31.12.2009 von admin.

…. is always a challenge for a morning person like myself. Around 10 pm the sleep-elf stomps on my shoulder, pulls the eyelids down with immense powers and listening to a snoring dog next to you gives me the rest. Why on earth do we combine champagne and ringing in the coming year at midnight? I would prefer celebrating this at a more normal time of day, maybe I start celebrating other time-zones New Year’s Eve… it would also give it a more international touch..

Of course the menu is set for today and has been for the past days. I couldn’t even get out of bed before the discussions around the gravy started and continued with tomorrows food-intake and the snacks to go with it. There must be a hobby I could take up as passionately as food??? Tomorrow I will figure that one out…

Twenty-ten will be a good year, with or without resolutions and the new year will begin with or without me ringing it in.

Happy celebrations and a good start to you all!

So long -2010 to come

/S

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29.12.2009 von admin.

…. is in this household an excuse to eat. Since beginning of December (yes around here we start early), the fridge has been full with all the things not containing low-fat or healthy stamped on them. We have also extended the fridge to the veranda as the space is much larger then the fridge and has the same temperature. Joyful, joyful! Chocolate candy, cakes, creamy sauces and roast this and that has been the main events around the kitchen table the past month. Just before breakfast the agenda has been to discuss what should be main course, evening snack and desserts throughout the day… sad, yummy but true. At least I realized what my New Years resolution will be, starting the 1st January after I tried my jeans on this morning… Recently started “Eat pray love” by Elisabeth Gilbert, and I am still on the chapter “Eat”… figures…

Better get done with that chapter, moving in to more spiritual grounds until the 1st of January. Need the higher power to keep me away from the chocolate temptation.

So long - I am stuffed

/S

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27.12.2009 von admin.

…. The past days it has been raining and the snow is gone in the lower parts of Techelsberg and the water is now in our cellar. The condensation water from the hill behind the house found its path through the basement…again. Instead of using the ditch next to the road, the direct route under our house was preferred. Unfortunately this means coming through the floor. Hurray! It’s like an ants path, no way to fool nature to take take a different root…at least not long term.. Anyway, the water pump is working hard downstairs and the laundry room floor had its Christmas wash.

Same procedure as last year James….

New Years Eve is coming up, and just in a few days it will be 2010…wow…another year and new resolutions.  New challenges ahead and getting older. Still won’t admit I am over 30 and I guess this will reamain next year as well. Some things shouldn’t change, especially if they work..

It’s almost 10 years since I fell in love with Carinthia, visiting Villach and the surrounding area for the first time. Despite my wish back then, to live here, I couldn’t imagine me being here 10 years later. We are lucky when our dreams come true, at least we can influence the direction if we are persistent enough and some where down the line we can be content with the result. Not all dreams come true and I believe in that there is a reason for everything. For some dreams, de-tours are necessary to finally reach the goal and some dreams will remain dreams.

So long - no messing with nature

/S

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25.12.2009 von admin.

…. as Santa would  say…

So what is really a traditional Christmas celebration? Is there a global tradition or are we individually following our own traditions. By inventing Father Christmas or Santa we gave Christmas a face, he has a great white beard, has elves working for him and lives in the North Pole.

Most English speaking countries the day following Christmas day is called Boxing Day because of a custom starting 800 years ago. Churches would open their `alms boxe´(boxes in which people had placed gifts of money) and was distributed to the poor people the day after Christmas. This tradition is followed even today.  

In Finland Christmas starts with Christmas Eve, where where everyone gathers at 5:00pm at the cemetery to pay a visit to his or her deceased loved ones. The visitors place candles on the graves and a service takes place. While this may not seem like a very happy way to start Christmas, later on, Father Christmas visits the homes , asks the children if they’ve been good and gives gifts. For the Swedes the world stops functioning at 3 pm, everybody gathers in-front of the telly and watches Donald Duck. Almost the same episodes shown every year…

Since before 400 AD, Christians have celebrated the birth of Jesus. Maria and Joseph travelled from their home in Nazareth to Bethlehem to register their names with the ruling Roman Government . There was no room at the hotel, so they stayed in the stables where Jesus was born that night.  After Jesus was born, wise men came to look for him. They had seen an unusual new star in the sky and knew that it told of the birth of a special king. They followed the direction of the star and found the place where Mary, Joseph and Jesus were staying.   Even though we refer to them as the three Kings, this is nowhere stated in the Bible, but we most probably conclude this as Jesus was brought three gifts. These gifts tell us three key things about Jesus:

Gold: a gift fit for a King

Frankincense: burnt in worship of God

Myrrh: a sign of mortal human-ness - it was used to bury the dead

If we ask most children today, or even adults, the real reason celebrating Christmas is not known and often connected with Father Christmas or any other commercial event…

The rain has washed away most snow and the winter landscape from the other day is long gone. Good food can however brighten up the day and the fire place in the kitchen keeps the cold away.

