Christmas Arrived From Gotland

Christmas arrived from Gotland, Sweden about a week before Yuletide. The postman dropped a small square box, wrapped in brown paper at my doorstep. You may remember reading about Annette at Lamm & Bi Farm on Gotland island. She and her husband own one of the largest, if not the largest flock of purebred Gotland sheep in all of Sweden. This amazing couple welcomed us to their farm and into their home while we visited in September. Annette crafts beautiful clothing with the pelts and leather from her sheep. Before leaving, she had measured me for a vest, promising to ship it as soon as it was ready.

Annette kindly asked, before shipping the box, if there was anything else that I would like her to include in the box. In jest, I asked if they could ship me about 10 of their breeding ewes. Annette promised that her husband, Dan, had included as many ewes as he could fit into the box. When I opened the box, there were two small packages on top, one with a candy cane striped piece of twine tied around it. On the top was a note that read, “This is the only way we could send you some of our sheep.” Inside, were ten of the most lovely Gotland ewes-just as they had promised.

The other little package contained a small heart shaped ornament to hang on our Christmas tree made out of a scrap of Gotland pelt. And underneath all of that, was the vest. It was just as I had hoped, a lovely red, smelling like lanolin, stitched perfectly with Annette’s hands, and snaps that read, “Lamm & Bi”. I will treasure this vest and always remember the day that Christmas arrived from Gotland.