Double-Half
or One Ten without ham

In 1995 - mind you, we were together not even a year! - we went to Australia the first time together.

We landed in Sydney (mistake, but you learn, huh?), bought a Holden Commodore the next day at Kings Cross Traveller Car Market and took off.
We spent 23/7 together on that trip, living in that car, too! Just saying...

In Grampians National Park we saw - and tried - our very first pie.

Each meat-pie sat behind a glass saying "hot!" (I guess there was an exclamation mark even).

We were like... pie? What´s a pie - ok, lets try, huh?

We ignored the "hot"-hint, it smelled so yummy.
See first pic - OUTCH!! HOT!!!!

I not only burned my mouth... as you maybe know... at the other end a hole opened and I burned my hand as well.

Still... Y.U.M.

So... when I saw Sarah´d made pies with a pie-maker and asked and got a YouTube-video...
guess. The land of no pie...

A receipe from Coles... (I prefer Wollies! Anyhows...)



Ingo, being the (genius) cook he is mingled some receipes, so we added mushrooms I cut finely...



.. he added red wine - no vegemite!!!! - and on we went:



Weee. It was sizzling and all, and they came out good, aka easy:



Yummy-yummy-yummy. Yes and only three - there is no need or rather use to put in the pastry with the tool - at least not German one, it´ll stick!
But three was the right amount with Ingo having two and me one.

Y.U.M.:



You can now remember the first pic... and after a while...



I waited longer - Grampians tought me well....

A tiny bite to get a hole in:



And later...



YUM! Looks like a real pie, smells like a real pie, tastes like a real pie - is a real pie!

Can you believe it. A year ago we got married (after being together for some 20 years) (notice the rings, please).

YUM to both, huh?

Post written yesterday. Today looks different.

There are times in life when everything breakes apart and the person you need most is gone for good.

When people walk away, leave you and are not willing to talk to you.

You, on the other hand, you feel misunderstood yet want to forget all about it and have a good life again. Stupid genes.

Just ignore me, this is just for myself.

Some things you want to forget. And others you have the need to get back.
A normal, happy life is all that I ask for, not much.
Yet...
I´m asking for too long without being heard.

I feel sick.
Another post I think - publish or don´t. But I´m a real person. It´s not all rainbows (haha, insert a very bitter laugh) or unicorns.
This is life.

I saw a little light. It was too small.
Drama Queen.
Hurt.

I´m not the strong one anymore.

And then I get another pie - before it gets cold.

This life is beyond me, I cannot run fast enough.
And I don´t want to.

So we went to the Christmas market yesterday.
And really, it was pure coincidence Ingo wore a Perth-shirt again! (Me a Braunschweig-shirt, btw).

But alas...

We took a first glance and hurried on, Ingo wanted to buy (Italian, what else) ham.

Happy Rizzi House with the lights still on inside:



Inside the fake-castle I found Henry, how nice is that?



Here a close up, nice done, huh?



Santa is yet to come:



When Ingo wanted to pay his ham (and Zampone) he saw: Credit card is gone!
So... I bought a Zampone, brrrr...
All Ingo wanted was to grab a yummy Mumme-roast-roll, head home and certainly find it, all good - with that credit card, that is.



At first Ingo was a tad disappointed I didn´t want one - it was way too early for me.

When the roast was cut I already thought, hm, looks different.
We decided Ingo goes home alone to take care of the credit card and I have a look around if I find some souvenirs - the market wasn´t too full yet.

No souvenirs. Just all commercial.
Only thing I liked but didn´t buy was this heart-shaped lamp:



I took a pic for Niece, too:



No idea if she´s still afraid of Santa, though ;-)

A tad disappointed myself I hurried home (2C, a tad windy, not nice!).
Just to hear - no more Christmas market. No more little pigs will get added to the card (buy 12, get 1 free) I still had at home:



The "famous Mumme roast" is no roast anymore - it´s meat slurry!!

Same price as last year, some whopping €5, but no real roast anymore.
Good thing I said no and returned home to my Ten Without Ham.
We save some money this season!

Sad, huh?

On the way home I saw police everywhere. And just wonder why.
First thing I witnessed entering the Chistmas market was a young woman bending down, getting something and heading after someone, "hey, you lost this!"

