woo hoo...hang on to your liver Collette!!

The paperwork is a lot harder to deal with than the kids!

Collette - this could be a big event, then... I await the outcome with interest...

If I had some cheesecake, I'd be eating it now.

My mother made very good home made cheesecake.

MrsKJ made very good home made cheesecake but seems to have forgotten how of late.

Mmmmmm, home made cheesecake. Gawd, I could really murder a slab.

Maybe I'm gearing up for some piggery next week, in Warsaw.

evening guys and gals

happy dance

Have a good time, and please tell us about it when you return.
Poland it seems, is very close to Germany in culture and cuisine and IIRC large parts of Poland, used to be part of Germany before WW1 and WW2 etc.

I don't know if they sell this in Poland, but IMO is delicious.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torte

That and getting an ice cream in Germany, so large you could climb up it.

I blame one of my uncles, who frankly went out of his way to show me around Baden Wurttemberg and Bavaria in his BMW. So many memories and nice times.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freiburg_im_Breisgau
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C3%BCbingen
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuttgart
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reutlingen
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metzingen
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_forest
(some examples, but I could list many more)

T G I F

Ooo, controversial.

But yes, there are similar cakes to be found in Warsaw and I'm planning to stuff my face. Obviously pierogi will feature large too.

I'm really looking forward to going now, although it looks like I'm flying into lots of snow, and no one knows what kind of a mood ma's going to be in so that might be a bit stressful... but on the whole it's going to be nice having a few days off.

Hi snOwy!

I could murder a sausage right now.

Hello!

Just popped in before you all think that either something has happened to me, that I've done one of my disappearing acts or that I'm just plain rude!

Not much happening here. Been a tough few weeks financially but at least this week, I worked a reasonable number of hours so should be able to get YoungPlummers some new uniform as she has been very unreasonable and grown despite having strict instructions to stop growing last year!

To combat DestructoPup's late night barking annyoying one of our neighbours, I bought quite an expensive canvas kennel which you can zip up... a vet suggested this because she felt that DestructoPup was barking because she was stressed that she was on guard duty after I went to bed. Seems to be working which is cool as it means I get more than 4 hours sleep - yayyyy! The downside is within two days, DestructoPup had chewed during the day through the teeth on the zip so one side won't zip. I nearly cried Fortunately my friend had her brain plugged in and now all I do is turn the damaged side to a wall at night and let her in through the other side and then turn it back during the day so she can't chew the other zip. Phew! She really is a lovely dog but a total menace! Who says dogs are like their owners?

Not much else going on here - except my friend's two teenage sons have both moved out again amidst some dramas, teenage angst don't you just love it!

I've been saying NO to lard since the beginning of the New Year and it's been remarkably successful so far. Weight seems to be dropping off me for a change - probably because I don't do much sitting down these days. Having said that I probably do more than I think I do because I still seem to be getting through books at an alarming rate - I'm now doing some re-reading. Currently rereading Ian Rankin's Rebus series, which I loved In a moment of madness inspired I think by lack of sleep, I also ordered a heap of books online a couple of weeks ago and they're beginning to arrive so my reading future is rosey in the short term anyway.

Well, that's all folks! Hope you're all keeping well. Good luck with the trip to Warsaw Batty - hope Mum is behaving herself and is in a clear-minded state for your visit

KJ - it's spooky about the sausage - that's my reward for losing 5kg - a sausage sandwich That's for tomorrow night, cooked on the barbie... I suppose I should call it a snag sandwich ... but I'd really rather not

jra - I remember all those yummy tortes from when I was in Germany on holiday when I was eleven - I can clearly remember the taste of some of them, such was their impact! Perhaps I should start a bucket list and put that on it ....

Well I better go before I take up too much room on the page!

Plum, I'm starting to think there is a universal lard balance and your lard deficit is manifesting itself elsewhere.

Well you have me convinced! Now have a slice of cake .... go on... treat yourself

Some stuff I remember from Germany.

Another uncle of mine used to do these magnificent barbecues with German high quality sausages, pork chops, lamb chops etc. in the back garden/open conservatory.

Relatives and I, plus some friends went grape picking for the day in the Frankfurt/Mannheim area. We picked 7 tons of grapes that day from the vineyard, just for a nice day out, although it was back breaking work. As for our efforts, we got a very nice meal and a few bottles of wine.

You could at the time buy cigarettes or beer from a street vending machine, using old 5 pence pieces, which were pretty well identical to the former German one mark currency. So, a packet of cigarettes was 15p.

I learnt how to play Skat, which is a card game for 3 players.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skat_%28card_game%29

According to my dad, the 'bin men' had hydraulic lifting devices on the carts, not long after the war, and the workers would walk down the street wearing white coats. The UK was decades later in adopting this type of system.

I think in total, I've spent the best part of a year visiting/living in Germany.

Noooo, I'm saving myself for next week!

jra - that sounds lovely, the grape picking and having a meal and some wine as a reward. Not a bad way to spend a day or two.

evening Plum destructopup anecdotes are great

page two

Big eeek!

Grim weather here. Just grey blah. We're feeling very slobby.

We have snow again :yawn:

Where did the weekend go?

*waves to everyone*

I went to Germany on a school trip when I was about 15 and loved it - Rhine country and associated areas.
I remember ordering apple juice in glass jugs and feeling very grown up... also, eating cheese, ham and hardboiled eggs for breakfast. Excellent. Never been to Poland, but would love to visit the ancient forests there some day

Here, I have housework and schoolwork to do, the remainder of a nasty chest infection and a husband down with the same thing I've had. And I'm supposed to be on holiday. HAH!

evening all

am on an unfamiliar netbook

Oh knickers, it's already Tuesday

HM - shall we jump on a plane and go after her?

Here I am mostly panicking about delivering training next week that I haven't yet written - so won't be going out until it's done. This means foregoing a promising experience with cocktails, but only for now.....................

Sad, that sounds like an excellent idea...
Melony is at the childminder's today, though, so will be having a bit of duvet day with Mr M... is it OK if we go tomorrow instead?

Also - it's Pancake Day. Yummy!