The Saturday Update

We've had a nice, if somewhat washed out, week away.

We had a lovely weekend visiting Nico's family. The sunshine was glorious on Sunday.

On Monday we drove to Altenau in the rain. The accommodation was very spacious and had everything we needed though sleeping in a family room was an adventure! We had a short walk around the town and a little climb to a viewpoint.

We tried to get out for walks twice on Tuesday but didn't get far due to torrential downpours.

Wednesday was our big walk day. Four hours around the beautiful outskirts of Altenau and no complaining from the kids, plus we got our first stamp in our Harz Wanderpasses!

Thursday was terrible again so we drove out to do a bit of shopping, took the kids swimming at the local spa, and went to a small wood museum. A lovely day despite the weather.

Yesterday, we drove home, picking Pete up on the way. The house was still standing despite the storms and I was glad to have cleaned before we left.

Links!

This is a worrying trend.

Some good food tips, especially the pizza.

A new site for creatives.

Seeing this cute video everywhere.

So important.

How to become a grown up.

The U.S. has so many shops I wish we had.

Funny.

Reading Review

Aladdin and other tales from Arabian Nights

Before picking this book up, I only knew the Disney version of Aladdin and I was honestly surprised at how different the original is. Just the fact that it was knew an unknown made the adventure story more exciting for me.

It was branded as a children's classic but from the language I'm not surprised I never picked it up as a child.

The 'other tales' were the seven voyages of Sinbad which were new to me as well. They were varied and interesting too.

The Stretch - Stephen Leather

Another of my freebies, I probably wouldn't have picked this up otherwise. It tells the story of a crime boss' wife and how she handles the business while he's in prison.

It was an easy read and the point of view was interesting but this one didn't really grip me.

Coral Island - R.M.Ballantyne

Another fake 'children's classic', this one tells the story of three men shipwrecked on an island in the South Pacific. It was actually an interesting read and I really enjoyed following their adventures. I'd recommend this one.

October Goals

Here's what I hope to do this month:

• Speak as much German as possible before my C1 exam!
• Send two postcards.
• Try two new recipes.
• Get back on the health kick after the holidays.
• Learn to play backgammon.

Recipe: Crock pot Gumbo

Ingredients:

• 1 onion
• 1 green pepper
• 3 sticks of celery
• 300g chicken breast
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• 2 cloves garlic
• Thyme
• Oregano
• Cajun spice mix
• 200g frozen prawns
• 2 cups cooked rice

Instructions:

1. Place the first ten ingredients in the crock pot and cook on lw for six or seven hours.

2. An hour before you want to eat, add the prawns.

3. Thirty minutes before serving, add the rice.

An easy and tasty dish, I love the crock pot.

Make it Monday: October Birthday Cards

I feel like I'm a bit stuck in a rut this month with my card making. For four out of the five I stuck to a name theme and varied the medium with stickers and stamps.

I'm most pleased with the card on the left as it's a bit different, it's something new and I like the complementing colours.

Weekly Wisdom

You don't have to be blooming to be growing.