Snow at the beach

Winter has come, finally. More or less. It snowed on saturday, then it got warmer, the snow melted, but this night it started to snow again. With thunder and lightning. Thick, wet snow swirveled down on the ground. Sometimes it snow so hard that the blackbird that sat in front of our living room window got a white tail.
Sirpa wanted to go out in the snow. Her former home was in the southwest of the US, so snow was something exciting for her.
But she had no trousers, so I grasped my needles and some blue yarn and made her a pair. As I was ready, off we went. To the beach, into the snow.

So much snow!

Making a snowangel!

Let's go over there!

It's hard to walk in this snow.

I wanna play.

Let's build a snowman.

That is so much fun!

Time, to warm up a bit.

Bird foot marks.

Don't the ducks freeze in the the cold water?

I'm freezing. My fingers hurt.

So we went to a little café to enjoy winter from the inside.

That's good, too.

Now I'm feeling warm again, but that was fun, Mom. When do we get out into the snow again?

Little Thieves Gang

I came silently to our living room and this is what I found:

They know perfectly well, what is inside! And they want it SOME OF IT. RIGHT. NOW!

COOKIES! WITH CHOCOLATE!

And then they hurried back to their shelf, each with a cookie in her arms and left the tin box for me to close. Those little giggling thieves! They hadn't even gotten a cookie for their brother. Poor guy!

My daughter gave him one.

New family members

A fellow in Ravelry put up two of her dolls for adoption. They wanted to move on and one of them called out to me. A Littlefee Bisou, with a sweet face. How could I resist? So in the beginning of december she started her travel from the US to Germany. USPS expected her to be with me in 6-10 days. If only they had known...
Christmas drew near, I started to look for dolls presents. One for Toivo, one for Inkeri, one for Sirpa, as I hoped she would be home in time. Little did I know about the mysterious ways of the german post service. On decmber, 13th Sirpa arrived in Frankfurt, to be declared and hand further to DHL. And there she was, in No Man's Land. I kept a close look at the tracking sides but nothing. Christmas came and went: nothing.
I called my local customs office: nothing. I called DHL: nothing. I called the custom office at Frankfurt airport: to many parcels from the US, so the post is behind declaring them. I called german post in Frankfurt: nothing, but the problem is known, as there are many calls concerning parcels from the US. Frustrating. Frightening. What if she was lost?
And then on ebay a Pukifee Cupid appeared. In my frustration I couldn't resist her. I asked the seller if she could make a minor change on the faceup what she gladly would do. So I bought her and decided she should become a sea-fairy, known by the name of Aava (finnish for "open sea").
So I checked now two tracking numbers. Aava came in a national parcel, so no customs. And then her tracking stopped, no moves were to be seen. Mind you, she came from a town, that has some importance and distances in Germany are much smaller as in the US.
In my frustration and anger I wrote emails to DHL concerning both tracking numbers. And then they started moving.
First Aava came home, on friday, january 9th.

So exciting! Here she is!

Hello and welcome!

"I've got a summer dress with me, but I think, that's too cold."

"You've got something warmer to wear? And hair?"

"Well, the dress is fine, very fine. But the hair is too wide, even if it looks nice."

"This hat will do for now."

"So, I would like to get pants. And socks. And more dresses."
The same day Inkeri started to move again. Finally! She was declared and left Frankfurt for Neumünster. She even reached Neumünster that night and climbed into the delivery car on sturday morning.
Me, expecting to pay custom fees and picking her up at the customs office, was totally taken by surprise when the doorbell rang and the parcel was really adressed to me! There she was after all that long waiting and worrying.

"Oh, Mom, is that our new sister?"

"We will help you. Hello!"

"You are alright? Let us get you out there."

"Hello, am I now at home? Please, say yes."

"You are at home. We are so glad to meet you. Mom was really anxious that you might be lost."

"Nice to meet you both! Do you think, Mom has something for me to wear? It is so cold!"

"Thank you, Mom, that is soooo cozy and warm. So good to be home at last."
Welcome, Sirpa, we are glad, too.

"I am Inkeri and you are my new sister. Will we be friends?"

"Oh, yes! I would love to have a sister and fried!"

"Me, too. A brother, as Toivo is, is fine, but a sister in my age is better."

A hug set the seal to this new friendship.

"Let's make plans..."
Oh my, where have I gotten into? They are planning mischief, I'm totally sure.

Christmas

This year we spend Christmas otherwise as in other years. Normally, when we're at home, we set up the tree on Christmas Eve and I'm decorating it all by myself. No one is allowed in this time into our living room, so keeping up the suspence. Then we will go to church and attend the service with nativity play, after that we will eat sausages and potatoe salad and then, finally, gift giving comes near. I spend the last minutes in the living room alone, lightning the candles and such. And most important, waving good-bye to Santa, wishing him a good journey loudly.
This year we spent a week in Hohenfelde, in the same house where we have been in october. My mom was with us. It was cold and windy and rainy, no real Christmas weather, but in the oven we had a warm fire.

We found the perfect tree and my daughter carried it to the car all by herself. Hubbie and her decorated it. The tree should stand on the terrace but well, the storm drove it all over the place, destroying some off the small glass balls. So it stood in the living room on Christmas Eve. But we had a wonderful time anyway.

Inkeri and Toivo spend their time playing hide-and-seek.

I was happily knitting when Toivo came and called for help.

"Mom, I cannot find Inkeri!"
"Well, that's the meaning with hide-and-seek, to find the best hide ever."

"But I am searching now for so long! She is lost! Please, help me find her."
So up I went and helped searching. And then we found her.

In the basket with the logs. Sobbing quietly.

"Here you are! How, for heaven's sake, did you manage to climb up here?"

"Me thinks, it is the best hide to be found. But now my leg is stuck under this log. And I cannot move. Mom, help me out, please."

Toivo was so glad to have his sister back. Inkeri on the other hand, being undamaged, overcame her fright very soon and wanted to play on.
And then Christmas Eve came. All got presents, every single one. Which means every single person and every single doll.

Toivo was very pleased with the cars he got from my daughter. Inkeri loves her two rubber ducks.

On Christmas Eve the weather changed, less wind and more cold, so we got ice on the puddles. It didn't last long but was a very nice sight.