FINALLY back in Linköping

Yes, it's so good to be back! The Christmas has been really good, but every year there are always so many friends and relatives that we want to see while we're in Borås, so we end up driving around a lot. We left for Borås on Wednesday, and arrived early in the afternoon. Thankfully there wasn't much traffic, so the trip went smoothly even though there was a lot of snow. I went to my parents' house, and Thomas went to his mothers'. Even though we're married, and have been together for more than 13 years now, we still don't celebrate Christmas Eve together! We're just too stubborn to give up our own traditions, and as we're from the same town, we can see each other and each other's families on other days.

So on Wednesday me and my family (mother, father and sister) decorated the tree, and my sister baked cardamom bread (that I unfortunately couldn't eat, as I'm allergic to gluten... but it smelled good). And on Thursday, which is the day we celebrate the most here in Sweden, we had Christmas lunch with my grandfather and his "lady friend" (it sounds so silly to say that my grandfather has a girlfriend, but that's what she is). The food was delicious, and we rolled over to the sofa afterwards to open all the presents. My grandfather got the Moose mittens, and I think he was very pleased! And I have to say that my parents and my sister have outdone themselves this year! From my parents I got this amazingly soft bathrobe with Hello Kitty on it (of course it's pink, what else would it be?). Please disregard my complete lack of make-up - I sort of look like I've been dipped in butter :)

It came with a nightgown (also pink) with Hello Kitty as well, but it's in the laundry pile right now so I can't model it for you. But the bathrobe is great!

I also got about 1.3 kg of pure wool! There was a big bag of 1 kg of completely untreated wool, I think it's right off the sheep! It smells delicious, and is so fat with lanolin oil. I'll have to wash it a lot before I spin it.

In the package was also three 100 g bags with dyed wool (that will also need carding), in absolutely amazing colours. One bag of blue wool (that in reality is a lot more purple than what the photo shows):

One bag of red wool:

And one bag of green wool:

And to top it off, I got a beautiful box from my sister, that was filled with goodies. First, just look at the box!

Do you remember the project bag I got in the mail the week before Christmas? The colours match perfectly!

And in the box were two hand carders! So now I can process all my wool.

I think I've told you more than one time that I was going to get a spinning wheel to take home for Christmas (it's on loan from the school that my mother works at), so now I have wool to spin for a whole year! I've tinkered with the wheel for a few days, but I think I've put it together wrong, because right now it spins the wool, but it doesn't wind it onto the spindle. I'm going to have a look around youtube and such now that I'm home with a regular internet connection, and I think I'll figure it out soon enough. For now, you only get a photo of the wheel, which is painted white.

Anyway, back to the presents. In the box with the carders were also three project bags that my sister had sewed for me! I'm so thrilled about these, as I think they're gorgeous. The first one is round, with a drawstring close:

It's currently holding all my lace yarn, so it's quite big! The second one is a tote bag with a button close, and I love the flower print!

It's currently holding all my sock yarn and glove yarn, so it's also quite roomy. The last one is a rectangular bag with a zipper close, and it's currently holding my green bolero project (I've only got 1.5 arms left on it, so it will be finished soon!):

Isn't my sister talented! I'm very pleased with all of them. I got her a pair of red leather gloves and a pair of brown shoes, and I think she's at least happy with the gloves. I've kept the receipt for the shoes, so she can exchange them if she wants to.

Me and Thomas also got some money for a spa weekend, and we have decided to go back to the Japanese spa in Stockholm, Yasuragi. We went there in 2007, and it's one of the best weekends we ever had, so when I turn 30 in May we'll go back for two nights.

Well, onwards with the Christmas celebrations! After the opening of presents, my grandfather and his lady friend went to her family, and me, mother and sister went to visit my grandmother and my uncle Micael that has Down's syndrome. It was an unusually good day for him, and he was so happy to see us. We don't really have any children in the family, but as Micael is sort of like a child still, he always gets a lot of presents. The same was true this year, and he was so happy unwrapping them.

When we got back home, my uncle on my father's side came with his family to eat turkey at my parents' house. Our cousins are about the same age as me and my sister, and the oldest cousin also brought his girlfriend along for the first time, and it was so much fun. She was really nice, and I can see why Andreas likes her. We had way too much turkey, and then played a quizz game. It's almost impossible to play knowledge games with my father and his brother in the same room, as they are both super competitive and super besserwissers (know-it-alls?), but Andreas managed to actually win. It was a lot of fun, and a great day.

On Christmas Day I went with Thomas and his brothers to his father's house to celebrate. We had turkey (again), and played games, and I got a super-cute hat and scarf set! It was a really nice gift, and I've already used it!

Once again, disregard the complete lack of make-up...

Then on Boxing Day we went and had coffee with Thomas' mom, and just chatted for a while. Then in the evening we went and visited my best friend Christine and her family. She's the one who has three sons, and me and Thomas are Godparents to the youngest one (he's almost six months old). The whole family had gotten a Wii for Christmas, and the 7-year old and the 4-year old just couldn't get enough! And it was so much fun to watch them play, because they were jumping up and down almost as much as the game characters! Thomas' best friend Jonas, who was best man at our wedding, also showed up, and it was just a nice evening. Christine's fiancé Martin is also supernice, and we get along perfectly.

Then yesterday me and Thomas had coffee with his grandparents, which was nice. They are both over 80 years old, and we're starting to feel that we want to see them as much as we can before it's too late. A bit morbid, but they are really nice. They are both retired teachers, and they really love that both me and Thomas has studied so much!

And yesterday evening we went to a pub in Borås, Bishop's Arms, and met up with a good friend of ours from Borås, who now lives in Stockholm. Anders is always so happy and positive, and it was so nice that we got to see him and his girlfriend Ellen while we all were in Borås. Christine and Jonas also came with us to the pub, and we wasted away a couple of hours just hanging out and talking. I love that there are actual pubs where you can just sit down and talk, as opposed to all the clubs where the music is just too loud. The pub closed at 23.00, so it wasn't a very late night, but it was just perfect.

So today we finally got to go home to Linköping again! It will be nice to have a couple of days to relax before New Year's Eve, especially as we're having a party. Well, at least we're planning on having a party, but Thomas is starting to get sick so we'll see if it actually gets done. We're supposed to have some people over from Borås, so it will be really boring if we have to cancel.

So now we're going to relax with a movie, and we had sushi and thai food for dinner, so we're all set for a nice evening at home. And Hobbe is so happy to be home again, although I think he misses my sister's two cats. He is such a chicken when he's at my parents', but as soon as he gets a whif of the two girl cats he goes into stalker mode. He just follows them around, and completely ignores the fact that Medoxa ignores him, and Daisy hisses at him as soon as she sees him! And when he can't find them he goes around meowing for them in the cutest way! It's a blessing that wee keep them separated during the nights, otherwise none of us would get any sleep!

I'll leave you with some yarn pr0n: I've showed these before, but as they were all technically Christmas gifts too, I think they belong here. I present to you again, my Chili Gredelin yarns:

Madame:

Simone:

Geisha:

/ Jenny