the Great White North is calling my name

Our flight leaves at 11 a.m. tomorrow morning. Am I excited? Well, exhausted is more like it. I hate, hate, hate packing. But I am really looking forward to seeing my Canadian family again and meeting my three-year-old niece in person for the first time. Super duper family reunion planned. It's going to be a zoo. Good stuff.

I'll be back as soon as the jet lag wears off.

old as dirt

I turned 47 today and you can bet I was feeling pretty darn old when I woke up in our guest room this morning after only 5 hours of sleep. You see, our waterbed mattress decided to spring a leak at about 10:45 p.m. last night. Luckily we weren't in bed at the time. I'm sure you would have enjoyed the frantic scrambling to pump 800 litres of ancient waterbed water out of the mattress, over the balcony and onto the lawn. So much fun. A new mattress has been ordered and in a mere ten days(!) we will once again be enjoying a super waveless slumber. Until then we're making do with the crappy old sofa bed aka Instrument of Torture that we've been meaning to replace for ages. I apologize to all guests who have had to sleep on that thing.

Anway, it turned out to be a good day after all. How could you not smile after being greeted by this




or this


lily-of-the-valley (Maiglöckchen) - my birthday flower and also one of my absolute favourites


or this


salad bouquet from our funny neighbour who never forgets our birthdays



My sweet boys gave me this pretty planter with a gorgeous hydrangea in it.


Don't be fooled - that tea cup is as big as your head!



And of course there was cake!



lemon roll



apricot cranberry cake




chocolate pound cake


(There was also Chinese take-out but I'm sure you don't want to see pictures of that. It got kind of messy.)

here, you can finish off this chocolate bunny, I'm going to need something stronger

I'm thinking of re-naming this blog. Downward Spiral or So What's Wrong with You This Week? come to mind.

Remember last spring when I was really happy to discover that the "digestive issues" I'd been having after my operation would go away by themselves? Well, they did, and I was doing just fine. Up until late February of this year, that is, when it all came back with a vengeance. Off to the gastroenterologist for another colonoscopy. Yippee. The diagnosis I got a week ago last Friday was not very encouraging. Dr. S now thinks that since this is the second time this has happened that it's very likely to be a chronic problem - mild ulcerative colitis, to be exact. Ugh.

Along with Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis is a form of IBD - inflammatory bowel disease, not to be confused with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) which can be annoying but is not generally a serious condition. UC is not much fun at all. Go look it up if you're not the squeamish type. It's not caused by diet, stress or emotional issues, although all those can worsen the symptoms. Despite an official consensus, UC is generally considered to be an autoimmune condition in the same category as type 1 diabetes, lupus, rheumatid arthritis, psoriasis, MS, thyroid disease etc. If you already have one autoimmune condition, your chances of getting another one are increased. I've had autoimmune thyroid disease for over 40 years so I guess it's not suprising that my immune system has now decided to attack somewhere else.

Anyway, for the next 8 weeks I'm taking Mesalazine, the standard anti-inflammatory medication which comes with its own set of side effects. Twice a day I'm choking down these little granules that look (and probably taste) just like the sand you spread in the bottom of a bird cage. Apparently the granular 'micro pellet' form is very effective because it bypasses the stomach and goes straight to where the problem is. So far I have seen an improvement. I don't exactly feel good, but I do feel a bit better and can actually leave the house now.

While I was dealing with all that I also developed a horrible dry cough just before the Easter holidays. My regular doc said my white blood cell count was very elevated, indicating an infection somewhere. He thought I might be developing walking pneumonia so he put me on antibiotics for a week. Just the thing when your innards are already in a tizzy, but he felt it was necessary. The cough lingered on for a month, finally (almost) disappearing this week. Along with that I had puffy eyelids, swollen ankles and a fever that spiked in the evenings and broke during the night. I also lost 17 lbs without even trying. That would normally be a cause for celebration, but this was *not* the right way to go about it. I spent most of the Easter holidays lying on the sofa feeling very, very sorry for myself. Mr. M and the boys were angels and did everything that needed to be done to keep the house from imploding.

