The week with Scavenger Hunt Sunday.

I have been a follower of Ashley's blog for a few months now. The Scavenger Hunt Sunday has always fascinated me. Bloggers post some of the best pictures and I cannot help but be in awe of the talent that is out there. So, I decided to give it a shot this week and I must say it was one of the best challenges. My mind was constantly thinking of what to capture. 

1. CHOCOLATE

This is from an archive. A few weeks ago, I baked Cherry Rum pudding which called for dark chocolate. The chocolate we get in Deutschland is to die for, also one of the major factors for my constant weight gain..;) Well, nobody told me how hard it is to cut a thick slab of chocolate. Half way through, the broken pieces looked good, so here is what I captured.

2. NUMBERS

This was the most challenging one. Honestly, I did not know what to capture,but when my daughter walked in from school on Friday with her half yearly report, I knew I had my numbers. Schools here have a strange way of grading the students. They use numbers. They are not ranks but tell you how your child has fared. 1 stands for Excellent, 2 for Very Good, 3 for Good. Its strange how children here get obsessed with these numbers. I see it in my children and all they want is a 1 or 2. Our girlie has got a good mix and we are very pleased.

3. CANNED FOOD

Its strange how expat life leads you to eat some of your favorite fruit in the canned form. Mangos, Litchis, Pineapple....In Germany, they taste better from the can than fresh. In India, we would never dream of eating canned fruit. Some of these fruits grow in our back yard...:D This week, for breakfast, we opened this tin of pineapple. This last piece was waiting for me, when suddenly I remembered the challenge...:)

4. MUSIC

This piece of music is my hausafgabe or homework for the week. I am beginning to learn positions where I need to move my hand to the extreme end of the violin. I always used to wonder how violinists would sway their head and hands as they moved their fingers on the entire length of the violin. They make it look easy, but believe me, it is very difficult. When my hand moves, my brain refuses to think what to do next and when the brain understands the hand refuses to move!!!!

5. STACK

We are slowly beginning to see books in the German language in our home. It is amazing how the kids have picked up a new language. When we enrolled them to the library last year, all they wanted was to go to the English section. They never even glanced towards the Deutsch books. Without any force, they have begun to slowly bring books which interest them and are reading at a slow pace. This makes me very proud.

I am Lotus

Valentine's Tag

Happy Valentine's Day People!!!!!!

To me, everyday is Valentine's day.....;-) I personally feel you need not wait for a particular day to express your love to dear ones.  Around this time in India, there is a lot of hype surrounding Valentine's day. Sights of red hearts greet you everywhere, vendors selling valentines paraphernalia, restaurants having special menus, flowers sold at rocket high prices. The mood is infectious and you cannot help but revel in this excitement.

     Many a memorable valentine's day have I had. The year we had our son, around Valentines he had developed a fever. He was about 3 months old. The day before was especially a tiring one, what with the little one refusing to sleep and making me carry him around and soothing him. By late evening, I was a very cranky mom who hardly had a bite to eat, let alone sit awhile for a moment. So it was with joy my heart leapt when I saw hubby dearest at the door with a big bouquet of flowers and dinner from one of our favorite restaurants. I thought to myself, what an adorable husband I have, who gets me flowers to cheer me up when sonny is sick. When the dinner was done, I mentioned that the next day was valentine's day!!! I can never forget the look of surprise on my beloved's face when he began fumbling as to what the date was....:D And then sheepishly he asks whether he has to do it all over again....:)

Three years ago, along with flowers for me, DH(darling hubby) brings some water plants for our pet fish. I fail to recall the little fellow's name, but he was one of a kind. He was one of the smartest fish  I knew. And to top it, hubby loved him dearly. Initially I resented having a fish bowl at home. I detested the cleaning job and felt that I already had enough on my hands. Over a period of time, I too slowly fell in love with him. Every morning when I would enter the kitchen to make a cup of tea, he would immediately come swimming to face me and wiggle that little tail of his. He would swim around frantically with excitement and make tiny somersaults of glee. It was sheer delight to watch him. He sensed when we were around him and knew while we were away.

