Alpine Ski Athletes Upclose And Personal

Kids have had quite a few teacher work days this month which were gratefully spent at the ski resorts in Garmisch. Hausberg lodge is a U.S. facility and attracts lots of Americans from near and far. We live ridiculously close to it, it's like a 5 minute drive. And I still have not managed to get out to ski! But I have managed to take some pictures there. Scott and I both had one of the twins on our backs, so the only athletes showing off their talent were David and Nadia. They were amazing! They ski so much better than I will ever do (if I ever do.) So, introducing you our own Alpine Ski champions!  

I saw for myself, now much effort it takes to bring all your gear, get it out of the car, put it and snap it on correctly, wait in line for a tow-rope, hold on tight to ski up hill before you actually feel the excitement and exilaration flying back down. And I thought getting babies ready for a walk was hard, geesh, not even close.  

And there he goes. I can't believe my little guy can do it all by himself!

A stud of a coach of the Thompson Team with his junior assistant

Nadia is cautious and graceful. I would probably ski right under the rope and lose my grip in the process. And she's doing it while posing, talking and joking. How did she learn all this stuff without me? I have to admit, they've got some good teachers out there somewhere besides me.

And she is back down. Great job, baby girl!

FIS Alpine Ski World Championship

We are lucky to be in Garmisch during this awesome event when the ski slopes we see out of our window are the same slopes they are showing on EuroSport channel all day long. Not only we get to hear the loudspeakers announcing Lindsey Vonn and Ted Ligety but also to go out on the bleechers and watch the women's downhill training run and support Team USA.

Das ist Lindsey Vonn. She and some other athletes were awesome to give our kids their autographs. (This one and the next picture were borrowed from Garmisch Elementary School website.)

 I should clarify, that it was Nadia and David who got to go to the Alpspitz Ski Resort as part of their school activity while Scott had to work, babies had to nap, and I had to cook dinner. But I heard the loudspeakers all right.

Last Saturday we walked into down town Garmisch and eyewitnessed a celebration party of the Swiss Team.

Amazing, how easy Europeans can become friends with the help of some beer. I'm kidding, of course, they are nice people without beer too. But without beer they are more reserved and polite, and with beer they are all one big happy family. (Under no circumstances am I here to promote beer drinking, it's just my personal observation.)  

The musicians were great and the crowd was even dancing. The trombone guy seemed to be their alpha-musician, he yelled: "How many Swiss people are here?" 4 people raised their hands. "How many Germans are here?" The majority of them raised their hands. "How many of you want to be Swiss?" Everybody raised their hands. It was a good party.

I wanted to be Swiss too. Or German, so I could understand everything else they were saying.

See, how happy my family is cheering for Switzerland?

David found this little Swiss flag on the ground and became a Swiss fan for a day

Some Austrians passing by to their Austrian party, I believe. Friendliness is in the air, I can't get enough of it! People of many cultures are walking in groups singing their traditional songs without fanatism and without fights.

This is what Marienplatz looks like during the Championship

 Every business, from bakery to pharmacy, has Alpine Ski inspired window decor. This one belongs to the bookstore.

Kids are trying out the old-fashioned bobsled in front of the reastaurant

Nadia in a wolf hat at one of the many souvenir shops

David at the Milka chocolate pavillion set up at the Garmisch Marienplatz with free chocolate samples and a memory game for the kids (behind David.) 

Lots more fun stuff going on these days, like rock-concerts and award ceremonies at the Kur Park, bratwurst stands all over town, free bus rides for the two weeks of the event, international food samples at grocery stores. . . But most memorable is going to be the feeling of comradery and good sportsmanship, the feeling of belonging to the German community and to the world.   

Mushroom Soup

Грибной Суп

    Мое изобретение.  

            

                                                    коробка коричневых шaмпиньонов (~500 г)

                                                    1 луковица

                                                    1 большая морковка или 2 средние морковки

                                                    5-6 картошин

                                                    200 г сливки

                                                    соль, перец, бульонные кубики по вкусу

Помыть, почистить и порезать грибы, морковь и лук и обжарить в глубокой сковородке на сливочном и растительном маслах. (Грибы вкуснее на сливочном масле, но растительное добавляют, чтобы не подгорело сливочное.) Минут 5 на высоком огне, потом под крышкой еще 10 мин на средне-медленном огне, регулярно помешивая. Почистить и порезать кубиками картошку и добавить к грибам. Добавить столько воды, чтобы только покрыла овощи, довести до кипения, накрыть крышкой и на медленном огне готовить 20 минут или до тех пор пока не сварится картошка. Снять с огня и порциями смолоть в блендере примерно 2/3 части (с жидкостью), переливая пюре в кастрюлю. Добавить оставшиеся немолотые овощи в кастрюлю с пюре. Затем сливки. Если получилось слишком густо, можно добавить воды, бульона или молока, или еще сливок. Подогреть, заправить солью, перцем, бульонными кубиками и по желанию зеленью. Если, к примеру нет грибов таким же образом можно сделать картофельный суп, добавив побольше картофеля.