After the 8 weeks are over, I'm scheduled for yet another colonoscopy. I know. I'm as thrilled as you are. But you know what? There are worse things. Way worse. A week after the colonoscopy we leave for Vancouver for 6 weeks. I'm assuming I'll still be on medication then to keep this thing in remission. It may stay in remission, it may get much worse. No one knows. Right now I'm trying to stay positive and focus on the good days, letting the not so good days slide.

Right now I'm doing extensive research into nutrition and supplements. There's no cure for this disease, you can't just pop a magic pill or take some exotic herbs, but there are ways to make things easier and ensure that one is getting the proper nutrients while minimizing flares. This book - What to Eat with IBD - has been a huge help to me as far as 'hurting' and 'healing' foods are concerned.

All of my energy has been centered inward lately, but I think I may have a little bit left over for blogging in the near future. Stick with me, huh?

with glowing hearts

The 0pening Ceremony of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics moved me to tears. Tears of pride for my home country and hometown and also tears of sympathy for a family who lost a son during luge training on Friday. With that tragedy in the back of our minds we are still trying to enjoy the Olympic games as best we can.

During the ceremony I was pleased to see the involvment of some of British Columbia's aboriginal peoples, known as the First Nations. The Four Host First Nations , the Lil'wat, the Squamish the Musquem, and the
Tsleil-Waututh worked together with the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) to make the games a reality.

An inukshuk was chosen as the Olymic logo as a symbol of hospitality and friendship. The figure is based on the statue that has had its place at Vancouver's English Bay since 1987.

We have our own little inukshuk right here at home.



We're also enjoying the adorable Olymic and Paralympic mascots - Quatchi the sasquatch, Miga the sea bear and Sumi the animal spirit. And let's not forget Mukmuk the wee marmot who comes all the way from Vancouver Island. He's a sidekick, not a mascot, but I think he's my favourite.



If you're into arts and crafts, you can download these guys (except for Mukmuk, sadly) here. They are just so darn cute!

During the festivities and competitions you may have noticed an awful lot of people wearing chunky red mittens. And not just any red mittens, the official Olympic mittens with the Olymic rings on the back and a white maple leaf on the palm. And guess what? Thanks to some very thoughtful grandparents we have two pairs! They are soft and warm and such a nice souvenir of the games. Here they are pictured with a very fluffy Quatchi, a present to Boy13 from his grandmother when we visited Vancouver in 2008.




The (English) Olympic motto this time around is "With Glowing Hearts", part of 'Oh Canada', the Canadian national anthem. I think it's a wonderful choice and really symbolizes what the games are all about.

And speaking of hearts, let's not forget that it's Valentine's Day. Everyone around our house was spoiled with treats and we had this pretty pasta for dinner with a smoked salmon cream sauce. Yum.




Yes, my heart is glowing today. I hope yours is too.

winter's icy grip

I like winter, I really do. But could it be over soon? Please? Freeze, snow, thaw, freeze, snow, thaw. It's getting kind of old, you know? We had another bunch of snow over the past couple of day and people are slip sliding all over the place.

One interesting aspect of the continual freeze/thaw thing has been the wonderful icicles at our house




I've heard that this is a sign that your roof is poorly insulated, but I'm in denial because these are so pretty



defying the laws of gravity


I like the contrast in these two pictures...







Remember our little snowman family? Well, they also became victims of the big thaw that took place a couple of weeks ago.

Before they started melting for real, SnoDad leaned in to share a secret with SnoKid




and SnoMom got a fluffy new hairdo.




Several days later they had all been reduced to these sorry lumps. Wahhh!





Humans aren't the only ones who have it tough in winter. When the ground is completely covered in snow, birds can have a hard time finding food. So make sure you put out some nice snacks for your feathered friends.

Blackbirds looove apples and nuts. Chickadees will do anything for sunflower seeds.


