Beachside at an Italian Christmas Market

Lignano beach Italy winter

Christmas markets are something Austria is definitely not lacking in, but when we heard that our regular summer beach spot, Lignano, was holding a Christmas market over December, we thought… why not? Something different. And definitely warmer than cold ol’ Austria. So, we packed ourselves and the in-laws up, and off we went to see what it was about.

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Did I just have the best three days ever?

Italy beach

This might sound bad, but last week my husband took Sammy, along with the in-laws, for a beach holiday to Italy. They went for the week, but I could only join toward the end because I had to work. You might think I’d be bummed… missing out on long beach days, and mouth-watering Italian food, and my kid running around on the sand with a big grin on his face.

Well… in a way, I was. But in another way, I was ecstatic.

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The garden summary 2023

vegetable garden 2023

It was a bit of a weird season this year. Things didn’t really go to plan. But they never really do, do they?

Since time was scarce having to run around after an almost one-year-old, I decided to work smart this year. I started early with the radishes in a small free standing garden bed to reduce the amount of weeding. I watered them and I remembered to put the lid on every night. Except one night.

And then this happened. Snow.

snow on radishes
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The obsession with electricity

Snow sun winter

When we moved in, our house was already kitted out with solar panels on the roof. I’ll admit that I didn’t realise there was a difference. I thought our solar panels simply generated electricity – so heating the water and everything else. But apparently you need a special kind for that. Something called Photovoltaic. I don’t get the science behind it, but earlier this year we installed these special panels on the roof, which now means, that we generate electricity, not just heat water.

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Summer storms in Austria – hot, wet and magnificent

Summer in Austrian is generally (when I say generally I mean, meant to be) mild: late 20s/early 30s. Last year was an exception (colder than normal) and this year also seems to be an exception (warmer than normal) but that’s beside the point for this post. Living amongst the mountains invariably equals summer storms – lots of them – and decent ones too. I love a good storm… I just don’t love being out in it. But when you’re safe inside and the storm isn’t wreaking havoc on you, or any surrounding villages, they’re super impressive and strikingly beautiful. So here’s a few of my random thoughts on Austrian summer storms. Continue reading