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.

The Color Purple

It sounds like the title of a book or a movie, but it is the color of a skein of yarn I recently used when knitting.

Pattern for the baby hats can be found here

Somehow various charity requests for knitted hats catches my attentin so when a colleague had a Facebook post for knitted purple baby hats I wondered if my yarn stash had something purple at all - I am trying not to buy more yarn until I have used a lot of my stash so my contribution depended on past purchases. I had one skein and no idea why it was purchased in the first place.

 

The London Health Science Centre in Canada are asking for newborn baby hats (since 2011), and my colleague wanted to bring some with her to Canada when she went home for a visit - she is a knitter too but did not know if she herself could make some hats before the departure. "The period of PURPLE is something that many babies experience and is characterized often by periods of inconsolable crying".

 

I use knitting as exercise for my MS that is impacting the use of my right hand and it feels good that my personal training can contribute to charity projects, where knitting is needed. It takes to the level beyond exercise into something that others can benefit from too.

If you live in Canada, you will know that a lot of people might be needing warm hats etc. as they can not afford to buy some. I therefore encourage you to go over to Karen's blog, where she launches the TAKE IT IF YOU NEED IT to get people to knit and leave knitted items such as hats, mittens  scarves in public for a needing person to pick it up - and if you can not knit perhaps get some from the Dollar Store etc. and leave it in public.

 

 

Yes, it is the same magnet and ..... No, I did not shrink the baby hats. I had some leftover yarn, not quite enough for a fourth baby hat but enough for two mini-hats. They are knitted for a Danish charity collection - but that is a completely different blogpost.... next year,

 

Tourist

OK I assigned the label "me-time" - not the truth and yet.....

 

Went to the Viking Museum at Roskilde today as part of an event at work - was shooting some photos for work while visiting... and it gave me the possibility to take photos that I find interesting and not for work purposes. Realized how much I missed taking photos, blogging and visiting new places.

 

Well the museum is not new - I just had not been there before....

Copenhagen Crime

When you love reading crime stories and you live 10 minutes away from the venue, one simply had to go to Copenhagen Crime today - pure heaven for a mystery fan. First of it's kind here in Copenhagen, not going to be the last and since it was the event's premiere it was not too crowded.

Got a few freebie books, good deals on mystery books written by two Danish authors who both signed my new purchases - and they had time to small talk with us readers after they both talked about their latest books. Both seemed happy to talk to some of their readers and both just had the nice easy going, down to earth attitude which added positively to their presence at the crime festival.

Their names are Anna Grue and Julie Hastrup, and have become a fan of their series both by coincidence. One of Anna's book had been left behind by another holiday guest at my US vacation spot and I read it within two days after opening it. I have got two freebie books from Danish magazines handed to me, but took some time before they were on top of my to-be-read pile and turned out to be a nice surprise.

When I wandered around the boots at the festival I realized that I am well up to date with crime writers and books - still books to be read, but I know they exist.

I will surely be a guest again in 2017

Library Event

One of the local libraries in Copenhagen hosted a talk with the Danish journalist Frank Esmann last month - he covered news from the US in end 80s and begining of the 90s on tv and have a vast knowledge about American politics - and his way of presenting it is anything but boring, two hours fly by as was it only 5 minutes.

When you enter the library it feels a little cold and boring despite books being present. Then you walk down a flight of stairs and enter the basement which holds the library's lecture hall. You walk into this cozy room, books everywhere, old fashioned lamp posts - the true atmosphere of a library - pity the upstairs areas does not look like this.

13 years ago I bought his book about American presidents, which I have browsed/read many times and I got it signed - you could sense a bit of pride when I presented an "older" book and asked if he would mind signing it. But if you present a book filled with bookmarks does it not tell somebody that a book is well used?

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