The anount of rain we've had this last two/three weeks it's no wonder the river's flooded, swimming cossie rather than trainers and running gear would have been more use!
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Sunday Snaps 95
The anount of rain we've had this last two/three weeks it's no wonder the river's flooded, swimming cossie rather than trainers and running gear would have been more use!
Saturday, January 7, 2012
The calm after the storm
Today my house is guest-less for the second time in three weeks, but this time the calm is here to stay, no guests on the foreseeable horizon and we even wave Simon off for almost two weeks later today. So within 24 hours we'll have gone from six (+1*) to four (+1) to three (+1). The house will positively echo.
This Christmas break has been our most sociable since we moved here almost five years ago (June 7, 1997) we started on Christmas Eve meeting up at Lulus (where else?) with expat friends and their children for hot chocolate (laced with rum) and donuts. Christmas day and Boxing day were very English in that they were quiet family affairs, which confuses the Germans, who do their family Christmas bit on Christmas Eve evening and then seem to be out and about on the 25th, I had a friend last year (or rather the year before last, Christmas 2010) who turned up around 2pm to ask if she could take Logan for a walk, I think she was quite surprised not to be asked in but 2pm on the 25th? Peak panic chef time.
On the 27th we had an invitation to a friend's for afternoon cake which was lovely and could easily have become an alcoholic session but we had an evening appointment in Dortmund with the circus "FlicFlac". I don't think these guys tour outside of Germany (unlike Cirque de Soleil) but if you ever get the opportunity to see them then go and get the best seats you can, they are jaw droppingly amazing and have a great attitude, the whole thing is accompanied by a rock band and you're told at the beginning that you can take photos (but please no flash) and video as long as you then upload to YouTube/facebook etc.- got to admire that bit of shameless self promotion! The last but one act had seven motorbikes roaring around inside a metal sphere***, I had thought that this was the finale but as these guys exited the sphere and the ring we could hear and feel motorbikes beneath our seats and then suddenly a bike shot out of the exit/entrance stairwell just meters from our our seats, it soared into the air, over the top of the sphere and landed on a ramp at the far side of the ring almost behind the curtains, the roaring of bike continued as another one appeared and another but they didn't just ride their bikes through the air, oh no, that would have been too easy, the majority flew only holding onto the handlebars but the very last one? He and his bike somersaulted as they crossed the arena.
The next two days were quiet as we changed guests, swapping one lot of grandparents for another, then on Friday evening we were invited to a hot glühwein party at an American friend's. They (she's married to a German) called it "Feuerzangenbowle" and it starts off as glühwein in a bowl over a burner, to which a specially designed metal spoon is added across the bowl with a pyramid of sugar on it, this is doused thoroughly in rocket fuel/schnapps/xx% proof alcohol which is then lit, the molten sugar drips down through the holes in the spoon and whenever the flames seem to be dying down more alcohol is poured over until all of the sugar is gone.
Saturday evening was of course New Year's Eve, and we and 20 or so other adults (plus children) had dinner and drinks and the obligatory fireworks at Rebecca's. I think my mother in law was almost disappointed on New Year's day when I didn't have a hangover, shall have to try harder next year!
And that was our social festive season, my calendar is disturbingly barren with the exception of quiz night this coming week and then girlie breakfast the week after, January stretches emptily ahead, why do the 31 days of the first month always seem more like five weeks? Maybe it's the lateness of the sunrise and the earliness of the sunset or the dankness of the weather, either way January hasnot and never will be my favourite, I love February partly because it's so short but also because it's not January.
* the +1 being Logan, who although not strictly human** creates enough mess and demands that he has to be counted, and you certainly notice when he isn't in the house!
** the way he plays with the various children that come here I am never sure whether the children regress to animal or he advances to human.
*** it's usually eight, but the previous week one of them had got his timing slightly wrong and ended up in hospital, nothing broken, but clearly unfit to take part.
This Christmas break has been our most sociable since we moved here almost five years ago (June 7, 1997) we started on Christmas Eve meeting up at Lulus (where else?) with expat friends and their children for hot chocolate (laced with rum) and donuts. Christmas day and Boxing day were very English in that they were quiet family affairs, which confuses the Germans, who do their family Christmas bit on Christmas Eve evening and then seem to be out and about on the 25th, I had a friend last year (or rather the year before last, Christmas 2010) who turned up around 2pm to ask if she could take Logan for a walk, I think she was quite surprised not to be asked in but 2pm on the 25th? Peak panic chef time.
