Bye-bye Birdie

Here are a few pics of my progress - the Baktus scarf, which seems like it is taking me FOREVER to knit.  But I am  almost there.

I started a new little sampler - Ewe & Eye & Friends  A Small Sampler - Third in a Series.  It is done on a piece of 40 ct. R&R.  I just needed something little that I think I can get done in less than a year.  I must say that the light green was driving me crazy because I could hardly see it.  Most of my stitching has to be done during the day since I am lacking a good stitching light at the moment.  

The alphabet is done over one - and surprisingly it is not giving me any troubles.  I have large picture window in the living room that I sit by to stitch, and the daylight serves me well.  I can now see why these sharp eyed little girls of days gone by were able to stitch those masterpieces without any daylight lamps.

I am leaving tomorrow to return to the States for 2 weeks to help a friend.  Here are the owl pincushions that I made for my stitching friends.  They are a little weebly-wobbly, but it is a gift from the heart.  I hope to have time to update from there.  I checked the weather and it is only a smidge better than here.  

Oh dear, my husband just called to tell me our household goods have arrived - *&#@!!!  That is really bad timing, or really good timing depending on how you look at it... I guess I'll miss that part of our move.  The control freak in me really frets about my husband being in charge of the unpacking - not to mention him discovering the extent of my stash...  Oooh Lucy, you gots some exlaining to do....

Where is the Milk?

Good Morning!

I sit here on a cold and snowy morning with a cup of tea contemplating what to wrrite about in this latest blog entry.  Although I usually drink coffee in the morning ( we have this nifty coffee press/thermos thingy we bought at Ikea here), someone used most of the milk this morning for their cereal without considering that I might want more that 3 drops of milk in my coffee!  I could bundle up in the 15 layers in requires me to keep my thin Texas blood from freezing while I slip & slide down the hill to the Toker ( a produce store) and pick up some milk, but the view has convinced me that tea will be a fine substitute!

On a side note:  you can barely see that empty insane asylum ( as I like to think of it) toward the upper left  - even creepier now as it blends in with all the white....  There is plenty more snow in the forecast ... about 14 inches over the next 2 days - good sledding fun for the kiddos.

Back to milk.  We have found a farmer that sells his milk to the public.  You bring your spill proof containers ( ask me sometime about spilling 5 gallons of raw milk in my van....), drive up to the farm, and go into this little building where a large silver milk tank sits.  It is hooked up to a little dispensing machine.  You put the little fill-up hose into your container, take your 60 Euro Cent & throw it into the the machine and voila, it pumps out 1 liter of fresh milk from that morning.  At 7 p.m. the milk truck picks up the remaining milk, so you always get fresh milk.  It is a win/win for all - the farmer gets about double the money for his milk from his customers than what he gets from the milk cooperative, and we get fresh, raw milk for 2/3 of the price we pay at the store.  I know that some a creeped out by raw milk, but we have been drinking it for years and love it.

So, what have I been doing creatively?  Well, I am taking some sewing classes at the army base - they have an outstanding fabric/craft store there.  The first thing we made was a pillowcase - tadaaaa

Ok, the seam is actutally not crooked in the second picture - it must have just been the way I took the photo.  I still need to wash it before I use it.  These were super simple to make, and all the seams are hidden.  Of course I want to make one now for everybody I know....

My socks are done, but are in the laundry & I am too lazy to climb down two stories to retrieve them out of the cellar. They will have to wait for another post.  I also finished up the little baby gift - here it is in all its glory.

The reason it looks a bit bumpy in the photo ( it always amazes me how every flaw is picked up by the camera..)  is that I filled it with French Lavender.  Instead of the planned ribbon I used beads for the hanger & the bottom fringe.  Little Grace made her appearance last week a bit early, so my gift will be a tad late.

I also started stitching on my secret stitcher project  - sorry for the slight blur.  It is time to consult the instruction manual for better close-up photos.

I was making good progress, but managed to miscount and had to frog two days worth of stitching - which is what you get when you are watching one of the best series ever made:  Firefly!  I usually end this particular enjoyment with the movie Serenity and then go into deep mourning that there aren't and won't be anymore.  I do this once a year, and enjoy it thoroughly!  I have also watched some good movies such as the HBO version of Elizabeth the First with Helen Mirrin, Jeremy Irons & tasty Hugh Dancy.  Speaking of that particular eye candy I watched him in Daniel Deronda - also very enjoyable and his character was much more to my liking.  My DH are now watching Coldnitz which is an excellent WWII movie.  We have watched Part 1 and are trying to find some time for Part 2.

