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Saturday, September 3, 2011

Gifts from Sweden!

Hi everyone and Happy Long Weekend, if you live in the US. I have grand plans for the extra day off - oh, stitching, jewelry making, sewing, finishing and all that jazz. I already have a feeling that much will come to be neglected, but a girl can dream, right!?

DH and I are laying the hash trail for today (we are the "hares"), so that takes a lot of planning. It is fun and you get a lot of exposure to new neighborhoods, so I really enjoy it. DH and I just got done mapping the trail through Map My Run, which is a really cool tool. We are looking forward to a 3.5 mile trail in about 95 degrees (I'll make sure that DH drinks some non-dehydrating liquids both before and after...).
If you are curious about what hashing is, here is a link! Hashing (read under the heading "Events" to get a better feel for what hashing is. Try it out - you may like it!)

So, my birthday is on Tuesday next week. The reason why I am mentioning this is that I already got a package from my parents in Sweden. They send the coolest gifts! Of course I just had to tear this baby open once I had picked it up from the post office! Let me show you:
A really cool wall decoration with tiny blackbird clips on a string - so I can hang small ornaments or pretty post-cards on the wall. I already have grand plans for this one! I only need to figure out where to hang this, so that real birds don't start hanging from it... you know they will, any chance they get!

I did get a large bag packed to the edge with Rhubarb-&-Cream tea - my favorite tea. There are such wonderful tea-shops in Stockholm. You go in and enjoy all the fragrances, look at the large collections of tea boxes, tea sets, mugs and accessories and sniff all the yummy teas. the teas are sold per weight and it is really hard to leave the store without a collection of paper bags and a few pretty tins for the collection at home. I recently ran out of the R&C tea that I brought back from my latest trip home, so I am really excited about sitting down with a cup of this fantastic drink. (Check out some pics and reviews from a couple of examples: Java and Esters. It cracks me up that this site has reviews from 24 tea shops in Stockholm compared to 10 in London, UK, 9 in Warsaw, Poland, and 6 in Paris, France - I have to write out the countries, since we have Warsaw, London, and Paris here in KY! LOL It is easy to conclude that Swedes love their tea and coffee!)

Some bird clothes-pins. My mom and I collect these, so whenever we find a new version, we buy a pack for both of us. I think that we are up in 4 different types now!

A very pretty felted pot-and-pan coaster. Is this not just wonderful with read pears that also look like hearts? I love the colors, they style, and the feel. It will be treasured and used very carefully - and definitely NOT as a coaster. :-)
Some woven and very sturdy pot-holders. I think that they are too pretty to be used as such, so I will just use them as doilies.
They always pick out the pretties cards too. I think that they generally try to find cards with birds, since birds is a topic that all of us are fascinated by. This time it was a really neat golden lady.

And finally, a wonderful book about Swedish and Norwegian folklore. I am pretty sure that it was L-bug who sent me a link and as soon as I saw this book, I called home and hinted that this would be a great B-day gift. It is absolutely beautiful! There are gorgeous clothes for weddings, every-day life, church, winter, summer - all is covered. The photos are fabulous and very colorful, which is so interesting, since Swedes generally claim that we are "afraid of color". Well, clearly, that is just one of those "self-critical truths" that Swedes are all to good at coming up with... Anyway, the book is so cool, because it is written in English, Norwegian and Swedish. Everything is written in English, but the chapters covering Swedish traditions are written in Swedish also, and the same is true for the sections covering Norwegian folklore. I am looking forward to read a bit Norwegian to see if I can figure out what is says before I read the English text right next to it.

All these gifts are treasures; I can tell that my parents put a lot of thought and planning into all the presents and I feel so spoiled and loved. Tack mamma och pappa!!!!

Well, I need to get back to my stitching. It was recently brought to my attention that we are having an exchange in our all-stitch-weekend, which is coming up very speedily - next weekend, as a matter of fact. A bunch of girls get out into the country and stitch for three days straight. No disturbances from the outer world. We stitch, eat, sleep, repeat over a long and relaxing weekend. We don't have to work on anything but our projects and I can assure you that there is no opportunity to starve during the retreat either. Great home-cooking with salad-bar and desserts. It is truly a weekend to treasure and you feel completely pampered and re-energized when it is time to get back home on Sunday afternoon.
Anyway, after seeing Bzz-Bzz-Bee's super-cute Just Nan birdie, Daisy, I had to stitch up something too. I am still working on the crosses, but I am hoping to finish up the project on Sunday... (I promise to post a pic as soon as I can!) Then it's back to Hare Pyns!

Have a fantastic weekend with lots of stitching and I hope that all of you are safe out in this crazy weather!
Happy Stitching to all,

13 comments:

  1. yup..very sweet gifts..love and hugs cucki xx

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  2. Very cool gifts from an obviously loving family.

    Thought of you this week when I watched Susan Boyle on AGT singing ABBA's You Have To Be There. I wondered what you would think of it. Also, the first of October, a Swedish cousin whom I have never met is coming to town to see what Kentucky looks like. That will be fun!

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  3. I love the gifts from your folks! They really put a lot of thought into it for sure. If you don't mind bring the book with you next weekend. I'd love to see it too. I'm glad my suggestion paid off for you. It looks great! Looking forward to seeing you soon!!!

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  4. Sounds like you are going to have a nice long weekend.. Beautiful gifts! The bird clips and clothes pins are particularly cute. And all the rest - a touch of Sweden in KY!

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  5. oooo great gifts ..love them all and gorgeous clothes in that book :) and happy birthday when ever it is :) enjoy your fab sounding weekend ,, shove up and save a seat for me hahahah :) love mouse xxxx

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  6. Hej Jenny...jag blog surfade o hittade din blog bara sa dar:) Jag ar fran Boden som ar i Norrland...men det ar inte sa ofta man hittar svenskor i utlandet som broderar o pysslar...jag ser oxa fram emot paket fran mina foraldrar, aven om det inte hander ofta. Rabarber Gradd te...OJ OJ OJ sa gott!!! Det ar nog det te jag saknar mest har i England...maste nog kopa lite nar jag aker hem nasta gang, eller kanske be mamsen skicka lite da det nog kommer fram tidigare...Grattis i forskott!! Hoppas du har en underbar fodelsedag:) Kram Ylva

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  7. HI Jenny!
    What a wonderful birthday package! Such fun stuff.
    The hashing event sounds really great and fun. I have never heard of this. It is great to learn something new.
    I hope that your exchange stitching is going well.

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  8. What fabulous gifts!! Isn't it so special to get a box filled with goodies from home?! :) I had no idea about Swedes loving their teas so much. That's pretty neat! I guess I always associate tea with British and Irish people. I dream of going to Stockholm one day and will definitely stock up on tea while there. ;)

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  9. Happy Birthday!!! LOve the gifts!!!

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  10. Looks like I am just in time to wish you HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

    I was amazed reading about Hashing...it sounds like a terribly good time...and no wonder your hubby got dehydrated running before...what with the Beer Checks and all! =)

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  11. Lovely thoughtful gifts. I especially like the blackbird clips and the book.

    Hope you had a great birthday!

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  12. Fina presenter till fina syster! Ha en häröig tredagars! Puss

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