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April – Time of change
And so April has come and gone – one of the moste indecisive months of the year. Back and forth, back and forth – winter and spring, winter and spring – as if there’s really a battle going on. I can certainly understand why there are many myths from old times turning winter and summer into people (or gods) who were battling in some way or other.
Here’s an almost silent vlog from our April to illustrate the change. Enjoy!
With love,
Anneli
“I’m still wondering” music/art video
The bear symbolises strength, and in the music video for “I’m still wondering” it represents the inner battle. Wrestling, well, that’s how bears fight, is here the symbolic representation of the struggle between our mind and our heart. The enchanting Scandinavian forest represents the unknow – what we still cannot see.
“Like a kite” lyrics/art video
We’ve had a lot of fun both filming for this video, coming up with all the ideas, dragon makeup, dance break at Anundshög, working with talented dancers and so on. But did you know that it’s taken us over two years to finish this song? Yep, it’s not unusual that we take our sweet little time. It’s as if everything needs to be properly thought through and processed. Enjoy!
Moss whispers
It’s like a tiny forest I wish I could enter, but I’m the giant. My feet are too large. I can only squat and hover, use my camera and my microscopic lens to get close, and then imagine what this miniature forest might be like to trek.
I’d rather not think about being small might equal prey, but it’s a possibility.
Right now though, I just want to listen to what the moss and lichen has to say and keep their honest advice close to my heart.
With love,
Anneli
Lunch break
I chose to put everything aside and stay in the moment.
Waffles with cloudberry jam
On the 25th of March the crane returns with longer days. Well, this is what our Scandinavian ancestors believed, and one of the occasions that marked the change of season before they had a calendar to track time. When the calendar later was introduced many of these natural occurrences would get their own date – and so the 25th of March officially became the day the crane returns, and spring begins. This day has later been called ‘vårfru’ (meaning ‘maiden’) and signified that it was time for farmers to prepare the fields for a new season. If it became ‘Our Lady’s day’ according to Christianity or ‘vårfru’ first I’m not entirely certain, but this day does seem to have been around for a long time to the mark the end of winter.
And waffles? Well, there are theories that in some Swedish accents ‘vårfru’ sounded much like the German ‘waffel’, and thus the connection to waffles. When I think of waffles I remember growing up. We didn’t make waffles often enough (at least from me-as-a-kid’s point of view). I have one memory of when we visited my grandmother. It was a large Sunday dinner, and all the adults were waiting for desert – waffles. I still recall the long table of relatives and acquaintances, the best plates and utensils in front of me. My grandmother served first the children first – and we were practically gobbling down waffle after waffle. I felt as if I could eat waffles forever, but I’m sure we got full eventually.
Nicko told me that his relatives in Bulgaria, whom they visited almost every summer growing up, had never heard of waffles. So, one summer they brought a waffle maker as a gift. And their relatives would make waffles for the tourists visiting the beach by the Black Sea.
My family and I used to travel to north of Sweden every winter for the skiing season, and many summers we’d go north hiking too. Winter mountains are magnificent, but the summer is still my favourite. Sure, there’ll be a lot of mosquitoes, but there’s an explosion of tiny wildflowers, little brooks singing and the soothing perfume of the mountains. In August the cloudberries are ripe. They grow in marshlands, even around here in the middle of Sweden. In the north of Sweden, we call the restaurants serving waffles ‘våffelstuga’ (‘waffle hut’ which doesn’t have quite the same ring in English), and here waffles are traditionally served with cloudberry jam and cream.
So, when I think of waffles, I think of waffles with cloudberry jam and cream.
What are your favourite waffle toppings?
With love,
Anneli
P.S. Most waffles are nice, but beware of the zombie waffle. I hear it eats toes.
Sunrise, stone setting and a dance break
Anundshög. It’s guesswork to figure out what this place meant to the people living here back then. Researchers estimate that the tumulus was built somewhere between 500 – 1010 AD, and the surrounding area was believed to be a hub for trade during this time.
Nowadays, the site remains and in winter visitors aren’t that frequent, but in summer families come to enjoy the sun while the kids play. Sometimes there are cultural activities as well.
I just love enjoying the magic, the strange sense of someone having walked this same ground so many years ago.
With love,
Anneli
The symbolism of the kite
Nicko wrote the chorus, but the verses were a blank sheet. I’m not sure from where the words “Like a kite, like a kite yearning for the sky…” came, but suddenly they were just there – eager to get out. I scribbled down the words and set to singing them right away. And so this song became “Like a kite”.
It’s tricky, but not impossible, to build your own kite. Takes a few tries. I loved how the building a kite symbolises growing up – learning your craft, honing your talents to become more of yourself. Because isn’t this just how it should be?
Little bird lost (book)
I wanted to write a story about what it’s like to feel this bone-deep need to do something, but you’re not sure what it is. This deep calling. Here’s Little bird lost.