June (in Facebook and Instagram)

While I may not be updating my blog 24/7, I do it a lot on my Facebook page through Instagram pictures. I may have gone overboard with my pics, but that's how the past month was. I cannot believe that we are half way through the year. So without any delay here's a recap of the month:

1. We finally got garden furniture and I did spend quite some time drinking tea amidst the flowers.
2. Summer means berries. And some of them went into liqueur making...:D
3. We visited a töpferei markt. It was wonderful and we came back home with this lovely teapot.
4. More time spent in the kitchen. I made confiture!
5. I was tricked into a very long bike ride. My behind was sore for a week!!!
6. I did pluck wild flowers though....they were beautiful.
7. It had been quite long since I stopped by the spielplatz. This netted swing is my kids favorite.
8. I get small treasures once in a while, from the little ones.
9. That is the view right outside the room where I have my violin lessons.
10. Blue skies make for very pretty pictures. The Altes Rathaus or the old town hall on a summer's day.
11. Not all days are fun days...one of those days when it was gloomy and cold and not a soul around.
12. That's my favorite lane...Fischergasse, with very old houses and fairytale gardens.
13. Gingerbread cookies at the altstadt fest which was a week ago.
14. Ms A's farewell grill party at school since all the kids will be going to different high schools the  
      coming year.
15. Well, that's how our living room was done up for the semi finals of EURO 2012. Germany
      lost...the kids were disappointed.
16. Have you had peanut/groundnut ice cream before?  I just did yesterday!

Well, I have also begun a countdown on my page yesterday called Lohr am Main 365 where I will be posting a picture everyday. When I look back, I shall have an album full of memories, thoughts and stunning pictures all in one place apart from this blog.

Growing Indian greens.

Are you an Indian expat pining for your favorite greens from back home?

Methi(fenugreek), konpir(Coriander), Sarson(mustard) etc..

Then stop pining and go grow some.

Yes, you heard me right!

(All pics clicked by my soon to be 10 year old..:-))

All you need is a little space, a garden pot, some mud and seeds(I got them from India and am sure every Indian expat household will have them in their spice containers. For the above pot, I used 75 gms of fenugreek seeds).

Now is the time to take advantage of the summer, warmth and sunshine and get these greens growing. And trust me, it's not hard. This is my second harvest and the third one is on its way. The family and I are thoroughly enjoying our home grown greens that I am thinking of maybe freezing them for winter. If I figure out a way, I will let you know. Till then, get that patch growing.

P.S: You can get used garden pots at flea markets or Intakt for cheap, new garden pots at OBI. Bags of mud/earth are available at any florist(there are 2 in Lohr) or at OBI. Place the mud in the pot, sprinkle the seeds and pour a very thin layer of mud on top of them. Place the pot in a spot with plenty of sunshine and water once a day. You will see green sprouts in 3 to 4 days. Allow it to grow for as long as you want. I let it grow for 3 to 4 weeks.

Treasures..

Oh the treasures children come home with....
A tender maple leaf with velvety texture and intricate design.

Maybe we should make a collage of such leaves to remind us of our beautiful stay surrounded by the Spessart . 

I have been doing a lot of thinking, pondering, wondering....

Next year around this time, our bags should be packed, our belongings beginning their journey back to our homeland..

And we shall bid adieu to Deutschland.

Though we have a whole year, I know it will just fly by...

As I walk around with my iPhone in hand, I stop, I notice, I capture...

I have way too many pictures of Lohr and yet, I want to take more..

Every time, it looks different.

The moods, colors..... always changing..

There are narrow lanes unexplored..

Many window shops to be admired....

cobbled streets to be walked on..

so much more..

Our countdown has begun.

Summer is....

a time...

to spend outdoors as much as possible.

Get that bike out, go on a long ride through the countryside...

through fields with the heavy scent of very ripe strawberries wafting through the air..

Or walk amongst the green and look out for wild flowers and poppies..

or watch a family of ducks swimming across the ponds.

Or better still, grab that swimsuit and splish splash in the pool or the Main..:-)

a time...

to GRILL...

gorge on german wurst, salad and brötchen..

at the same time have a good time with loved ones.

a time.....

to sow and reap, enjoy the fruit of labor coupled with warmth and sunshine....

be it on a small patch of land, a teeny tiny balcony or sprawling fields.

a time...

for festivals...

both big and small, beer or wine...

you have it all.

Get out the barrels, beat the drums, blow the trumpets, get the ball rolling..

you can down it all..:-)

a time...

to enjoy the german towns and villages in all their color and splendor..

With the geraniums spilling out of every window, and the summer weather changing moods ..

With bier gartens and Eis parlors open....

GOSH, this is my favorite season of all!!!

The prettiest lane in Lohr am Main..

To me, the prettiest lane of all in Lohr am Main is......Fischergasse.

From the main street you really cannot make out the beauty of this quiet lane.

Once you enter, the colors emerging from every window of the homes lined across the street just blows you away.

Fischergasse which means fishermen's lane was in former times the fishermen's quarter. The houses here date back to the 16th century and are very very old. Hence in summer, a lot of tourists visit this particular lane to admire the old timbered buildings lined on the cobbled street with the colorful geraniums spilling out from their window boxes.

I never tire of taking a stroll down here, never!

Lavender and bees

The weekend's gone. It was very beautiful, sunny and lazy.

For a change we didn't go anywhere. 

I lazed around and spent lots of time with my prettiness..:-) along with lots of tea!!

If they did count the cups of tea that I downed, my neighbor's must have been really wondering what must be wrong with me.

The lavender flowers are finally blooming. There are quite a few of them. 

The ceramic heart with the lavender flower print was a gift from my kids.

They won a gift hamper from a small shop and this is what they surprise me with instead of buying something for themselves. It looks pretty on the garden table.

