Saturday, August 29, 2009

home

I have yet to mention what gave me the energy to write not just one, but even two posts in one day/in the middle of the night yesterday. It is a story of arrival and growing roots.

In the course of the two years that we have lived in Albuquerque I have come to meet quite a few wonderful, creative and talented women, some through school/kids, some in places as odd as Trader Joe's or Furr's, through the shared passion for knitting/sewing/crafting or at Hip Stitch.

I love them all, different as they are, all beautiful, energetic, inspiring and with a great sense of humor!

Just this summer after I came back from Germany I was greated with the warmest embraces, enthusiasm and thoughtful phonecalls. I realized - maybe for the first time in a very conscious way -, that I had found true friends and that Albuquerque now really has become home!

A few months before that I had started first Friday/scrap'n knit (or as Karen calls it "happy scrappy"!) craft night and started gathering these women once a month in our house. Mostly it is a group of about 10 women, and we do all sorts of crafts, scrapbooking, card making, embroidery, knitting, you name it.

I think I can safely say that we all treasure this event, the talks, showing off the latest projects, just being together.
Last night was one of those evenings, and while I did not get a lot done on my knitting project, I felt happy, content and energized after everyone had left.

At some point I was asked, if I'd ever like to go back to Germany to live there. I answered, that I am very happy, where I am. I said "I love America and America..?" I stopped to think and then Fiona filled in for me and said "...and America loves you!".

Friday, August 28, 2009

On the crafty side...

You may know, that I knit a lot on our vacations. (No, I won't tell you how much yarn I take along - you may tell on me!)
Hawaii provided lots of high quality knitting time even though there was not a whole lot of beach time, because you need to drive quite a bit to get around. Big Island, as in BIG island, duh.
Good.

I finished these, first to be admired, ahem, seen here a long time ago.




Next was this, the beginning stages to be seen here. While making socks can get boring on me - even with the most exciting yarn - this little thingie was all fun. The feel, drape and color of the cotton/soy/bamboo blend by Lana Grossa are just awesome and it wears beautifully!

The real thing looks much better, trust me.

I also whipped out this little girls bolero for my cousins sweet daughter Emilia. The yarn was certainly nothing fancy, but soft and cuddly. And that is what matters, believe me! - I learned it the hard way!



I think she liked it.

Vintage photo Friday

This is a reeeeaaaally good one and I've been looking forward to posting these!

This lady is my great aunt with the wonderful name Emma. She was one of the few members of my mother's family, who left the small village where she grew up, and had her own little grocery store in Frankfurt. In fact she owned that type of store, that also goes by the expression "aunt Emma store"(German converted into English)! I still own some vintage linen dishtowels with her hand embroidered monogram. ES.



She had one son, whom she raised without her husband (who had died in the war) and whom she adored to no ends. She was a hard working woman and certainly deserved nothing but the best, however, her son ended up as the black sheep of the family (ah, I love that expression. Feel it melt on your tongue. Black. Sheep. Of the family...!)


He was married three times, his last wife being the daughter of a bank director, which probably finally provided him with the cash he needed for a "60s-yuppie" life style. He once lured my father into giving him an antique piece of furniture, without ever giving him the promised vintage chair in return. I'm assuming he got the bank director's daughter with a similar maneuver.


I'd say it is not surprising that he died the way he lived - young, in his early 40s in a tragic car accident, a head on collision, fatal miscalculation of what was meant to be a quick passing of another car. Drunk? Who knows.



Can't you tell somehow that he was kind of a bad boy?!

His name was Erich. I liked him.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Vintage photo Friday





Isn't it funny how we always seem to pick the same spot/spots for those posed pictures?
In this case you see one of the famous shooting locations in front of my grandparents house!
The first picture shows (possibly in 1956?) my grandparents to the right, my mother at a guessed age of 14 in front of them, posing with my greataunt Anna and her husband George, who immigrated to the USA in thier twenties. I have noticed that Anna usually keeps a forced smile for pictures and looks sad at the same time. Just recently I found out that she was indeed sad. She always missed Germany, yet only came back for brief visits as shown on this photo. Between Anna and George in the background my aunt Marianne (my mother's sister), and all the way to the left my mother's brother's wife Rosamunde.
The second photo must have been taken quite a bit earlier, maybe 1938? Among the people my mother's grandmother, second from the left. Mom's uncle August is the one who carries the toddler, next to him in white his wife Emmi, whom I remember as the picture of a farmer's wife - always in an apron, baking, coming from milking the cows, always busy. August died when I was a young teenager and I've always regretted that I did not get the chance to have him teach me the art of basket making. As far as I remember he did it all - cutting and soaking the branches and weaving the basket. I find it rather odd, that in spite of my wish I cannot recall how his baskets looked like!
Now you may wonder, where do those doors lead to? One brought you into the laundry room (the other door possibly storage?)! - And please don't imagine anything like your own laundryroom, we are talking woodfired oven to heat the water and sink?/bins? for scrubbing - again no "picture" in front of my inner eye.
And who would guess that just behind the person, who took the pictures, on the other side of that yard was a little "tower"with pigeons, a dog on a chain that always (I mean it!) barked and was replaced by an equally barking dog as soon as it died, and a big pile of stinking manure, since the little barn with cows was right there as well!
Thanks Sarah and Donna for guessing my mother's age on vintage Friday 2 weeks ago. - If I would not know better, I'd say 13 myself!
I know that she must have been 26 when the picture was taken, isn't that something....

Friday, August 14, 2009

Hawaii - Big Island

This past week I have been thinking a lot about what to write and show about our Hawaii vacation. I took over 300 pictures and I really had a hard time choosing!
I finally decided, I'll just show my favorites!


One highlight of the trip was definitely seeing the beautiful green sea turtles.



Even though parc service kept everyone at a safe distance, it was incredibly impressive to see the vulcano and where the lava hits the ocean.



And here are the favorite shots I took of the kids.







See you later for vintage photo Friday.

Friday, August 7, 2009

Vintage Photo Friday - home

We got back on Tuesday from our 10 day trip to Hawaii, the Big Island. The whole family loved it, everyone's favorite sights of course being the vulcano and --- a coffee plantation.

I'm presenting pictures of my parents today, one being a closeup of the same shot and if you have a minute, give me a guess of my mother's age - just for fun.




Good night.