Nature's ornaments

Mother nature's deco at the local playground.

Enveloped in white..

“Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilirating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather”. John Ruskin

So we did go sleighing with the kids. It was a lot of fun with bumpy rides, uphill climbs, snowball fights....and all that is nice. On our ride back home began the descent of big white fluffy flakes. I chose to get out of the car and walk home through the town. All the while it snowed crazy. It was just me and a lone person here and there taking time to enjoy the magic of winter.

Long after New Year glimpses of our Christmas...

It's now or never...

That's what I have been thinking the past few days.

This blog's for me, for memories.

And if I don't post now, it will never happen.

A European Christmas with snow flakes, christmas markets, freshly cut christmas trees, hot chocolate and cookies are all a dream for us Asians. But that doesn't stop us from celebrating in any way less. Living in Germany has taught us to explore, understand and appreciate new experiences. As a couple, hubby and I have been encouraged to try making things with our own hands and be less dependant on others, something not taught to us in India. We took delight in preparing the stable above for our crib. He the carpenter, I the poor stable's decorator. In the end, we were proud of our handiwork together.

(Gifts beneath the Christmas tree)

German tradition is that on Christmas eve, early evening, kids attend a special Christmas service both at the Catholic and Lutheran churches, following which everybody return home to exchange presents under the tree. We continued with our old custom of unwrapping presents after the actual midnight service in Church. There's a kind of charm to return home after having fed our souls spiritually and welcomed Christ's birth. 

(The pinecone hunting during summer paid off. Hand made wreath for the entrance to our home. It's still hanging there)

Christmas goodies will henceforth be a blend of both German and Indian. I feel proud that I have successfully learnt how to bake a few german goodies which will continue to make an appearance in our home wherever in the world we may be. They are much loved by the entire family.

On return, I honestly do not know if I will miss our German christmas of the past few years. I have missed being close to our families terribly, so also the colour, spirit and warmth of back home. For now, we have enjoyed and revelled in all that a german christmas has to offer, and sure will have great memories.

Lohr in white.

The past two days, there's been a continuous light snowfall. But enough to transform everything into pure white. The snow flakes are so tiny, you could sit forever gazing at them falling from the sky and then touch the ground.

I have been taking time to pause at nature's beauty and gaze at this white miracle from the warmth of my home.

At times I did manage to pull myself out too, but without the camera. Hence the selective iphone pics from here and there. The weekend should see us pull out our sleighs, and maybe a snowman in the making and lots of pictures for sure.

Till then, happy weekend all!!

Today...

is cold and grey.

It's kind of hard to get through such days.

I need no more convincing that I will miss winter. No, never.

What's your today like? 

How about you sending me some snow?
To brighten up things, a bit!!

Welcome 2013!!

2013 is finally here. With it our countdown comes to exactly six months. 

Six months to head back to our country, but to a new city.

With it comes a big change, adjustments, compromises, hardships and all the good and bad that comes along with a relocation.

Till then, we are determined to continue making the best of our time in Germany and keeping both our fingers and toes crossed that all goes well with the move...:D

New Year's eve was good time spent with family surrounded by the warmth of christmas lights, dinner prepared by both hubby and me, coupled with a movie and good old german beer. Towards midnight our street turned into a riot of noise and colour. Bursting of fireworks in Germany is allowed only on New Year's eve called Silvester. The spring like weather saw every family out on the street bringing colour into the night as we welcomed the New Year.