Now hubby's waiting for his surprise from the kids...:D

For the past 3 days, I also have been having a lone visitor to my garden. Can you spot Mr bumble bee up there? He spends about an hour going from flower to flower searching for his share of nectar. I wonder where is the bee hive cause that's where he is taking all my honey!!

Summer means cherries

All year long I wait for tulips and cherries!!

Yes cherries!! I can gorge on them, really..

When we have cherries at home, it's as though I am in a magnetic field. I am attracted to them and plop, there goes one into my mouth...and another....and another...

and before you know it, I would have finished them all....
Yesterday, I bought quite a lot of them to bake a pie.
So before they went into the oven, we did a little shoot..
The cherries and I.
Don't they look gorgeous?

Töpferei Markt at Wertheim

Over the weekend, we visited the töpferei(pottery markt) at Wertheim, a charming town half an hour from Lohr. I have a weakness for handicrafts so also, love watching them being crafted. When I came to know about the market, curiosity got hold of me and I knew I had to visit and see it for myself. 

This was not our first visit to the town but our third. The first two visits saw us sightseeing around Wertheim which has a glass museum, a pretty market square, and ruins right on top of a hill(which is quite a climb yet so worth it for the terrific views). This time we simply walked around. Wertheim's narrow lanes are all filled with delightful little shops and cafes. Every Saturday, there is the weekly farmer's market too selling cheese, sausages, meat and eggs, fresh veggies and fruits, and also flowers. Every farmer comes in the little white vans(pictured above) which converts itself to a little store. Once done, all they have got to do is pull down the flaps with their left over produce still intact and drive off.

We spent a large amount of time sitting in the open square having lunch and watching the weekly shoppers and sellers going about their business.

Following lunch we headed over to the Töpferei markt which was nestled inside the courtyard of a city hall. It was a pretty sight, a riot of colors with the pottery craftsmen exhibiting their work beautifully created. There were tea pots, cups, mugs, pie trays, salad/cereal bowls, spice jars, oil canisters...etc. Seeing it all husband did suggest that we redo our kitchen accessories. He had to be joking cause everything was very expensive....:D There also were flower vases, candle holders, small deco to beautify your home.

My favorites were the garden accessories and plant holders, though I decided to give them a pass. What we did end up bringing home is this lovely tea pot, a pie tray and two little bells for my garden.

I should be baking a pie soon!!

P.S: To all those who ask me where do I get information from? Well, if you are living in Lohr, every week there is a free newsletter called Anzeigenblatt dropped in your letter/mail box. Before you throw it into the paper bin, go through it cause that's where all the information is listed....:D From local farmer markets to handicraft workshops, special Sunday markets to hikes and wine tasting, beer/grill festivals to floh market's, information on what's happening in all the neighboring villages is listed in there. You will always find something to do plus this is an interesting way to hone up your german reading skills!!

A beautiful evening..

For the past week we had been battered by rain. Why I say had is because I assume the worst is over. It so much felt like the Indian monsoon. Always wet, grey downpours. No respite at all. Unlike India where the monsoon makes you wanna go out and play in the rain without feeling cold, here it is not the same. Temperatures plummeted quite low making us want to switch on heating and reach out for the winter wear.

This evening when the skies slowly turned blue and white clouds seems to have replaced the grey ones, I put my chores on hold, grabbed the kids along with their bikes and headed out with the camera.

Everything was a beautiful lush green, thanks to the rains. Even the wild flowers never looked prettier. The fields were filled with crops growing steadily. I spotted corn and potato fields. The farmers too must be happy with the rain gods.

And amidst all the green, we spotted color...:-)

It was a beautiful time spent. Nature and us, became one.

Play dates..

The kids have been home since the past 10 days. Also one of the reasons for the sporadic posts. 

Before the holidays began they expressed a desire to invite their friends over for play dates.

For the past 2 years, I lacked the confidence to have any of their friends over.

Even now, it did get me stressed up.

My kids have been fortunate enough to have made plenty of local friends.

So, I decided it was about time to let go of my fear.

What were my fears?

What would I feed them? German or Indian food?

Would they like it or not?

What would I say to them?

Would I embarrass my kids in front of their friends with my broken German language?

It was about time to toss away my worries out of the window and begin interacting with my kid's friends.

They did have a lovely time, all of them...

With the legos, video games, some dancing to MJ and water pistols at the park..

Now they want to do it all over again, during summer.

Prettiness!!!

Right now, I have tremendous respect to all those who blog diligently!! Yes, all those who are working moms, on the go, travel all over the world, maybe sick or ill and yet, pause to pen in a few words. While so many of my posts are still in drafts, as the days go by, I find it extremely hard to stop by and blog. So many thoughts, so much to tell, yet I wonder, whether my time management skills have gone for a toss.

All you bloggers out there, what is the secret? I want to know.

Coming back to today's post, I want to show you prettiness!!!

or that's what my friends commented when I posted a few pictures on Facebook.

We were on the hunt for the right garden furniture and we finally found it on Saturday at the store where I buy all my plants, OBI.

This is my seat...:-) Right next to my dream patch. When I began work on the garden in March I had a picture in mind as to what I wanted. I am so glad I achieved it. The corner with all the green and color feels like a tiny patch of earth with new life springing out. The mint bush in there has such a heady scent, it feels real good. The lavender flowers(long stalks you see) should be blooming in a few days.

This is how it looks from our living room. More prettiness..:-)

Since I set it all up, it has been raining cats and dogs and so very cold.

I am yet to sit in there with my piping hot cup of morning tea or a glass of wine in the evening.

Till then, I take delight in the color and pray to the rain gods to please leave us alone.

By us I mean, my prettiness and me..:D