Whoops...

I didn't mean to disappear like that and I'm really only just poking my head into this blog now. Our internet is playing funny-buggers at the moment which is driving me insane. Numerous phone calls to "Alice" and we now have a new modem being sent in the mail. Hopefully this will fix the problem for good and we'll be back in action.

While I've been away I snuck down to beautiful southern Austria, chasing the tail-end of summer amongst the rolling hills of Burgenland. Oh, the weather didn't disappoint! Glorious sunny days and chilly Autumn nights. Perfect weather for morning walks and afternoon naps; plenty of card playing and a little bit of knitting thrown in too. But more later - I need to post this before the internet shuts up shop again.

Happy weekend!

I've been hanging out with this little kiddo and his parents this week. He's just learnt to walk and is so  proud of himself. Oh, the simple joy of learning a new skill!

Hello September

And just like that August has past us by. I've enjoyed my little August break. Posting a picture a day, no words, has been the welcome change that I've needed while we've been quietly trying to work out how we all fit together now that we are a family of three.  Add to the mix a trip to Vienna, a wedding, two birthdays and a business trip away (for Matthias) and you have one very busy month!

Taking a step back from the blog also let me focus a bit on just taking pictures again. I have a new toy - a big, new fancy camera body - which I'm absolutely loving. I still haven't quite got a handle on all it's features, but every time me and "Bertie" go out on the streets, I learn a few more of her tricks and I fall even more in love with her.  So I've spent a lot of August adjusting to motherhood and taking thousands of pictures of Emilia with my new friend, Bertie. But between times I've also been quietly reading blog posts here and there keeping track of what everyone has been up to.  Having said that, I'm really looking forward to properly catching up on what everyone has been up to over the next week or so. Thank you to everyone who has commented over the month, all your comments were read and appreciated, even if it's been a little quiet around here.

And with August behind us the weather round these parts has definitely turned towards Autumn. There's a crispness in the air in the mornings and a chill at night. This really is one of my favourite times of the year. I find myself happily thinking about scarves and woolie tights and cosy jumpers while still savouring the last of Summers offerings. Warm afternoons spent on the balcony reading or walking in the park. Bare feet. Ice-cream. And with the weather change I've picked up my knitting needles again, but this time I'm knitting something for me.

Let Summer In

 Summer's are short in Berlin. Air-conditioning seems a bit of an over-kill when there's only a few weeks of the year when it'll be truly useful. Instead as the temperatures rise, windows and doors open and life is lived on the street. It's something that I've come to really enjoy about this time of the year. With my balcony door open I can hear our Kiez waking up. Someone is practising their Piano scales, down on the street a child is crying - probably having fallen off his bike and a man's laughter wafts in from somewhere else. Big belly laughs that make me want to know the joke.

 

I took this photo the other day while waiting for a artist to talk at the Based in Berlin exhibition. The talk was, unfortunately, incredibly disappointing. The same could be said for much of the exhibition. Oh well, at least I got a photo that represents summer in Berlin!

weekend-ing

This is what I've just snuck away from to write this post - a glorious summer morning and my lovely European man sunning himself in his dressing-gown. On any given day, you can see half a dozen men sitting on their balcony doing the same. Matthias doesn't quite understand why I find it so curious and, well, funny. But it does make me smile. Everytime.

So the weekend is continuing here on into Monday. A lazy sunny day full of reading and snoozing and generally enjoying life's pleasures. To which I must shortly return. But not before a few pictures from last night's evening spent on the banks of the Spree.

Smitten

At this time of the year the sun is positioned just-so that it streams through our balcony windows in the morning casting the prettiest glow and shadows on our blinds. I'm smitten. It makes me what to linger over my cup of tea and drink in the light. SJ left a comment the other day talking about how much she loved the optimism of Northern Europe in the Spring. I think I agree. And I'm happy to report it's infectious. 

Wishing you all a wonderful Friday. As of today I'm officially on holidays - yippee! We're off to the ski fields near Salzburg where I'm planning on reading, sun-baking, walking and generally pampering myself while the more active and less-pregnant members of Matthias' family whoosh down the slopes. See you all next week.

