Life’s not all Fun and Games, but it could be

If life were like this past weekend, it would be pretty close to grand. I still haven’t been to the hairdresser, we did not see “Harry Potter” and the hardware store remains unvisited. But the boys and I had a great Saturday morning breakfast walk with Anke and Daisy. We purposely walked a different way, intending to hook back up to our usual road a bit further down in the woods, but accidentally missed our turn and instead took a longer walk altogether. The dogs certainly didn’t mind.

Saturday morning I was treated to omeletts for breakfast, and yesterday we had French toast. The new grill got plenty of action, as well. Mark christened the new rotisserie spit by cooking up a whole chicken. Last night, it ended up clearing up just in time and just enough to enjoy dinner on the patio.

Between washing dishes, doing some laundry, cleaning the guinea pigs and doing some shopping, I had plenty of time to go nuts in Vampire Wars, too.

So no, life’s not all fun and games, but when it gets this close, it feels pretty damn near perfect.

Winter Came

Winter came on quiet feet last night. It snowed in my Inbox before it really started snowing outside. But then I listened to Sarah Brightman’s “Winter Symphony” in the car, snowflakes caught in the headlights all the way past Ludwigsburg, and it was near perfection. Tonight,  a couple of lovely Bratäpfel  will be just the thing against the cold.

A Romanian Get-Together

I don’t cook for myself, but I do enjoy cooking for company. That, and my love for foreign foods, was the inspiration for the little dinner party at my house tomorrow. Four of my friends are joining me for sarmale (can we all say, cabbage really smells BAD in the fridge) and mamaliga (the cheesy variety, I absolutely loved it in Sibiu) with, of course, sour cream and a salad. If you think that this doesn’t sound too bad, after all, it’s all veggie goodness, wait for dessert: fresh-baked budinca with apples and vanilla icecream!

Considering all the work that goes into cleaning up after a party like this, it might seem odd, but I’m really getting excited about tomorrow!! I’m sure Louie would be, too, if he could actually understand me when I tell him that there’ll be a gaggle of ladies there who’s going to go nuts petting the little guy.

And to all of you, a wonderful weekend!

Little Food Diary

Oh, you don’t really believe I’m going to confess all my dietary sins to you right now, do you? No, no… the biggest is probably that I’m not eating breakfast at the moment. I simply don’t have time. Then, by the time I get to work, I’m hungry. Of course, then there’s only junk food. So, the logical conclusion is that I will have to start depositing something here. I’m thinking Slim Fast. I need my chocolate fix! But today, I savored a Twix bar, something I haven’t done in a very long time. And it was delicious! I just LOVE that caramel-chocolate-cookie mix… yum.

Since honestly, I’m too lazy to make coffee for just me in the morning, I bought some instant replacement coffee (grain, so no caffeine) at the Bio-Store, and while Claudia sips her tea, I have my fake coffee. Works pretty well, actually. It smells and looks the same, and when it gets cold, it’s just as nasty as cold coffee.

For dinner last night, I had some frozen couscous with veggies, which I really like, as well. Best thing is, one bag (hey, we’re in Germany here, everything comes in bags) is enough for two meals. To stick with the oriental theme, we’re going to the German Kantine for lunch; it’s falafel day!

So, while I’m not necessarily eating badly, the bulk of my food intake has shifted to later in the day, which I’m noticing is having a bad effect. Perhaps once I’m back in my pad, I will dust off those running shoes, after all…

Comfort Food

Last night, we got soaked in the woods. I had calculated correctly that the rain, which had started before I even left work, would keep casual strollers and pretty much anyone but the die hard dog walker indoors, but I had not counted on it turning into a waterfall that forced us to cut our walk short and drenched me even through the rain-resistent jacket (ah, there we learn the fine difference between rain-resistent and rain-proof). The perfect conclusion to the day’s events would have been a cup of hot chocolate, had it not been so warm outside.

This morning, the rain continued. I caught myself lying in bed just before the alarm went off, thinking “oh, not again” as the drops splattered against the windows. Ironically, it let up for the few minutes it took us to drive out to our walking area, just to flatten down my hair for the second in time in less than 24 hours right after we had started out.

And now here I sit. When I turn around, I can just see through K.’s window. All I see is grey, and the limbs of a tree swaying in the wind. No doubt the car and I will have a nice slide home over the lakelike autobahn. All I can think of is, half an hour until lunch. I need my coconut-banana-chocolate crepe! It’s not even mid-August, and a couple of days ago, I enjoyed icecream outside with C. and her mother. Now, my body is beginning to think it’s suddenly fall and craving comfort food.

The amazing thing is, if the weekend turns out like this, I may not even mind. I can’t think of many things that are more enjoyable than laying around with the cuddle zoo, reading or watching tv, thick socks on my feet, candles burning, Max’s big head in my lap like he was last night. Weather like this makes me crave rest and quiet.

I am so looking forward to that crepe!!!

Crêpes with a Smile

There is a crêpe stand inside the famila-center where Claudia and I sometimes go to lunch. Although there is a Korean waving kitty sitting in the shelf with the clean glasses, the stand is run by Pakistanis (we’ve asked). I see the same people there all the time, and so whenever I walk by, I say hello, and when I eat there, they say “how are you, madame?” and bring me my usual, “small number six”, which is a freshly made mix of juices. Claudia likes to pick on them for not serving chai, but I’m more for coffee in the afternoon, anyway, so I was disappointed that their coffee machine is currently out of service.

Not to worry, however, the solution was simple: “Just leave your things here, get yourself a coffee from the bakery, and then sit here and drink it.” And that’s what I did.