It´s soooooo cold

Winter has come to Denmark!

It has been soooo cold, both yesterday and today! It was only 1 degree´s this morning when I was biking to work. So the warm coats are out, along with the hats, scarves and gloves!

Last night I made warm irish stew - yummie, just what I needed on a cold night (along with the HP brown sauce , off course!) I made sooo much that there was some for tonights dinner, so I had no dinner to make, just bowls of stew to warm up in the microwave. (Now why dont I do that a bit more often, make enough food to last for 2 dinners?!)

Well it feels very strange - Kristian and I are having a wee taste of what the future holds for us. We are all alone tonight!! All the kids are out. Leah is at a birthday party, Andrew is over at his friends playing computer games and Sara is out with some of her class at a scary video evening! So we have a few hours of peace - that is until we have to play taxi driver and go get everyone, later!!

This is just a quick post. Kristian is racing for a while and I am updating this blog and then we are going to settle down on the sofa and watch a film. Before I go I just want to remind you all that it is....

CHAT NIGHT

tomorrow evening

1 November

at 8pm (English time.)

I unfortunately can´t make it tomorrow evening. SORRY! Kristian is playing at a concert in Copenhagen with his sister and her choir, so I am going in to hear them. I might be home around 10pm so I will check in whenever I get home and see if anyone has held out that late! For those of you who can chat, get together and enjoy yourselves. Hope you have a great evening!

I am going to seek help...

...I really think it is getting way out of control and so I have decided to seek professional help!

What am I talking about?!! Well, I nearly dont dare say it....."I went to see MAMMA MIA again last night!! This will be my 6th time. I went with my girls group from church.

We are a group of girls from church who every now and then meet together for a girls night. (though we missed you Rhona and Laura.) We usually hold it in one of our homes. We take turns and the deal is that we are not allowed to clean the house or stress out - take us as you find us attitude. One person makes a starter, someone makes a dessert, someone brings drinks, someone makes the main course and another the salad etc....and we have a cosy evening together. Great fun.

Well last night we decided to go out and eat for a change, then go see Mamma Mia, since none of them had seen it. (Mamma Mia came back to our wee local cinema for a few days) We went to eat in this wee cafe in our town. I have never tried the food there, but it was delicious and it was very reasonable. (I think I should write a book about the cafés and restaurants in our area - I love tryinig them out! haha)

We took so long over the meal and forgot the time that we had to literally run to the cinema. We got there just as the film was starting. The cinema was packed and we had to sit in the second row - not the best seats in the house! But it was ok. We all came out of the cinema feeling happy and young again!! It really is a feel good film (know you might not agree with that Rhoda!!)

So that is why I think I need professional help - I think I am a little addicted to it - dont you think?!

While I´m at it I have just one more confession here - I´m going to see it again middle of November. It comes to the cinema in the next town and it´s the SING-A-LONG version. Oh I can hardly wait!!

Any of you girls that can make it over here between 17th -21st November are most welcome - we could go see it together, Christmas shop in Copenhagen.....go for hot chocolate in my wee french cafe....anyone tempted??? haha

I tried the pastels

Last night I was in the mood to draw. I wanted to try out the new pastel colours that I got from Sharon. I was hooked. I haven´t used pastels before and it was really fun.

As I drew, Shadow jumped up and lay on the table and watched me for a long time. It was really cosy.

Here is the finished picture.

The colours haven´t really come out so well in the photo. I tried to take it with and without flash, but it still isnt the right colour. The real thing looks much better.

A cosy Sunday

We woke this morning to rain, rain and more rain. After church it was still raining and we were all in the mood to lock ourselves away and get cosy. So that´s what we did. After lunch Leah and I got things ready in the kitchen.

We melted two types of chocolate - white and milk. We opened a tin of mandarin oranges, we whipped some cream, and we got out the ice cream....we were all set!

And then we stuffed our faces, boy how we ate!! But we certainly had a cosy time. Then Kristian and I put on our DVD of the TV series Everybody Loves Raymond. How we love that show, it makes us laugh soooo much. It really shows the difference between women and men!!

