Selamat Tahun Baru 2015!

Our tradition has been to send a New Year's Greeting rather than one over the holidays, and, as usual, we are a few days overdue in saying HAPPY NEW YEAR! The sentiment is no less genuine, even if we are a bit late.

2014 was a great year for many reasons, but I have high hopes for the next twelve months. We brought in the new year stylishly here in Jakarta this year from a rooftop where we could appreciate the skies ablaze with color and light. In the same spirit, we wish you much brightness and love in the next year.

Selamat tahun baru

С новым годом

Head uut aastat

An nou fericit

Glückliches neues Jahr 

Feliz año nuevo 

Šťastný nový rok

Happy new year

Photo Essay: Out with the old in with the new

It was a dazzling finish to 2012 and a bright start to 

2013. Take a look!

Christmas in Aachen 

with my parents and Uli's parents (unpictured) -- forgive me! I was too excited to think about taking pictures. Some memories include the Aachen Christmas market, a great trip to Hoensbruck castle, buying mustard outside of Monschau, delicious food and cozy atmosphere by the candle-lit tree, and my family all around. It was a wonderful, wonderful holiday.

After Christmas on the Rhein

in Rheinfels Castle with my husband. Three days of luxury in a spa hotel complete with a full-body massage (from Uli for Christmas), sauna, and gourmet dinners. It felt good to get outside and hike along the Rhein and to really get away from it all. It felt like the right way to reflect on all the year has brought us --  our joy in new jobs and new friends and also difficult health battles for those we cherish and heart-breaking times for my best childhood friend who passed away in 2012. 

After Christmas Swiss Style

in and around Zurich. We visited Uli's friends from university living in the area and found good company for games, hiking in the snowy mountains and monastery in Einsiedeln,and culinary adventures of cheese fondue, raclette, and Swiss chocolate. We survived the drunken anarchy of the streets of Zurich to see the fireworks show and stayed up all night on NYE playing a new German board game, Village. We adventured in the city and marveled at the streets, stained glass windows by Chagal, Giocometti, and Polke (the latter my favorite), and the price of living in Zurich (making Astana look like a bargain!). I even saw Swiss cows (sans bells, unfortunately).

King for a Day 

because I found the plastic king in the three-kings bread (a Swiss tradition similar to the bread "rosca del reyes" in Mexico). I do feel like a king with so much abundance and so many blessings. It is not a bad way to start 2013, not a bad way at all.

New Hats New Year

Just wanted to share some gifts I've been knitting this winter in pretty white and avocado. And, while doing so, wish everyone a wonderful 2012!

Frohes Neues Jahr aus Deutschland

This year we truly rang in the New Year in great style -- with wonderful company, a delicious gourmet menu, and a beautiful setting. Joining family in Remscheid, we were decadent and celebratory as we enjoyed a slow (and gluttonous) nine course meal at a restaurant and hotel in the area, Villa Paulus.



Some highlights:


Course 1: (Unpictured) Gänsleberparfait im karamellisierten Kürbiskernmantel
Gooseliver parfait in a carmelized pumpkin crust



Course 2: Hummer Créme Brulée (with Pina Colada Creme)
Lobster Créme Brulée



Course 3:
Kaninchen-Gewürztraminer Pastete mit Haselnusskrokant und Mangosalsa
Rabbit pate with Gewurztraminer jello pieces, hazelnut crunch, and mango salsa



Course 4: Zitronen-Kartoffelsüppchen mit gebratener Jacobsmuschel
Lemon-Potato soup with fried scallop



Serious amount of silverware -- thank goodness I have seen Pretty Woman and know to start from the outside!



Course 5: Rote Ravioli gefüllt mit Nuss-Ricotta in fritierter Raukebutter mit gerösteten Maccadamian nüssen
Red ravioli filled with nuts and ricotta with butter-fried ruccola with roasted Maccadamian



Course 6: Paradeiser-Salbei Sorbet
Tomato Sage Sorbet



Course 7: Filet vom Red Snapper an Pernodschaum mit Rote Beete Risotto



Course 8: Geschmortes und gebratenes vom Lamm mit Maronen-Lila Herzoginenkartoffel
Braised and roasted lamb with chestnut-purple duchess potato



Course 9: Hausgemachtes Nusseckchen mit Salzbutter-Karamelleis
Homemade nut corners with salted butter caramel icecream (tasted just like Werther's candies)



Accolades to the chef (left) and owners (above)


With such a start for 2011, I can say that the New Year looks very promising!



Frohes Neues Jahr 2011!

2007 foretold in a shadow

Õnnelikku Uut Aastat! or Joyful New Year, as they say!

In Estonia, it is actually bad form to wish someone Happy New Year when more than seven days of the year have passed. Apparently, on the seventh day, the new year is already old news. Lucky for me, as an American, I can quite blissfully and ignorantly go on wishing everyone a Wonderful 2007 well into this new year.

As many of you know, I am not a huge fan of New Year's Eve celebrations in general... I'd rather take the time to brood a bit about the passing year and the upcoming one, to reflect a bit before jumping forward into the still undisturbed freshness of a new year. It's a kind of annual cleansing, I suppose, and a ritual I enjoy observing at the beginning of each year.

This year, I saw out the passing of the old year in the midst of a crowd of people but also in great company and superb celebration. Not much quiet time for reflection, but I did participate in an Estonian tradition, looking forward into 2007 by interpreting shadows forecast on the wall...

New Year's Future Telling, Estonian-Style


Process:
1) Purchase metal pieces shaped like horseshoes and a metal ladle from the store
2) On New Year's Eve, place one of the pieces in the ladle and melt it over a hot flame.
3) Once melted, throw the metal very quickly into a bowl of cold water. The metal will form a strange shape (see below).
4) Hold strange metal shape up to the light and interpret the shadow that is cast on to the wall. The shape of the shadow will tell you something about your fortune for the next year.

So, my metal ended up looking something like a motorcycle... Vroom! Vroom! I figure this means that my next year will include some sort of significant journey on my bike (or is this a bit of subjective interpretation and wishful thinking?).

Last year I was obsessed with New Year's resolutions and this year I still haven't taken the time to sit down and set them out in my head. I guess perhaps I'll go with the Estonian tradition on this one and say that the new year is already old news... I'll save the lofty resolutions for another time and perhaps take my time, enjoying life, and living out some realistic goals instead!

Happy New Year 2007! May it be more than you ever dreamed... and, however it turn out, may you count every moment as a blessing to be savored and celebrated!