Last Christmas

Just a few days after Christmas I went into a Starbucks and ordered a grande pumpkin spice latte (yes they stil had a few left) - when I started to walk home I had a closer look at the cup .... What?! The Christmas themed paper cup was different than the venti sized beverage I had in November

 

When I came home, I removed the sleeve to have closer look - I am a sucker for those Nordic style colored holiday cups from Starbucks. But that means double joy, right??! First the nice hot beverage and then the feast for my eyes :o)

 

 

I thought popped into my mind - if I returned to the coffee shop a few days later to order a tall beverage to go, it should be possible to. I did go into the coffee house a few days later and ordered - a grande sized ginger bread latte. Why? It was really really cold outside and could hardly feel my fingers (despite layers of clothes) so I needed to stay warm.

Was it my cold body playing a trick on me, or was that sleeve covering yet another design of Christmas coffee cup? Yes. The sleeve covered a nice reindeer.... suddenly not so sad about my choice for a medium sized drink.

Due to stomach issues I have not returned to the coffee shop to order a tall size hot beverage - and it is most likely too late to get it now. It makes me fell like I have been a treasure hunt where the treasure are these nice coffee cups - at the same time I have hade some me time while enjoying the hot beverages.

Merry Christmas 2016

Merry Christmas everybody!!

I am sitting in the train on my way to my brothers house where I will spend Christmas Eve (THE Christmas event in Denmark - where we get our presents) and stay over until tomorrow where I go to a friend's house to have a Canadian Christmas.

Cards are delayed this year - at least I managed to get them done, but a recent MS attack combined with the slow-mo Danish postal services who are really taking their time distributing old fashioned mail. So far I have only received one (1) Christmas card in my mail box, I know several have sent me one, but they are late.... well it is the thought that counts, and the lazy service is not the senders' fault. Design paper: Merry Christmas - Decorate the Tree from Panduro Hobby.

I learned to master the fold of a new star thanks to this tutorial - must find some nice paper and make some to hang as ornaments next year, but need to find some nice paper - wonder if I can get some more of this design paper Christmas Eve - Seasons Greetings from Panduro Hobby) at the store after Christmas.

 

Maybe the card seems simple, but I happen to like the Nordic style colors red and white, and I have this thing for folded paper stars - so in fact they are just like me :o)    Design paper: Merry Christmas - Christmas Ornaments from Panduro Hobby.

Ugly Christmas Sweater

Saw these cards in a Flying Tiger Copenhagen store and could not resist them - flash back to the movie where Bridget Jones and Mr. Darcy appear in their ugly Christmas Sweaters, thought alone makes me smile

 

Then turning to my company's CEO who was wearing his Christmas sweater his last workday before his Christmas holiday, but when he walked around and said "Merry Christmas" to every employee he was not wearing his sweater. People asked why he wan not wearing it as it was a nicely knit Christmas sweater?

 

 

There you have it in print, there are actually some Christmas sweaters that I think look nice, or maybe they have more a winter's theme than a christmassy one. Saw these adds online from the British clothing brand  FATFACE, a brand that I really like and actually saw some cool looking Christmas Sweaters.



 

 

Makes me want to re-read The Great Christmas Knit Off by Alexandra Brown and Sybil's wacky Christmas jumpers.

 

 

Rudolph's Red Nose

We all know Rudolph as Santa's 9th reindeer - But how did he get his red nose?

Sometimes you find an answer to in question to be right in front of you in the company of merry friends and beer.

 

Dancer or Prancer or Comet or Cupid or.....??? He had no time to reveal which one he is, but was busy taking a closer look on Rudolph's Christmas beer from the Danish Brewery, Nibe Bryghus.

Rudolph (in Danish: Rudolph) is the center of attention albeit a little shy.

Great detail - surely the bottle cap had to be red.... So is the answer really that he had a little of his own beer making him merry and his nose red?

Espresso House Christmas 2016

Espresso House are expanding all over Denmark - or rather the Baresso coffee house chain has the same owners as Espresso House, and they have decided  to focus on the Espresso House brand so signs are being replaced.                     

It is cold outside, so decided to stop by for a holiday flavored hot beverage. The cup sleeve seemed to be hiding joyful holiday cup decoration, so almost like opening a present when removing the sleeve after the last sip of the beverage was enjoyed.

