I saw it on Kees' blog, he picked it from someone else's - and maybe someone will pick up the idea from my blog: joining a microfinance organisation, investing a little of the money we have in a loan for someone who will do more with it than go to the movies or a restaurant.
Over Christmas, money was lent lavishly on Kiva and requests were filled within minutes, but when I checked Kiva again today, there were plenty of fundraising requests waiting to be filled.
For starters, I have decided to contribute to a loan applied for by a group of 5 women in Pakistan who each have their own reasons (from wanting to fix a vehicle to buying a buffalo to sell its milk) for the loan application. I do like this idea of a group loan, the solidarity among the applicants that it reflects.
If I have wetted your appetite or rather pulled successfully at the strings of your moneybag, just follow the link on the banner on the right of my blog.
2 January 2009
23 December 2008
Food - Glorious Food!
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
"Food, Glorious Food", written by Lionel Bart, is the opening song from the musical and movie Oliver! It is sung when the workhouse boys from the 1960s West End and Broadway and musical and 1968 film adaptation are dreaming and fantasizing about food while going to collect their gruel from the staff of the workhouse.
Having watched the movie recently (good fun, by the way), the song popped up in my mind when I looked for a title for my food link section. Which is not at all strange in view of how much I love food, even though I am not certain how I feel about a broth made from sloth or poached possum served flambé.
About the first two entries:
Onno Kleyn is a food journalist who, amongst others, writes for De Volkskrant. His blog (in Dutch), just like his columns in the daily newspaper, is worth reading. As he himself puts it: a site for 'lekkerbekken, smulpapen en smikkelaars' - i.e. for gourmets, gourmands and epicures.
The blog of meneer Wat Eet Ons (in Dutch) also came to my attention via De Volkskrant. He likes to cook and - above all - experiment with making cheese, sausage, and the like. Quite refreshing. And full of good info, too.
"Food, Glorious Food", written by Lionel Bart, is the opening song from the musical and movie Oliver! It is sung when the workhouse boys from the 1960s West End and Broadway and musical and 1968 film adaptation are dreaming and fantasizing about food while going to collect their gruel from the staff of the workhouse.
Having watched the movie recently (good fun, by the way), the song popped up in my mind when I looked for a title for my food link section. Which is not at all strange in view of how much I love food, even though I am not certain how I feel about a broth made from sloth or poached possum served flambé.
About the first two entries:
Onno Kleyn is a food journalist who, amongst others, writes for De Volkskrant. His blog (in Dutch), just like his columns in the daily newspaper, is worth reading. As he himself puts it: a site for 'lekkerbekken, smulpapen en smikkelaars' - i.e. for gourmets, gourmands and epicures.
The blog of meneer Wat Eet Ons (in Dutch) also came to my attention via De Volkskrant. He likes to cook and - above all - experiment with making cheese, sausage, and the like. Quite refreshing. And full of good info, too.
16 December 2008
Indonesian Rice Table
For some years now, Schatz and I have frequented the Mittelalter Stammtisch in Hamburg-Harburg. One Friday evening a month, people interested in the Middle Ages meet for a meal, a drink and, above all, a good chat. Mind you, we don't mind when Roman gladiators or Napoleonic soldiers stop by, or Larpers, for that matter. More about the Stammtisch in a week or so.
In addition, some of us meet one Sunday a month, for a "Nähtreff". We meet to sew. Or needlebind, or embroider, work on bones, wood or ... I think you get my drift. It's not exactly a Stitch 'n' Bitch session but it comes close (Schatz says bitching should come first in that term...). And we end the day with a meal from Michi's pots and pans. The guy from Trutzhavener Feldküche, you know, that I wrote about before.
Michi
Previously, Schatz and I cooked a pancake breakfast for the December Bitch 'n' Stitch, or made bagels or such. This year I felt the need to cook an Indonesian Rice Table for dinner. Which suited Michi and Birgitt just fine as they had a gamer group in the house from Saturday afternoon to Sunday morning.
