Life: Idiotropic

With a flight to the states early the next morning, we decided to spend New Year's as a family in Brussels. Think big international city on New Years. You expect a few fireworks at least... some music... and the Christmas market that they always advertise as running until after the New Year.

The Grand Place is beautiful no matter what the season, but the relative quiet was strange. No bands. No parties. No fireworks. No market. People - yes. Lots of people. Shops open late - especially some of the chocolate shops. Restaurants putting out menus with elevated prices. Over-sized Christmas trees with oversimplified decorations not fit for this city. A large nativity.

That was it.

So, we walked around, listed to the street musicians, enjoyed a decent meal on the narrow "fish" street jutting off the Grote Markt. This was where Tiara wasn't carded nor questioned, but served a sweet (yes, alcoholic) aperitif. Dinner, chocolates... and back to the hotel for the kid's highlight - swimming in a pool that was much to cold for the wimpy mother. Brrr. I'm more of a hot tub girl, I think.

Cuddled together and watched a New Year's party in London, then the fireworks in Berlin... woke up to the New Year's countdown in New York.

Oh... and the cool moon picture above is one that yours truly took just before we left. Supposedly this was some cool astronomical occurrence. Moon aligning with a couple planets though I only saw one planet.

More Photos: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=84140&l=6e786&id=674507268

Photos:

1. Things you wouldn't ordinarily see in the middle of a lake. (But I'm not volunteering to fetch it- brrrr)

2. Something that you would normally see at a lake; however, not normally "walking" on the water. I think his feet were cold, hence the funky chicken dance.

3. Two adventurous girls proved without a doubt that these geese at least do not eat stale popcorn nor old gingerbread - and you'd think a layer of ice would encourage broader eating habits.

20th -- Lazy Saturday... painted our salt dough ornaments a little more and decorated them with jewels and puff paints. Elise made this very fancy yellow airplane for some lucky family member. (Ok, so I was really truly ahead of the game... holiday boxes almost ready and pretty much filled just as December hit... and then life hit warp speed and I've been behind every since. New Year's boxes will, with luck, be mailed hopefully may be by New Years. Yes, that's when cards will go out too... again... with luck.)

21st -- A complete blur... I know that we must have done at least one Christmasy thing... but I can't remember what. :(

22nd -- I went to a friend's home to make home made tamales - a delicious chicken version and a spicy pork version. It was the first time I'd ever made them and it was a messy process, but fun! Hint - spread the masa on the smooth side of the corn husk. It's quite disastrous to try to pry the filling from the bumpy side once their cooked. I have to make these myself and experiment a bit before posting the recipe with photos... but I think it's do-able. Really, I'd expected home made tamales to be a lot more impossible.

Anyway... I cooked, the little girls played - and then we all went shopping. Tiara spent the day with friends at Snowworld skiing - indoors - but it's better than nothing and a bunch of teenagers can have a great time doing just about anything as long as they're together.

23rd -- The girls and I went to the Aachen Christmas market. Today was the last day of the market and most likely my last time here since we're moving this summer. It was beautiful and sad, so I took a bunch of pictures. We had our last market meal - frites and bratwurst, wandered around the market, shopped a little, found a nice shaving set for Kirk in a 1600's house that used to be a basket maker on Korbstrasse, ran into several friends, listened to street musicians, and warmed ourselves with coffee at Starbucks. (I really wanted to soak up the atmosphere a bit more and join the masses standing at tiny tables with warm glasses of dark plum coloured Gluewein, but with the girls, I just couldn't do that. Sad. Oh well... the sangria in Spain will be a nice substitute.) It was sunny and beautiful, not horribly cold. Felt good to be there and people watch.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=79612&l=72ef5&id=674507268

When we got home, we decorated our annual gingerbread house. This year we had snowmen, moose, and trees to decorate as well.


















24th - I wanted to go to Maastricht, but it was below 0 and I had two at home with colds who didn't need to be colder. So, it was a very nice relaxing day of Christmas movies and last minute elf errands. Arianna helped me cook a pasta dinner, the girls played, and in the evening, the little girls and I made new Christmas stockings together while watching It's a Wonderful Life. That movie still makes me cry.

25th -- Merry Christmas!!!

