We did go sled riding the other day (Frida’s first), and it was lots of fun, even though the girls were too tired to be at the toboggan run for very long. Afterwards we went home to have some hot chocolate – Frida hasn’t tasted this before, and while she was skeptical when first looking into the cup, the next two cups went down within minutes! It was sooo funny to watch her while devoting her entire attention to her new obsession!

And now I want to thank Mette for giving me this award!

The award is all about nearness, and I really appreciate it. Mette herself has a wonderful blog (in Danish) about her life, crafts, and her three beautiful boys. I’m going to pass on this award to other blogs that to me are synonym with nearness.

So go check out the following:

Lille-Ursus – I have been following her blog for as long as I’ve been sewing, and her warm descriptions of family and friends, as well as her attention to detail and things that make her happy – these things make me want to give her this. Also, Ulla gives out a lot of herself to her blog friends, and I’m proud to be among them.

U-handblog – One thing is her amazing generosity when it comes to all of her awesome tutorials. But really, because this award is about nearness, I also chose her because of the way she writes her tutorials – not too formally, but rather like you’re with her in a room having a laugh about the challenges on the way. That’s quite a skill you’ve got there, girl, and it’s a pleasure to read your blog!

MADE - because when I read Dana’s blog, I feel like she’s talking to me. Her pictures add an atmosphere of intimacy, and last but not least – I love her creations.

Colorfool – they’re hit by life at the moment, so the blog doesn’t come 1st priority, but when she posts, there’s plenty of nearness.

That’s all for now – but hey, I made something for you guys! More about that tomorrow – and remember the coupon code for Fabric.com is still valid!

It was a busy month. With me starting my new job, and all of us taking turns in having sore throats and then some. And Christmas of course – I know I wrote a bit about that already, but our traditions in December are very important to me and my family, so even though they do add a bit to the general bustle, we’re just not letting go of those.

Like going to the Tivoli Christmas market – Mads and I have been going there every year since we met, and it’s become quite an important event.

A while ago, we had some snow, and Mads and Ronja went sledding. I wasn’t feeling good at the time, and Frida was having a cold, so we stayed behind. I do hope we get another snow fall during this winter – you never know.

On Boxing Day we went for the traditional Christmas lunch with my side of the family, which is always a cosy event. We don’t get together too often, so this annual event is much anticipated. After lunch Ronja and I went with a few others for a walk by the fjord. Ronja had a cold, so she and I didn’t go quite as far as the others, but then we had a quiet mom-and-daughter moment instead.

I’m not going to say more about 2008. Now it’s all about 2009, and 2 days ago I actually managed to do some sewing. Just a pair of pants for Frida, which were needed, but I do hope that I will have more time for my sewing now that we’ve entered the new year. I don’t have any new years resolutions this year in particular – just looking forward to the new year in general.

So what am I doing back here? I’m sitting on the couch, covered with a warm duvet. Frida and I took over Mads’ flu that put him out of business for a few days, and now I just hope that she and I will be well for tomorrow when there’s a big Christmas party at Mads’ work.

Karen and her family were supposed to visit us today, but of course I had to cancel that as well. Bummer. However, 12 hours on a plane isn’t much fun if you’re coming down with the flu, so it’s a good thing they will be back sometime during the next year!

 I promised you guys a picture of Frida wearing the Dolly daisy dress, and this is it.

There was just no way to get her to stand and not chase the camera, so you will have to do with this sitting image of the dress. I can just see her wearing this dress along with the little red shoes from my own childhood – she’ll be adorable.

I have been receiving a few e-mails and comments about the Onion-patterns that I have used quite a bit. I think you will be interested to know, that coming up in my next post, I’ll be announcing a give-away. Maria from ShopOnion.com has been kind enough to donate some patterns for you guys – and no worries, the patterns come with an English translation. So check back soon!

Ronja on the sled

The snow has almost melted, and the weather is getting milder every day now. There is bird’s twitter in the morning and the spring flowers are beginning to show in the garden. Ronja had her last sled ride for this winter a few weeks ago – presumably – and she loved it. Now we’re looking forward to spring and summer – it is going to be nice to see more of the sun.

I’m doing ok with my running – it has been less hard starting up this time, compared to last time, when I decided to start running back in 2003. My most recent run was Sunday, and I ran together with my brother Jakob who has been visiting from Amsterdam this week. I was seriously skeptical as I haven’t been running with anyone before, but we had a really nice trip with good pace and we actually ran well together – I may even miss the possibility of running with a partner. It was a good thing that he talked me into it.

Ronja is one and a half year old tomorrow, and she is developing so much at the moment. Her words are going from total Russian (which we do admire even though we don’t understand one word) to something that makes sense, and she knows a great many words now. She also combines words to little sentences and is making progress so quickly that we can hardly follow her. She is great at “helping” with the laundry – meaning of course that I need to collect it all over the house, before I can wash.

Ronja is going to Shrovetide (Fastelavn) at the nursery on Monday, and we’re still not sure what she should go as. My mother is looking for a little clown suit (a wonderful one) that she made for my brother at that age, and if she manages to find it, Ronja will probably be a clown – and a cute one too! I’ll get back with pictures.