Kitty's Christmas

This will be a photo essay on Kitty's Christmas Eve.  All the paper got thrown into a corner and of course she had to explore it.


 Lucas kindly offered to help her open her present.

Two cans of tuna fish!  Just for her!  But unopened cans don't mean much....

But once Lucas opened them, she got the idea.

Can't you move a bit faster?

Gooooooood stuff.....

Chomp, chomp, chomp

It's .... it's empy!  How did that happen?

MORE!!! And NOW!!!

And afterwards she went to one of her boxes or baskets and slept the sleep of the well-stuffed.

Susan

Christmas Gift!

Christmas is celebrated here in Germany on Christmas Eve, and we had a lovely one. 

Norbert and Lucas both got coffee mugs from Borussia Mönchengladbach:

Overall, we did pretty well gift-wise:

My loot:

 Lucas' loot:

me, in my new sweater vest and hand-loomed scarf:

Eventually, of course, one must eat.  It has become our tradition to make a small buffet on Christmas Eve:

The menu was shrimps with hot cocktail sauce (and it did turn out QUITE hot this year); sauteed chicken filets; deviled eggs; sliced cantaloupe; cheese and crackers; chips and dip.

Some members of the family were thinking, Cool it with the photos and let us eat!

 And afterwards:

All in all, a lovely evening.  Kitty wasn't forgotten, but she gets her own blog later...

Susan

Merry Christmas

HI all,

Have lots of neat photos to post from Christmas, but something seems to be wrong today.  The blog software isn't cooperating at all.

Will try again tomorrow.

Susan

Real life is what happens....

Real life is what actually happens while we are busy making plans, the late great John Lennon allegedly said.   Our life was nice and quiet and perhaps even slightly boring (in a good way)  and somehow you just don't expect things to change.

The first step was my skin problems.  They got to the point of bothersomenesss and now I am facing therapy three times a week for the next three months.  It is light and bath therapy, so nothing painful, but still.....

Then, proving that we are indeed getting older, Norbert started having trouble with his right shoulder.  He was at the orthopedist today, and it is the rotator cuff.  Not a lot they can do about it, except pain pills and therapy and hope.  He hasn't scheduled any therapy yet.

So , both of us in therapy in 2012 .. no, not THAT kind of therapy!  Although there are no doubt those who say we need it....

The third one in the bunch is doing his part to complicate our life, too.  Lucas is simply not the school-type.  He is not dumb, but somehow doesn't cope well in the school environment.  He has the equivalent of a high-school diploma, and was trying another school for training in languages and business. He has put an end to that now and will start n the trying process of job-hunting.  Of course we ae standing behind him all the way and will do what we can to help.

The Christmas shopping is all finished, except for one or two supermarket runs.  Today's major purchase was a package of mini-Santa hats.  (Actually they are egg-warmers!)

One sort of fit on Kitty, but she doesn't look too thrilled.....

And here is the Christmas Prairie Dog, or as we call him here, the Weihnachts Fiep!  (Fiep is the German word for chirp, which is sort of the noise they make.)  I so fell in love with the Fieps in South Dakota last summer that Norbert bought me one:

And remember my saying one of the stores already had Easter things out?  I have figured out how to combine holidays:

So things are really going on here, but at the same time we are working on retaining our serenity and keeping the stress down.  A sense of humour helps a lot!

Susan

Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Bowls

Personally, I blame my friend Carleen for this!  She is the one who sent me the link and said she looked forward to seeing it on my blog.  So how could I resist? Carleen, have I told you lately that I love you?  Thank you thank you thank you!

Well, with a name like Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Bowls, I couldn't possibly resist them, could I?

First you make a very stiff chocolate chip cookie dough. Thank heavens for the KitchenAid!

Then you cut out 4-inch rounds and drape them over the bottom of a well-greased muffin pan.

After a visit to the oven, they look like this:

When they have cooled a bit, they come loose surprisingly easy.  And this is how they look while waiting to go into action.

So here are the chocolate chip cookie bowls doing their duty!  Norbert chose to have just straciatella ice cream in his:

I went all out with chocolate ice cream, chocolate sauce, whipped cream and sprinkles:

And here they are again in all their glory:

Is that great looking or what?  And not just for ice cream:  pudding, mousse, chopped strawberries with whipped cream, and so on......

There was other food stuff today, too.  Fresh broccoli was on sale really cheap (like 49 cents a head) so I bought two, and blanched most of it, then froze it.  The rest was for dinner tonight.

Dinner was the broccoli individual potato gratins, and chicken filets with Hot & Spicy seasoning.  Excellent!

Enough for today, now need to digest it all.....

Susan

Oh Tannenbaum oh tannenbaum

The Christmas tree is up!  We went back and forth for a long time about cutting one, buying a live one, buying a new artificial one, or using the old artificial one.  Lethargy won, and we used the old one.  But for the last time, I think!