I started two new projects:

It is that Baktus scarf everybody is knitting.  Those round little balls are called Mozart Kugeln and are a delightful concoction of Marzipan, Pistachio Creme and Nougat surrounded by a delicate layer of dark chocolate.  Yumm.

I also started a pair of socks for my younger DS.  I decided I would try the toe up method, and although the start was a bit of a pain I persevered and got it going.  Lets see how the heel will work on this one.

That wraps it up for today - I am definitely staying in, although tomorrow or Saturday I will have gather up my layers and venture to the store.  I wonder if the dogs will insist on their walk today....

Lovely Ladies

Yesterday I was invited to join a group of stitching/knitting ladies, and I had a wonderful afternoon.  It happened like this:

My DH Rob ( if you know him, you know he has never met a stranger) had an appointment at the Housing Office in Heidelberg to look for off-post housing.  He was assigned to a lady named Margit.  Well, while they were talking he noticed that her name sign on her desk was stitched, so he asked if she was a stitcher.  Now, having been to her sweet little apartment yesterday I can attest that she is a wonderful & prolific stitcher!  So, the connection was made between Margit & I.

Yesterday they had their monthly get together with an outing planned to a Quilt Exhibition.  Margit asked me to join them - incidentally she lives in the same little town that I live in - just on the other end.  It is an 8 minute bus ride over there ( unless the bus driver stops at a bus stop where his buddies are standing and has a 5 minute conversation with them & then gets stuck in the very old part of town because the weekly farmers market is going on & someone has not parked properly & the street is so narrow that we have to inch by and the bus driver has to stop the bus every 2 seconds (really!) to see if he still has room between the bus & the unfortunately parked car), and the bus literally dropped me at her door step.

Meeting the ladies was quite fun and I really like everyone. They are a talented, lively group and everyone was quite welcoming.  I did not get to take pictures because a child of mine ( we shall let that person remain anonymous) took my camera.  But the other ladies did take pictures and Margit has some wonderful ones on her blog here.  You can enlarge them & look around Margit's apartment and see some of her fabulous stitching.

The quilt exhibition was interesting, although the name quilt is a bit misleading. It was really an exhibition of art done with mostly fabric using some quilting.  Some of the "quilts" were wonderful, some just left you wondering.  It would have been really nice to find out what the artist was thinking and what some of the things incorporated into the quilt meant.  Overall, it was just so nice to get out and spend time with women who share my passion.

Trash, Stash & other Tales

I sit here, enjoying my Marzipan yogurt ( yes, you read correctly) with Mia growling at me because she wants me to hurry up - she is waiting for the container so she can lick it completely clean before it goes into the recycling container... This brings me to my first subject - trash.  It is another "Whaaaat??" moment for me.  A couple a weeks ago the trash company delivered our trash containers - one for general trash and one for recycling.  They are about same size....tiny!

The trash can on the left is a normal American sized trash can ( we can't use that one), the next one is the German regular trash trash can and the one on the right is the recycle trash can (it is larger than the the grey one).  Remember, we are a family of 6.  Trash pick-up is once every 2 weeks... Whaaaat??  After my hysterical laughter died down I discovered a new sport - trash jumping.  That is when you jump on your six-man , two-week trash pile to compact it as much as possible so that all of it will fit into the itsy-bitsy can.  You can see that we are expected to have more recycled trash than regular trash.  I have to jump on that stuff too to make it all fit.  Now, I must say that my hat is off to the Germans - almost everything gets recycled.  I am amazed that most packages & plastic wrapping has a recycle sign on it,  even the wrapper around little, scrumptious chocolate bars get put in the recycle bin - we generate a lot of those!!

Enough of trash talk.... on to the very fun stash - yesterday was a really good stash day!  From Knitpicks I got the following:

Wheee - I was so happy.  Ok, lets see from left to right.  Oh, first I want to mention the wonderful scarf that was gifted to me by my talented and generous friend Kim.  Kim, I want you to know I wear this scarf all the time - I just love it.  Thank you so much for giving it to me.

First skein is for a hat for my DH, poor man does not have one.  I knitted him a scarf for Christmas & this color will match somewhat.  He cannot wear the hat when he is uniform, but for our other outings it will come in handy.  The second one is for Olivia who really wants an Emse hat and I will make her matching socks ( 3rd skein) as well.  The next skein will go another pair of socks - Artichoke Socks - I saw these on a blog somewhere & they looked fantastic.  I have to have a pair!  The next skeins I took a close-up of because the color does not really show up on this pic.

