Sunday, December 31, 2006

Happy New Year

When I look back at this past year, I feel pleased and very grateful.
I'm grateful that it's been a healthy year for me and all my loved ones, and I pray that the next year will be so too.
I'm grateful for old and new friends. This year I've not only had many good times with my old friends but I've also found new amazing friends. Unexpectedly enough, I've found so many wonderful and kind friends through my blog and that is something I really cherish.
I'm grateful for so many things but I'm most grateful for these.
Thank you for reading and commenting on my blog!
I wish you a safe and happy new year & may all good things come to you!

Sunday, December 24, 2006

Merry Christmas

I found a lovely surprise when I read Lisa's blog this morning. Thank you! And thank you for all the other birthday wishes I received... Your're all so kind! As I said in my last post, it's good to be reminded of all the good things in the world, which is why I wanted to share one of my favorite texts with you. It doesn't include snowmen, stockings, reindeers or santa clauses but it does include the most important Christmas ingredient - kindness towards other people.

The Three Kings

Three Kings came riding from far away,
Melchior and Gaspar and Baltasar;
Three Wise Men out of the East were they,
And they traveled by night and they slept by day,
For their guide was a beautiful, wonderful star.

The star was so beautiful, large and clear,
That all the other stars of the sky
Became a white mist in the atmosphere;
And by this they knew that the coming was near
Of the Prince foretold in the prophecy.

Three caskets they bore on their saddle-bows,
Three caskets of gold with golden keys;
Their robes were of crimson silk, with rows
Of bells and pomegranates and furbelows,
Their turbans like blossoming almond-trees.

And so the Three Kings rode into the West,
Through the dusk of night over hill and dell,
And sometimes they nodded with beard on breast,
And sometimes talked, as they paused to rest,
With the people they met at some wayside well.

"Of the child that is born," said Baltasar,
"Good people, I pray you, tell us the news;
For we in the East have seen his star,
And have ridden fast, and have ridden far,
To find and worship the King of the Jews."

And the people answered, "You ask in vain;
We know of no king but Herod the Great!"
They thought the Wise Men were men insane,
As they spurred their horses across the plain
Like riders in haste who cannot wait.

And when they came to Jerusalem,
Herod the Great, who had heard this thing,
Sent for the Wise Men and questioned them;
And said, "Go down unto Bethlehem,
And bring me tidings of this new king."

So they rode away, and the star stood still,
The only one in the gray of morn;
Yes, it stopped, it stood still of its own free will,
Right over Bethlehem on the hill,
The city of David where Christ was born.

And the Three Kings rode through the gate and the guard,
Through the silent street, till their horses turned
And neighed as they entered the great inn-yard;
But the windows were closed, and the doors were barred,
And only a light in the stable burned.

And cradled there in the scented hay,
In the air made sweet by the breath of kine,
The little child in the manger lay,
The Child that would be King one day
Of a kingdom not human, but divine.

His mother, Mary of Nazareth,
Sat watching beside his place of rest,
Watching the even flow of his breath,
For the joy of life and the terror of death
Were mingled together in her breast.

They laid their offerings at his feet:
The gold was their tribute to a King;
The frankincense, with its odor sweet,
Was for the Priest, the Paraclete;
The myrrh for the body's burying.

And the mother wondered and bowed her head,
And sat as still as a statue of stone;
Her heart was troubled yet comforted,
Remembering what the angel had said
Of an endless reign and of David's throne.

Then the Kings rode out of the city gate,
With a clatter of hoofs in proud array;
But they went not back to Herod the Great,
For they knew his malice and feared his hate,
And returned to their homes by another way.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow



I wish everyone a Christmas full of love, laugther & peace. Merry Christmas!

Thursday, December 21, 2006

Fried Green Tomatoes

One of my friends threw a Christmas party yesterday and I had a wonderful time. There were people there from all over the world (it was a perfect opportunity for me to practice my English) but I also had one of my best friends there and it just made it a perfect night! I love listening to other people's stories and getting to know them, even if it's only for a evening.
Christmas is a time when I think it's even more important than usual to remember how much we have to be grateful for and I really tried to do so. I thought about it as I was standing there in a room full of lovely and very nice people or getting a warm loving hug from someone I just met a couple of hours earlier... I'm grateful that I could see the kindness and love that we all are capable to show other people, even though we only just met. I don't always see it, sometimes it's to easy to focus on all the terrible things happening in the world, which is why I'm glad I did see it yesterday.

