here is the photo of the baklava

it looks so good and finally we did get to taste the sweet treat! the baklava turned out just perfectly good. it was such a good experience for elias to serve us "his" baklava.

i love the arrangement of the colors and shapes in this photo, just wanted to share it with you.

and this is the whole table. visiting friends, sharing a good laugh as well as some ice creme. that was a few days ago, when it was still warm outdoors..... the temperatures dropped and we expect even a frost over night! it's still april i guess, but tomorrow will be may 1st! mayday - tag der arbeit- (all over the world just not in the usa)

baklava

elias's coop met to make baklava. real greek baklava with the help of a mom and greek descendant...
bringing the ingredients in the baking pan over to his friends house was already a very happy undertaking. he loves to bake and cook and even better doing it with friends!
coming home in a down poor with a good covered pan ready to put into the oven. wow that was about the only thing left to say. he was so proud about the work he has done and we all looked forward to taste some of that delicious dessert tomorrow. yes we have to wait until tomorrow! as it has to soak over night, even better for 24h! it seems too long for all of us, especially after we cooked the water and honey and poured it over the baked baklava . it smells so good in our house, it really makes your mouth water.
i will post a photo of the finished dessert, being enjoyed by us tomorrow, for now you have to admire elias's written version of how to make baklava...

play in and bbq

the suzuki violin philosophy has once more overcome us. it is good though to be part of a musical community and take any opportunity to play together and eat together.
today was an afternoon play in with the focus on duets. elias once more played a set of tunes with joel, naomi played along with me. it was even better as we planed it so we ended up playing long long ago naomi, me, and two more violin friends.
of course the bbq after the playing was the big hit, lots of great food and even ice creme on top of all that. an enjoyable sunday afternoon, even though the weather was not at it's best.

nacht an der greenstreet

es ist schon spaet und dies ist ein nachtbild unserer strasse......
ein langer tag, mit vielen abenteuern in der stadt mit den kindern....
schlaft gut, ich geh jetzt ins bett.
morgen haben wir kommunitaets fruehstueck um 9 uhr und ich hab die kinder...

cookies

chocolate-orange-espresso thins, they were good, would have been better if i had used the right cocoa. i just didn't have the dutch cocoa in the house. next time we will do it the right way.

banana-walnut-chocolate-chip cookies, turned out great. i had to use up really super ripe bananas and they did it. the taste was just so yummy. i was surprised how quick we whipped those up.
a few days later the kids really wanted to help with some more cookie baking. so we made the magic blondies, and the peanut butter and jelly bars. both turned out great the photos got lost somewhere... sorry.
i also tried a very delicate kind, the striped ice box cookies. these were lots of work but just beautiful to look at and tasted great. all these recipes i found in "martha stewart's cookies" a book i couldn't resist taking home from the library after seeing it on display. worth taking a look at it. i will get a copy of this book and bring it to a friend back in switzerland, she loves trying out new recipes and is not to stop in creating new variations.

gardening

it's late once more, i should be sleeping....
we did have a wonderful, exceptionally warm day. i guess we could say hot, it was in the 80is! yes mid april and it's hot.
amos went to his friend and he loves it, it's really good for him to have this special times, away from us.
elias, naomi and i went to our garden plot. elias spotted the compost soil heap at the entrance and without a word, he went to work. he wheeled 4 barrows over to our plot. i worked it in and then we started planting. we put salad and arugula seedlings in, as well as lots of seeds.
once more i was surprised how much fit into that little plot.
green beans, beets, chard, some heirloom tomatoes (which is a trial, i never put tomato seeds directly into the soil before, i had them indoors.... we will see), the onions were already sticking their tiny green tips out. this was exciting. the garlic looks great, we put that one in 3 years ago and since then never pulled everything out. i like to do it the lazy way with garlic. in a few weeks we will be harvesting the tips of these plants. great for salads.

around town

we went for a bike ride around town, trying to find a front rack for my bike. and we kind of found one, but were not able to get it right away....
yes there is a story behind it. but first things first. we got an old bike from the basement to bike's not bombs, as a donation, they do all kinds of great things with donated bikes, look at their site! no luck in search for my front rack. second we went to ferries wheels, there we really got inspired about unicycle's! they pointed out to me, that my front wheel fork doesn't have the necessary "screw holes" to mount a regular front rack. but a guy working there over heard the conversation and told me, that he has such a rack at his bike, he never uses it and it is mountable with U-screws. so i will get my front rack by the end of the week, from him. perfect it could not have happened better.
of course water brakes.... naomi is now riding on a trail a bike, she loves it and we can pedal a regular pace with the boys, without loosing her.

marathon monday

a great day for marathon watching!
yes it was a bit too sunny and warm for the runners, but for us it was just great!
we started out right after breakfast, bus and walking over to beacon street in brookline, our traditional watching spots. in our back packs quesadilas and lots of water, and some oranges. we were all so excited to see the wheelchairs rushing by, it's just an amazing feel of aw for these athletes.of course the kids were clapping the hardest....

