pickledHerringChronicles

it’s now down to the weekend before the 24th-and my mom sent me out on a mission to get food for eve of christmas. i also just watched one of the worst adaption of a book possible, theGoldenCompass!

Yuck. talking animals and a plot that you couldn’t even follow as they kept introducing new aspects of the book without explanation. when it was finished my BF and i both agreed that the movie can only be watched and drinking shots. What is goingOn with the (talking polar bears, flying witches, gypsies and the little girl who has the compass….) these where largest plot twists in the movie and they all came with No explainationby the characters. did i mention that in the origional book a child is sacrificed(in a kids book!)

save yer ten bucks.

oh yeah, i began writing about the pickled herring chronicles; an old tradition in scandinavia that has to do with it being Very coldand pickled fish kept in the cold weather along with the herring. i grew up eating lamb and lutefisk for christmas dinner, sometimes we had both if we traveled up North. i am no fan of lyed fish, that has been dried, smoked and cured-and Lyed. to me it’s like eating babyFood. usually the fish is so salty it’s hard to eat. going back the Why.

most food in Scandinavia is bland but very salty because it kept food in cold conditions and made it easier to store in the ground. my grandmother once cured trout in her bathtub after we had gone fishing. for 2days we where camping in her house while we waited for the fish cure; my dad immediately went out and bought coolers for my grandmother so everyone could use the Only bathroom in the house.

i am no fan of salt and barely use it in my own cooking, i am a big fan of black pepper and other seasonings in replacement of salt. i tend to like the pickled herring that we eat in all varieties each christmas. i have been asked why it’s so important-i compare it to whatever big meal you eat, ham or turkey or pasta for christmas. us Scandinavians have our smorgaasbord the day of christmasDay; over-shadowing the lamb we eat the night before.

the smorgaasbord is a spread with enough protein to match a atkins diet. there is always meat, cold and hot; my swedishMeatballs, ham and of course theHerring. i developed a reallyGood swedishMeatball recipe last year that was the Biggest hit at my christmasParty; more popular than my mulledwine.

i’d like to wish everyone who reads this: God-Jul og Godt Nytt Aar!(merryChristmas and happyNew Year.)

ornaments

i had just forgotten how busy the christmas season gets till this past weekend when i did 3 parties in 2 days, on top of running around getting essentials such as a christmas tree, ornaments and food. i was really touched when my beau pulled out an ornament i had forgotten about-from years ago. the sentiment of him holding on to it and keeping it safe made me cry.

   last year i was on my way to newJersey and spent 10 days i was away seeing most of the tri-state area visiting friends. i miss NYC this time of year, all the lights seeing rockefeller lit up with the angels and watching tourists going around the ice skating rink. the crisp city air that only exists in NYC.

         i was recently sent a link to the swedish saint lucia celebration-in sweden it’s the celebration of the coming winter days again becoming longer rather than shorter. i am celebrating a few milestones of my own, my medication is working, my beau and i are happy. i focus on the moments i didn’t or couldn’t have before. each day is better than the last.

ps-seattle just gave birth to what the locals call the S.l.u.t=southlake union trolley; the track runs a mere 1.3 miles in the city with 11 stops, so the lazy tourists no longer have to walk to lakeUnion. i rode the trolley today to stay drier. Wow! i usually walk what the trolley does in less than the 15 minutes it has between runs. stay tuned for other whacky ways the city is “improving” transportation.

stitched

i am sitting enjoying winter rain-that we should be having for the next week. maybe it’s the fact that lattes in short cups taste better on rainy days, that i like taking power naps. i was wondering what i was going to blog about the last few days when i found my dad’s old sweater and this really neat sweater dress that my grandmother made back in the early 90’s when 2000 really Felt far away.

when global warming was Just something scientists talked about but where never heard. i had to run an errand and came back to find my laptop had gone into sleep mode. i am sitting eating cupcakes and watching everyone bunched up and ready for winter. before my back was acutely injured this past spring i would be running in the cold rain; but since my injury hasn’t gotten any better i can’t.

since, my abilities have gotten the best of me, i prefer power walking and running trail. there is a gym next to where i live and hope to get into it at some point to do some cardio one of those Do it all machines that are popular these days; if it was up to me i would be out in the woods. not stuck in some gym.

i am looking forward to Christmas this year; we have decorated in the transitional housing i’m living in and it finally gave me much needed holiday spirit that had gotten the best of me since moving into the house. living there has been an interesting experience because the house moves in waves, there are days that the whole house is in a good mood and other days when everyone is either grouchy or irritated and it reverberates all over the house.

we had a bed bug scare recently, something i didn’t enjoy as i was forced to wash most of my clothes and if i wasn’t washing them i had place everything in the dryer for 20 minutes. the thrill of not being able to enter my room was annoying-the entire afternoon the house was in limbo-but it also created a bond. a few days ago the firealarm had been pushed and at a very early hour we all stood huddled waiting for the fireTrucks to pull up. i am Grateful the house didn’t burn down or that anything worse happened; it made me grateful for the small things i have incl. my old beat up laptop which is becoming temperamental and annoying at times.

only 11 days till Christmas!