Still here, for a little while longer at least

I honestly do have a valid reason for the last month's silence -- my parents were here, my husband was seriously sick, and we're now preparing to move next month. We managed to survive the first two admirably, but the last one may give me an ulcer. I mean really, who in their right mind moves just before Christmas?! After almost four years of living in Germany, we're heading back to England. I love living here -- great house, neighbours, school, etc -- so I'm just a bit reluctant to move. My other half is trying to shake me out of my pessimistic mood and I'm sure he's right that we'll find a place that we love just as much as here (just don't tell him that).

So needless to say, most of my Christmas projects are now cancelled and I'm just working on a few unfinished pieces. I did manage the following:

• Halloween: Got my lanterns and my daughter's trick or treat bag done just in time. Both are Martha Stewart projects. I love, love, love the felt bag -- it was easy and quick and guess what I'm making an Easter tote out of.

• In the Kitchen: Next time a friend says, "I don't have time to do anything with these; would you like them?" Don't believe her. My neighbour handed me a bag of quinces. Not knowing anything about them, I accepted. I'm starting to suspect that she doesn't like me anymore. After a few days of cuts, bruises, burns, and a house stinking of quince and burnt sugar, I produced something akin to quince cheese and quince jam. Never again.

• Christmas projects: Got my Christmas cake and mincemeat done last week. Don't think I'll have time to much more, but maybe after the move I'll have time for gingerbread men or a last-minute Christmas pudding. Am doing a vintage Christmas pattern stitch along, but am v. frustrated with it at the moment. Made an elementary mistake in choosing a red and white Santa to go on a white towel. Santa's face completely disappears! Ugh. May have to rip out his head and start again. On a more positive note, a friend came over the other day and taught me how to make German stars! Guess what I'm decorating the tree and my presents with this year. I couldn't resist making a few of these mittens too. Not sure if they're going on the tree or if I'm going to tie them around presents. If I can get enough done by Dec. 1st, I'll put numbers on them and use them for an Advent calender.

There are a few more projects I hope to squeeze in before the move. I'll try to post them if I do. If not, you may not hear from me until January. Wish us luck!

Plum crazy!

The local plum season is here again! I love the German plums here – they’re about the size of goose eggs and are wonderfully sweet with just a hint of tart. They’re great for snacking, but they’re even better to cook with.

Now last year I went a bit crazy and ended up with three buckets full of plums. I made plum jam, spiced plum cheese (something akin to overcooked jelly) and plum and apple chutney. As you can imagine, we are still eating these preserves off. Therefore this year I will to be more controlled. At the moment, I only plan to make a few cakes.

As the neighbourhood children have stripped the wild plum trees of their fruit already, we headed off to the nearest pick-your-own orchard, Obsthof Schneekloth on Sunday. This is one of our favourite local haunts during the summer fruit season – we ramble around the orchards, stop in the café for a dreamy cake, then my daughter runs around the playground or the small animal petting area (guinea pigs, rabbits, and goats galore).

We gorged ourselves on these:

We hauled home just over a kilo of these:

Of which I made this, a plum, almond and ricotta cake:

Hmmmm, I don’t think I can just stop there. Maybe a bottle or two of plum cordial is in order. Or maybe a pan of plum leather. Or maybe a jar or two of pickled plums…..

In other news, I did finish my project for the DOW Wednesday Stitch Along. I chose Floresita’s “Bear in Mind” pattern. Sorry, couldn’t find a maker or pattern number. As I admitted, I did start this a bit early – I was too eager to wait. The phrase “a nice stitchy indulgence” got my brain going. I’ve been sitting on these fabrics for awhile waiting for a useful project, so what better use than a cover for my book of stitches? The poor book does get bashed about a bit in my embroidery bag, as I take my embroidery with me when I can.

The stitching turned out all right, although I learned that I need to practice my blanket and satin stitches. I had to redo the eye and spool a few times. As you can see, I gave up and used good old backstitch. I am practising satin stitch on my current project and am slowly improving.

In all, I enjoyed this stitch along and can’t wait for the next one!

A moment of rest

Craziness, sheer and utter craziness -- the last two weeks have been bonkers. At one point we had six people here sharing one and a half bath. Then in the middle of it we travelled nine hours (due to terrible traffic) to Monchengladbach for a wedding. Well, the house is quiet again for the moment and I'm just now catching up on my blogroll. There's one terrific blog that I just started following -- Tea Rose Home. At the moment she has a Mother's Day giveaway going on. Please stop by! Although I'm newish to sewing, she has a number of terrific sewing tutorials that I think I can even follow. In flickr news, Graphics Fairy now has a flickr group. I've added pics of some of my work.

Gotta run for now -- I'm hosting a tea party tomorrow and I haven't even started preparing! The all-home-made menu (as of this moment): scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam, porter cake, banana bread, cucumber sandwiches, smoked salmon sandwiches, egg salad sandwiches (all with crusts cut off of course), tea, coffee, and lemonade. Pictures to come!