Norbert and Lucas put the tree up and Lucas had the “pleasure” of putting the lights on.  Always so nice to see the men working:

Leander was here too and had an important role to play:

We have some special ornaments.  Like the “Our First Christmas Together 1990” ornament.  (How can it POSSIBLY be that long ago?????)

And the leather buffalo from the Black Hills of South Dakota:

And the wooden cut-out of Kentucky, which we bought at the state park resort near Land Between the Lakes:

An oversized elf came by and put out the presents.

And there it is in all its glory!

Another week to go...... think we can keep Kitty away from it all until then?

Susan

Go with the flow

Life is interesting these days. You never know what will happen next, and just go with the flow.....

Had a real shock yesterday when the doorbell rang at 7:15.  Couldn't think who on earth it might be at that hour.  Turned out to be Leander, a friend of Lucas' who lives around the corner.  He had just left the house to go to school, forgetting to take his key of course, when he got a phone call that his morning classes were cancelled.  No one was at home, and the weather was too bad to stay outside, so he came to us.

I must add that we have known him and his family since the boy were not quite 2 years old, and they have been good friends the whole time.  Egad, 17 years??  Plus Lucas was home for the day to go to the doctor because his cough won't go away.  So we had company all morning.

I finished wrapping all the Christmas packages, even the books from Amazon for me.  Lucas picked one to be his present to me.   Put all the packages in a laundry basket in the living room.  Supposed to be a small Christmas but it looks like a lot!

Then I was totally crushed when I went shopping.  One of the local stores had only a few Christmas things left, all 50 percent off.  And they were unpacking the Easter things.  Easter.  In mid-December......

Today's outfit is black slacks, new dark rose ¾ sleeve t-shirt and turquoise knit vest.  Like the colours together, but still am undecided on the ¾ sleeve/short sleeve vest combination.

What have we been eating lately?  Cornmeal crust catfish, that was good.  Homemade hamburgers last night, also good.  So much better than those hockey-puck type “burgers”.  Tonight is just Norbert and me, and I haven't decided yet.  Will have to bake again tomorrow, and haven't decided what yet for that, either.

My scalp seems to be calming down, and I think the dandruff is getting better. Maybe I just hope the latter...... I think it is a combination of finding some good shampoo and creams, and relaxation/stress reduction.  I envision myself becoming a really laid-back hippie type, always going “cooool, man.......”  LOL

I ended up having Monday through Wednesday off work this week, so back to the coal mines today.  A quick peek at my bank account can be very motivating!

Susan

Cooking, shopping and skin

Horrified all day by the news coming out of Liege.  How can people do such things?

Took advantage of another day off to do some freezer cooking.  Got two broccoli gratin, 6 baguettes with garlic butter, 1 Tuna Stroganoff and 3 small tuna casseroles (for lunch) in the freezer.  One Tuna Stroganoff ended up as dinner.

The bad news is that there seems to be no more cream of mushroom soup available in Germany!  I checked three different grocery stores.  Norbert and I came up with a cream sauce which was not only an adequate substitute but actually had a much better flavour.  Trouble is, it took forever.  Will give it another try tomorrow.

Had a bit more luck with other shopping.  Found five pieces for myself at Vogele, a clothing store.  Two long-sleeve t-shirts, one thistle pink and one steel blue.  A turquoise pullover.  An oatmeal coloured knitted vest and scarf to go with it, not only brown but with shades of pink too. The vest and scarf wil end up as Christmas presents to me, I suspect.

Also bought some things for Norbert and I am now 99 percent done with my Christmas shopping.  There is less every year.

I wrapped about half of the presents, will do the rest tomorrow.  Gathered the presents that have come in the mail.

On the skin front, everything is getting better except the scalp. It will do better for a few days then relapse.  I think I am trying too many different products. I will use one and stick with it for a week and see how it works,then change if necessary. 

I was near the skin doctor's office yesterday, so I stopped in to ask what I should do/bring/wear for my bath and light therapy.  Two towels, bathing suit, sandals.  Argh!  I dug my two ancient bathing suits out.  I don't think I have worn them in three or four years!  Trying to motivate myself to try them on.......

The weather is truly awful.  Heavy wind, heavy rain.  Temperatures are ok, not cold thank goodness.  They keep saying it will get better but it never does, funny how that works!

Susan

Frau Kitty Westemeyer

We have received two Christmas cards so far – one to us and one to Frau Kitty Westemeyer!

It didn't impress her very much

and she decided to curl up with her best friend.

Is that happiness or what?

Norbert made pizza for dinner last night.  And when he makes pizza, he does it up right, making the dough for the crust and chopping up the tomatoes for a fresh sauce.  DELICIOUS!  And a little fresh basil to top it off.

Brunch this morning was scrambled eggs wrapped up in croissants.  Not only yummy and a bit different but very easy, too!

