Short Trips – the Midlands – Four lane roundabouts and a wedding

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Recently we were privileged to be invited to a wedding in the Midlands, England. In my mind this conjures up visions of vast expanses of land and rich estates – a kind of Pride and Prejudice meets Downton Abbey – small towns, cute country lanes, rolling hills, hearty food and wide varieties of dialects. My husband and I opted to add a few days of unplanned driving – the aim was to wander aimlessly, traverse the hills, take in whatever sights we happened across, and eat and drink till we burst. Goal achieved! As I mentioned from my last visit to England, my opinion of the country has changed somewhat from being a boring (normal food, English-speaking) destination, into a familiar one that reminds me nostalgically of home.

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Things I love about this town

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There’s so much to love about my town! On my frequent runs/walks, I have gathered a collection of some of my favourite sights. Enjoy!

Wolfsberg - ducksThe ducks

Somehow the ducks here seem to be cuter than in other places. Now, I know that’s not true, because ducks fly and are therefore found everywhere, but our ducks always seem to be happy, playing about in the river, regardless of the weather, and just bringing a smile to people’s lips.

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Green Thumbs – Part 2 – The Growing

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gardeningHeading into the start of summer, low and behold, all (ok, most of) the seeds I’d planted sprouted small green leaves. The radishes were thriving so naturally I planted plenty more – so proud. The fail of part 1 became a distant memory.

5 pumpkins and 4 zucchinis emerged, and while I was fully aware that I’d planted too many, I couldn’t quite bear to pull them out. What if some died later? The better idea, I thought, would be to keep them.

Might rethink that next year. What on earth can we do with 60+ zucchinis?

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Farewell Grandma – a collection of memories

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grandma wedding
At my wedding, 2015

A few weeks ago I received the inevitable but upsetting call – my grandma had passed away.

I was home alone on a Friday morning and I had no idea what to do with the news. I cried, I called a friend, I cried some more and then I just felt lost.

Because I couldn’t do anything. I was too far away to help my parents out, provide support or attend the funeral. The last time I saw her was 18 months ago. She was in relatively good spirits until the end, though had definitely been on a bit of a downward spiral in the last months. I felt better knowing that she hadn’t been too uncomfortable, had died peacefully in her sleep, and was probably more than ready to let go.

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Green Thumbs – Part 1 – The Fail

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Gardening vegetables
Ready to ‘grow’

This year marked our first summer in the house, and therefore, my first chance to start my own ‘vege patch’.

I was an expert gardener, I proclaimed. My younger days helping my dad in the garden obviously meant I knew everything about growing vegetables.

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Getting Old – one day it actually just happens

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Being young
Being young… good times

I have always been told I look young. Ok, it wasn’t so fun getting my ID checked at age 23 but still, I thought to myself, at some point this has to blow the other way. At some point, I’ll be happy that people think I’m younger than I look. And surely, I surmised, the inside matches the out – I eat (relatively) healthy, keep fit and am mentally just your average kind of person – everyone’s got issues, right? So I figured that even though I was heading for my mid-late 30s, everything was going to hold up at least for another little while.

And then things started going downhill. Continue reading →

Fudln – Uno with a twist

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We’re all familiar with Uno – Uno is a worldwide phenomenon. But when I came to Austria I discovered a new and exciting variation – Fudln.

Uno Pfoodle

Ok, let’s be honest, I have a feeling that Fudln is confined to my small Austrian family. And quite possibly there are plenty of other families all over the world that play it and give it a different name. But our name is Fudln , and this is how it goes.

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Short Trips – Helsinki

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With the longest day of the year just around the corner, what better place to spend a long weekend, we thought, than right up north in Helsinki!

We flew into surprisingly warm weather, and it stayed that way almost the entire time, save for a small sun shower one afternoon – 25 degrees in Helsinki is almost unheard of in June! I was very happy to note upon arrival that our hotel (Hotel Cumulus) had decent curtains that blocked out a fair amount of the night-daylight. Though if you tend to be light-sensitive, I would recommend taking an eye mask anyway. The hotel was perfectly located, only a 5-10 minute walk to Market Square, right near a big supermarket and across the road from a daily market. The subway station was also right there, along with the bus stop to the airport.

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A Huge Pain in the Back!

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southern india foodIn early March, I was happily touring around southern India with my hubby when I noticed my lower back was sore. Nothing out of the ordinary, I thought – the bumpy roads, the beds – it makes sense. That evening I headed for a massage, hoping to find relief. But when I, grimacing, crawled onto the massage bed, my masseur promptly advised me to see a doctor.

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