So it has been a lovely relaxing Sunday. We are now all ready to face another busy week.

Saturday morning and my alarm went off at 7am! (Crazy, -I know!!) I was so confused when I woke. I thought I had to go to work and I really, really didnt want to. I was tired. Then I noticed the time and paniced - I should be at work for 7 - it was then I realised that it was Saturday!

So why wake up on a Saturday at 7am when you can sleep in. Well, I had promised Sara that I would drive her to the train station. She was going to Odense to meet Winnie and some others friends. (Its a 2½ hour train journey so she needed to be away early!) So I was being the good mummy and making sure she got away on time. (She comes home this evening just after 11pm.)

So when I came home from the train station I thought about going back to bed, but decided against it when I was greeted by our wee bundle of fur. She was all ready for a cuddle, so that´s what we did....

When Leah woke up Shadow wanted to cuddle with her too....

Leah was watching Disney channel and Shadow was cuddled up watching it with her.

I got ready and headed out into town with Andrew. He needed a new winter coat, he only has a summer one, and it is getting colder. So against his will I dragged him around the shops. (He would much rather have been at home resting his weary limbs!) But we found a coat in the second shop we went too, so we headed home again quite quickly.

I dropped him off home and then I headed out again - 1 hours shopping is not enough for me, especially on a Saturday. While I was gone, Kristian was cleaning the house, now that´s what I call good work distribution - I shop, he cleans!!

So today while shopping I bought the ingredients that I needed to bake this cake I have been raving on about. After dinner I started. I got everything organised and I was feeling good, feeling positive. I was actually feeling like my mum! She loved to bake and spent many an evening baking in the kitchen. So I got started.....

....it seemed to be going well. That is until I took it out of the oven and saw the size of it! The receipe said that I should cut the cake in two, but I couldnt cut this one in two! It should have been double the size it was. (I seem to have a problem with getting cakes to rise!) So discouraged, I packed everything away and gave up!

I am now going off to paint and draw. Now that´s something that I DO enjoy doing!

(Leah and Shadow watching Hanna Montana! Cute eh?!)

I felt like Cinderella

19 years ago today, we got engaged - Aahhhhhh!! I am sure many people thought that we were totally and utterly mad getting engaged!!


You see, for those of you that dont know, Kristian lived in Denmark and I lived in Northern Ireland. We met at a conference in England. I fell for his smile, and the fact that he just seemed like a really nice guy. Off course my crazy friend Rhoda (and a pile of other crazy irish people) started keeping me going about him, and as if that wasnt bad enough they teased Kristian about me (and they didnt even know him!)They were forever trying to get us together, and because of that I was forever staying out of Kristians way!


On the last evening, my crazy friend Rhoda (yes - its the Rhoda that also blogs!) went to Kristian and gave him my address.(without me knowing!!) She told him to write to me, then come to Ireland and fall in love with me and marry me. (You have a lot to answer for Rhoda!!)


So when he got home from the conference he wrote me a letter. I was soooo surprised to get a letter from him. He confessed that he really wanted to talk to me at the conference, but didnt dare. So we started to write letters.

Kristian was better at speaking english than writing it, so he suggested we make tapes to each other (yeah, it was the good old days - we used tapes!). So we did. Through the tapes we started to get to know each other and I was starting to fall in love. ("Lucky" for me - he was feeling the same!) After 3½ months of making tapes Kristian invited me to Denmark. We just had to meet face to face. Looking back I cant believe I went. I was soooo nervous getting off that plane to meet him.



Well, we hit it off. He was soooo easy to talk to and we had the same sense of humour. It felt like I had known him forever. (Things were good!)



I had also been praying about all of this (cause the situation looked impossible - he lived in Denmark after all!) but God had shown me through different Bible verses that Kristian was the one for me.



24 hours after arriving in Denmark Kristian asked me to marry him. I said yes!! - then we thought, " this is crazy, maybe we should wait and really think about it!" We needed to be sure it really was what we both wanted. So we waited - 3 days!!!!! haha


Monday 23rd October Kristian went over to the CEF office to sleep. (I was staying in his wee house across the road.) What I didnt know was that when he got to the office he rang his cousin Jacob and had a chat.