Pansies

I'm not much of a green thumb.  Our attempts at a little vegie garden on our balcony last year wasn't that successful. Part of the problem was a very short summer; August was cold and rainy which meant that the tomatoes didn't really ever stand a chance and I had always thought that Olives and Figs were a big ask for a northern european balcony! 

I'm keen to try again this year though - hopefully with a little more success. One of the biggest issues that I'm facing though is understanding the "planting seasons" - all those old-wives tales that I learnt growing up don't really hold here. How, for example, do you translate Plant tomatoes after Cup Day to Berlin?  Instead of doing anything clever like reading a book or consulting the internet I'm going to use the florists as a barometer.  Right now pansies and rosemary are out on display so I reckon these might be a good place to start. Now I just have to decide on the colour...

oops

I've been gone from here a little longer than I anticipated.  I forgot that I was heading down to Frankfurt for a conference for 3 days and didn't plan any posts.  Plus I've kinda enjoyed the quiet and space that turning off the computer has given me.  I've been doing lots of things - photo-taking, knitting, a bit of crochet but none of it has turned up here, yet.  Some of the things I've been making are gifts.  Remember this picture from back in November?

Well, three of these Mamas have recently had their babies - two boys and a girl and the fourth is not too far behind.  I've been making and creating sweet little things for Lewis, Hugo and little Clementine, as well as starting a few projects for my own July-Bean.  Yup, I've started nesting, stalking baby blogs like they might disappear overnight - my current favourites are here, here, here and here. 

Tonight an old friend from Australia is coming to stay for a long-weekend city break.  He's currently studying in Oxford and having missed him in Australia last time I was out, I haven't seen him for almost 2 years.  Looking forward to spending evenings sitting on the couch hearing about England, future plans and thoughts on how to rid the world of evil.  I expect I shall return to this Internet space of mine next week with lots of stories and perhaps a few finished projects to show.  Until then.

we interupt this blog...

1. Woman, Portrait, Serbia, 2. Reykjavík, Iceland, 3. Sad or happy tears?, 4. Sad Woman - Traurige Frau, 5. something has changed, 6. 268/365, 7. Shandi-lee X {pieces I}, 8. Black and White :), 9. jolie fille pleure NB

No 365 up-date today.  Lastnight I may have had my first proper I'm-hormonal-and-pregnant-and-feeling-overwhelmed-by-life meltdown.  What started as a simple misunderstanding of a letter from the bank became a 'I'm never going to be able to learn German' thing and then 'Why doesn't the internet ever work at home?' before it descended into 'We need to buy drawers/cot/pusher/baby bath/nursing chair... do you have any idea how much stuff babies need?  And I need new clothes...immediately because all my clothes make me feel fat and my breasts hurt and have you seen how much baby clothes cost? maybe you can just wrap them in blankets until they're... umm... say 18 and oh boy, I really don't think we're ready for this and it's only six months away which will go like that and now it's 8.30pm and we still haven't eaten and I'm hungry and cold, Why is it so cold today? and are you laughing at me because I really don't think this is funny and you might pretend that you're co-pregnant but I don't see you waking up in the night to go to the toilet!'

Um... yeah... I kinda freaked out.

After my little outburst I listened to sad music, received lots of hugs and soft cooing sounds about how it would be alright and went to bed feeling sorry for myself but much better about life in general.  Today I feel great again. Ah, the pregnancy roller-coaster.

So no 365. Instead some inspiration from the Flickr pool somehow reflecting how I felt last night.

Fingernails, eyelashes, button lips and Tinnie-tiny toes

For the past four months I've been busy making little fingernails and eyelashes, button lips and tinnie-tiny toes.  It makes me smile to know that this little international "Bean" (for that's what we're calling it) has already travelled the world in it's protective home and taken in the sights of it's two Heimats*. I've been lucky, really, and whilst travelling through Australia I felt little more that a fatigue that did not respond well to protests, bribes or even stubborn objections.  I slept through much of my trip to Australia, my body demanding the bedtime of a two year old. That, and I briefly and scarily had a complete and utter aversion to coffee. There may have been tears at the thought of never, ever wanting go to near a Latte or Cappuccino again.  Thankfully that past and all that is left now is a growing Bub who loves Spinach. A lot.  Apparently I'm having Popeye's love-child.

* Heimat strictly translated means "Home", but a better translation would be a feeling and yearning that comes from your mothercountry, place or homeland.  Australian aboriginals would translate this as "country".