Luci's letter to Santa:


Luci saw Santa in November and didn't know what she wanted. Then, she figured it out, wrote 3-4 letters to Santa (one is above), and came to me so worried that she didn't tell Santa what she really wanted.

It was especially fun to play the elf on Christmas eve late setting everything out under the tree. And it was just perfect to wake up in the morning to my sweet girls asking if they could go downstairs and see if Santa had come, and to hear the happy squeals getting louder as they ran all the way upstairs to tell me excitedly that they'd gotten American Girl dolls for Christmas.

Tiara was kind and got up early and we all sat around the tree together. It was a happy Christmas and we were all spoiled.

All day the girls played and watched American Girl movies. All day I relaxed and cooked. In the evening we had some friends over for a quiet dinner together. We had our first taste of Yorkshire pudding compliments of my friend, Maria who'd lived in England, ham, blue cheese rosemary scalloped potatoes, and a few other things. Pumpkin cheesecake with a gingersnap crust for dessert.

26th -- A cookie party with friends was enough to mark the day as special and still allow a lazy day to relax. The kids are especially happy having a few days at home. And I'm using the time to clean and sort though things.

27th -- Another sunny, beautiful, below freezing day that is better spent inside (2 sick people here), so friends stopped by in the evening for coffee, cheesecake, and a visit. And the rest of the day has been carefree and stress free.

15 December: Elise rode the NATO Santa Train with her class then she sung a bunch of Christmas songs with her class before sharing cookies with all the camera toting parents waving and watching. The teachers gave small gifts to the kids and the kids gave the gifts they make to their parents - daring edible snowmen made with white German cookies for the bodies and a domino cookie for the top hat.

16 December: I should have been at a meeting this morning, but I needed a day at home and so did Elise, so when she didn't want to go to Tinny's and I couldn't find another sitter, we spent our morning napping and cuddling on the couch. So my morning wasn't super productive, but it did recharge me to tackle painting dough ornaments with the girls after school. The girls are making all sorts of random crafty things that they'll wrap and we'll get mailed out after the holidays.

17 December: This morning I baked gingerbread boys for one of the kindergarten classes. Two years ago when Arianna was in that class I brought dough to the class and the kids rolled, cut, baked, and decorated cookies. The teacher had taken that activity and turned it into an entire day of fun for the kids. Elise still talks about the gingerbread boy who popped out of the oven and ran away. So, this morning I brought 20 prebaked cookies for the kids and one large unbaked boy who ended up running away just like the boy in the story and leaving notes all around the school. It was fun to watch the kids run screaming from place to place so excited to find the big cookie they'd seen earlier. From the kitchen to one playground, then another, to the Principal's office and finally to the library where the gingerbread boy had gotten tired and gone back to his book. It was cute.


18 December: My day. These last few weeks have been so crazy that I'd only been to one Christmas market - ok two, but the second one I was dancing in and didn't shop. It's sad. This is my last Christmas in Germany and I feel like I haven't seen enough or done enough here. So many markets... so much to see... so much tradition and beauty. And I've frittered away my time being busy with stuff. Stuff just happens and my calendar fills before I have time to schedule in the fun. But today, instead of being sucked into some unnecessary things that I could do, I kidnapped a similarly fun deprived friend and we headed to Aachen with no agenda but to wander and enjoy the city and the market. Coffee at Middleburg, wandering around the tiny streets, having what will probably be my last Christmas market meal here, and shopping for a few treasures that are made in Germany... that was my day. Beautiful, peaceful, and needed. We even got a bit of sun before it turned dark and cold. Elise had her last day of school and a pizza party. Arianna had her class party and store where she could spend the play money she'd earned all year. And I just relaxed and met them at the end of the school day.


19 December: Last day of school before the holiday break. Luci's class had her party. The principal read two stories to the kids. I baked sugar cookies for the occasion and so the kids rotated through centers: cookie decorating, bingo, bean bag toss with prizes, and a craft. Then food and heading home. Arianna and Luci got out of school at 11. Tiara was done at 1230. The girls relaxed and watched movies... I went to Rita's house and learned to make flodni.

