Think back to Mid December...Christmas cookies...and then some...

We are a little Goo-Goo in the Gaa-Gaa over here about Christmas cookies and I have to say of all the the years of Christmas cooky-ing I have ever done in my life this year topped them all.

First we did a "Cookie-Factory" with Riel's class, myself and some other parents assisted the grade 2 class in baking well over 150 dozen cookies to sell in a cookie booth at the schools annual Christmas celebration. The children raised over 250Euros!

Then we did a gingerbread cookie event in Lily's class and the kids all made gigantic gingerbread shapes decorated with raisins. Another very fun and very concentrated cookie event.

THEN we did several gingerbread events at our home with various family and friends including a gingerbread house with Gma and Gpa at Xmas which was DE-LISH-US I might add (I am such a sucker for anything that involves flour, butter sugar and CANDY) Gosh and I wonder where my kids get it from...

And last but not least, we did painted shortbreads ...well, just because we needed to make MORE cookies and since you all know that I am sort of subtle like that and I like everything to be kinda understated and also because I saw them over at Pioneer Woman Cooks and well she is pretty much one of my heroes theses days...

So we started off with mixing the egg yolk paints, and I love to use cupcake tins for theses sort of (messy) projects, keep all the goo in one place you understand...
We already had the dough made up, so just softened it for a few secs in the M-wave, and then got painting...it all looks pretty serious...not to mention WAY fun... And not too mention way COLORFUL!!! I particularly love the purple and green angel from where-I-know-not...The troops sampling the booty!! Way to go kids!!
Yumm!!! Yep another uber-successful Christmas cookie year!!

Preparing for Christmas; Buche Noel with Riel in 3 languages!

This is what we are aiming for...we made it last year check it out here...and it sure was YUMMY!!! So ...lets see what we end up with...
First we separate the eggs, you know separating eggs is a pretty (yucky) delicate affair if you think about it. So after a little trial and error we got the job done.
Then to measure all the dry ingredients, with a scale and in grams since the recipe is European,
ooh la la...

Then we prepare the pans to bake the genoise (the cakey layer that will be the roll, like in a jelly roll ) for the buche. The we put down backpapiere (German); waxed paper (English); papier de cuisson (French) (we are multi cultural here these days) to make the genoise easy to remove from the baking sheet.
Once we have the genoise cooked we remove it from the waxed paper and then roll it while still warm in a tea towel, let it cool a bit to take a rolled shape, then brush it with a sugar syrup.

Then we layer it with the yummy filling mixture, cream, white chocolate mousse and fresh raspberries...slice it up a bit and arrange it to look log-like and cover it with a yummy white chocolate icing applied to look like bark...really!!!

Delish!!

The finished result and the happy and VERY TALENTED chef!!! Good work Riel!

Bon Appetit!!

Guten Appetite!!

Dig in Everyone!!

Some images of the relief work sculpted on the great doors entering into the Kolner Dome

Still catching up...A gift to us all and a visit to the Kolner Dome...

Finally the day had arrived for us to depart on our tour of the wine region of the Moselle valley in the south Eastern end of Germany, a few hundred kms for our home near Hannover. On route we planned to spend a few days in Cologne (Koln) to explore the Roman museum there and to pay a visit to the famous Kolner Dome.

Situated on the banks of the Rhine river the Dome it is known for its beauty and also as the largest and most impressive cathedral in Europe. At one point in time it was the tallest building in the world. We stayed about 9 kms down river and we could almost see it from there! Having had an unforgettable experience exploring the Duomo in Milan we were most excited to finally get to see the Dome. Check out the city today here.

Cologne, which means "colony", has been an important city since its founding in approximately 50 AD. Two-hundred-fifty years later, as the capital of the Roman province of Germania, "Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium", as the city was then known, had a population of 300,000 - about one-third its present size. In Medieval times the city flourished as a center of transportation, trade, education - and religion. An important centre for trade and commerce in the 20th century also meant that it was a target of the allies during the war. It is astonishing that it was not destroyed...

A post air raid photograph.



Finally we arrived in the centre ready to see the dome. The approach up the steps towards the Dome.


We admire the ornate exterior with its soaring Gothic columns and detailed tracery and statuary...

...and as we move inside we felt dwarfed and awed by its towering columns...and hushed interior...

and its soaring vaulted ceiling...as well as the massive pipe organ...

*Boy we feel small*...

*And LOUD* ...

*ShhhhhHHH!!*

Lily and her Dad lighting a candle and having a moment of quiet reflection while leaving a donation for someone less fortunate.