On the 27th we had an invitation to a friend's for afternoon cake which was lovely and could easily have become an alcoholic session but we had an evening appointment in Dortmund with the circus "FlicFlac". I don't think these guys tour outside of Germany (unlike Cirque de Soleil) but if you ever get the opportunity to see them then go and get the best seats you can, they are jaw droppingly amazing and have a great attitude, the whole thing is accompanied by a rock band and you're told at the beginning that you can take photos (but please no flash) and video as long as you then upload to YouTube/facebook etc.- got to admire that bit of shameless self promotion! The last but one act had seven motorbikes roaring around inside a metal sphere***, I had thought that this was the finale but as these guys exited the sphere and the ring we could hear and feel motorbikes beneath our seats and then suddenly a bike shot out of the exit/entrance stairwell just meters from our our seats, it soared into the air, over the top of the sphere and landed on a ramp at the far side of the ring almost behind the curtains, the roaring of bike continued as another one appeared and another but they didn't just ride their bikes through the air, oh no, that would have been too easy, the majority flew only holding onto the handlebars but the very last one? He and his bike somersaulted as they crossed the arena.
The next two days were quiet as we changed guests, swapping one lot of grandparents for another, then on Friday evening we were invited to a hot glühwein party at an American friend's. They (she's married to a German) called it "Feuerzangenbowle" and it starts off as glühwein in a bowl over a burner, to which a specially designed metal spoon is added across the bowl with a pyramid of sugar on it, this is doused thoroughly in rocket fuel/schnapps/xx% proof alcohol which is then lit, the molten sugar drips down through the holes in the spoon and whenever the flames seem to be dying down more alcohol is poured over until all of the sugar is gone.
Saturday evening was of course New Year's Eve, and we and 20 or so other adults (plus children) had dinner and drinks and the obligatory fireworks at Rebecca's. I think my mother in law was almost disappointed on New Year's day when I didn't have a hangover, shall have to try harder next year!
And that was our social festive season, my calendar is disturbingly barren with the exception of quiz night this coming week and then girlie breakfast the week after, January stretches emptily ahead, why do the 31 days of the first month always seem more like five weeks? Maybe it's the lateness of the sunrise and the earliness of the sunset or the dankness of the weather, either way January hasnot and never will be my favourite, I love February partly because it's so short but also because it's not January.
* the +1 being Logan, who although not strictly human** creates enough mess and demands that he has to be counted, and you certainly notice when he isn't in the house!
** the way he plays with the various children that come here I am never sure whether the children regress to animal or he advances to human.
*** it's usually eight, but the previous week one of them had got his timing slightly wrong and ended up in hospital, nothing broken, but clearly unfit to take part.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Look Back in Anger?
So 2011 is done and dusted and what did I achieve (different to any other year that is?)?
Zip.
I'm not cross about this lack, merely commenting on it. Every day when Si either calls from some far flung part of the world or arrives home just in time for dinner, he asks, with the regularity of a German's bowel movements;
"how was your day?"
To which I invariably reply; (unless I'm suffering from PMT that is, or have had to help with homework)
"Fine"
To which he responds;
"Anything to report?"
"Nuh."
When questioned about my daily activities I usually find that I have done nothing worth expending breath on. And so when you add 365 days of nothing of note together you get the grand sum of zero to report - funny how I manage to blog about nothing, and quite regularly too.
But I must have done something this last year? Surely...let's think*
January - Simon went to China, we had stupid amounts of snow hanging around until forever following the almighty dumping on Christmas Eve (it snowed all night and all day) we went to see Wicked (in German) shame I'd never seen The Wizard of Oz - that might have made up for what was lost in translation.
February - Simon went to Korea, I trekked over to Bochum to a lovely independent cinema to watch Colin Firth in The King's Speech (this was the only place showing it in NRW in original language)
March - Karneval in all its grimness was celebrated (or not as the case may be, I think we still had snow and so I refused to go and stand in the street to try and catch sweets being thrown from the floats) Julie had a great birthday party which involved large quantities of champagne, my brother flew in so that we could go and watch Kylie (who was amazing) my parents came for a visit and I joined the gym.
