Archive for September 2008
Soccer results Sept.29 2008
Posted on Montag, September 29, 2008 at 7:26 AM by Reka
Also check out the soccer calendar here or at the link in the right sidebar!
Jennie's team played real soccer this week. I mean, not kids' soccer. A good game in position, tactics and technique.
Matthäus' team was not so fortunate, being up against the number one team. Three of his team got red carded. Why do boys of this age have to be so hotheaded? The cards were reactions to injustices from the other team's players and could have been avoided. Now they have a short team for the next two games.
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Matthäus
Sept. 27: Neugries-WS 7-0
Presently 12th of 14 teams
Next game:
Oct. 4 16:30 Barcellona-Weinstraße
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Jennie
Sept. 24: UD-Brixen 2-1
Presently 3rd of 11 teams
Next game:
Oct. 5 14:30 Morter-Unterland Damen
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(European results list the home team first!)
My new "toy"
Posted on Sonntag, September 28, 2008 at 6:19 PM by Reka
We have always had a good bakery in Margreid. Real handmade bread. Now the son of the family has taken over and had to rebuild the old bakery to keep up with code. Unfortunately, the quality of the bread has suffered, not to mention the fact that he makes so little bread that it is all sold out by 10am.
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When visiting a friend, she mentioned she had a bread maker. I
scoffed at the idea, but she had a loaf just finishing up and gave
it to me as I left. I was surprised at the quality of the bread
and started looking into buying one. I ended up with this Moulinex.
I put in the liquids, then the dry ingredients, and finally, the
yeast. Then bread baking starts after pressing at least one
button. The machine mixes, lets the bread rise, kneads and bakes.
The heating is so optimal that it only takes half the
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yeast of a regular recipe. Most breads take about 3 hours from start to finish, but there is also a "quick" program with more yeast which takes only about an hour and twenty minutes. And any program can be scheduled to start later, for example, just in time to give you a warm slice of bread for breakfast!
There are many ready-made mixes to be had, and most regular recipes can be adapted. You can even bake quick breads like banana nut bread or cook jam in it! And there is a program for making only the dough and baking it in any shape you like in your own oven. I still enjoy the therapy of kneading yeast dough, but it is great for everyday use when I have other things to do. And for days when I can't make it to the bakery by 10 o'clock!
Posted in Food and Wine (RSS)
Welcoming committee
Posted on Freitag, September 26, 2008 at 1:50 PM by Reka
This tiny hedgehog was waiting for Vanilla and me upon returning from our 11pm walk last night. Poor thing! I should have taken him in, since he was far too small to survive the winter, not much larger than my fist. I probably could have found a surrogate hedgehog mom for him somewhere. Vanilla thought he would make a great new toy for her; a misconception she would have realized immediately, had I let her go to contact his spines!
Edited on: Dienstag, April 21, 2009 5:50 PMPosted in South Tyrol (RSS)
Another surprise visitor!
Posted on Dienstag, September 23, 2008 at 8:39 PM by Reka
I went shopping this morning near my BIL's shop about 6 miles away from home and parked in the underground parking lot there. When I got out of my car, I heard meowing from the corner of the lot near the ventilation shafts. I walked over, but the meowing stopped as soon as I got there. I went back to get the dog out of the car, but before I could open the door, it started again. This happened three times. On the third time, I noticed a movement, and there on the front tire of a Mercedes 4x4 were two grey kittens, hardly bigger than my hand. They let me pet them, and I moved on to go shopping. Stopped to see my BIL and told him about the cats, then went to the pet store to see if the owner knew what we could do about the abandoned kitties. She said she would call a local woman who sheltered cats. So I finished shopping and went home.
About 1 pm, my BIL called and said, "Remember those kittens? Well, I was in my car driving home when just before our village I heard meowing. I stopped to find one of the kittens on top of the battery inside the car!". Since he couldn't keep it either, he brought her to me and we ended up having a three-hour pet before driving it back over to the cat lady. She was sure cute, though she and Vanilla weren't quite on civil terms as you can see from the second picture! She ended up sleeping inside my sweat shirt next to my tummy where she felt safe from the dog.