Green Week

It's Green Week in Berlin - apparently the biggest exhibition of Food, Agriculture and Horticulture in the world. We went along to the food part of the exhibition yesterday and ended up spending the whole afternoon taste-testing our way through europe, the middle east, asia and the americas.  So much yummy food on offer and happily most things were available in small "take-home" sample sizes and not just big wholesale quanities.  We ended up buying  some delicious Italian cheese,  smoked Hirsch (deer) and a few bottles of South African red wine. Yum!

I think one of my favourite parts of the event was seeing everyone in their traditional costumes.  Lots and lots of central europeans walking around in lederhosen and distinctive Baravian hats.  It was also funny to see what product each country or region had chosen as their "thing".  No surprises that Australia chose Kangaroo meat in all its permeations.  I think one of the strangest products I saw for sale was in the Russian area where they were promoting 'Milsch Konservative Kombinate', which translates as preserved milk made in Soviet-style cooperatives. It comes in a solid block, a little like butter or cheese.  Sounds really appealing, doesn't it?

Weekend-ing

After a very snowy and cold December, this weekend it felt like spring had come early.  I know it's too early for it to be truly spring weather but the sun peeked through the clouds and there was definitely a spring feel to the place.  Yesterday we decided to visit Teirpark, the Zoo in the east of the city.  One of the strange things about Berlin is that post-reunification there are still two of  many public institutions - two concert halls, two opera companies, two theatres and... two zoos.  I planned to take lots of photographs, but the place was actually quite depressing,. Most of the cages looked like they hadn't been renovated since the 1960s and harked back to a time when there was little recognition that animals need enclosures that closely resemble their natural habitats in order to feel safe and secure.  Lots of tiny cages with nowhere to hide away from staring eyes and flashing cameras.  In contrast to the animal enclosures, there were many forested walkways and more formal gardens for us humans to enjoy and I think we ended up spending more time walking around them than actually seeing the animals.

Back home, my hyacinth's have decided to flower for a second time which has made me incredibly happy as the first flower heads only lasted a few days.  They are filling the kitchen with the softest scent of "fresh flower" which I love coming home to in the evening.  This is really the first year that I've had bulbs in my house and I've decided that this year I'm going to buy all sorts of different bulbs as they come into season.  It's so nice to have a bit of colour and life in the house when everything outside is still hibernating until spring.

 

One Little Word - Rhythm

I'm always surpised by how sometimes life provides you with the answers to questions that have only just materialised in your head.  I've never been much of a New Years Resolution person.  On a whim I once decided not to eat chocolate for a year (and succeeded) but that's about it.  Anyway, after reading many blogs on New Years Resolutions I was no more inspired than before to write my list of 20 things I wanted to achieve this year, but after a conversation with Matthias, and after reading Jamie's post here, I may have changed my position on this.  I've decided that my 2011 needs a word, which isn't quite a New Years resolution, but its heading that way which is surprising,. Thankfully the skeptic in me is pre-occupied by conspiracy theories related to Wikileaks and  so my optimistic side is running with the idea. 

 

It's a little over a year since I moved to Berlin. On the surface I feel comfortable here - I have my hairdresser, we know an excellent butcher and I can navigate the BVG with relative ease. If forced I can even have a telephone conversation, which is a far cry from where I was 12 months ago.  But I still don't really feel like I'm settled here.  I haven't quite found my groove.  So, after tossing it around in my head and saying it aloud a few times to see if it fits, I've decided that my word for 2011 is "rhythm" - finding it, embracing it, settling myself  down into daily rituals and practice which have been otherwise missing from my life over the last 12 months.

To keep me on track and to help motivate me towards completing my 365 I've decided to join Jill at Life... As I See It in her One Little Word challenge - a picture a week that documents the "deliberate approach" to incorporating this word and what it means to you into your life.  It's verging on a self-help place where I don't often venture, but if it helps me find my rhythm I'm more than happy to give it a try.  Thank-you also to Kristy of Life-n-Reflection if she hadn't commented on my blog I'd never have skipped over to her blog or found the One Little Word Challenge. If you're interested in joining in to, click here to find out what it's all about.

