Follow The Rabbit

Please follow the Christmas Bunny and hop along to
♥ DawnTreader’s NEW Picture Book ♥

I’ll soon be running out of storage space in my present blog account. After weighing some pros and cons I decided to take the leap and see what happens if I try to move this blog into a new account (http://dawntreader-picturebook2.blogspot.com). 

I’m sorry for any inconvenience this might cause – I can only hope that you will find it worth the trouble. Old posts will remain where they are so as not to mess up any existing cross-references. I hope I’ll see you soon!!!

Watery Wednesday: Freezing River

Winter came early this year, with lasting cold weather. It’s hard on the birds:
Much of the river is already getting covered by ice.

 

 

Visit Watery Wednesday for more watery pictures.

Winter Wonderland

  

Going into town today with the purpose of shopping groceries, I found myself enchanted and “sidetracked” into the snowy landscape of the town park… All the snowy trees and lampposts and statues rather reminded me of Narnia!

Mosaic Monday: More Snow

*** … and it just keeps snowing … ***

See more Monday Mosaics at Mary’s Little Red House.

Thankful Friday

Friday My Town Shoot Out – Thankful

The theme for December 3rd is, in general, what are people most thankful for in your town?

This can be a variety of meanings to everyone. This could be a person, an event, a building, what a group of people are doing in the town, gifts to the town,  etc.  Or personally, what are you most thankful for in your town.

Definitions of Thankful ........

a positive emotion or attitude in acknowledgment of a benefit that one has received or will receive

feeling or expressing gratitude; appreciative

 

There are a lot of things in my town to be thankful for. For me, I think it is a combination of a lot of different things for which I am most thankful. So for this post, I made some collages. (For the location of the town, see map at the bottom of the post.)

We’re thankful for the river. Without it, the town would not be what it is.

 

We’re thankful for the textile/fashion industry heritage, and the textile museum.

 

We’re thankful for the art museum, the theatre and the library.

 

We’re thankful for the open air museum, and other buildings with interesting architecture.

 

We’re thankful for some beautiful parks.

 

We’re thankful for recent sculptures by world famous artists; and for musical events.

 

When we’re not busy complaining about them, we’re thankful we have a hospital
(also including a hospital museum, and quite a few pieces of contemporary art);
and a choice of means of public transport: railway and busses and roads.
We’re also only about an hour away from an airport, and the coast,
and the second largest city in the country (Gothenburg).

 

We’re thankful that the town is surrounded by beautiful nature and places of historical interest.

Bird Snack Bar In The Park

 

The yellow bird is a Great Tit. The other one I’m not sure of… Possibly a Willow-Tit?

PS. We’ve been having broadband problems here lately.
Internet contact has been on and off irregularly for several days in a row now.
Not only  does it affect my own posting, but also how much
I’m able to catch up with my blogging friends!

Early Winter

It looks like January. It feels like January. And we haven’t even entered December yet.

Mosaic Monday: Christmas Market Collages

A “Santaland” is built up in the town square for December. Santa himself is still sleeping, but activity might increase as we get closer to Christmas. In the tent, reminding of a Lapp cot, hot drinks are served.

In front of the old town hall, big Advent candles are lighted (one for each Sunday, or in this case Saturday, before Christmas). Advent hymns are sung by choirs from the different churches. To the fountain in the middle of the square, a special winter decoration has been added to replace the usual running water.

Shopping is encouraged by extra Christmas markets held both indoors and outdoors. The yellow wooden building is one of few remaining wooden houses in town (most were destroyed in fires long ago). It is used for art classes and other study circles, and sometimes exhibitions and markets.

For more mosaics, visit Mary’s Little Red House.

The Star

I’m not sure how widespread the tradition is in other countries, but here many people put up an Advent star in their windows this time of year. The origin is of course the star that according to the Gospel of Matthew (Ch.2) was seen by Magi (“wise men”) from the East at the birth of Jesus. 

“… and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and or myrrh.”

 

For more reflection photography, visit Weekend Reflections at Newton Area Photo.

Favourite Shops

 Friday My Town Shoot Out

  

My favourite tea shop.
They also sell coffee; but I am a tea person...

Besides tea and coffee, they also offer other temptations
to go with it: Bread, biscuits, chocolate, candy…

.~.~.~.

     

Whether you’d like to buy someone a gift, or the materials to get busy yourself,
this arts & crafts shop is a good place to start looking for inspiration.

.~.~.~.

  

“HeartRoom” - a shop for interior design and garden decorations.
A place to go if you’re looking for that “little extra”.

.~.~.~.

My town does not really have a “main street”.
There are several streets lined with shops in the town centre.
Today the town square was all set up with extra Christmas market stalls.
(Old town hall/district court in the background. )

.~.~.~.

 

Light A Candle

Snowstorm in November

“Snow is nothing but annoyingly icy frozen water stuff
that falls out of the sky at inconvenient times.”

~ from Gilmore Girls, Season 5 ~

(Photoshop Filter Artistic/Sponge for enhanced effect)

It’s Snowing

This was yesterday. Pretty much the same view today…

Frozen Fire

Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up.
So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight -
why the bush does not burn up.” ~ Exodus 3:2-3

More Foggy River Reflections

 

 

Some more foggy pictures from my Tuesday morning walk this week.

♥ ♥ ♥

For more reflection photography, visit Weekend Reflections #61 at Newton Area Photo.

Temptations

My post for Friday My Town Shoot Out

 

Spring Temptation: Tulips

 

   

Summer Temptation: Strawberries and Ice Cream

 

  

 

Autumn Market Temptation: Sweets and Toys

 

    

Winter Temptation: All Kinds of Christmassy Things…

And Books! But they come into a special, more long-lasting category of temptations…
 

 

All Year Round Temptations: Spending and Hoarding…