Balconying... (for want of a garden)

Spargel!

This past week Asparagus (Spargel) season has officially started here in Germany... and although the locals tend to favour the white stuff, the green does pop up too... 

Friends, I was keen to showcase that Aussies also have a historic culinary tradition with these spears - so imagine my ridiculous excitement when I discovered jars of the green stuff in my local supermarket - just in time for today's Beaut Aussie Picnic! 

(Although, I must admit the local bread has let me down somewhat... doesn't have quite the same elasticity of the genuine Oz loaf...)

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr................

Not only has it been the 2nd gloomiest winter on record here in Deutschland, it has also been bone-chillingly cold. So cold in fact, that someone has actually knitted a scarf for the temporary water pipe on the Kö.

Can it please be spring soon?

Golly Gosh!

But the Brits put on a jolly fine show, don't they? Have thoroughly enjoyed this opening ceremony... as is my four yearly wont. (The Ger-Man has slept through most of it, and the Caspi-Man passsed out an hour ago.)

A friend had made Pimms n' lemonade and cucumber sandwiches to enhance his watching, but dammed if I was gonna do that. Last time I tried that was to take to a friend's to watch a certain royal wedding and as I was finalising the little triangles on a nice platter, certain cramps could no longer be ignored - and the Cheeky Monkey had joined us before the balcony kiss... it was two days before I saw THE hats!!

Needless to say that the Cheeky Monkey is no longer a baby, in fact, he has become a fully fledged toddler... affording me further excuses to neglect this blog. (I do blog a lot, but it is mostly in my head... probably better that way!)  

Here is a pic from 15 months ago:

Up the duff...

How did that happen?

Am very, very up the duff ... due date is on Monday...

It is all quite surreal, really.

A pointless random ponder:

They don't call kangaroos "Springenlangschwänzigentier", so why do they call a platypus a "Schnabeltier"?


der Schnabel: the beak, or bill.
das Tier: the animal.


(note to self: must refrain from challenging The Caspi Man with these pointless observations while he is doing his german homework... deep breath, bite tongue.)

I love a sunburnt country...

 A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains... and where they make ads like this... (mmmm...lamb...)

Oh, boy, has Germany changed me...

Last night, I found myself deciding to melt some Schmultz (which is pretty much just pure rendered pork fat) through some sauerkraut to have with dinner.

And it was good...

Kann Kind... (wish it started with a C)...

So, The Caspi-Man has started school. 

  
  

First School Day

I had been anticipating and dreading this day in equal measure. Anticipating? Because, well, because it is one of life's important milestones, right? Dreading? Because, well, because:


a) it means getting up early and to school ON TIME (by 8am), every single school day. 


b) the end of spontaneously heading off on random adventures and holidays regardless of time of year. 


c) it won't be too long before he starts correcting my German grammar.


d) I will be expected to help him with his homework. In German. (See (c).)


d) many other reasons that I cannot be bothered listing... but suffice to say that (a) alone would be enough.


Here is the Caspi-Man's "first day" snapshot with his Schultüte:

 A german tradition - the Schultüte was historically filled with lollies and trinkets to share with classmates and win new friends.


Every time I see one I'm struck by how much they are like upside down Dunce's caps.


These days, the Schultüte is usually made at Kindergarden, and filled with surprises (& of course, lollies) to unpack at home. The Caspi-Man's included an alarm clock. (Have I mentioned that we have to be at school by 8 am? Every day!) 

My Mother-In-Law,  (aka The Schwierigmutter), was entrusted to take the compulsory family picture at the school gate:

Yep... this would be a typical example of why 

she is also known as the Schwierigmutter!

On day 3 of school,  I was confronted with my first dilemma in the helping of the homework.


The assignment? Bring something from home that starts with the same letter as the first letter of your name. 


Ok... that would be "C" ... let's think...

CARROT? 
No, hang on, that would be K, wouldn't it? 


Ok, how about your rubber CROCODILE? 


Oh, K again. 


CAT? Bugger… 


How about... some CHOCOLATE? Oh, wait ... that's Schokolade – “S”, isn’t it….hmmmm… Chillies! You could take some chillies ... 

"That's a doof (dumb!) idea, mama!"

Drawing a complete blank, and with the Ger-Man away, I needed to consult the German to English translation dictionary (and of course "C" seems to be the shortest chapter).

Aha! Clown!

Bugger, we don't have any clown stuff (because let's face it ... they're slightly creepy). 

And then I got to "Computer" YAHOO! 

"You can take your 'Cars' Computer that Aunty P gave you... that's even 2 'Cs'!" 

"Good idea, Mama!"

The next day, at some ungodly and dark hour (ie before 8 am), we are underway to school  and the Caspi-Man says to me, "Good thing we remembered my LAPTOP, huh, Mama?"

Must learn not to leave him unattended with my computer:

Bound to come in handy...

I have just learnt that Nauru, the world's smallest island nation, was held by Germany from 1888 to the outbreak of WWI in 1914, at which point it was seized by ... 

guess which country?

As a general rule-

many Germans like to make fun of their Dutch neighbours for their caravan-ing ways. (In some circles this is a national past-time.) If they're not making fun of them, then they'll be complaining about them clogging up the autobahns during peak holiday times with their mobile homes.

I find this attitude a bit rich when one considers that the Deutsch population supports 4 (yes, FOUR!!) specialist caravan-ing magazines:

Two of which put out additional summer editions...