I decided to give my sewing machine one more chance today, and would you believe it, it behaved itself!  I would love to have a new one, but why spend all that money if I don't have to, right?

The sun is shining and it looks like a lovely third Advent Sunday.  Perhaps we ought to start thinking about a Christmas tree and buying presents and that sort of thing......

Susan

Sewing Machine Woes

A short update to let you all know I am still alive and kicking!

Nothing much has been happening lately although we had a day of pretty nasty weather.

Found a great looking recipe to try out:  put a bunch of chopped up garlic and onion in the bottom of a crockpot, add chicken pieces, and then pour in white wine.  Cook.  Does that sound outstanding or what?

Had some time before work Friday morning so I thought I would finally get back to doing a bit of patchwork and crafting and having fun again.   Ha!  My sewing machine would sew right for two minutes and then ..... not!  I ended up throwing away what I was trying to make.  And didn't know whether to burst into tears over my stupid old sewing machine or curse at it!

Will give it another try but am seriously thinking about a new one.  The main problem is that I have no idea where to find one!  Not a lot of such stores around here...... And I really don't want to buy one online without actually seeing it.

Norbert is making pizza again tonight!  Yum!

Susan

Ordinary Days

Not much to report at the moment.  I was supposed to be off work today, but decided it would be better if I worked.  Turns out to have been a good idea, as there was a lot to write.  (seems like the more I write for work, the less I write here!)

My idea for today had been to go shopping in the nearby “big” (ok, middle-sized) city.  Good thing that plan changed, the weather has –shall we say – not been conducive to outside activities.

Today's outfit is gray leggings, light pink shirt and long deep-rose vest.  Long, because as we all know, leggings are NOT pants and we don't want to see anyone's legging-covered bottom.  At least I sure don't!

Tossed a navy knit vest yesterday. It was not quite waist-length, which is really just too short for me. 

If I keep tossing things, then I will HAVE to go clothes shopping again, right?

I also tossed virtually all of my makeup.  It doesn't last forever and I know that I have had some of it nearly that long.  I wear virtually none these days (looking out for my skin) but a bit of colour on the eyes and lips is actually a pretty good idea.

Like I said, nothing in particular going on.  But wanted to jot down a few words anyway.

Susan

Winter has arrived!

Unfortunately.  Frankly, who invited it?  I sure didn't.  The first snowflakes in Nordrhein-Westfalia were reported today, not in our little corner, luckily.  But the whole day has been alternating (or sometimes simultaneously) blinding sunshine and pitch-black clouds.  And then there is now and then some wet stuff......

A day off, hooray.  Put on my good brown slacks and a white turtleneck, and realized I had nothing else to go with them.  I eventually decided these are just clothes and not an outfit.  Trade the slacks for black tweeds, added a teal vest/cardigan, and wow! An outfit.  I felt better immediately.

This turtleneck looks ok, unlike the gray one a few days ago.  It is because the neck is not so tight.  A cowl neck would be ideal, but of course I haven't got any.  Do they even still make them?

One of the local stores had an ad for the most gorgeous pastel sweaters.  But 109-129 Euros is just a tad expensive for me......

I was thrilled to see that the skin outbreaks on most of my body are clearing up and going away.  Yeah!  I know they will eventually come back (you never get rid of this crap entirely) but hopefully I will be able to keep them under control.

Just my scalp continues to make problems.  I am now trying something called Melkfett, which is sort of a Vaseline-type cream.  Of course, researching it, I find people saying Vaseline/Melkfett is the absolute best, while others say you should absolutely never use it......

That is one thing about this psoriasis and the related skin problems.  Everyone has their own diagnosis and solution.  But what works for one may have no effect on someone else.  Guess I will have to try this, that and the other and muddle my way through until I find something that works for me.

Kitty is curled up in a tight little ball, sound asleep.  On my throw pillow, on my place on the sofa......

Susan

Advent Gathering

Norbert's sister and her husband, and their daughter and her husband came over today for a Advents Coffee.  Which is why I have been baking so much this week!

Here is how it all came together.

The Gingerbread cupcakes got a topping of Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting and a mini-Gingerbread Boy.  Cute!

The Devil's Food Cupcakes turned out to be a family project.  Here are decorations awaiting their cue.

I baked the cupcakes, Norbert made the frosting and Lucas frosted them.

And decorated them!

How does that look?

Then the table was set.

A plateful of cupcakes!

And the apple cake.

I have a very talented husband. He told me I taught him not to be afraid of women or working with yeast!  :-)

He turned his talents to making a Hefezopf last night.  That is a filled yeast dough, made into a braid.  (I actually did the braiding for him.)

And the proud baker presenting his wares:

A good time was had by all!

Today was a special day for another reason – it is Kitty's “birthday”.  Seven years ago today we brought her home from the animal shelter to join our family.  Who is luckier, she or we?

Here she celebrates with her very favourite person.

Happy Advent and Happy Kitty Day to one and all!

Susan