Bob and I returned to Sweden again this summer!  Instead of staying in Stockholm for our “city” part of the visit, we stayed about an hour away in Uppsala.

Two things dominate the skyline in Uppsala.  First is the cathedral with its twin spires.

The other is the Uppsala castle, perched high on a hill.

Uppsala is a charming city.

There are many flower lined bridges crossing the river that runs through the center of town.

I love the architecture, and how the river runs right through this building!

Uppsala is also home to one of Sweden’s major universities and medical school.  This anatomical theater was built in 1663.

Students stood in the tiered theater while a professor dissected a cadaver on the table!

This is one sign we always look for when we’re in Sweden.  It means bakery!

The pastries are amazing—as tasty as they are beautiful!

My favorite is the Princess Cake!

Every bakery makes them.

While green is traditional, you sometimes see blue and pink.

The strawberry whipped cream cakes are pretty wonderful, too.

Of course we always look for this guy, who advertises a brand of ice cream called GB Glace.

We visited a museum that had two of my favorite things—a kakelugn (ceramic stove) and…

…a Mora clock.

In the children’s area there were these cute embroideries.

 

In one of the shops I fell in love with this post box.  It reminds me of my Swedish birdhouse.

We went out to Gamla Uppsala, where there are Viking burial mounds and centuries old buildings.

Even here they are painted with the Falu Röd paint.

I love the log construction.

Sweet!  Don’t you love the sod roof?

The woven sides of this bed fascinated me.

The old stone church sits on a site where pagan sacrifices once took place!

The day we were there a christening or wedding was about to happen.  It would have been fun to crash the party, but I refrained!

Everything we heard and read recommended we take something called “The Golden Circle Tour” when we were in Iceland—so we did!  It was a great way to expose ourselves to the beautiful, natural wonders of the country.

You probably know that Iceland is a place of fire and ice.  There is a ton of geothermal activity on the island.

We had a darling guide who was very proud of her Viking roots!  She did a great job of sharing the natural history as well as the history of the settlement of Iceland.  Here we are at Pingvellir National Park.

Did you know that Iceland lies above the tectonic plates that separate North America and Europe?  AND, the movement of the plates is causing the land beneath Iceland to drift apart a few centimeters a year!?!  What you see below is one side of drift area.  The other side is a few kilometers away!  But, that natural gap you see here, is a very significant place.

The early Vikings gathered here once a year to meet and make laws—the first parliament of Iceland!  Those wanting to make speeches stood where our guide is standing, and everyone could hear as the sounds would echo off the natural stone walls of the place!

We walked through the park and enjoyed the beauty of the rough landscape.

Our next stop was Gullfoss—the Golden Waterfall.  Now, I have to tell you, I’ve been to some pretty windy places in my life, but this was by far the windiest!  It was an effort just to stay upright.  But, the falls was definitely worth it.  This is just a peek,  As you approach, it looks as though it disappears into the ground.

Here’s a broader view of the falls.  At one time there was a threat of turning the falls into a hydroelectric facility, but, luckily, that didn’t happen and now it is protected.

Skaholt was the seat of religion in Iceland for centuries.  There have been six churches on this site, the first built in 1056.  The current church dates from 1963.

It has beautiful stained glass windows and this Jesus mural behind the altar.

Geysir is the name of this geyser, and the origin of the word “geyser!”  It erupted three times in the short time we were there.

This last photo was just for fun.  One of my favorite children’s stories is The Old Woman and the Pig.  In it, she buys a pig and must cross a stile to get back home, but the pig won’t cross the stile.  She solicits help from a number of animals and objects, and as your reading, the sentences get longer and longer (similar to the House That Jack Built) ending with, …”doggy, doggy, bite piggy.  Piggy won’t go over the stile and I shan’t get home tonight!”  I love to recite it for my grandchildren, who, I’m sure, have no idea what a stile is!  Now I can show them.

 

So, if you want to know how the story ends, here it is!  “The cat started to chase the rat, the rat started to gnaw the rope, the rope started to hang the butcher, the butcher started to kill the ox, the ox started to drink the water, the water started to quench the fire, the fire started to burn the stick, the stick started to beat the doggy, the doggy bit the piggy, the piggy went over the stile and the old woman finally got home that night!

 

We recently flew Iceland Air to Sweden.  To break up the long flight, we decided to spend a few days in Iceland on our way.

We stayed in the capital, Reykjavik. The church, with its amazing architecture, dominated the downtown area.

The amazing architecture was replicated inside.

The pipe organ was incredible.

We went to the top and took in the view.  This part of Iceland was very flat, but it’s not all like that.

