wiseheart: (Default)
Our day wasn't very festive. First, I had to distribute half of my amazing Easter cake between our neighbours, since Evie got ill and had to cancel her visit. There are fresh strawberries in that cake, and there's no way we could have eaten the whole thing with only the two of us, especially as Mum had a somewhat upset stomach all day. Not how I imagined our Easter diner, but that can't be changed.

At least I managed to finish the baby books. They didn't quite turn out the way I planned them, but they look good enough to be given away. No more journals for me for a while. I'm quite fed up.

A low-quality picture of the three books because of poor illumination:



No pics from the inside of the journals, unfortunately. I should have taken photos of the individual pages but forgot it, and now they are bound in too tightly for that. Forcing the books open wide enough to take photos would ruin them. But since I'm not overly proud of them, I can live without any visual reminder, I think.

By the time for a late lunch/early diner Mum has recovered enough to try some of the chicken-and-asparagus quiche I made yesterday. It was good enough, although warm would have been better. Perhaps I'll try to heat up the rest tomorrow. At least it means no cooking tomorrow, either.

I'm not in a good mood today, sorry. But again, I rarely am on such days. So, instead of more whining, have a nice pic or two of my hand-painted Easter eggs.

wiseheart: (Default)
... and Easter will be here. So I thought I'd post a bit of Easter-y picspam; I've worked hard enough to boast a bit, after all.

So, first of all, behold my totally amazing Easter cake, filled with vanilla custard and fresh strawberries and decorated with marzipan flowers and small sugar figures. For a first attempt it is not half-bad, if I says so myself:



And then there are the biscuits, of course:



From the left: lemon bunnies, Nutella-and-walnut bunnies, almond bunnies, hazelnut bunnies and coconut bunnies. The chicken, hens and roosters are orange-flavoured. The chocolate figures aren't my work, of course, just serve as decoration.

And finally the wreath of Easter buns. The ones on the left are with candied orange peel and lemon zest, the ones on the right with raisins and hold raisins.



Unfortunately, I didn't take the yeast out of the freezer in time, so it was still way too cold when I did the baking. Consequently the buns didn't go up as they were supposed to and ended up way too heavy. But I cut them to slices and roasted them, successfully turning them into Zwieback, which means we can eat them from now on till Pentecost or beyond, so nothing is lost. *g*

Oh, and some Easter decoration! This is what my "egg wall" looks like this year:



I still haven't hanged my hand-painted eggs yet. Too many other things to do. But tomorrow, I swear!

Also, Pinterest seems to have updated again - things don't quite work the same way they used to. It's so annoying to figure out all the changes every six months or so! Why can't they leave the dratted site alone?
wiseheart: (Advent)
First and foremost: Merry Christmas to everyone!

Here is my (almost) full spread of biscuits and cookies, have some virtual calories:



We had a quiet day again, eating leftover soup and cookies for lunch. I might have caught a cold with all that running in and out of the balcony when I re-boxed my cookies several times during last week - profilactically I took some cold medicine and hope that the mild cough won't grow into a full-blown one. It's ridiculous to get ill while sitting at home nearly all the time, but I'm full capable of it.

We had a few phone calls and e-mails today, which was nice. Otherwise, not much happened.
wiseheart: (Default)
First and foremost: Merry Christmas to everyone!

Here is my (almost) full spread of biscuits and cookies, have some virtual calories:



We had a quiet day again, eating leftover soup and cookies for lunch. I might have caught a cold with all that running in and out of the balcony when I re-boxed my cookies several times during last week - profilactically I took some cold medicine and hope that the mild cough won't grow into a full-blown one. It's ridiculous to get ill while sitting at home nearly all the time, but I'm full capable of it.

We had a few phone calls and e-mails today, which was nice. Otherwise, not much happened.
wiseheart: (Default)
Also known as Christmas Eve. ;)

This was the day when I wanted to rest. Instead, I arranged two large trays of cookies for our own consumption and re-boxed the rest, emptying as many as 6 boxes in the process, so the balcony no longer looks as a bakery's storage room. Too bad, I actually liked the look...

I planned lunch to be a bit more festive, but my digestion acted up again, so festive eating has been postponed for tomorrow. Mum had quite a few phone calls from her old friends and a distant cousin of mine; I had two e-mails. No need to discuss which one of us is better at making friends.

Other than that, not much happened. We lit the candles on the Advent wreath (no candles on the Christmas tree, and we both refuse to use artificial lights on it), exchanged small gifts and watched telly. Not that different from any other day, but when you don't have any other family within easy reach you end up on your own, I guess. At least there's two of us.

Oh, and I added pictures of the cutlery box to [livejournal.com profile] thesmallhobbit's Christmas gift fic, over at AO3. Go and take a look if you're interested, it's here. Should you be inclined to read the story itself and liked it, comments are Christmas gifts. Just sayin...