With 13 people to cook for, we had the opportunity to put together a real rice table and not just a handful of dishes. Here are some of the spices we brought along:
Sambal Manis, Sambal Udang, Surinamese Sambal, Javanese Sambal,
Sambal Brandis - and a few other spices...
And then there were other ingredients, such as spring roll skins, rice, Indonesian noodles, chilis (rawit, madam jeanette, lomboks etc.), ginger, kroepoek udang, rasped coconut and the like:
no no, I will not tell you what is in the brown plastic bag...
We started with cutting this - beef, fish, pork, chicken, tofu, and shrimps, to start with -, boiling that - eggs, for example - and marinating the rest.
The work bench
Good thing I brought my own commis chef!
In the meantime, while we were working hard and building up a sweat, Birgitt checked the action outside the kitchen where the others... you know... did sensible things:
Martina, Ute, Mara, Svenja, Britta, and Ilka (clockwise) or:
"Ze 'ens are in ze 'en'ouse" (this caption by Schatz)
In between supervising the commis and creating chaos in the kitchen otherwise, I went to entertain our friends with a little show interlude straight from Holland. Okay, 6 months too late, but that is nothing to medieval re-enactors...
The Dutch lion shows its tonsils...
The T-Shirt, by the way, is a leftover from last summer's European Championship. Football, of course. Or Soccer, if you insist. And with all those layers in front, it protects you well against mishaps in the kitchen!
Anyway, we went on cooking, and then cooked some more, and then - more!
Here's the menu (especially for Ute):
Babi Pangang, Sambal Goreng Perai, Ayam Roedjak,
Bami Goreng, Saté, Beef Rendang,
Seroendeng, Pisang Goreng, Gado Gado
As Birgitt put it "you spend 6 hours in the kitchen and they eat it all in 15 minutes."
before...
Well, it took them closer to 45 minutes... and they were STUFFED afterwards. Except for Arto, who still managed to eat a whole box of ice cream. Serves us right for not putting any dessert on the table!
and after - or:
Stuffed like turkeys on Thanksgiving...(this caption by Schatz)
For recipes, I can recommend Kokkie Blanda´s Indonesian Recipes (Dutch and English) and the Indochef. And if you do not want to mix all the various boemboes yourself (as we did), there are good ready mixes to be had in your local Indonesian toko!
PS: Nils, Gisela and Arto were there, too, and of course Birgitt, but only a "slice" of Nils survived on one of the photos. Better luck next time!
PPS: thanks to Birgitt for taking most of the pictures, and to Schatz for the gimp-magic. And the captions.
In addition, some of us meet one Sunday a month, for a "Nähtreff". We meet to sew. Or needlebind, or embroider, work on bones, wood or ... I think you get my drift. It's not exactly a Stitch 'n' Bitch session but it comes close (Schatz says bitching should come first in that term...). And we end the day with a meal from Michi's pots and pans. The guy from Trutzhavener Feldküche, you know, that I wrote about before.
MichiPreviously, Schatz and I cooked a pancake breakfast for the December Bitch 'n' Stitch, or made bagels or such. This year I felt the need to cook an Indonesian Rice Table for dinner. Which suited Michi and Birgitt just fine as they had a gamer group in the house from Saturday afternoon to Sunday morning.
With 13 people to cook for, we had the opportunity to put together a real rice table and not just a handful of dishes. Here are some of the spices we brought along:
Sambal Manis, Sambal Udang, Surinamese Sambal, Javanese Sambal,Sambal Brandis - and a few other spices...
And then there were other ingredients, such as spring roll skins, rice, Indonesian noodles, chilis (rawit, madam jeanette, lomboks etc.), ginger, kroepoek udang, rasped coconut and the like:
no no, I will not tell you what is in the brown plastic bag...We started with cutting this - beef, fish, pork, chicken, tofu, and shrimps, to start with -, boiling that - eggs, for example - and marinating the rest.
