D'ORO

I'am writing this post sipping a cup of a mixed fruit tea called 'Dschungelzauber' which means 'Jungle Magic'. Today (30 Sep) I walked into D'oro a tiny little tea shop in Wiesloch and the lady who runs the place transported me into the world of teas.

I am usually very content with my cup of black tea, but being surrounded by friends who are so 'into' their teas i was bound to be bit by the tea bug. I was impressed with the wide range of teas and also the exotic mixes that were on offer. Also loved the way the entire shop was decked up to lure you into the world of complex tea concoctions.

The sweet seduction

Yes, that's what 'Die süsse Verführung' on this sign board outside this delicious chocolate store meant. And seduction was what they exactly had in mind.

The store had everything you could possibly imagine with chocolate in there. I was all enticed just reading what they had to offer. On display for instance were chocolate tea, sugar laced with chocolate, milk chocolate shaped like cats tongues (sounds gross) called katzenzungen, chocolate liqueur, truffles, pralines and a lot more chocolatie goodies. So next time you are in town and have a sweet tooth let me know and I know the perfect place to take you.

Picnic in a jiffy

Sometimes a picnic can be a perfect way to spend some quality time with friends. Especially on a beautiful sunny day in September like today (Sep 27) I definitely did not want to miss out on the chance of sitting outside. So picnic it was with S and J and the little ones. J proposed that we meet at the playground so the kids could play with each other. S made some yummy pecan cake together with whipped cream and fresh raspberries and blueberries.

We were all thirsty walking the whole day so drank up a lot of the fresh fruit tea which was perfect with the cake.

There was no major planning behind this event but sometimes I think picnics put together in a jiffy are really the best.

The public library

I love this particular place in town. Yes it is the public library, literally.

On a nice sunny day it is perfect to pick up a book, sit down in one of the cafes on the square and enjoy your read. There is a note on the book stand requesting readers to replace books exactly in the same section from where they were taken. Little bunny casually browsed through the two rows of books and looked very pleased.

Benefits of chatting online

Looks like I did catch your attention eh? Yes, there are some benefits of online chatting. Atleast I know of some. For one, you can actually find out what someone is cooking on the other side of the ocean and if you find it interesting then quickly exchange recipes. Well you can debate that with a simple google search you can find almost anything you want these days. But what you miss is the actual expertise and the wisdom that the person on the other side already has. Anyway the other day I was chatting with my sis-in-law and she told me that she was making mutton chilli fry and my taste buds immediately started tingling.

The name itself had a tanginess to it and I asked her for the recipe. She was very quick and sent me a very neatly written out recipe and it was really simple. The recipe called for a lot of fresh cilantro which made it smell so fresh and look so good.
I tried it out and I was definitely happy and I should admit I am convinced about the benefits of online chatting.

Was a treat paired with steaming basmati rice

Love the way that the chillies are fried and used for garnishing at the end

Learning from nature

Growing up can be so much fun! So many new things to learn and explore and understand every day, every hour, every minute, every second. Little bunny enjoyed her nature project with her class so much that these days every time a walk outside with her can result in a mini nature project for me. It also means bringing home a lot of twigs, branches, acorns, chestnuts, stones, dried leaves, flowers etc. Its so much fun enjoying nature and 'really' seeing it through your children's eyes.

Splish splash time

Lets find some earthworms

Lets fill our bags with goodies


Everybody on the hunt

Blowing bubbles

Do you recognize this from today morning children?

Using all the collected raw material for art

Collecting wild flowers

Oh oh there goes the bubbles

Ah ha thats how the snail goes into his shell whenever he wants to

Blissful

Yes that's the adjective I would use for our weekend getaway. A little town called Wolfach in the Blackforest is where we stayed. Hubby dear celebrated his birthday with a nice rich chocolate cake, of course little bunny got to blow out the candle.

Loved my typisch Deutsch (typical German) breakfast with eggs boiled to perfection exactly for 4 minutes.

Took long walks in the woods and little bunny cycled away without tiring a bit. She also got to feed real bunnies and goats.

Tried out some of the seasonal specialities like pumpkin soup flavoured with pumpkin seed oil served with large shrimps.

Hubby loved the neuer (new) wine. The chalet was so charming surrounded by apple orchards ripe with fruit.

It was exciting to spot deer grazing in the wild.

Bunny checked out the water temperature in the pool. Brrr the water was cold so asked Frau Schmieder to switch on the sauna instead.