And, mind you, this is what I found on the way to the grocery store around the corner:
Key found, please call:



Sounds safe and secure to me, "my" Braunschweig...

Ingo´s car dropped dead, so we took mine to restart and after that we wanted to drive a bit to reload the battery.
I parked my car, Ingo drove into our street – the one where only one car fits in, still it´s not a one-way street.
The passenger´s door didn´t open. Ingo took the key out to open-click it and… the car dropped dead again.
Got my car, after restart Ingo´s didn´t take any gas, so hazard flashers on, waiting till it reloads.

A driving school car turned up.

Mind you, every driver with a working brain does not drive into this street when another car is in. It is technically not possible two cars pass by.
Really.
Ok, I´ve seen some “fights”, but a driving instructor should know better, huh?
Nope.

He advised the poor pupil to drive up right to us.
On which Ingo went over and explained.
And the poor pupil got an extra-difficult job, driving all the way backwards.
Believe me, I had an eye on my car not getting touched by him!
Poor pupil, dumb instructor. I can imagine he said something like this to his pupil: ”People often do that here: Unload the car with hazard flashers on, blocking the street, forcing others to take another route”.

And: Yes. That is common in our street – how else are you supposed to get in your (sometimes heavy) stuff?
Here´s the situation: 4 short streets around a bunch of houses – not asked too much to take a little detour, huh?

After a longer drive in the car we went into the city – via Gauss bridge and park, yay, one construction site closed! - shared a currywurst at Schadt´s and Ingo had the yummiest beer in a long time.

This Ingo had no intention to buy:



Braunschweig Childrens Hospital...



No more hospitals!

And yes! It means Ingo´s back home, yay!
Result of this 1 1/2 week-hospital-stay? Iron deficiency. Very likely they got out too much blood removing the wisdom tooth.
Yes, it would´ve been easier to give iron and check after a week, but actually this way Ingo got checked through properly and we know everything is just fine.

I slept like a baby tonight!

Today Ingo went to see my Bro to get a watch ... and came home with a Ten Without Ham!



Well, not really half a Ten Without Ham, more likely a third, Ingo had had his share, confusing da Nico´s wife. She always assumes the Pizza can get cold cause it goes to Braunschweig. But this time he wanted it hot and in pieces.
A few weeks ago Bro ordered a Ten Without Ham - for himself!!!

See a pattern here? ;-)
Ingo... Currywurst, Pizza.... Got.To.Work.Out!

There is a German song, wir fahrn, fahrn, fahrn... auf der Autobahn, we drive, drive, drive on the highway...
Pic from today, at least a tad sunny and up to 8C (haha, MIL just called, 20C in Spain, where they stay over winter. FIL to the reported 2,5C from this morning: Ugly! - so true!).
When there is no park anymore to stroll through, patients go watch what´s happening on the highway...

I have the feeling we drive, drive, drive, monotonously, too, in this hospital.
So few tests, such a long journey...

The ct of the lungs was without a result. Other that it is a pulmonary embolism and they just don´t know where from. Meds for 6 months are supposed to make it go away.
BIL will get send the results via mail tomorrow and said if it´s not done well enough Ingo is to come over and they redo it.
A doc in the family is worth a lot!

Tomorrow heart-ultrasound and more blood-tests and then hopefully home.

Yes, Ingo had his own ### since Saturday, I guess. So: Even more hopefully home the sooner the better.

Am I glad his Brother will have a close look on the results! "No result" is good, but is it true?
I have really no idea where to go if I need to see a hospital.
Braunschweig it will not be, if I have a chance to decide!

Dunno, wasn´t the xmas-stuff always starting on December 1st?
The whole hospital is decorated, as are the supermarkets. Things change, huh?

And I could not resist this christmas-tree, maybe it looks familiar to you?

It reminds me of the xmas-decoration of the Brass in 2006, where we went for a blogger-meet-up:



Ingo: Nothing new. They maybe go to work tomorrow. Maybe, maybe not.
The doctor is from who knows where. He may be technically good, but his German is that bad he cannot give any proper infos - how can that be?!!!

When I asked him on Friday when Ingo wanted to leave, what can happen - they think it might be a pulmonary embolism - he thought and thought and came up with: You can not say exactly.
How can that be?!!!
Now his Brother called for info - Ingo cannot give any. Because... can you believe this.
With the German he is capable of he would not get a job in a, say, bakery in the sales section.

