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.