Jacob had, at one time, worked in a jewellery shop and so he had some rings in a bank box. One of those rings Kristian really liked. He had always said if he married an english/american girl he would give her this ring. (In Denmark you dont give diamond rings for engagements. You buy a wedding ring and wear it on your left hand and then change it over to the right hand when you get married.) So Kristian rang Jacob to see if he could collect the ring from the bank box, so he could give it to me. Jacob had already been to the box that day and got the ring out! He had had a feeling that something like this would happen! (Wow) Then they prayed that as an extra confirmation that Kristian was doing the right thing, that the ring would fit me perfectly! If it didnt Kristian would wait and not marry me.


Tuesday 24th October Jacob came to dinner. I had been out shopping and when I got back to the office the boys were acting funny. Kristian said we should go over to his wee house and Jacob would come later. There he gave me the ring. I loved it and was babbling away a mile a minute about it fitting or not fitting and that if it didnt fit we could get it made to fit. Kristian was very quiet. I then tried it on and said "It fits perfectly! you´d think it had been made for me!" (I knew nothing about the prayer!)


At this Jacob came in. Kristian just said "It fits" and then the two of them went wild!! Jacob did handstands across the floor (hilarious!) Kristian and him were hopping around like two mad men!! Finally they let me in on the secret!


So that night I really did feel like Cinderella, only it wasnt the shoe that had to fit but the ring. Wonder what I would be doing now if the ring hadnt fitted and we didnt get married. (Now there´s an interesting thought?!)



Tonight we celebrated our engagement with the most delicious meal. We didnt want to go out to a restaurant, so we fed the kids first and then they disappeared to their rooms and Kristian and I had a lovely 3 course meal by candlelight.

A receipe for all you Bakers

So do you remember the cake I told you about, the one I tried at the christening and was totally wild about. Well I got the receipe. I haven´t tried to bake it yet myself. Remember baking stresses me, it doesnt relax me - so I need to work up to it. (I might bake it at the weekend, but then again I might not!!) Anyway, I wanted to share it with you people that love to bake. So here it is:

Mascarpone Cake

Cake:

90 grm sugar
3 eggs
60 grm flour
30 grm Potatoe flour
½ tea spoon baking powder
25 grm butter

Mascarpone cream:

1 pasteruised egg white
100 grm sugar
3 pasteruised egg yokes
grated skin of 1 lemon
corn of 1 vanilla pod
½ dl (50ml) lemon juice
2 sheets of soaked gelatine
250 grm mascarpone
1½ dl (150ml) whipping cream

Decoration

Icing sugar
Mint

1. Put a baking sheet in the bottom of a 22cm springform. Butter the bottom of the form well, and sprinkle with a little sugar. Whip the egg and sugar together until light and fluffy (soyou can form a figure 8 in it.) Melt the butter, (without it losing its colour), let it cool to lukewarm.

2. Sieve the flour and baking powder together and fold it and the melted butter, quickly and lightly into the mixture. Spread the mixture into the springform. Bake on the bottom rack, in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees for about 30 minutes, until it is golden, risen and baked thoroughly.

3. Loose slightly the bottom of the spring form. Let the cake cool completely and then divide it in two. Put the one cake bottom back into the cleaned up springform. Then whisk the pasteruised egg white until a little stiff, add 1/5 sugar and whisk until completely stiff. Set to the side.

4. In a new bowl whisk the pasteruised egg yokes with the rest of the sugar, until light and fluffy. Stir in the lemon rind and vanilla corn. Warm up the lemon juice in a small pot. Take of the heat and stir in the "dripped off" gelatine. Let it cool off a little and pour it (pouring should be with a thin "line" if you know what I mean, cant think of the proper english word! haha) into the egg yoke mixture, whisking constantly as you pour.

5. Fold the eggyoke mixture and the mascarpone together. Whisk the whipping cream to a foam and fold that and the whipped egg white together to a light cream, add to the mixture.