The box itself goes to my friend Evie, soon, as she has children and grandchildren and always in dire need of more cutlery when the family gathers. Mum also dug out a huge tablecloth and 12 textile serviettes for the same purpose - they were, I think, part of Grandma's mitgift and haven't been used for at least 40 years. We examined every single piece carefully, of course, to see if they were all in pristine state. I'm glad they go somewhere where they can be put to good use, and Evie actually likes old-fashioned things.

Merry Christmas everyone!
wiseheart: (Advent)
Also known as Christmas Eve. ;)

This was the day when I wanted to rest. Instead, I arranged two large trays of cookies for our own consumption and re-boxed the rest, emptying as many as 6 boxes in the process, so the balcony no longer looks as a bakery's storage room. Too bad, I actually liked the look...

I planned lunch to be a bit more festive, but my digestion acted up again, so festive eating has been postponed for tomorrow. Mum had quite a few phone calls from her old friends and a distant cousin of mine; I had two e-mails. No need to discuss which one of us is better at making friends.

Other than that, not much happened. We lit the candles on the Advent wreath (no candles on the Christmas tree, and we both refuse to use artificial lights on it), exchanged small gifts and watched telly. Not that different from any other day, but when you don't have any other family within easy reach you end up on your own, I guess. At least there's two of us.

Oh, and I added pictures of the cutlery box to [profile] thesmallhobbit's Christmas gift fic, over at AO3. Go and take a look if you're interested, it's here. Should you be inclined to read the story itself and liked it, comments are Christmas gifts. Just sayin...

The box itself goes to my friend Evie, soon, as she has children and grandchildren and always in dire need of more cutlery when the family gathers. Mum also dug out a huge tablecloth and 12 textile serviettes for the same purpose - they were, I think, part of Grandma's mitgift and haven't been used for at least 40 years. We examined every single piece carefully, of course, to see if they were all in pristine state. I'm glad they go somewhere where they can be put to good use, and Evie actually likes old-fashioned things.

Merry Christmas everyone!
wiseheart: (Advent)
Today I finished decorating the big, ugly piece of plastic we call our Christmas tree - for the lack of a more fitting name. Since Mum insisted on having it in the living room, it now stands in a corner where it isn't illuminated well enough for a decent photo (unlike on the balcony, where it was very easy to take photos). Therefore the first photo I took with the iPad mini looked like this:



The colours actually aren't bad, but the whole picture is way too dark and blurred, even after heavy editing. Therefore I dug out my actual camera, re-charged the batteries and used the Blitzlicht to take several photos from various angles. I wanted my popsickle ornaments to come to full effect. Well... they didn't not really. See for yourself:



Granted, the picture is bright like whoa, but the colours come over a bit unnaturally - the first, darker pic is closer to the real thing, after all. I don't want to litter this entry with several similarly-looking pics. Those who are interested in various angles of the plastic monster can take a look here, on my Pinterest board.

Other than that, I've prepared two big cauliflowers for later use (they'll be frozen in small portions), cooked cauliflower cream soup for tomorrow and had a nice chat with my friend Evie on the phone. Gabrielle dropped by for about two minutes to collect her cookie boxes and promised photos of Benji eating the stuff later. *g*

I am tired now. All that shopping and schlepping yesterday made my arms and shoulders hurt and I feel as if I could fell asleep on my feet any moment. However, I cannot rest just yet! There's the Great Christmas Bake-Off to watch!
wiseheart: (Default)
Today I finished decorating the big, ugly piece of plastic we call our Christmas tree - for the lack of a more fitting name. Since Mum insisted on having it in the living room, it now stands in a corner where it isn't illuminated well enough for a decent photo (unlike on the balcony, where it was very easy to take photos). Therefore the first photo I took with the iPad mini looked like this:



The colours actually aren't bad, but the whole picture is way too dark and blurred, even after heavy editing. Therefore I dug out my actual camera, re-charged the batteries and used the Blitzlicht to take several photos from various angles. I wanted my popsickle ornaments to come to full effect. Well... they didn't not really. See for yourself:



Granted, the picture is bright like whoa, but the colours come over a bit unnaturally - the first, darker pic is closer to the real thing, after all. I don't want to litter this entry with several similarly-looking pics. Those who are interested in various angles of the plastic monster can take a look here, on my Pinterest board.

Other than that, I've prepared two big cauliflowers for later use (they'll be frozen in small portions), cooked cauliflower cream soup for tomorrow and had a nice chat with my friend Evie on the phone. Gabrielle dropped by for about two minutes to collect her cookie boxes and promised photos of Benji eating the stuff later. *g*

I am tired now. All that shopping and schlepping yesterday made my arms and shoulders hurt and I feel as if I could fell asleep on my feet any moment. However, I cannot rest just yet! There's the Great Christmas Bake-Off to watch!
wiseheart: (Default)
Hello everyone,

It is Christmas Eve, which is the actual feast over here, so I'd like to invite you to our virtual coffee table. Behold my biscuit spread for 2020 (with the exception of the pistachio wreaths that I forgot to add to the display, but we won't mention that, right?):



Wishing you all a blessed Christmas, peace, health and safety and a better year than the one that is (almost) behind us.

