Valentina's music performance

My daughter had her music performance yesterday. She sang the R'n"B classic "Sitting on the dock of the bay", as well as played the instrumental version of "Hoppipolla" by the Icelandic band Sigur Ros. Sound quality could be better, but I filmed this with my iPhone.


"Sitting on the dock of the bay" by Otis Redding


"Hoppipola" by Sigur Ros

Something my daughter drew

Here is a drawing my daughter made. I am so proud of her, because I think she is an amazing artist. I love this visual story she created. This is my favorite kind of art, that sparks my imagination and makes me wonder: What is going on with the two towers in the background? Is the girl wondering which one is hiding a treasure of gems? Or are they both hints in a puzzle that tells us where the girl is from? And isn't her bunny absolutely adorable? Is he real or a stuffed toy? What do you think? Do we really need to know the answers to enjoy the drawing? I don't think so. It is exactly this sense of wondering and the excitement and inspiration it creates that makes it so worth while.

Birthday and Graduation

My daughter turned 14 this month. Every birthday we decorate her place setting at the table and place the presents next to it. When she comes down for breakfast, she gets to unwrap her presents.





This year she also graduated from middle school. Here she is framed by two of her friends. Don't these girls seem to have similar eyes?


They also had a graduation dance at the middle school. I loved seeing the kids all dressed up for this occasion.

My dad

I took this portrait of my dad in Langkawi as a memory for me of the important time we spent together. I love the Panama hat he is wearing. It is such a classic. I also like the birds on his shirt.

Blitz visit to Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur continued

Here are some things that sparked my curiosity or interest in Kuala Lumpur


I have driven past this building coming from the airport and was fascinated by its sign: Nirvana.
Later on I found out that this building is owned by the largest bereavement care company in south east asia. It's basically a funeral parlour.

This is funny - the Malay people didn't miss a beat and changed the portrait on the 100 $ bill according to our new president


Ready to drink bird's nest seem to be a speciality here. I feel I need more information before trying it. My questions are:
a. is it really a birds nest? b. From what kind of bird? c. how are they harvested and produced? are people rooming the forest and stumble across them or is there a bird's nest farm? why should one eat it?
Well, I got some answers on the internet:

"Why do I need BRAND'S^® Bird's Nest Drink?

To prepare bird's nest drink at home, one is required to spend hours pre-soaking and cleaning the bird's nest, then double-boil the bird's nest with rock sugar. To preserve the precious active amino acids and anti-oxidant which can be easily destroyed by excessive heat, one must exercise great care in temperature control during the cooking process.

That is also why millions of people turned to BRAND'S^® Bird's Nest Drink. BRAND'S^® Bird's Nest Drink uses only top quality White Nest from Southeast Asia. And using modern technology, BRAND'S^® Bird's Nest Drink is prepared in a tightly-controlled environment, preserving all the goodness of the bird's nest. And, you can drink it anywhere, any time.

Disclaimer : Bird's Nest is known to cause allergy in some people, especially young children. For first time user, take a small sip and wait for 24 hours."

"Authentic bird's nest soup is made using the nests of the swiftlet, a tiny bird found throughout southeast Asia. The swiftlet lives in dark caves, using a method of echolocation similar to the bat to get around. Instead of twigs and straw, the swiftlet makes its nest from strands of its own gummy saliva, which hardens when exposed to air. Humans who harvest the swiftlet nests often come from families that have made their living this way for generations. Prying the nests from the cave walls is extremely dangerous, and many harvesters die each year.

Once the nests are harvested, they are cleaned and sold to restaurants, where they are served simmered in chicken broth. While I have never tried authentic bird's nest soup, apparently it is an acquired taste - many westerners think it tastes quite rubbery the first time they try it. However it is quite popular throughout Asia, perhaps because it has the reputation of being an aphrodisiac. It is also costly; many western restaurants serve a less expensive version consisting of soup with noodles shaped to resemble a bird's nest."

After reading these two accounts I am wondering now, if I should try it....

In our hotel room is a strange arrow on the ceiling. Here is why:
In all hotel rooms in Malaysia, it is a requirement to have a directional sign for the kiblat (or qibla)... Qibla is an Arabic word for the direction that should be faced when a Muslim prays... The qibla is oriented towards the Kaaba in Mecca and while praying, Muslims will face the direction of Mecca...

The qibla directional sign in hotel rooms is for the convenience of Muslim guests who will then have no problems in performing their daily prayers... The qibla directional sign is normally located on the ceiling or in one of the drawers of the hotel room...

