I do believe we have a big winter and spring ahead of us. Here’s our deal: we’ve just bought 17 acres with a decidedly dated small house on it here in Northern Michigan where I grew up. In fact, it’s kind of specifically where I grew up. Like literally the woods that I played in next door to my family’s farm. It wasn’t necessarily in our long term pl
an to move back to my childhood home, but here we are and for a number of reasons, it’s the best thing for us right now. For one, the drive into the property feels good. That’s kind of a big thing- a house can be changed, the land can not. This land is full of maple trees, a meadow, a small view of the lake and the gorgeous farm next door, and the grandparents are right through the woods- we don’t even have to step foot on pavement. The house, however, was full of 40 year old shag carpeting, faux wood paneling, and
bedrooms with walls that you could nearly touch with both outstretched hands. But meh, that’s all fixable. I watch a lot of HGTV, after all, so I’m practically qualified to do this. We bought the place and began putting together plans to renovate it and put on an addition; we started pulling down the interior walls, ripping out the kitchen cabinets, tearing down the weird foam ceiling tiles, and the whole place really opened right up. It was right around then that we realized that we’d bitten off an awful lot, our chewing capabilities came into question.
What I’m Going For
Here’s my grand idea: Swedish farmhouse-cottage. It’s a thing, I’m sure of it. I’m picturing red with thick white trim, and how lovely it will look with a fresh blanket of bright white snow during the winter months. That’s a big part of it, because winter tends to be a big part of the year around here, so it must be a part of the design for the never-ending season to be tolerable. In Scandinavia, they’ve been making houses like this forever, and if anyone knows how to make winter look gorgeous, it’s them. So we’re finalizing a design now and spending every day we can out there with crow bars and sledge hammers, we’re cobbling together a crew to put it all back together. And to christen the house, we’ve even bought a small tomten statue to watch over us. How’s that for a segue into today’s book?
I’ve written about Astrid Lindgren’s The Tomten and the Fox before, it’s one of our very very favorites, especially on cold winter nights. Today I’m writing about The Tomten.
A tomten (or tomte) is a bit of Scandinavian folklore- he’s a small gnome-like creature with a long white beard and a knit cone cap who acts as a protector to homesteads and farm animals. In The Tomten and the Fox, a farm is watched over by the small tomten, who keeps a hungry fox at bay when he wants to steal a chicken. The tomten is a kindly old thing, though, and understands that the fox is just hungry, not evil, and offers to share his porridge with the fox in exchange for leaving the chickens alone.
The Tomten is a rather lyrical story of the little man making his rounds around the barn and the farm one cold winter night, gently comforting each animal and reminding them all that winter will pass eventually and they will have warm nights once again.
Winter is long and dark and cold, and sometimes the Tomten dreams of summer.
“Winters come and winters go,
Summers come and summers go,
Soon the swallows will be here,” thinks the Tomten.
I do love winter, I especially love cozying up in winter. But I look forward to the warmth and the blue skies of summer, to the birds and the lake. Now I also look forward to next winter which will undoubtedly be long, dark, and cold once again, but we’ll be inside our nice warm Swedish farmhouse-cottage looking at the snow outside.
The perfect winter read. I love your idea about painting your house read with a white roof. What fun. Boy can Michigan winters be cold. I’m south of you in SW Ohio.
LikeLiked by 1 person
True, it’s very cold. And this is a mild winter, I think. It’s been about 19 years since I’ve lived here, I’m afraid I’d hidden away memories of the cold deep in my brain. It was cold in Montana, certainly, but the lake effect is a different beast entirely.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh I’m so happy for you!!! And I can’t wait to see your Swedish farmhouse come into being! And what a lovely tie-in to the Tomten, which is one of the very bestest books EVER.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sometimes I pick the book first and try to force the segue, sometimes the story picks itself. No? And I know you appreciate the Scandinavian obsession, my friend! The Tomten stories are so calming, at least Astrid Lindgren’s versions…
LikeLike
I love The Tomten and I’m jealous of your snow. Ours has come and gone again. It was very warm yesterday, now it’s chilly and rainy. I prefer snow to cold rain. Your house idea sounds so lovely.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oooh, I agree, cold snow is way better than cold rain. Prettier, too! Can you believe we actually had a green Christmas though? It snowed on Halloween, we had an actual SNOW DAY in November, and there wasn’t a speck on the ground by Christmas. And now it’s totally frigid. Pure craziness.
LikeLike
Welcome to Michigan!!! Even if I am hours away from you in southeast Michigan. And good luck with your renovations – I love the idea of a red house!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Library Mama! Sometimes I’m stoked to be back here, sometimes I question how it all happened. But Michigan has always been home, there’s something about this Great Lake that brings me back.
LikeLike
Between you and Melissa at Julia’s Bookbag, I have now heard so much about these Tomten books–I really must track them down! Did you get a chance to read Michelle Houts’ new book, “Winterfrost”? It’s sort of a chapter-book version of this story. Although I can’t figure out the differences between a nisse (what Houts calls it) and a tomten (what Lindgren calls it). Anyway, it’s a really wonderful, cozy, and adventure-filled read; highly recommend! I’m so impressed by all the work you are doing on your house and by your moving (a little) off the grid! Looks like an especially amazing setting for children. I wish I were brave enough to try it. 🙂
LikeLike
We were fully off the grid all last year, back on it this year. It was actually very cool- I wrote about it here: https://ameliesbookshelf.com/2014/06/05/the-cabin-key-by-gloria-rand/ Now as far as Winterfrost goes, Melissa wrote about it a couple of weeks ago and I immediately zoomed in on it- I think my 7 year old would love it. We’re just finishing up Beverly Cleary’s Socks right now, I’ll go buy it and put it on deck- thanks for the recommendation! Also- as far as I understand it, the tomte is Swedish and the nisse is Norwegian. I think. Maybe.
LikeLike
Yes, that makes sense, because Winterfrost is Danish and, you’re right, I think nisse is both Danish and Norwegian. Funny how so many of those European farming areas had such similar folklore but that it never made it across the ocean. 🙂 And yes, now that you pointed it out, I do remember reading about your time (truly) off the grid–very cool.
LikeLike
Pingback: The Easter Egg, by Jan Brett | Amélie's Bookshelf