Blythe Spirit

Blablomoblo

I had an ambitious post planned for today. It was going to include links and humor and useful information and possibly an adorable baby picture.

And then today kicked my butt. Not one big kick but forty-seven little prods that made me want to shove it out of my personal space and scoot all the way out of its reach. I’m tired for no good reason and tomorrow is the beginning of the holiday season and we’re going to end up having turkey schnitzel for dinner.

Crap.

THEO’S BREAKFAST SOUNDTRACK: O : Damien Rice

Look!

It’s proof that the world really does revolve around me.

NPR recently featured a segment by one of my favorite TV chefs, Nigella Lawson, all about quick breakfast food. Apparently Nigella has been reading my blog and knew I needed some suggestions. (Thanks, Sandi)

THEO’S BREAKFAST SOUNDTRACK: White Ladder : David Gray

A Matter of Taste

Tonight, we had dinner compliments of Rachael Ray and dessert by Martha Stewart. I am a bit of a cookbook glutton and I confess that at least half of my formidable collection was authored by People On TV. I’ve had a few bad experiences (that Paul Newman cookbook really didn’t do much for me but at least the purchase price went to charity) but, all in all, most of the recipes I’ve tried have worked out.

I am aware that many, many people feel strongly about Rachael Ray. I watched her 30 minute meals and her travel show and I could see why she might rub someone the wrong way but, whatever. That’s what I thought. I asked for a couple of her cookbooks and I use the newest addition (365 No Repeats – what a thrilling title – but who cares) all the time. Her meals are tasty and the recipes work and they don’t take three hours to make.

Martha’s recipes, on the other hand, are temperamental. They are always detailed and specific but sometimes they don’t come out as well as promised. On the plus side, I love that her latest books include photos of all the finished products. I need visual aids.

I used to watch Martha Stewart and while she’s interesting, she wasn’t must-see TV for me. I think it had something to do with the episode where she pointed out that she only allows her black horses outside for an hour or so of daylight each day because their coats might fade and that wouldn’t be aesthetically pleasing. However, I’ve had good luck with her hors d’oeuvres. But I do understand why the Martha haters exist, though they seem to like her more now that she has a record.

I was never too clear on the vitriol directed toward Rachel, though. Until I happened upon a rerun of her ‘new’ TV show which is apparently now being broadcast on British satellite TV, lucky me. I tuned in during an innocuous cooking segment, which was fine, there she was with her junk bowl and yumm-o, and turquoise refrigerator just like I remembered. But then, after the commercial break, she started talking with a mother and a daughter who needed help from her in-house Life Coach. And there was cackling and forced humor and hunched shoulders and I started to understand.

So I turned the channel because I really love her Pasta with Chicken Bel Aria and I need to continue using her cookbook without disturbing flashbacks.

THEO’S BREAKFAST SOUNDTRACK: The Hits : Prince

The Cheese Stands Alone

I inadvertently omitted one of Theo’s vehement dislikes on that list I made the other day. I had forgotten about the great and terrible cheese.

I’m not sure why we were so delighted when Theo grew big enough to sit in the shopping cart seat. He looks so small and determined clutching its bars and staring around at every shopper, every pair of socks, every avocado that we pass during our weekly shopping excursions. He cranes his neck around so he can see where we’re headed and examines the other people in the store solemnly. There’s always so much going on around him that he’s too distracted to fuss.

Our routine includes a stop at the fancy cheese counter. I usually make a detour into the yogurt aisle while Jeff wheels the cart up to where he makes his weekly request for what we’ve learned is the most exotic of delicacies – yellow Irish cheddar. The cheese ladies, who wear white paper hats and hairnets and crisp aprons, all know him and start to prepare our order as soon as they see Jeff coming.

The past few weeks, after Jeff parks the shopping cart, just as the cheese lady makes eye contact and starts to speak, Theo becomes as terrified as I’ve ever seen him. I can usually hear his shrieks as I reach for the yogurt, and by the time I get to the counter, Jeff has picked him up and the cheese lady is backing away slowly. There are tears, there is clutching, there was even, on one occasion, the apparent attempt to climb out of Jeff’s arms and flee the scene on foot.

Our block of cheddar tossed across the counter and flung into the cart, we get past the meat counter and all the way to the cereal aisle before Theo has stopped crying. By the time we arrive at the pasta section, he is once again happily ensconced in the cart and smiling at the baby whose mother is shopping for egg noodles.

We have no idea what he fears, but it’s happened every time we’ve visited the grocery story in the past few weeks. His freak-out is, as far as we can tell, usually precipitated by the attention of the cheese ladies. Our one and only theory is that he doesn’t like their unusual costume, particularly the pointy hat.

We’re pretty sure he is going to love his first encounter with Santa Claus.

THEO’S BREAKFAST SOUNDTRACK: Elephunk : Black Eyed Peas

You are so impressed with my creative wit.

It’s Saturday night and I’ve had a glass of wine (Argento Malbec 2006, if you must know). It’s time for one of my famous bulleted lists of unrelated information:

-We went downtown today and noted that the gigantic Nurnberg Christmas market is almost completely constructed, despite an opening day that’s almost two weeks away. Again with the overzealous decking of the halls (and/or the German propensity to plan ahead).

-Italy and Scotland are currently battling for a spot in the European football championships. In case you’re wondering, Cameronesi has grown his ponytail back since it was so ruthlessly sheared by his teammates after their World Cup victory. (Go Scotland)

-Does anyone have a really good stuffing recipe that doesn’t require exotic ingredients like andouille sausage or chestnuts?

