Holländska Huset i Dalarna: Winter has come.... in full force!

Now it really is winter. We are having between 25 and 30cm of snow, temperatures are well below 0 during the day and at night hit the - double digits, with a forecast -25 on monday and tuesday!
I have to admit that I am left in awe a bit by the sudden appearance of King Winter and the way he claims this part of the earth. I am so glad that we got our kids all new wintergear in time. They really needed it. And even shopping with the whole family did not turn out to be one huge drama!

After 16:00 one can still play outside

And when you wake up the next morning, this is the view.

Getting the newspaper

We had a nighttimewalk with torches in the woods nearby, organised by the local friluftfrämjandet. It was one of the best walks I ever had. The winterly circumstances, the torches casting a golden glow over the snow, the silence, even allthough the group was 44 strong!

Friluftfrämjandet

I have been cutting and splitting wood for a while and I really hope we can cope with the circumstances. Luckily we can get some wood from Esther's parents, so we do not have to buy as much, especially since I got the news that from januari 6th all my worktime has been cancelled, leaving me practically unemployed with no help from social services. All we have is the few hours Esther has left, because not even she is getting the additional hours, that she was told she'd be getting. Great news a month befor the holidays..........
Also one of our cats got sick. Ed, our black one, did not move for 2 days. He just slept, looked unhappy and unhealthy, ate and drank very little and did not want to go out at all. We all really hoped he'd get better soon and not just because a vet's bill is the last thing we need right now.

On the other hand had Annalena had her birthdayparty, which was a slumberparty. This was a huge success. A handfull of girls, snacks, soda, a movie, blankets and cuddly toys......
We also had Elsa's utvecklingssamtal (developmentstalk) with one of her teachers. She is doing exceptionally well. So well that they sometimes forget she is not Swedish! And she's not just a little sunshine at home, either.

And, as icing on the cake, a large kettle of real Dutch peasoup, thanks to Ruud, one of the parents from the school, back in Holland. he's the one who send us a box full of split peas and Dutch rookworst (smoked saucage). Tack Ruud! It was awesome to have that again.

And today, after the kids went to school and the householdchores had been done, Esther and I explored the area around the house. We walked to both lakes to see what winter looks like here. Temperatures were about -18C, but with no wind it was wonderfull.