Hallothanksadvent (I)

Last weekend brought a tornado of holidays into my life. We had been planning to celebrate Thanksgiving on Saturday. Patrick's family was going to drive down and we were going to cook a large bid. As you may have guessed, that was canceled at the last minute. I hope that the turkey we ordered was at least spared. In my subconscious, the absence of Thanksgiving automatically means Christmas, without realizing I was doing it, I went into Christmas mood the day I found out Thanksgiving was called off. I made plans to have dinner at the newly opened Christmas market, bought twinkle lights for our office plant friend and picked up an Advent wreath at the grocery store. The tree was decorated before I realized what I was doing. As we ate our 1/2 meter wursts, there was a bit of an empty feeling inside, partly because it was not cold enough, partly because it was Thanksgiving, and partly because I had burned the roof of my mouth the previous evening and was unable to indulge in a hot drink. We called it a night and decided to stop at the grocery store on the way home. While there, I had a change of heart which started in the dairy section when I heard Christmas music coming from the speaker above. It continued into the produce section where I saw a sign explaining the concept of buying apples by the case and not individually and got all the apples I needed (and more) to make my Thanksgiving apple pie. Finally, we strolled through the meat section where Patrick pointed out a sole Turkey leg sitting in the fridge. We picked up that leg and with it decided to have our own Thanksgiving the following evening, just the 2 of us. It was perfect. (Note: photos to follow, Blogger is having technical difficulties)

Once again, waiting for my life to begin

You know that feeling, when you're in high school and again when you are in college, just 4, 3, 2, 1 more year(s) until my life begins. I feel that way again but, speaking as someone whose life has already begun in a not so traditional sort of way, I can't decide if this is a good or bad thing. I lived in RI for the first 22 years of my life, in the same house, on the same street, in the same city, until I went to college. I spent my college years in and out of dorms, my parents house, London, camp bunks and shared houses. For the 4 + 1 years I lived in college, I never spent 2 years in the same place. In the 3 years since I've finished grad school I've had a brief stay over in my parents house followed by two apartments in two different German cities. Next month, I move into my third apartment. I claim I hate to move but somehow moving always excites me. New apartment, new decoration, new colors, new set up, etc. I sit here staring at my computer, overshadowed by the gray, cold day out my window and think about moving. Moving out of Mannheim, in 3 years when my life begins. I daydream about a summer in the US. First I think about the familiar East Coast and then my mind wanders across the country to California's sunshine and the idea of new beaches, new waves. I slip and let myself contemplate a summer in Tokyo, two months to explore the rest of Japan on the weekends. It all sounds so appealing. It makes me wonder if I can ever be happy in the present, although I often am, for long periods of time. One day, I plan to own a house with land and ocean proximity will that keep grounded in one place or am I destined to day dream of the next big adventure. Will my American summer become a reality or remain a figment of my dreams? Sunshine would make me so happy right now...summer just left and I am already begging it to come back.

Project 365 - 12 - 22

Aug. 30th - Today was biking day on the wine street but since I posted photos of bikes and vineyards in its own post, here's one of a mama swan and her ugly ducklings swimming in the Rhein. Since we did more eating and drinking than biking, we took the scenic route home by the river. Aug. 31st - I have no idea what this is but it was dated Aug. 31st so I felt it was better than nothing. Bonus points if you can figure out what it is a picture of. Sept. 1st thru 3rd -missing Sept. 4th - We went out to dinner with two of my friends and their boyfriends at Osaka. It's a Japanese cook at your table deal and they dressed us all in these rose scented robes. It was a classic good food and good friends kind of night. I still can't believe people had room for chocolate cake, I think I would have exploded. Sept. 5th - I have no words, I found this thing and just handed Patrick the camera, I was completely in shock. It's some sort of cabbage. Sept. 6th thru 8th - missing Sept. 9th - This was another apartment we looked at, it had a lot of character and a great location and look how huge this private balcony is. But it was run down and the land lord wanted to raise the price so we took ourselves out of the running.

Project 365 - 6-11

I loved the idea of taking a photo EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR but it just has not happened so I've decided to keep trying and if I miss a day, I'll note that. The first day I missed was day 10. Aug. 24th - I started the refinishing/upholstering this chair for my friend's baby's 1st Birthday. It's an antique that I picked up last year in my chair phase. Aug. 25th - A colleague and I hosted the tutors for a raclette dinner (we didn't use the real raclette cheese). It was a nice evening but the only picture I took was of setting up the table. I love raclette. Aug. 26th - Today we looked at a nice apartment practically across the street from where we live now. It was great but we didn't get it because we were not ready to move in Sept. 1. Look at that bath tub, someone is going to enjoy a nice relaxing bubble bath in there. Aug. 27th - This is the only picture I took on the 27th and we were goofing off, oh well we are fun people. Aug, 28th is without a photo. Aug 29th - I finished that chair and made a bow out of the leftover fabric. Kayla's birthday is Sept. so, just in time, hope she likes it!