        

                                                       1 (1 lb) box of brown champignons
                                                       1 onion
                                                       1 big carrot or 2 medium size carrots
                                                       5-6 potatoes

                                                       1 cup half-n-half
                                                       1/2 pound ground sausage, cooked (optional)
                                                       salt, pepper, bouillon cubes

Wash mushrooms, peel carrots and onion and cut. Heat butter and oil in a deep frying pan (mushrooms are better-tasting if cooked in butter, but oil is needed to keep butter from burning.) Sautee mushroom, carrots and onions for 5 min. on medium-high heat, then cover, turn the heat to medium-low and sautee 10 min. more, shaking the pan from time to time. Meanwhile, peel and cut the potatoes. Add them to the frying pan, pour just enough water to cover the veggies and bring to boil. Once it boils, cover and simmer for 20 min. or until potatoes are cooked and soft. Turn off the heat. Using a blender, puree 3/4 of the soup in portions (for safety) pouring the puree into a separate pot. Add the last 1/4 of unblended veggies with water, add half-n-half, (cooked ground sausage), salt, pepper, bouillon cubes to taste. Heat through but don't boil.

Jack-o'-Lantern Sloppy Joe Pie

I found this recipe in a 2009 October issue of Simple and Delicious magazine. While we were in the States I had a subscription to it and I found tons of easy and good-looking recipes. But last year I could not cook because of my bad morning sickness and later extreme baby busyness. I am glad I saved the magazines and am slowly starting to get back into a habit of cooking at least one new thing every month. This one recipe was a success this Halloween. I had 3 extra kids in our house for a sleepover and the pie was gone before I could think of a second helping. 

                                      1 lb ground beef

                                      1 small onion, chopped

                                      2 tsp white flour

                                      1 cup salsa

                                      1/2 cup chili sauce or 1 Tbsp chili powder

                                      1 can corn, drained

                                      1 (4 oz) can chopped green chilies

                                      2 Tbsp brown sugar

                                      1 sheet refrigerated pie pastry

                                      1 egg

In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. In a small bowl, combine the flour, salsa and chili sauce until blended; stir into skillet. Add the corn, chilies and brown sugar. Transfer to a deep-dish 9-inch pie plate. Unroll pastry; place over filling. With a sharp knife, cut out a face to resemble a jack-o'-lantern; flute edges. Beat egg , brush over pastry. Bake at 450 for 12 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly.  

Apple Cake

I love this autumn inspired dessert that I picked up from Susan Snyder, who was my neighbor friend in Auerbach, Germany in 2002. It was the time when both our husbands were deployed and we hang out together quite a bit. On one of those cold German days Susan invited Nadia and I for breakfast where she served this cake. It was real good then and still is now, every time I make it.

      3 eggs

                2 cups sugar

          1 cup oil

                   1 Tbsp vanilla

                                    3 cups whole wheat flour

            1 tsp soda

             1/2 tsp salt

                    1 tsp cinnamon

                                      3 apples peeled and diced

Mix wet ingredients in a large bowl. Mix dry ingredients separately. Combine all ingredients. Add apples last. Bake 45 min at 350.

Vegan Banana Bread

I got this recipe 7 years ago at the Enrichment Meeting of our Grafenwoer Branch (we were stationed in Vilseck, Germany then). The lady who shared it with us used to be an overwieght sickly mother of 6 gone super healthy and back to normal weight using vegan diet. She said this was a life-saver for her, since her health has gotten to be so poor, but she felt tons better within a matter of weeks! So, there's no eggs or milk in this recipe, and it calls for whole-wheat flour. Though I don't feel like becoming a vegan any time soon, this recipe has become the only one we use to make banana bread at our house.

                                             3 ripe bananas

                                             juice of one lemon (or 3 Tbsp lemon juice)

                                             1/2 cup oil

                                             1/2 cup brown sugar

                                             2 cups whole wheat flour

                                             1/2 tsp salt

                                             1/2 tsp baking soda

                                             1/2 tsp baking powder

                                             1 cup raisins (optional)

                                             1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Mash bananas and mix them with lemon juice. Add oil and sugar. Mix dry ingridients and combine them with banana mixture. Stir in raisins and nuts. Bake at 375 F for 40-45 minutes.

