Loathing perfection, yet adoring beauty.

 

Yesterday I was very happy to be there in my flat in Bavaria when the carollers came along and blessed the house. Glued the blessing over my front door. 

Later I choose a motto for 2025, a quote out of Nabil Fanous book "The Universal Rules of Life":

It is Rule 1:  "Do it now, perfect it later." 

He meant me, I am quite sure. And of cause he is right: "Intentions aren't the same as action." So I spare you my New Year's resolutions. I have them - but if they only exist in my head or my heart I shall keep my mouth shut. (Haha - that's one of my New Year's resolutions: I talk too much - that takes away a lot of energy - mine, and that of others). 

I always admire people in films: taciturn and wise they LISTEN to the other one and only utter one wise half-sentence in 15 minutes. My only excuse: I worked as a councillor - and in my long life I listened 30.000 hours (!) to 30.000 young people. Which I did with high interest, really - but after that I took a deep breath and started to talk more myself - and now I train myself to listen - again). 

I wish all of you a good start in 2025! 

New Year's Resolutions - Yes... You Can!

Can you imagine?
It took me five years - FIVE YEARS! - in which every year I wrote down the good resolution (among others): "Learn to prepare a Bavarian cream". 
Well - though I love to cook and bake, and prepare an excellent Mousse au chocolat, I was too anxious to make this crème bavaroise. Pretended to have too much to do, though actually I feared words like "beat the egg-cream diligently in the bain-marie to a 'rose' - you recognize that rose-state when you blow softly over the wooden spoon and there forms itself a rose" - aha! I also have high respect for 'gelatine' - in Germany you only get it in form of stiff leaves, which you have to water, then press the water out, then slide them one by one - softly, softly - into the hopefully stiff beaten egg cream.
So every year I used my stays in Munich to go to the gourmet food - temple Dallmayr near the Marienplatz (http://www.dallmayr.de/delikatessenhaus/) and bought it there, highly content with what I got - and even more intimidated (Pearl of Wisdom: if you compare yourself, don't do it to the professional's ideal).
But this year I said to husband: "I will do it - now! Don't want to face another New Year's Eve with this unfinished business!" 
Of course I said this on the morning of Christmas Eve - still having to do the elaborate and not utterly uncomplicated Christmas Dinner for next day, of which the Bavarian cream should be the dessert (I was at least clever enough to arrange a meal in a beautiful French restaurant for the second day). So you saw this woman swirrling through the kitchen (YES - one has to prepare a raspberry puree too - haha: also with gelantine..)
Well: it worked out lovely.

You see that on my happy face:

So I am really proud of having done it. Finally. And I see - again - that many 'fears' are unfounded - but that I can only find out by doing it. 
So - after this deep insight - you might ask: what comes next? And you might hear me call:

                               WHERE IS MY HARLEY-DAVIDSON? !? Pronto!