11.2.2010 von admin.

… and no pray, spell or curse would get that umbrella out over the Di Elfe grounds and spare us from the snow.

Two days of continuous snowing resulted in a realization that the  property needed to be extended to enable me to build further snow piles, clearing the parking lot, for cars coming and departing.The muscles, used during pre-Christmas at the last shoveling-act, are once again in pain and silly me thought they would remember from the last time.

Good it stopped snowing this afternoon, as the difficulty of sneaking some tons of snow onto the neighbours land un-noticed would be close to impossible. Not mentioning the hassle to keep a straight face, when questioned: how come our 2 metres snow-pile just evaporated over night?

The dog almost drowned in the snow during his morning walk and looked rather annoyed  as I kept using him as a snow-plow, clearing the boardwalk on our way down to the lake. He has been quiet ignorant all day when I think about it. I guess he didn’t appreciate it as much as I thought..

Anyway - time to get that fire under control

So long - keep those summer-tires off the streets..

/S

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6.2.2010 von admin.

…. , deciding which action should be taken, weighing the possible consequences and deal with it…

It snows in Austria and I don’t sound surprised anymore… Complaining the other day to a Swedish friend, he just replied - Snow in Austria? No shit… Then I realised: - what is the probability that there wouldn’t be snow in Austria, considering Austria is intimately connected with ski-slopes, mountains and after-ski… I didn’t really believe snow would keep out of my property, did I ? Duh?!

If you decide to ignore the facts, there is no way in a hundred moons you will be prepared for what you are up against and you will fail. There are things in life you can’t influence (like the weather if you don’t have a direct line to the weather Gods), however some actions along the line can turn the result and consequences into something we all can live with.

As an example to make it simple:

Fact: Since early morning it has been snowing and the result is that the front porch and parking lot is full of snow.

Action: None

Consequence: Someone can slip, fall and break something

Result: The possibility of getting  a fine is rather probable and the person effected will be in agony and pain and the end of the day I need to shovel the snow anyway.

If I choose action: - shovel snow even though it will never be one of my most joyful activities. The consequence is far more positive, at least I can deal with pains in my muscles,I avoid someone slipping and the probability of getting sued has drastically reduced, not mentioning it actually looks rather nice with a tidy front-yard.

So deal with the brutal facts and get those actions lined up, speaking of which, I need to do some shoveling again.

So long - stay tuned

/S

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1.2.2010 von admin.

…could be the fantastic chocolate fudge cake.  The recipe is unfortunately in Swedish but works miracles…at least for the moment. As soon as there is no more left of it, the dripping nose and the fever shows up and clogs your head again. Not even mentioning the weight showing on the scale after downing the several ounces of sugar, syrup and chocolate its containing.. I am most certain that there would be some objections from the doctor, but this cake tastes much better then the antibiotics and herbal tea’s you might come across anyway.

Never mind - works for the moment and according to the wise - feed a cold and starve a fever.

The cold weather has made its way to us as well, with -11°C, some snow and sunshine, the Carinthian winter-landscape invites to long walks, however with ski-pants and gloves. Dress warm - is the key, and as I look absolutely fabulous (?) with a bonnet, its added to the outfit….

The walk with the dog has been conducted and as my head feels heavy and brain only working on a slow pace, I will return to a horizontal position, under the duvet with a good book and get that cold out of my system.

So long - stay healthy

/S

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17.1.2010 von admin.

…whatever that’s suppose to mean… at least I try to put it a context of smart, brilliant and a shining star.. that’s me by the way, at least if I have my own say in the matter. Anyway it was said (and not by me) and my translation with a slight modification concluded it as a positive remark about my intellectual state. It didn’t even cross my mind that it could have anything to do with the clear blue sky, sun and the necessity of wearing sun-glasses..

The weeks pass quickly and we survived both pre-Christmas, Christmas, post Christmas, New Year and half of January in a swoosh, gained some weight (seriously -who doesn’t?) and even lost some after long days of diet. I call it the post-Christmas trauma.

VSV (the local ice-hockey Team from Villach) won the Derby in and against Klagenfurt last week and over 30.000 fans visited the changed football arena celebrating this open-air ice-hockey event. Unfortunately we had no tickets, so I shoveled snow instead and listened to the radio. I have never shoveled so much snow in my life as last weekend and there were muscles in pain days afterwards. I find it very strange that muscles actually pop up where as far as I am concerned, never have been any before..

Anyway- got to go

So long - another diet day tomorrow

/S

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8.1.2010 von admin.

….five hours…

Met up with a friend yesterday, in Italian Tarvisio for one of the best pizzas ever. Took a stroll after we stuffed ourselves through the old city centre, visited the local mercato (marketplace) specialized in leather, so a dream for any handbag fanatic. If you go there mid-week and low-season the probability of getting a better price is high. You just need to negotiate with passion, as the Italians do.

Some of the houses are fairly run down, which is a pity. It felt like going back at least 20 years in time, following the narrow board walks up the hill, with the buildings almost placed in the middle of the street, old signs and we could have painted a black and white landscape, capturing the snow, the grey houses and the dirt from the cars.

Tarvisio is located in the northeastern part of the region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia in the province of Udine and has a population of almost 5.000 people. Before the Schengen agreement, opening up the boarders, Tarvisio was booming economically as a centre for trading junction between former Yugoslavia and Austria. Today, Tarvisio is known for its profound alpine snow which attracts many tourists for skiing and snowboarding, mainly schools. It was host to the 2003 Winter Universiade and the Women’s 2007 Alpine Skiing World Cup.