The warmly dressed animals on the cup made me smile. Apparently not sold a ceramic cup which I think they could sell a lot of.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Here in Copenhagen

Starbucks Christmas 2016

It is just like opening a Christmas present, when you see the red cup under the sleeve after you have ordered a hot holiday flavored beverage to-go

If this does not ooze / look / taste like Christmas, I do not know what will

Just look at the snow... Love it

I asked if you could buy this a porcelain cup like you used to - sadly the answer was "No" :o) But hey, I still like the design.







 

Ho! Ho! Ho! The Holidays Are Coming

The holidays are coming...........

 

 

Theres a new Coca-Cola Santa in town representing 2016.......... 

 

 

He learned from his colleagues and is ready to serve Coca-Cola

 

 

Gathering with the Danish family...... 

 

  

....for this year's family photo

 

 

 

 

For me Coca-Cola is part of my Christmas traditions - I have always enjoyed the merry Santas in the commercials and on the bottle. The catchy worlds from one of their commercials "The Holidays Are Coming" are spot on - when you spot the Santa on the bottle you just know Christmas is around the corner.

 

 

 

 

 This blogpost is NOT sponsored - photos and thoughts are mine.

'Tis the Season

Love the colors the sky brings at sunset in November - makes it a bit easier to cope with the fact that it is pitch dark outside when I leave the office after the workday.

Yesterday was exactly one month to Christmas - we celebrate on the 24th at night - and the first time this year, that I spotted Coca-Cola's yearly Santa labels on the bottles.... one of the signs that Christmas is coming.

Christmas tree is up at the office building

After work, a time for a little walk in the city, and the smal bright lights are in lots of shapes this time of year.

A Christmas tree like this makes it less boring waiting at the bus stop for the next bus to come.

February, March, April, May and June 2016 In Books

Time flies - still reading books - that will never change. One re-read before seeing a movie adaption, one re-read doing my duties as a Red Cross book friend and one re-read when joining a read-along. Some read on a e-reader, since they were only published as e-books. Discovering two Danish and one Swedish crime writer and started reading all their books - still a few in the to-be-read pile. To-be-read book pile has grown as has acquired 26 new books the past 1½ months - some have been passed on from friends. Attending talks by authors and a crime book festival. Then there was the book about the sailing adventure, that I took part in - making me put all other books aside to read it: I was even quoted in the book, and there is a photo of me :o)

Books are a refuge to me - good therapy when going through roller coaster times with good and bad things happening non-stop.

The Girl in the Spiders Web by David Lagercrantz
(Original Title: Det som inte dödar oss)
Sweden
Library Book

A Christmas in Disguise by Katie Fforde
England
e-Book

Halloween Scare by Maggie Sefton
USA
e-Book

Dogdays* by Einar Mar Gudmundsson
(Original title: Hundadaga)
Iceland
February BookFriend Book
Library Book

Rest in Peace* by Sofie Saranbrant
(Original title: Vila i frid)
Sweden
Library Book

Second Breath* by Sofie Saranbrant
(Original title: Andre andningen)
Sweden
Library Book

Killer Deal by Sofie Saranbrant
(Original title: Visning pågår))
Sweden
Library Book

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

England

Lovebooks Read-Along

The White Elf* by Mette Tine Bruun

(Original title: Den hvide alf)

Denmark

A New Time* by Ida Jessen

(Original title: En ny tid)

Denmark

March  BookFriend Book 

Redemption by Jussi Adler-Olsen

(Orginal title: Flaskepost fra P) 

Denmark

Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg

USA

Library Book 

Darling Jim by Christian Mørk

Denmark

Library Book

Journey of Change: Women Pushing Boundaries by Corinna Halloran

Sweden

Eyewitnesses* by Maria Helleberg  

(Original title:: Øjenvidnerne)

Denmark

The Art of Dying* by Anna Grue

(Original title: Kunsten at dø)

Denmark

Austenland by Shannon Hale

USA

The Bomber by Liza Marklund

(Original title: Sprängaren)

Sweden

A Place Nobody Sees* by Marianne Gade

(Original title: Et sted som ingen ser)

Denmark

May BookFriend Book
Library Book

The Accidental Book Club by Jennifer Scott
USA

See You Tomorrow* by Eva Jørgensen
(Original title: Vi ses i morgen)
Denmark

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
USA
June BookFriend Book

Honeymoon in Paris by Jojo Moyes
United Kingdom

Oceans of Hope: Around the World and Back to Life* by Mikkel Anthonisen
Denmark

The Blind Spot* by Julie Hastrup
(Original title: Det blinde punkt)
Denmark

Hitman Anders and the Meaning of It All by Jonas Jonasson
(Original title: Mördar-Anders och hans vänner)
Sweden
Library Book

