Streupflicht und Schneeschaufel

[finknottle]

Thanks Gabster for the inspiration for the thread!

Add your resolutions here & I can slip alongside and pretend I'll make some too.
Still too fragile - my sleep patterns go haywire when I'm home, stay up till 1 or 2am, then awake at 5am (6 here, usual flipping school time) then I come back & keep crashing on the sofa at 10pm and wake up at 4 bright & breezy.

We have snow, very pretty and h is off till Weds so am pushing him out for Streupflicht, bartered it for a fry-up with real English bacon, hmmmmmm.
Forecast is for -12C to -14C tonight - and when the children go back to school on Thursday. Yikes.

I´ve no idea, but it´s bound to be astronomical.

Lol at scoffing enormous amounts of food, you have to especially if you've only got a weekend don't you!

I used to say I need atleast 2 weeks back home to get through trying all teh foods I've missed before I can go back to eating normally. So really I need atleast 3 weeks back home so I have 1 week at the end to digest it all! One year I was going back saying oh no I didn't manage to fit cheesecake in, have to have double portion next time I come. Now when we go back the dc ask granny to bring salt n vinager and prawn cocktail crisps with her in the car to pick us up so they can start straight away!

I´m just the same. I´d completely forgotten about Cadbury creme eggs, so bought a few to bring back, so that the dc could try them. Needless to say I ate the lot yesterday while they were at Kindergarten.

I just looked on rightmove and a 2 bedroomed flat where my friend lives is going for 300 pounds a week. Admittedly it´s furnished, but who can afford those sorts of prices.

Haven't had one of those for years. My mum sent the dc a tube of little chocolate eggs with a sugar crispy coating on - can't remember the make but I kept sneaking in to their rooms to pinch one or two or three. That was last year at easter!

This time she brought them pear drops, ds hid his!

Argh all this talk about FOOD, yummy food, is not good for me

Thank goodness Hupa. I was getting seriously worried about the bread. I just like the idea of having freshly baked bread because of the lovely cosy feel you get when you go in a home and bread is baking, it's like being little again (not that my mother ever baked bread to my knowledge but you know what I mean).

Like being one ofthe Famous Five and staying at Aunt Fanny's

My mum sends the children Easter eggs too, and Creme Eggs - most of which I scoff too hupa!

Might try the jam, have loads of raspberries in the freezer, can I use those? From the garden, in the days when I did things in the garden. Last year was such a washout what with one thing and another.

Like you admylin, am thinking of how many more things I used to do with the children. Granted they're older but they last few months we've been all busy doing our own things and then slobbing out when we could at least do the odd thing together.

Says she, on MN while d is downstairs in the kitchen making things from her new Rainy Day book. "It's not raining today Mummy, but it is DULL" she said.
S2 is still asleep & temp normal still.
S1 is looking at Rubik's things on YouTube. He's an absolute fiend, is going with h to Brussels at the weekend to a cubing open - his birthday treat.

Well, we will make pancakes together later. Ummm, just thought, I could make raspberry sauce to go with them? Or hot rasp sauce over vanilla ice-cream? Think nothing beats lemon and sugar for pancakes, imo.

Same here , I'm a lemon and sugar person but the ice cream and raspberry sauce sounds good. Might get a tub of icecream on the way home later.

we got into the maple syrup and pancake thing in Germany because I could never get golden syrup for anything I wanted and once bought maple syrup as a substitute. Tried it with pancakes and it's delicious. I love it now (also shades of Little House on the Prairie I think). Remember the one (first) where they go into the forest and tap into the sap and make their maple syrup?

I think you know I should have married some Jim Boy Walton really. Dd would have been happy with that set-up I think.

Raspberry sauce sounds delicious and much quicker to make than jam. Hope S2 is feeling better soon.

Raspberry sauce sounds nice. Raspberry jam is my favourite actually.