I know, I´m getting un-christmassy. But really. It´s for crying out loud with (that?) hospital(s).

Actually I wanted to join come December, but, alas, here goes:

It was another sunny day today, so we went for a short walk around the hospital.

Mind you. You certainly cannot forbit smoking, still I find this - especially at a hospital - kinda weird:



... a pavilion for smokers...

I´d brought a slice of my self-made bread with butter and Ingo reported later: It´s yummy :-)

Certainly, the form it was baked in was:



What has my name on it has to do a good job, no? ;-)

The title? I needed new shower gel and ... I went for luxury after some thinking. Now I have a "weekend-shower-gel":



Hmmmm, so yummy.

And yes, Ingo, tomorrow I´ll try the shower gel I bought for you, the one you find icky.

Ingo´s Bro just called and will send all material he has from 2008, pancreas-wise, hopefully that helps.
What would we do without him!
All the more it makes me wonder why they don´t have each others cellphone numbers!!!
Well now at least he has.

Only good thing about Ingo being in hospital: I did work out every day.
Well and I manage the crazy city highways, so far without getting lost!
No idea, though, if I managed in darkness! It has potential to get lost for sure!

Fingers crossed they do ct and what else tomorrow!

Cute, huh? Not Ingo´s but his neighbour´s - they´re 4 again and one is snoring real bad, oh, my.
And I spare you what else Ingo told me...

It was sunny, hence we wanted to stroll through the hospital-park.
Shortly after we passed the "smoking-pavillion" (!!!!) our plan had to be changed. The park is a construction site.
So we visited my car and went back inside. Still was good.
Really... they add more buildings? Parking space is rare already!

After that I went to the White Horse to run errands, awww, as said, a beautiful day:



On the way I saw STOMP! is coming back:



A few years ago we went - the performance was awesome - just most visitors were a pain, not getting the concept. Will we give it another try?

My work btw includes... guess you never thought: Recipes, at times.
And Thursday one user sent in a recipe for bread - one you put in the... cold oven! Mind you, THAT I can do!

Ingo was like... nah, won´t work. Ha-ha - see post-title!

I tried anyways - he isn´t here to stop me, right?
I had to ask where to find fresh yeast. Then had to ask back if that is correct it´s so much? Darn, I felt like a teenager and the shop assistant (man) grinned like he thought so, too... I behave like a teenager, baking for the first time...



I never burned myself, yet the pure thought makes me nearly faint, so this bread was a joy to try.
Let it grow for an hour beneath Pinchy...



Looks kinda wobbly!



The outcome ("let it cool down a bit before getting it out of the form" - my liking!):



Mind you, the smell... awwww... yum!

Just like with the muffins I guess our oven doesn´t have enough power - the bread was a tad too "wet", so I put it back in once more.



Looks good, no?

It was still too hot to try, so I "cooked" dinner.
Mind you, when Ingo is around it takes me forever to portion stuff - he wants it perfect.

Took me secs and was perfect, too - no pressure and I´m doing ok.

Turned out really yummy!



Only thing going wrong: It was: Too much!



Since one potatoe looked too lonely I´d cooked two and tadaaa.. thanks to Ingo´s old microwave (a Miele, btw - over 20 years old???) - I won´t have to cook tomorrow!



By now my stomach was able to consume again.
By golly...



So dang yum I added butter to the rest and ate it all up, not because I was hungry but because it was yummy!!
I added sesame and sunflower seed, obviously in the right amount.

If I´m ok tomorrow... this might be my new bread!

Note to Mum: It was not right to ban me from the kitchen just cause I´m afraid of burning myself.
I can make great bread (eventually) and am able to cook a bit, too, when Ingo isn´t around.

Whew, this was such a packed day, I wasn´t even able to do all the workout I wanted to (sorry Ingo, guess you´re bored to I-can-tell...).

Funny to add... I heard again from friend M.
We were sent to a holiday when we were 14 (she was 13) and made friends. Never met ever since. She now moves out of her Mum´s place. After being on a waiting list for 3 years. Fingers and toes crossed.



Addendum: the user who sent the receipe in was - for a change - a woman. She does not bake, actually, the receipe is from her 16-y-o daughter. And Ingo advised me to add a ts sugar. Will let her know.