Gromitz Kite Festival

Kite Festival, originally uploaded by Tea Potty.

Last weekend we visited the Gromitz Kite Festival. As we wore shorts and cycled there last year, it felt like the beginning of summer. This year we drove and wore winter coats, what a difference. Unfortunately, there wasn't very much wind, so only a few kites actually made it up on Saturday. We still had fun though. There were children's activities and my daughter had her face painted, so she was happy.

During the summer, we frequently visit the town just for a pleasant half day out. Gromitz is a nice little town with a terrific beach. The immaculate promenade is new (ish) and is lined by little cafes, restaurants and shops. Playgrounds and toilettes are conveniently spaced out down the beach, so it is very family friendly. Our favourite Eis Cafe is pictured below. My husband loves the mint chocolate, I love the coconut ice cream, and my daughter loves anything pink. They have a huge selection of ice cream, which I think is made on site. They also have a good beverages and kuchen (cakes and tortes).

The town is also home to two other attractions that we love. The indoor pool, located right on the beach front, is fantastic. My daughter loves the kiddie pool and the wave pool. The second attraction is Obsthof Schneekloth, a pick-your-own fruit farm and cafe. This year we are definitely not going to miss the cherry season here!

Easter treats

Easter treats, originally uploaded by Tea Potty.

Hope you had a happy Easter! It was a bit chilly and changeable here, but we managed to get out and about a bit. It is hard to believe that last Easter I was wearing shorts and we ate our Easter dinner (lamb shanks in red wine -- yummy) outside!

This weekend all crafts got put aside and I donned my apron for some major cooking and baking. I started on Thursday with hot cross buns. I’ve never made them before and although I did do a bit of swearing, I will make them again next year. Maybe I’ll try a different recipe, as the buns were heavy and not as fluffy as I like them.

On Friday, we made our fun eggs. Usually we make chocolate eggs (dark chocolate drizzled with milk and white chocolate) in a silicon Easter egg mould, but this year we broke with tradition. We made chocolate rice krispie Easter eggs. While the crispies were still warm in the pan, I used the egg mould to roughly press the treats into shape. Then using lightly oiled hands we finished smoothing them into eggs. Using a bit of leftover melted chocolate, we “glued” on smarties and chocolate buttons. My daughter was covered in chocolate by the time she was done, but we had great fun.

As all of the hot cross buns were gone by Saturday, I made a batch of simnel muffins to last us the weekend. These are one of my favourites – they have a little nugget of marzipan in the middle.

Most of Sunday afternoon was spent hovering around the kitchen. As our relatives are too far away for a quick weekend visit, I just had to cook for the three of us. It gives me a good excuse to try out new recipes that I wouldn’t cook on a daily basis. This year I made Gary Rhodes’ slow-roasted, honey-glazed duck. Although the glaze turned out much darker than it should have and the skin didn’t go crispy, it was gorgeous. It was the best duck I have ever had – slightly sweet from the honey and meltingly tender. One store-bought, 2.4 kg duck fed the three of us perfectly. This was a bit disappointing as I was hoping for leftovers. I should’ve known though. It was time consuming for just one meal – basting every 5-10 minutes at the end! I will consider doing this one again either for a romantic Valentine’s dinner or maybe doubling it and doing two ducks at once.

As I knew I would be spending so much time on Easter dinner, I resorted to buying Louise Lamb (see above). Around us here in Germany, this lamb-shaped cake is popular in bakeries. If I can still find one, I’m going to buy it – it was so cute! It was a pound-cake or Madeira-cake type of cake covered with powdered sugar. We ate it with hot custard, but I’m sure berries would be perfect as well.

Now we’re getting back into our workweek routine, with just our Easter sweets left to console us until the next holiday! I’ve hung up my apron for a little while (friends and relatives are descending on us in a week) and have resumed my embroidery.

One last note – I’m so excited about my latest flea market find! I don’t have a proper tea set, so I’ve just collected pretty and unusual tea cup and plate sets from local flea markets. I never spend more than 5 euros. I was so surprised to see this one with a spool of thread and needle on it! I snapped it up naturally. Now I think it is time for a muffin and cup of tea!

Emergency Tea & Cake Fund

Emergency Tea & Cake Fund, originally uploaded by Tea Potty.

I got tired of searching through my purse for spare change yesterday, so I came up with this solution. I took a tiny tin that I've had for ages and created two stickers. Presto! Introducting my new Cake, Tea & Parking Meter Emergency Fund. I hereby swear to always, always keep enough change in here to afford the aforementioned.

Yes, I know that is what a coin purse is for, but if you saw all the copper in mine you would understand. I can never find the correct coins exactly when I want them. The euro system uses way too many coins. Why do they make a two cent coin anyway?

Thanks to Graphics Fairy for the fantastic images!