I tried making my own suet cakes this year with vegetable fat, oatmeal, chopped nuts, mixed bird seed, raisins and cranberries. The birds don't seem to be all that enthused but have slowly been eating them, mostly out of desperation, I think. Oh well.


The streets have been icy, very icy. There have been small snowplows out and about clearing the roads as best they can, but our cul de sac never gets plowed. Well, hardly ever. Some time in January a guy with a plow came in, pushed all the snow to one side and left us with our own little mountain right where people used to park. How convenient. I have no idea if a neighbour hired him or if he was sent by the city, but really, this thing has frozen into a 5 foot tall chunk of ice and will probably be there until May.




Since you're obligated in Germany to make sure no one slips on or around your property, we've been pretty busy. If you own your own home, you have to keep your walkway and the sidewalk in front of your house free of ice and snow as best you can. If there's no sidewalk, it's a one metre strip of the street that must be cleared and kept clear from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. on weekends. No excuses. If you're sick or on holiday, you have to ask someone else to do it for you. If the mailman or the paper boy wipes out, it's ALL your fault. If you rent, snow clearing duties will be spelled out in your rental contract or your landlord may choose to do the job him/herself.



Well, I've done my duty for today. Time to build a new snowman!

spread the word

Well, trust World Nutella Day 2010 to get me up and blogging.

Hosted by Bleeding Espresso and Ms. Adventures in Italy, it's a great way to see what creative souls all over the globe are doing with everyone's favourite chocolate-hazelnut spread.

The last time I participated was in 2007 when we were right in the middle of remodelling our kitchen. Can't believe it's been three years already. This year I'm busy de-cluttering our weensy house but I still found time to dig my knife into that big ol' jar.

I'm calling this one Nutella Cinnamon Swirl.






I used Lynsey Lou's recipe from last year, but made a loaf instead of buns and just slapped on some butter, Nutella and cinnamon sugar as a filling. Sure smelled great coming out of the oven and I love the texture of the dough - almost like a French brioche.

Guess how many pieces are left? I may have to make another one (or two) tomorrow. I may also have to buy larger pants if this keeps up.

got snow?

It's -7°C/19°F out there, snowing lightly with the chance of a lot more of the white stuff tomorrow. We're loving it.

the countdown starts

New Year's Eve and we're just about to have dinner and start our celebrations. Let's see if we have everything we need.

Tons of snow? Check!





Fondue pot? Check! (I will spare you pictures of raw meat)





Fresh oysters (for Mr. M, not for me!) and non-alchoholic "champagne"? Check!





Dessert with 5,000 calories per serving? Check!





Enough fireworks for the whole neighbourhood? Check! (Never fear - my three sanitation engineers will be cleaning up every scrap off the lawn tomorrow morning.)






Marzipan piggies and lady bugs? Check!




Yep, looks like we're all set.

But before I go I'd like to wish everyone health and happiness in 2010!

See you on the flip side!


January 1, 2010 - 1:00 a.m.


Happy New Year!

Enough partying for me. I've got a touch of bronchitis so I'm going to bed now and leaving the rest of the fireworks to the experts.

joyful

How much snow do you need to call it a white Christmas? Right now it's kind of a rainy, slushy, windy Christmas, but earlier in the week, our terrace looked like this. Snow and lots of it! So pretty.



On Christmas Eve afternoon we met the mother-in-law at father-in-law's care facility for a short visit before coming home for a nice meal of Raclette and the opening of the presents. The latter just for the kids, mind you, because the adults already have Too Much Stuff, you know? We've decided to spread our gift giving throughout the year.

Lately I had been feeling all nostalgic for days gone by and had a craving for mincemeat tarts and Christmas pudding, desserts I enjoyed as a child and that my mother made year after year. My grandmother was English so I guess it's in the genes. The Germans around here won't touch the stuff. All the more for me.

For the tarts I had two options - it was either trek downtown to the British store to buy a jar of overpriced mincemeat that I'd never use up, or make my own.

