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

October Tea Swap 2014 - Part 1

Fran called this tea swap with the following requirements:

Optional Themes:   Thanksgiving or Halloween
Optional Color:  Fall or Halloween colors

 

Sent this card to Kim, and reused the same idea for cards to friends whom I have not communicated with for a while - with MS showing it's ugly face at the moment I have to take some short cuts - hope they understand as they know about my current situation.

Freebie sentiment from TLC creations, some paper, a few brads and a miniature witch punch used on orange and black paper and there is my card Halloween style.

Played with my leaf punches to decorate a mini-box for the tea included in the swap - PICKWICKS Winter Tea one of my favorites with all the flavors of Christmas.

Halloween 2014

Not my door steep but seen in my neighborhood.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween

Found these triplets 2½ week ago close to where I live - right next to the sidewalk so phone camera captured these guys.

A weekly local newpaper featured them a week ago - Halloween is for us an American tradition that has been adapted to be part of the fall vacation time for school kids here in week 42, where are Tivoli Garden gets dressed with 40.000+ orange pumpkins.

An then there are those anti-everything-American and think it might have been some of them, who vandalised these three pumpkins last weekend - why can people not let things be instead of vandalising them?? Makes me agry as they created a lot of smiles on passers-by.....anyway

 

Happy Halloween

Scream and Spooky

Second post today - well Saturday was not only about sailing this week but also making cards :o) Usually I am soo exhaused from sailing and goes directly home to nap, but not so much this week - guess that body is adjusting more to the work on the boat.

 

Beccy's Place October Challenge - an anything goes challenge with the requirement of using a digital image from Beccy's Place.

 

 

Well I used two instead of one, as I think they are meant to be together - and everything around here is dressed up for Halloween despite it not being a Danish tradition, but an imported one. We are not a pumkin country by tradition, though a couple of pumpkin farms have made a nice living since Tivoli Garden needs at least 40.000+ pumpkins every year for the Halloween theme during fall + the pumkins needed for making a smiling Jack.

 

Made two identical cards which are now enroute overseas to receivers that have grown up with the tradition - digis are colored with COPICs, the purple paper is actually cut out from a paper table runner so a soft touch and the pumpkin design paper is "Plenty of Pumpkins" from Panduro Hobby.

 

There Is Pumpkin In My Risotto

Sometimes a little push is needed when you want to break out of your comfort zone - I have wanted to cook with pumpkins for a long time but Sandra Juto's blogpost persuaded me to take that jump. The risotto is actually the 4th dish I have made now using pumpkins and the recipe comes from here. Risotto have always been one of my favourite dishes and I am happy that I used longer time than usual on a meal, as this is by far the best risotto that I have ever tasted.

 

The dish deserves a place next to my candle pumpkin Jack (made of clay) as a reminder of what happened when I bought an orange pumpkin at a local supermarket. A little boy came up to me and asked "Are you also going to make a Pumpkin Man?" with me replying "No I am going to eat it". Two seconds later the boy ran screaming to his mum "She's gonna eat the Pumpkin Man!!" with disbelief all over his face and tears running down the cheeks.

The mum got busy telling the boy, that one is actually playing with food when carving a pumpkin Man - See what I told him, was in his world just as bad finding out that Santa Clause does not exist (wait he does not??!! LOL ;o) ) as we have in the past been primary a potato nation and Halloween is something imported from the US.

 

Whenever I make that dish in the future, I think that the incident with the little boy will jump into my head and make me smile.

 

Happy Halloween

Think you have seen it before on my blog: we do not really celebrate Halloween in little old Denmark. But our newspapers are baffled by the vast number of carved pumpkins everywhere, writing that we might have to add it to our list of customs now.

 

Even Fanta has special Halloween edition of their soda can....

Happy Halloween

Danish Halloween

Did you know that we are actually not celebrating Halloween in Denmark? And yet, there is Halloween stuff anywhere and even Time Magazine had an online article about it. I am house sitting again, and knowing that the owners of the house likes to visit Tivoli during their Halloween weeks, I decided to go with the theme and came up with this:

The image is a freebie from Dearie Dolls Digi Stamps coloured with COPICs, sentiment from Hero Arts, design paper from Panduro Hobby and DCWV and finally silver pumpkin from Panduro Hobby.

Entering it to:
Panduro Hobby's: Halloween/uhygge

October 2012 Tea Swap - Part 1

At this month at Fran's tea swap, Mary is my partner:

A little bit scary, that Mary chose a Halloween theme, and that it arrived the day after Time wrote an article about Halloween the Danish way -  Halloween is actually not a traditional Danish tradition :o) But even before the Danes started doing Halloween, I had always been fascinated by the Pumpkin Jacks and decorations. The texture of the card's front makes the image "pop out".

