Kitchen happenings....

Busy busy bees around here....

I have been making up tinctures for the winter...this one is a mixture of Horehound, Chamomile, Dandelion, Lavender, Cleavers, dried garlic, Catnip... I will use this one for colds and flu sypmptoms.

Tinctures are a wonderful thing to keep on hand and use at the first sign of a virus/infection.  They keep for several months and super easy to make.

After filling my jar with dried herbs I added 80% proof vodka and covered the herbs. Cover the jar tightly and leave in a dark cupboard for 2 to 4 weeks...depending if you are using fresh or drieds herbs(dried herbs are more concentrated) Give your jar a couple good shakes everyday.  When the process is complete I will fill my amber dropper bottles and keep in my pantry. You can also use apple cider vinegar instead of vodka...I use vodka so my tinctures will keep longer.

Also in my kitchen ......Kombucha!! O how I've miss thee....My sissie in Japan sent me some to start my own, as I have not been able to find any here in Germany. It's quite easy to make.

If you haven't heard of this incredible drink...it is a chinese tea kvass....a natural detox drink loaded with many health benefits from preventing cancer, arthritis, digestive issues and much much more.  I LOVE this stuff...so do my kids.  I drink a glass a night usually..as it is a relaxing drink for me and helps me sleep.  If you want to know more here is a link to a post I did awhile back .

And lastly.....Kefir!   Finally I managed to get ahold of some Kefir grains again and start my kefir....I love to make breakfasts smoothies with kefir....

 

I found a good youtube video here explaining all the benefits of Kefir.....amazing stuff! :)

And lastly.....My name is Aubrey and I'm a pintrest-holic! :)

“It's been my experience that you can nearly always enjoy things if you make up your mind firmly that you will.”

I'm quoting Anne of Green Gables in my title. I consider myself very fortunate that I don't very often meet disappointments.  However, this past weekend, I was pretty sore.  I totally had to cancel my trip to Rome....oh the self-pity I put myself through. I even actually went to the trouble of trying on outfits to pack ....(navy striped dress, navy cardigan, super yummy, chunky apricot cowl, leather belt, leggings, ankle boots. )

 I forgot I was dragging along a soldier and there is all this paperwork they must go through to get approval to travel to another country. I'm so used to just picking up my bags and leaving....so alas we filled out the paperwork along with our itinerary and such....then they LOST it...all the paperwork, no one had any idea where it disappeared to...and of course this was just hours before leaving for the airport.  Oh woe is me!  This was supposed to be an anniversary trip...the one we didn't take last year because he was in Afganistan. 

So rather than stay home and sulk....(which I knew if we stayed home I would...I would stare at the clock and imagine all the things I would be doing if I were THERE)  We headed a few hours away to go Christmas shopping, booked a hotel when we got there and shopped till I dropped...almost literally...I was exhausted.  Then we decided the next morning we would finally tour Wurzburg (my mother was born there)...we would tour the castle, do some geocaching on a hike or two, and enjoy some good German food.


 But....it was pouring, pouring, POURING rain when we woke up and it didn't let up all the way to Wurzburg...so we came home......and I decorated the whole living room ect, wrapped gifts...made some crafts with the girls. 

I love brown paper packages...and newspaper ones too!

I've never decorated for the holidays/winter this early....but you know what? Today was the perfect day for it....I felt cheered up and somehow ok with how everything worked out.  Especially since, I also seemed to pick up a bug that had me down a bit.  Does this give you any indication of just how spontaneous and out of the ordinary person I am.  Please don't judge me for putting up the tree before December.....it was quite theraputic for me today and all is right with my world now.

I love burlap! And...homemade ornaments!

Thank Brooke for my lovely garland...love it!!

I'll see you soon Rome......

Aubrey xo

Forgive

Its amazing to me that no matter how old you are....you still learn new things about yourself.  Things you thought you knew...

Recently, I was judged very harshly...behind my back...from a person I learned to trust mistakenly all too quickly.  They have only known me and my children a very short time...they did not like a decision we made as a family and instead of choosing to respect our wishes and decisions, they attacked me.  Not one bit was true....it was shocking.  I was hurt and the trust shattered...hope of a new future at this place of worship crumbled.  Are we here again?!?! We just went through this!  I was angry, frustrated.....I know my ideals of homeschooling aren't for everyone....but to judge my children and I unjustly when you've never sat in my "classroom" or my home, is poor judgement.

I wanted immediately to stop the project we were working on...just quit...walk away...pretend you don't care what what they think of you.  Just leave.  

Then a split second later I was ready to pounce on the phone to request a meeting.  I would confront the judgements and set it aright.  But...thats not me...I'm a peacemaker...I don't do confrontations. 