The Further You Fall* by Anna Grue
(Original title: Dybt at Falde)
Denmark

*Literal title: the book has not been published in English version, so title is not an official title of the book

Coca-Cola Christmas 2015

This is what the Coca-Cola 2015 Christmas edition looks like in Denmark. The 1,5 liter bottle with the bow thing is new - not sure I am fond of this idea, but they did try to spice up the Christmas tradition a bit with this opportunity to turn the label into a bow

Coca-Cola does,what Starbucks is failing to do: keeping up the Christmas tradition with a new Santa motif on their cans every year. Happy that someone is still keeping up with cherished Christmas traditions.

A couple of years' Christmas cans

Christmas Cards 2015

Merry Christmas everybody :o)

Time to show and tell about the Christmas cards that I created this year and sent to family and friends. I did blog partly about the process in January, when I made some initial preparations but let it untouched until November when the cards started to take form.

The Christmas tree is from a Christmas card that I decided to recycle (one of the vast numbers of Christmas cards that was sent to the company where I work and would just have ended up in the paper recycling bin) - cut out with the TREE, CHRISTMAS #2 Sizzix die that I got for my birthday last year. The red back background is made with a Sizzix embossing folder (can not remember the name) as I had several feelings when I found the folder: Sun sparks? Snow storm? Movement? The impression leaves a feeling of a nature's background.

Cutting out the trees carefully, the patters from the original card could be used a tree decorations - it took a few cuts until I realized the effect and after that every tree was cut out with most possible details in mind.

Soon I will collecting Christmas cards again for recycling, and I have some other dies that I can use to cut out Christmas themes - but if I will use them in the 2016 edition of my Christmas cards remains uncertain until next fall.

One thing I do know is, that I have to have all my cards finished earlier than previous year. From beginning of January our local postal services have decided to double the price of stamps on priority letters (to about 5 USD overseas!!) so sending future Christmas cards as economy letters.

Starbucks Christmas 2015

If you could not spot the siren - the Starbucks logo, this could just have been any cup. What happened to the festive, decorated cups, Starbucks? The ones that some of us were looking forward to and was collecting? Just a few months ago we saw this beautiful autumn decorated cup, that made us eagerly await this years Christmas/holiday cup?

No holiday decorations - just the color red...... That would be like having a real Christmas tree in your home without any decorations or lights.

The sleeve saves the cup, the stars add the Christmas/holiday touch to the cup - but it is still too plain and boring. I am disappointed :(

White Christmas or?

Source: www.tv2.dk

It has begun - they have started guessing the chance of a white Christmas this year. Yes, I live in Scandinavia. No, our winters does not necessary mean lots of snow. A lot of times it goes just north of us to Norway, Sweden and Finland or south to Germany.

4% - Chance might be higher. Chance might be lower. What I do know is, that we will see this barometer on the Danish channel TV2 every day until Christmas. And if you ask a Danish child - he/she will have the fingers crossed for a White Christmas. So will I :o)

October 2015 in Books

A whooping amount of 19 books read in October!! :o) A staycation (body really needed the rest), a second round of MS attack medicine and participation in the Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon helped reaching that number of books read.

Having read that vast number of books does not mean, that I am low on neither a reading list nor physical unread books. I actually expect that the number on my to-read list might grow as getting new inspiration at the annual book fair in Copenhagen next weekend

39 Steps by John Buchan
United Kingdom
E-book / Library Book


The Woman in Danchurchsocial* (Salvation Army) by Henning Mortensen
(Original Title: Kvinden i korshæren)
Denmark
E-book / Library Book / October BookFriend book

On Writing by Stephen King
USA
Library Book

Knot the Usual Suspects by Molly MacRae
USA

Purl Up and Die by Maggie Sefton
USA

Dyer Consequences by Maggie Sefton
USA

Pan's Secret* by Michael Katz Krefeld
(Original Title: Pan's hemmelighed ) 
Denmark

The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson
(Original Title: Hundraåringen som klev ut genom fönstret och försvan) )
Sweden

The Wisdom of Eleanor Roosevelt edited by Donald Wigal
USA

Countdown to Murder* by Gretelise Holm
(Original Title: Nedtælling til mord ) 
Denmark