Joachim came to see us while she was here and as he was climbing the stairs to our apartment, Jennie yelled out, "Joachim, Mom is pregnant!". Bet the neighbors will be surprised in nine months! :-)))
Scrapbooking as a stress reliever
Posted on Dienstag, September 23, 2008 at 12:19 PM by Reka
To relax from a few uncomfortable situations lately, I did a new scrap page. This time one about me; at least a bit about me. Me and my alcohol habit! ;-)
The larger version can be seen in my gallery here.
If you are interested in the wines of South Tyrol, check out the excellent website at http://www.suedtirolerwein.it/en-6-1299.aspx. Gewürztraminer originated here, as well as the up and coming red wine, Lagrein, but there are wines for every taste made here.
Edited on: Mittwoch, September 24, 2008 10:00 AMPosted in Scrapbooking (RSS)
Soccer results Sept. 22 2008
Posted on Montag, September 22, 2008 at 8:03 AM by Reka
Also check out the soccer calendar here or at the link in the right sidebar!
This week, the team Jennie's team beat last week 11-0 lost 0-12. Poor girls! One of the moms told me they hadn't even had enough players to start 2 weeks before the first game. I hope they don't lose heart!
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Matthäus
Sept. 20: WS-Virtus Don Bosco 2-2
Presently 12th of 14 teams
Next game:
Sept. 27 Neugries-Weinstraße
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Jennie
Sept. 20: Leifers-UD 2-1
Presently 5th of 11 teams
Next game:
Sept. 27 Unterland Damen-Brixen
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(European results list the home team first!)
Edited on: Montag, September 22, 2008 8:24 AMSoccer results Sept. 15 2008
Posted on Montag, September 15, 2008 at 7:20 AM by Reka
Also check out the soccer calendar here or at the link in the right sidebar!
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Matthäus
Sept. 13: Branzoll-Weinstraße 0-1
Presently 11th of 14 teams
Next game: Sept. 20 WS-Virtus Don Bosco
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Jennie
Sept. 14: Unterland Damen - Stella Azzurra(new) 11-0
Presently 1st of 11 teams
Next game: Sept. 20 Leifers-UD
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(European results list the home team first!)
Edited on: Montag, September 22, 2008 8:22 AMPosted in Family (RSS), Soccer (RSS)
Unexpected visitors
Posted on Freitag, September 12, 2008 at 6:36 PM by Reka
Yesterday the phone rang and I didn't recognize the number on the display. Sure it was a wrong number, I said hello. A voice answered in broken German; "I am looking for Reka. My name is Christian Schott and..." I interrupted to greet him immediately - it was a friend from Sweden (For those of you who know Gerhard, Christian is his nephew.). He was in Salzburg with his family and decided to take a side trip down to see us. We met his wife, Elna, and his two children, Anton (7) and Nilla (5). We spent a very nice evening together and hope to see them here again soon, as Elna liked our area very well. And wouldn't you know I didn't have my camera with me the whole evening!!! :-(
(Christian, send me one of those pictures to put in here!)
Edited on: Dienstag, April 21, 2009 5:49 PMPosted in Family (RSS), Friends (RSS)
Soccer results!
Posted on Donnerstag, September 11, 2008 at 5:11 PM by Reka
Completely forgot to write!
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Matthäus
Sept. 6: Weinstraße - Barbian 1-2
Goal: Turrani
Presently 9th of 14 teams
Next game: Sept. 13 Branzoll - Weinstraße
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Jennie
Next game: Sept. 14 Unterland Damen - Stella Azzurra
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(European results list the home team first!)
Edited on: Samstag, September 13, 2008 9:46 AMPosted in Family (RSS), Soccer (RSS)
Ahhh! Feels like home!