Jam is another thing I have never tried making myself although I do vaguely remember helping mum with it when I was a girl. Long long time ago now though. Seemed to involve a lot of boiling of jars and things

I should be doing the ironing, I should, I should but I am just not feeling like it

Mmmm, ice cream with raspberry sauce, sounds delicious.

I tried out a recipe from Delia, just basic white bread. I just bung everything into the food processor, knead for 3 mins then leave for 2 hours, knead again then warm the oven while the dough rises again. That is it, really simple but you need to be home all morning or afternoon to do it. I did find a one hour recipe, must try that out.

Admylin
Your poor Faschingbeschädigter DS.

I am thinking about doing the ironing too, ZZzen, I am thinking very hard about doing the ironing.

Must dig out my pancake recipe for tonight.

leave it for the cleaner ML and don't think anymore about it. I'm very good at not thinking about the ironing. I have just moved it tbh, moved it out of my sight.

I am such a zero at housework, I really am but I have done a massive clean up today and scrubbed the floors and wiped the skirting boards, cleaned some windows. I am not up to much more though. Unfortunately dd has her violin lesson tonight. I have to sit in on it and write everything down. There is SO much practice to do every week. I find it too much tbh. Have been thinking I should ask the women in the know here on MN whether this is normal/usual. Have a horrible feeling it is though.

Admylin, I've seen your mail. I'll write back tonight, have to head off now. Chin up, it all has to get better soon, things can't go on indefinitely getting you down like this.

ZZZen, you are in danger of losing your slovernly mummy status with all that cleaning I keep looking at my filthy windows and decide that they really need cleaning. And then I go off and forget about it.

Hot raspberries with vanilla ice cream is one of my all time favourite desserts. On pancakes though it has to be lemon and sugar. Maple syrup is good too though.

Not making pancakes today as dh does them nearly every weekend - it's become a bit of a ritual so I don't feel any desperate need to do them today.

Not to be outdone on the baking front, I made fairy cakes yesterday which were really very easy and very yummy.

How long has your dd been learning the violin, ZZZen?

I always have some cupboards that collapse on you if you try and open them - that kind of thing taipo, so not really in danger of becoming a real bona fide hausfrau anytime soon.

I don't know how long she has been learning the violin tbh. I think she started last April or around that time.

But you have clean skirting boards so half way there perhaps!

Ds has been learning the cello for about 5 months. It is very slow going. He doesn't get too much to practise yet but it's not easy to pin down a time when he's in the right mood for it. Same for dd who started learning the guitar around the same time.

Morning all!

Don't mention skirting boards to me. I always feel horribly guilty when anyone says the SB word as I never clean them. I don't think that I have cleaned skirting boards in my life .

Although, the last two houses have had these skinny wee skirting boards that the Germans go for, the house in Düsseldorf even had tile ones.

We had a fab day in Chamonix yesterday. We went up on the little train to Montenvers and from there down the hill a bit with the cable car to the Mer de Glace glacier. It was stunning, a sea of bluegreen ice covered in snow. Every year they cut a grotto into the side of the glacier, it was incredible to walk inside the ice.

I will pop a couple of photos on the profile.

MmeL - does sound stunning.

I have cabin fever, stuck in the house since Monday. Usually happily potter about if I get a few days off but I think knowing I can't go out is just bleh. Am knackered, s2's fever has broken I hope, up and down to 40/41C since Sunday night and he's been so clingy - poor lad, all teary and hot. Been sleeping in with us so I've only been snatching bits of sleep here and there and not getting anything done as I'm in and out to him all day. He had a rotten nosebleed at 3am but his temp does seem to be normal.

Was struck on Pancake Day that we still had caviar and smoked salmon in the fridge from Valentine's Day - we shoved the children upstairs to watch a film after their supper and h & I had a delish antipasto/tapas style meal with champagne - and h as ever had bought twice as much as we could eat so on Tuesday I made blini for us. H has no sweet tooth whatsoever so usually smears something spicy on his pancakes. The blini worked for once - prob cos I made them properly instead of just doing small pancakes! Yum with caviar, sour cream and black pepper. I had the leftovers for breakfast yesterday, though they go better with Sekt than coffee.

