Britt-Arnhild's House in the Woods

Table Setting at the Nordic Museum in Stockholm

@brittarnhild

We are in Stockholm for a few days visiting our son Torgeir, who lives here. I was hoping to find some spring here, but it has not come much further here than back home in Norway.

Well, spring or no spring, there is always a million things to do in Stockholm.
Like visiting Nordiske Museet, The Nordic Museum, which we did today.

The museum is huge and has several very interesting exhibitions going on. We manage to see them all, with sore feet and backs as a result, lol.

They all impressed me, and who knows, there might be more posts from the museum, but the one I want to talk about today is the one called "Table settings"

Copied from the museum's webpage

Interiors featuring table settings from the 16th century to circa 1950: tables for banquets, coffee and tea parties, and tables for aperitifs and aquavit – all are on display in this exhibition. It highlights food and drink, customs and traditions pertaining to meals and the ways in which crockery, cutlery and drinking vessels have changed and developed.

Take a look at a late 16th century dining table, a banquet table featuring confectionery from the late 17th century, a table laid for serving Swedish punch, a table for a special dinner and for a tea party from the 18th century, a breakfast table and one laid for serving aquavit in the 19th century. A 20th century coffee party table will also be on display.

I love china.
I love to set tables
I love to give parties.

So walking through these rooms was pure bliss.

 

 

 

What about a swan for dinner?
Well, I will never ever serve that!

 

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Here is a link to the museum's webpage 

 

But where is spring hiding?

@brittarnhild

In my previous post, which I wrote a month ago (can it be that long!) I talked about spring.......in the greenhouse. We were in deep winter then, and we are in even deeper winter now.

Poor Terje, on Sunday he spent hours shovelling our driveway and the paths we need in the garden to feed the birds and walk down to the greenhouse. Lucky for both of us he is a very fit 67 years old, and of course all this shovelling makes him even fitter.

These pictures were taken on Sunday.
Since then it has continued to snow and snow ands snow.......

 

With a little breath of spring air

@brittarnhild

It is mid- February, and we are still in deep winter here with us. The garden is more or less covered in hard snow and ice, and the frost is deep. Still, we have had some mild days lately, snow is melting, the sun is shining and I can breath spring out there somewhere.......

Inside the greenhouse it is also cold, we do not use electricity to heat it. But as the sun has come higher in the sky the last few weeks, the sunrays reach the greenhouse roof now, at least for a few hours in the middle of the day.

Yesterday I could not resist any longer, but went over to the nursery to buy the first spring flowers.
Today I replanted them in pots, and now they make my beloved greenhouse shine like paradise.

I know winter will be back, still for weeks and weeks, but I can't help it, I SIMPLY LOVE DAYS LIKE THIS.

 

View from the restaurant window

@brittarnhild

Terje and I had sushi today. In a restaurant downtown.
Restaurant on a Monday night is not something we do, actually, but this was a gift treated us back in the fall, and finally we had time to use it.

We both LOVE sushi, and the meal today was very good. Well, very, very good I would say.
And of course a special treat since it was a gift, and on a Monday.

We had "chef's choice of nigiri, sashimi and maki"

We had a window table, and I loved watching the channel, boats and the old fish market (sadly the fish market closed not long ago.

Darkness fell while we were sitting there, and made the view even better.

And better.

 

I love every day life, especially every day life like today :-)

 

 

What to do on a rainy day

@brittarnhild

What to do on a rainy day?
Well, I know at least a million things.......

- photographing in the greenhouse
- reading
- knitting
- drinking tea
- drawing
- watch the birds and the squirrels in the garden
- write in my nature journal
- watering the plants
- celebrate mother's day (which we have in Norway today)
- make plans for an upcoming travel to Italy
- decide not to go for a hike
- read more
- celebrate your grandson´s 4th birthday (his birthday was last weekend but then his parents and brother were down with stomach bug)
- knit some more
- facetime my son in Stockholm

- and as soon as I finish this post I will watch Father Brown together with Terje

What do you do on a rainy day?
Do you ever get bored?

Out hiking again

@brittarnhild

We have been out hiking again.
I have already, in a previous post, told you about our goal to do at least 100 hikes of 5kilometers or more during the year. We did not quite catch the goal last year, but we are trying again this year. Today was our 17th 5km+ hike of 2023, so we are really doing great progress.

We hiked from our house today, over to the arena where the World Championship of Nordic Skiing will be held in 2025. Yes, it will be quite close to where we live, so we are sure we will get a full house with friends and family during the games, lol.

Still deep winter here with us, and today was a lovely day with sun and blue sky.

A lot of restoration work is being done at the ski arena for the moment, so it is always interesting to walk over to watch the progress. A week ago the ski jump was tested for the first time after its rebuilding and next winter there will be a "test world championship", so remaining work must be done fast now.

Our son in law Marius was a ski jumper, just like his father was. And now our two grandsons, Leander aged 7 and Milian aged 4 have started to jump as well....... They are both too young for the championship in two years of course, but one day.......

 

When grey is beautiful

@brittarnhild

After last night´s storm we woke up to a new morning.
I love colours, but I also see that grey can be immensely beautiful

 

I with Thee would begin,
O my Savior so dear,On the way that I still must pursue;
I with Thee would begin
Every day granted here,
As my earnest resolve I renew
To be and remain Thine forever.

The start of a hymn by the Swedish Lina Sandell (1832-1903)

Cabin life in deep winter

@brittarnhild

We are spending a couple of days at our cabin, on our way back home from an opera performance in the small town on Kristiansund last night. Yesterday, in Kristiansund, the weather did not feel like winter at all, mild and sunny, though the wind was strong, but when we woke up at the hotel this morning, the temperature had dropped down to freezing point, the wind was blowing a gale, and it snowed heavily. We had 50 kilometers to drive and a 30 minutes ferry ride to come here, and luckily and thanks to a very good driver, all went well.

Our cabin is quite simple, and no heating is on when we are not here, so when we arrived the inside temperature was about 5 degrees Celsius. A faithful old wood stove is your best friend then. You can see ours in the drawing above, a drawing I made back in October 2006.

A mug of hot mint tea, with dried mint leaves from the cabin garden, also helps to warm up.

And with the wind continuing to blow outside, and hails hammering on our windows, I have made a little spring corner inside.

Cabin life in winter can be perfect days, especially when you have your Jøtul stove, stacks of books and enough yarn to last you though as long as you want.