We passed through Kranjska Gora in Slovenia (know for skiing and world cups) on our way back, stopped the famous shop located on the border, where cheap cigarettes, wine, perfume and bits and bobs can be purchased to very competitive prices.

Today, I have been shoveling snow, shoveling snow and shoveling snow… Unfortunately the snow is the heavy sort and I have slight difficulties feeling my upper arms right now. I guess, that if it keeps going like this - I will be doing it all over again later this afternoon… hurray…. not… If I didn’t have as lovely neighbours as we have, I would buy one of those snow blowers and clear out the snow from the property…. I like snow…but not where I need to shovel.

So long - snow snow snow

/S

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6.1.2010 von admin.

… is the story of life. We live and die, we laugh, we cry… My heart goes out to a dear friend who lost a family member yesterday… rest in peace.

The past days around the house have been busy….not only food has taken up parts of the agenda for once, even though a big part included cooking… Wiener Schnitzel and Bavarian Schweinsbraten with potato dumplings (Kartoffelknödel) yummy yummy yummy…. I did my Masters in Bavarian cooking and have realized I could go for an armature house-wife award as long as it doesn’t contain ironing.

I have also had some dear friends around so we did some sightseeing, shopping and games of cards. I won all the time by the way and realized that this specific card-game (Skip-bo) has to be designed for women as it includes a lot of logic, plenty of multitasking and luck ;-).

We had some snow as well, not much, but covered some of the grey spots and brightens up the landscape. No need to shovel though, joyful, joyful!

So long - so soon

/S

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2.1.2010 von admin.

…me…

Embarrassing but true… though heard the fireworks from a horizontal position. There were moments where I actually had the feeling they were next to my bed. I must say - I tried really hard to stay awake but without any success. My dear dog slept through it all, snoring away in his most comfortable position. But I wasn’t the only one missing out on ringing in the New Year…so did the rest of the household, even though they managed to stay up later then I did.

So 2010 came, has started and not much changed since last year…

We had the opportunity to enjoy fireworks on the 1st January, as our neighbours are celebrating a birthday every year.  I watched from a safe distant, dog slept through this one as well and the New Years Eve extended, however without the champagne.

It started snowing today, our guests from Sweden left and we have more Swedes coming this evening. Friends are arriving on Sunday and the diet has to wait until they leave, as I don’t want them to starve while they are here (of course this has nothing to do with possibly me missing out on the good food which will be cooked).

Still no sign of the snow shoveling elves, guess they felt under-paid or got a job somewhere else.

So long -  stay tuned

/S

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31.12.2009 von admin.

…. is always a challenge for a morning person like myself. Around 10 pm the sleep-elf stomps on my shoulder, pulls the eyelids down with immense powers and listening to a snoring dog next to you gives me the rest. Why on earth do we combine champagne and ringing in the coming year at midnight? I would prefer celebrating this at a more normal time of day, maybe I start celebrating other time-zones New Year’s Eve… it would also give it a more international touch..

Of course the menu is set for today and has been for the past days. I couldn’t even get out of bed before the discussions around the gravy started and continued with tomorrows food-intake and the snacks to go with it. There must be a hobby I could take up as passionately as food??? Tomorrow I will figure that one out…

Twenty-ten will be a good year, with or without resolutions and the new year will begin with or without me ringing it in.

Happy celebrations and a good start to you all!

So long -2010 to come

/S

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29.12.2009 von admin.

…. is in this household an excuse to eat. Since beginning of December (yes around here we start early), the fridge has been full with all the things not containing low-fat or healthy stamped on them. We have also extended the fridge to the veranda as the space is much larger then the fridge and has the same temperature. Joyful, joyful! Chocolate candy, cakes, creamy sauces and roast this and that has been the main events around the kitchen table the past month. Just before breakfast the agenda has been to discuss what should be main course, evening snack and desserts throughout the day… sad, yummy but true. At least I realized what my New Years resolution will be, starting the 1st January after I tried my jeans on this morning… Recently started “Eat pray love” by Elisabeth Gilbert, and I am still on the chapter “Eat”… figures…

Better get done with that chapter, moving in to more spiritual grounds until the 1st of January. Need the higher power to keep me away from the chocolate temptation.

So long - I am stuffed

/S

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27.12.2009 von admin.

…. The past days it has been raining and the snow is gone in the lower parts of Techelsberg and the water is now in our cellar. The condensation water from the hill behind the house found its path through the basement…again. Instead of using the ditch next to the road, the direct route under our house was preferred. Unfortunately this means coming through the floor. Hurray! It’s like an ants path, no way to fool nature to take take a different root…at least not long term.. Anyway, the water pump is working hard downstairs and the laundry room floor had its Christmas wash.

Same procedure as last year James….

New Years Eve is coming up, and just in a few days it will be 2010…wow…another year and new resolutions.  New challenges ahead and getting older. Still won’t admit I am over 30 and I guess this will reamain next year as well. Some things shouldn’t change, especially if they work..

It’s almost 10 years since I fell in love with Carinthia, visiting Villach and the surrounding area for the first time. Despite my wish back then, to live here, I couldn’t imagine me being here 10 years later. We are lucky when our dreams come true, at least we can influence the direction if we are persistent enough and some where down the line we can be content with the result. Not all dreams come true and I believe in that there is a reason for everything. For some dreams, de-tours are necessary to finally reach the goal and some dreams will remain dreams.

So long - no messing with nature

/S

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