The color is Lava Heather - yummmm.   I have more than 3 skeins, mind you.  I plan to knit this wrap.  I should have it done for next winter.  I think it is so very elegant.  The other two skeins will be socks for the boys.

Yesterday the postman rang our door and delivered this from the Sampler Guild in the UK.

These are all from Brenda Keyes.  The patterns are " A Contented Mind Sampler", "Over the Hills Sampler", and "A Sailor's Wife Sampler".  The book is what I am particularly thrilled about - it is almost virtually impossible to get in the States, but the Sampler Guild seems to have them on hand.  It is chock full of sampler motifs:

In case you are thinking:" Ok, she buying stash, but is she doing anything...??"  Yes, I have been steadily working on those Cornrow Socks.

Almost there with sock #1 - I only have to do the toe decrease.  Those blasted cornrows actually do take some time.  I hope that next week I can finish up sock #2.  I also finished a little over-one baby sampler for our neighbor who is expecting a little baby girl after having 3 boys.

 I just need to find a cute button and get it stuffed with French Lavender, rusch some ribbon & voila I am done.....ok, I am being totally sarcastic here.  I might just as well out myself right here - I am the world's slowest stitcher & not such a great finisher either.  We will see what the finished product looks like.

My other tales include pictures of my daily walk with the two pups.  I go up the hill toward the woods

It is all very pretty, and I love this little walk I take except for this:

See that building in the upper left corner... this is what it looks like from our house.   I wondered about this building which is really large & L shaped - you can only see a tiny bit of it here.  There are never any lights on at night....  It is a large vacant complex that has had a number of different uses during its life.  Right after WWII it was an extended care facility for German soldiers injured in the war.  For a while it was a corporate training camp for a major retail chain.  Its last use was a senior home which closed about 6 years ago.  The neighbors said that they were always on senior patrol since some of them with memory problems were prone to wandering off...

Nowhere did I read that it was ever an insane asylum...but that is what I think of every time I go up there -  I know, I know, too many horror movies.  It does creep me out completely!

Here are Mia & Max merrily & unsuspectingly running towards the property which is behind that large tree in the middle of the picture.

No doggies, come back, come back!!

If one day I don't return from my walk.... well, you will know where to look.

Happy New Year & Einen Guten Rutsch ins Neue Jahr

The last half of the title means "A good slide into the New Year", which is how you wish someone Happy New Year here.  Nothing is every short & to the point here in Germany - there are always lots of words in an expression or lots of words put together to make a new word...  I am constantly reading things out loud to figure out what it actually means.

Our Christmas was quite - no tree with year since we were without a car & dragging one home on foot was out of the question.  Here are a few pics of our Christmas Eve Dinner, which as a very traditional German meal ( not difficult to recreate at home).  Mind you, it was not a traditional German Christmas Dinner, which involves goose or some sort of fish.  I opted to stick with something tried and true.  We usually have chicken pot pie topped with a chive mashed potato crust, but lacking a baking dish, a food processor and a whole chicken, I went with what we had.  This is dish is called Rouladen.  They are stuffed, rolled thin cuts of top round, browned & braised until tender.  Yumm.

Each "steak" is laid out, topped with a bit of mustard, salt, pepper, onion ( cut into rings), a slice of bacon, a quarter of a sour pickle spear, a quarter stick of carrot.  The whole thing is rolled up  and usually pinned with a toothpick ( no toothpicks here, so two strands of "Parched Bones" floss from Jenny Bean were consumed tying these guys up....please don't call the Stitching Police)

I used to braise these with some beer ( some for me, some for the Rouladen), but after my son Adam was diagnosed with Celiac Disease ten years ago, I could not use it anymore due to the gluten in beer.  Now I use beef stock, I might put in a bit of red wine if I have a bottle open.  So, after simmering the tasty rolls for about 2 hrs in a pot with the lid on, they look like this:

After removing the actual rolls, I skim a bit off the fat & thicken the liquid with some cornstarch ( flour is ok too, just not for us).  This is traditionally served with Spaetzle ( yummy fat, short egg dumplings) & red cabbage.  Mashed or boiled potatoes are good too - you want something that you can eat with the delicious gravy.  So, here is a pic of the finished meal.  Please excuse the fancy red plastic plates that currently serve as our dishes.

Anyone hungry yet - I know I am...

Now on to something crafty.  Due to the inclement weather here I decided I needed to knit myself a cap ASAP.  Running around in a knitted camo beanie that belonged to one of my sons, really did not quite go with my self image. After much looking I found a pattern that appealed to me & I could actually conquer. The The Esme Hat fit the bill.