Love,
Soledad
wiseheart: (Default)
They'll be updated continually... :)

Biscuits baked:
ExpandRead more... )

I've got a Christmas card from:
[livejournal.com profile] elwenlj
[livejournal.com profile] meathiel
[livejournal.com profile] aeris444
[livejournal.com profile] lindahoyland
[livejournal.com profile] curiouswombat

My hand-crafted Christmas cards have arrived to:
[livejournal.com profile] lindahoyland
[livejournal.com profile] elwenlj
[livejournal.com profile] curiouswombat
[livejournal.com profile] artemis10002000
[livejournal.com profile] elmey
[livejournal.com profile] akane42me
[livejournal.com profile] chocolate_frapp
[livejournal.com profile] mirasaui
[livejournal.com profile] badly_knitted
[livejournal.com profile] aeris444
[livejournal.com profile] the_wild_iris
[livejournal.com profile] red_day_dawning

All others, please alert me if yours arrives, so that I can update my list. Thanks!
wiseheart: (Default)
Happy St. Nicholas Day, everyone!



And since this is traditionally a day to give small gifts (usually to children), I made another two cards in a great hurry to post them to friends that were left out of the list by oversight. I won't have the time to make any new ones, so I'm afraid any latecomers will get ready-made cards. I'm sorry.

Anyway, here are the really last ones:



Other than that, I made a short trip to Lidl because we had a sunny day and dragging home multiple flasks of mineral water while it rains and everything is slippery would be a pain. And weather forecast promised lots and lots of rain for next week. Isn't it wonderful?(/sarcasm)

Anyway, I've posted the next chapter of "A Stitch in Time" to [livejournal.com profile] otherworlds_lib and am about to post the next chapter of "Elvenhome" to AO3. Afterwards, the newest part of Das Große Backen is on the programme, and then some rest because tomorrow is monthly cleaning frenzy day. *sigh*

My Good Things of the day:
Making the cards and posting the new chapter.
wiseheart: (Default)
I've finally rearranged my wardrobe for the winter: light clothes put in the back of the shelves, warm clothes brought forward. It's a boring and tedious task I have to do twice a year because my built-in wardrobe, while providing a lot of storage space, in rather impractical. I have to climb onto a ladder to do this, and I'm known to be scared by heights. And yes, three steps on the ladder count as high in my book!

Still, it's done, so I've got my peace for another six months or so. Then I cooked lunch - turkey ragout with mushrooms and taragon, yum! - and nearly finished Chapter 11 of SD5, which was unexpected. I'm well content with the achievements of the day.

Soon, Advent time will be opened on German TV by Das Fest der 100000 Lichter, which Mum and I are going to watch together. It is basically a pre-Christmas show, with Christmas music, stories, poems and dance; we like it a lot. I've taken down the Adventskranz and the Holzkrippe while rearranging the wardrobe, so we're well armed for Advent to come. ;))
wiseheart: (Valinor by Ted Nasmith)
And to get you into the festive mood, here is our Christmas tree of this year - a theme tree that I call "Little People". You'll see why. On the left you can see the full tree, on the right picture I left off the top so that the details could be more visible. Click to enlarge either of them.



Every single ornament save for the six little plastic apples has been hand-made. As you can see, Santa's socks have found their proper place. *g*

The Nativity scene under the tree is one we bought in Graz, Austria, a couple of years ago. As you can see, it has its own illumination, and it's also a music box that plays "We wish you a merry Christmas". Why they chose an English song for a traditional Austrian scene I don't know, but it's a nice one nevertheless.

The crystal bowl in the middle contains the Lindt chocolates we bought when visiting the Christmas fair. Behind the tree are my nougat hearts and chocolate-peanut cookies on a try (left side) and [livejournal.com profile] spikesgirl58's double ginger cookies in a glass jar (right side).

Oh, and Spikey, I think you'll like this:



Edit: Mum and I have just watched Das Evangelische Christvesper on German TV. It was a service from Weissenburg near Nuremberg and we found it very appropriate: simple, very personal and beautiful. Wonderful surroundings, too. Now I'm in a real festive mood.
wiseheart: (benedictine)
This is a big day over here, although the gifts given are usually small, symbolic ones. We had choir practice at school, so I got to give my gift to selected colleagues right on time. I've taken these little darlings with me:



They were a roaring success. More so as the poor girls have to work tomorrow, so they really needed something to cheer them up.