Don't mention cleaning. The sun was shining so brightly yesterday I could see nothing but speckled dirty windows, grubby marks on cupboards and walls and around light switches. One advantage of the move 2 yrs ago was that the house was clean and because we were painting bits the whole time, somehow it stayed that way. Now I feel the need for a thorough Spring Clean. One room at a time - anyone join me?

No rush, have to digest the concept first. Bottle of Sekt per room done? Er, can we see a theme here? Definitely one German/Pfälzer habit I've absorbed

Fink
Sorry to hear that your house has been transformed into an infirmary. How is your boy doing now?

You really spoiled yourselves on Tuesday. You do know though that the idea of Pancake Tuesday is to use up all the yummy stuff and start lent the next day with dry bread and water. You kind of spoiled that by having leftover blinis with caviar for breakfast

Still, at least you resisted the champagne for breakfast.

Does anyone give up something for Lent?

I need to do some spring cleaning. At least the windows need to be done. I guess I could as the cleaner to stay another hour next week and do them.

The other day I took delivery of a used cross trainer, it is set up in the office and I intend to use it for the first time today. No chance until now as we still have visitors but they are off for the day so I will give it a whirl.

Didn't even occur to me about Lent! Am godless so giving things up would be a cheat, imo.

What's a cross trainer? Do they go red in the face and bark instructions?

S2 just woke up, temp normal now since about 1am so am hoping (again) that he's on the mend. Asked if he could play the PS so must be. Don't know how working mums manage - I have a child off school every other week, usually the boys, though on the whole I thought we'd gone through the winter unscathed by bad viruses.

Hoping can at least cycle into the village this morning if he's OK, feel v sluggish.

Have got new fave breakfast, melted cheese and mango chutney - was thinking of all the yummy Swiss cheeses. Haven't had a cheese fondue for years, must hunt out fondue set.

Glad he's feeling abit better finknottle. I usually send h to the sick child's bed and the sick child goes in with me. Much more room that way!

It was mild enough to go to the shops by bike today. Nice to be back out in the fresh air really. I've been stuck in because I can't stand the freezing cold air - it gives me asthma. Have to get dd's lights fixed on her brand new bike they worked for exactly 1 week. ALso need a new basket on mine. I only hope I can trust the bike man to not try to con me into buying a complete new light system for her bilke as I'm sure it must just be something minor, I just can't figure out what or I'd do it myself.

Mmelindt, you are so good at doing family stuff at weekends. All your outings since you moved to Geneva put us to shame. Who thinks of the trips out? You or all together? I never know where to go and h usualyl works at weekends.

Admylin
What ever you do, do not pay more for new lights. They are part of the bike and still under guarantee.

We do a lot at the weekends, but often have a weekend of just being lazy too. DH will have the idea and I will get up and check out the nittygritty of exactly where to go and how to get there and what do to when we get there.

I know, but I got the bike online so it'll be a pain if I have to claim anything for it. Sigh, typical - I know it's better to buy in a shop because of this. Anyway, I am living in hope that the bike man will be nice and honest.

That sounds fair. It's great to plan a day out like that. I guess I just have the sort of h who never does anything and never will so even if I find something to do he wouldn't join in or on the rare occasion that he has ever joined us, he's wanted to get home quicker than we wold want to or he'd moan about it being rubbish.

I have to give myself a shake and try and do some weekend activitie swith the dc though. I know what would put a smile on their face, if I said let's go swimming but then I'd have to get my swimsuit on too!

Just wondering how everyone's new year's reosltuions are coming along and whether in fact Ernest is already playing the keyboard? Are you? Are you?

I'm still drinking coffee (oh the shame) but less than before. I still think if you cut me open, coffee would pour out not blood.

Admylin, the dc could swim and you could just sit on a bench and read a book.

I give up TV for Lent usually if I give something up and that's easy really because it's not that good anyway.