After visiting the treasury stories under the cathedral floor, which among other gilded treasures contain the remains of the three Magi of Christmas story fame, read about it here, and having our minds completely blown away by all of that, we trudged some 500 odd steps up the (claustrophobic) tiny tiny spiral turret en route to the roof... *puff...puff...puff...*

...to peek in at the bell tower halfway up for a breather and to look at the immense bell, the largest free swinging church bell in the world weighing in at a hefty 24,000 kg. One can get an idea of the size by the figure to the right of the photo as well as the gentleman doing maintenance above the bell. The bell was smooth and thick cool brass, and we could not help but wonder about it's sound and fervently hope it was not due to ring anytime in the too near future, as well ponder its manufacture in the day when every scrap of metal would have been melted and forged in a wood or coal fire. We could also not help but speculate as to the degree of engineering involved in its installation hundreds of feet above the church below. Wow.

The kids made it ALL the way up, it was quite a feat, and though we all (read I...) felt a little (panickstricken) vertigo especially as the last little bit involved ascending a rather rickety wrought iron staircase suspended up middle up the final windswept turret some (several kilometers) 100 metres up in the air....(almost as bad as the "dining naked in the high school cafeteria dream") *Shudder*... but we all made it....

Riel enjoying the view...

Needless to say the view was spectacular, and made the climb well worth the effort though the degree of the graffiti was a little astonishing. Seems folks port up their own little bottle of white- out all the way up those stairs to leave their mark on the centuries old hand carved stones.

A gorgeous view of the Rhine river and some of the town far far below.

What an amazing gift for us all.

Some catching up to do...Our trip to Koln (Cologne)

The Beauty of a GPS or global positioning system is that where ever you are, you actually KNOW where you are...so if you see something interesting off in the distance, you can actually identify it, find it and get to it!! So as we were making our way the 500 or so odd kms. to Cologne we saw this, way way off in the distance granted in this photo it is about 100 years ago, but astonishingly it still did look pretty much like this...

So we took this path, on such a gorgeous afternoon and walked way, way, WAY up, until my legs were thanking my behind for sitting down and finally taking a load off when we arrived at the top!!
This enormous monument is called Kaiser Wilhelm Denkmal which is also known as the Ports Westfalica marking the border of Westfalia. You can read more about it here.

Schneekonigan"

Tonight we went to see "Schneekonigin" or the Snow Queen, and of course being the cultural boob that I am I was completely unsure of what exactly we were going to see .

*Will it be a play??*

*Will it be theater??*

*Will it be opera???*

I had no idea...turns out the Snow Queen is a ballet.

The story goes something like this; A young girl has a playmate with whom she cavorts and plays through the seasons until the ice queen snatches away the young boys heart and carries him off... far far off, up to the frozen north . The young girl plaintively searches everywhere for her playmate all the while dancing through spring, through summer, and then through fall . Her journey causes her to cross paths with common village folk harvesting in the fields,and entire troupe of gold digging dwarfs, a troll, a flock of ravens or vultures (we were not quite sure) and a royal court including a gilded King and his queen. Finally she is reunited with her long lost playmate, she overcomes the icy queen with her sweetness, rapidly melts her playmates iced over heart and they dance off into the distance.

I must describe to you the opening scene with the ice queen. It was quite magical.

The stage is dark when suddenly the images of snowflakes begin to fall slowly at first and then furiously-flying and flurrying projected onto the frosty front silk screen separating the dancers from the audience. The stage is dark except for the whirling snow, and silent except for a low and threatening roll of drums.

The screen slides silently up and the lights intensify to reveal a bright and shining pillar in the center of the stage. The pillar is very very tall and swathed in mounds of glittering shining silk which is wrapped and spun around and around in a great spiral down from the magnificent head and shoulders of the regal Snow Queen. As the drums increase her gown shimmers and the flecked shards of green ice and silvery blue snowflakes painted there flutter in the air.

The Snow Queen cuts a statuesque and imposing figure with silver tumbling waist length hair, she is enveloped in a sea of underwater green light and her arms are writhing in satiny green gloves. Slowly the fabric at the feet of the ice queen begins to stir and the ice fairies who hidden there begin to emerge swathed in white. The fairies with glittering tulle skirts and sparkling crowns slowly begin to move their twinkling feet and softly sway the snowflakes that rest lightly at the tips of their silver wands as they begin to swirl and twirl at the feet of the ice queen. The music increases and the fairies continue their dance spinning and twirling the great frosted silk skirt of the Snow Queen until it is a frothing and billowing pool of cold spinning silk...,

As we slowly let out our pent up breath the show begins... *sigh*

The moment Lily laid her sweet 4 year old eyes on those ballerinas she turned reverently to me with her great big brown eyes reflecting the lustre of the Snow Queen and the fairies on the stage and said breathlessly to me...

*Mommy...I will be a Ballerina when I grow up big...okay Mommy??*

*Sweet!*

Emerging from the shortbread vortex...

We are slowly beginning to emerge from the shortbread vortex, the shortbread vortex inter-galactically mixed with gingerbread, and Christmas pudding, with lemon sauce and Hagen Daaz ice cream...and Baily's and Cointreau , and turkey and ham with honey glaze and torteire and Buche Noel and chocolate-mixed-with-chili-peppers-and-mango, and chocolate cake shaped like a Christmas tree, and chocolate Santa's and ...

