The Christmas Tree

I love decorating the Christmas tree. This year I was really happy to see that the kids were all into it too, for the first time. I'm really traditional and keep putting up the same decorations year after year, but every year there is also new additions.
Most of them are mine, but some are the kids' - they have got a new ornament each year from Mormor, and some from Grandma and the family in Sydney too. There is really something magical in the memories connected to each ornament.



We have baubles with kangaroos on them, a very old cone-Santa coming from my grandmother, a NZ jandal, some NZ sheep, a Swedish snowman in stainless steel, a homemade decoration by Lucas, a felt moose, a gingerbread star in porcelain, a glass icicle from IKEA, angels, santas, xmas pigs and many more beautiful things.

I really love enjoying the sight of my lit tree in the evenings. I'm going to miss it while we are gone..!

School's out!

Today was the last day of school before the holidays. It's a very nice feeling not to have to do any school runs for four weeks, aaahhh!

Nathan and I were both in school this morning for the end-of-term celebrations. It was a very busy morning, cause there was lots of things going on, in both classes. It looked a bit like this:

10.00 Starting in Lucas' class, listening to the three Reception classes performing some Christmas songs for us. (Brought a tear to my eye, they were so good, and so cute!)
10.15 Running over to Linnea's class, to watch the visit from Santa. Linnea was scared at first, but after realizing that Santa had presents for everybody she came around!
10.45 Going back to Lucas' class to watch (another) Santa visit the Reception kids. This Santa was a certified Santa (I didn't even know we had those in Brunei, haha!), and he was great! He took his time to talk to every single kid, and give them all a goodie bag each - and listen to their wishes etc.
11.10 Lucas had got his present from his Santa, and meanwhile Linnea had bashed a Xmas piñata and started on the party food. I had some xmas food with her, and gave her teachers some chocolates as a thank you for this term.
11.30 Then we went back to Lucas' class together since her day was finished there. They had also started on their party food. We gave his teachers the collective presents (spa-treatments and xmas tree decorations the kids had made) from the class, and then had a good time with the other kids and parents.

All the teachers had really made a huge effort in making this day very special day for the kids, and we all had such a lovely morning! I'm so proud of my kids, they are really doing so well in school and it makes my heart warm that they enjoy it so much.

Here is a slide show from today. I'm sorry that some of the photos are blurry, but I liked Lucas in them, so decided to include them anyway. In a way the blurriness reflects well on the mood and tempo of this day!
Some are also over- and underexposed... as I have said before, the more I try to practise (and play) with the camera - the worse the pictures come out at the moment. Some of these can be fixed in PS but I didn't have time to do that before writing this post, so bare with me.

Tea with the Ambassador

This afternoon we were invited to the Empire to meet again with the Swedish Ambassador. He is over here with his family, and the minister from the Swedish church in Singapore. They had invited the whole (all five families...) Swedish community for some Advent Celebrations today.

As we were actually the only ones who could make it, we ended up having tea and cookies in his suite. Very informal and very nice! We had such a nice afternoon that we stayed until well after six o'clock!



The Ambassador had two bigger kids that looked after Lucas and Linnea really well, they were so good with them. Nathan and I could just relax and enjoy the conversation.



It was really nice with a little Swedish infusion, especially at this time of the year.

Faulty ligament

It's well over a month ago now that I fell over in the Niah Caves in Miri (Malaysia) and rolled my ankle. It still hurts.
So today I went to the Doctor, just to make sure nothing is really broken in there. I know it takes a long time for these kind of injuries to heal, but this long?! And apparently yes, it takes this long.

I have a torn ligament, it will be good again without any special treatment, but - it will take a while... Lucky I'm not doing any sport at the moment! :)

Somewhere completely different

This morning it was slightly cooler than normal when I set off to drop the kids at school. Only 25 degrees outside, the sun was there but behind the clouds.

When I had dropped both kids off and was walking back to the car, as I passed in the shadow under a few trees, for a moment I really felt like I was somewhere completely different. You see, in stead of the normal baking heat I could feel a soft breeze, and I could hear some birds sing beautifully from above!

It was such an unusual and lovely feeling. I had to stop up and close my eyes to take it in properly - and dream myself away for a few moments.

Julbak 2008

Today after we had picked the kids up from school, Anna and I did something we decided needs to be a tradition from now on, got together for the Julbak (=Christmas baking).



