Last week the team went to a beautiful Julbord at Fjäderholmarnas Krog on Fjäderholmarna, an island near Stockholm. Last year we had our Julbord on the same island, but at Restaurang Rökeriet. I guess we’re creatures of habit.

I think Julbord is when I eat the most amount of fish in one day. Herring… so much herring. But also lax and other wonderful fish. I always take a little bit of every kind, and always have favorites (and not so favorites), but then promptly forget which preparations I liked. I think I need a spreadsheet.

Uppsala girls’ brunch + gift exchange

I love people who just up and organize stuff when they have an idea. A fellow newcomer to Uppsala organized a Christams-themed brunch and gift exchange for the local girls’ group. Today would have been a pretty difficult day for me for some personal reasons. Getting to know new people, a fun question game, and picking Santa names out of a hat was just what I needed to make it better.

I am now relaxed, showered, and curled up with the cats on my couch.

You know, I had always considered myself an introvert. And in many ways I think that remains true - I generally recharge by being alone. But since moving here and putting some conscious effort into meeting people and maintaining friendships, I’ve found that my social muscle has gotten stronger. A few weeks ago I actually reached out to a friend when I was having a difficult time with something and needed some support. And she was there for me! And it helped! Who would’ve thought, right?!?!

Juliard the Christmas tree

And then there’s Juliard.

The last time I remember Christmas being a big deal was when we were living in Ukraine (and even then it was more New Year’s Eve that was the special occasion, but the vibes were pretty much the same). It was a big family thing, where we’d gather in Kherson and my grandma would cook the most amazing meal.

After leaving Ukraine with my family the tradition sort of died. We had a tree and did gifts, but it just wasn’t as much of a ’thing’. And so when I started living on my own, I just never really bothered celebrating Christmas other than a gift exchange with my partner or a Secret Santa game.

But this year I was inspired to buy a tree in a pot. I admit it was a bit of an impulse purchase… and I did NOT buy a dwarf variety… I bought a full on Norwegian Spruce. After reading more about it I learned that these guys do not do well in pots… unless you apply bonsai techniques.

So that’s the plan as of now. Juliard will live on my balcony, and next season I’ll repot him and trim the roots a bit. Then the idea is to manage growth by pruning and trimming. My goal isn’t to make him look like a miniature version of an old tree (which is kind of the thing with bonsai). I do want him to just look like a small normal spruce. But apparently the techniques to do that will be largely the same, with just different ‘styling’ choices. I’m just going to keep my fingers crossed and hope he lives! If I sense the tree is in trouble I might just try to replant somewhere (appropriate) outside, where he can grow as a proper tree.