mosse-mossi [English]

Waiting for Bart

2010-03-05T18:11:00.000-08:00

It's extremely convenient to live across the street from a Bart station. It takes us about 2 minutes from our front door to the platform. Plus about a minute or two to finish a smoke (= Ed), another minute to buy a ticket (if necessary), and sometimes a few extra seconds to catch my stride after tripping in the turnstile (in an attempt to beat Ed to making it through the gate first). And then we wait. For 17 minutes or so. Because we are unable to remember to look up the arrival time of the next train before leaving the house. So we're standing on the platform, watching pigeons and tiny mice gnawing on bones, when we could have sat on the couch or finished a glass of wine. But we don't mind. It's still very convenient, and we chat about how our day was.

Still crazy...

2010-03-01T13:19:00.000-08:00

Today marks the 9-year anniversary of the day Ed and I first met. I had no idea back then that that dreary Hamburg afternoon would forever change my life, and be remembered for years to come...

(This photo is from a friend's birthday party at the rollerskating rink a few weeks ago. Which I'm only pointing out to explain those outfits.)

Looks like the cat survived.

2009-07-22T18:23:00.000-07:00

Cause and Effect?

2009-07-19T15:29:00.000-07:00

Discovered during a walk through our neighborhood.

Lo and behold!

2009-06-30T18:36:00.001-07:00

Ed caught a fish.

A real fish.

It's bigger than our dinner plates. Which clearly makes it large enough to eat.

Now please excuse me while I figure out what to do with the store-bought perch fillet I took out of the freezer this morning in anticipation of the usual yield of Ed going fishing...

12.75 lbs

2009-06-29T09:51:00.000-07:00

Popstickle at the vet.

He's entirely healthy. He apparently thinks that throwing up at 4 A.M. every morning is an entertaining way for us to wake up.

Goodbye, Michael...

2009-06-25T17:46:00.001-07:00

One of those things that I didn't expect to make me sad.

Happy Birthday, Popstickle!

2009-06-23T21:27:00.000-07:00

Since Popstickle is a stray, we have no idea when his birthday is. When we had to take him to the vet a year ago for an infected wound on his leg, the vet estimated him to be about 8 years old and put that day's date minus eight years down as his birthday -- June 24, 2000. And hence, this is the day that we celebrate Popstickle's birthday.

As fate would have it, Popstickle will have to see the vet again in the next few days. But that won't keep him from celebrating in style. I'm putting some MGD in the fridge, Ed ist getting the Donuts. Happy Birthday, P.!

That's what happens...

2009-06-19T18:34:00.000-07:00

...when you use a pot much too small for your popcorn cravings. Happy weekend everyone!

Everything tastes better outside

2009-06-07T20:53:00.000-07:00

Spontaneous barbecues are the best...

Puccini meets SF Giants: Tosca at the Ballpark

2009-06-06T17:27:00.000-07:00

Going to the opera for free, wearing a leather or ski jacket, respectively? It's all possible, or it was, rather: Last night, at a Simulcast of Tosca from the San Francisco Opera at AT&T Park, home of the SF Giants.

Thousands of San Franciscans came and enjoyed Picnic, Puccini and a gorgeous evening sky. Music and video came in High Definition live from the War Memorial Opera House, and we kept thinking that our Tosca night was even better than that of the opera house visitors: No opera seat in the world is as soft as a Major League Baseball lawn, and there's no flock of seagulls at the opera, majestically orbitting the scene at the dramatically most perfect moment. We sat in Barry Bond's sweat, drank Italian red wine and were mesmerized by the arresting fate of Tosca, Cavaradossi and Baron Scarpia.

During curtain call the singers sent special greetings to the stadium and displayed variuos SF Giants gear while taking their bows. Must have looked a little odd to the guests at the opera house, but was applauded frenetically at the ballpark. Bravissimo!

All pictures here

Mosse & Mossi still alive

2009-05-31T19:12:00.001-07:00

My Mom pointed out to me today that there were some issues with this blog. I assumed she meant the lack of activity in the last, well, six months. But no, apparently it was as bad as an outage of the entire site for a while. Which clearly shows how much Ed and I neglected this blog lately.

But hey! Good news! We're still around, alive and healthy, and married life is GREAT, as this photo clearly shows.

I'll try to write more again here, and possibly train the cat to do some reporting.

More Flickr goodness

2009-05-31T18:13:00.000-07:00

I opened a second Flickr account for my slightly less private/cutesy/snapshot-y pictures. You'll find shots of my wedding work, along with bookbinding, printing and typography paraphernalia. I'll also add any future graphic design work there.

My orchid is blooming!