ASIA - My Story. Chapter 6 - Toilets

Toilets. One guy in our group is already loading up pictures on his blog. He encouraged us to throw in our pictures/observations to add to his blog (bold and naive, isn't he? like I would share my little orange book with him, my treasure, my modest intellectual property.) If I were nicer, I thought I could contribute an article entitled "My Asia Tour of the Bathrooms."

Indeed, I am without a doubt the most frequent user of those wonderful things. First place I give to Western style toilets in Japan. There are Japanese style toilets too and they are definetely worth the experience, but are not my favorite. They are the squat kinds which is getting a bit too challenging for me with my 5.5 month pregnant belly.

Western style toilets, besides being comfy and familiar, are also extremely cozy. The seat is warmed up (Scott didn't appreciate that, cause to him it's like someone has just been on that same toilet and he's feeling that person's warmth. I did not have that issue and enjoyed every heated seat I've been on.)  

In addition, these toilets have a number of options, like bidet, spray, and music (which is not music really but the sound of running water to help you concentrate and pee faster.)

Japanese style toilets are not comfy at all, BUT they exist alongside the hi-tech wonders, and, I guess, Japanese style kinds are still in demand. There are much fewer squat toilets in Korea but the Western ones look like plain old toilets. And frankly, I missed the options (not that I used them, but it was reassuring to know they are there.)

Labor of Love

Valentine's Day zoomed by but the love we glued into these homemade valentines still makes us happy. Interesting how making something with love does not become a chore even if nobody appreciates our efforts. Besides it was great fun to spent Sunday evening with Nadia making these, chatting about school friends and other things we love.

Cut out three paper hearts and glue them into a 3-d shape heart. Stick a lollipop in the middle. Done!

Making homemade valentines for Nadia's class has become a tradition. I don't think there was one Valentine's day without some handmade creations thanks to FamilyFun.com and other valuable soures. David though considers all things crafty too girly for his manly nature. And my ability is limited to cute things, so we like to purchase his Star Wars/Bionicle/Nerds inspired valentines.

Happy late Valentine! Let there be love every day of the year!   

Miene Lieblingsfreundin Viktoria

Two weeks ago my best friend Viktoria came for a short visit. It's so good to have her over, because she is the best ever. She is practically a sister to me. We first met  in 2000 during Scott's first assignment to Germany. And I tell you, it was love at first sight. We met on the street and walked right up to each other pushing our babies in strollers. It must've been that our faces read something like: "I am Russian, talk to me!" What started like a German 'halo' (just in case) and a polite smile grew into the friendship of all friendships. I have no clue how such different personalities, backgraounds, experiences, and beliefs could be united into a supportive, understanding, easygoing, and fun relationship. No matter time or distance between us we just pick up right where we stopped last time. And nothing is missing or changing between us. Not when we have new babies, not when Viktoria looses her husband to cancer, and not when we have lived on different continents for a number of years. Life has transformed us in many ways, yet, we still know each other in and out and love to be together.

The weather was gorgeous that weekend. It was hard to believe that we are in the middle of January. We hiked up the Wank Mountain. The lifts did not work that day, so we just had our feet and a walking stick to help keep balance. Especially with that baby on my back.  

Alexej, Nadia (they were the babies in the strollers when Vika and I first met), I, Jan and Viktoria are about to be amazed with the view behind our backs.

My baby was very cooperative snoozing most of the time on my shoulder. Scott with his baby and all kids' coats was our awesome navigator. We would be lost without him. 

David is taking care of the planet by fishing out an empty juice box out of the puddle. 

A short rest before our final effort to make it half way to the half way point (or 1/4 of the whole way to the top). Sitting and resting on tree stumps the kids saw a bunch of deer.

Nadia and the valley of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. On the left are the east mountains with numerous ski slopes and ski jumps; snow seems to stay there for a long time. The west mountains have lots of hiking trails and some sledding hills.

Scott and Levi are taking a break from a climb.

Enjoying the view, soaking up the sun.. . ,

feeling the wind

We are ready to descend now and head for home, where Viktoria would watch our kids for the night letting Scott and I to go out (which had not happened for a long while.) And then she and I would have some tea with yummies and watch a Russian movie. It does not get better than that.    

