We are finally back in Norway after touring North America for 78 days! We had a wonderful time travelling and meeting loads and loads of lovely people, but it is so good to be back home now! We spent the first 3 days getting over our jet lag and we picked up Freja on Thursday. She was so happy to see us and once we got home, she went right back into her old routines here, without any issues. So, we are thinking that in her mind, we were just out getting groceries all this time!
We’ve spent this weekend pre-decorating for Christmas. We have pulled out our advent candle holders and bought some poinsettias and hyacinths, which we have placed in all the rooms in our house. We also purchased our Christmas tree, which is going to remain outside until December 23rd.
We’ve got our Christmas Tree! This is where we will keep it until it’s time to bring it into the house, on December 23rd. We can’t wait to remove the net and see the tree in all its splendour!
Catching up on all things Christmas, including knitting some more balls. You can get 24 digital patterns for our smaller Christmas Balls by clicking on this photo.
This year, we also have an advent calendar here, which we are enjoying so much! The advent calendar that we are opening was sent to us by a friend in Denmark, Mette DJ and consists of a little gift every day – all related to gardening. We had to open the first 10 days at once, but now that we have caught up, we open a new gift daily in the morning while we are having breakfast, which, at this time of the year, is done by candlelight in the kitchen – just because it’s that time of the year. Anyway, we’ve never had an advent calendar before, and we can’t understand why we’ve never done this before, as this one is giving us so much joy!
Here is the advent calendar that we are enjoying every morning. Thanks so much, Mette DJ for contributing to our pre-Christmas joy this year!
This is what we’ve opened so far. Our kitchen garden and green house are going to look amazing next year!
And this is what we have left to open. We wish it would never end!!
This week, on our channel, it’s time to cook some delicious side dishes for our Christmas dinner. These two cabbage dishes are not only compulsory on any Scandinavia Christmas table, the are also super easy to make, if you do large portions, you can freeze them in advance and reheat as you go. Freja was a bit “loud” in this week’s episode, as there were a lot of moose around our house (LOL) when we recorded this episode in January. Sorry about that!
Check out the video here:
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OTHER NEWS THIS WEEK:
NEW!! The Classic Roundtrip onboard the Norwegian Coastal Express: Knitting along the world’s most beautiful coastline. September 11th-24th, 2020. We are delighted to announce this knitting trip of a lifetime to our beautiful country, Norway! This journey will be Hurtigruten’s classic roundtrip, which will take us northbound from Bergen, across the arctic circle and the North Cape, before arriving into Kirkenes and then start the journey southbound back to Bergen. This wonderful trip will last 14 days and 13 nights, out of which 11 nights will be spent onboard the newly renovated MS Finnarken and 2 nights will be spent in Norway’s second largest city: Bergen. The journey will include a visit to our favourite yarn factory Hillesvaag and loads and loads of knitting fun onboard! Half the spots for this cruise are already sold out, so make sure to book now, to avoid disappointment. More information available here.
Dream Knitting Cruise from Sydney to New Zealand. Yes!!! We are delighted to announce that we are returning to Australia and visiting New Zealand in 2020. Join us for this amazing 12 day, 11 night Knitting Cruise that departs from Sydney on March 27th, 2020 and visits all the amazing sights in New Zealand! More information is available here and here.
IN OUR WEBSHOP THIS WEEK: We hope you enjoy knitting all our Christmas patterns, such as our 24 Christmas balls the SIA, the Christmas Star and our Christmas Stocking!
Check out our webshop for loads of inspiring patterns!
Fragrant red cabbage and sour cabbage, both are traditional side dishes in any Scandinavian Christmas table.
RECIPES
Surkål (Sour Cabbage)
4 servings
1 kg White Cabbage
1 Green Apple
1 tbsp Caraway
3 tsp 7% Clear Vinegar
2.5 dl Vegetable Stock
1 tbsp Sugar
Pinch of Salt
Cut vegetables. Layer cabbage, apple and caraway. Add stock and vinegar, sugar and salt. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 45 minutes.
Rødkål (Red Cabbage)
4 servings
1 kg Red Cabbage
1 Red Apple
100 gr Butter
1 Cinnamon Stick
7 Cloves
2 Bay Leaves
1/2 dl Apple Cider Vinegar
1 dl Water
1 tbsp Sugar
Pinch of Salt and some Pepper to taste
Cut cabbage and apple, melt butter, add the cabbage and spices and stir until cabbage is coated in butter and spices. Add liquid, sugar, salt and pepper and let simmer for 45 minutes.
Enjoy!
ARNE & CARLOS