Californication

I've been sick for almost an entire week. I've been to the doctor twice and he seems to think I just need time and rest (no swine flu for me). So, I needed to find something to occupy my time. Naturally, I turned to the internet, although I did watch a bit of trashy MTV on the projector (we don't own a conventional TV and I love it). You know an MTV show is super trashy when they don't even bother with voice overs in German, just a text translation and I love it. Anyway, I can't lay in bed and watch actual streaming TV so I turned to my lap top. I actually got sick just in time for the return of the fall schedule in the US and thanks to the Internet I am caught up on EVERYTHING.
Going beyond my favorites and the new Pilots, I needed something else to occupy my time that fit within my low energy attention span. Welcome Californication. I always liked the name of the show but hadn't had much of an idea of the plot. I assumed it took place in California but now I know it is a lot more about fornication than California. The main character is a novelist with a teenage daughter and a baby mama otherwise known as his soul mate. He chases her and they raise their daughter together. Sometimes they are together, sometimes they are not, when they're off, he's catching up on his fornication in California. The underlying theme seems to be sex drugs and rock and roll, it's clear why this is Showtime's baby. I'm not sure if it is at all reflective of life in California but it's not that far off from the Hills and that was a reality show. Either way, it's captivating. In 3 day's I've watched two full seasons and will easily watch the 2 episodes (I've already seen the most recent one) of the current third season tomorrow.
Anyone else watching this show? What other series came out in the past 3 years that I may have missed while being out of the country? I still have 3 days of being home sick and will surely require further entertaining.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

I live in Germany. I work at a German University. I want to take a German course. There are German courses offered at the University. I am not allowed to take them. Today was thebreaking point. For a week, I had been waiting to hear back from the woman in charge of courses. She called me back today, I was optimistic based on our last conversation. She told me she looked into it and since I am not an exchange student, I will be unable to take a course. The best (scharciasm is necessary) part, the decision was made by the various departments because doctoral canidates do not need German. While this is true to a point, I have to attend staff meetings in German, my students mostly speak German and the majority of hte administrative staff at the University speaks only German, but it is not necessary for my job and thus I can't have a course. Seriously? I got so frustrated when, after a year of searching for a course, I hit this wall I just cried, in. my. office. - talk about professional. **Update: I have a German course. I had a meeting with my boss this afternoon and expressed my frustrations (in a much calmer way than above). She called the business school and now I have a German course. I have no idea about the level, all I know is it meets 3 hours per week and they will let me in. She told me to try it out and I am more than happy to do so. Yay German!

Good Things Come in Small Packages Part 1

Edit: This post was written for the wedding blog but I posted it in the wrong place. Since it is so photo heavy, I am having trouble moving and don't want to start over but thought I should explain the RI/wedding references. Apologies for the confusion. I just found this link via a Tweet and it inspired me to start posting about RI. If you have not been to RI, and I know this includes about 10% or so of our guest list, hopefully you will learn a little bit about the smallest state in the nation.

The focus of this post, in case you haven't clicked on that link is food. Particularly RI specialties. Let's take a bit of a culinary photo tour featuring the foods I grew up on and nicely compiled in the link above, shall we.

Starting with what I like to call cold pizza. This culinary delight is a native Rhode Islander, best from Crugnale's bakery or any bakery in Cranston. Sometimes it is referred to as bakery pizza (because you buy it at a bakery, not a pizza shop) or party pizza (aou will find it at EVERY party). Since I just told you you can find it at every party, I guess this should be on our wedding menu, maybe the caters will let us bring some in. In looking for a photo, I found some cute commentary, you can read about cold pizza from a fellow transplanted Rhode Islander. I loved this quote, "...you can find it here and there in the Northeast. But Rhode Island owns the niche."

Moving on, you will need a nice refreshing treat and you MUST have a Del's soft frozen lemonade while in RI. Pictured is the watermelon and lemon variety. As a kid, we only had the lemon, followed by lemon lite and then watermelon. Last May, I went to Del's and found a whole selection of new flavors but I still prefer the original. Mr. Lemon in Providence is rumored to be better than Del's (which is a BIG statement to make in RI) but I can't sing their praises since the one time I had it, ended in a car accident (I was sitting in the back seat). Del's is a must "eat" while in the ocean state and available at several Del's shops, trucks and carts.

Photo Source

Now that we left the snack food behind, let's talk main dish in the form of a Lobster Roll (the picture here looks so delicious but was too big for my blog and I couldn't do the necessary resizing right now). The lobster roll is the ultimate in fancy meets casual. You can get one of these babies at a clam shack or a formal restaurant. In the right area, you can even buy one from McDonald's during the summer. Think lobster tail chopped up with a dressing in a toasted hot dog style bun with a pickle on the side, nom nom nom. I was never a fan of the lobster roll, until I tried one (in 2006), unfortunately I'm not in RI during the summer enough to tell you where to eat my favorite but I'm sure you could find one on your own. I have never had the McD's version but would not make that your first.

For a seafood treat that I am a lot more familiar with, try some clam cakes and chowder (say: chow-da). The basic ingredients in clam chowder are clams, potatoes and onions, often other ingredients are added and every chef has his or her own twist. There are three main types of clam chowder available in RI.

For the purists, there is the ever elusive, RI chowder, sometimes referred to as quahog chowder. When done right this is super delicious but not on many menus.

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The always available and my choice is New England or White clam chowder. I love to drop in oyster crackers or dip my clam cakes! I am trying really hard to get this on the wedding menu. If you want an upscale version, try the Blue Fin Grill in the Providence Marriott, they serve New England clam chowder year round, clam cakes are not on the menu but the calamari appetizer is pretty good too if you are looking for a pairing but be sure to share, the chowder is filling.

The third type of clam chowder is Manhattan or red, which is the favorite of my mom, a non seafood eater. This is also easily available at most clam shacks or seafood restaurants. Typically it is more of a soup and less clammy than the others (which naturally explains why mom likes it so much).

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You MUST pair your chowder with clam cakes. These deep fried little guys are not light and I would not recommend more than 3 per sitting, your stomach will thank you later. The ones pictured below are from what is quite possibly, my favorite clam shack by the beach, Aunt Carries.

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All of this delicious RI food is making my mouth water and my stomach grumble so I am going to stop daydreaming and think about a more realistic dinner. Don't think that's all RI has to offer, I will be back with more temptation from the smallest state.