day out in muenster

P, M and I had a day out while we were in Germany, just the three of us, which was nice. We visited Muenster. Apart from a few showers to begin with, we even got good weather!

There was an organic market on the Domplatz, we bought a Waldmeister plant and chestnut honey for my mum, and had some yummie Bratwurst, and got some white peaches for M.

Muenster is very flat, so everybody cycles!

Emm had great fun in front of the mirror while her daddy was looking for new runners...

rain rain rain

it's too depressing to take pictures of, so here some photos from last week, when it was lovely and warm!

my nephew's cousin had this cool gadget for observing little critters

like this fat caterpillar!
you can't see it in this photo, but it's pretending to be a one eyed lizzard! no idea what it's called!



the older kids were delighted to get a ride on the combine harvester

i used the rain to do some sewing though, with fabric i got in IKEA (bedlinen).
A purl frog, I drew the pattern on an a4 sheet of paper (printer no work), I think he's quite similar to the original!
doesn't he look so at home in the rainsoaked greenery?

and a little turtle, from this book i think (i only brought the pattern, not the book!)


oh, i forgot to mention the most exciting and scary thing, I applied for a career break, and i got it!! 3 years off! I'm delighted to get the chance to spend so much time with my little one, i feel so privileged! we won't have much money to spare but i think we'll be OK, and time with the babe will be worth so much more than money ever could be!

I really should be sleeping... I better go to bed!

a 1st birthday party

my nephew turned one and we had a lovely afternoon in my SIL's beautiful garden! there were bubbles and games and toys and a paddling pool!

we had a champagne cocktail (made with this raspberry liqueur (with real raspberries in the bottle, i have to bring a bottle back to ireland!) and italian sparkling wine), after coffee and cakes and before a BBQ, the life, i tell you!




here some pictures of her garden!



these tables and chairs are really only for decoration, there is wooden garden furniture on the big patio off the living room, what luxury! there are advantages to country living...

love that little yellow bird house!

at home

It's strange being at home, it's hard settling in, with being a mother, but at the same time being my parents' daughter, fitting into their routine. I'm missing the husband, and of course Emm is missing her dada. It's strange being in my home country, in the lush country side, everything so green, I think it's greener than Ireland at the moment! I chose to live in Ireland, and not at home, for good reasons, but on a nice day, a leisurely day, it seems mad. There's such a strong network here, of neighbours and friends and family, I know it's partly why I moved away, I felt suffocated and fenced in, but at the same time, I miss it when I'm in Ireland.



Everything here seems so nice and well looked after, I missed several turns when driving around town, because many streets don't look like streets any more, no tarmac and sidewalks but everything paved or cobble locked, with flower beds and potted trees to calm traffic. I kept thinking it's somebody's driveway! But of course on a weekday I see the price that's payed for having everything picture perfect, an awful lot of work and money goes into keeping everything looking so tidy. I was talking to my brother about herbs I have in my garden. He asked
'Herbs? What for?'
'Cooking of course, it's much cheaper and fresher to grow them, rather than buy them'
'But all the sachets and jars already have herbs in them already!'
'Oh, do you use them often?'
'Yeah, of course, do you think we want to spend half an hour every day cooking, and chopping herbs and mixing it up ourselves?'
' - '
'We wouldn't have the time!'

I was really surprised. His wife is a stay at home mum of two little boys, and I thought she'd have lots of time. But that's the thing, healthy food, or 'slow food' is just not a priority for them. Food is made quickly and eaten quickly. It takes a lot of time to keep the house clean and super tidy, and the garden, too, and she does a lot of DIY home decorating projects. So different to us, we try to keep on top of the house, and do the projects that need doing, but we spend lots of time on cooking and eating, and we buy good quality unprocessed food wherever we can. And I'm glad we are able to live our lives that way, making time for meals and getting some time to ourselves rather than 'trying to keep up with the Joneses' when it comes to garden ornaments and polished windows.

Also, my family here hardly ever go out just the two of them, or my brother with just his family, all the leisure time goes on outings with 'the circle of friends' and the football club, and the neighbourhood, and the extended family (or getting the house ready to receive same). So much more couple and family time for P and me...

