The view from here...

 

If you look at this picture closely, you might reckon the following things: 

-Miro is hitting the Christmas tree with a broomstick, in a brave attempt to clean up some pine needles

-I´m standing on a hill of snow that´s the height of Miro´s shoulder

-You can see both the interior of our home and our garden, including the swingset and the fuddy-duddy bird house

-It was 20 minutes past 4.

-The shutter of my camera is broken, but with all the reflection, at least you can´t see all the blotches on the lense. But on my snowy pics, these are, unfortunately, really obvious. 

However, these days have been pure rotation. I got about a gazillion presents wrapped. Went to town to get the last things for my in-laws. Washed loads of laundry, ironed tiny white shirts, finished scrapping the calenders for all grandparents, 

 

planned a menu for Christmas eve, helped my kids make presents for their granparents (and forgot to take pictures of them) Ronja made more soap we could ever use or even gift, so our guest bathroom now smells like a perfume store. I guess that´s better than pee of little boys.  

Ronja´s using all sorts of molds, and by now, she stopped thinking about the user-friendlyness of her soaps - instead I think they became sort of sculptures for her. 

Yep, I cleaned all the rooms, too. Not that you can see much of that, by now, but that´s just how it goes, right? I tried making meringues for the first time:

 

Aren´t they lovely? And they taste lovely, too. I was amazed to find out how easy they were to make, but what I like most about them is how they feel. They look so soft, but I really like the clinging sound they make when I set them on the plate. The next question would be - is it possible to color them? To pipe something else? To create small images with this? I think so. Oh, the possibilities :) (Watch me jumping up and down clapping my housewifey hands!)

Eva has the flue. She fears she´ll be sick on Christmas, too, and I keep telling her to relax, and what comes, will come. Usually we go on a nice family trip on December 24th, to shorten the time until they get their presents, and this year we planned to go to Lego Discovery. I try to tell her we won´t be dragging her there if she´s not well, and that we can find another day to go there and spend the 24th at home playing Monopoly. But I guess that´s not what she wants to hear. She´s lying in my bed, listening to talk radio most of the time, and when I´m downstairs, I can hear her yelling: Mom, did you know today is Frank Zappas 70th birthday?" "Mom, there´s someone talking about brain surgery. That sounds painfull!" "Mom, now people can call the radio. Wow, there are tons of freaks. Mostly old men. Mom, may I try and call the radio, too?" 

What I wanted to say is, this just feels like we´re heading for another, normal Christmas :) I´m keeping m current favourite Christmas song for myself untill Christmas. You know, presents will be opened under the tree :) But I´m posting this beautiful, beautiful Nickel Creek song instead: 

I love how this song has both very calm, and very energetic parts. It´s such a great description of a relationship. I dig the line "I guess we just kidnapped each other´s minds", because I always felt that´s how it works.