Wednesday, November 30, 2011

E-numbered Creativity



And this is how my village looks after Luqaz and I had some fun with glazing, sprinkles, and -I hardly dare to admit- E-numbers.
I wish I did my research before I ate some of our creations.
According to  wikipedia "food colouring is not really healthy to your body".
Ok, I knew this. I guess I was trying to fool myself into believing the dyes we used were natural ...
But one of the natural blue food dyes is said to be made of butterfly pee (not to mention those made of insects). There really is no upside here ...
We'll just have to stay clear of those chemicals in the future. White glaze is prettiest anyway, right?

Gingerbread Fun!


I'm still a novice in the gingerbread house baking thing ... but since I live in Sweden now and gingerbread house building is like a national sport here, I decided to roll up my sleeves and get going!

Meet my village!




Aren't they adorable?
They even come in black too :) 

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Advent Sunday = Yum!

Sweden is a country of many traditions ... and most of them include yumminess.
Last Sunday we were invited to my very first Adventsfika (thank you Jenny & Kalle!), got a taste of a little bit of everything you're 'supposed' to eat and drink at this time of year, and once again decided that there's no place like my new home :)





Luqaz and I finally started baking too! 
We're a bit behind as we don't even have advent candles yet *shame* but as you can't eat candles I'm not too bothered :)

Monday, November 28, 2011

Advent Adoration




Advent Sunday was rather stormy here on the island so I'm glad I took advantage of sunny Saturday to go into town.
I'm so happy that people not only decorate the inside of their houses!
Now we only need a little bit of snow to transform Visby into a true winter fairytale town ...

***

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Sisters Unite!


What if someone told you that the world will be saved by the Western woman? Would you agree or would you frown and shrug your shoulders?
What would you say if someone said we actually can?

The Dalai Lama said we would, and the women behind the organization Tree Sisters think he's right. They call for a feminine response to climate change - an experiment to see what we can achieve if we all stand up and take action together.

Their goal is to inspire people (I'm guessing they accept donations from men as well) to start giving back through trees ... and reforest the earth within 10 years!

www.treesisters.org


Why not go find out if you want to chip in?

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Our deepest fear

So many of us aren't living our life to the fullest.
I'm lying in bed writing this, and it's not even 3 in the afternoon, so I'm definitely not living life to the fullest ... (although I'm thoroughly enjoying it at the moment ;))
But what is it that's holding us back?
Wanting to find out could be a great reason to follow a greytogreen workshop.

The poem below I've copied from the greytogreen workbook. It's so beautiful and so true that I wanted to post it on my blog.


"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It's our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?'
Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of Life. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of Life that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. 
As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

A poem by Marianne Williamson, slightly modified, from the book "A Return to Love"


Sunday, November 20, 2011

Inspiration from the main land

We just got back to our little island after 5 great days on the mainland.

One of the reasons for our trip was a seminar called greytogreen - held by my mum - which we went to in Skåne, where we discovered Wallåkra, a pottery factory, restaurant and conference center.

We found time to sneak around in the workshop above the shop and decided that the owner has all the right to be proud of her remarkable business.
If I knew how to make ceramics I'd swap places in no time :)






PS: more info on greytogreen will most definitely follow, but check out the website - you might come across pictures of a familiar face :)