One of my all-time favorite movies is Fried Green Tomatoes. It always makes me cry, but I also smile a lot while watching it. Anyway, the movie is based on a book by Fannie Flagg, who also has written A Redbird Christmas. A Redbird Christmas has been standing on my bookshelf for a long time now, since I wanted to read it at Christmas. I've finally begun reading it and I like it already, even though I've only read a couple of chapters, and I'm going to make myself a cup of tea and cuddle up in the sofa and read some more now... And you know what? It's in Swedish (it's named En röd liten fågel i juletid if there's any Swedes who want to read it)! It almost feels strange reading a Swedish novel :-)

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

My favorite things

Lisa assigned me the letter L so here`s my 10 favorite things beginning with L:

1. Love. And I don't mean only love for a boyfriend/girlfriend or /husband/wife, even if that love is amazing and wonderful too. But I also mean love for other people, love for friends, love for the things we enjoy the most doing and love for God.

2. Laughter. I think it's important to laugh and I really appreciate the people who makes me laugh out loud...

3. Literature. Even since I was a little child I've loved reading. I love the feeling of being totally focused on the story and how the character's soon begin to feel like old friends... Even though I'm assigned a lot of different books in my literature classes and we're discussing the great novels of our time, I still enjoy stories beginning with Once upon a time... Some of my classmates only talks about the writings of old French and Russian authors and it`s almost like they`re forgetting that it should be fun and relaxing to read as well. Whenever I read something that`s not on the literaturelist for the course, I don`t want to analyse and think to hard about the plot or the motifs or who's the antagonist... I want something that leaves me with a good warm feeling inside when I'm finished reading.

4. Letters. E-mail is much quicker and much easier but even so, there's something special about receiving an good old fashioned handwritten letter.

5. London. My favorite European capital. The streets, the houses, the pubs, the underground, the people... I even like the weather with it's rainy days.

6. Lakes. I like the peacefulness of sitting down by the shore and looking at the waves... It's far from peaceful to ride a snowmobile over a frozen lake in the winter but just as much fun!

7. Libraries. The smell of old books, the quietness and bookshelfs full of books makes the library a perfect place to read and study. I guess this one is connected to nr 3 and my love for Literature...

8. Languages. One of the things that fascinates me most about languages is how the ability to speak and understand a certain language brings so many wonderful opportunities. Opportunities to learn about other cultures and opportunities to communicate with so many wonderful interesting people...

9. Lángos. A delicious Hungarian speciality. It's yummy and if you haven`t already tried it, try it!

10. Late nights. It's so quiet and peaceful at night and I sometimes find it easier to be creative at that time of the day. And besides, it's always comforting being inside looking out into the dark night and knowing that I can just stay inside where it's warm and cozy... Somehow, having late night conversations with good friends are also very comforting and sometimes also very funny. The topics you come up with when everyone is a bit tired and everyone has turned into an amateur philosopher is sometimes the most memorable!

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Almost ready now

I`ve made all my Christmas cards and I`ve sent them as well. I`ve bought almost all my Christmas gifts and they are all wrapped up. I`ve baked Christmas cookies and thankfully, there`s still some left for Christmas Eve (I`m not entirely responsible for the disappearance of the cookies, I`ve had a lot of help).
I`m almost ready to celebrate Christmas now. Are you ready for the holidays?

Saturday, December 09, 2006

Thank you

Ever since I was a little child, this day has been very special to me. Today is almost my birthday ;-) Actually my birthday is on 24th of December, but since we Swedes celebrate Christmas on the 24th instead of the 25th, it isn`t the best day to celebrate a birthday ;-)

But this year, I had to write an exam today & I`ll celebrate my birthday tomorrow instead. However, I had a wonderful day (as soon as my exam was over) together with my best friend... Which brings me to my main point of this post :-) I just wanted to say thank you for all your lovely comments! I feel really bad for not reading & commenting on all my favourite blogs but I still think of you :-)

I have promised myself that I will enjoy myself tomorrow and forget about the essay, the exam and all the other things I should do... Because if there`s one day of the year when it`s alright do forget about those kind of things, it is on your birthday! Even though it`s just almost your birthday ;-)

Monday, December 04, 2006

December

It`s finally December! I`m busy writing essays (well, actually it`s essay now because I only got one left to write), studying for exams and reading literature... But December is my favourite month of the year and I`m trying to take the time to enjoy it :-) I`ve been making christmas cards, buying and making presents, wrapping the presents, made gingerbread, visited Stockholm Globen Horseshow (which has become a very nice Christmas tradition), riding (but I want to ride out in the snow! Where is it?) but I haven`t had the time to blog. I`ll promise to try and find some time to do it, but it will be easier as soon as my essay is handed in & my exams are done.

I hope you`re having a lovely December as well!