i personally love the womens elite the best. they are running so light and seemingly effortless, but of course there is an uncountable number of hours of training in them. the womens race was extremely exiting until the finish, 2 seconds between dire tune and alevtina biktimirova.
and of course a kenyan was winning the mans race....

some other fantastic sights are the water cups, all ready to deliver to the runners. i totally forgot to take a photo of the "after consumption" scene.
it was so much fun meeting some other friends on the side line, they just started to hand out water to the runners, our kids joined them and that was the high of the day! thank you anna for thinking of this activity.
we could not go home without having stopped for gelato, and there is this amazing place called athan's, yes we all got a small cup of exquisite gelato! naomi picked creme brulee, amos lemon sorbet, elias blackcurrant and i got a small cup of fig gelato, this was my highlight!

a full sunday

we started our sunday very early, at least earlier than usual. and we even made it to see the women's olympic marathon trials. it is an amazing sight to see these 160 women run so fast, on a sunny morning in downtown boston. after this highlight we went to church and enjoyed some good teaching, wonderful music. parkstreet church's choir is great to listen to and i do wonder every time i hear alexandria sing in her so very clear soprano voice. very very moving music, thank you once more roy brunner for playing the organ for us.
moving on to skype, talking with my friend in paraguay. it is great to see joanna and talk over such a big distance. she and her family had to stay indoors today as paraguay was voting
for lunch we had our friends david and lucinda over, this was just wonderful. the kids love them and after lunch when the kids went to have their rest time up stairs, we enjoyed some serious talking. joel was giving them a lift and i cleaned the kitchen up and got ready for our dinner guests.
we have not met them before, but were very excited to meet the acar family. all the kids were super happy to go and play tag with joel at the playground. of course a whole bunch of other kids got into the tag game and had fun until joel was out of breath and needed a well deserved brake.
of course we enjoyed the dinner with all it's discussions a lot and the fact that we found some new friends.
it's almost midnight and i need to go and rest. joel is still whistling, after a long discussion about science, darwinism, and what all the things touch those issues in regard to his beliefs and world views......

sunny morning

we are so happy about the morning sun we get on our deck behind the house. the past few months we were waiting for these happy mornings. they are here now, and we do enjoy them a lot. it's fun to wear short sleeve and run barefoot before noon times.....

and of course the doll has to be freed from her overdressed cloths! at least that's what naomi beliefs.

NY CITY

finally i'm getting there and post a few impressions of my ny city trip. just a few, and they are not at all able to really reflect my trip. it was a lot of fun thank you so very much C and J, you really made it happen for me. for some ode reason i live in boston for the 11th year and have not made it to ny city until last friday! although it seems like i did not miss any major thing until i did visit the big apple. but it really happened because of my friend taking me along. i didn't have to organize one moment of this trip, just go and enjoy what ever was presented to me. it was exciting to arrive in china town with the super fast "lucky star" bus, stroll through china town and enjoy the real italian stores, wow! was the only thing i was left to say, with my mouth open. undertaking the 2mile stretch to our little apt, more like a closet rather than an apartment. it was brightly colored and a good place to stay for a couple days.

the blooming trees were just gorgeous and for me the best thing what is happening in a big city.

one of the first impressions, how can you live in such an apartment and not go crazy without a bit of green space or view of green space?

carnegie hall, an impressive building and i especially liked the spikes at the top floor, all around.

yes it's me waiting for the train to arrive...

my first sight of central park. i liked it right away and it turned into the highlight of the trip! yes we had picnic on sunday afternoon in central park. a friend of J's was making homemade sandwiches, pesto and even a blueberry pie was served, with a cup of tea. it was wonderful and the best thing happening to me in this city.

yes taking a ride on the carousel was in the bag too.

this skyline did it to me and what you don't see in this photo....
yes the blooming cherry treas! a lot of them were right in front of me as i took it, i wanted to keep the blooms in my memory and not catch them in a "box".

i arrived at home late sunday evening, very happy. and even more happy on monday morning as i presented the little gifts to my gang! and they were happy too, to see me and of course the drummer t-shirt, the bug necklace as well as the little flower ring made my kids feel special, and that they really are.

das ende des roemischen zeitalters

wir sind am abschliessen des roemischen zeitalters. die buben mochten die vergangenen wochen sehr, vom nachbilden roemischer festungen, ueber die belagerungszuege der roemischen soldaten und dann natuerlich die viadukte, das pantheon, die hadrians mauer in britannia. eine so reiche kultur des zusammengesetzten roemischen reiches, der strassenbau und der dadurch ermoeglichte handel hat uns fasziniert. gestern haben wir nun ueber constantin und seine stadt constantinopel, das byzantinische reich gelesen. die hagia sophia die nach wie vor steht und ein ueberwaeltigendes bauwerk darstellt.
heute sind die germanen, die franken und die anglo-saxen eingedrungen, die hunnen und gothen. oh! diese vandalen, da haben wir nicht wirklich genau hingeschaut, doch wusste ich auch nicht, dass chlodwig die frau von clovis, der koenig in frankreich war um 500 a.d den franken das christentum brachte.
die zeit nach dem fruehstueck entpuppt sich immer wieder zu einer lehrreichen stunde. ich bin so froh ueber diese uns geschenkte lernzeit.