Since we don't have any IKEA nearby - I made my own pepparkaksdeg (=ginger bread dough)!! I was so impressed with myself but in fact, it wasn't as difficult as I thought. It made good pepparkakor too! (The kids' attention span didn't last more than one roll-out ha ha, but they were very proud of "their" pepparkakor!)

We also baked some lovely saffronbuns with white chocolate, a recipe I have tried many times before and know is a winner; some caramel cookies and some knäck (=toffee).
Not bad for a Wednesday afternoon!

What to wear - or not

Living in a climate with the same temperature every day of the year, is not as easy as you first might think when it comes to clothing.

Of course, it really has it's advantages, since you never have to consider "will it be chilly later? Will I be too hot in jeans? Do I need a fleece today? Will it rain? Am I alright in my sandals?" etc. You just throw on a t-shirt and a skirt or a pair of bermudas, every day. Same goes for the kids of course, and with the kids, it's really practical - because they really get good wear out of their clothes here. Back home, the summer was over before they had used their summer clothes even twice, and the next summer, they couldn't fit them anymore!

The downside is, for me, that I get a bit sick of my clothes and of wearing the same things all the time. At least back home, you had the seasons to help you shift things around in your wardrobe, here - it's same, same every day. No reason to buy anything new really, at least not any real reason, other than the need to renew yourself every now and then.
For the kids, the major downside is when you go back home in the winter. All of a sudden, they need long trousers and warm tops - and winter jackets, hats and mittens etc! It doesn't seem worth it buying all these things just for two weeks. I'm considering waiting to go back home until the weather is slightly warmer this year actually.

Our kids have very different approaches to clothes. When they come home from school, it never takes long until Linnea has stripped off all her clothes, she is most comfortable just hanging out in her undies. (When we went to Sweden in January, we had so many fights over the hat and mittens - and even the socks and the trousers... She thought clothes were totally overrated and didn't want to have any of it!)
Lucas on the other hand, loves his clothes! We have discussions every day about what he can wear when he gets home from school. If it was up to him, he would be in jeans, socks (!) and long sleeved t-shirts all the time... I have now hidden all those clothes, because I got tired of arguing with him.
He is allowed long trousers on two occasions - if we go to the movies (where they crank up the AC so much you need blankets!) or if we go on the plane, in fact, we call these clothes "airplane-clothes".
For this reason alone, he can't wait until were off to NZ on Monday!

I'm a historian

I got my first diary on my sixth birthday. I still remember it, it was an orange book with a little lock, and padded bind. I didn't use it very often back then, so it actually lasted me for quite a few years and I still have it in a box somewhere.
Since then I have kept a diary, on and off. Sometimes nothing in a couple of years, sometimes every day for years. (For example I'm very happy that I kept a diary of the year I was an Au Pair in Paris - it's quite an exciting read revisiting myself as a teen!)

At the moment, I have now kept a diary (nearly) every day, for the past 13 years. I use the same type of A6 sized calendar every year, that I buy from the Swedish company Ordning&Reda. I only write short statements each day. They help me remember what else was going on that day, or in that period; how I was feeling or what was going on in my life.
I must admit it has become a bit of an obsession, and it disturbs me when I've skipped a day. It feels like I have lost that day, since I haven't made any notes...



When I had Lucas, I started a diary for him as well. I got him a 5-year calendar, with five years on the same page, and has written a little bit every day about what he has been up to. In the back of that calendar, I also made resumés at the end of each month about his development. Some things couldn't get pinpointed to just one day. Everything special that happened got marked in red: first time he smiled, first time he walked, first trip to the cinema etc etc. (Of course, I have also done the same thing for Linnea.)
I hope they will appreciate this when they grow older, or at least when they have kids themselves!



I see myself as the historian of our family, the storyteller. I'm the one that keeps the records of our life in every aspect: I take almost all of the pictures, I scrapbook our memories, I do lists and keep little souvenirs from special occasions - like newspapers from the days the kids were born, the first locks of their hair that got cut off etc.
I keep a folder on my computer with lists of different things, like what the kids got for their 1st birthdays, chronologies of their collection of Christmas tree decorations and so on.
I guess this blog is also a kind of diary, a tool to help me remember. I guess I enjoy writing it so much because it's in my nature to keep track of things, observe and take notes.

As I said, sometimes all this becomes a little bit consuming, but you know what? That's what I do. That's what I'm good at. I'm a historian.

