Part Two Of My Journey

There was so much to see when I was away and I drove everybody around me because I was stopping to take pictures every two minutes.  The light my not have been great at times because the sky was grey with snow laden clouds but still I could not help but try.

We stopped in a roadside restaurant one day and I could not help but drool at the food that was on display there.  And just inside the main entrance was this little giant beauty of a gingerbread house.  i don't think that I've ever seen such attention to detail in one before.  It even had gorgeous shutters on the windows.

If you can see the man standing behind it.  You can get some idea of the scale of this thing.  I think that I would have eaten half of it before I even managed to decorate it.  Yum diddily yumshious.

The same day we went for a short walk around a small lake, the name of which I can't spell so I'm leaving it out.  The snow fell lightly and it was so fine and dry that it sat on our hats and eyelashes like icing sugar.

This tree with steps that children climb so that they can jump from it into the water, sits dormant and sleeping over the semi-frozen lake while it waits for it's playmates to return in the heat of the summer.

At a small local Christmas market on the way back to the house we stopped and drank some Glühwein and ate hot waffles sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. This kept us warmed up nicely as we stood and chatted about Christmas and all the nice biscuits and sweets that we wanted  had to bring home and how on earth we were going to squeeze them into our suitcases.  We just couldn't go home and not bring a selection (of everything) home for the holiday season.  I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that the cake shops are heaven on earth!

Our last big trip was to the Salzburg Christmas market.  We went at night so that we could experience the true magic of it.  It was beautiful to see the stalls lit up with candle and fairy lights.  The choir stood on the steps of the Cathedral and sang carols in the cold night air.  This would get even Ebeneezer Scrooge into the Christmas spirit.

I love the colours of all the liqueurs and schnapps here. I had never realised that they could look so appetising and appealing.  Just look at that blue and pink!

Traditional nutcrackers stand to attention and proudly.  So beautifully handcrafted.

And finally row upon row of smoker dolls of every type and description stand in a blast of colour in the dark cold evening.

And last but most definitely now least, as a family we have had some excellent news in this last week.  My son was diagnosed with petit mal epilepsy when he was four years old and his specialist has decided that now as everything is in his favour, EEG results and MRI, he can finally try and come off his medication.  Needless to say we are all very happy bunnies about that one.  The best Christmas present that we could have ever asked for.  We are just going to take it one step at a time together.

Thanks for taking the time to visit and read my ramblings.
Rosie xx

Home From Germany!

As we arrived in Germany last week we were greeted by my brother and his girlfriend with two beautiful posies of flowers.  Aren't they fantastic?  Such a gorgeous welcome it was.  I felt like I was arriving to my second home and as we drove away from the airport, I realised how much I've missed Germany in the last year.  My brother always makes me feel very at home in his house, so walking in the door it was like putting on a forgotten pair of slippers.  Comfortable and familiar.  

The first day it was cold but dry, so we decided to a Christmas market at Hellbrunner.  It is situated in the grounds of an old palace.  And even though the cold air was nipping at our cheeks, the people were very warm and welcoming.  There was so much to see here and not only the market stalls.  

This gentleman was selling traditional German horns and every few minutes he would stand up, select an instrument and give a demonstration.  Such a wonder to hear.  

There was plenty there too for kids.  There was a petting zoo with some ever so cute farm animals...

reindeers walking around and some of the sweetest sheep that I've ever seen.  They also lit a large campfire where the kids would sit around and listen to stories of legends.  Their little faces entraled and fixated on the storyteller.  There was a large baking house too and the children would sit at long tables and make their own Christmas cookies and then watch them as they bake in the old stone oven and then later decorate them when they cooled.  I can't wait until I can bring my Lucy and Patrick to share in this too.  They would love it!

The following day we went to Hintersee.  There is a beautiful walk around the lake with the most spectacular views.

This truly has to be one of my most favourite places in the world.  It is peaceful and utterly breathtaking.  I love to just sit there and wonder at the beauty of mother nature.

The water here is crystal clear but the colour of emeralds because it is so nutrient rich.

















We hoped for snow every day and it seemed to fall everywhere but where we were in Freilässing!  So my brother decided to drive us through the Austrian Alps to see the snow there.  The mountains looked like they were dusted with icing sugar and were awe inspiring.  I've never seen anything like them in my life.  I just sat in the back of the car in silence as I gaped out every window to watch the scenery pass by as we whizzed in and out of the tunnels.

