Happy New Year - Gott Nytt År

to friends from all around the world

from the cold Baltic sea to the warm Yamuna river

it sure is a big difference between the Baltic sea and the Yamuna river

cold - warm, clean - dirty 

but the biggest difference is that it has been many years since we saw anyone

doing the laundry by the sea...

I do remember my grandmother doing it by hand with a "washing board"? in her wash house

that was like in the middle of 1960.....

I couldn't help but reflect on this when showing you these pictures....

on my last trip to Agra we ( Kathy and I ) decided to start the day by going to

Yamuna river...

to the dhobi ghat

the laundry place

where the dhobi's do the washing

all areas without water are used for drying....

I get so confused when I see the wash being put on the dirty ground !!

I would never consider doing this ....not even on my lawn.....

different lives.... different possibilities

we are really privileged in this country....just so you know !

Mother nature's creations

I woke up to below 12 degrees celsius this morning 

brrr, it's getting cold !!

when it gets this cold nature change....

 found these creations made by Mother nature on my walk

from far away it looked like sparkling jewellery

beautiful isn't it ?

Our youngest family member

is Frost

about 9 weeks old....

a doberman puppy 

and so cute...

here with a blanket on because he he was freezing....

proud owner, our daughter with her and her husbands "christmas gift" 

Frost is the youngest family member but not the smallest one....

Yoshi is...

a little kitten that our son and his girlfriend rescued 

  they found him in really bad shape on a road

weighing around 300 grams !!

he's found a favourite spot at our house...

in front of the fireplace..

so warm and so cozy

Good morning in -8

degrees that is , at 7.30 this morning

I must admit that I wasn't out for very long...

we hurried back in to the cozy warmth from the fireplace

enjoy your Sunday dear reader

We got some sunshine today too

since the sun was out we just had to go for a long walk....

sunshine and 1 degree below zero...

lovely

hello world !

no snow on the pebble beach...

but it was a little slippery on the frozen pebbles....

I love to walk along the shore 

doesn't matter what time of year

I didn't find any drift wood today...

usually I do...

maybe next time

follow the glittery road to ?

I was dreaming of a white Christmas

and yesterday my dream came true....

we got a little snow !

and today turned into a beautiful winters day with sun, snow and minus 7 degrees celsius

it doesn't get any better than this.....

well, if I can wish for something more ... 

I  do want some more snow so that I can go skiing...cross country skiing...

my niece made a snowman....he's so cute

yes, it is really snow....

we went for a walk along the golf course and it was just so beautiful

I sure hope you agree

our part of the world isn't too bad

an hour later my fingers where freezing cold ....

it's difficult to take pictures with big gloves on...

but I had my picture of the day,

Mr M in the sun and the snow

picture perfect

Happy holiday

 god fortsättning 

From all of us to all of you

A morning walk along the shore

this morning the sun was out and no wind

 I just had to go for a long walk and just inhale the beauty

magical...

see what's going on in the sun beam ?

zoom in ....

kind of cool , don't you think ?

yes, it was this guy...the merganser drying it's wings....

here or on Yamuna river they do the same thing

not many boats in our little harbour this time of year

only the gulls where there today...

and all I could think of was " mine, mine, mine"

remember what movie ?

it sure is pretty around here...even in the winter...

this was actually the first walk along the shore with sun and no wind since I got back 

it was so nice....around 6 degrees celsius... 

life around the sea is something special I tell you.

My last visit to Chandni Chowk

I must admit that it's been more difficult than I imagined to sit here in my home in Sweden

and write about things I 've done in India ....

(family, christmas, friends, work, kids and cats etc. keeps me busy)

so from now on I will do a mix...I think....

hope it sounds ok with you dear reader....

this post is about my last visit to Old Delhi - Chandni Chowk

 I needed to get some christmas gifts 

(can't tell you what !!)

it's such an intense and fun place

these cookies kind of look like a kind my grandmother made....

anything goes...

bike rickshaws everywhere you look....

in front Indias largest mosque, Jama Masjid

I think it holds around 25.000 devotees on the "praying courtyard"

mattresses can be beautiful too....

any which way you can.....

Kathy and I left Chandni Chowk with filled bags

and smiles on our faces

just because 

it has got to be one of the most intense places on earth

I sure hope I will be back one day

the differences between Old Delhi and Abbekås are so vast, that it's hard to explain 

it's really two different worlds, two very different ways of living

from 26 million people in the Delhi area to 700 people in Abbekås

it sure says a lot, doesn't it ?

today it's the fourth Sunday of advent

 and only three days until christmas is upon us

I think I will make some more fudge today and

maybe some saffron biscotti's ?

but first a long walk along the shore because the sun is shining and almost no wind

maybe I'll show you some pictures later on today

Bagru Fort

you would think that we spent days in Bagru

when in fact we only spent about 4 hours there !

but those 4 hours where good ones 

when following the women in the religious ceremony we ended up

right at the fort,

so we choose to explore that instead of yet another temple....

this house was built right on to the walls of the fort...

beautiful old paintings in the entrance...

it felt more like walking into an old haveli than a fort I must say.....

 it had a big courtyard ...

too bad that no one bothered to keep it in shape....

 once I bet this was a stunning fort....

see the electricity wire !!

we had an admirer who followed us...

when in Rajasthan you always see these guys on the streets...

love the basket in the back....

even though Kathy's and mine expectations where higher about what we would see and do in Bagru

it was a good visit...a nice little village with wonderful people...

 I'm sure happy that we did this little trip Kathy

and I look forward to the next one

in India, Sweden or Canada  or ?