     Placing my flowers in a vase and the plants for him in his bowl, we thought the little guy would be happy with the new decor in his bowl. Late evening, I went to have a peek to see how the little guy was faring. Imagine my shock when I saw him lying on his belly on the bed of pebbles in the bowl. Instantly, I knew it was the plants that killed him. We had no idea how long he must have been dead. DH tried placing him in fresh water, hoping that he would swim again and do his somersaults, but I knew..it was over.

It took me a very long time to get over this. For a whole month I felt that there was movement in the bowl, that he was there to greet me in the mornings. I even called my husband a FISH KILLER..:D What was he to know that his act of love would kill the poor guy. Over a period of time, I put the bowl away., waiting for the right time to bring a new pet. That never happened cause then we moved.
So you see, quite some memorable valentine day's have I had.

This year, I have spruced up our home with handmade roses. I got the idea from the tutorial here. For almost 2 weeks, I have been surprised by the so many bloggers who have been decorating their homes with valentine deco. When I stumbled upon these roses, I knew that they would bring cheer and color to my home. I am still waiting for the fresh flowers though...;-)

Linking to the February Carnival at The Key Bunch, Macro Monday at Lisa's Chaos, and Weekly Winners at I am Lotus

Sunday's in my city.

When a very good friend of ours informed us that he would be in Frankfurt over the weekend, we were more than delighted. Making new friends in a new country takes time. So when old friends pop in even for a very short time, it brightens our day and lifts up our spirits.

We headed over the weekend to Frankfurt to pick him up, already prepared with the sights we would be showing him around. And that would be the romantic city of Heidelberg. For the first time I wasn't keen on looking out the window during our drive. There was too much to catch up on and very little time. 

Heidelberg is famous for its University, Museums and the Schloss or castle which are now world famous ruins. After a meal at the kids favorite joint MAC Donalds, it was a pretty long walk over a steep mountain all the way to the Schloss. Cursing under my breath, pausing to take a shot or two in between, I was breathless by the time we made it to the top.

The castle is nestled on hills 300 feet  above the city. It is a combination of several buildings, each building highlighting a different period of German architecture. It is over 600 years old and had three destructions which brought it to its current state. The first two being due to wars and the third was a lightning strike.

From the castle and its gardens, you have amazing views over the city of Heidelberg and the Neckar river.

Weddings at the castle are allowed. You have got to book a spot in advance. I think it is one of the most romantic places to say I do.
After a guided tour of around the castle, we were told that the castle also houses the World's largest wine Barrel built in 1751 by the Prince Elector to house the wine paid as taxes by the wine growers. Made out of 110 oak trees, it holds  220,000 liters of wine (58,124 gallons) and has a dance floor built on top of it. Look how tiny we are in comparison with the barrel!!!

The day ended with a long walk on the old bridge and through the old town, walking, taking in sights and simply enjoying each other's company.

Weekly Winners

The week that was!!!

The past week has been  a mix of disappointment and  fun!!!! We love the weekends because we get to go on drives and have fun with the family!! Here are pictures of our drive in the weekend and the Main spessart fair that we had for the past 4 days in our village!!!

Isn't the countryside beautiful??? Even more better is to now be able to roll down the windows and enjoy the breeze....thanks to the awesome weather...:-)

My heart was in my mouth with the children on those bikes with the stuntmen!!!! Enjoyed  sitting in this tent though, downing beer!!! Wish everyday was a Sunday....For more head over to I am Lotus and have a peek at others week's. 

The Week that was!!!

Its Weekly Winners again. Time to describe my week in pictures!!! At the start of a new week, I bring a bunch of tulips home, week after week, a different colour... This bunch chose to bloom on Monday....:)

The weather was terrible with the rain gods showering us and the sun playing occasional hide and seek!!!

The weekend chose to be better and this was our first experience of good weather. Picturing the beautiful River Main!!!  For more pictures head over here.

The good weather meant the kids could step out and have a ball at their favourite park!!!

Finally, something to be proud of!!! Successfully managed to make this beautiful cake which the family devoured in no time!!!! For recipe, head here.

Thank you Lotus for hosting Weekly Winners. See you all next week!!!

Weekly Winners

I have stumbled across something new!!! The "Weekly Winners" Meme is for fun!! It's not a photography competition! We share our favourite photos of the entire week every Sunday.... on
                
                                            Spring has arrived.....

Lost in thought?????

There they are!! So close, yet so far......