casting on

I'm itching to cast on for my next knitting project, but I have a dilemma. Because I'm heading home in April, suitcase space is a topic frequently on my brain. I have lived in Sweden for over a year and a half. And I have accumulated. So my rule for the spring is "don't buy anything." at all. unless i can eat it and it disappears. This leaves me with an obvious problem in the knitting department, yet i suppose one can view it as a challenge as well: I may only knit with my stashed yarn. This may not sound too bad, but my stash is such a hodge podge of ends of skeins and yarn I've had forever but never done anything with because they don't have any appeal. So this is what I'm working with. Alexander, the 4 yr old I'm part-time au pairing for, complained last week "jag fryser på kinden." literally translated: I'm freezing on my chin. So I happily came to the rescue with a promised cowl....the perfect solution for his chin and for my yarn scraps. When I presented the finished item this morning to a too-tired boy, he said with a quivering voice that it wasn't like his buddy's, and that he didn't like it. oh dear.

But mostly the knitting dilemma has been in the background lately. I've been teaching a whole lot, and it can be tiring. Today alone I was on my bicycle for 2 and a half hours, going from school to school. (i counted as i puffed up the hill home) It's easy to feel stressed, rushed, and like the day is a blur. And then I arrive at an elementary school. The building is an old Swedish mansion style; tall and stately. And the playground on this grey, lifeless-looking, slushy day, is full of happy children. Clad in snowboots and head to toe jackets, they embrace the day. They find a patch of ice and are fixated for half an hour, taking turns falling. They don't seem to mind that the snow is no longer white but now grey with dirt and gravel. They remind me to laugh, to relax. My "own" child does a pretty good job of reminding me of this himself. We had a rousing pillow fight a couple evenings ago. Me and Alex versus Erik. the usual teams. :)

one thing ends, another begins

What has ended is the sweater I started knitting on Christmas day. A big chunk was done on the long day of flights back to Sweden, and the rest in bits and pieces of free time. It's fun to wear something handmade....like wearing a secret no one knows about but you. It may look ordinary, even a little less than store-perfect, but there is a pleasure one gets from looking down and thinking, hmm. i made that.
What has begun is semlor season. Is that a kind of animal? you ask. Has some odd hunting season begun in Sweden? no no. Although lately i've been wanting to learn to hunt. That's beside the point. In this northern country, after New Years, a certain treat begins appearing on the bakery shelves called semla (plural semlor). A slightly sweet, fluffy bun, sliced in half and filled with marzipan and whipped cream, on which is placed the top like a hat, then is sprinkled with a bit of powered sugar. de-light-ful. Lately I have been fully aware that this season has begun, but I hadn't yet found the perfect moment to spend a few extra crowns on a semla. But alas, Erik came to my rescue and brought home this box last week:
This was a good sign. This is a nice bakery, one of the most well-respected in Uppsala. Inside were found 2 semlor, and after waiting patiently through dinner, we enjoyed the daily after-dinner coffee with these beauties. The tradition of eating semlor goes back to the 16th century in Sweden, and I doubt this one will ever die out.

sunday evenings

bread and tea. knitting and a streamed sermon. sunday evenings and slowness. some things just go together.

winter walks

I have been sick all week and finally had the energy today that I have been craving. It's not totally back, but at least I got to go for a couple long walks. One in the forest, and one in the valley. Both near my house and equally nice (though the forest is so dark, and in the winter I tend to not gravitate in that direction). These horses faithfully search the ground for something to eat.....something amid the rock-hard, dead, snow-covered field. poor things. I wish I had a few animals to take care of. I crave some good old outdoor chores.

I am almost done knitting a sweater/jacket which I started on this day in December:

Yes, it was Christmas day in SC, and it was gloriously warm. We played tennis later. ahh! the life. But I do love winter, and boy does it make spring SO appreciated. I've been back in Sweden for 3 weeks now, and I'm missing immensly that wonderful time with family, friends, dear church fellowship, and delightful southern accents. It's been back to the darkness, and to the teaching duties for me. But I've been able to squeeze in the knitting, and I'm lighting candles, and I have a couple new mix cds from a friend....songs for the soul.

How do you transition from the after-holiday time back to the everyday?