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Want to find me.. I will be at the bar with a glass in my hand, but not eating the nuts... bar nuts are sort of scary.









Monday, November 30, 2009

I want a Shopping Mall!

The title says everything. 

My shopping list, which I had actually remembered to take with me, was pretty long.  Mincemeat for Mince pies has a lot of ingredients. 

There are several supermarket choices in this town, all have their virtues, but none are ‘one stop shop’.  Not such a bad thing unless you are biking it, like I do.  This becomes complicated and visions of hands on shoulder as I slink through checkouts, start to plague my good, honest self.  I carry a back pack…  German supermarket operators are, on the whole, some of the most unhappy people on the planet.  The only thing that can lighten their mood is making me open my backpack and show them the items + receipt, yep, those bought from the rival supermarket.

IMG_6873After I had searched through 2 out of the 3 stores, I gave up.  It was all too hard.  Most of the items on my list remain unfilled.  Don’t get me started on Brown Sugar! In the end I was saved by the bottle of Ruby Port. I was so frustrated by the time I came home, I was tempted to knock the top off and give it a good guzzle. So no mince made yesterday.

IMG_6871But with December knocking on the door, it was time to get that wreath ready.  Can’t say that I was all that enthusiastic about it. Miss Eight helped by tying bows, and we tossed a few decorations on.  Biggest problem was how to hang it up on our new front door… she of glass and steel.  I picked up a stick-on-hook and had the idea that I could stick it on the inside of the door… of course I messed up the first attempt by ‘not putting the hook above the red line’.  Miss Eight saved the second attempt when I cleverly hung the hook upside down.  Thank goodness she can read.  At the point that I was turning red and blowing steam out of my ears, she started shouting at me, “Mummy! Don’t touch anything!! Don’t pull of the hook…you can change it!”  and she was right… so you could.

I wonder why Nigella Lawson never has days like this…

8 comments:

Global Librarian said...

Brown Sugar Trick known by most American Expats living in Europe!

Light Brown Sugar= 1 cup sugar and 1 tbsp molasses
Dark Brown Sugar= 1 cup sugar and 2 tbsp molasses

If the grocery store doesn't have molasses, the Reformhaus will!

Good luck!

oreneta said...

Nigella Lawson has a team of shoppers who work for her and who she can yell at when they screw up.....

life ain't the same over there.

Love the wreath...you are inspiring me....I got the advent calendar today anyway.

lillian said...

I have those days.. there is always hope that tomorrow will be better !!

swenglishexpat said...

How about having a box of mince pies sent from Marks & Spencer in the UK? They are the best (that you can buy). Only trying to help! ;-)

Lydia said...

so sorry. i love the holidays and it's frustrating when days like this happen. hey, i'm having one right now. though at least the darn wreath is hung! I would LOVE a mince meat recipe to try out. Post it! I'm all about being Betty Baker while I'm in the land of plentiful brown sugar and other staples! ;) Hang in there & Merry Christmas!

Beth said...

I really, really need a Miss Eight around here.
And although I despise shopping malls, I’m re-thinking this after reading your post. There is that whole convenience factor to consider…

christina said...

Ha ha. Love this post. Yes, welcome to shopping in Germany. I was also entertaining thoughts of making my own mincemeat this year but then I thought that since I'll probably be the only one eating it it seems like entirely too much trouble. I guess I'll just bus it down to the British shop tomorrow and see if they'll sell me some for EUR 8 a jar.

And... if you do decide to make your own brown sugar, you can substitute Zuckerrübensirup (available in the jam section of many supermarkets) for the molasses.

Lynda said...

GL: Thanks for that tip... I will write it down. But you do know that Reformhaus visits frighten me... those women are scary! EAT SOMETHING!

Oreneta: What!! Nigella doesn't do it all herself!! But that is not fair...She is now, not only greedy, but a fake too.

Lillian: Yep, we need those days to remind us how good the others can be.

SwenEng: Babe! Wash your mouth out... store bought Mince Pies..not on my watch ;D

Lydia: After all those years in Egypt, you have no excuses... go wild... bake and shake!

Beth: You and me both, Shopping Malls are horrid, unless you need one. Oh and there are days when I could just stamp Miss 8's forehead and mail her to you...don't tempt me.

Christine: I had planned to send Mr Dear Husband to the British Shop after work, but even I baulk at paying 8euros for a jar of dried fruit. I did order my xmas crackers from them. Don't ask how much they were...I had to hide the bill.

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