"Now it's Christmas. Can you feel it too? The smell of baking day hangs around all the houses and farms, and the Christmas dough ferments over the dishes and the Christmas loaves lie like shiny eels"
Stot Anders Andersson (1865-1889)
I lug baskets full of branches in for the annual Christmas baking day. The wet footprints form a trail from the outside door to the wood box. Another basket.... Slide, slide, down the muddy path past the barn.
Over the past few days, Sander has been working hard on the new kitchen so that it can be used on this day. It's not quite finished yet, but now at least the top is ready for use since last night. It's going to be so beautiful! Until recently it was a pile of planks in the shed and now a beautiful kitchen unit is slowly emerging. It has had some headaches because the house is not completely square and straight, or rather a kind of skewed ..... Here you have no use for tools such as a carpenter square or a level tool, no, Sander is making it by sight. After all, the eye must also see it in the end :) With a handsaw, a screwdriver, a hoof rasp and toeing knife (farrier for sure ;)) and a hammer he makes the most beautiful things!
In the living room there is already a dough for white bread and a Christmas stollen rising in the heat and a batter for waffles. A "rån" waffle is a sweet, thin, hard waffle that is traditionally baked and eaten around the turn of the year, and I believe it originated in Norway. We'll see what happens because the last time I baked these wafers it was kind of a failure... They baked kind of into the waffle iron and could only get them crumbled off, luckily the crumbs were very tasty.. ..
The days are so short now and the light fades before you know it, with the sunrise around 8:30 am and the sunset 7 hours later at 4:30 am On a dark day it sometimes seems dim all day although in the Netherlands this was somtimes also the case.
The scent of cinnamon, cardamom, cloves mingle with that of the freshly grated lemon and orange. I slide one baking tin after the other into the oven to finish baking. I squeeze a little juice from a lemon over the bowl with almond mass and add one of the freshly laid eggs. My mouth is watering at the idea of the freshly baked Christmas stollen with almond paste, mmm.
While the loaves are baking in the oven, it's time to bake the waffles. It is definitely better than last time... They are now a kind of chunks instead of crumbs... But this will require some practice in the coming time to make a few presentable wafers.
It is well after sunset before I have finished all baking and we can sit down to try the first cookies with a cup of tea.
And so we arrive on Christmas Eve. The morning was immediately bright and clear. The woolly ponies happily frolic along to graze on the rear pasture for a few hours. After that, the house and barn are cleaned up for the upcoming festivities. Wintergreen wreaths decorated with red bows are hung on the doors and at the entrance. In the afternoon we surprise a few friends with a visit and a basket full of cookies and sandwiches. Where we get surprised with coffee, tea and cake on the veranda. A cozy get-together, full of catching up and laughter. It's getting cold by the time we head home. The red sky in the west forecasts a cold night into Christmas Day.
The pleasant warmth in the house forms a stark contrast when you come from outside. Together we decorate our Christmas tree. Rocking horses made of fabric and hearts, woven straw pendants and angels decorate the tree, but I like my wooden Christmas bells best, they get their place of honor in the tree. Then I have to go to the shed, with my eyes closed, Sander guides me to the spot. In between all the chores he made me a beautiful writing table, which is strong enough to carry my knitting machine. Together we carry it home and make a nice place for it. Then it's my turn to give my present. Looks stylish doesn't it, this new jacket :)
And thus also this joyful day comes to an end.
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