Just in front of the church is this statue of the famous viking, Leif Erikson.

We walked up and down the shopping street many times.  Our hotel was at one end and the harbor at the other.  This made me chuckle.

We enjoyed wonderful pastries every morning…

…and ate at “the most famous restaurant” in Reykjavik.

We were told over and over again that the most popular restaurant in town was this hot dog stand.  The menu simple–hot dogs and pop!

In the Icelandic Air flight magazine I read about a fun comedy show called How To Become Icelandic in Sixty inutes, so we decided to go.

It was very good, but best of all was that it was in Harpa, the wonderful new performing arts center.

The walls are all honeycombed glass.

We wandered all around…

…and marveled at the structure.

We really enjoyed our time in Reykjavik!

A few months ago, I decided it would be fun to have a garden party this summer.  We hadn’t done one in several years.  Then we went to Sweden for three and a half weeks, and when we got home, I had to scramble to get everything ready.  I always say I work best under pressure!  That, and help from family.

We put all the tables together, covered them with white cloths and topped them with vintage tablecloths from the forties.  In honor of our recent trip, we decided on a Swedish theme.

I loved the look of one long table.

Thanks to Melinda…

…and Kristine for the gorgeous flower arrangements.

We set up beverages and hors d’oeuvre under the pergola.

We had three kinds of Swedish cheese, Västerbotten, Präst (priest) and Fontina as well as a selection of hard bread.

We also did Toast Skagen, Västerbotten Cheese Bites and a Pickled Beet appetizer.

I got out my vintage ringed glasses and pitchers for the Lingon Drink.

Sally, super shopper that she is, found these great tubs for the wine, beer, apple and pear drink.

It was f fun mix of people.  There were 66 in all.

And while it wasn’t sunny, it was very pleasant.

Friends from near…

…and far.

We played the Swedish game, Kubb.  You can guess which team won!

We set up the Swedish smorgasbord in our garage.  Note: if you need to clean your garage but can’t get motivated, plan a party where you set the food up in there and you’ll get everything spanking clean!

The Swedish centerpiece.

Of course the featured food was Swedish Meatballs with Cream Sauce.

We also had Little Smokies with Lingon Sauce.

There were boiled potatoes with fresh dill.

Lingonberry Sauce and Pickled Herring.

This cabbage salad is called Pizza Salad in Sweden–as in it’s served in every pizza restaurant.

We also had a cucumber salad.

Mini Swedish flags adorned the Deviled Eggs with Shrimp.

Mom was first to the table!

I think everyone enjoyed their meal.

And we ended it with Strawberry Torte using Berit’s recipe.

Var så god!

I recently pinned a cute crafty idea from Melanie Dramatic on Pinterest for some fabric covered clipboards.

Then I got two graduation announcements and wondered about gifts–and the lightbulb went off.  I could make some cute clipboards!

I hope they like them!

We’re recently started a new session of Secret Pal at our guild.  We’re into our second month and I’ve already gotten six blocks!

The blocks are sooooo charming!  And Sue is so industrious.

She spends a lot of time working on her needlework. I love that there’s a little bit of thread hanging loose!

But when Sue needs a break, you can see she takes her Anna Lena shopping bag and heads to the store!

The blocks are so beautifully done.  Thank you, Secret Pal!

 

 

Yeah!  I’ve finished all the embroidery for the Christmas Morning Quilt.  Here is block 9.  Bobby and Sally found wonderful toys underneath the tree!

 

I double framed each block before sashing.

 

Then put it all together.  I love this quilt!  It so reminds me of my own wonderful Christmas when I was a girl.

You can find kits on my website!

 

Some time back, I posted a tutorial for the Crossroads to Jericho block.

Since then, both my retreat group and our guild used the block in a swap.  As usual, I love to see what people do with a set of blocks.  It’s amazing how every quilt looks different, and some of the look REALLY different!

Here’s the one Pat put together, putting the blocks on point with black sashing and setting triangles.

Nellie chose a straight set and sashed hers with black and use aqua cornerstones and a nine-patch-and-stripe border.

Then it really got interesting.  Lynda wasn’t thrilled with the block as it was, so she laid a double wedding ring ruler over it and cut!

That got me to thinking, so I sliced mine in half twice on the diagonal and put them back together with some black setting squares.

Melinda was inspired and decided to cut hers in half twice also, then add “feet” and rickrack handles to make baskets!

Ann cut her blocks in half once for baskets and added appliqued flowers!

Pretty amazing!

There’s a wonderful article and lots of great photos in the Spring edition of Arts and Crafts Homes about our house.

Oh, so exciting!  Sally and Bobby are creeping down the stairs to see if Santa left them anything!