Testa Torp

Last year I got a stack of corn poppy seed packages from my friend Andreas (aka my Swedish proof-reader). For a few minutes I considered planting one big poppy field, like the one in The Wizard of Oz, but that doesn't seem realistic.  If you have some leftover seeds and will trade them for some corn poppies, send me a message!  I have six packages that I don't need.

Several packages full of seeds arrived two weeks ago. The first came from Örtagården, a company that has a large selection of unusual peppers and herbs.  The other package came from Runåbergs fröer, which focuses on organic seeds and varieties that are suited to a nordic climate.  With so many interesting seeds in their catalogues it is hard to choose what to buy!

I also got several seeds from Gela of Gelas hem och trädgård. I found her nice blog a couple of weeks ago and couldn't miss out on answering her seed exchange offer. I am really excited about the bonus seeds that Gela sent. I have basically only bought edible plants since it feels a little too extravagant to spend money on something that is 'only pretty'.  But now I have a few beauties to look forward to. And hops! A little homebrewed beer maybe?
Thanks Gela!

Morning coffee with Svala and a few bargains from this year's book sale. I bought "Caring for old houses" for 79 Swedish kronor and "Wooden houses - a handbook' for 119 Swedish kronor. Despite having to wake up early, walk to the store in -20C weather, and stand in a looooong line, I am very satisfied with my purchases!

The snowy and cold weather has kept us in the city for a couple months now. Today we have finally made it out to the torp! We were welcomed by a few cows, which have moved back to the neighbours for the winter.

Thanks to a couple seed catalogues that arrived last week, I'm getting anxious to get out into the garden again. For now I will have to settle for the "winter flowers" that I found. The photo also shows that the torp is still standing and hasn't fallen down during this year's hard winter. Unfortunately, both the torp and garden are going to have to wait a few weeks before we get started with things.

When I lived in Canada I made my own glögg, a Swedish mulled wine beverage served during Christmas.  Despite now living in a country where I can buy glögg in most stores, I continue to make it myself.  I think the homemade version tastes better and it's also fairly fun to do.  I use a recipe from the 1840s, which I found on Wikipedia.  The link is in Swedish only, but I've translated the recipe as best as I can below.

Glögg Recipe

Ingredients

• 100 mL eau de vie*
• 20 cloves
• 5 cinnamon sticks
• 1 tsp crushed cardamom
• 1 piece of ginger
• 1 piece of bitter orange peel**

• 1 bottle red wine
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1.5 tsp vanilla

• blanched almonds
• raisins

* This type of alcohol should be available outside of Sweden, but you can surely use vodka instead.
**Dried bitter orange peel is readily available in Sweden, but some zest from a regular orange works well.

Directions
Pour eau de vie over spices, which have been placed in a jar. Let sit for at least 24 hours.
Strain the liquid into a pot. Add red wine, sugar, and vanilla. Heat gently until warm.
Serve in small mugs with almonds and raisins.

One of my favourite tv shows, River Cottage, is being shown on svtplay right now (sorry - you can only access the online content within Sweden). The show's host, who moved from London to the country to grow and raise his own food, is so charming. The show makes me want to go out in the garden, but unfortunately it's sitting under 20 cm of snow.

Today is Saint Lucy's Day.  It is usually celebrated with songs, candles, and lussekatter (saffron buns), but we are going to celebrate with a new blog design!

This is what our little road up to the house looked like today.  Our poor Volvo couldn't make it up the little incline, which was covered with 25 cm of snow,  so we had to do a little shoveling.  Everything was harder with the wet, heavy snow.  I got tired after having walked only 100 metres.  On the other hand you can't help but feel energized and relaxed when it was so beautiful and still.

When we went out to the house on the weekend, the ground was covered with frost.  It felt like winter was on it's way... but it came sooner than I expected.  Here in town, we already have 10 cm of snow and it's still snowing and blowing!

The goal for the weekend was to cover the big hole where the staircase used to be.  It is only a temporary solution for now.  We are going tospend the winter thinking about how we really want things and start working again come spring.  We are thinking about something along these lines.

We got to see a cross-section of the outer timber wall.  I thought it looked a little strange with a hole in every log, so I read a little about how timber houses are built.  The halfmoon-shaped hole along the bottom of each log results in increased pressure on the contact-surface and a tighter fit.  The holes are filled with moss or flax fibres for added insulation.  Of course, we also have a little montageschaum / insulation foam.

Art-deco decorations on the wall in one of the small rooms on the second floor.  I'm guessing that they were made by the carpenter who lived in the house and renovated it in the forties.