2009-05-31T17:03:00.000-07:00

I love orchids, but the one or two specimens that I've owned so far died a quick and unpleasant death. Not enough light, too much light, a lack or abundance of water, bugs -- I have no idea, and thus I refrained from purchasing any more orchids. Now I'm hopeful though, as this one has been blooming on our kitchen table for over three months (I'm not joking!). Friends gave it to me as a present in August of last year, in full bloom, and I had little hope that it would live to see 2009. It lost its flowers a few weeks after its arrival, and when I found tiny red mites on its bare branches a couple of months later, I mentally said my farewells.

In a whiff of optimism and after some internet research though, I misted it with a mixture of water and peppermint soap. The mites were completely gone within a few days, and haven't returned to date. Some time at the beginning of this year I spotted new shoots along with flower buds on the branches I had cut back before. And since about mid-February I am so happy every day to see the four blossoms that don't seem to age at all. As if the orchid went to sleep and forgot about the blossoms...

I believe it is a Phalaenopsis; to water it, I hold the pot under running, lukewarm water for 15 seconds every two weeks or so, and wipe off any water splashes from the leaves afterwards. Seems like that's just what the doctor ordered!

23 days till Christmas!

2008-12-01T14:15:00.000-08:00

We had a really nice, relaxed, long weekend:

On Thursday, Christian and Evaly had invited us over for Thanksgiving dinner. They served a killer beef roast and we finally had the opportunity to meet Hannah and Harper, Christian and Evaly's 4 months old twins.

On Friday, Ed and Jay tried their luck playing Blackjack, while I was cozy and creative at home.

Saturday afternoon we went for a walk along the coast and watched the fairly high waves. The weather was beautiful -- much too warm for the time of year, but we're certainly not complaining!

Saturday night we wandered around downtown San Francisco and admired the Christmas lights and window decoration. We had planned to go ice skating on Union Square, but the line was so long that we decided to reschedule it for another night. Sipping hot chocolate, we stared at the Christmas tree and walked home along Castro Street a little later.

Our Sunday was quiet and homely, and we concluded this long Thanksgiving weekend well-rested and in tune with this year's holiday season. We're looking forward to Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-26T18:45:00.000-08:00

Mmmmh, Pumpkin Cookies... they taste like a mix between pumpkin pie and Lebkuchen. Viva culinary culture clash!

Alive and kicking

2008-11-10T00:33:00.000-08:00

Yes, we're still around... :)

With new optimism (OBAMA!!!), nothing too exciting going on, and just plain happy. We spent today afternoon at the beach, it was such a surprisingly mild day and we had planned to go hike around in some mossy, autumny forest, but ended up at the water. Which was just beautiful. Yay for coincidental change of plans!

More soon...

Impressive, those Swedes

2008-05-24T04:41:00.000-07:00

The other day on the train, I witnessed a group of six first-graders (all tiny little blonde girls in adorable outfits -- like sorority sisters, but cute and not mean and only two feet tall) go totally mental when the train passed an Ikea:

"IKEA, IKEA, THERE'S IKEA!!!"

*really high voices and squeeky noises*

It was weird. And funny. And Ikea's marketing folks should probably win award after award for successfully establishing brand awareness FOR A FURNITURE STORE in six-year-olds.

Gorgeous then, gorgeous now

2008-05-19T05:33:00.000-07:00

Thinking back to my childhood days almost always brings up memories about our backyard. I spent so much time out there, playing by myself or with friends from the neighborhood, in the sandbox or on the swingset my father had built for me (we'd excavate plastic smurf figurines years later at the spot where the sandbox used to be), scavenging through the vegetable garden for sweet baby carrots, snap peas and strawberries (under the strict but tolerating eyes of my Grandfather), or splashing in the little pool my parents put out for me in summer (frequently terrified by the dead insects that would inevitably float around in there after a couple of days). At some point I had a bunny rabbit (Piefke), later a cat (Jana), and for many years there were sheep grazing on a pasture just behind the fence at the end of the garden (now the location of two three-story apartment buildings). Clockwise from top left: with a birthday party, feeding the sheep, August 1981; on the swing, Spring 1981; my Grandparents, ca. late 1980s; still owning a sandbox, Summer 1987; with my tricycle and Herr Nilsson, Spring 1981; in desperate need for a bath, Spring 1981; with my friend Jessica, Summer 1985.

Back in the day, the backyard was mostly a veggie and fruit garden, with a lawn area to sit and relax. The older my grandparents got, the smaller the garden area became, with the lawn expanding and taking over areas where rows of asparagus and onions used to be. When I was small, my grandparents would spend hours sowing and harvesting and digging and raking, with me "helping" them, cleaning carrots, pitting cherries, or cutting apples to be cooked into applesauce. There were rows of glasses with preserved fruits in our basement, and a freezer full with frozen veggies. The older I got, the less gardenwork my grandparents did, with more time being spent sitting in the comfy garden chairs enjoying the sun or taking a nap in the shade. Especially my Granddad always hated wintertime, when he couldn't spend much time outside.

