Birthday Impressions

I'm back!!      Ich bin wieder da!!

Although it was a whirlwind visit with my family we had a really great time, lots of reminiscing and of course I got to see my niece wearing her new outfit :) I was so busy catching up with everyone that I didn't take a lot of pictures. But my brother did, so I'm hoping he'll send me some! Before I left I made a birthday cake for my friends here and we had a little pre-birthday celebration.

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Auch wenn die Woche viel zu kurz war habe ich die Zeit mit meiner Familie sehr genossen; es gab jede Menge zu erzählen (das ist normal wenn man weit auseinander wohnt), daher habe ich es verpasst Fotos zu machen, auch nicht von meiner Nichte in ihrem neuen Outfit. Ich hoffe mein Bruder schickt mir ein paar Bilder! Vor meiner Abreise gabs eine kleine Vor-Geburtstagsfeier in kleine Runde hier. Ich wollte schon immer einen pinkfarbenen Kuchen, und da es den nicht zu kaufen gab habe ich ihn kurzerhand selbst gebacken.

pink cake // rosa Kuchen

pink bunting made from masking tapes / rosa Fähnchen mit washi tapes gemacht

Yummy!

The yellow house in the big photo above was where I had my birthday party. The other pictures are from the city and surrounding area.

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Im gelben Haus wurde gefeiert. Die anderen Fotos zeigen die Altstadt und Umgebung.

The sweetest birthday gift from my niece. I love the fact that we're at the beach and I'm wearing a pink dress :)

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Das allerliebste Geburtstagsgeschenk von meiner Nichte. Ich find's toll, dass wir am Strand sind und ich ein rosa Kleid trage :)

I look forward to visiting all of you very soon - I missed you guys!! And also a huge welcome to my new followers - hi! I'll be stopping by your blogs soon too. But now it's back to work!

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Ich komme Euch bald besuchen und freue mich schon - hab Euch nämlich ganz doll vermisst!! Ein ganz herzliches Willkommen an meine neuen Leser - auch bei Euch schaue ich sehr bald vorbei. Aber jetzt heißt es erstmal ran an die Arbeit!

Hi everybody!

The week just flew by in no time and here I am back at my desk working through my emails, messages and sorting out the paperwork. Although short, I really enjoyed my stay with my mom. It would have been even more enjoyable if it hadn't been a freezing 10°C (about 50° Fahrenheit) and raining the entire time. In June! Of course I got to see Sumi there as well. She is one sick little kitty, but she is hanging in there... and despite her heart and kidney problems she is so sweet and content and loving. Here she is napping in her fluffy hammock.

Back here at my place it's an incredible 25°C (77°F), blue skies, not a cloud in sight. I am going to finish off my back load of work in double quick time, because the weather is too good to stay cooped up in the office. The sun is not a frequent visitor in our neck of the woods. I will be catching up with all of you, my dear blog friends and readers, soon!

Happy Friday!

I hope Sammy is okay...

I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of Sammy hacking up something. In all of his five years he's never done this, so understandably I was a bit worried. I got up and gingerly felt my way down the stairs in the dark. Sure enough there was a big glob of his regurgitated dinner on the floor. Sammy seemed fine, even a little annoyed that I was checking up on him!
So I cleaned up the mess and went back to bed only to be woken about an hour later by more hacking -  but much louder this time. Again I went downstairs and checked on Sammy who looked at me accusingly, as if the big gooey mess on the tiles was my fault...
I didn't get back to sleep after that, and it didn't help that I had an early morning appointment at the trade chamber. Needless to say I was pretty bleary-eyed at the meeting. Oh well.
I've been checking up on Sammy since this morning. His nose is cold to the touch and his eyes are clear, but he hasn't touched his food. Now that's highly unusual for Sammy! I hope it's just a temporary thing. If not, then it's time to see the vet I'm afraid. He's drinking water -- that's a good sign, isn't it?