The work bench
Good thing I brought my own commis chef!In the meantime, while we were working hard and building up a sweat, Birgitt checked the action outside the kitchen where the others... you know... did sensible things:
Martina, Ute, Mara, Svenja, Britta, and Ilka (clockwise) or:"Ze 'ens are in ze 'en'ouse" (this caption by Schatz)
In between supervising the commis and creating chaos in the kitchen otherwise, I went to entertain our friends with a little show interlude straight from Holland. Okay, 6 months too late, but that is nothing to medieval re-enactors...
The Dutch lion shows its tonsils...The T-Shirt, by the way, is a leftover from last summer's European Championship. Football, of course. Or Soccer, if you insist. And with all those layers in front, it protects you well against mishaps in the kitchen!
Anyway, we went on cooking, and then cooked some more, and then - more!
Here's the menu (especially for Ute):
- Beef Rendang
- Saté (Chicken, Fish and Shrimp)
- Babi Pangang
- Ikan Boemboe Bali
- Ayam Roedjak
- Sambal Goreng Telor
- Loempia
- Gado Gado
- Dadar Isi
- Pisang Goreng
- Tumis Buncis (with little to no coconut milk!)
- Sambal Goreng Perai
- Sambal Goreng Tofu and Soy Bean Sprouts
- Seroendeng from coconut rasps, kroepoek, miniature french fries, roast onions
- Atjar Tjampoer
- Peanut Butter Sauce
- White Rice
- Bami Goreng
Babi Pangang, Sambal Goreng Perai, Ayam Roedjak,Bami Goreng, Saté, Beef Rendang,
Seroendeng, Pisang Goreng, Gado Gado
As Birgitt put it "you spend 6 hours in the kitchen and they eat it all in 15 minutes."
before...Well, it took them closer to 45 minutes... and they were STUFFED afterwards. Except for Arto, who still managed to eat a whole box of ice cream. Serves us right for not putting any dessert on the table!
and after - or:Stuffed like turkeys on Thanksgiving...(this caption by Schatz)
For recipes, I can recommend Kokkie Blanda´s Indonesian Recipes (Dutch and English) and the Indochef. And if you do not want to mix all the various boemboes yourself (as we did), there are good ready mixes to be had in your local Indonesian toko!
PS: Nils, Gisela and Arto were there, too, and of course Birgitt, but only a "slice" of Nils survived on one of the photos. Better luck next time!
PPS: thanks to Birgitt for taking most of the pictures, and to Schatz for the gimp-magic. And the captions.
22 November 2008
create renew restore
... is the motto of a store I came across in July:
At that point in time, they had just opened shop on Jan Evertsenstraat in Amsterdam.
Bags and cushions made from old dresses or curtains really caught my attention. It is one of those things that you think you could do yourself, given time and occasion, but if you're really honest to yourself you know you never will nor can.
It was obvious from some signs in the windows that this was only a temporary location. And possibly not the best one as far as business opportunities for the young designers running the store was concerned.
A few months later, the shop was gone again. There was a sign, though, telling customers where they had moved to - I just totally forgot to write down the address.
Today I passed it again and, lo and behold, the shop was still empty and the relocation notice was still on the door. They have moved to Haarlemmerdijk 39, one of the bustling shopping streets of today.
Here's a pullover (some call it a Pullunder) bag from their website:
Apart from textile products, they also offer revamped china and pottery, necklaces, lamps, and so forth - and they offer courses on various restoring techniques as well as group projects such as a group quilt.
Time to go visit the Haarlemmerdijk again - it's been a while...
At that point in time, they had just opened shop on Jan Evertsenstraat in Amsterdam.
Bags and cushions made from old dresses or curtains really caught my attention. It is one of those things that you think you could do yourself, given time and occasion, but if you're really honest to yourself you know you never will nor can.