My friend, Rita, is Hungarian. She was also a cook for a family in England. And, she's a foodie. Meaning, she has a wonderful appreciation for food. Last week we'd made tentative plans to make flodni today. Then earlier this week she sent me a note telling me about this amazing baked apple dessert at my favorite cafe that she wanted to analyze with me. Today we got together and did both.

The sun was actually out, so we walked to cafe Schleypen, sat, and savored their seasonal baked apple dessert trying to figure out what was inside so we could make it ourselves. The chocolate covered star cookie sat on top of home made vanilla speculatus ice cream - a creamy vanilla ice cream with little chunks of German speculatus cookies (or may be a bit of printen?) inside. The baked apple sat on a square of pastry. The inside was filled with marzipan and raisins, then topped with warm vanilla custard sauce which pooled on the plate under everything. Sweet whipped cream sat to the right and it was all sprinkled with cinnamon. Absolutely delicious! Worth trying at home.

Stuffed from our cafe treat, we headed back to her house to make Flodni - a traditional Hungarian dessert that I'd had at the Froliche Pastry Shop in Budapest. The version that I had had halva as the bottom layer though - a Jewish sesame sweet that I am not real fond of - so I like Rita's version a bit more.

Rita's Flodni
Line 9x13 baking dish with pie dough (store bought or home made).

Cook 2 cups finely chopped walnuts, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 cup raisins (more or less to taste), and 2 T. white wine (more or less to taste) in a small saucepan. Stir together for 5-10 minutes over medium heat. Set aside.

Cook 6 apples thinly sliced with 2-3 T sugar and 2-3 T white wine for about 3 minutes over medium heat. Set aside.

Process 2 cups poppy seeds in a coffee grinder. Add 1/4 cup sugar (more or less). Cook over medium heat for just a few minutes with a bit of fresh squeezed orange juice and some orange zest. Set aside.

Spread nut filling over the crust in the pan. Top this with another crust. Spread poppy seed filling over the second crust. Top with another crust. Spread apple filling over the third crust. Top with a final crust. Seal the edges pulling to the sides of the pan and tucking into the rest. Brush with egg yolks and bake at 300 for 60-90 minutes.

Serve at room temperature. Stays delicious for a week. Best the second day.

The panto...

A couple months ago my quiet girl got up on stage and tried out for a play and my loud girl got shy. But, by the end of tryouts, Arianna had come out of her shell enough to tryout and both she and Tiara ended up getting parts and practicing every Sunday plus a bit.

Then last week was the blur... Monday and Wednesday dress rehearsals until late... and Thurs - Sunday performances, 5 in all with 2 on Saturday.

Tiara was upset at first that she didn't get a big part, but her part actually got a lot of stage time and she ended up having a lot of fun with it. Arianna was a munchkin and had a line too that she did great with. She's a natural up there.

On Sunday, Elise was wearing red. Munchkins wear red. So, since she'd seen it twice before and she was in the right color, she was asked if she wanted to be a munchkin. She went backstage, got her hair and makeup done, and stayed with the munchkins the entire show! She did the movements, the lines - everything. Amazing!

Luci didn't miss out entirely... though she wasn't in the Panto, she played the part of Mary in our church's Christmas Pageant and did her lines beautifully. Arianna was given the part at first because she's older. Luci's age group were not supposed to get speaking parts - but my amazing Luci - she had those lines memorized in five minutes flat and didn't hesitate one bit on stage. Elise was in the pageant too - a non-speaking angel, so she was in two different plays on Sunday.

Yep... we may have a few thespians here.

Photos of mostly just my kids:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=77202&l=cc003&id=674507268

Friday and Saturday afternoon performances - complete photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=tifany74&target=ALBUM&id=5280076969529526033&authkey=SFmZ9oAkgzI&feat=email

Sunday afternoon show complete photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=tifany74&target=ALBUM&id=5279729610907254529&authkey=c0soL66rxzI&feat=email

Photos of Luci and Elise in the pageant:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1834619&l=d503d&id=674507268

8 December - went to our local produce/seasonal stand to get out Christmas tree. We've gotten one there every year. They just got a shipment from the Saurland the day before, so they were still unloading huge fat trees from the truck. I pointed to the tallest fattest one I could find and a tiny man probably half the trees height unbundled it for me. It was a Christmas moment. My eyes got big like a kid in a NY toy store and the woman who runs the place gasped, "traumbaum!" Dream tree. Yep. It was. After she and I oohed and aahed about how traumy my baum was, the sapling sized man bundled it again and helped it into my van. Kirk helped it into the stand and by midnight all the lights were on and twinkly. Now it really feels like Christmas.