I learned and am still learning...that life is too full of wonderful opportunities, hidden beauties, incredible souls, and splendid journeys...to hang onto grudges, lies, hurts, ect.  Forgiveness doesn't seem so hard once you've experienced the effects of truly letting go of those hurts.  By and by time heals the hurts, and you replace those hurts with good friends and chat laugh over cups of Latte Machiattos and knitting needles, adventures in nature, traveling to a foreign country, counting your blessings and cherishing every moment with the ones who do love and adore you no matter how different you are.  You learn the hard way that those pricks and stings suck the life out of everything you used to enjoy in life.....Forgiveness is the bandaid and CHOOSING to move on and love life again are the scabs that cover those hurts and seal it away.  Yes, there may be scars....but now they are a reminder of how it feels to truly forgive....that you CAN forgive, smile, laugh again, and pray for those who cannot.  Those scabs only remind you of how far you've come...and how STRONG you are!

Fast forward two weeks.....and I am reminded that All things are temporary....even the good times.  So shrug off the depression, worry and discouragement....this too shall pass!  And let it remind me that I should cherish every second of pure joy and peace, because that too is temporary.  Life has been bends in it's roads.....don't let it's roadblock of hurts and bitter disappointments keep you from reaching that next bend with all its amazing beauty and memorable adventures.


Peace and blessings,
Aubrey
xo

Krakow, Poland

.

Nothing overrated about traveling.....

We are leaving for Rome in a week.....to see the infamous Colliseum....and you know what? I really hate it when people tell me..."ooh it's overrated...just a pile of rubble...the crowds, the hecklers, the blah blah blah..."  WHAT THE HECK IS OVERRATED ABOUT THE COLLISEUM!!  I would'nt care if there was ONE brick left....I would go see it...touch it...smell it...get my picture with it.

I'm convinced "they" don't know their history...really.  Or they don't LOVE history as I do, otherwise the very fact that you were standing inside such a prominent place in history, where worlds were changed... you could not think it just a pile of rubble.  Part of what drives me to travel...is the history itself....what once was the center of the universe to very small people....places and people that changed the world and the way we see it and live it today....remembering the past and the sacrifices of others...so that history will not repeat it's dark, evil pasts.

BTW~ have you flown RyanAir and what was your experience? This will be my first time. I normally fly big name airlines....

Guten Tag~
Aubrey

xo

Hiking Germany and Austria

My favorite hiking season is Fall....it's the most colorful....and lovely, crisp cool air to breathe in. We did a six mile hike around this gorge that started in Germany and ends up looping somewhere on the border of Austria.  Every bend in the trail and corner of the gorge brought us breath-taking sights!

I definitely fell more in love with hiking....nothing like exploring on foot. :)

 

Aubrey xo

Oktoberfest/Munich

Well I braved the trains to Munich.....or should I say braved Oktoberfest...on a SATURDAY!!! The train ride there was just a sign of things to come....loud, drunk guys singing, crates of beer everywhere, and CROWDS of people.....I was literally squished between a train door and a three people.  Thank goodness we got an early train back and no squishies.

It started raining when we got there...we were at the fest about 30 minutes and we had all we could take of the crowds, smells, ect.  bought our bratwurst and gingerbread cookie and left for downtown Munich.

 

 

we decided that we didn't want to walk the 13 blocks or so Marion Platz so we decided to take a "taxi" .....a man pedaling a cart on the back of his bicycle...yep YOLO!! :)

I can't tell you how many shrieks, screams, grabbing the side of the cart, squeezing our eyes shut, p.r.a.y.i.n.g......he was weaving in and out of cars. Then we almost hit a car as he pulled out in front of the intersection at a red light.  agghhhh  We finally made it downtown, after hugging each other and thanking the Lord we made it...we ventured into the square.

This

Building you see with the flags in the front has a giant cuckoo clock in the front...every mid day the clocks chimes, sings and the characters all move.

 

Guten Tag~

Aubrey

Venice, Italy

I used to watch this lady on the Travel channel, years ago when my kids were little..usually folding an upteenth load of cloathes as I envied her travels. She traveled all over the country showing off the best places to eat or sleep, shop ect.  I remember thinking what an amazing job that would be.  Its always been a dream of mine to travel all over the world, seeing in person and experiencing all those things I had only read or seen in my history and geography books.  Fast forward several years later and I'm on a train to Venice, Italy! wow...I must be dreaming. Oh...and on the way we drove through the beautiful alps of Austria!! Are you kidding me? I feel beyond blessed to travel as I have been...living the dream I so dared to hope would come true one day...Never know where your dreams will take you...

So here's a small glimpse of Venice through my lens....

Ciao~
Aubrey