Villeroy & Boch glassware in a pretty mauve color.

Got home and just vegged.

And made these guys.

Cute, aren't they?

About 1 1/4 inch (3cm) tall and made of 2 pipecleaners.

Hey, did I show the close-up of Saara's house all lit up?

I've now figured out how to hide those ugly wires coming down..

Just need some supplies and a bit of time.

Soon.

Now if only Niina's house kit would arrive so I could get it done in time for Christmas!

PS. I added a Flickr badge of my banners below the Christmas journal :o)

Oh come on....

It's raining.
RAINING.
All day long.
This is getting ridiculous.

Snow.
Now please.

I have a question for you readers of my little ol' blog.
Would you like me to do a Flickr thingymagadget of my December banners also?
And just how many of you are out there today?
Shout out a hello.
Humor me.
;o)

This weather doesn't really put you in a holiday mood, but I'm defying it. I put a new wreath on my door.

Remember those IKEA ornaments from last year? They were on my tree then. I recycled them last week...
It does add a little cheer into the gloomy day.
Atleast I feel a little less grumpy.

Window shopping

I love walking downtown looking at all the fabulous windows at this time of year. It's not often I get to do it without needing gloves... it has been oddly warm here. At this rate I'm not holding my breath for a white Christmas.

But before I show you windows, I have to show you these fairies I found.

Aren't they enchanting?
I would love one.
I may have to beg for one as a birthday present ;o)

Walking down the other side of Esplanade I saw the Marimekko store across the park.

Those colors just pulled on me and I had to get closer.

This is my book is a seriously cool holiday window.
I love that strong green with the red.
I'm not so sure about the guy's "coat" but I do like the graphic feel of it.

I am so tempted by glass...

I have one of those candlesticks (the 6" one)and would love a few more but the bigger ones are quite costly. And it's not like you find Iittala for 50% off at any time. 20% sometimes... And see that bowl just above the candlesticks? It's called a Mariskooli (by Iittala and Marimekko). I have three of those in different colors. It's one of those items you just can't have too many of.

Anyone still looking for a party dress to make and ENTRANCE in?
I found one for you.

Talk about a show stopper.
And hope for wide doorways.
And just how do you sit with that on?
I'm thinking it is one of those dresses you stand in with drink in hand looking fabulous and accepting compliments all night.
It certainly stopped people on the sidewalk.

I found a nice advent calendar in the window of Artek.

Takes up a bit of space though.
Everyone of those ornament balls had a number on them. And yes, there really are 24 cubbies.
And to the left of it, one of my favorite lamps.

The Double Bubble by Eero Aarnio.
Pricey.
The design always is.

Just round the corner is my favorite bookstore Hobboks.

Or Hobby books.
You can lose yourself in there for days.
And you know what? They encourage leafing through the books.
They have a comfy couch, big armchairs, coffee, tea and cookies.
And books, books and more books.
I never knew there were so many hobby related books.
Days I tell you....

Then I stopped by at this store.

It's tiny.
But addicting.
If there were a scrapbookstore in town near this... I'd be in serious trouble.

On Bulevardi there is a fun store called Day.

Hot pink chandeliere anyone?

Walk a few steps more and you'll find yourself in front of Helsinki's most prestigious café Ekberg.
The bakery window looked fabulously gingerbready.

I'm still not sure if I should make one this year.
We'll see.

Did you enjoy your tour?

**today's banner**
It's the 1st advent. My star goes up on my diningroom window today. One of my favorites.

Hmmpphhh...

Blogger is not letting me upload the photos I wanted to show you today.
Cross your fingers that I'll manage that tomorrow.

I went shopping downtown today and saw some fabulous windows... I wanted to take you window-shopping!

I did get the new banner and my photo of the day up though :o)

Happy December!

So what is that banner photo of, huh?
Christmas lights, windows..and my reflection.
Last December we took a cruise to Stockholm. This photo was taken from our cabin window (our cabin faced the inside of the ship as during winter months the seaside cabins are cooooollllldddd) of the lights swaying gently. It was windy and the ship was swaying too...
Now there lies a challenge btw... try walking with high heels as the floor tilts to the right...take five steps and it tilts to the left...and on and on it went. Then try that after a couple glasses of wine... Talk about finding your "sea-legs".

Today I have been at the school organizing a class bake sale.
I think we did pretty good. Our last bake sale a month ago broke an all-time record.
We made 311 euros. That's $410.
From brownies, muffins and cookies.
I'm curious to hear what we made this time.

I should start vacuuming...
It's friday.
Vacuuming day.
In just a bit.

Then I have to set up some lights in the dining room.
I was all ready to set up the star lights to the bedroom yesterday, but realized I had no replacement bulbs. And my supermarket didn't carry the kind. I think I need to call IKEA to see if they sell bulbs only. If not, I'll have to trash my lights...sniff.

The girls were eager to open their advent calendars today. Our house elf Alarik had brought some dollhouse furniture :o)
Oh joy!
And excitement!
And 23 more morning to go!
Yippeee!