What is that knitting needle doing on the top of the hat, you ask.. well, I currently don't have a tapestry needle or crochet hook to finish it off.  That requires another trip into town - maybe on Saturday.  The fun thing about this hat is that the brim is cabled.

For my  next project I am going to knit some socks - these in fact,  Corn Row Sock

Here is my teeny, weeny start:

Now, I know what you are thinking.... what happened to my stitching.  I am in a bit of a funk regarding that.  I have Jenny Bean with me, and have spent very little time with her.  I don't have very good light here and since the light starts fading around 3:00 p.m., especially when it is cloudy, I just lose all motivation to stitch.  So here is where she stands now - excuse the wrinkles -  no iron yet.

Yesterday I took a trip ( a looooong trip) to Patrick Henry Village ( one of the Army installations here ), to head for the Arts & Crafts Center.  They have a really good selection of fabrics there & some scrapbooking stuff, DMC floss, and a variety of other things.  I decided that I would make myself a skirt with all my free time.  My dad bought me a very basic Singer sewing machine, which should do whatever I need to do ( being a real basic sewer myself).  I made friends with the lady that manages the place, she helped me pick out some fabric, it was cut, I happily paid for my purchases, walked the 1/2 hour back to the nearest bus stop, while thinking about sewing this skirt.

I was busily planning a trip to the German fabric store that I has spied, while I was making a mad dash to catch the train on Monday before my ticket expired, to buy some sewing thread, a zipper & a button for my hat, when it dawned on me - I have no scissors to cut fabric.  Aaargh - I keep running up against not having things, but I don't want to buy another one since I have them in my household good which are currently enjoying the high seas.  So, for now I will admire the fabric & when the car comes I will have my husband drive me to the Arts & Crafts center to cut my fabric.... I can't wait for our stuff to get here.

With this bit of frustration I conclude my last post for 2009.  I wish each and everyone of you a wonderful start for the New Year.  I thank you for reading my blog & leaving comments.  I am so grateful to have such wonderful friends who share my passion.  I leave you with a pic of the family toasting our first Christmas in Germany.

 

Froehliche Weihnachten

From our hearts to yours - we wish all of you a wonderful, safe, peaceful Christmas. 

 

Whaaaat?

I have had a number of Whaaaat??!? moments here in Germany.  Let me start with today.  I needed to get to a grocery store, so I spent some time yesterday researching how to get to one.  There are a few buses that run through town and would get me close to a grocery store.  Now, where to buy a ticket?  The closest place was the train station which is about a 10 minute walk away.  No big deal  - except it is about 20F outside.  I bundle up - hat, scarf, gloves, 4 layers under my winter coat & set off.  I get to the train station & go the automated ticket dispenser - cannot figure it out - I can get my ticket to Paris, but how to get a local bus ticket??....so into the train station I go & the kind lady sells me a multi ticket good for 5 rides for 8 Euro which at today's rate is about $11.50.  I trott out to the bus stop & a smoking youth tells me  where to get off to get to the store.  Of course, he does not stop smoking while telling me the good bit of info but just goes ahead & blows the smoke right into my face (whaaaat??!?).  He was not being malicious but just must not have any manners because he was friendly & helpful.  The bus comes, I climb aboard, punch my ticket, & sit down.  Two stops later we pass the grocery stores ( there are 2 right next to each other - they are each about double the size of a nice 7-11).  I get off at the stop, hike back to the stores, do my "shopping"- I have 2 of those reusable bags that are rectangular shaped to haul the necessitites of life back to the house.  I go to get my cart, & they are all chained together & you have to put 1 Euro into a slot in the handle to get one ( Whaaaaaaat??!?).  I dig around in my wallet to find a 1 Euro coin  & get my cart.  Going into the store the first thing I get to  is chocolate, chookies, tasty snacks.  Wow, it is so cheap.... I get a bit of this & that.  I get to the meat - yikes that is expensive - just one package of  smoked porkchops for us.  Passing by the dairy case - wow they like their yogurt here -  lots of variety & flavors from 0% fat to yogurt made out of cream... yumm.  Just a small cup of organic plain yogurt for me  to use for a recipe I want to make.  Boy, I really need potatoes- jeeze that bag is a bit heavy, but I really do need them.  I looked at my cart in the first store reminding myself that I have to carry this stuff back to the house, so I put some stuff back, & went to the cashier to checkout.  Dang that woman was so fast I had no time to pack the stuff ( no baggers here, no one to ask if they could help me out to my non-existent car - whaaat??!), & had to throw everything back into the cart & pack it up off to the side.  Just slap a big old sign on me that says "New to the country".  I returned my cart to find out I get my Euro back - this most certainly a good way to keep the carts out of the parking lot.