On the Austrian side of the Alps there was less snow, unfortunately.  But we did spot this huge castle.  It looks like something out of Merlin!  I couldn't get close enough to get a proper picture and my Mother certainly wasn't fit to walk to the top.  So some better photos will have to wait until next time.  What a place that would be to live, surrounded by all those mountains.  So long as you didn't forget the milk for your tea!
Well I have a lot more to show and tell you but I'm exhausted after our day travelling home.  I was hoping to get blogging over there but I was having problems uploading my photos.  I hope to do another couple of posts over the weekend.  I hope that you enjoy reading it and looking at my pictures and that I haven't turned into one of those very boring people who make you sit down and go through all of their holiday photos before they even make you a cup of tea.
Cup of tea anyone?

Rosie xx

So Much To Do......

If I'm honest I don't really know what I'm at these days.  Christmas is coming and there is a lot of crafting to be done.  I'm full of ideas for presents and decorations for the house and I still haven't got my mincemeat made for my mince pies.  My problem is that I just don't know where to start!  And another of my big problems is that I've got a habit of starting a tonne of projects all at the same time and never seem to get anything finished.  I get too bored doing one project at a time and it's only been a few times that I've managed it.  And there are so many beautiful patterns out there to inspire me and tempt me to cast on a fresh set of stitches.
I do love that great feeling of achievement I get when I see a project finished.  It's something that I don't get from anything else.  I like to sit down to a nice meal that I've cooked or a scrumptious cake but I never feel like jumping around and shouting out the window, "look what I've made".  I can clean the house and do all my chores until the house gleams but I don't ever want to walk proudly into my knitting group wearing a nice Mr. Muscle shiny bathtub now do I?
Tomorrow I'm going to be brave and sit down with my dear little notepad and make my Christmas list (not for Santa...that one will come later on St. Nicholas' Day.  Hopefully he'll listen this year.)
The most important jobs first.  Sewing during the day because I can knit at night and when the kids are doing their homework.  I'm heading to Germany at the end of this month with my mother to visit the big bro.  We are going for a week so that is going to take more time off me.  And then when we get back, advent will have started.  And advent is such a big thing here in this house for us.  The stairs have to be decorated and small sweet bags hung out for Santa's elves to fill for the kids if they have been good that day.
Ahhhh I think I'm going to go mad.  But if I'm really honest with myself, I'm looking forward to Chrimbo this year for the first time in a long long time.  I'm more relaxed in myself.  More secure and I've finally accepted my condition.  As somebody once told me "it is possible to find happiness in acceptance".

Another promise I'm making to myself is that I want to take care of my blog properly and update it more often.  Every time I sit down on the sofa and take my laptop out, my dog Molly, jumps up beside me and lies right across the keyboard, nudging me and giving me those endearing eyes that say "please tickle my belly".  And if that wasn't bad enough, one of my cats, Nina, has a habit of sitting on the back of the couch behind me rubbing my head with her paw!
I often sign on to blogger land intending to write a post but I get so distracted by everybody elses beautiful pages that I spend all my time reading them and before I know it, it's already bed time.
So I'm hoping that with all the crafting I'll be doing over the next two months, I'll definitely be posting more news.  And hopefully there'll be some fab pictures from Munich and Salzburg.

Thanks for listening to my mindless rambling,
Rosie xx

PS  Can anybody out there help me please?  Whenever I have found new blogs that I would like to follow, I would click on the Google Follow This Blog button and that blog would automatically pop up on my reading list.  But the last few times that I did that, I had to copy and paste the address into my reading list.  Does anybody know what I'm doing wrong here?

My Favourite Place in the World

In November I travelled to Germany to get some help with my fight between pain and pain relief. Thanks to my brother, the little guy in the picture, I was able to do a month long course of EFT with the brilliant Karin.  On the weekends we drove around the Alps and saw some of the most beautiful sights imaginable.
It was a life-changing experience for me and I'll be ever grateful to my brother for giving me the chance to see what life still has to offer and to realise that I am still capable to fulfil some of my dreams.
Thanks Big Bro!
This was a small secluded lake that we found when on one of our drives.  It was the most peaceful place I've ever been and gladly sat for hours on the rocks long the lakeshore. I will return soon to Germany and my lake.