Live by the Sun - Love by the Moon: DAY 142 - Celebrating my Birthday in Sweden

Aug 8 - Dala Horses, Festival in Orsa, Bike Ride

A Dalecarlian horse or Dala horse is a traditional carved, painted wooden horse statuette originating in Dalarna, a Swedish province. In the old days the Dala horse was mostly used as a toy for children; in modern times it has become a symbol of Dalarna, as well as Sweden in general. Several different types of Dala horses are made, with distinguishing features common to the locality of the site where they are produced. One particular style has, however, become much more common and widespread than others. It is stoutly carved and painted bright red with details and a harness in white, green, yellow and blue.

It was in the small log cabins deep in the forests during the long winter nights in front of a log fire that the first Dala horse was born. Using simple tools, generally only a knife, woodcarvers made toys for their children. It was only natural that many of these toys were horses, because the horse was invaluable in those days, as a trusty friend and worker who could pull great loads of timber from the forests during the winter months, and in the summer could be of just as much use on the farm.

The gray horse is traditional to the town of Rattvik.

The art of carving and painting the small horses quickly flourished in the 19th century, as economic hardship in the region inspired greater production of the small horses, and they became an important item of barter. Horse-making may have started as something to do during the long dark winter months, but soon the Dala horses were traded in exchange for household goods and their carving and painting blossomed into a full-fledged cottage industry. The rural families depended on horse production to help keep food on the table, as the skills of horse carving and painting were passed on from generation to generation.

When we went to a festival earlier this week, there was a display of different horses through the years in various parts of the county.

These are the gray horses from Rattvik born in 1950.

Another photo in a shop window.

I decided that I wanted to get a few horses to take back for souvenirs, so I went to visit a shoppe that was close to the home of Krister and Sasa.

The owner had learned this trade from his father and his father from his father and so on.

He had an assembly line of so many horses.

It was hard to choose which ones I wanted. They were all so beautiful.

He even made shoes, kind of like they do in Holland. Can you imagine how long it took him to do everything. I think he was a one-man team, also. There was a factory in Mora, but supposedly his prices were much better than that one.

The earliest references to wooden horses for sale are from 1623—nearly 400 years ago.

Thank you for spending time with me and telling me about the Dala horse and also for helping me to get Krister's car into reverse. Oops...it never did go, so I had to drive across your beautiful lawn. Sorry about that!

I went back to get Rich and we took off on bicycles, that we borrowed from our amazing hosts.

We saw some beautiful countryside, with rolling hills, quaint little houses, industrious Swedes at work, and the weather was PERFECT!

Aren't their fences just so fun - I've never seen anything like this.

We found so many fun houses on the way, but this one was almost the ONLY one that was not red. I loved it - YELLOW!

Falu red or Falun red in Swedish Falu rödfärg is the name of a Swedish deep red paint well-known for its use on wooden cottages and barns. The paint originated from the copper mine at Falun in Dalarna. The traditional colour remains popular today due to its effectiveness in preserving wood. Since the binder is starch, the paint is permeable to water.

"We have to stop - it's a Vintage store."

The earliest evidence of its use dates from the 16th century. Buildings were often painted with Falu red until the early 19th century, when the authorities began to oppose use of the paint.

However Falu red saw a surge in popularity in the countryside during the 19th century, when poorer farmers began to paint their houses. Falu red is still widely used in the Swedish countryside.

I LOVE antique and second hand stores, so this one was both...a GOLD mine. Rich was very bored.

A fun folk dress for sale - I so wanted it!

Most villages had a pole like this

Stop here - morning cafe break. ha!

Beautiful inn near the lake.

Many people drive old American cars around town like this one.

This is probably a community center

Krister and Sasa manage the ski lodge in town. It is busy all year round with activities. It keeps them VERY busy, also. Rich helped do a few things there for Krister. Note the picture below. It is across the lake in a very beautiful setting.

People enjoy swimming in the cold lake in the summer.

Shari is always collecting rocks along the sea shores and now the lake shore. It's interesting how each one offers different shapes, colors, and its own personality.

The water is a little too cold for me, even if it is August.

The beautiful 'Mountain Ash' tree is popular here in Scandinavia - I have one in Idaho, too.

We stopped in at a shoppe that caters to spinners.

They had a type of guild for spinners making different kinds of rugs and blankets. We met one lady who showed us around and sparked my interest for this kind of art.

Her wrists really get sore and tired from all this work.

She was so happy to share her love of spinning with us.

I can really appreciate all the work now that it takes for one piece of finished product. Hours and hours... My sister does quilting and I know she, too, has the patience of Job to do such marvelous handiwork. Kudos to all of you out there who can do things like this. (Maybe some of my Swedish ancestors did this - ??)

I stopped by to pick up some medicine for Ebba, their daughter, who had a cold. It was interesting how you cue in a code in the computer, get a receipt, pay for it at the check-out counter, then take the paper to the vending machine. Out pops the medicine. Great way to do it.

Vending machines for prescription drugs

Cows are common in Sweden, too (duh), but this one didn't charge at me like the one in Switzerland did.

You may think Krister is a VERY serious person....

THINK AGAIN!

They were explaining to us how popular these crackers are as we had seen a whole aisle in the grocery store with them. So they proceeded to let us have one with a special spread in a tube. How did we like it?

The Leksand Crispbread story began when Jon Olofsson and Anna Olsson started a bakery in the 1920s. Anna was locally famous for her baked rusks, which she enjoyed giving to friends, neighbors and even grocery stores who would sell them. Jon, who was more practical, helped Anna turn her talents into a thriving business. The two had five children, who all had to start work at the bakery to keep up with demand. Today, the 4th generation of the family still controls the business.
Knäcke, also called crisp bread or hard bread, is a staple of the Swedish smörgåsbord. Made of wholemeal rye flour, knäcke is prized for its flavor, nutrition, and the ability to stay fresh for a long period of time if kept cool and dry. Spread with a little butter, knäcke is perfect for topping with cured salmon, herring, cheese, or vegetable dips.

This was so disgusting to me, but EVERYONE in Sweden loves it, especially the children.

Kalles kaviar is a Swedish brand of fish spread. Kalles kaviar is based on a recipe that is several hundred years old that originates from the Swedish west coast, and in particular from Lysekil.

It has been a commercial success in Sweden ever since its market launch there in 1954.

Since it was my birthday, Ahrid loves baking cakes and made me a special cake. He was so sweet to do this as he did it the day before because he went on a camping trip. It was like a fudge brownie with a yellow cake layered on top. It was so good!

Their son, Ahrid, 19, and his girlfriend

I'm glad they didn't put 62 candles on top - it would give my age away.

Krister and Sasa hosted another couple from France this night. They had them stay in their ski lodge. They helped make the dinner and did a kind of oedurve. but I can't remember what it was exactly. It was very good.

Salad with everything - oops - guess we ate most of it before the photo.

Roasted Meat and veggies

Krister and Sasa went out of their way to barbeque pork, beef, sausages, along with onions, corn, beets, and potatoes. It was so good. The 6 of us had so much fun talking and laughing. Krister is such a card, with hundreds of stories and jokes.