coconut and chocolate

before 21 years we came back home with a new born baby - m.
it was in tel aviv. we were new in tel aviv. new migrants from jerusalem.
as soon as we came home, there was a knock on the door and the neighbor from upstairs brought me a nice piece of cake.
a coconut and chocolate cake. still warm and fresh.

was more or less the best thing i ate in days, and more or less - the best cake ever!
soon it turned to be my favorite cake and the recipe is quite hard to read because of the stains of butter and egg on it.

only after 21 year, as i was wondering what cake should i back for m.'s birthday,
i realized that actually, with me together, before 21 years,
while nursing, this cake became also the favorite of baby m....
both we love this combination of coconut and chocolate.

***

while looking for a name for our beloved cat, we all agreed that cocus is the right name.
she lived with us happily for about 3 years.

she died last year in a car accident and it was the point where i decided - no more cats!
the other option, the dog option i canceled immediately. a dog, i knew, is another child at home, and for that i wasn't ready yet.
time past, and it didn't take long till i found myself staring on dogs as if they are human babies...
another month or two and i said: ok, let's consider the possibility.
"to consider..." with n. is usually excepted as: let's go right now to take a dog!
and that's how choco came into our life -

and what does this story to do with m. and the cake and her birthday?

well, first of all she is brown like chocolate and that's the reason for her name.
so after cocus, she is the chocolate, in this tasty combination.
second, after a few days we realized that she also likes the coconut-chocolate cake...

and what about the birthday cake?
m. herself took better care of this...

happy birthday m.! you still smell to me like a mixture of coconut and chocolate!

see you (more) next year

hamburg ist bunt...

summer in hamburg is not always a summer,

not this one that we used to paint as small children, with blue sky and a round, very yellow sun.

nevertheless, it is colourful.

this year, it started couple of times and retreated.

and now, 1st of september, when automn waits around the corner, we hope and pray for a bit longer summer, or at least a warm automn...

memories from not long ago

some highlight from the last few months.
actually, i'll skip all the rest and go strait to porto.
end of april 2016.
we arrived at night, didn't know what to expect.
porto doesn't wait for you. you're welcome, but life goes on as always.
only the seagulls observe from above.

they watch your steps and announce the new arrivals.
in the beautiful central train station.

and the new day.
we were immediately in love with porto.
with its blind windows everywhere,

showing without shame the tragedy of this city.
thousands of her sons left it.

beautiful remains of the art nouveau style. even in paris i didn't see so much of it.

old.

kind of respect for old.

or better to say living with the old.

old couples climbing the hill slowly in the morning, 

returning back in the afternoon to their house on the riverside.

poor but proud.
or at list this was my impression, or i wanted to add this romanticism to their poor life.

the river with its magnificent bridges.

and the amazing ceramic coatings of the houses which didn't stop to fascinate us.
each different. one can not find two identical.

and the very old market, half empty and lots of fish, almost only fish.

a sign for the ocean that is right across the corner...

so we took the tram, the very old tram, and went to see the ocean.

some of us also ate some fish (yummy)...

while the women in black wondering around.

great porto wine.

wonderfull young people.

a language which i can't stop smiling while hearing.

oh, beautiful porto, you broke my heart, i miss you a lot.

warming up

i know, the blog needs a bit of refreshment...
real soon.
promise.

tree and me

i know, i know, it's spring all around me,
but before we pack the winter coats and take out the summer coats
(yes, sounds a bit strange for those from the warm south - but we have coats for every occasion :))
i want to devote another moment to these views:

i was really enchanted and fascinated by the naked trees this winter.

maybe also last year and before,

but this year i devoted to them much more time and thought.

i think.

probably,

hard to admit,

because of the smart phone,

probably,

because of instagram.

i hate the idea, but it is sadly so, that now a nice tree is immediately becoming a potential nice photo to be published in instagram...

well,

if it brings me to look more on things, 

to admire nature more than before - then maybe it's not so bad.

isn't it?

and yes, i know, that my photos are not the best. i'm not an expert.

i'm jealous of all those who upload such beautiful photos in their posts.

but then again - it's my blog... about me... about my impressions -

not more, not less.

and now my friends, i let the winter leave. 

goodbye winter! welcome spring!