THEO’S BREAKFAST SOUNDTRACK: The Greatest Hits : INXS

Fa la la la la

I’m pretty sure I am not the first person ever to say this, but holy cow, where did autumn go? Suddenly it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas and I am still sitting around admiring the cute pictures of my baby dressed as a Halloween pumpkin.

I never expected to hold Americans up as models of restraint when it comes to holiday decorations. My American grocery store used to start stocking the Valentine candy on December 26th, followed by Easter eggs on February 15th and 4th of July napkins on the first of May. But we do happen to be the only country in the world that has that good old old starting-gun, Thanksgiving, and I think it saves us from decking the halls in mid-October. I realize that few retail establishments follow this guideline anymore but some still do (Nordstrom? Are you still with me? CALL ME.) and I don’t know any actual, non-profit families who put up a Christmas tree before turkey day.

I acted slightly horrified when I saw the wreaths and ribbons and twinkly lights going up on buildings around town last week. But then something magical happened. It snowed, and we had snow on the ground for three days, and suddenly I was ready to break out the Elvis Christmas CD and don me now my gay apparel.

I wish I knew where I was going with this, besides finding an excuse to announce to all three of my readers that I was so inspired that I finished over half of my Christmas shopping, all thanks to that snowstorm. You may now mock me and hate me and call me a goody-goody who can’t handle the crowds at the mall like a REAL shopper. But I’ll be off baking gingerbread men.

THEO’S BREAKFAST SOUNDTRACK: Greatest Hits : Journey
(Stone in Love is a really underrated song.)

I wasn’t kidding about Theo Thursdays

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Likes:
Ina Garten, my Binky, mouth sounds, swimming, Sandra Boynton, electrical appliances, toes, yogurt, giraffes, naps

Dislikes:
my car seat, empty bottles, the Cuisinart, strained green beans

THEO’S BREAKFAST SOUNDTRACK: The Legend of Johnny Cash : Johnny Cash

You’re kidding me with the shoes

Lilacspecs has tagged me for a meme, and I know you’re all relieved because there might have been another post about shopping.

Rules:

1- Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
2- Share 7 random or weird things about yourself.
3- Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
4- Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

7 Random or Weird Things About Myself:
1. I still have a better vocabulary in Spanish than in German, even after living in Deutschland for more than two years. I guess all those hours chanting verbs in my high school and college Spanish classes made the words stick after all.
2. If I were a boy, my name would be Cooper, after Gary Cooper.
3. I blew almost an entire month’s spending money on a pair of shoes the first week of my freshman year of college. They were brown Calvin Kleins and they cost $75. I had never bought a pair of shoes for over $25 before. (Sorry, there’s just no escape from the shoe shopping around here.)
4. Raisins make me gag.
5. I have copies of all the Vanity Fair Hollywood issues except the first one, which I had but threw out before I started collecting them.
6. The name I chose for myself in Spanish class was Ava.
7. I should probably have just changed my name to Ava when I moved to Germany too, since the “th” sound doesn’t exist in the German language.

I tag Abby, Katie, Kerri, Daniela, Scott (dude you really need to update your blog), Kendra (you too), and Carol.

THEO’S BREAKFAST SOUNDTRACK: Live 1980-86 : Joe Jackson

Mallrat

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I know, some of you are saying, “Enough with the shoes! Enough with the shopping! Where is your cute baby?”

Too bad. You’re just going to have to wait, because I went to the mall yesterday. THE MALL.

OK, there was no Nordstrom there. No Bath & Bodyworks. No Cinnabon (sniff). But it did have a food court, with sushi. And a store that sold nice-smelling candles, and several places to buy shoes. So I bought some shoes.

This mall is brand new and gave me the eerie yet somehow enjoyable feeling that I’d stepped into an American suburb where everyone speaks German and instead of anchor stores the malls have bakeries at each end.

Aren’t you glad I’m posting every day this month? Because you can’t live without this kind of information.

THEO’S BREAKFAST SOUNDTRACK: Tidal : Fiona Apple

Amendment

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Did I imply earlier that Germans don’t enjoy shopping as recreation?

Scratch that.

Here in Bavaria, the “most German part of Germany,” we spend our Sundays walking in the park and frolicking with our families. We never ever spend the day grocery shopping or picking up a spare lightbulb or, heaven forbid, shoe shopping. It’s against the law for stores to open their doors on this most holy day of rest. I’m not bitter about that or anything.

I’ve learned to appreciate some of the quirks of German culture that used to irritate me. I no longer have the impulse to turn right on red, and I even drink half beer/half Sprite by choice. But when someone inevitably tries to convince me how relaxing and healthy it is to have a day off from running errands, I smile tightly and struggle not to tell them my theory that this just creates complete mayhem in the stores on Saturdays as every working person in the country tries to cram his shopping into one day each week. Still, I get a condescending smile, reminding me that Sundays are for resting, just take your American craving to spend spend spend and walk it off. Preferably while sporting some of those Nordic ski poles.

But two or three times per year, each town gets a reprieve from the retail therapy ban and is allowed to open on Sunday afternoon. If my local acquaintances are to be believed, the stores should be deserted, since who wants to spend another day slogging through the terrible chore of buying some new clothes?

Or some new boots, perhaps?

Judging by the tangled mass of humanity at my local shopping area yesterday, everyone does. Don’t try to tell me they weren’t having a good time shoving one another out of the way to get to that rack of discounted sandals.

Because I had a good time buying new boots. I’ve been searching for these boots for a while, and it just took a Sunday afternoon of shopping to find them.

Alas, when I’m looking for some fun next Sunday, I guess I’ll have to locate some ski poles instead.

THEO’S BREAKFAST SOUNDTRACK: Hang On Little Tomato : Pink Martini