Like I mentioned it was blissful!

Unplugged from the world

It is Friday night (18Sep2009), another half an hour to go for midnight. Actually seem to be in the middle of nowhere. A quaint chalet in the middle of the blackforest. Am waiting for the clock to strike 12:00 so that I can wish hubby dear a wonderful birthday and then climb into bed beside little rabbit and bunny who are already fast asleep. This midnight tradition has been our thing for the last 10 years. Anyway I guess I will be publishing this post only on Monday when i am back to civilization back home :-)
Yeah there is absolutely no access to the internet here, our blackberries dont work here. Wow it has been a long time since we went to a place where we did not have connection to the rest of the world. Feels interesting actually. This place was a complete surprise for hubby dear, he had no clue where we were heading towards when we started from home. When the roads got narrower and narrower and the sun already set he was not too sure if he wanted his surprise, neither me actually. But when we finally reached this place and checked it out we were smiling again. Plan to take pictures of the place and will post them too.

That's some difference in price!

Love the look, feel, smell and produce from farmers markets. Everything looks so juicy and fresh. Walking through it makes me think of all the things you can use the wonderful fresh produce for. Love to try out the produce that come from the local farmers but also like to sample the wares that come from different parts of the region.

A herb that I am experimenting with lately is lavender. The flavours are quite intense and it can be a perfect herb to be used in moderation when you are baking. But I was surprised when I compared the price of a bunch of lavender at two different stalls at the market. For a novice like me both looked similar except for their difference in price.

Portrait anybody?

Have you ever thought of getting your portrait done? It is a common sight to see numerous people sit down in front of artists getting their portraits done. They sit very still and are able to concentrate along with the artist. I am sure that in their mind's eye they already have formed an image on how the portrait will look like when it is done.

But in many cases it turns out to be the artists representation of what he sees in the subject. I fear that I will never be able to sit down still and patiently in front of the artist. I also think that I will have this intense urge to run away when he is just on the verge of getting the initial sketch completed. Maybe I should actually get it done and I can prove myself wrong :-)

Running against time

Walking on the Heidelberg hauptstrasse (main street) can be such a wondrous experience. Everytime I am there and I have time on my hands I discover something that I never knew existed on that street.

Cafes, cobbled streets, restaurants, florists, lovers, street artists, musicians, perfumeries, tourists etc all add to the unique flavor of this place. People seem to look so relaxed strolling up and down, window shopping, sipping coffee, chatting that I always think that they are never running against time. Even the clock on the main street did not bother to run against time. It was the same time when I entered early afternoon and left later in the day.

Party time again

Our friends K and D celebrated their daughter's fourth birthday today (Sep 13). The birthday baby was no longer a baby and it was amazing to see how quickly time flies and how she had grown up so beautifully in the last years. I could effortlessly have a complete conversation with her and her responses were so quick-witted for her age.

Little bunny wanted so much to cut the beautiful birthday cake, in fact at one point I wanted to urge K&D to get done with the cake cutting rather quickly.

The cake was delicious!

Mama can i be a giraffe?

Little bunny was very happy that some of her fav numbers were being played and she danced away despite the fact that many a time she was the lone dancer on the dance floor.

Little rabbit slept through most of the party and hubby and me got the chance to enjoy some yummy food. I also enjoyed chatting up with friends and catching up on the latest gossip. It was a fun party and a fun evening and little bunny and rabbit came back home with some nice birthday giveaways.

You got mail

The other day when I was strolling around town in Wiesloch I saw this bright red postbox outside an equally bright house.

In these days of the internet with facebook and twitter messages giving you updates from and to your friends on a daily or even an hourly basis there is hardly the need to resort to snail mail. But I definitely look forward to seeing what treasures the postbox holds everyday. Of course a big part of the post is usually advertisements or requests towards your bank account, but sometimes there are these beautiful jewels in the form of a hand written note posted to you. One person who has consistently been posting us cards and hand written notes on events like birthdays, anniversaries, festivals etc has been hubby's mother. Yes my mum-in-law does this so regularly and we always light up when we get a card or a written message from her. Today (Sep 12) was one such day when hubby dear got his birthday card already a week in advance.

We have our usual ritual of opening it and reading the message out aloud so that the girls can also hear it and then hubby dear very gingerly takes out the stamps which are stuck on the envelope. Yes, collecting postage stamps is one of his many hobbies.

Really nothing to beat the charm of good old mail!