After You by Jojo Moyes
United Kingdom

Innocence by Dean Koontz
USA

Becoming Dickens by Robert Douglas-Fairhurst
United Kingdom
Library book

Bitches* by Gretelise Holm
(Original Title: Møgkællinger)
Denmark

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
USA
E-book / Library Book

Moment of my Life* Edited by Lars Henriksen and Daniel Øhrstrøm
(Original Title: Mit livs øjeblik)
Denmark

Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie
United Kingdom
E-book / Library Book

Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman
(Original Title: Britt-Marie var här)
Sweden

Christmas with Rosamunde Pilcher
Germany
Library Book

*Literal title: the book has not been published in English version, so title is not an official title of the book

Katie Fforde Binge Reading

Above is merely my collection of Katie Fforde books - actually all the titles she has published until now. One of my trips to London included a trip to Waterstones so I could buy the 9 titles that were missing on my book shelves - since then I have purchased the books when they were published but fell behind with the reading due to the sail trip last summer. My binge reading was therefore the 3 most recent published books.

 

The Perfect Match

Bella Castle wanted to start her life over hoping to forget Dominic Thane, a man she could not have and therefore broke her heart. She new stays with her godmother, Alice, who is more than happy for the company in her house. She has found work locally as a real estate agent and she is more than patient with indecisive possible buyers and engaged to her boss, Nevil, and everything seems picture perfect. Dominic suddenly turns up and Bella starts wondering if her heart really is with Nevil, or should she run again settling in a new place with yet another new beginning.

New beginnings - well sometimes I wonder about them. But I think those thoughts derives from the fact that I do not know if nor when the MS might put a limit to what I am able to do.

A Christmas Feast

A collection of stories - not all with a Christmassy theme but even though some of them being very short, one could eye the potential of a story.

My favourite was "From Scotland With Love": Daisy Allway wants to get an unfinished task done as her job as a PR girl for Athene Publishing is on the line so she travels from London to the author Rory McAllen's secret place in Scotland. A snowstorm strands her at Rory's house during the Christmas New Years break and with his reputation of being impossible to work with it seems to be a very long stay.

I would have love to have read this as a novel and not just a short story, as would have like to get to now the characters even better than we did

A Vintage Wedding

Rachel, Beth and Lindy are all single women in a Cotswold town, Chippingford, where everybody knows everybody. Beth has promised her sister to organize a cheap weeding, and the 3 ladies team up to arrange what they decide to call vintage wedding rather than a cheap wedding as they each can all contribute with some skills saving a lot of money. All three attracts the attention of men - everything may not be as it seems and others might be in for quite a surprise.

Enjoy the description of a small town having once lived in one myself. Also the possibility of turning a creative ability into something really useful wherein there might be a future way of earning a living.

I Am Recycling Last Years Christmas

No I am not exchanging January with a repeat of December in my calendar, but I had to act fast for phase one, if I am was going to succeed.

At my job we get a lot of Christmas cards from connections, service companies, suppliers, organizations... you name it... and everywhere Christmas cards are standing on display during December. I decided to "rescue" some of them from my floor only when they were just about to be thrown out after the calendar page had turned to January and people slowly returning to their work space. Colleagues were confused as some Christmassy motifs were disqualified as I was more on the lookout for suitable patterns - however they did understand that it was for crafting purposes.

This evening I took the plunge and did some initial work on 2015's Christmas project - tearing, cutting, punching etc. resulting in a total of 188 objects (more than I had hoped for). Now my final project is not quite decided, so I will just leave the objects for a couple of months while an idea is brewing in my head.

A friend teased me a bit: "If you had just left that pile of Christmas cards on your crafting desk, people would think, that you were a hoarder of things - the piles of the objects tells a different story - your crafty mind is working overtime again!" :o)

I feel good about it - not only have I save a bundle on supplies, but have also reused something one more time instead of going directly into the paper recycling container (the unusable leftovers after today's cutting etc. have already gone to the recycling bin).

The Christmas cards I receive at home?! Untouched as they are stored in a box with those from Christmas past for keepsake an a trip down memory lane.

Today's batch of cards = 44 new objects

The Old Days Are Gone

I have been collecting the annual Starbucks' holiday season mugs for some years now so was somewhat disappointed when my local Starbucks did not have it - when I inquired about it in the store they looked at me as if from another planet?? In the photo above you can see what this year's holiday season paper cup looked like - a bit boring if you ask me. A bit odd though as I have spotted the 2014 edition of the mug on the internet, so why did they not carry it in the store?

Instead I found these two holiday mugs - now they look christmassy and could be looking really great on the paper cups.