April - Simon's birthday, Ben and Simon went to England for the weekend to eat curry and go to the Gadget Show, Easter hols and we went to Center Parcs in France and it was unseasonably warm, we had a Royal Wedding party here which people still mention (that'll teach us to get ourselves in the press)
May - helped at the Music for Japan benefit by making mojitos for 5 hours, went to the Giacomo Variations in Recklinghausen starring John Malkovich (bonkers doesn't even start to cover it) there was the 1st 'formal' German party of the year which was surprisingly chilled and not at all what we'd expected, Jas had her 10th birthday and we took 10 little girls to Build a Bear (possibly the most successful children's birthday party we've ever hosted) the outlaws came for a visit, Ben had his 14th birthday, Jas had a vegetable festival at school (it was as dull as it sounds) had our 2nd formal German birthday party which was also quite chilled**, went to Solingen*** with Jas's choir to help with their competition entry.
June - 3 bank holidays, Ben went away with his class for 3 days, helped with Jas's choir production of the Pied Piper (little children, en masse, shudder)
July - Princie had an Independence Day party, Ben's class held an Abschlussfest (to mark the moving from the unterstufe to the mittelstufe) it was at a canoe club with the idea that they could play canoe polo or something, great idea for July, except the weather had other ideas, I went to Jas's class to show them a heart experiment (mental note to self - NEVER AGAIN), we celebrated Princie's 30th birthday, Simon went to Japan, Jas's class had their Abschlussfest to say goodbye to the year 4's, went to Spain for 10 days of proper summer.
August - returned from Spain on the 4th (in the very early hours of the am) and flew out to England on the 5th, celebrated sister in law's 40th birthday with a (not) surprise birthday lunch, visited my parents and my bf Alison, rioters were in all the news headlines****, Simon went to Australia, Jas started to do HipHop.
September - my parents came, our 3rd formal German party and again just food and drink and chatter - perfect, school started back, yet another party and still no presentation, went to see Cirque de Soleil with my parents, spent a Saturday morning going round a chemical plant.
October - my birthday, went to the Rocky Horror Show, Jas went to Langeoog for 6 days with her class, Si went away somewhere, halfterm holidays and we went to Rome for 5 days.
November - went to the Ideal Home Show with Emma and drank rather a lot of wine rather early in the morning, test drove the Mini Countryman, ordered a Mini Countryman, Logan developed a limp, the inlaws came to do the Christmas markets.
December - Jas's laternefest was survived without frostbite unlike the previous year, we had our Christmas Cocktail party, we went to the Corks for carols (another December tradition) went out for dinner to celebrate Rebecca's birthday, Emma had an open house, Si went to Japan, my parents came for Christmas, I collected my new, sparkly Mini, we went to see FlicFlac in Dortmund, the inlaws came for Sylester, Karen hosted a hot glühwein party and we saw in the New Year at the Warburton's along with 20 or so other adults and about the same number of children.
And that was my uneventful year.
Here's to 2012, I've made one resolution, to get the manuscript I've written fit for sending to literary agents...I shall have to do it now that I've put it into black and white.
* run to diary and flick through pages.
** no Powerpoint presentation or slide show or games or skits, in fact no formal entertainment at all, just good food, an open bar, great music to dance and people to chat to.
*** had to sit on a damp, sweaty coach next to a snotty kid for an hour there and an hour back - grim.
**** I swear it was just coincidence that we went back to Enlgand and that very weekend the riots kicked off.
Zip.
I'm not cross about this lack, merely commenting on it. Every day when Si either calls from some far flung part of the world or arrives home just in time for dinner, he asks, with the regularity of a German's bowel movements;
"how was your day?"
To which I invariably reply; (unless I'm suffering from PMT that is, or have had to help with homework)
"Fine"
To which he responds;
"Anything to report?"
"Nuh."
When questioned about my daily activities I usually find that I have done nothing worth expending breath on. And so when you add 365 days of nothing of note together you get the grand sum of zero to report - funny how I manage to blog about nothing, and quite regularly too.
