2013: 2300 Posts til Christmas

[tinseltown]

:gbhouse: Missing traditional Christmas light displays on the houses in my area. Luminarias are popular in the southwest but they are not as beautiful as a house decorated with lights. Sigh. Maybe this week we'll drive to another area of town in search of lights!

Hope you find those Christmas lights Noel

[tinseltown]

Started on the Christmas shop today ,trying to economise but not easy at Christmas . Liked what you said Noel about leaving some things to spend more time with the Lord and family . Thats what its all about x

[Jolly O'Leary]

[b]Searching for

[color=#408000]Thanks Jolly. I'll definitely check it out! Veggies have to be scrumptioui at Christmas time in my family or they aren't eaten.

Actually I have found the less you do the veggies, the better they taste. One of our favorite Christmas veggies is brussel sprouts steamed in butter and chicken buillon with lemon pepper. You can steam them to your preference, we prefer them still a bit "chewy". If you need a sauce you can melt more butter and add lemon pepper to it.

Today is Nobel Day in Stockholm. As you an guess it is a big day. Some people even have Nobel parties the way Americans have Oscar parties. We usually try to have a better than average dinner while watching the royals and prize winners dine on tv. This year it is either beans on toast or sausage and beans. We have been a bit "free" with our Christmas budget, so it´s basic food again until Christmas and then back to frugality in January.

[Noel+]

We're on the frugality train too. It helps buy the extra rich foods at Christmas time! So its a good thing!

Enjoy the Nobel Day Jolly!

[Noel+]

Well it actually got below freezing last night by 1 degree. So of course I wrapped the pipes. The ground isn't used to cold temps in a year when we had a high of 119F in the summertime. It definitely feels like Christmas!!

[Jolly O'Leary]

for those interested, you can see the Prize ceremonies on www.nobelprize.org. There is SO much more to it than you see on the 5 minute blip on the evening news. For Swedes, its another celebration on the way to Christmas. The next is Lucia on Friday!

[tinseltown]

Ive posted some pics on A country Christmas on Facebook ,Tina Anton so please check them out . Busy here . Just watched a great christmas film A Christmas snow . It has a christian theme running through the story and i blubbed for most of it Happier times for all of us i pray

[Christmas Crazy]

[Jolly O'Leary]

Very nice Christmas art, Christmas Crazy!

Did you get the card?

[Christmas Crazy]

Very nice Christmas art, Christmas Crazy!

Did you get the card?

Yes I did. Yours was the first Christmas card of the year for us.
KK thought it was pretty cool to get a card from Sweden.

[Jolly O'Leary]

Very nice Christmas art, Christmas Crazy!

Did you get the card?

Yes I did. Yours was the first Christmas card of the year for us.
KK thought it was pretty cool to get a card from Sweden.

I sent them out in November because it usually takes two weeks to get mail from one side of the pond to the other. But many in the US say they received it before Thanksgiving. Others say they have not received it yet. Hopefully, they will all be there before Christmas! I have a very distant relative in Santa Claus, Indiana, and he said he sent us a card with the special Santa Claus, IN postmark. I used to collect those in the US before I ever knew I had a distant relative there. Sad to say I dumped my stamp collection before moving here, it never occurred to me that I would be able to keep it up. Collecting stamps is almost as much fun as Christmas!

[Jolly O'Leary]

http://defendchristmas.com/2011/12/18/s ... ols-argue/

from my hometown. So sad that such a joyful time as Christmas is the source of such controversy, even to the point of banning the colors red and green........Yikes! I have on snow man earrings and a snow man t shirt today and my swedish co workers said I looked "very american". LOL

[Noel+]

Ive posted some pics on A country Christmas on Facebook ,Tina Anton so please check them out . Busy here . Just watched a great christmas film A Christmas snow . It has a christian theme running through the story and i blubbed for most of it Happier times for all of us i pray

Thanks for posting your pictures on Facebook. Really lovely Christmas decorations. Are they handmade?

That movie brings a tear to the eye doesn't it? Is saw it on UP last year.

[Noel+]

Hope your Christmas celebrations continue to be grand Christmas Crazy!

[Noel+]

http://defendchristmas.com/2011/12/18/san-antonio-schools-celebrate-christmas-while-other-texas-schools-argue/

from my hometown. So sad that such a joyful time as Christmas is the source of such controversy, even to the point of banning the colors red and green........Yikes! I have on snow man earrings and a snow man t shirt today and my swedish co workers said I looked "very american". LOL

Yes we have the colors & sounds of Christmas banned here in schools. No more "Christmas Pageants" and no mentioning of the sole reason we celebrate the holiday: Jesus Christ.

Looking "very American" is a compliment!

[Jolly O'Leary]

http://defendchristmas.com/2011/12/18/san-antonio-schools-celebrate-christmas-while-other-texas-schools-argue/

from my hometown. So sad that such a joyful time as Christmas is the source of such controversy, even to the point of banning the colors red and green........Yikes! I have on snow man earrings and a snow man t shirt today and my swedish co workers said I looked "very american". LOL

Yes we have the colors & sounds of Christmas banned here in schools. No more "Christmas Pageants" and no mentioning of the sole reason we celebrate the holiday: Jesus Christ.

Looking "very American" is a compliment!

Well, Christmas colors here in Sweden are Red/Gray and Violet and blue are the colors of Advent if one wants to be "defiant", then there is always white, silver, and gold. Either that or go Goth in "protest" and "mourning".

[Jolly O'Leary]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... d-men.html

Sad to say the Christmas controversy is here as well, though Sweden has done a pretty good job of secularising Christmas on its own. This article is from 2012, but I have no doubt similar arguments will take place this year. Then there is the same controversy every year about holding Christmas concerts in churches (pretty much the only use of some of our most beautiful cathedrals) and singing traditional songs that mention God and the birth of the Christ Child. I know one friend in Texas has a hard time deciding whether to protest what "winter programs" have become by not allowing her child to participate or trying to buck the system as far as possible. Though I am sorry we did not have children, sometimes I am also glad I am not a parent.

[tinseltown]

Ive posted some pics on A country Christmas on Facebook ,Tina Anton so please check them out . Busy here . Just watched a great christmas film A Christmas snow . It has a christian theme running through the story and i blubbed for most of it Happier times for all of us i pray

Thanks for posting your pictures on Facebook. Really lovely Christmas decorations. Are they handmade?

That movie brings a tear to the eye doesn't it? Is saw it on UP last year.

Thanks Noel ,the table setting i made at at Christmas craft morning last year . All the others ive collected on my travels or are gifts from dear friends and family who know i love Christmas Yes the film was very touching and i loved the fact that they read from the bible in the film . Off to get ready now for a night of fun , food and festivities . Blessings to you all

[Christmas Crazy]

[Christmas Crazy]