And as it is the first of the month, do go check out the fabulous new layouts by the AMLT design team. This team will be staying on (yay, for purely selfish reasons, as I love the team and Jill and the shop) and Jill has some exciting things planned for next year. Like a store blog. With challenges and contests. Fun times ahead.

OK, I better go bake some goodies as my bro and his fiancé are coming by tonight.
Yeah... and vacuum.
Oy.

So...what is coming up?

I bet you're wondering what I have planned for December...
Let me tell you.

From tomorrow until Dec 24th, I'll have a new holiday themed banner every day. I'll be switching it about 9am my time (that's 11pm for you west-coasters).

As for the Flickr thing in the sidebar that has been flashing numbers at you for a while, it will be my "photo of the day" advent calendar. Also from Dec 1st to 24th. I'll have no set time to upload my photo, so you'll have to be patient. Once you double-click on the photo, it will take you to the Flickr page where I'll have the story behind the photo typed for you curious souls :o)

Now why the 24th and not the 25th I hear you ask?
Because we Finns start Christmas at noon on Christmas Eve. That is when we listen to the Christmas peace announcement from the city of Turku. This is a tradition that was begun in medieval times.

"Tomorrow, God willing, is the graceful celebration of the birth of our Lord and Saviour; and thus is declared a peaceful Christmas time to all, by advising devotion and to behave otherwise quietly and peacefully, because he who breaks this peace and violates the peace of Christmas by any illegal or improper behaviour shall under aggravating circumstances be guilty and punished according to what the law and statutes prescribe for each and every offence separately. Finally, a joyous Christmas feast is wished to all inhabitants of the city."

After that we resume cooking.
*grin*

Then we eat, visit the graves and if all goes well Santa will pop in sometime during the evening and sing a few carols with us before giving out presents and heading for the next house. He's one busy man. So it's all a timezone thing... once he gets to you North American folks you're all sleeping and he has no choice but to do the chimney drop-off.
I'm wondering if he'll bring his Mrs along this year... he did one year....

I can't wait until tomorrow....

Blast from the past

You know that one storage closet you hate going to?
The one hidden in the basement.
I had to go into mine today.

It looked pretty bad as Saara had gotten some fabrics out of there yesterday and sort of just jammed everything back in...
This is the place that has all the stuff waiting for a fleamarket, Saara's clothes stored for Niina, skates, fabrics, decorations... you name it, it's here.
Yes, my Christmas decorations are under all that.
More on those on Friday :o)

I wanted to show you a few things I have stored away.
Pieces of my childhood.

Like my very first toy.

Yes, some babies get rattles.
Or teddy bears.
I got a train set.
It's gone through a lot in the past 37 years.
The engine has seen better days.

I can mostly blame my brother.
He buried the engine in the sandbox and we found it two years later. He must have been 4 or 5 back then (he's now 28). The engine still has sand in it...
And we've lost the key. Yes, a wind-up train!
This is very special to me.
It is the only present my grandfather ever had the chance to buy for me. I was his first grandchild. He died of a heart attack just two months after I was born.

Did you have anything like these?

Oh man.. I was the envy of the neighborhood in the very early 80's.
My dad brought these from London.

This was also from overseas.

The xbox of my generation, heh.
Mickey needed to catch eggs into his basket.
I should get some new batteries for it and see if it still works!

And talk about nostalgia.
My first school bag.

The handle has broken and it's all dirty, but I can't part with it.
And look, I still have the same address!

How freaky is that.
(ok, so I airbrushed it a bit... safety you know)

Now what do I keep inside my bag these days?

I made this pair during our Michigan stint.
Mika doesn't care for a country style decor (I'd love to mix the modern and country) so these wait for their time. Maybe one day I'll have a summer cottage they could reside at.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

We were downtown yesterday to watch the Christmas parade.

Santa got a police escort, no less.





Stockman's (the biggest department store) served gingerbread cookies and hot chocolate.
Mmmmmm....

Today, I'll be hanging my Christmas lights outside.
In the rain.
Our weather is just odd. I think I've been saying that for the entire year...
It shouldn't be this warm. I wouldn't mind it if we had some sun. But no, the sky is hanging so low I can practically touch the clouds.
Grey, grey and grey.

Give me some snow already!
But not until I've hung up those lights...
I better get to those now.

Better late than never

Here finally is my page for Suzanne's birthday surprise.

I wish I could have been posting with the others on the right day, but that just didn't happen.

This is in fact the first page I have scrapped in a bit over a month!

I'm a big Jamie Oliver fan :o)

Happy belated birthday my friend!

Toy overload

I just took the girls to the brand new Toys'R'Us store.

Whoa.

I had forgotten just how big those stores are.
Saara kept telling me to slow down, she wanted to look at it all. I told her she could take all the time she wanted, she'd find me on the next aisle.
And Niina...
After about 15 minutes she looked at me and said: Mom...there's just too many toys.
Amen to that.

They used their own money to buy some cute Polly Pocket sets 50% off.
I found some great ideas I can use during next year.

So, I bet you are on the edge of your seats wondering how the gig was on saturday?
Right?
Heh.
It was great. And loud.
When Alec asked afterwards: Did I play loud enough for you?
I just had to answer: WHAT?!?
And grin.