6. Spread the cream over the cake bottom. Put the other cake piece on top and let the cake rest in the fridge for a least 6 hours till the cream sets. Loosen the cake from the springform and put it on a serving dish.

7. Decorate with sieved icing sugar and a few mint leafs.

Let me know if you try this and if you thought it was good. Happy Baking!!!

Watch out - Anne´s about!!

When Anne is around crazy things happen!

Anne and I decided to go on a girls night out this evening but weren´t quite sure what to do. We didnt really want to go and see a film, cause then we cant talk! Anyway there wasn´t any films we wanted to see.

We finally came up with a plan. We would go to dinner and then head into Ikea!!!!

So at 5.30pm we headed out leaving both our husbands at home to make dinner for the family. We went to this restaurant not too far from us. It is such a cosy place and very cheap. We had a 3 course meal for about £13 (including a Ginger Ale - now that´s not bad!!) The food was great and we had a blast chatting and laughing.

After a few hours there we headed into Ikea to have a quick look around. We had a few laughs in there too...

We came to this area in Ikea, were there were shelves with loads of shoes on them. (It really looked like a shoe shop!) Well I thought Ikea had now gotten a shoe department, but off course, Anne explained it was just for decoration.

Well, I then got this crazy idea that I should go over to one of the people that work in Ikea, take one of the shoes with me and ask if they had it in a size 40. (They say little amuses the innocent, so Anne and I must be very innocent!! ) This set us off on a laughing fit! Every time I tried to go over and talk to the sales girl, we would double over with laughter. In the end I gave up. It would only really be funny if I could keep my face straight and ask the question really seriously and I just couldnt!!! Ah well, maybe I can practise so that next time I am in I can actually go through with it.

I bought myself a cake tin tonight!! (springform!) Girls, you are really getting to me with all this baking, I would NEVER normally buy such things!! But I am going to give this new cake receipe a go, then I can post it for all you baking experts to try!

We came home from Ikea on a high. Anne had a quick cup of tea before heading home to her wee family.

Now I am about to head into bed - it´s been a busy, long day. But a very enjoyable one!!

Welcome to the real world Andrew

Andrew started work experience today as a brick layer!! The poor fella had to be up at 6 am and he left the house at 6.30am to bike to his work place. He had a hard day!!

Now Andrew doesnt have too many big muscles, in fact he is what you might call - a whimp! The only muscles that get exercised are the ones in his fingers when he is playing his computer. Well that all changed today!

His first assignment was to fill a big basin with stones, rocks and bricks and carry it back and forward. He did this for 2 hours!!! Now this nearly killed his arms!


Then he was told to break down a wall. He got a hammer and chisel. Then the man he was working with came and give him some sort of BIG tool and told him to use that to break the wall down with instead. Then he left him to go and get some other materials. So Andrew is all alone in this luxurious house, with a very heavy machine that he didnt have a clue how to use. Thank goodness for mobiles.


Kristian got a call from Andrew. "Dad how do you use this piece of machine?" He quickly explained what the machine was like and what he was supposed to do with it.. Kristian told him how it worked and what to do. Thank goodness he did the right thing, the house was still standing when he left.


When he came back the man then told him they were going back to "base" again. It was about 1.30pm. Andrew thought he must be finsihed for the day, after all he started work at 7.00am! Nope - he got that wrong, they were just going back to fill up the van and head out to another house.


Finally at 3.30pm he was allowed to bike home. We have a very, very tired boy, with very sore arms, at home this evening, but what a laugh we had at the dinner table as he told us all about his day. He thinks he has the hardest job on earth!! Welcome to the real world Andrew!!

As for me, I have a had a good first day back at work after the autumn break. The day actually went by really fast. Nice to see all my colleagues again.

When I came home this afternoon my good friend Rhona came by. It was soooo great to see her again!! It´s been a while since we hung out. It felt like old times. (When our kids were small we were together all the time. We did kids club, sunday school, and teen club together so we were always together planning and organising.) It was just soooo nice to sit and chat with her today and to eat some of her lovely cake. I supplied the tea and she supplied the most delicious cake. (Girls, I am getting the receipe, so I´ll post it sometime!!) Thanks Rhona for dropping by. It made my day!!