catching up

i'm back from NY city. it was great, i really enjoyed it and the best thing was the sunday picnic in central park! spring time in central park it was wonderful and a friend bringing homemade sandwiches, pesto pasta and blueberry pie for dessert. yes that's what we enjoyed and savored. sorry for no photos yet, still trying to catch up with everyday ongoings....
be patient and you will see some pics.

a wonderful day

yes it was a wonderful day, we went outdoors without jackets! even enjoyed some moments running around bare feet! we had lunch behind the house, in the sun, with our sunglasses on our noses! this is so nice so encouraging to me. we had temperatures in close to 20C. i wanted to post a few photos of our lunch..... (they will come, no doubt. i'm struggling with some downloading issues).
i'm also very excited for the weekend. i will spend it in NY! the first time in my life i will travel on a bus in the US and it is one of those ominous lucky star buses (from china town to china town). i'm so lucky that my friend is taking me along for these trip, we will meet a friend of hers and i'm so much looking forward what this city is going to impress me with. i will tell you beginning of next week. meanwhile joel will enjoy a long weekend with the kids, they are all looking forward to spend time together without me. (understandable, this is so rarely happening, and because of that very special and exciting).

starter

so often that's how my morning starts....
getting the starter for bread dough going. i like to do it and observe the growing of the yeast, when the the flour on top of the ooy gooy yeast is starting to crack and the bubbles are coming up. some times though i don't notice, i don't care it just has to be quick and i would like the bread already done, ready to be devoured.
at least we will eat fresh bread for dinner tonight, and the kids will help me in forming some rolls.

mroning sun

wow, spring is here, it is warm enough around 10am to enjoy a sun bath on our deck behind the house! yes, naomi totally got it right, she was enjoying a few minutes taking the warm sunbeams in. elias and amos enjoyed a tricycle race barefoot! i'm glad for the warmth to be back into our daily life. ok not daily yet, as we went for a picnic in the park yesterday, we all were wearing hats and mittens and bundled up like mid winter. but soon enough this is not necessary anymore.

before breakfast

lately i find the boys working on their school stuff already, when i come down stairs in the morning. it's just wonderful to experience their enthusiasm. getting so much work done before we even eat breakfast! i feel like i can sleep in and everyone is doing well without me. it's such a good experience for me and as far as i can tell, the boys like it too.
we will see what the coming mornings will bring.... maybe breakfast will be ready all by itself one day. elias already started to make tea for all of us. the slicing of the bread is somewhat of a challenge they struggle with, but one day even that will be done, i'm very sure of it.

a drink please

yes it is amos squeezing a lemon to drink it's juice! after a good afternoon of running and playing on the deck behind the house he is so hot and is desperate need of a drink. spotting a lemon in our fruit bowl there is just that one desire for him to get the refreshing juice of this lemon into his body! and that's what he does, he really did a good job squeezing and braved the drink, not blinking with one eye. mark and i could almost not believe how quick everything went and it seemed very much like amos enjoyed the drink a lot.
prost!

the winning family

yesterday was talent show night at our church. it was fantastic, so many talents entertained us a last night. from a 10 year old stand up commedian, to duets with guitar and electro bass, even a girl playing the saw as well as 5 teenage boys playing one of their songs as a band. of course my guys did not want to let that opportunity slip by and practiced a set of tunes.
i was so proud of them, and they did win in the category family!
congratulations amos, elias and joel.

quilting done

so! the quilting part is done, just before midnight last night. it was a lot of fun to do it by hand and it does look good. the next challenge is to pick a border fabric.... i guess i have to get some ideas from my neighbor alicia, she is great in thinking out of the box, has great taste but is daring too.
as for today...
it's raining since i got up. overcast and dull, we somehow stuck indoors and this does not make me happy. i guess i have to overcome the dull drums and make us all go for a stroll, come home and serve com hot cocoa! ok i have to do it, now! otherwise i will just push it again out and we will keep being stuck...

still quilting

i keep postboning the posting of photos... an other day.
though i managed to auction an ipod nano from ebay! that was an adventure all of itself. it was fun, i have never done it before and i didn't over pay. so soon enough there will be no cd's being scattered around our kitchen counters, just a sleek black ipod sitting in it's craidle on the small stereo.

quilting

no photos yet, they are in the box but not downloaded.
i'm enjoying the process of hand quilting too much, as i would bother to download pictures...
so you have to wait a day or two. the photos will come i can assure you.
it's coming along this little project, very enjoyable.