The inside of the card held two BIGELOW teabags, that I can not wait to brew - know the spiced chai from previous swaps (yum!) and looking forward to try the raspberry flavour... spotting the spider I smile - if one of my former colleagues had opened this card, she would have screamed and thrown the card away as she is scared of anything reminding her of spiders.

Got an additional crafty treat from Mary - think I have to find some orange tic-tacs and fill up the glass tubes and place on my desk at work.

 

Thanks Mary for your creative treats :o)

I Just Couldn't resist....

Could not resist a cupcake today from Agnes Cupcakes since it was time for the monthly treatment at the MS clinic - a HALLOWEEN cupcake with a nice cinnamon taste :o) You know what else I couldn't resist? .... Well, when I described Agnes Cupcakes delicious cakes after my first encounter, Claire bugged me for details to decide, if they were indeed scrumptious looking.... Well - here you are Claire :o) *LOL*

Everywhere I Go......

I see THE face of Halloween: Pumpkin Jack. Everytime I see one, my mind is humming some of the songs from "The Nightmare Before Christmas".

JUGS gave us some requirements in their 106th challenge: use the colors: black, orange, green and purple.

Thought it to be a perfect chance to use to Halloween'ish digis from Beccys Place.

Where's the green? You might ask. Well look at the stems of the pumpkins :o) Pumpkin design paper is Halloween from Panduro Hobby, stribed paper was a wrap on some double adhesive tape, maple leafs are from a craft store in Hamburg and the little Pumpkin Jack is actually from a cheap set of earrings from Søstrene Grene(when I purchased them, I had already eyed the possibility of altering their purpose).

October Tea Swap 2011 - Part 2

Time for me to show the card, that I sent to Colleen in this month's tea swap, since she has already received it. The optional card them this month was: Halloween or the colors of orange/purple/black. Locally we celebrate Halloween different than in the US, however our Tivoli garden will be dressed up for the American way during next week, since it is the school children's fall vacation.

What does a Halloween themed napkin......

...and a tea bag tray have in common??

They were inspiration for the Jack'O'Lantern teapot on my card - created a pouch to hold the two tea samples, that I sent Colleen (Earl Grey and African Rooibos)

 

Included a little ornament from Panduro Hobby with a black ribbon.

Hope I captured the spirit of Halloween



October Tea Swap 2011 - Part 1

When Fran sent out the call for the October Tea Swap, I once again signed up :o) Being an uneven number of participants, Fran was to send to me, and I to Colleen (will post my card once I know it is well received at Colleen's address).

Fran posted about her card a while ago, and I could not wait for it to arrive in my PO box, so I could admire the creation - and it arrived today :o)

This requires a gentle opening

Just look at those stunning details

Now ready to open the origami box....

... that was hiding this little card.....

....and some tea from Hawaii.

Thanks soo much Fran - this is such a treat :o)

Inspiration From New Toy

This week I bought a die cutter :o) Now I am like a 4 year old absolutely absorbed by new toy. Oh well.... Some of us never grow up.

I saw the montly sketch challenge at i{heart}2stamp earlier this week and figured that this sketch was perfect for RicketyHouse die from Tim Holtz.

Yes yes - I know: stamp sketch challenge, so next try with the sketch, using my NeroArt Stamp set:

Well, that is more like it ;o) It was while playing with the die cutter that I realised, that I had a halloween stampset, with a rickety house. Crazy how one can forget about the stamps one actualy own, but the idea to use it, has not occurred until now. At least I am now somewhat prepared regarding finished Halloween cards.

Happy Halloween Everybody.....

Last year I happened to be in Copenhagen in week 42, where Halloween is celebrated in the Tivoli Garden. Week 42 is the school kids' fall vacation, and was originally the potato holliday, where all family members helped with the harvest of potatoes. 15.000 pumpkins had been collected at the small Danish island, Samsø, and was decorating the old garden and this new tradition was introduced in 2006.

Halloween night in Denmark is actually not until the first Sunday in November, where lit candles are placed at the graves of loved ones/family - but this tradition has actually been forgotten by many.

The American version of Halloween is now present everywhere in Denmark.... kids however do not trick-or-treat, as the Danish kids get into costumes in February, when Shrovetide is celebrated... at Halloween in Tivoli kids may dress up like black cats, wizards, whitches, pumpkin jacks etc.

This year I am travelling again on Halloween and I am sticking to one beloved tradition, that is part of Halloween for me: I brought my DVD with The Nightmare Before Christmas, which I have to see while eating candy.

Happy Halloween