Feature Article

I was featured in this issue of the NordicNeedle Newsletter. If you would like to see the article (it even has pictures!) please check it out here. Thanks Roz and everyone at NordicNeedle for featuring me!

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone had a great day, whatever you did. Here, in my little corner of the world, we celebrated with a traditional turkey dinner. I ordered a fresh, Bavarian turkey. The problem with ordering a fresh turkey is that you don't know exactly what the size is going to be. Well, my "tom" weighed in at 7.2 kilos (almost 16 pounds)...a bit much for 3 people, wouldn't you say? At first I thought it wasn't going to fit into the oven, much less the pan. All turned out well though and I discovered that fresh turkeys get more "bendable" after you wash and prepare them.


I have a wonderful "umlauf" oven with I think is called "circulating heat" so my big bird browned nice and even and it hit the right temperature after just 4 1/2 hours at about 300. It was "picture perfect".


In fact, the whole meal was perfect! Of course, I have a truckload of leftovers, even after passing on the "American tradition" of guests taking leftovers home. Have tupperware....will share the leftovers!



I have to say that my stuffing was the best. Do you know why? ......


Just imagine...stuffing made from SEMMEL!!!! Yes, it just can't get any better than that!!

For more pictures from my Thanksgiving, please click on The Camera Lenz for a slideshow.

Cousin's Get Together and Completed Pieces

Once again this year, five cousins and I got together for a couple of days of good food, great company and fun times. This year we were in Salzburg...does it get any better than that?


The weather was fantastic, the view...well, the view was magical as it always is.


We did some things that I've never done before.


We celebrated a birthday and talking until our throats were sore...at least mine was!


Thank you all for including me and I sure look forward to next year!

I've completed a few pieces I'd like to share. I posted this one pretty regularly while stitching it. I now have it back after my sister completed it. It is absolutely amazing. The pictures don't do it justice, that's for sure!


Susan and Steve....you outdid yourself with this!


The tray is unique and perfect.


I've always said that if my stitching looks good...just wait until Susan finishes with it...it will look great! You can see more pictures of it on The Camera Lenz if you would like.

I've also completed this piece which I call Chickens And Eggs.


It's canvas with beads.


I tried to make each part a different stitch and used many different threads and beads.


It's a bright and bold piece.

This next one, called Albuquerque, is also done.


It's also canvas and beads although a different style.


The beads are all very large and the piece is very different than anything I've done before.


The colors are also very atypical for me.


But I like the way it looks and feels.

I'm now attempting some cutwork or drawnwork. I'm not sure what it's called. The best book I have on it is a very old Austrian book and it is called "Durchbruchstickerei". That literally translates to "breakaway" so I'm not sure exactly what it is. But that's okay.

Spirit of Vierlande and Orchids

Hi everyone. You may have noticed that I haven't been posting. I believe my blogging has turned in a new direction. And that's okay...everything changes.

After almost a year (including 3 months of blooming) two of my orchids are blooming again.


This one was a gift from Sonya and Vipin last year.


I got this one about a month after Sonya/Vipin gave me the other one and it's blooming too.

I actually finished my "long term cross stitch", The Long Dog Sampler Spirit of Vierlande. I changed it some because I am not actually into the "sampler" part of a sampler. Don't ask me why I even started one then! The stitching is done now.


Of course I took these pictures at night so they are not all that good but don't worry....


...as I said, the stitching is done....


...not the actual project!

I'll post more as things happen.

Vacation Pictures

Hi everyone. I know it's been ages. I was on vacation in the States for three weeks and have quite alot of pictures to share. If you are interested in seeing my posted slideshows, please go to The Camera Lenz. I'm not going to post them here as well. Just to let you know....over 5600 miles and 14 or 15 States of travel...there's lots to see and I'll be adding more as I get things sorted!

Excitement in the Neighborhood

Today was an exciting day in our little neighborhood. They tore down a house. Yep..the whole house was completely taken down in the course of one day. I didn't even think to take pictures when it all started but believe me, it was a whole house, roof and all!

The work was so efficient and professional. They continuously sprayed water on the building to cut down on the dust. This one machine not only knocked the building down but put the remains onto the dump truck. I watched for a long time. I find things like this very interesting. And of course, machines and tools and stuff like that....I can't get enough of it! If they are going to build a new house on this ground, it is going to be quite a wonderful project to watch this summer.

Besides this, I have been keeping busy and enjoying my spring...bike riding outside again (hurray!), making the cards each month as part of the Hardanger Card Club and sewing on my Long Dog Sampler. I know...I haven't posted any new pictures of the progress. Sorry. I'll try to remember to take pictures of it this weekend!