Of trains and double-booked seats...

After several delays and, on one stretch of the ride a double-booked seat (guess who got to stand the rest of the way - yup, me), I finally arrived home late last night.

Thank you, dear readers and blog friends, for continuing to stop by my blog and your very kind comments while I was away! I hope to stop by yours shortly!
I also hope everyone had a happy Christmas and your gifts were well received :)
I had a great time, and for once blogging took a back seat while I enjoyed preparing and eating the marvellous food, listening to a boys' choir and visiting the oldest Christmas market in Germany.

But now it's back to work, and with new regulations for freelancers (like me) starting on 1st January 2010, I have a lot of forms to fill in and getting all my papers in order...

Until then

take care!

Happy 1st Advent!

It seems I'm spending more time in the kitchen these days than at my desk!
I made these chocolate orange cookies this morning, and now my whole house smells yummy :)
Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

100 gr dark chocolate (chopped)
125 gr butter
125 gr sugar, pinch of salt
1 free-range egg (medium)
grated rind of 1 organic orange
200 gr white flour
1 tsp. baking powder

chocolate for the glaze ( I used one with 65% cocoa)

How to

Beat the butter, sugar, salt, egg and orange rind. Mix the baking powder with the flour and sift into the butter mixture. Add the chopped chocolate and quickly knead to a firm dough. Wrap it in foil and leave in the refridgerator for at least 2 hours.
Roll out the dough to about 5mm thickness. Cut out any shape you wish (mine is a flower). Place on a non-stick baking sheet and bake for 10 - 15 min. at 200°C.
Let cool. Melt chocolate in a small bowl. Dip each cookie into the chocolate and place on a rack to dry.
Store the cookies in a cool and dry place.

Enjoy!

Bye Bye for now...

We're all packed and ready to go! I can almost smell the ocean...just a 2 hour train ride and a 12 hour flight and we're there. It's been ages since I last swam in the ocean, and I must admit I had a hard time finding my bathing suit! I finally found it crumpled up in the back corner of one of my drawers. The hubs will need to buy a new pair of swimming trunks over there, because no way am I going to allow him to wear his old pair from the 80's! Haha. As a compromise he gets to take along his laptop...so he won't be cut off from the outside world entirely! Plus I get to keep up with your blogs every now and then too - don't want to miss the action :) The difference is I'll be reading up on your blogs lying on a sun-drenched beach slurping a cocktail. bye bye, take care everyone...

Hello, my name is Sumi

May I introduce myself? I'm called Sumi, and the humans say I'm a small, but elegant cat with very good manners. Plus I'm smart. I overheard the humans talking about me recently. Something about me moving all the way from one end of Germany to the other end! I don't mind so much, because I know Duni will be there waiting for me. I know she loves me just as much as my mommy does! And there's a nice terrace to sunbathe on, lots of room to play, and a nice garden too! So, what's the hitch? Well, looks like I'm going to have to share my new home with another cat! I asked Duni to send my some photos, so that I could see what my future roomie looks like. His name is Sammy. He's a mancat. Personally, I prefer active, sporty types... Sammy, lazing about... Sammy, drinking water straight from the tap So, what do you think? Are we going to be friends? Happy Sunday!

Hi, I'm back!