Keeping Tree from being a Fire Hazard within the Week Solution (yet to be properly tested)
Full container of warm water
1/2 can 7-up
1 T. bleach
1 T. vinegar

9 December - I put up Christmas decorations... my new German Christmas elves and my Polish nativity set... among other things. The girls came home from school and we played Christmas music and decorated the tree (once they had all their homework done... that took a while). Now I have a thick girdle of ornaments just at that median height of my three youngest. The tree is pretty now!






10 December - My English Conversation group came to my house this morning to make gingerbread. It was a cookie factory. I had balls of dough out and each lady rolled and cookie cuttered that dough until it was done and I had pan after pan in and out of my oven. We probably made over 100 cookies. As one pan cooled, they'd decorate them. I had frosting and sprinkles and red hots out. The cookies got pretty colorful and we all had a lot of fun.





11 December - Luci's class went on the Santa Train at school. I went to take pictures of all 4 classes that did the train ride and got to hang out a bit with my girls. It was fun. Elise rode twice. This was also the first night of the Wizard of Oz panto that Arianna and Tiara were in. Kirk took Luci and Elise to see the play. I went to our IWC Spanish night to celebrate a Spanish Christmas. We had tapas and paella. The Tres Reyes brought gifts to us (as part of our gifts exchange), and at the recorded "strike of midnight" we ate 12 grapes - one grape with each dong of the bell - a New Year's tradition in Spain. Felt especially good to be there soaking it up... thinking that my next Christmas will be in Spain.

12-14 December was consumed with 5 performances of the Panto, one Christmas pageant, and a pathetic attempt at a batch of sugar cookies... still looking for the perfect recipe. So, it was almost Christmasy every day and those couple days that weren't specifically spent decorating or baking, I was surrounded by red and green kids... so I figure that counts towards my 25 days of Christmas goal.

...I went shopping and bought a couple new "local" Christmas decorations... some neat lit trees in red and white that are very common here and a Dutch Advent train with a little drawer for each day.


On the third day it snowed and for me, there isn't much that is as magical this season as snow. Elise walked to the Natex with her class through the snow to buy an ice cream. We drove around for an hour extra on the way home to take pictures before it all melted.


On the fifth day of Christmas I learned about Christmas traditions in Italy and December holidays in Turkey as we sat together at Cafe Schleypen for our English Conversation group. Rosella told us about Epiphany on 6 January in Italy when the white witch comes to fill the children's stockings with sweets for the good ones and coal for the naughty ones. In Italy though, they do make candy coal which is quite good! Christmas is not celebrated in Turkey, but in December they celebrate a holiday that comes from the Old Testament story (also in the Koran) of Abraham. During this 4 day spiritual holiday, they pray and all families who can afford an animal like a ram, buy one and sacrifice it, giving the meat to poor families. Decorations in December? Not too much in Turkey, but they do decorate a bit for New Year's and one of my friends even buys a tree for her house - her New Year's tree.

In the evening, Kirk and I went to his work Christmas party at a castle barn in the Netherlands and when it was time to draw a name for the ever popular "Man Wagon," the announcer read, "Stahlbaum better half." So, the queen of the estrogen palace, miss mother of four girls, ran up excitedly to claim her prize - a darling German wagon filled with all sorts of odd man things: underwear of all styles (we gave those away), random junk foods, Popeye's Spinach, a SI swimsuit calendar and a Maxim (gave those away too), lots of tools, some beer and whisky, and a myriad of other things. Estrogen queen (moi) happy hauled her wagon back to her seat, then started to "sensor" it by giving away all the things that she (and her man) didn't need. :) Just before we fell asleep, we filled the three little boots lined up by the front door and put a few chocolates on one of Tiara's pink flip flops.


We came home and made salt dough ornaments. Nutcrackers, geese, stars, and snakes... their ideas, not mine. We tried to get out Christmas tree too this day, but none of the trees were tall enough or fat enough... I'll try again tomorrow.