Bookshops and Groceries

Not many words today - I'm crazy busy finishing off the last minute packing, collecting and ready-ing for going away.  I leave for New York tomorrow morning - can't quite believe that something I've been looking forward to for ages is finally here.  It all seems a little surreal!  Happily my polaroid film arrived yesterday - I took one "test picture" to make sure everything works and almost squeaked in excitment when the picture turned out so well.   Now I can officially declare my camera a bargain buy at 8 Euro.   I have grand plans for the rest of the film that has something to do with the Sketchbook Project - remember how I was supposed to be doing that?  Well, its happening this holidays.

But now back to packing...

12 months

Twelve months ago today this man met me at the airport with a bunch of roses in one hand and a woolly coat in the other.  We've built a home together, had 17 sets of international guests, attended 2 weddings, visited 3 countries, built 4 different Ikea "things", had numerous fights in English (but none in German), eaten 8 homegrown tomatoes and 1 homegrown fig, attended 1 opera, 4 Symphonies, celebrated 1 Australia Day,  1 Austria Day and through all of this cried, laughed and danced our way into falling in love with Berlin.

Matthias, du bist mein Lieblingspartner und ich liebe dich uher.

i heart frankie (and my sister)

Whoo-hoo!  My sister is in town for the week.  She received word that she'd passed all her uni exams and hot-footed it onto a plane and arrived on Monday night.  As well as bringing lots of hugs and boundless energy she packed in her bag the latest edition of frankie.  If you don't know frankie I highly recommend you check it out.  I've spent the last few hours devouring every, single page of goodness.  I even read the 'dear frankie' section where one eloquent lady said "... I finished frankie feeling that the world is an amazing and inspiring place and that I am just fine as I am."  Kudos for a magazine making you feel good about yourself and inspiring you to create, listen, dance, laugh and genuinely enjoy life.  I *heart* frankie.  

I also *heart* my sister, Elle.  And in celebration of her arrival we ventured to one of Berlin's beach bars lastnight.  Good times all round.  Roll on summer...

Erdbeer

Berliners, I've realised, like their seasonal fruit.  A couple of weeks ago it was all about Beerlitz Spargel (White Asparagus).  Every "turk" (seven11) and grocer worth his while was selling Beerlitz Spargel; every restaurant and pub has a special 'Spargelkarte'.  Now it's the strawberry.  These cute little stands have been popping up everywhere selling locally grown strawberries which smell and taste delicious.  I've decided to embrace the frenzy and bought some strawberries for eating and some for cooking.

You see, I'm a lady of domestic leisure at the moment (quite enjoying it too).  I went and saw the specialist (ENT) doctor about my ear yesterday and she recommended, neigh, handed me, a doctor's certificate to have the next week off work and emphasised that I shouldn't be working on the weekend either.  So I'm at home this week.  I've had a lovely time spring cleaning the house from top to bottom, including reorganising the bookshelves.  Well, partly anyway, and then I lost steam.  I even managed to be so organised as to look in the fridge before I went shopping to check what vegies we had leftover - tonight's dinner is a Thai dish called Larp Gai on Quinoa - the only things I needed to buy were corriander and mint for garnish.  And the Quinoa.

And I made these.  Strawberry and Ricotta Muffins.  They're still cooling, but I've already taste tested one - it was a causalty of me trying to take them out of the tins while they were still too hot.  So, so good.    I'm contemplating making strawberry jam tomorrow.  And maybe some banana muffins. And...

Strawberry and Buffalo Ricotta Muffins
(from Cook Almost Anything)

300 grams plain flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
100 grams caster sugar
1 cup milk
2 eggs
100 grams butter, melted and cooled
250 grams strawberries, hulled, cut in half
200 grams buffalo ricotta

Sift the flour, baking powder and sugar into a bowl - make a well in the centre.  Lightly whisk together the milk and eggs and pour this into the dry ingredients, followed by the cooled, melted butter.  Stir until combined and them tumble in the strawberries, crumble in about a quarter of the ricotta and then fold this gently through so the strawberries just disperse through the batter and the ricotta doesn't break up too much.  Fill your muffin cases about half way, top with a rough piece of ricotta and then cover with more batter.

Bake in a preheated 170°C oven until golden and cooked through - about 20-30 minutes.

Cool slightly in the pan before moving on a wire rack to cool completely.