Off to the next store - I was looking for some gluten-free stuff for Adam & that chain had some in the store in Heidelberg - no such luck here.  This was one of the main reasons for venturing out in this frigid weather.  Oh well, can't do anything about it.  Back to the bus stop to take the bus back to the bottom of our hill.  I decided I am going to go the bus stop we passed before the one I got off - it seemed to be closer.  I get there, look at my watch & check the schedule - WHAAAAAT??!?  It is 1:05 pm & the next bus comes at 1:41 p.m.   In the other direction the bus ran about every 18 min..... where do they go - don't they have to come back??  Evidently not - there is only one bus per hour in the direction of home... well, it is cold out  & I am not waiting.  So, me,  my chocolate & potatoes start walking home.

 I am busy making lemonaid out of my lemons thinking: "Hey, there is that antique store I have passed a couple of time, I will stop in since I will walk right by it & have a look around."  I get there at about 1:15 - it is closed for lunch for the next 2 hrs....whaat?? So I look at the times of business & this shop is only open 4 days a week with a 2 hr lunch each day...ok.  I guess I'll just walk on home.  20 min later I huff & puff my way to my front door, quite toasty under my gazillion layers.  Next time I go grocery shopping I will have to watch my timing.

One of the things that we enjoyed in the States was Hulu.  Well, when we finally got the internet up & running I first dealt with e-mails, stopped off at some blogs & proceeded to Hulu to catch up on some of my favorite shows.  I click on Fringe & get this message.

Sorry, currently our video library can only be streamed from within the United States


WHAAAAAAAATTTT??????


Oh, the agony of it.  None of the streaming video sites or American networks work here...I keep thinking there must be a way, but so far I have not found a way around this....


My first day out at the house was also quite the (mis)adventure.  My husband wakes me up early to take me out to the house because someone is coming to deliver some loaner furniture.  After stopping for coffee ( oh Starbucks where art thou),  he drops me off & drives away to a day packed with things that need to get done.  I decide I am going to inspect the house closely - I only saw it briefly the night before in the dark.  So, I go room to room, peer out the windows, open patio doors & such.  I work my way all the way down to the cellar.  On the way back up I notice something on the floor - I bend down to inspect & lo & behold its dog pooh & I have stepped in it. Which of these dogs pooped in the house already??

It was  Mia ( the grey one) - she had the courtesy to poop on the door mat & since I was admiring the view

I was not looking down.  Yuck!  I took off the offending shoe, stomped upstairs, went outside to clean the shoe off, scolding Mia as I went.  I opened the front door, stepped outside I proceeded to whack the shoe against the step to knock some of the poop off.  I was not very successful, so I thought I best pull the door shut & not let the heat out.  I unsuccessfully whacked the shoe a few more time, while the dogs went exploring the front yard ( ok its tiny but there is a lot to sniff out).  I turned around to go back in... WHAAAAAAAAAAT???!!??  the door was locked tight.  Where we lived in Texas an unlocked door was unlocked until you locked it again, here in the Vaterland the house doors lock when you close them.  After an short episode of very unladylike language, I decided to walk around the house in hope that I had left a door or window open... I proceeded down the driveway...

Oh, did I mention that there was a nice, soft steady rain?  Do you see that green stuff on my driveway?  Well, it took only about 3 steps & I was flat on my back courtesy of wet moss.  Much more unladylike language followed!   After navigating down the rest of my driveway by grabbing onto the fence I was able to go around the house - not one way to get in was found.... So, I went to stand under the overhang of the securely locked front door with a wet, cold behind - it was about 8:30 am.  The landlady was supposed to come by around 11:00 a.m.  I had no cell phone, no jacket, knew no one.  At about 8:50 am this furniture truck goes by.... I hear lots of commotion up the hill, & I am relieved that it is not my truck, because I cannot get in.  The dogs are getting wetter, because they don't get the whole stand under the overhang thing.  Well, about 10 minutes later this man comes down the hill & tell me they are the furniture people but the truck is stuck in the mud.  Wow, its a good day all around.  He does have a cell ( called Handy here ( whaat?)) & my husband's number, so I call my husband & he comes 35 minutes later to let us in the house.  In the mean time they have gotten the truck out of the mud, & the delivery proceeds without a hitch.  Needless to say there is a key now securely hidden in case I pull another stunt like this.

I leave you with a picture of Erika,  she is expressing what I felt that day -

And this is what is happening outside right now - you can tell we are still excited about snow...

Thanks for the comments - they warm my heart on a cold, cold day.  Miss all of you.