Blitz visit to Malaysia - Part 1 - Kuala Lumpur

A Chinese lantern glows at the entrance of the hotel in Mid Valley, Kuala Lumpur, home to a giant multiplex mall and highrise apartment buildings



The statuesque Petronas Twin Towers at night. They were the tallest buildings in the world 1,480ft tall - 88 floors -from April 1996 to October 2003, until they build in Taipei an even taller building.

Here I am in front of the twin towers and the Malaysian flag. In the groundfloors of the towers is a giant luxury shopping mall, which I inspected. No deals to be had though, unfortunately.



Twin Towers by day. The cross section form of the building is patterend after traditional islamic motif, that forms an eight pointed star. Eight is a lucky number for the Chinese and stands also for prosperity. The towers are of course owned by the most important corporation in Malaysia Petronas, which is the national petroleum company here.



More skyline out of the hotel window


Some old buildings

and graffiti.

Flying my kite at Point Reyes

My darling husband
Ronny came along
with my favorite dog

Gizmo enjoys the beach

Christmas Dinner

We are a happy family

The Dinner table on Christmas
Lovely Nana Beate, Valentina and Christine

Belated I am posting pictures from our wonderful Christmas dinner, which was attended by my wonderful mom Beate, my Papa Paolo and our friends Christine and Chris. I cooked a German Sauerbraten , Semmelknoedel (German Dumplings) and Rotkraut (German Sweet-Sour Red Cabbage) and a Lentil Pate (for Chris, who is vegan). Now Sauerbraten is something else: A 5 pound eye round roast gets marinated in red wine, red wine vinegar, sugar, cloves, mustard seed, crushed Juniper berries, garlic, bay leaves, parsley and lemon for 8 days!!! Every day I turned the meat in the marinade. By the end of the 8 days the meat turned really dark. The marinate is cooked with the meat in a clay pot for 3 hours and what emerges is a black, very flavorful kinda sweet and sour gravy, that is absolutely delicious over the dumplings. After wine and dessert we sat in the living room listening to old western/cowboy and obscur 1920's songs and sang along. Blissfully silly and relaxing!

Lovely Shiba Inus

From the first time I saw a Shiba Inu dog on the street I fell in love with this breed. They are like little foxes and act rather like cats, all aloof and distant. So when we moved into our house 8 years ago, we also bought a little Shiba pup. Gizmo turned 8 this October and we enjoy his company so much. He has such a sweet face and mellow disposition. My friend Esther calls him the Steiff dog (as in Steiff, the German company that produces for over 100years beutiful soft toys). When Gizmo was a little pup he looked like a teddy bear. Yesterday I came across the most adorable site: a live shiba puppy cam! We've been watching the little Shibas all day long -
it's better than tv! Click on the image underneath and click the reload button after a while or go directly to their web cam site

Halloween at our house

Every Halloween I look forward to my daughter's ideas for her costume. Naturally I loved her idea this year to go as Holly Golighty from Breakfast at Tiffany's. It's one of her favorite movies and she adores Audrey Hepburn. I was very sleepy, when I had to get up really early to tease her hair into a beehive.






These are some Halloween set ups around our home.

A Most Memorable Halloween Party

Our good friend, the talented Mr. Lucky was so kind to take us along to an extraordinary Halloween party. The party was held in a mansion and the decor was absolutely over the top. I was told that all the Halloween decoration will be gone the next day, but as you can see from the photos there was enough none Halloween related items that would stay. I have never seen more stuffed animals, dolls and taxidermy in one location, except at a store. It was an awe inspiring scenario, but also made me reflect critically on my own collectors bug. Obviously the designer's tenet of "less is more" wasn't followed in this mansion.

Mr. Lucky and the skull covered piano bar, where he later sang and entertained the guests.

Cool taxidermy!
More is more!
The surreal set ups often rivaled modern art installations.


Mr. Lucky, Abe and Ivory. In front Scott

I came as a dead girl, freshly bitten by a vampire, but not yet one myself.


This scene reminds me of the movie Blade Runner, when Daryl Hannah pretends to be a doll in the inventors apartment. David also looks like he is part of the decor and blends in perfectly!



Yes, it is a real moose!

Love Pee Wee Dolls!

Dead girls have fun with tigers.

Many babies are climbing up a giraffe: unsettling!

Scott is enjoying the company of the fabulous Allison Lovejoy and her friends. Allison performed some songs from her musical "The seven deadly pleasures"

My darling husband