But I must have done something this last year? Surely...let's think*
January - Simon went to China, we had stupid amounts of snow hanging around until forever following the almighty dumping on Christmas Eve (it snowed all night and all day) we went to see Wicked (in German) shame I'd never seen The Wizard of Oz - that might have made up for what was lost in translation.
February - Simon went to Korea, I trekked over to Bochum to a lovely independent cinema to watch Colin Firth in The King's Speech (this was the only place showing it in NRW in original language)
March - Karneval in all its grimness was celebrated (or not as the case may be, I think we still had snow and so I refused to go and stand in the street to try and catch sweets being thrown from the floats) Julie had a great birthday party which involved large quantities of champagne, my brother flew in so that we could go and watch Kylie (who was amazing) my parents came for a visit and I joined the gym.
April - Simon's birthday, Ben and Simon went to England for the weekend to eat curry and go to the Gadget Show, Easter hols and we went to Center Parcs in France and it was unseasonably warm, we had a Royal Wedding party here which people still mention (that'll teach us to get ourselves in the press)
May - helped at the Music for Japan benefit by making mojitos for 5 hours, went to the Giacomo Variations in Recklinghausen starring John Malkovich (bonkers doesn't even start to cover it) there was the 1st 'formal' German party of the year which was surprisingly chilled and not at all what we'd expected, Jas had her 10th birthday and we took 10 little girls to Build a Bear (possibly the most successful children's birthday party we've ever hosted) the outlaws came for a visit, Ben had his 14th birthday, Jas had a vegetable festival at school (it was as dull as it sounds) had our 2nd formal German birthday party which was also quite chilled**, went to Solingen*** with Jas's choir to help with their competition entry.
June - 3 bank holidays, Ben went away with his class for 3 days, helped with Jas's choir production of the Pied Piper (little children, en masse, shudder)
July - Princie had an Independence Day party, Ben's class held an Abschlussfest (to mark the moving from the unterstufe to the mittelstufe) it was at a canoe club with the idea that they could play canoe polo or something, great idea for July, except the weather had other ideas, I went to Jas's class to show them a heart experiment (mental note to self - NEVER AGAIN), we celebrated Princie's 30th birthday, Simon went to Japan, Jas's class had their Abschlussfest to say goodbye to the year 4's, went to Spain for 10 days of proper summer.
August - returned from Spain on the 4th (in the very early hours of the am) and flew out to England on the 5th, celebrated sister in law's 40th birthday with a (not) surprise birthday lunch, visited my parents and my bf Alison, rioters were in all the news headlines****, Simon went to Australia, Jas started to do HipHop.
September - my parents came, our 3rd formal German party and again just food and drink and chatter - perfect, school started back, yet another party and still no presentation, went to see Cirque de Soleil with my parents, spent a Saturday morning going round a chemical plant.
October - my birthday, went to the Rocky Horror Show, Jas went to Langeoog for 6 days with her class, Si went away somewhere, halfterm holidays and we went to Rome for 5 days.
November - went to the Ideal Home Show with Emma and drank rather a lot of wine rather early in the morning, test drove the Mini Countryman, ordered a Mini Countryman, Logan developed a limp, the inlaws came to do the Christmas markets.
December - Jas's laternefest was survived without frostbite unlike the previous year, we had our Christmas Cocktail party, we went to the Corks for carols (another December tradition) went out for dinner to celebrate Rebecca's birthday, Emma had an open house, Si went to Japan, my parents came for Christmas, I collected my new, sparkly Mini, we went to see FlicFlac in Dortmund, the inlaws came for Sylester, Karen hosted a hot glühwein party and we saw in the New Year at the Warburton's along with 20 or so other adults and about the same number of children.
And that was my uneventful year.
Here's to 2012, I've made one resolution, to get the manuscript I've written fit for sending to literary agents...I shall have to do it now that I've put it into black and white.
* run to diary and flick through pages.
** no Powerpoint presentation or slide show or games or skits, in fact no formal entertainment at all, just good food, an open bar, great music to dance and people to chat to.
*** had to sit on a damp, sweaty coach next to a snotty kid for an hour there and an hour back - grim.
**** I swear it was just coincidence that we went back to Enlgand and that very weekend the riots kicked off.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Sunday Snaps 94
Jas's very late breakfast on New Year's day (after a very late night), ketchup with scrambled eggs on the side.
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