Posted on Dienstag, September 09, 2008 at 4:00 PM by Reka
I was shopping for the week at a new supermarket - you know, where you have to go up and down *every* aisle to find the things you need - when, tired from searching, my eyes fell upon something that made me stop dead in my tracks. A blue box, a splash of milk...OREOS!!! Here in Bozen??? I snatched up a box and threw it in the cart. Matthäus asked, "What are those?". I answered in an enthralled voice, "Oreos!". He gave me a sidelong glance, and we continued shopping.
When we got home, I rifled through the bags for that blue box and ripped it open. Matthäus curiously took the foil package from the inside, opened it, and bit into a cookie. "No!", I said, "That's not the way to eat Oreos!!" And screwed one apart for myself, teething the sugary white insides out and munching into the cookie top. Ahhh! I was never particularly fond of Oreos, but some things just feel like home away from home...
Posted in Food and Wine (RSS), Oregon (RSS)
Two countries for the price of one
Posted on Samstag, September 06, 2008 at 4:25 PM by Reka
If you've looked at my site title, maybe you have noticed the words in gray below it and to the right. "Is this really Italy?" These might very well be words you would hear from a new visitor to this area. Traveling south from Austria, the signs along the Brenner toll road welcome you to the province in both German and Italian, but the buildings still look very similar to those in Austria. On the other hand, an Italian visitor arriving from the south may be quite surprised at the architecture, very different from the towns only minutes behind him on his way.
This is because the province of Bozen, or Südtirol, as it is called here, was formerly a part of Austria. The province was ceded to Italy through the Treaty of St. Germain after the end of WWI. Fascism in the early 20th century forced many of the inhabitants to deny their German heritage in public, adopt Italianized names and organize underground schooling in their native tongue, often ending in imprisonment and sometimes death for the teachers. New hope came with Hitler's rise, only to be crushed when he and Mussolini agreed that Italy should retain the area and the German-speaking peoples were forced to decide if they would stay as Italians or relinquish all they had to be moved to a distant area of the German Reich. This was a decision that led to much strife and sometimes bloodshed within villages and even within families.
Since then, the German speaking peoples of South Tyrol have held to their roots. In spite of a period of turmoil in the 60s with bombings by South Tyrolean activists, a treaty protecting their cultural identity was signed between Austria and Italy in 1971. Now the province enjoys autonomy, with separate schools and allotments of public jobs for the peoples of each of their three official languages (German, Italian and Ladin). Today, 70% of the inhabitants still speak the South Tyrolean dialect, and though there is still some animosity between the cultural groups, it is a peaceful place.
So a visitor actually gets two countries or, better said, two cultures, for the price of one. South Tyrol combines the climate of the Mediterranean, right down to palm trees, with the Alpine nature of the Dolomites. The dolce vita of Italy is strengthened by German efficiency. Pasta al ragù appears on the menu side by side with Spätzle. My children grow up trilingually, speaking English and German as mother tongues and learning Italian in school.
This is the world I live in. A diverse one, sometimes pleasant, sometimes exasperating, but always challenging.
Posted in South Tyrol (RSS)
A new start
Posted on Donnerstag, September 04, 2008 at 8:50 PM by Reka
Seeing as I hadn't updated my website for five (yep, 5!) years, I decided to redo it as a blog.
For those of you who don't know me, I am Oregon born and raised, but now living in northern Italy in the middle of the Dolomites. I am a WAHM, teaching English and translating for various associations. I have been here now for almost half of my life (it will be 24 years in March) and have been married to Eduard for nearly that long. We have two kids: Matthäus will be 18 (and of driving age - yikes!) in October. Jennie will be 13 at the end of the month. Both of them are fanatic soccer players for Weinstrasse Süd and FC Unterland Damen.
I am looking forward to this blog as a means of keeping my friends and family updated on life over here!
Edited on: Donnerstag, September 11, 2008 8:15 AM