Ooooh my achin' tummy...

*Bulge*

Merry Christmas!!

Halloween.

School activities… school activities… school activities… school activities…
Pick kids up…drop them off……
School activities…
Pick kids up…drop them off…
Shop!
Pick kids up…drop them off…
Shop!
Pick kids up…drop them off…
Sew…Sew…Sew…
Pick kids up…drop them off…
Shop!!
Pick kids up…drop them off…
Bake… bake…Sew…
Pick kids up…drop them off…
Shop… wrap… wrap… cart… cart…
Pick kids up…drop them off…
Breathe…Breathe…OMG almost done…
Pick kids up…drop them off…
Cook… Cook… Cook…*ooh ma achin’ back*…
Pick kids up…drop them off…

Attend the Nussnacker (that is Nutcracker in German)

Silence….

*Music begins*

And now it is Christmas Eve… I almost can’t believe I made it.That

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring not even a mouse,

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care in hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there.

The candles were lit, the fire was stoked, our bellies are full of delicious tortiere, Grand fathers recipe, and now the children are tucked snugly into their beds.

Grandma and Grandpa have arrived on Wednesday, and we’ve had a lovely visit. It is wonderful to have him here for all of us... but especially for the children.

We are So Lucky!!

So now all that is left to do is wait for Santa Claus and enjoy!!

Happy holidays everyone, I wish you all much peace and love and happiness!

See you in 2008!!

Once there was a "Little Red Boat"....

Riel and his Dad have been working very hard at a new project...

The happy kid(s)...

Off we go!!!

Hmmm.... REALLY gotta concentrate...

zoom...

And ZOOOOMMMMM...!!!

I know I promised some pics

I know I have been promising some pics of our area for some time now, and here are a few.

The kids Grandparents were here last week and we took them to see this castle. It is very pretty with a wonderfully restored interior, and pretty grounds.

Here we are at the interior gate in the courtyard.

This is a lovely old windmill very near to our house, it is gorgeous and completely fabricated out of wood which has been faded to a soft silver grey by the centuries of northern German rains.

I love the shape of it with its peaked slate cap, and was surprised to see that there are many similar to this around where we live.

I always associated windmills with Holland...No?

An ok start?

Bach and Sushi...Date night with Riel

Riel has a great friend at school who shares lots of his interests. His parents share our philosophy of exposing their kids to lots of interesting and stimulating stuff, much like we do.

Dee , Sam's mom suggested we take the two boys into Hannover to a Bach concert in a beautiful old church, and I suggested we go for sushi before hand...so there it was ...Bach and Sushi...

We decided to take the train into town , more fun that way especially since we can walk the several blocks from our house to the train station, and it was a lovely balmy day.

The kids and I love the bright red colour of the train as it snakes its way through the green country side. We proceeded inside and took our seats, the commuter trains are super plush and very clean.

I love it. An image of the hills and farm land near where we live, we have lots of windmills around us though I see I did not capture them in this shot...they are so cool, and I love how many of them there are here.

Why don't we have them at home?

Riel on a stair case in the Hauptbanhoff (Main train station) at the centre of Hannover, posing with the girl holding the chocolate bar...

And the boys all giddy and excited out side the church before the concert... (Imagine??!!)


The concert was wonderful. Though we were expecting the emotional and petulant strains of a centuries old great pipe organ we were treated instead to the wafting melodies of a children's choir singing funerary music...We were enchanted none the less...

Niki Saint Phalle

In Hannover we have more sculpture than you can shake a stick at. There are sculptures EVERYWHERE. Some of it I get... and some of it I do not.

Nonetheless all very interesting and thought provoking, and refreshing I find that the city of Hannover has invested so much in supporting sculpture artists. There is an wonderful installation in the centre of town called "Die Nanas" created by Niki Saint Phalle, and here it is...

I love the form of these figures, the colour and the movement as well as the exuberant femininity of them. Nikki celebrates the female form in a fabulous way. Apparently she went on to design and execute another series of female figures dubbed the "Skinnies"

In the largest and most prestigious formal garden in Hannover, the Herrenhausen Gardens (translated to Men's House Garden incidentally) Gardens Nikki has created a sculpture grotto in the interior of a traditional stone 17th century garden building. Entering the Grotto is truly an otherworldly experience, as the artists vision completely envelopes you with shimmering light. The interior is paved with multi textured mirrors and dotted with more colorful figures...She plays with light and incorporates reflections of exterior landscape features. You can find some background information here about her here is her biography, and also a great site about a sculpture garden in Italy called the Tarot garden.

At the The Sprengel Museum (Hannover's museum of modern art) she has built a fibre glass Nana that is hollow and as a shelter and very accessible structure for kids and adults to experience. The kids loved it as not only could they go in and out of it, touch it and be right up close to it but the thing echos. Truly cool.

Way too cool....