A Wonderful Sunday

It has really been a wonderful Sunday. The weather was absolutely brilliant - blue skies and sunshine. We went to church this morning and it was a wonderful service, especially the worship and prayer time. (very special!)

We came home and had some lunch before driving Leah over to the local riding school to visit some horses she is very fond off. Kristian and I then headed out for a walk around the area. It was just too good to stay indoors all afternoon.

When we came home I decided that I would play a little piano and then got this crazy idea that I would video some of my songs for you people to hear (oh you poor folks!!)

Well I was talking to my friend Charlene about it the other week and promised that some day I would get around to putting some of my songs on. So here is the moment.....

I really cant sing - honestly!! (I am all out of breath! - getting older, dont have the same puff that I had in my younger day! haha) Well, just listen to the words. I hope that they will bless your heart in some way.

Here are the words: There´s no-one like you Lord - Who can satisfy the longing in my soul - Only you God, can cleanse and make me whole - There´s no one like you Lord - You are loving kind and good in all your ways - And your mercy flows down to me this day - There´s nothing that´s impossible for you oh Lord to do - So to you now I give my life - Only to serve you - There´s no one like you Lord - Who can give me peace and joy along the road - Help in times of need with my heavy load - There´s no one like you Lord - Who can satisfy the longing in my soul - Only you God - Only you can satisfy my soul.

We have finally decided on a name for the kitten. Are you ready? It´s Shadow. After getting to know her for a week we think the name suits her. Everytime we´ve been cleaning or tidying up she has followed us all around just like a wee shadow. Andrew came up with the name and it was one we all liked. So Shadow it is.

We have all really fallen in love with this wee kitten. She has such a nice nature, (so far) and we have sooo much fun playing with her. The best thing is when she jumps up for a cuddle - she literally goes dead on your knee, except for the purring....ah it really does your heart good.

Now the holidays are over so it´s back to that time again - yes, I have to go make lunches again!! YUK!!!

Just the 5 off us again

Sharon, Jeffrey, Gwyneth and Campbell have gone.

They left this afternoon after a morning out in town. They went to see one of the castles and had a walk around the grounds. The ladies wanted to then go shopping, but it was a little hard to get the men folk away from some of the statues!! (my husband included!!) haha

Finally they got to the shops.

Meanwhile I was at home making some lunch for them all. We had a lovely meal together before Kristian took them back to the airport. It was really great having them here!! I enjoyed every minute of it (it´s great being together with people that you really click with.) Thanks you guys for a really good couple of days.

Friends from Ireland

So our friends Jeffrey and Sharon, Gwyneth and Campbell arrived Thursday afternoon from Ireland. It is soooo great to have them here. It was Jeffreys birthday in September and one of his presents was a trip to Denmark.

After picking them up at the airport we headed home to some real Danish pastry and a wee cup of tea. We waited for Kristian to get home from work and then we headed out for a Chinese. We had a brilliant night, chatting and laughing and just catching up on things.


I was soooo happy that I didnt have to cook dinner!!

Campbell was also happy that he didnt have to eat something that I had cooked!! haha

Then he got confused - there was just too much to choose from!

And when the food finally came - he didnt look too happy!! haha

Actually the food was delicious and we ate too much, as usual!!

Today the two couples headed into Copenhagen. Jeffrey has been to visit us about 15 times (honestly!) so he could actually get a job as a tour guide over here! haha He knows the area pretty well, so after sorting out their train tickets and getting them on the right train, I left them to it.

They spent the day in Copenhagen seeing the sights. Kristian was able to pick them up this evening and bring them home, as he was in Copenhagen. He was meeting up with some old colleagues.

When they came home it was time to put the feet up and hear all about their day.

As I said, Jeffrey had a birthday in September. So today I made a cake and we had a wee birthday party for him...

...And you cant have a birthday party without presents.

Now everyone is tucked up in bed. I think they are all exhausted. Tomorrow we will go for a tour of the queens summer castle. Then a quick lunch before driving back to the airport. It has been a short visit, but a good one. I hope they have enjoyed themselves - we have enjoyed having them!