A very short recap:
Eight friends. Four bars. One gig.
Red high heeled boots. Jeans. Black.
Laughs. Hugs. Tears.
I got home at 4.46am.
A-ha.
And I still got text messages before I went to sleep. Had to jump in the shower to wash out all the cigarette smoke. And more messages the next day. And emails.
I love these people. Because they know me. And get me.
And there is no need for pretense.
Can't wait for next time.

Grand opening!

Welcome. :o)

Please step into my new shop:
Delicacies for your dollhouse.

It is filled with yummy dollhouse size treats I have made of polymer clay.
Let me know how you like them.
I've found a new crafting passion.

Revolt Now!

Suburban Tribe - Frozen Ashes

Get this video

I'll be at Suburban Tribe's gig tomorrow night.
The guy behind the drum set is an old classmate of mine. Since he always says he has a gig when we get together, we decided to meet up at his gig.
Should be good fun.
I've been hearing a lot of their music on the radio station I listen to.
Which sadly is going off the airwaves next week.
I've no idea what I'll be listening to from now on. That station has been a part of my life since it started in April 1985.
Sniff...

Pass the kleenex

I just watched the very last episode of one of my favorite shows, Everwood.
Just me and my kleenex...feeling happily sappy.

I so love happy endings.
Now excuse me,
I have to go blow my nose.

I bet you wondered...

Where Mika's list was? Right?

He falls into the "please pick something I can actually get you" category.
Followed by a big eyeroll.

This year he'd like to ask for these from Santa:

• Oh yeah, that'll happen.
• mmmm...really? You think you've been good enough to get this?
• ok...now this is more like it.
• And Tawny, this one is just for you.
• And apparently a few HD DVDs (that's High Definition for all you non-geeks out there) as he has a HD DVD station on his brand spanking new Ferrari.

Yes, folks... this is what I have to live with. But I like him anyway.

Only 39 days to Christmas

My friend Sharyn blogged her wishlist yesterday and I thought it was a fabulous idea.
Since I know both my hubby and my sis come by here, this is a great way to drop some hints.
Hint hint.
Oh, a couple more for good measure.
Hint hint.

To start off, yes I've been very good.
Always am.
Heh.
Why, you need to ask such things?

These ones are directed at Mika :o)

• My subscription needs renewing! I'll help with the passwords, dear.
• As for stocking stuffers, since I know how difficult that is for you.... this came out today.
• An iTunes gift certificate works too
• This is a bit too optimistic.... but I'll throw it in anyway.
• And if all else fails there's always Jill's store. She does gift certificates... or just ask her, she knows what I like and what I already have...heheheee...

Now then... off to list fun stuff.

• I'd really love this book. And this one. We have a huge project for next year ;o)
• With that in mind, I do have a wishlist here. Just email me for the code.
• A little something for completely frivolous purposes.
• Oh and I love these, and these and...this too.

The girls want to give hints to Auntie Tawny also, so here goes:

• I really think Saara would enjoy this book , she got her sewing machine driver's licence from school.
• Then of course there is the ever so dangerous American Girl site with lots of fun things. Like this, this, this and this.
• Niina likes this, this, this and this.
• She'd also like this book. And maybe this one too.
• Also this dvd is missing from our collection.

Phew. That was harder than I thought it would be. I'm pretty sure I'll think of some more things in the next couple days so I might have to come back to edit.

But for now, it'll do.

Tiny house #2

Saara said it is Santa's house. Sure looks cozy.

And apparently someone is warming their toes by the fire... don't you just want to peek inside to see what color socks Santa wears around the house? They have to be peppermint striped.
I need to start looking at Christmas ornaments to find a 6cm/2,5inch Santa. And his Mrs of course!

In the village pack this was the tudor style house originally:

Yesterday was Father's Day here.

Mika got a new alarm clock called Susa (one of my nicknames). That way Susa can tell him what time it is and it doesn't require elbowing me awake to ask what time it is ;o)

Today Niina and I did a little shopping.

She was playing with this book of hers on saturday:

She loves this pop-up book. It has Maisy and hers friends and lots to do (including driving a tractor). Her friend came over with the other Maisy pop-up book...

So today we went to the bookstore to pick up this one:

It is adorable. You can even pull on the toiletpaper roll! And make her bed. Maisy's clothes hang in the closet, because the first time you go looking for her, she's naked in the shower...heheheheee...

So if you have 4-6 year olds into Maisy, I recommend these two books. Hours of fun!

OK, kiddo wanting computer time... see ya!

The start of my Santa's village

Remember the village I won?
After looking at this book (which I recommend, also any other titles from Mauri Kunnas, your kids will LOVE them) I decided to make it into Santa's village. It bears a traditional Finnish loghouse look with tarred roofs.

This is the reindeer stable.

Now only to find teeny tiny reindeer...
..here Rudolph... or Petteri as we Finns call him :o)

I made the logs by recycling a dishwasher detergent tablet box.
I have house #2 in the works.
The plan is to unveil a house a week.

Stay tuned.
And go buy some good books.
My personal favorite?
Herra Hakkarainen aka Mr Clutterbuck
Who can resist a sleepwalking goat?