Midsummer!

Midsummer, my personal favorite, maybe after Christmas. Originally it was a pagan celebration that Christianity didn’t manage to get rid of when it came along, so instead of prohibit it was said to be the birthday of john the Baptist. Well, not so much in reality. We really celebrate the sun and fertility. We dance traditional dances round the midsummer pole and listen to classic Swedish summer songs. We make crowns of wild flowers and eat fresh potatoes, herring and strawberries for dessert. And to go with it all of course some Swedish snaps!

Ill start my celebrations down by the lake, dancing and singing with flowers in my hair together with family and locals from the village. Then I’ll go eat dinner and celebrate and dance some more with friends in the evening. It will be a good good day.

Last year it looked something like this..

In the middle of a dance with sweetest Isabelle 

Last year Linda hosted the celebrations!

The must-have strawberry cake!

Happy midsummer!

summer Solstice

In the middle of June, when the sun sets the latest and rises the earliest, when the days are long and the nights barely there, strawberries and rhubarbs tastes better than ever before.     

And so I spent some time taking care of what the sun and garden gave to us, cus no jam is as tasty as the home-made strawberry and rhubarb jam!

Grandmothers’ strawberries and our rhubarbs chopped in various sizes to make the best mix.

Add sugar, pectin and citric acid. In Sweden we cheat a bit, we have jam sugar, already mixed and ready to go :)

Best enjoyed warm with vanilla ice cream or on pancakes!

xx

Visa vid vindens ängar

Ok so when Alexande Ryback won Eurovision Song Contest I LOVED him! Then I meet my lovely Norwegian friends and learned more about him. Oh the disappointment.  And for the last year I have been less than a fan of his. Even been on the very anti Ryback team.

But, there is nothing as too late for change and when I was introduced to the collaboration between Rybak and Swedish musician Mats Paulson my attitude towards him changed again. A lot! I do think you might have to be Swedish to see the beauty of it, or Scandinavian at least cus the type of music is really traditional and culturally connected to Sweden. Mats Paulson have huge numbers of classic Swedish songs on his CV and when he teams up with young Ryback in my favorite Swedish song I can’t help but starting to like him again.

It is the kind of song I would listen to on Midsummer Eve or on the bridge in the lake relaxing alone or eating crayfish and drinking nubbe with dear friends.  The song IS Swedish summer.

I did try to find a better clip, but this will have to do I’m afraid…

Oh and for those of you who can’t tell the difference, He is a Norwegian but here sings in Swedish while keeping his accent, which is really nice.

quirky makes pleasant

Some have dogs guarding their houses; we have a gnome taking care of ours. Not a big surprise though since there are approximately 500 Santa’s and gnomes in various sizes and poses (fishing, napping etc..) within these walls.

I love this little man, he is one of those things that makes a home, bit worn out, quirky and so charming on the moss on the stone wall. And the best part is that gnomes are used as protection from evil sorcery and misfortune. So I feel completely safe without any dog at all.

Yes! :)

However, friends of mine whom actually like Harry Potter are few, so will someone please come see it with me? Pretty pretty please!