and the name is: john boy



folks it's still raining cats and dogs, so it might be just as well to have another story from animal kingdom and announce the arrival of john boy, or so we think he'll be named if the happy parents in hanover's dieselstrasse finally can agree on it...

having recently lost the ever so lovely murphy and currently even without cats it is time that this household gets the critters back in. little john boy just fits the bill: heartbreakingly cute yet cheeky, you can actually see him gnawing on cornel's shoes or stealing the sausage from the fridge, just as every respected boy should do. and if there are a few tricks he doesn't know yet we're sure nino and leon will teach him. so - stick to the name, guys. after all your most used line can be "johnny - be good!!!"    

coriander has one of her moments

the sheer fact that i find a few seconds to write here is already a sign that things are on the up and that the darkest of all winter days are behind us. in fact we had a couple of lovely rides today with the horses playing up in the windy school (rike's horse selica nearly went through the roof when a piece of wood flew around outside) and later home i even spent a few moments in the garden, though more to inspect the damage rather than doing any work...

the cats have also already caught up to the sunnier days and have started to find those spots in the house again that get sunlight for a few hours. coriander (pictured) in particular has great talent to find the cosiest places and as you can see, defends her rights viciously against the other two.

rike was fast this morning with her camera and caught the little (or indeed not so little anymore) rascal in our bed. so pleased to see how relaxed this cat is now - she was after all left to die in a rubbish bin as a little kitten and barely alive when rescued.

such fun to have her - just don't try to get near that duvet...

un-bee-lievable

great news from the school front: our little bee rike has participated in her first ever spelling bee across the 240 kids of year 7 and actually won it, therefore also adding another round of points for her house team. not only did she have the nerve to sign up for such a daunting thing but she managed to get a long list of words right that probably even her clever mum wouldn't have done that easily without a dictionary...must be from her father's side...

(or was it because below is her favourite training material??)



(click here for a nice training site from the times)

the empire visits britain

 what a great start into the new year with already a short but stately visit by the empire and her entourage aka pam and stef and as you can see even in only fourty eight hours there are practically no things you can't do in london.

after an elaborate round trip from paddington home on friday night, which is really north west to south east, we tried it the other way again on sunday with a full south to east to north to north west trip from blackheath to hampstead heath via hackney, whitechapel, clerkenwell, islington, holloway and highgate, where our visitors not only saw practically every landmark on offer but also more or less all the places i ever lived in in london.

leaves the questions of what we did on saturday, but that's an easy one: full north to south (or shall i say top to bottom) in selfridges and harvey nicks which left the empire with several new coats, dresses and handbags and more gorgeous stuff even if not in the sales. check the pics (thanks to rike and deac - great job!) on the slide show on the right. 

  

guys this was great fun!  

high up there

not sure that the lovely horse in the picture is getting the full meaning of whom he carries, but let me tell you not many a horses are selected for this important role. nor are many doctors chosen to lead such a significant part of society either and our dear cousinchen is now a woman of real standing - well deserved and well done! congratulations!!!

guten rutsch!!!

a great leap into 2011 with our traditional new years day party. master chef deac did it again - the cassoulet was irresistable - and a nice fish soup to round it up and as always a tasty dessert from rike (this year: creme caramel - hmmm). lot's of lovely guests too, with the kids clearly having fun in their own set up - in the basement...

happy christmas!

no longer a white christmas but with wonderful moments, quiet as well as busy ones: midnight mass in westminster abbey and a drive through town on christmas eve (and some pressies already out as it is cusatomary in this mixed nationality family), more parcels to unwrap and an early pick up for diane and the boys from heathrow on christmas day, with a big turkey to come home to, a walk in greenwich park and more terrific food on boxing day kept everybody busy and happy. soo many things to look at and read and do (deac by now totally occupied with his kindle, rike trying out the new riding gear in the stables and me eating every pralinee in sight...)