It was obvious from some signs in the windows that this was only a temporary location. And possibly not the best one as far as business opportunities for the young designers running the store was concerned.
A few months later, the shop was gone again. There was a sign, though, telling customers where they had moved to - I just totally forgot to write down the address.
Today I passed it again and, lo and behold, the shop was still empty and the relocation notice was still on the door. They have moved to Haarlemmerdijk 39, one of the bustling shopping streets of today.
Here's a pullover (some call it a Pullunder) bag from their website:
Apart from textile products, they also offer revamped china and pottery, necklaces, lamps, and so forth - and they offer courses on various restoring techniques as well as group projects such as a group quilt.
Time to go visit the Haarlemmerdijk again - it's been a while...
Je hebt geluk gehad - by Herman Erbé
The first time I heard a song from Dutch singer/songwriter Herman Erbé was 29 years ago, give or take a few weeks. It happened in Café Husse, a tiny "bruin café" in Langestraat which was to become my local pub for many years. Until it closed, that is.
Karin, who at the time was already living in Amsterdam, had heard Herman sing in Folk Fairport, found out he co-owned a pub and during one of my visits to the city carted me there on the back of her bicycle.
This was a few years before Herman joined Jozef Custers to form Circus Custers, a band which scored a couple of top-40 hits ("Verliefd", "Monica", "Louise") in the early Eighties. But like in so many cases, such hits don't say everything about the music that bands or singer/songwriters normally make.
Their album "Romantisch Verbitterd"(1983) contained a few of the songs I have always loved, such as "Wilde Ganzen", "Kop in de Wind" of "Het Allerschoonste Stoepie" but there were others: the one about the pensioner who'd never loved fishing but still went out every day to the canal to not get on the nerves of his wife ("Vissen"), the one about whether the Russians would really invade Western Europe and if so, why and where they'd come from ("Als de Russen komen"), or about Dutch participation in UNIFIL, the UN troops in Lebanon in the 1980's ("Net 3 dagen Libanon"). Herman has also written many songs for kids - yet another side to his creativity.
Sometimes I search the internet for people I used to know (better) - and some months ago I found some new songs by Herman Erbé on YouTube.
"Je hebt geluk gehad" is about a soldier returning from Afghanistan after the vehicle he was in hit a road mine, about his buddies, and about sense and nonsense of the mission. The song is powerful, like so many by Herman's hand, even more so in combination with the stills that make up the video put together by him and his partner Josje Hennink.
Anyway, since the song is in Dutch and many of you do not understand the language, I have tried to sort of translate the lyrics into English. Took me a while but that is the reason why I didn't post this earlier. By the way, you can't sing my English version (totally unofficial and unauthorised, all rights Herman Erbé), and it isn't always literal, but I do hope that, in combination with the music and the images, Herman's intentions do come across somewhat:
You're such a lucky man
by Herman Erbé
You left your buddies there, beside themselves,
cursing, searching where the road was mined.
For a week or two they'll drive more slowly,
until their fear wears out and hides again.
Some want to but can't talk about it,
anothers feels as if his head explodes.
They fought the flames, fought for your limbs,
and then puked their hearts and bowls right out.
A reconstruction mission and a new beginning,
so they said and you, you did believe in that.
A reconstruction mission, it's what you really wanted,
but for each school you built another was knocked down.
And that time under friendly fire, you were soaked with cold sweat.
You're such a lucky man.
You left your buddies and your limbs behind.
Somewhat confused, a little aghast.
Those doubts, already in your mind implanted,
did grow when you woke up in that bed.
Bags of mail arrived with sympathy, good wishes,
love yous, be strong and get wells.
They're all such really nice people,
but you do change a bit with such a blow.
It was to be a peace mission, no eye-for-an-eye war,
a certain risk included - but noone prepared for this.
A mission for peace, The Hague had said.
Now that you're back, they're somewhat embarrassed,
you might even be the reason for a new debate.
You're such a lucky man.
Some of your buddies keep reliving their fear,
And in their eyes, madness fights pain.
