6.30 A M Tuesday morning in the archipelago

 This morning we got up at 5 o´clock to go from Runmarö to Sandhamn

in the Stockholm archipelago. There was a light frost on the ground at first merging into a mild mist after sunrise. The birdlife was magical with all the familiar sounds of spring at sea..The well known lighthouse of Grönskär in a distance.

 The faithful swan couple in the Stenbro Bay

 The shipdog Pricken (the Dot) lived a great part of her life onboard. Here she sights Sandhamn in a distance.

The first warming rays of the morning sun!

How true!

Happy Birthday,dear Malcolm!

With a great bundle of Gotland flowers!
Have a great birthday and I´ll see you soon!
Love and kisses,
Mum

I realize we live in Medieval..

..settings here on Gotland when I discover on Blocket (the Swedish version of Ebay) that this horrifying old stock is for sale! It will be yours to pick up in Visby for a mere 30 dollars!

Anyone?

Stocks were devices used in the medieval and colonial American times as a form of physical punishment involving public humiliation. The stocks partially immobilized its victims and they were often exposed in a public place such as the site of a market to the scorn of those who passed by.
Since the purpose of putting offenders in the stocks was to expose them to ridicule and mockery, passers-by were encouraged to throw at those being punished mud, rotten eggs, moldy fruit and vegetables, smelly fish, offal, and excrement (both animal and human). Consequently, many of those who sat in the stocks were very dirty and smelly by the time that they were let out.
(Wiki)
Present time:
The Medieval Festival in Visby takes place every year in August.
Taking stock only of the Medieval supplies of the August Fair in Visby!
Fair enough!

Our Christmas eve..

A traditional Swedish Christmas at Gotland.

The old fashioned kitchen.

The dining room

A beautiful tree..

The Gustavian parlor decked up for glögg or gluhwine! And the gingerbread house.

A beautiful tree..

Polly under the table with all the goodies having a hard time keeping her hungry lusts at bay!
Well, she soon got her share too!

God Jul och Gott Nytt År
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
Joyeux Noël et une Heureuse Anné 2012

Twinkle twinkle..

Stella, my sister´s darling grandchild sings "Twinkle,twinkle little star" in Swedish.
Filmed by her mother Stephanie!
I say only one word: PRICELESS!

Computer graffiti

Christmas morning
Facebook has a graffiti program sooo great to use.
Here are a few pieces I made on the computer in this program (when I did not have the energy to bring out the brushes..) Great fun!

Cap Ferrat

The dollhouse´s new easy chair

"He lived in the shadows, boozed a lot-but oh, so exciting!"

No more..

Sandhamn, the Stockholm archipelagoThe peaceful moon over the endless waters

The 13th of December..

..is the day of Santa Lucia in Sweden. An old tradition during the darkest period of the year in Scandinavia. It was a nice day, the Lucia day with still no snow in my part of Sweden.
So we deceided to take a tour with pony Hälge - darned with his jinglebells - in the chariot.
Here we are next to my house. Hälge is an extemely eccentric pony with a will of his own. I love his glare when he peeks at you with his naughty pony eyes: one is dark brown and the other clear blue!
Happy Lucia to you all!

November images..

Winding down..

The Still life of November.

A time for painting. My latest oil painting:
" A November kiss".

The abundance of apples The making of must

The many kinds of apples render..

..a spectrum of colors to the must and cider.

The eggs from the farm often hold two yolks.

The beautiful chestnut tree losing its leaves..

The sun sinking at 4 o´clock..

..and the moon rising shortly after..

November is a time for art exhibitions..

This one is at Sanda, Gotland, promoting women artists living on the island.

Digital art by me. I will soon embark on the task of turning this image into an "summer jog" oil painting. (After the copping of today´s ration of firewood! My little studio is heated only by a small stove. Brrrr.)
Time to put the sneekers on the shelf and bring out the lined leather boots!