I've been getting quite experimental with cooking. This was Kalbshaxe that I made last week. It was incredibly good! I looked up "kalbshaxe" in the dictionary and it said "knuckle of veal". I apologize...I just can't remember what "knuckle" it is!

Hardanger, Tomatoes and a Sunset

I haven't had many blogging moments lately, I know. But I'll catch everyone up on things now!
We got our second tomato this season. Yes...really! I wintered our one tomato plant and, though not pretty, it is producing.


There's several more growing. No, we won't be opening a tomato stand any time soon but it sure is fun to watch!

Here's a picture of the sunset last night. I can't say that it is because of the Volcano.....



But it certainly was a colorful evening.

And lastly, I put the finishing touches on my Hardanger Practice piece. I am done with it now. I've posted lots of pictures here......

It was a great learning experience and I had lots of fun working it. I think I've got the basics of Hardanger down pretty good now. So...it's on to my Long Dog Sampler until vacation. I don't want to start anything new at this point. Hope everyone is well and I do thank you all for reading and commenting on my blog!

Salzburg Day Trip / Mozartkugeln Taste Test

So, what did you do yesterday? We decided, very spontaneously, to go to Salzburg. One of the nicest things about living in Southern Germany is how close it is to Austria!


Although it wasn't really warm, it wasn't really cold either. The city was so alive. There were locals everywhere, tourists that came for the day or the week, and the atmosphere was springlike and wonderful.


There were signs of spring everywhere, in fact.

And reminders of the fact that is is Easter Weekend.

There's new things to see....I believe that the interior of the Hause der Natur is completely renovated and modernized as well as the outside. But you'll have to check it out yourself to be see for sure.

The fountains were still covered and the Neutor tunnel through the mountain is still under construction. But some of the cleaning is already done.

And ready for summer.......

I don't know when the last time I saw the Augustiner so crowded! Not only was the beer garden packed to the max but all three rooms inside too! There wasn't a piece of red meat to be had...only fish. Because the place is in a cloister, they are not permitted to serve meat on Good Friday. But fish, beer, schnapps....no problem.

OK, and for the most incredible news......there's something new!!!!! Mini Mozartkugeln!!!! I saw them advertised on TV and I searched until I found them. They aren't, at least at this point in time, available everywhere although the company Mirabell certainly has an amazing advertising campaign going on throughout the city. Well, I just HAD to do a taste test so I bought a bag of regular "Mozart balls" and the minis.

I only saw the minis available in this tub. The salesman said to try them first because they taste so different from the original. Of course, what did he think? I wasn't going to eat them even if they did taste different??

When cut in half, they look exactly the same. The minis don't come individually wrapped so the chocolate is pretty shiny. I believe that's because the thin aluminum wrappers on the originals leave slight indentations in the chocolate.

Even the proportions look the same. The same chocolate covering thickness in relation to the size. And the marzipan middle also looks to be proportioned equally as well. Please keep in mind, that I only did this taste test for YOU....so YOU wouldn't have to wonder about it. To save YOU the testing. And what was the verdict?? Well, both of us agreed 100% that they taste exactly the same! The smaller ones just have less of everything so the taste isn't as intense but Mirabell seems to have really made the perfect mini Mozart ball! And BOY.....are they perfect!!!!!

I can't imagine not wanting to be in Salzburg. I hope everyone can come and experience everything there is to experience. And, believe me, there's so much! Something for everyone, I guarantee it! And I leave you on this note..........

Hardanger Progress

I was going to tell you that spring in Munich is wonderful. The forsythia are blooming, the trees are starting to bud, the streets have been cleaned. I was going to tell you all that, but it's snowing so I'll just tell you that it's a very typical spring time here in Munich.

And everything is fine.

I've been having fun with my hardanger piece.


And lots of fun trying to think of new things to do.



I like using contrasting color on this practice piece.



And seeing how varied I can make each little motif.

This very thin yarn was exceptionally neat to work with and I also using floss as long as it is something that lays flat.

At the moment, the piece is on the back burner. I am busy repairing a hand sewn quilt that my Dad gave me 15 years ago or maybe even longer. He got each of us girls a summer quilt and a winter quilt, one from China, the other from Korea. I can't remember which is which. I do know though that they were all very loosely sewn and the stitches are very spread out. So years later, there's lots of repair work to do. The cat loves it....she thinks I'm doing it all for her. She gets to make a little nest in it. But boy does she yell when it's time to move the thing around!

Well, I'm off to the grocery store now...it will be such a lovely spring walk, getting wet in the snow.