Being an expat is great in a way, I don't take anything for granted or feel I have to do something because 'it's the done thing', I always have the other perspective and can pick and choose from two cultures!

spray paint might work?

i 'found' this lamp in a photo from germany, it might be the right kind of green to go with the new throw? with a bit of spray paint to cover up the chrome bits i think it would be quite a cool lamp!

scanning old photographs

i'm having great fun (and frustration) scanning old photographs on an old scanner. the software on it is very spartanic, no remembering settings or file locations, and i can only run it 'as administrator' ... (the driver is not really meant for my version of windows, and not approved and possibly a little dodgy)

the fun comes into it when i look at images on screen! this one should be summer 1976, sunday afternoon coffee, i think it's the day of my little sister's christening, that's why my aunt's there, and the good china is out even though we're in the kitchen. on screen little things that i don't really see when i look at a photo in the album jump out at me, expressions on peoples faces, the cute coffee pot on the counter, and the printed glass on the table. i also love the pattern on the high chair!

and of course to me it's amazing how YOUNG everybody looks! i forgot how pretty my aunt was, and my uncle and 2nd cousin were mere boys!

my aunt is wearing a 'kittel' over her skirt and top, white for sundays, they were the 'modern' version of an apron, crackly polyester or 'perlon' sleeveless apron-dresses, and my mum and aunts and granny wore them almost all day every day, goes to show you how much of their day and week was seen as 'work', only for leaving the farm and in the evening the aprons came off.

i might post some more of these as i come across them. it's a pity all those seventies plastics haven't lasted, i'd love that high chair now for my little one!

christmas surprise

we're back from germany today, pretty tired with a grumpy nearly 9 week old, but happy!!

we surprised my parents for christmas with a visit, which was great fun! we didn't think we'd make it home with getting a passport for our little one and everything, and told my parents so for weeks, but we did get everything sorted in time! we let my sister know and she picked us up from the airport on christmas eve, and put us up at her house for the afternoon, then in the evening she and her boyfriend went in to my parents, as they had planned, and told them to stay in the living room for a minute as they wanted to set up their present in the hall, then they went to the back door, let us in and told my parents they could come out now. the look on their faces was priceless! it was such a happy evening! they had been disappointed but understanding that we wouldn't be coming to germany this year... a lovely laid back week was spent, with the cousins getting to know each other (my 2 year old nephew was besotted with her, he licked her face!)

as i like to blog with photos, and have nothing much to show myself (except for a gorgeous daughter, but i'm not sure yet how i feel about posting lots of pictures of her on the blog... or how my husband feels about it... i probably won't, apart from the 1st day picture i already posted), here a picture of my mum's christmas pyramid ornament (these are traditionally pyramids of angels, and you use small candles to power the propeller that makes it go round, but mama puts hers onto the swedish stove that heats their living room (so hot... we were close to melting point!).



i love discovering little things i made years ago, that my mum still keeps, like this candle (old candle stumps sorted by colour, and poured into jam jars and similarly cheap containers, that can be broken off when the wax is hardened). this must be at least 20 years old, because i seem to still have considered stick on gold stars an essential!


or this salt dough sheep (i hadn't realised salt dough could keep so long! maybe i varnished it??)

the wool is made with a garlic press... mama displays it with her collection of christmas angels

my mum's garden

embroidered linen tablecloth

photographed in my mum's laundry room (it got covered in bits from the trees as she had it outside on the patio). my granny had it in her 'bottom drawer' so she most likely embroidered it herself, it would have been in the 30s or 40s as she got married in the late fourties

sardegna and deutschland!

i'm getting excited now, we're off to sardinia tomorrow, and on to germany next week! The weather isn't supposed to be great, but i'm just looking forward to a change of scenery, and to relaxing and to seeing my family...

hopefully i will have some nice photographs to blog when i come back but i'm not quite sure yet how i'm going to handle the 10kg hand luggage limit and if i can bring my camera charger...

i think i'm starting to get a bump! p. says so, and my neighbour, and another friend! and i have to admit it myself, it starts to look like more than just a bloated stomach! and the last 2 weeks or so some more of my jeans started to be a little uncomfortable. i better take myself off to bed now, it's nearly midnight, and i haven't started packing yet! i think i'll go to sleep and do it in the morning, i've got it all ironed and folded and in my head i know what i want to bring, i just have to figure out how much i can bring... we won't have to leave till after lunch so we should be OK...




http://www.flickr.com/photos/francescogiannella/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/the_oli/

early wedding presents

the first few presents have started to arrive and it's amazing how generous and thoughtful everybody is! i just have to post pictures of this present, it's so cute! it's a picnic basket for two. made from willow (i think)



the two flaps open out and hold the cutlery and plates,





and the most gorgeous wooden mushroom salt and pepper shakers!



the mugs and plates are printed with these mushrooms, and the whole basket is lined with bright red and white polka dot cotton



it also came with a picnic blanket (water repellent on one side, woolly on the other)

as far as i can see it's from the avoca shop, and the little tag says it's actually made in muenster, germany! where i'm from! i wonder did she know this or is it a coincidence?