Merry Christmas!
Little Air Plants
Christmas Betta
Little Bunny Farmer
Christmas glassware haha
Rudolph
Frozen rose and Christmas lights
Front Porch
Pool
Christmas Black Ice
Sledding on ice
Headless Dexie
Moss
Christmas cards and crafts
Bunnies come in for a drink when their water is frozen; in this picture they are looking quite rat-ish; so consider this an homage to those rats in the Nutcracker Ballet. HAHhaha
Orchid blooming! (I got it last January so pretty proud that I kept it alive and it bloomed again!)
Black and white orchid
Lighted Tractor at Sunset (near Spy Garden)
“I’m cooling. Come cool with me.”
Dexie’s toy in the garden
Back yard sledding
Kohlrabi is very hardy
Woods
Sledding in the woods
Tasty snow!
Beading
Bun Bun (and Puff Puff and Butkus)
Bunny Condos
Moocha making some upgrades to the bunny conods
Hay
Hay
Snow Gear
Frozen Rose
A Weed in the Garden
Sunset
The newlyweds are moving to Florida!!!
Even though we are sad to see you leave St. Louis; we are looking forward to having a new Florida beach to visit; soon!!!
Christmasy lamp
Cozy town
Blankets to protect the white couch!!
Christmas kids
The kids did a great job with the Christmas service
After the service
Tablecloth paper (with knife, fork and spoon print)
Dexie admiring the decor
Up at 5:30 AM !
A Very Early Christmas!
Horsey
Lite Brite!
Trampoline!
Setting up the trampoline
Weeeee!
Christmas Card
Besties
Cozy
Christmas steaks
Christmas Couch Burning
Christmas Couch Burning
Out with the old! haha
Moss
Christmas Day
A very Merry Christmas to all! And a happy, healthy, hygge and koselig 2017!! What’s that you say?
Hygge (pronounced hue-gah) is a Danish word that is a feeling or mood that comes taking genuine pleasure in making ordinary, every day moments more meaningful, beautiful or special. Whether it’s making coffee a verb by creating a ritual of making it then lingering over a cup to a cosy evening in with friends to the simple act of lighting a candle with every meal. Hygge is being aware of a good moment whether it’s simple or special.
Some refer to hygge as an “art of creating intimacy” (either with yourself, friends and your home). While there’s no one English word to describe hygge, several can be used interchangeably to describe the idea of hygge such as cosiness, charm, happiness, security, familiarity, comfort, reassurance, kinship, and simpleness. (source: Hygge House/Alex Beauchamp)
Hygge definitely describes our Christmas this year and Spy Garden in general; and since I am part Scandenavian (Norwegian) it is just a perfect descriptor. Which also brings us to koselig.
There is an important concept one needs to understand and embrace when living in Norway: being “koselig”. Most English speakers translate it by “cosy” but that term doesn’t even begin to cover everything that “koselig” can express. This concept is difficult to translate to those who do not live here, but basically anything can (and should) be koselig: a house, a conversation, a dinner, a person. It defines something/someone /an atmosphere that makes you feel a sense of warmth very deep inside in a way that all things should be: simple and comforting. And just for the fun ask a Norwegian what is his/her definition of koselig and you will realise it is not only hard to translate but also hard to explain for them. Then ask what is the difference between “hyggelig” and “koselig” and you might have lit an evening-long discussion. (source: Lorelou Desjardins, A Frog in the Fjord)
Cozy days and nights to you and your families this holiday season! Only a few more days until 2017!
Thanks for the hygge lesson and may 2017 be filled with coziness and internal comfort.
‘Hygge’ is a great descriptor of this post. Looks like you had a delightful Christmas (of course it has to start before dawn!) and there was quite a haul around that tree. ;)
I will miss the old couch, I loved the fabric (even with the green magic marker art on it ;) ).
I expect you will miss your sister, but as you said, the beach is very compelling!
Happy New Year to you all!
It was actually the couches from the man cave that we burned (green leather with floppy cushions that never stayed put). Not pictured but the new man cave couch is white leather and a pull out. And we have a red ottoman so it’s very festive! We saved the yellow floral couch in the basement to one day be reupholstered with other yellow floral fabric hahahaha. Because I love that old couch too! Haha My sister and her husband are storing a bunch of furniture here. Plus gave some to us since they moved to Florida (a beachside condo that already has a bunch of furniture). I love interior design in the winter. And apparently so do Scandinavians! It was definitely the earliest Christmas morning we’ve ever had; usually the kids are tired and sleep in. It has been the coziest week! So loved reading about hygge and koselig!! Happy new year to you thanks for commenting!!!
<3