Guess what? Making your own mincemeat is really easy. Lynda kindly directed me to Nigella's recipe. Yes, that Nigella really knows her stuff. I halved the recipe, making a smallish jar, and varied the ingredients a bit, using what I had on hand and it still turned out wonderfully.



The pastry, a pâte brisée from the Joy of Baking site, was so simple to put together and very easy to work with. I'll be using it again and again for all sorts of things.

I made twelve regular size tarts...



...and twelve wee ones, just one bite each.



Can you guess how many are left?


For the pudding I chose a steamed carrot pudding with hard sauce, my mother's favourite. She always made a large one but I reduced this recipe and used four custard cups to make individual servings (which I will be eating all by myself, thank you very much!).




I also got to try out my brand new snowflake cookie cutter. You can never have too many cookie cutters. Ask me how I know.




This evening we enjoyed roast turkey with herbed bread stuffing, green beans and bacon, red cabbage and cheesy mashed potatoes. We are all so full we can hardly move, but there may still be room for dessert, an English trifle, by the time Die Hard 2 starts. Bruce Willis and his dirty undershirt are (unfortunately) a Christmas tradition at our house.


So from our house to yours, a very Merry Christmas!

'tis the season

Well, well, well, it's been a while hasn't it? I don't know what's gotten into me. So much busywork, so little time and it's almost Christmas!

December in Germany is all about bringing a little light into the darkness. We still have a couple of weeks until the shortest day of the year and it's already dark by 4:30 p.m. That can get a bit depressing.

The first Advent Sunday was November 29, time to light the first candle on the Advent wreath. We took a less is more approach this year, dispensed with tradition and made do with a simple arrangement of four candles and some shiny things. It looks nice on our coffee table.




Can't do without the Lichterbögen, though. We have three now and I love the way they look in the windows. Lichterbogen or Schwibbebögen, as they are sometimes called, originated in the Erzgebirge, the Ore Mountains between Germany and the Czech Republic. The candles are supposed to light the miners' way home after a hard day's work.




One thing we usually do on the first Advent Sunday is to visit our town's teeny tiny Adventsmarkt. I love the old church as a backdrop.





And of course no German December is complete without an Advent calendar. We're well into the chocolatey goodness!



And here's something I had hidden away and just found the other day. My very first Advent calender. It must be over 40 years old now, I can't remember when I first got it but I know my younger brothers had the same one with little boys on it. So sweet.




This past Sunday was Nikolaustag when St. Nicholas fills boots or stockings with all sorts of treats. Bearing cookies, we went to visit my father-in-law in his care facility and had a little celebration there.



Vanillekipferl (vanilla crescents)



Really happy gingerbread man



Sugar cookies





The Hannover Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market) is on until December 23, so while we were in the neighbourhood, we decided to take a look.

The market is divided up into several areas...


The Medieval market is home to many fascinating hand-made items







At the Finnish market you can buy a wooly hat



and feast on reindeer sausage or cedar-planked salmon



Mmmm! I thought I was back in B.C. for a minute there!

The more traditional part of the market offers lovely Christmas decorations and sweet treats









And let's not forget the wild and crazy places where you can eat to your heart's content and get all sorts of warm drinks to warm you up on a cold day.

The Skihütte sells something called Jagertee (Jäger means hunter in German and this is a variation on the spelling), black tea mixed with rum and spices. Sort of like a German hot toddy, I suppose.




Glühwein (mulled wine) is always popular and this place will also make you up some Tiger Milch (tiger milk) if you so desire. Not quite sure what that is, but it's guaranteed to contain copious amounts of alcohol.



The market wasn't as crowded as it has been in the last few years and I really enjoyed it, coming home with a few treasures for our tree.

Since Sunday we've been burning two candles which means we're halfway to Christmas already. Wow, time flies when you're making cookies! And I've been making LOTS of cookies because these large and hungry people I live with keep eating them. Which keeps ME from eating them. And that's a very good thing, believe me.