Saturday, December 03, 2011

December - Day 3


The sun rose at 1023am and set at 1355pm. The length of the day was 3 hours and 31 minutes.
Glögg belongs To Christmas. (In the old times hot glögg was given to the messengers who had been riding or skiing in cold weather.) It is spiced (ginger, cinnamon, clove, cardamom, bitter orange) hot drink that very often contains some alcohol but not always.

Today liquer stores sell readymade Glöggs that you just heat up carefully not to burn out the alcohol. The alcohol content may come from rum, or from some clear spirit or from wine. Or you can buy non-alcohol ones in grocery stores. I often drink those and save the ones with alcohol for special occasions. When the glögg is heated raisins and almonds are added into it. 
There is an article in Wikipedia and if you scroll down a bit, there is a chapter "Nordic Glögg" and there you can find more infromation and be maybe encouraged to try your own mixture.
While I walked the dogs today, I took these pictures with my phone to show you. As you can see the sun is not very high and all these were taken around noon. The day was beautiful, there was some new snow, the temperature was just little bit below zero and the wind was gentle compared to last week. 

There is going to be knitting content here, hopefully soon, but I thought I would share something every day until December 24th, things that I might never come around to write and pictures I would never take otherwise. It will be interesting to document the nature and see the changes. I would really love to record the song of the lake, the scaring sounds that echo around while the ice grows. Hopefully I can catch that. 

See you tomorrow and wool until then,
Lene


21 comments:

  1. I am loving your December posts and pictures. Apart from anything else, they have stopped me from moaning about the short days in England at this time - ours are over twice as long as yours!

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  2. I'm enjoying your winter posts also!!! Just as I'm bemoaning the short days here in New Hampshire (northeastern US), I realize how much more light we're getting at this time of year than everyone further north.

    I definitely want to hear those lake ice sounds!!! They sound magical.

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  3. Anonymous23:35

    Thank you for sharing your Arctic life with us. It is fascinating and a testament to the good side of technology that we get a peak into your life.
    --Aldona from Maine

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  4. oh, how I love hearing and seeing your Arctic home! You make me long to move north!!!

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  5. Anonymous00:00

    I've enjoyed catching up on this week's posts! It's good to see that you finally have snow on the ground, helping to bring light to the shadowy days.
    Congratulations on 28 years together! Romantic gifts are lovely but much needed, thoughtful gifts are truly appreciated - and used!
    Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

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  6. Lene, thank you for posting. I will look forward to reading every day! One of my favorite recent Christmas traditions is to re-read your December blog posts in the archives. Thank you for writing about Finnish and Nordic traditions in addition to your wonderful fiber adventures

    I used to live near the Arctic Circle in Alaska and now find myself in the very much warmer southern US. It is wonderful to see your photos of the beautiful low angle winter light! Brings back many warm ( and COLD!!) memories. Happy Holidays!

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  7. Oh, you have snow now! - Mother nature is getting back to normal!

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  8. Nancy00:29

    Your blog and pictures are so beautiful! Thank you for sharing your gorgeous part of the world with us. I love your knitting and I am particularly fond your knitted creatures. Your work is amazing!

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  9. These December posts will be wonderful. I am a recent reader and will certainly check out the archives.

    Years and years ago I was a high school exchange student in Helsinki from July through December. My Finnish family and I travelled to Rovaniemi in the summer, but I fear I didn't appreciate the experience as I should have. And I didn't know how to knit. The girls and women in the family were appalled.

    But I have fond, fond memories of Finland. Thank you for bringing them back to life.

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  10. Glad you have the snow ,I can smell the snow in the hills but it is not here yet.
    My days are long compared to yours --do I do as much I hope so

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  11. Anonymous02:46

    Thank you for telling us about the arctic days. I have always wondered what the light looks like during this time.
    Margie in Maryland

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  12. These posts are a delight. Thank you.

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  13. I love your pictures of winter. It rained all day here, across the Lake from Chicago but they say maybe snow flurries tomorrow. Thanks for sharing your Artic winter life.

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  14. I'm enjoying your winter posts so much... These are a very great pleasure!!! Thank you.

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  15. Love these posts, although I love the ones with knitting, too. Beautiful pictures.
    Meredith

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  16. Beautiful pictures! We have so sun here now and I really wish we had some of your snow to brighten up our dark days...

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  17. Anonymous19:37

    Here in Bavaria Germany we haven't had snow yet. (except the mountains in the south) Last year by this time we had several 'delay of opening' days at my school. This year just rain. The Germans do Gluhwein - kind of like Gloegg.
    Love the pictures and information. I'll remember when you see the sun. I usually can see if by 8 am and lose it about 4pm. Helen

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  18. Yaaay, snow! Finally :)

    We will make some Glühwein by the end of the week when a dear friend of my is coming to visit us. First Glühwein of the season! Some spices are still missing, but I will take care of that tomorrow.
    The temperature is still between 5 and 12 degrees Celsius around here. No snow in sight :(

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  19. Lene! Thank you so much for sharing all the wonders that are catching your eye at this rare time. It is my very own Finnish Advent calendar!

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  20. Raining in Toronto today - doesn't feel very seasonal.
    Thanks for sharing photos every day. It is much appreciated.

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  21. I am so enjoying your posts and I'm holding my breath until the days start getting longer, as I'm sure you are as well.
    Thanks for the lovely pictures and the gnome lesson. They are very cute!

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