Welcome to Chaos !!

I still haven't showed you my latest body chain. It's from TatiRocks, I found her (the designer) on Etsy when browsing there a while ago now. I had seen pics of Rihanna wearing a body chain and thought it looked very nice on her and decided that I too needed one. And one became three, all my body chains are from TatiRocks. Very pretty I think.

www.etsy.com/shop/TatiRocks

So after being in a snow free Washington since Monday last week, I guess no snow this time of year around here is rather unusual, it finally did snow.....on my birthday which passed a couple of days ago on December 27. I don't have much to tell you, just some pictures to show. A birthday came and went and I'm officially a year "older" or BETTER. It's only getting better! I saw this cute place and had to stop and take a pic because it's SO me, books, coffee, sandwiches and WIFI......I fit right in! It could easily be my second home.

I had the most delicious banana bread at a coffee shop in Coeur d'Alene called Vault. I like that town.

Today I went for a short hike in a snow filled forest, it was actually cold here today. And very beautiful.

Now I'm in bed and I'm about to turn up the heat in my room because it's officially 11°F outside. Then it's bed time, I'm getting up early in the morning......before sunrise.

I have been occupied with eating and snacking a lot.....it's what people do on Christmas. I even thought about finding a gym to see if I can get a guest pass for a day or two so I can burn off some calories, sweat and feel that good gym post work out feeling. I have also been sightseeing and driving around here in the eastern part of Washington state where I currently am. There is no snow, it's chilly and a bit muggy but the sun peeked out a few times. I miss Kaladi, there are coffee shops and I am getting my daily latte but it's not Kaladi. I've seen pretty lakes and beautiful forest. The trees are nice here, large and healthy looking. Chhaya likes it. And that is very important.

Chhaya loves donkeys. The donkeys and Chhaya had a moment, they met nose to muzzle. Cute!

Hay bale snowman.

Tonight I saw the movie *Wild * based on a true story and a book with the same name, author Cheryl Strayed. I read the book two or three times and I love it, so much so that I gave it to....hmmmmm I have to count in my head....I gave it to at least seven people. Because I wanted my friends to read it and enjoy it too.

God Jul is what we say in Sweden when we wish each other Merry Christmas.
I am sitting here somewhere in Washington, in a very small town and thinking about Christmases that passed. Since Christmas only happens once a year you kind of want to make it special, same with New Years Eve. If I had been in Sweden now I would had celebrated Christmas like many others do there. On the 24th with some risgrynsgröt for a combined breakfast/lunch then some traditional Swedish and Polish food at my Moms, my Mom is a good cook. Or we would had skipped the cooking and went out to eat traditional Julbord somewhere. Kalle Anka och hans vänner önskar God Jul used to come on at 3 PM when I was growing up and that was a must for me, I had to see that, no Christmas without the cartoons. It's kind of a holiday tradition to gather in front of the TV and watch that and after Kalle we would open the gifts waiting under the tree. As soon as I was big enough I would decorate the tree and our home with Christmas stuff. Reminiscing of that made me very home sick all of a sudden.
I also have a sad Christmas memory that I think about every year around this time and sometimes throughout the year too. I was maybe nine years old, it was Christmas time, I remember we had a tree with many lights in the living room. I lived in a house, the living room had large windows and there was a lot of snow outside. The news spread that some children were missing, they had went for a walk and didn't return home. If I looked out the window I could see the large forest across the field and the highway outside my house.
The two children were somewhere in that forest, lost. I stared out the window and wondered if they were OK, hoping they would make it home. They arranges for search parties, then adults started talking in hushed tones. The two children were found, curled up somewhere in the snow frozen to death. I will never forget this. I felt sad, so sad for the children and their family. This still makes me teary eyed.
I hope you are safe and warm this Christmas/Holiday season.
God Jul from one of my favorites as a child and still until today.....Pippi Långstrump with her friends Tommy and Annika.

Merry Christmas all my friends. I hope you are safe, cozy, well and happy wherever you are. ❤ ❤ ❤

I've had a couple of very busy days so the blog had to be put aside for a bit. Me and Chhaya are traveling. We are in Washington right now.....as in state, not DC. Chhaya flew, always stressful because I don't like leaving her out of my sight. But it went well and she is curled up sleeping by my feet now. It's raining where I'm at, I'm not in a super Christmas-y mood, the lack of snow contributes a bit to that I suspect. Last year I went skiing in a snowy and cold Girdwood for Christmas and this year I'm taking a trip.