Over the recent years, my parents have transformed the backyard into a beautiful ornamental garden. My Mom has an amazing talent for selecting the right plants for the right places and arranging and layering shrubs and perennials, annual plants and bulbs, and caring for them so that they perform a true firework of colors, blossom shapes and sizes all throughout the season.

Since my Grandmother is bedridden at the moment and can't enjoy the garden like she usually would, I took a bunch of pictures that I showed to her in the hospital. A nurse even encouraged us to tape a couple printouts to a wall near her bed.

In Germany, in May

2008-05-16T01:09:00.000-07:00

I came home to Germany in a family matter a couple of days ago, rather spontaneously. For four years now I've only ever visited around Christmas time (with the exception of our wedding in late October 2006, when it was almost as cold as in December, for the most part), and had almost forgotten about how beautiful it is here this time of year. The lovely scenery made an adventurous drive over abandoned dirt roads and through tiny Northern German villages -- caused by slight navigation challenges faced by the driver and his front-seat passenger (hello, dear parents!) -- a real treat.

Not sure why they call it a "smart" phone...

2008-05-16T00:33:00.001-07:00

...if it allows you to do things like this:

(Ed and I got ourselves a new pair of BlackBerry phones. It lets me take pictures and upload them to my Flickr photostream.)

Paradise is here

2008-04-22T18:38:00.000-07:00

There's certain things you just can't overpraise -- Al Gore, warm summer nights, and Radio Paradise for example. The last-mentioned is an internet radio station featuring the best music mix ever. For over a year now, RP belongs to our household like good wine does to the before-mentioned summer nights, and it just doesn't get boring. Which would be nearly impossible given a program that plays Benny Goodman's version of Ravel's 'Bolero' one minute, Elton John's 'Funeral for a Friend' the very next, followed by some 'Cafe del Mar' or Coldplay. RP is commercial-free, listener-supported on a voluntary basis, and it is just pure joy to support something this good. (It's certainly no crime to listen for free, but every ever-so-small contribution yields double karma points...)

RP sounds as good during work as it does during dinner, and everyone sceptical of this praise just go and listen to it for just 30 minutes.

Good & healthy

2008-04-04T11:22:00.000-07:00

I realize I'm a little late to the game, but if you haven't already, go rent (or buy, buy!) and watch "Once". This precious little movie riveted Ed and I to the couch and made our eyes water - I don't think I have been touched by music like this since my teenage years. Except that this music is much, much better.

Also very good: Mysterious Thursdays, brought to us by Mariquita Farms. Every two weeks, $25 buy you a box full of the loveliest organic veggies, and you never know what you'll get. Much of the box's content is pretty unique, which forces you to cook outside of your comfort zone, and discover your new favorite veggies. This was yesterday's box:

Yum, yum, yum...

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T19:39:00.000-07:00

We spent Easter with a colorful mix of traditions:

Old ones, like the easter egg tree, which is a German custom -- ours is a branch of pear tree I bought at a flower shop down the street.

Newer ones, like getting together with dear friends to decorate eggs -- I was too busy hollowing, painting, and glueing to take any photos, but Kathy posted her lovely pictures from our crafty afternoon.

And then there were quintessential San Francisco traditions, like the Easter festivities that take place annually in Dolores Park, where Ed and I spent a sunny afternoon yesterday, surrounded by the most multifaceted mix of people, reminding me why I love San Francisco so much.

All pictures here -- sun, fun, and hunky Jesuses...

Patented formula

2008-02-28T18:01:00.000-08:00

What do you get if you combine the following:

1. Snow, lots of snow,
2. Wonderful home-cooked meals (including Biscuits & Gravy, Coq au Vin and a killer Italian menu),
3. Hours of hanging out with dear friends, drinking, chatting, playing games?

You get the 2008 edition of our annual trip to the Lake Tahoe area, 200 miles northeast of San Francisco, 6000-plus feet up in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

This year, we stayed in Truckee, directly at Donner Lake, in a beautiful cabin our friend Marg had secured for the eight of us. We had four wonderful days up there, including fun in the snow (skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing), spectacular discoveries (a visit to an abandoned train tunnel at Donner Pass), and just the right mix of serious fun and insane determination (Ed on our nightly walk along Donner Lake, proving that the waterline was much further out than we thought, by jumping from the pier into the snow below -- which did in fact turn out to be snow on solid ground, not snow on thin, mushy ice with lots of wet, cold lake underneath).

All pictures of this fabulous weekend with friends that like to eat, cook, and have a great time more than almost anything else are right here.