First of December

When I was growing up, every year at the 1st of December, an advent calendar filled with presents would turn up next to my bed. I was allowed to open one present every day, all the way until Christmas. I loved this tradition, and has continued it with my own children - Lucas actually has my old calendar, and Mormor made Linnea one too. Mormor has very kindly helped filling up the calendars this year as well, they are full of exciting gifts and goodies!



Today was the day I made them magically appear after breakfast, and the kids were beside themselves with the sight of all these presents, only for them!
We had these last year as well, but I don't think they really understood the concept then, even though of course they enjoyed the gifts. But this year, at least Lucas got that there will be only one present opened a day, and when they are all gone, it's Christmas!



I'm sorry that the pictures are a bit blurry, but here are a few more snap shots from this morning. The kids found some Christmas tree decorations in their packages:

Opening nr 1:



Linnea found an angel in her package:



Lucas, hanging his snowman on the tree:

Christmas kick-off

As I wrote in a previous post, I have already started Christmas at my house, with my favourite Christmas CD - but, normally, the official kick-off for Christmas for a Swede would be today. Not today as in the 30th in November, but today as in Sunday the 1st of Advent.



Every house in Sweden, and I mean EVERY house, and nearly every window, will have been decorated with advent lights, stars and other decorations for this day. It is really, really beautiful and an impressive sight for any foreigner that comes to visit. One of my favourite times of the year actually! At the moment it gets dark around 4 pm back home, so you can understand the need to lit up our homes at this time of the year.

The 1st of Advent, is the first of the four Sundays before Christmas and in Sweden it's tradition to decorate an Advent candle holder, put four candles in, and then light one each Sunday.

Although Advent is celebrated as a season of the Christian church (the period of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus) and the beginning of the Western Christian year; for most Swedes it equals the kick-off for Christmas shopping, Christmas baking, Christmas parties, Christmas decorating, Christmas gluttony, Christmas celebrations etc...

Therefor, I am now going to have myself a glass of glögg and some pepparkakor in the light of my Christmas tree!

Superb Sunday

What a weekend it has been! Full on! I'm all exhausted but finished it all off with a superb Sunday.

Friday the kids had the Christmas party and yesterday the birthday party at the Yacht Club. Last night Nathan and I went next door to watch the NZ-UK game in the rugby (Go All Blacks!) and enjoy a Japanese dinner. It was a very nice evening albeit a bit wet and late...
Today I took the kids to McDonald's for lunch, as a treat. They like to play in their little playground, and enjoy the toys in the Happy Meal - easy to please!

Later we were invited around to another neighbour together with some other people, to hang out by their pool. It turned out to be one of the nicest Sundays we have had in a while, we ended up spending the entire afternoon there! There was a bunch of kids who played on their trampoline, with the toys, enjoyed games on the TV and a big swim in the pool. They had a fantastic time!
The mums and the dads were having dangerously yummy piña coladas and were chatting away by the pool, and later we ordered pizza and everybody dug in.

Such a nice day - thank you Amanda!

Birthday festivities

This morning we went to a birthday party at the Yacht Club (felt like we had never left from the night before and the Christmas party...).
It had been a while since our last Yacht Club birthday party, so it was really nice to come along to this one and just spend the morning up by the pool. It was a nice mix of people and both us and the kids had a lovely time - the Yacht Club really is one of our favourite places here, it's very relaxed and easy there.

The birthday girl, Jemima, was very lucky and got celebrated with this fantastic Fairy Castle cake (that her mummy had made!):



Lucas found friends, and played superheroes - Linnea was only happy after the pinata bashing had taken place, and she had got some goodies. It's all about the goodies.

Juicy

As you might remember, Nathan got a juicer for his birthday in September. This is the kind of machine you would probably use once... or if you are lucky twice, if you were living back home, because it is a pain to clean with lots of little parts, and in the end you would think it's just not worth the hassle.
We use ours every day!



We buy oranges by the hundreds (a whole box at a time) at a local supermarket, Nathan buys mangoes whenever he goes to Surabaya - and we have fresh orange & mango juice every morning! There is nothing better! It's fantastic! (And the best thing is, we don't have to clean the machine ourselves...)

Christmas Party at the Yacht Club

The Yacht Club arrange a Christmas Party for the kids every year around this time, before every one starts shooting off for the holidays.
Last year we missed it because we were in NZ, so today was a first for us. We had heard it's usually chaos, and yes, this year was no exception, haha... Over 100 kids and their parents had gathered, there was a big bouncy castle and the usual things up at the Yacht Club. I managed to convince the kids not to swim (I was on my own with them) because there was dinner coming, and - Santa, of course!