Merry Christmas to you…

Let this be the time of year to be with your family, enjoy and don’t fall for the Christmas stress created by commercializing this originally peaceful holiday.

So long - stay safe

/S

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19.12.2009 von admin.

….. the snow shoveling elves have gone missing!!! I actually thought I had outsourced this part… As soon as you need them they are gone…

I am glad I am not travelling by car today as the streets of Carinthia are not safe, considering the fact that a lot of snow came down and it’s still snowing. Some optimistic people are actually out there with their summer tires on…hurray! Sometimes stupidity is punished..

The fire place has finally found its way into the kitchen and I have hopes defrosting before year end and start 2010 feeling my feet again.

Last week we made a trip to Munich, visiting friends, enjoying the Christmas markets and had some lethal Feuerzangenbowle, which should be classified as dangerous and only served for medical purposes and with a fire  extinguisher within reach.

Fire-tongs punch is a traditional drink of the Studentenverbindung fraternities who in the 19th century also called it Krambambuli as the red colour is reminiscent of an eponymous cherry liqueur from Danzig. Feuerzangenbowle is prepared in a bowl, similar to a fondue set, which usually is suspended over a small burner. The bowl is filled with heated dry red wine spiced with cinnamon sticks, cloves and orange peel, similar to mulled wine. The Feuerzange, originally indeed tongs, nowadays is a special kind of grater to hold the Zuckerhut (sugarloaf), a conical lump of sugar around seven inches long, mounted on top of the bowl. The sugar is soaked with rum and set alight, melting and caramelizing. The rum should have at least 54% alcohol per volume in order to burn properly. More rum is poured with a ladle until all the sugar has melted and mixed with the wine. The resulting punch is served in mugs while the burner keeps the bowl warm…. as I say - there should be a big warning sign on this stuff…

So - I better find those elves, as the pavement needs to be cleared…

So long - get those winter tires on!!!

/S

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5.12.2009 von admin.

…no read..

Creativity has been playing hide and seek for the past weeks. Mostly due to my painful foot restricting me from getting past the property and inhaling new exciting things. There will be a change…I can feel it…

Actually been to Villach today. This caused by the unwillingness of a booking agency for major company providing railway services, to book the ticket the way I wanted. So, I decided to sort it out, if necessary threaten the sales office, but it turned out better then expected. I got the ticket, just the way I wanted, but of course 10 € more expensive as I hadn’t booked it online. I didn’t want to start the argument again, why the ticket couldn’t be booked over the Internet. I also realized that the guy opposite me couldn’t sort it out, nor understand the frustration I feel when companies don’t understand,  providing services making it easy to work with them. Sometimes I wonder if some company values and missions include the sentence: Confuse the customer at any price!

Last weekend it was the 1st of Advent and a traditional Glühwein was enjoyed at the Veldener Christmas market and this was the first time I experienced Krampus.  Krampus is a demon-like creature accompanying Saint Nicholas, and the first two weeks of December a lot of young men dress up, scaring the shit of children and women with rusty chains and bells. Saint Nicholas give gifts to the good children and Krampus warns and punishes the bad. I must say, I will keep my children far away from this Krampus guy, as it gave me the creeps and I am a wise woman in her mid 30’s. However, the art of the masks and the tradition is to be respected.

On Monday I will be going to Graz for a day-trip and I hope I will have a chance to see some of the city. Last year around this time, I had a great weekend in Vienna, visiting the Christmas market and attending a wedding party. This year, it will be Graz and Munich at the end of the week.

Snow has come and gone. Yesterday, I hurried out to be able to shovel some snow at least, before it disappeared. This afternoon, it was almost all gone. Dog Elfe is rather happy about that fact, as he has never understood the purpose of getting his paws wet. He sneaks along the side of the house, where the roof protects him from getting wet and this results in that some of our walks can look rather funny….. taking a walk around the house..literally…

Got to go -

So long - stay tuned

/S

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