My young colleague, A, got her chosen teddy. They decorated the classroom with her 5th-term-class very prettily. One of the adventurous parents even created a "fireplace" for them, made of shoe boxes and some brick-patterned wallpaper. It looks surprisingly convincing. Bärli #2 now has the place of honour on the "mantlepiece", sitting proudly in a small wooden sledge.

Other than that, I worked some more on my Santa's socks today (very fitting activity for the day, I find), spent some money on sewing supplies (because I've got so "few" of them) and had great fun chatting with the girls. E, our librarian lady, walked around with felt reindeer antlers all day, much to the delight of her 7th-term-class (she teaches Hungarian literature and grammar aside from being the school librarian).
wiseheart: (Valinor by Ted Nasmith)
And I promised you a few photos, haven't I? I didn't take many, as we've been to this town several times by now, just a little bit of Easter feeling here:

The shop window of Vom Fass an oil, vinegar and spirits' shop:



Easter egg and bunny-shaped eggnog bottles inside the shop:



There actually were bottles that were really shaped like bunnies, but I couldn't get a good angle on those.

And this is our spread from the trip:

wiseheart: (Tosh_flowers)
I've posted them early, in the hope that they will arrive in time. Please, drop me a line when they do, just so that I know they didn't get lost.
wiseheart: (Tosh_flowers)
So, dear folks, I promised you Easter cards of the stitched variation to make up for not being able to send any Chirstmas cards to anyone.

A small taste of what I usually make

I've about a dozen or so cards to give away. [livejournal.com profile] badly_knitted, [livejournal.com profile] adafrog, [livejournal.com profile] just_jenni, [livejournal.com profile] lindahoyland and [livejournal.com profile] mirasaui have already staked their claim, and the ones who have sent me Christmas cards have precedence. I probably won't have the time to make new cards, but I'm willing to give away the ones I have in stock, so if you want one, please leave a comment and/or PM me your address.

This entry is friends-locked and the comments are screened, so your personal data are safe. *g*
wiseheart: (Centaurus)
Or Solstice or Jule or Winter Equinox or whatever else you may celebrate.

The day has finally come, and after dealing with the dripping tap in the bathroom and the leaking balcony - in which case dealing mostly means simply ignoring it and hoping that it would dry up on its own, although I did apply a layer of hairspray to the corner of wood lining where it gets wet (after it dried), in the hope that it would rot a bit later that way - we tried to work up some festive mood. Not easily done, since we are still sick like dogs, but we did our best. Mum and I are a tough lot.

So I baked my thing - for those who understand German, a Hefezopf mit Pflaumenmusfüllung - for the breakfast table, since we were about to run out of bread and neither of us wanted to risk a trip to the grocer's in our current state. At least it was nice and toasty in the kitchen, with the oven on.

For better understanding, here is a photo of the end product:



If it tastes half as good as it looks, then it was worth the effort.

After that, I decorated our miniature Christmas tree. I had to put away half the usual decorations, as there was not enough room for the rest, but I'm quite pleased with the result anyway:



As usual, everything on it is self-made, including the candy. And, as usual, the colours aren't quite this loud in real life - again, I fiddled a bit too much with the editing.

And finally, this year's full biscuit spread:



This is a fairly realistic photo, for a change.

Now I'm going to read Fiondil's story, Christmas at Edhellond, which I re-read on Christmas Eve each year. Then I'll make some more amateurish Christmas punch and Mum and I are going to watch a program on German TV that is supposed to show short Christmas videos from all around the world. I hope it will be worth watching.

Have a wonderful evening, my friends!

Edit: We gave up on the programme - it was very disappointing. I'm glad I watched Bayern TV in the afternoon - they were the only channel to show some properly Christmass-y things. Mum is going to watch midnight Mass later on.
wiseheart: (Valinor by Ted Nasmith)
I wanted to express my gratitude to the following kind persons who sent me beautiful Christmas cards:
[livejournal.com profile] meathiel
[livejournal.com profile] artemis10002000
[livejournal.com profile] lindahoyland
[livejournal.com profile] the_wild_iris
[livejournal.com profile] badly_knitted

I apologize for not returning the favour this year, but as you probably know, I prefer to make my cards myself, and this time I was just too stressed with the fair and the retirement and all the stuff. Next year, I promise. I'll start making them around Easter, and then I'll be on time.

As for Christmas presents, I got wonderful craft papers from a colleague, home-made jam from two other ones and The Fall of Gondolin by Christopher Tolkien (edition) from [livejournal.com profile] the_wild_iris. I don't participate in the christmas wishes stuff, but again, my main wish would always be the same anyway: paid LJ time, as I can't get that from here. I mean it might be possible, I'm just too much of an idiot to do so.

On other news, my cough has improved: it's much stronger now than it was before. And Mum got envious and started coughing, too. Joy, joy - NOT!
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