Santa came sailing in on his boat (we have very strange Santas in this country, last week on a bike, this week on a boat...), together with his elf - and went to sit in the YC library.
The kids were then allowed in to see him in groups, first the 1 & 2-year olds, then the 3 & 4 year olds etc. Lucky for us, we didn't have to wait too long!



All the parents had brought presents themselves, for their own kids, and named them clearly. Santa read out the names and the kids could get up and receive their gift. Linnea was far too shy (scared?) to get it herself, but Lucas happily got his and even posed with Santa for a photo.



They also had an orchestra and a choir who sang Christmas Carols, there was ice cream for the kids and Mince Pies for the adults - and yes, we managed to get some Christmas feeling, just a little bit, but it was there!

Festival du Film Francais

Tonight I have been taking part in the big opening of the French Film Festival at the fancy Empire hotel. My friend (who's husband works for the French company Total) had been invited, and since her husband couldn't go - she asked me along instead. Not really having a big connection to France at the moment, but at least, I do speak French!

It's quite funny to be living in Brunei, because in any other place, you would just not be hanging in those circles and be invited to these kind of things. But since Brunei is so small, there I was tonight - talking to the head of Alliance Francaise, the CEO of Total and the French Ambassador, amongst others.
We were treated to a lovely buffet, and then we saw the movie "Serko", which was quite nice. More Russian than French (...) but with a lovely story and fantastic scenery.



The festival is showing French movies for free all weekend, so I will try and see if I can catch another one.

10 000 visitors

Today I passed 10 000 visitors here on the blog! I know, I know, not big numbers compared to some of the professional bloggers who have half a million readers every week - but hey, it's not bad, for a hobby-blogger like myself!

I still remember when I had my first 100 visitors, that was a big thing too!

I really enjoy writing this blog, even more when I get nice feedback and comments - I'm happy that you read it, so see you soon again!

The official start

Sixteen years ago when I was an Au Pair in Paris, I got the holidays off and came home for Christmas. I had wished for only one thing for Christmas: a CD with Christmas music by Lars Vegas Trio. This group was a Swedish music- and comedy group that played covers of well known hits, in a very high tempo. I had been to a concert with them that previous summer, and when they had a Christmas CD coming out - I know I wanted it!

Ever since then, Christmas starts officially for me the first time I put on that CD. That's my favourite Christmas CD by far, even though it is a bit quirky. It is a big part of my Christmas traditions! I listen to it over and over again every year in the weeks up to Christmas - and today, was this year's official start!

Erika - this one is for you!

Brrr...

Believe it or not, but I am actually sitting here being a bit cold tonight.
Have just come back from the hash, and it was not only a very muddy one (the non stop squelsh-squelsh kind) but a very wet one - it was pouring down, so we were all soaked already before we started; and it was deep water to go through in more than one place, thanks to the heavy rain. At one stage we were actually kind of walking up-stream, as the rain was coming down so heavy it started running along the path...

Although I had a change of clothes with me, I was wet all the way through and never really got the temperature back, so now I'm feeling cold.
I had brought my poor neighbour for her first hash, she got quite an experience! I wonder if she will come again next week...?

I am going to make myself a nice cup of tea now!

Fire Station Visit

Today the Reception classes went on another excursion. This time to the Fire Station in the Berakas Camp. As I was busy, Nathan went along together with Will and Fredrik and some other parents.
The kids had a blast, they got to go inside the ambulance and the fire trucks, have a look around and try a fireman outfit and helmet. Great fun of course!

Here they have arrived - lining up nicely, listening to the firemen:





Playing firemen:



Trying out the outfit, a bit big:



Having a "ride" in the firetruck:



Group photo, that's Lucas in the back with his arms up:

A festive evening

There is always a lot going on here in Brunei. In fact, you can be as busy as you have time to be - there is parties, coffee mornings, exercise groups to join and other happenings all the time.

Tonight some ladies had arranged a "Festive Evening" at my friend Anna's house. They had invited for glögg (Swedish mulled wine), Santa punch, mince pies and other Christmas delicacies and while you were enjoying the nibbles you could peruse the "stalls".

There are many talented ladies here, that use their spare time on making small business of their handicraft. Tonight f.e you could buy homemade pate, Christmas puddings and other goodies, handmade jewellery, hand-sewn tunics, clothes, bags and shoes; framed photographs and paintings, furniture and many other things.



It was a really nice evening, nice to have a browse and a chat, and get in to the Christmas spirit a bit!