We should have got it on video...

Wish we had turned on the video camera while we were eating dinner tonight.

Sara and Winnie arrived back from the summer house. We were all sitting eating dinner and having a really good chat when suddenly I screamed "AHHHH" and shocked everyone. What happened? Well, the cat had gone under the table without us noticing. It had jumped up unto my lap from under the table and scared the life out of me (well, its claws scared me!). I screamed which in turn scared the cat. The cat then jumped from my lap unto Kristians. (this is all happening under the table - so no one else really knows what is going on!) This in turn scared the wits out of him, (again it was the claws.) He was about to take a drink of coke but instead jumped and flung the coke all over me. This all happened within seconds of each other. Hahahaha

The best thing was the kids faces. They didnt know what was happening. They just sat there in stunned silence with mouths open for a few seconds before we all laughed soooo much that we were crying. It was really hilarious! Now that was one moment we really should have had on film!

Beating heart and shaking legs

...well that´s what I had most of yesterday. Leah and I went to an amusement park called Bonbonland. My heart was beating very fast, and my legs were shaking after some of the rides I had been on.

We have gone to this amusement park every year since the kids were small. (Sara was 5 and Andrew 3 when we started going.) It is a fantastic place for young and older kids. They have a good mixture of wild rides and rides for really young kids. Every September we, as a family packed a picnic basket and headed off there. This was the highlight of the year.. However this year we didnt do it - too much on, and the kids getting older....etc.

However Leah had got a free ticket and it had to be used before 19th October so we decided that we would go - just the two of us and have a girls day out. (Sara was at a summer house with friends and Andrew was also out with his friends - my kids are growing up!!)

So Leah and I were up early. It´s takes about 1½ hours to get to this place and we wanted to be there for opening. First we drove Kristian to work as we passed it on the way. Then we headed on for our fun day out.

Kristians work.

We arrived 5 minutes before opening, and for the first hour we were able to try lots of rides without standing in a queue.

I must admit - I am getting old!! I am not as adventurous as I was in my young day. I use to love wild rides. Now - well, any wild rides I did go on, and I did try some, I came off a wreck!! Literally my heart was in my mouth and my legs were shaking. Took me a while to recover. My wild daughter however took it all in her stride. She thought I was such a weakling getting so scared!!

After a morning of trying different rides we had something to eat. I didnt pack a picnic. I thought we could buy something since we were just two. The food was nothing to shout about and we actually missed my picinic! (I always made a big thing out of our picnics there, so we always had a delicious picnic with us!)

After lunch there was a sea lion show. Now that was fun! Amazing what they can get those seals to do.

Then time to try some more rides.

Finally we had had enough off rides. We decided we would head out and visit the huge shopping centre they had in the next town. We had a blast walking around looking in all the shops. (Now this was more my cup of tea!)

Finally it was time to head home. We stopped by Kristians work to pick him up again. This time we got to go inside and meet his colleagues and see around the place. What a huge building!!

Home for dinner and a cuddle with our wee kitten. We spent the evening watching a film that was on TV.

It´s been a really good day but also a really nostaglic day. As Leah and I went around we were remembering different things that had happened there on our family trips. Things Andrew had done, things Sara had said, things that had happened to her, rides she had been on with Kristian.We had a laugh as we remembered and then I realised that those days are gone. My two big kids are growing up, and Leah is on her way too. We will probably never go there again as a family (maybe with the grandkids!!) The two big ones go to places like that with their friends. Didnt I also do that when I was 15, and 17? I went to Funderland with my friends, not with my mum and dad. It´s sad...but hey, I have got soooo many great memories.

When the kids were small we sometimes didnt have the money to actually go to this amusement park. (It cost about £15 to get in but then everything was free. We always went in September because 5 could get in for the price of 4.) So I would juggle around with the food money and save here and there and somehow we always managed to scrape through. I always had a saying "Lets make memories" and so we would scrape and do without somethings so we could make memories at Bonbonland. I am now soooo glad we did.