Oh my goodness! I can't believe I've been away from my blog this long?! Time to catch up :) Now that all my house guests and friends have gone I'm rather exhausted. We've been out and about the last couple days, and my feet are killing me. It was nice having one of my dearest girlfriends stay over and talk 'shop'. She's an accomplished seamstress, and we had a nice day out choosing fabrics for our respective next project. Last week I managed to slip away from my guests and into the doctor's office. I finally got a result, which somehow is a relief, although the result is not good. Nevertheless, at least I know I haven't got anything life-threatening. They have put me on cortisone 'therapy', and I will need to go for regular check-ups and blood tests every six weeks from now on. So far I can report that the pain in my arms and legs is much less. Yay! We spent my birthday in a nice restaurant and later had delicious Swedish apple cake. Yum. I got such nice gifts too. My brother knows I'm a huge Crate & Barrel fan, and he sent me this huge box containing wonderful things from that store. Hey - what are brothers for, right? I got the medium sized walnut frame This beautiful leaf-shaped soap dish, plus two white-tea scented vegetable soaps and this platter made from organic wood From my mom I received essential oils (I need these constantly, and very convenient for me - my mom used to be an aromatherapist). From my husband I got a very special and personal gift, which was sooooo sweet ♥ So...I'm a year older. Any wiser you might ask? Nope. Just a few more grey hairs and for some reason I keep having to pluck my eyebrows more often these days! I look forward to getting back into my usual routine, and I'll be visiting all of my bloggy friends shortly. Thanks for your patience!

Rose & Lavender Garden

I'm sure I mentioned this somewhere before - I live very close to the Dutch border. It only takes 20 minutes by car and we're in the nearest Dutch town called Winterswijk. A little further on is the quaint book town Bredevoort It always seems there's a lot more going on in the towns in The Netherlands than where I live...although some would say living smack in the middle of a Nature Reserve is exciting enough. Well, for bird-watchers anyway :) But the place I most love to visit, especially in summertime is the Rose and Lavender Garden. They are open April through October, and since last year there is a beautiful little gift shop selling rose-patterned china, soaps, candles, liqeurs and homemade jams. The owner also does gorgeous floral arrangements upon request. And there are all sorts of roses available for purchase. Here you see a few images taken from their website.

During the summer, there is a lovely terrace to enjoy a cup of tea or coffee and a delicious selection of homemade cakes. We're not going to miss the special event on Sunday 16th "Art, Kitsch & Cooking". There will be a variety of art to admire, and local sculptors show and demonstrate their work, plus lots of food to sample...can't imagine a better way to enjoy a Sunday! We're so lucky that the sun has been out for the last three days - perfect for sight-seeing! Have a great weekend,

Hello Blogfriends...

Hard to believe I've had this blog for almost a year now! I've also realized something: Although I know what all my blogging friends look like, I've managed to stay anonymous so far! Not fair, right? Okay....so here are a couple of pics of moi. This is the only pic where I managed to stand still. That's my creativity board behind me. Most of the time I was making funny faces at my husband and laughing my head off!

Happy Sunday everyone!

R.I.P. Jenny

My father's dog passed away last night. Thirteen years ago, Jenny was found with a rope tied round her neck and a plastic bag around her snout :( My dad took her home, cleaned her up, had her vaccinated and neutered. Despite her trauma Jenny turned out to be the sweetest, most kind-hearted and loving dog imaginable. We're going to miss her so, but I'm glad after her initial ordeal she had a happy and stress-free life. Rest in peace.

Three's company

"Quack, Quack" We have a new friend...

Getting ready for little kitty

First of all, I'd like to thank each and everyone of you for leaving such kind and uplifting comments in regard to my mom's current situation. I am so thankful for having such awesome blogging friends.

Well, we're just about ready to leave. We had to organize a new set of wheels double quick, because we didn't want to risk driving all that way with less than satisfactory wheels.

I still need to clear some space for my mom's cat. She'll be kept in a separate room the first week. I've arranged everything she needs in there. We think it's best if she gets used to her new surroundings first before meeting her big brofur Sammy. I think Sammy will be fine about it, but not so sure about Sumi - yes, that's her name. Sammy and Sumi. She's about 4 years old, but she's tiny. Also, she is on medication because of a kidney dysfunction. She doesn't like to be held, but she does like to have her fur brushed. She is very, very shy.

Sumi has also got a new cat basket and litter box, but we'll take her old toys and blankets. I really do hope Sammy and Sumi will get along.

And in case you think I've forgotten about crafting it forward - don't worry, I will announce who the winner before I leave...