Disclaimer For Those Who Use Google Translate

It has been brought to my attention that if you read my blog using Google Translate you may have seen some off colored language. Trust me, the Russian is not translated that way. Google translate obviously has some issues with their translation program. I wish I had time to sue Google for lying and totally misinterpreting my writing, making me look like something I am not. For now, I'm just going to write in English more often. (Thanks Jodi, for letting me know.)

Школьные Дела

Hа прошлой неделе у детей закончилась вторая четверть. По этому случаю - родительские собрания, для чего вся пятница освобождается от учебы. Это просто праздник какой-то!

Учитель назначает нам время индивидуальной встречи по е-мейлу и я всегда предвкушаю эти 15 минут разговора, где моих детей обыкновенно хвалят, а я скромно улыбаясь, ссылаюсь на гены... Шучу, не ссылаюсь. Да и так все понятно. Наши дети просто ядерная смесь, как котлеты, которые получаются вкуснее, если смешать разные виды мяса.

Тот факт, что Надя в 4 классе читает книги за 9 класс уже настолько естествен, что меньшего я от нее не ожидаю. Она занимается по ускоренной программе TAG (Talented And Gifted = Талантливые и Одаренные.) А+ (5+) по всем предметам, кроме математики и английского (за которые стоит А или 5) это уже не отличие, а норма.

Понятное дело, что когда Давид в 1 классе читает на уровне всего лишь 3-его  классa меня немного огорчает. А об ошибках в словах и зверском почерке мне и так все известно. Несмотря на то, что Давида называют сообразительным и очень смышленым, Надя меня избаловала, я уже привыкла к хвалебным диферамбам. Давид мне напоминает о том, что надо иметь совесть и любить детей не за что-то, а за то, что они у меня просто есть. С ошибками и без.

Прочла в журнале TIME, что по мнению сторонников азиатского агрессивного воспитания, где детей заставляют пиликать на скрипке по три часа в день и воспитывают в строгости с малых лет, Америка катится в пропасть. Америка, со своей демократичностью в воспитании губит своих детей, а значит и свое будущее. Oни растут изнеженными, заевшимися и ленивыми.


Oдна надежда на китайских иммигрантов, среди которых много мам-тигриц. Oни учат детей стремиться к поставленной цели, запрещают им смотреть телевизор и играть в компьютер и не дают покоя даже в обеденное время гоняя их по таблице умножения. Какой-то внутренний голос мне подсказывает, что это - я. Эпизодически. Пока у Фани с Левой тихий час, или пока у меня не кончится терпение. Тогда я больше становлюсь похожа нa шипящую гусыню.

Давид со своей чувствительностью с большим трудом воспринимает педагогический прессинг в любом виде. А Надя, мне кажется, смогла бы выдержать натиск тигрицы и позволить слепить из себя вундеркинда. Но! Боюсь, в этой схватке, она бы растеряла некоторые свои нежные и оригинальные качества. К тому же вдобавок к домработнице придется еще платить репетиторам, чтобы всех догнать и перегнать, пока я кормлю и вытираю мордашки малышам.

И как бы то ни было я горжусь своими детьми и даже хвастаюсь немного. Но после того сколько времени, сил и любви вложено в мои создания, я думаю я имею на это право. (Это был голос моего земного, прагматичного и тщеславного "я." Моё духовное "я" молится каждый день о том, чтобы мои дети выросли хорошими и честными людьми. Все остальное приложится.)

Fear Not

We have recently become fans of John Bytheway. His talks on CD are a big hit for the whole family not only during our hour-long drives to Church but also on the way to the grocery store and other locations. In one of his talks he advises to stick a picture of the Savior next to the computer or television set so we can be reminded of veiwing only clean and worthy entertainment. Scott, being a Patriarch in our family was the first one to follow this advice by placing a picture of Christ on the screen of his iphone.

Sitting in PLTSE (language course) class this week, his iphone put on vibrate let him know that someone wanted to talk to him. Not being able to answer it during class, Scott took it out to block the call. And this is what his phone looked like when he did so:

The guy sitting next to Scott got a concerned look on his face and then: "Dude, did you just... did you... reject a call from JESUS?!"

Fear not, it was only I, his wife. I'll try again later, I guess.

Dream Car

First there was this cute family that made me feel so dang good about owning a van.

Then there is this adorable Darth Vader with his cool dad's car. But Passat is too small for us.

And then there is this beauty. Do you think anyone would be interested in making charitable contributions into the Thompson family account so we can bring home this authentic European souvenir, the SUV of all SUVs?