Delicious...AND Educational

 It's not everyday in our house that a huge tin of Danish butter cookies is opened and enjoyed. No, it's usually at this time of year...December...Christmas, that the deliciousness is unleashed on my family and guests who happen to visit during this special time of year.

It's yet another reason why it's the best time of the year.

If you haven't cracked open one of these tins in some time, you may have forgotten a thin piece of paper that acts as a barrier (and maybe a sneeze guard...) between the lid and the golden brown cookies made in a distant land many miles and an ocean away.

The world-famous Danish Butter Cookies.

As we decorated the house, we felt it appropriate to imbibe with a cookie, or two (or more...). I noticed that thin piece of paper. It gives you some information about the country after which the cookies are named, a land I call my second home, a magical place where on almost every street corner some of the world's best pastries are created and eaten--at least, that's the way it was several decades ago.

I think it's good to get a little education when enjoying delicious treats. We get a map of the country. It's a small country comprised of hundreds of islands and a peninsula attached to Germany. If you're familiar with the state of Utah, Denmark is about 1/5 the size of my home state. It's kind of amazing how many things come from that little country.

Next time you crack open a tin of Danish butter cookies, take a moment and read the information on the thin piece of paper before you excitedly toss it aside on your way to devouring the goodness found inside. Like I said, it's good to have a little education...when enjoying delicious treats.

When A Backpack Makes You Homesick...

It's been over twenty-seven years since I last walked on Danish soil, and almost thirty-three years since I last lived in Denmark. Yet, spotting a backpack in a bookstore brought it all back, the people, the weather, the food, the world that is Denmark.

And I only lived there a total of seventeen months and two weeks.

The backpack, made by Fjällräven, is actually a Swedish product, but people living in Scandinavia are proud to showcase things made by their cousins. I saw so many Fjällräven Kånken backpacks while I was there. Just seeing that fox logo yesterday reminded me of walking those streets, knocking on those doors, falling in love with the people and their culture.

This isn't the only thing that sends me back. Every time I see anyone wearing clogs takes me back, watching my wife enjoy her breakfast (granola topped with yogurt...) will do it, and don't get me started on going to IKEA. That place transports me. Those in-store examples of how a person can live in a four-hundred square feet of space is netop (100%...) Scandinavian. 

When we lived in Denmark I didn't buy this brand of backpack, so I don't know if they were expensive, or not. I can tell you that the one I spotted at Barnes & Noble in Farmington, Utah, yesterday definitely was expensive. 

I'm seeing more and more of these backpacks. I suppose they're the new trendy thing. Good for them. I like seeing Scandinavian produces succeed. You can do a lot worse than surrounding yourself with things from Northern Europe. 

I'm glad I have those memories come back to me from time to time. Those months I lived there changed my life, definitely for the better.