Suddenly one year has gone by

Summer greetings!

A little bit of everything

Things are getting exciting- big family changes, lot’s of last minute knitting, traveling to Vienna over Easter- how come it was already Easter? Anyway, pictures to follow, this is just a quick hello from the other side.

Saturday in the french Alps

It seems to me people can be divided in mountain lovers and…well, the not so mountain lovers. I’m definitely the latter. I feel much more comfortable in flat regions, preferably close to the sea, and, as we say in german, if I can already spot the visitor who will arrive tomorrow (because it is that flat), I’m a lucky girl. However, despite that preference, I ended up living in the Alps, and so, why not, got to see the Mont Blanc. It IS the highest european mountain top after all.

The panorama there in Chamonix is really impressive. It is a narrow valley surrounded by glaciers and 3000 to 4000m high rocks. One Saturday spent there confirmed: yap, I do not get the excitement others get. Because I can’t see! Every time you have to look up to see the sky. I want to look straight ahead and see the horizon, be able to check the weather and such, but no, there you have to bend your head because of that stony wall in front.

We undertook a cable car ride up to the top of Aiguille du Mont Blanc, which was fun. High up there it is also a lot easier to see the sky and the panoramic view across the French Alps was fantastic, admittedly. Unfortunately, Sunday was covered in clouds with torrential rain, so we head back home earlier than planned- but not without taking back some delicious cheese and salami to have a feast at night.

Here come the pictures:

The view from the terrace

On the way to Chamonix city center

Homemade jam

This week I took the opportunity to save some very ripe apricots (and one apple, as a matter of fact) from going to waste by cooking a delicious jam.

This is what I enjoy a lot during summer time: wandering around the markets and marvel at all the mouth-watering fresh fruits and berries….I wish I had a good old pantry to store a lot more homemade jam and dips and juices, so since space is limited, I only did two little pots (plus, I did not have more fruits anyway). And it’s so easy! I only get nervous every time I have to fill the boiling jam into the jars, because, well, it’s boiling.

This is what I’ve used this time:

• 500g apricots
• 1 apple, cut into small pieces
• 560g of preserving sugar
• a spritz of lemon juice

Step one: washed fruits, ready to be sliced and weighed

When I had everything weighed, I used a blender to get a jam-like consistency.

It is important to follow the instruction on the preserving sugar: mine was 1:1, which means equal weight of fruit and sugar, but you can also get 1:2 or something like that. Otherwise your marmalade does not stiffen. Since my mixture turned out very sweet, I added a little lemon juice. Then it boiled for 4 minutes, and I filled the jam immediately into clean jars and closed tightly. Voila.

Result: two jars of very yummy jam…not sure it will last long!

Last week I used plums (and a hint of cinnamon), which is also delicious and one jar is already gone…..Do you like homemade jam? Which one is your favourite recipe?

Washington, D.C.

As promised, here comes the second part of my last journey. It is just a bit of eye candy, since I have not been through my roughly 1000 pictures I took nor do I want to scare you away….well, the joy of a 16GB scan disk!

I really did enjoy our stay in Washington. The city is great- a bit artificial, which I guess is the case with all planned cities – but so green and so relaxed, in a way….and Georgetown is just gorgeous. I would want a house like this some day! Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t as good as in NYC, but hey, it’s much more comfortable walking around in 18deg C than humid 35 with a huge thunderstorm (which we had on our first day.).

So, without further ado, here come the pictures:

Washington Monument

View from Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument

Abe himself at Lincoln Memorial enjoying the view….(see previous picture)

Korean War Memorial. I found it quite scary, this larger than life soldiers in the green…..gave me goose bumps.

At the Roosevelt Memorial. It was huuuuge.

In fact, all the memorials are really impressive. And the area at the Potomac Riverside they occupy is massive, we strolled for one day there and did not see everything. But one has to keep things to do for the next visit, am I right?

A cute little hideaway on our way to Georgetown. I do love the white flowers on the tree…..so nice.

Georgetown houses. I want one!! Especially the one with the enormous, unbelievably beautiful door wreath.

At last, but not least, the classic:

Voyage, voyage…

I’ve been away!! My first real visit to the United States, and my first real vacation that has not been to my folks place since quite some time. And what a lovely time I had.

We were in fact invited to a wedding over there, and we took advantage of that and had two great weeks in New York City and Washington, DC (with the stopover in Maryland, for a wonderful party with some old friends).

I was really excited to go and visit all the famous places I know from television (Carrie Bradshaw, here I come. Yes, the house is lovely!), and to get to know much more. Thank God I bought some walking shoes that do most of the work by themselves!

Here goes the picspam:

Skyline of Manhattan, view from the ferry on our way to Ellies Island

I still miss a second tower in the skyline view, but the new tower is fancy. We also went to the Ground Zero memorial, which is really impressive in the sheer size, and a wonderful place of remembrance. (And I mean wonderful as in very appropriate.)

Since the photo was taken on our way to Ellies Island, I have to say that was a major disappointment for me. Somehow I expected more than just an abandoned, yet beautiful restored, empty big hall. The Immigration Museum in Bremerhaven, Germany (where you get to experience the journey from the European end) is much better. Oh, well, it was well worth the ferry ride on a gorgeous summer day and the views of the famous old lady were stunning:

Statue of Liberty

Of course one could (or should) never leave NYC without being to some of the fantastic museums they have there. We spent around 4 hours at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and we just saw a fraction of it. I marveled at all the great classics – Rembrandt, Vermeer and the like, and big American painters like Hopper. Here’ s another one (look at the size alone!)

Washington crossing the Delaware – 1851 by Emanuel G. Leutze

My favourite building by far is the Chrysler building- what a beauty! And how it reflects and shines in the sunlight….sooo cool. Second comes the Flatiron Building, which we visited at dawn in the pouring rain, so the light was very special. We sat down at Madison Square Park, sharing one umbrella and fresh watermelon and watched the sun go down, colouring a beautiful red sky. Sigh.

But I will share this one with you, because I do like its reflections:

United Nations Building

Next post coming up soon: Washington, DC!

Thanks for reading.

Happy springtime!

Hello everyone,

I know…. I had somewhat of a dry period without being crafty at all, re-knitting the striped sweater so now it actually fits, having a lovely Easter Break with my family visiting and lot’s of work.

Now I’m all in for the upcoming trip to the States, I’m really excited. Stay tuned. And in the meantime enjoy some lovely spring photos, everything’s in full bloom! Finally…

 

 

Flowering tree pictures were taken around Lake Geneva, in Montreux and in Vevey, for that matter. Beautiful little spots on Earth!

Completion

It’s been a while, I know…..the good news is that between a trip to Geneva (pictures to follow), a short long weekend at home with lot’s of shopping and work I finally managed to finish my fair isle style vest! Hooray!! I think it took the most time to sew in all the loose ends, oh my! Now I have to decide which pattern shall be next. Or if I should finish up some work-in-progress-projects……

Here are some pictures of the unblocked beauty (it is as warm as it looks.):

Fair Isle vest. Pattern Lucy, free on Ravelry. Knitted on 3.5mm circular needles. Wool and Alpaca mix “Lima” by DropsDesign.

My first ever v-neck! Wasn’t nearly as scary as I thought.

 

La neige, la neige

I am the happiest person when the world is covered in fluffy whiteness. I never seem to get tired to stare at swirling snow flakes and I could spend hours outside. So I captured some images of the beautiful white weekend we had last weekend. The forecast is for more snow this weekend- I can’t wait.