Wednesday 1 December 2010

Advent 2010 I: Advent!!!

Ok, so I know advent started last Sunday, and in my own no-denominational, melted-candle-experiment way, I celebrated.

But today the fun really begins! It’s advent calendar time!

Every advent for many years, I have been making my mother an advent calendar. I can’t remember them all, and I doubt they all survived, and I may have forgotten to make one for a year or two, when I was a young teenager (aged 13 to 15) and more obnoxious and self-absorbed than at any other time of my life… but I do remember a couple.

The first was a collaborative project between myself and my little brother. I think it was the year 2000, which means the family had just moved from our bleh-period in Florida to a pretty, picture-book unaffordable village in the Home Counties. I have a clear memory of sitting in the playground (not with my brother because he went to a different school, but nevertheless he helped somehow) and labouring over getting the holly just right. That advent calendar consisted of 24 pieces of A5 paper folded in half to make a floppy kind of card, and I think they all contained Christmassy pictures like the three kings, or maybe quotes from carols. I can’t remember – maybe my Mum can.

Anyway, I got the bug. And being in Iceland isn’t going to stop me! Obviously I’m limited as to what I can do, but I plan on posting a picture a day of something I have done or seen. Here goes…

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My breakfast. I feel this needs some description. The calendar was sent to me by my grandmother – she sends me one every year because the German ones are the best. Then there is an uninteresting bowl of cereals, and a cup of tea from a box of twenty teas my Mum sent me a few weeks ago. I am counting down with them, so that my last cup is on my last day in Selfoss. This tea is called ‘Schutzengeltee’ which means ‘Guardian Angel Tea’. In addition to the normal lemon balm and mint which a herbal tea almost always contains, there are hints of apple, aniseed and cardamom, which make it very interesting and very enjoyable. Moving on, there’s a small pile of freshly-baked Basler Leckerli and a mandarin, both of which are associated with Christmas for me. Also, mandarin = fruit!!! Yay! Then there is the advent wreath and decorations I slaved over for hours yesterday, with dull scissors and cheap crayons. Last but certainly not least, my proudest achievement: the candles. I ‘manufactured’ these myself by melting tea lights and the red candles together. Oh yeah. I am the QUEEN of DIY.

And for Ellie, because she hasn’t got one yet, here’s a close up of my first advent picture:

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xxx F

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