Otherwise healthy, for the rest of their lives,
No such luck to just be shot or struck by a mine.
Their jokes extreme, sometimes real morbid,
worked up, often too high-strung.
They call you a "cuddly invalid",
looking at them you do feel fortunate...
You're such a lucky man.
Karin, who at the time was already living in Amsterdam, had heard Herman sing in Folk Fairport, found out he co-owned a pub and during one of my visits to the city carted me there on the back of her bicycle.
This was a few years before Herman joined Jozef Custers to form Circus Custers, a band which scored a couple of top-40 hits ("Verliefd", "Monica", "Louise") in the early Eighties. But like in so many cases, such hits don't say everything about the music that bands or singer/songwriters normally make.
Their album "Romantisch Verbitterd"(1983) contained a few of the songs I have always loved, such as "Wilde Ganzen", "Kop in de Wind" of "Het Allerschoonste Stoepie" but there were others: the one about the pensioner who'd never loved fishing but still went out every day to the canal to not get on the nerves of his wife ("Vissen"), the one about whether the Russians would really invade Western Europe and if so, why and where they'd come from ("Als de Russen komen"), or about Dutch participation in UNIFIL, the UN troops in Lebanon in the 1980's ("Net 3 dagen Libanon"). Herman has also written many songs for kids - yet another side to his creativity.Sometimes I search the internet for people I used to know (better) - and some months ago I found some new songs by Herman Erbé on YouTube.
"Je hebt geluk gehad" is about a soldier returning from Afghanistan after the vehicle he was in hit a road mine, about his buddies, and about sense and nonsense of the mission. The song is powerful, like so many by Herman's hand, even more so in combination with the stills that make up the video put together by him and his partner Josje Hennink.
Anyway, since the song is in Dutch and many of you do not understand the language, I have tried to sort of translate the lyrics into English. Took me a while but that is the reason why I didn't post this earlier. By the way, you can't sing my English version (totally unofficial and unauthorised, all rights Herman Erbé), and it isn't always literal, but I do hope that, in combination with the music and the images, Herman's intentions do come across somewhat:
You're such a lucky man
by Herman Erbé
You left your buddies there, beside themselves,
cursing, searching where the road was mined.
For a week or two they'll drive more slowly,
until their fear wears out and hides again.
Some want to but can't talk about it,
anothers feels as if his head explodes.
They fought the flames, fought for your limbs,
and then puked their hearts and bowls right out.
A reconstruction mission and a new beginning,
so they said and you, you did believe in that.
A reconstruction mission, it's what you really wanted,
but for each school you built another was knocked down.
And that time under friendly fire, you were soaked with cold sweat.
You're such a lucky man.
You left your buddies and your limbs behind.
Somewhat confused, a little aghast.
Those doubts, already in your mind implanted,
did grow when you woke up in that bed.
Bags of mail arrived with sympathy, good wishes,
love yous, be strong and get wells.
They're all such really nice people,
but you do change a bit with such a blow.
It was to be a peace mission, no eye-for-an-eye war,
a certain risk included - but noone prepared for this.
A mission for peace, The Hague had said.
Now that you're back, they're somewhat embarrassed,
you might even be the reason for a new debate.
You're such a lucky man.
Some of your buddies keep reliving their fear,
And in their eyes, madness fights pain.
Otherwise healthy, for the rest of their lives,
No such luck to just be shot or struck by a mine.
Their jokes extreme, sometimes real morbid,
worked up, often too high-strung.
They call you a "cuddly invalid",
looking at them you do feel fortunate...
You're such a lucky man.
21 November 2008
In the meantime...
... I have been rather busy. Apart from work and such, helping my mother move from her house to an apartment in town has taken up most of my time and energy in the past couple of months. It is an ongoing project and will keep my sister and me (and our respective Schatzes) busy for some more time. But my mother feels great in her new environment, and that is the main thing.
