Snowless in Friedrike

It's 40°F and sunny (also a little breezy). So this morning I made my International Snowman Day snowman out of buttons, with the help of my trusty bear companion.

I'll probably stick a magnet on the back.

I'm also looking for something I can make for supper without going shopping; it's not actually dangerous here, I'm just feeling agoraphobic.

Englischer Garten: Crappy Cell Phone Pics™

Yesterday I went to the US Consulate in München to renew my passport. This could have been done by mail, but the website was a mess--links to different forms than the text indicated, rules for photos completely missing (I found them on the website for the Embassy to India)--so I made an appointment, and started following the instructions and became increasingly anxious.

Very late Thursday night, literally hours before my appointment, I reviewed the instructions on the website, and they had changed. Since Thursday morning. Previously you brought euros for postage, now you bring a prepaid self-addressed envelope. In Berlin and Frankfurt a specific DHL product is required; in Munich you can bring anything with enough stamps. Having no idea how many stamps were necessary,  we tracked down a DHL counter near R's work and bought the specific product on Friday morning. Which took a long time, as the guy behind the counter didn't actually know that he sold this product (that we could see hanging on the wall behind him) at his counter.

Then I took a series of trams to the city center, intending to while away the morning in Haus der Kunst, where the lady at the desk told me not to bother because there was only one exhibition. So I ended up in the Englischer Garten.

I had my real camera, but I'm still trying out this watermark app, so enjoy the Crappy Cell Phone Pics™.

I was nervous about the appointment, so I didn't really enjoy the park. But at least I got sunburned.

The appointment was fast and easy. I had all the correct forms, and they accepted US cash. I was also the only person in my time slot who had a prepaid envelope or stamps. Finally the crippling anxiety pays off!

Amerikanisches Rinderfilet mit Rotwein-Schallotten Jus

R took me to a nice dinner at the local steakhouse for my birthday last week (after a day of laying around watching garbage Twitter, sigh).  They get beef from Australia, Argentina, Ireland, Germany, and, for some reason, Iowa.  We splurged on the 300g Nelore filet from the New Year's menu and it was fabulous, served with a red wine-shallot sauce, herbed butter, and the house-special three "dips", which I tested with the sweet potato fries because the meat didn't need any help from anything (the ketchup with corn was called "mexicanisches dip" which pleased me; putting corn where it doesn't belong and calling it "American style" drives me nuts).

Mostly I'm test-driving a new watermark app, which will allow me to share progress photos from the phone. I'm also considering using it for all the cat Twitter.

Frohes neues Jahr!

I need to start this up again. I got bogged down with taking "progress" photos...I completed three 12" square identical quiltlets in Oct/Nov and gave two away as gifts, but processing the pictures and writing snappy text seemed less appealing than, well, everything.  Then I visited my folks for three weeks...lots going on there, including some quilt shop visits and some quilted coasters...again lots of photos and no interest in writing. When we got back to Germany it was time for Christmas.

Have also had a series of migraines due to the crappy spring weather, gallstones rumbling after a two-year hiatus, and a 102°F fever that popped up suddenly and knocked me out for the weekend of 2. Advent.  Nothing serious enough to go see a doctor, just enough to piss me off. On the bright side, there have been a lot of good and classic movies on TV, auf Deutsch.

If you can find the Norwegian movie The King's Choice with English subtitles, I can heartily recommend (or watch it in German like I did, ha ha). It's the story of Kong Haakon VII, the first democratically elected King of Norway, refusing to capitulate to the Nazis, at great risk to himself and his family. (The real star is a stuffed animal named Rudi, who was commanded by Haakon to keep his grandson Harald safe...and we know Rudi was successful because Harald is the king today.) Very well written, very good acting.

More later. Still trying to work out documentation.