What I am trying to say is, make memories!! Time goes by sooo fast. I am forever saying to Krsitian "Hey lets go make some memories!" Make memories with each other and with your kids. Time is precious, dont waste it, make memories that you can cherish for the rest of your life.

Wow - didnt I get serious there!! haha

Now I need to go and get this house cleaned. Tomorrow our house will be changed into The Rasmussen Hotel!! We have 4 friends coming to stay from Norn Iron. Am soooo looking forward to seeing them. So my day today will be spent cleaning up, washing bedclothes and getting the house into shape. (and in between all that there will be time for a cuddle with Pepsi!)

Kristian killed the cat...

(sleeping on our bed)

...or at least that´s what we thought. Here´s what happened...

We got up this morning after a nice lie in. (We didnt have church as we are having an evening service.) Well the wee kitten was full of life and we were having sooo much fun with it. We then decided we should get the house tidied up as we are having guests for dinner. Kristian decided he would change our bed and throw the sheets into the washing machine while I tidied up the living room and kitchen.

The wee kitten was following Kristian around everywhere he went. We all went about our work when Andrew asked " Where´s the kitten?" We didnt know, so went looking for it. We looked in all our rooms, under everyones bed, behind the sofa, in the bathroom....we could not find it anywhere.

Then I had this terrible thought. What if the cat had climbed into the washing machine without Kristian noticing and he had just put the sheets and duvet covers on top of it. (off course it would be me to have this thought -I am a bit of a drama queen!) I said what I thought and Kristian literally changed colour. We all ran out to the washing machine and stood looking at it. (The kitten had been playing around in our sheets and duvet, Kristian remembered that. He then had left it and went to get Leahs duvet cover to throw into the machine with ours. Could it have climbed into the machine while Kristian was gone, after all the washing machine door had been open.)

We didnt dare look....we quickly got the washing machine stopped...Kristian opened the door and we were dreading what we would find. Leah was crying her eyes out...Andrew was being brave, I was in a panic and Kristian was about to faint!! He carefully pulled all the sheets out. Whew!!!! there was nothing there! What a relief. I even started to cry a bit!! After a big hug all around we discovered where the cat was hiding.....as we turned around from the washing machine and looked into the kitchen, there on our diningroom chairs she was lying looking at us all. We just couldnt see her because of the table and the tableclothe......Honestly what a morning!!!

We have laughed soooo much about it now, but at the time our hearts were in our throat. I have never seen Kristian look sooooo distrubed in all my life. I think he now needs couselling after his trauma. He really thought he had killed the cat!!!!

Excitement in the Rasmussen household

So our theme week at school is finished. We had such a good week. The weather was fanastic, which was great as a lot of the activities took place outside. We had a little taste of what it was like to live in the middle ages. I think the kids will remember this week for a long time.

Now it´s holiday! We have one week off (well the kids and me do, Kristian has to work) and you know what that means.....NO MORE LUNCH PACKS for 1 whole week!!

There has been some excitement in the household this week. On Thursday Sara´s friend Winnie was coming over to visit her brother and she had a belated birthday present for Sara.....a kitten!! (Winnies cat had kittens in July.) She was arriving late Thursday evening and we were to pick the kitten up in Copenhagen. So it being a last minute thing Leah and I had to drive into the pet shop and pick up a few supplies first. (What have we said yes too???)

At first we thought we were getting a boy (that´s what Sara said!) so we picked out the name Toby. Then yesterday we thought we better have a look and see if it really is a boy. We have now discovered it is a girl.....so we are now trying to find a new name. Any suggestions?? We sort of like Pepsi, or Bella, Sally or Emily. At the minute the favourite is Pepsi.


She is just soooo cute. So friendly, a little naughty, likes a cuddle and she really loves Leah. She is always hopping up to her and following her around. We have all fallen in love with this wee bundle of fur.

New teeth for Anne

My crazy friend Anne came by this evening. The door bell rang and when I opened it there was Anne standing with a huge smile, showing off a "new" set of teeth. How funny she looked. How we laughed - so we just had to get a picture of the new Anne!!