I didn't forget about the blog, though, I worked on a number of projects for my blog - they just took some time to mature.
Some of them are about to emerge from their cocoons, so just watch this space again!
I didn't forget about the blog, though, I worked on a number of projects for my blog - they just took some time to mature.
Some of them are about to emerge from their cocoons, so just watch this space again!
28 September 2008
Dressed to Kill
Last weekend, Schatz and I went to Oerlinghausen near Bielefeld, for a Viking weekend in their Archaeological Open Air Museum. It is a fairly small place, compared to what we know from Denmark, for example, but it takes you from a summer camp of ice age reindeer hunters via a stone age and a bronze age farm building all the way to an early medieval (Saxon) homestead. In addition, there are a number of buildings focusing on various aspects of daily life, such as a bake house, a brewing house, or a pottery. Mainly, visitors find period items in the buildings, and also some explanatory exhibits. In addition, the museum offers quite some workshops on things such as smithing, bow making, stone age bread baking, dyeing with plants, etc.
Last weekend, though, the museum was populated by Vikings, Saxons, Slavs, Merovingians, Ottonians, i.e. representatives of various parts of Europe from about 600 to 1050 AD. People showed crafts, there was a show kitchen informing the audience about period cooking with seasonal ingredients, there was an archery exhibit, some warriors explained early medieval weapons, armoury and warcraft, as well a small period fashion show.
The weather was good, the audience in good numbers despite a 'competing' town party - and as usual, I didn't really get to take any pictures. For those, I would like to refer you to blog entries by Kees and Marion, as well as Marion's Flickr pages.
Schatz had been working on a needle case during the weekend, which was snatched out of his hands by a greedy re-enactress almost before it was finished. Such early medieval needle cases made from bird wing bones (usually goose or swan) have been found all over Scandinavia.
needle box from upper goose wing bone
In this particular model, a piece of fabric inside the bone holds the needles. To get to them, you pull it out of the bottom of the needle case. It is typically hung from a woman's brooches or her belt.
Woman's coat based on Haithabu finds
Ute had just finished her new 2-layer coat based on finds from Haithabu. Most interesting and looking very warm indeed!
Last but not least, the garden of an Oerlinghausen local which has captivated my attention for many years.
backyard railway signal
I'm not sure whether the train ever stops here... but then maybe it's to regulate the slide traffic.
Laurel and Hardy wisely deciding NOT to climb the mountain
This actually is from the same garden. I guess it's better than having it all inside the living room...
Last weekend, though, the museum was populated by Vikings, Saxons, Slavs, Merovingians, Ottonians, i.e. representatives of various parts of Europe from about 600 to 1050 AD. People showed crafts, there was a show kitchen informing the audience about period cooking with seasonal ingredients, there was an archery exhibit, some warriors explained early medieval weapons, armoury and warcraft, as well a small period fashion show.
The weather was good, the audience in good numbers despite a 'competing' town party - and as usual, I didn't really get to take any pictures. For those, I would like to refer you to blog entries by Kees and Marion, as well as Marion's Flickr pages.
Schatz had been working on a needle case during the weekend, which was snatched out of his hands by a greedy re-enactress almost before it was finished. Such early medieval needle cases made from bird wing bones (usually goose or swan) have been found all over Scandinavia.
needle box from upper goose wing boneIn this particular model, a piece of fabric inside the bone holds the needles. To get to them, you pull it out of the bottom of the needle case. It is typically hung from a woman's brooches or her belt.
Woman's coat based on Haithabu findsUte had just finished her new 2-layer coat based on finds from Haithabu. Most interesting and looking very warm indeed!
Last but not least, the garden of an Oerlinghausen local which has captivated my attention for many years.
backyard railway signalI'm not sure whether the train ever stops here... but then maybe it's to regulate the slide traffic.
Laurel and Hardy wisely deciding NOT to climb the mountainThis actually is from the same garden. I guess it's better than having it all inside the living room...
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