What is she like!!! She is just soooo crazy and so much fun to be with! We just sat and talked, laughed, drank hot chocolate and tea and ate wee buns! (It was your receipe Pauline and they tasted even better tonight - I ate 5!! I am now not in the mood for wee buns for a loooong time!!! ) Thanks for a fun night Anne.

Sara came home from work. She works in a really exspensive shoe shop after school on a Tuesday and Thursday. Well today she had bought new boots from there. She had got 50% off them. Even with the discount they cost her £80!!!! Now that´s what I call mad!! (Now spending £80 on books would be a hold other matter - it would be money well spent if you asked me!) Funny how we are all different! Anyway, she bought them with money that she had gotten from friends and family on her birthday.

She wasn´t sure if she had gotten a size too small, so she was wearing them for ½ hour, around the house, to see how they felt. Whenever she had to get them off it became a major job! It took 3 off us to hold her, pull her, and tug at her before the boots finally came off!! (But how much fun we had doing all that!) Sara, I think you need to take them back on Thursday and get the next size up! :-)

Back in time...

Today at work, we went back in time. Our school disappeared and instead there was a medieval community, complete with Nuns, Monks, Beggars, Bakers, Blacksmiths, Jesters, and even a King!

Our school is doing a theme this week about the Middle Ages. Everyone was to come in fancy dress and we had to greet each other with the words - "Gods Peace".

The kids were really into it. There were many different workshops set up around the school. The kids were in different groups and they worked to earn money so they could buy soup or bread. We had beggers, begging for shillings or for food, and our school inspector dressed up as a King. Every time he was annouced or came by we had to bow down.

It was all really well thought out. On the way home on the train I met alot of kids. I was asking them about their day and what they had been up too. All of them really enjoyed their workshop. I think the most fun part for them was making money. All of them told me about how much money they had made and how much they are saving for market day on Thursday. Hilarious.

I was also dressed up, along with my boss Peter (below - what are we like?!!! haha).

I am looking forward to the next few days as I get to drop some of the cleaning and instead, get to spend a few hours helping in one of the groups. Should be fun! (There are some really good, fun things planned!)

Andy "cooks" his first meal

Tonight we all had plans, (that is Sara, Leah, Kristian and me,) so there was no time to make food for Andrew.(Poor boy) I did offer to buy a pizza for him but he decided that he wanted to make his own food. So out came the frying pan (we got a quick picture on the way out the door). After a few instructions from me, he had a great time frying up bits of potatoes, onion, bacon, and ham - something the Danes call " Bikse food". You eat it with dark bread, a fried egg and some beetroot. It actually tastes really good. (All this food came in a frozen bag, so it only had to be warmed, but to him it felt like cooking!)

So he quickly pushed us all out the door so he could make his food. (I off course was on the phone ½ an hour later to make sure he had turned off the cooker and that the house hadnt burnt down!) All was well.

When we came home later in the evening he told us how cosy it had been.

He had just finished "cooking" when two of his friends knocked the door. He invited them in and shared the food with them - needless to say they were very impressed that he was making his own food.

The three of them decided to head into town as the shops were open until 10pm. So while Andrew got ready he turned on the computers and made sure his friends were entertained with different computer games.

It was really funny hearing him tell us all this, cause he said, and I quote " I was just imagining that I was living in my own wee house in the south of Denmark and I was a bin man (very important detail)- I made sure my friends had what they needed and it was just sooooo great, like having your own place! " (Him and his dream off being a bin man.)

Anyway his trip to town was cut short as he got the runs!! haha - so much for his cooking!!

Actually he ate some fast food up in town (since he had to share half his food with his friends, he was hungry) - he thinks it might have been that......

He´s ok now - he´s had such a good evening. He enjoyed having some time to himself. How we all need that from time to time!!

Chat Night

Just a little reminder that tomorrow,

4th October

is

Live Chat Night

Log on by pressing the "chat with me" button on the left hand side,

at 8pm

(english time)

Enjoy a bit of fun and fellowship.

(If you cant make it for 8pm check us out later in the evening - we always chat to really late!! Although this time I am logging off at 11pm latest!!REALLY I AM!!)

See you then.