Mom-daughter crochet project & some thoughts

Hi everyone,

Almost three months completed in Erlangen, yippeeee....
Though coming here had its positives ,it has also had its drawbacks.My daughter has no friends to play with and of course there's the language issue. She's hooked to her iPad for hours altogether which irritates me to no end. Just to wean her away from that device,I started crocheting a hat for her and asked her to help me.We studied the pattern together and she did her little share of single crochets and double crochets.

First when I completed it, it looked like a beanie. Princess was not happy with it,since she thinks beanie spoils her style .She said -"Mom, you yourself wear it". It was partly frogged and then attempted again. In the second attempt,it turned out to be oversized. Sigh...
Finally,after a bit of subtraction and division it ended up decent enough to wear.  Here's the completed hat.

She's happy. That's all that matters...

Meanwhile, Easter preparations are on full swing in my little town . I can see "bunte Eier" (colorful eggs) in all supermarkets. On Easter monday, our Deutsch friends have invited us for a brunch and then promised to take us around for a tour of the town to show us the decorations . I am looking forward to both since I've neither tasted European cuisine nor have been part of a European Easter.

When I walk around in the evenings through the silent streets of this town ,I sometimes catch a glimpse of women cooking in the kitchen or in some cases both the partners. I have often wondered what do they cook,what's their daily cuisine like? I do know that there's a lot of bread being eaten...and several varieties too. What do people do with all those "new to me" vegetables and leaves in the supermarket? All eaten raw as salads?  I am curious. Just like Indian cuisine is not just limited to Butter Chicken or Chicken tikka,German cuisine may not be just bread and sausage...

Fifteen years ago, when I entered the kitchen as a newly wed,every day was a learning experience. You could say - I burnt and I learnt .In those days, if help was needed in cooking a dish, a phone call to mother would suffice.

Fast forward to now, the situation is almost same - but the location has changed .( the age too... [smile] )

The super market here is a treasury of veggies - but many of them unfamiliar. The very first visit to the store yielded some onions,potatoes,beans ,carrots and tomatoes.The second visit saw some salad cucumber, bell peppers and broccoli added to the list. Nothing else was familiar. Boredom began to set in by the third week..how long can one eat potato fry,potato boiled,potato masala or carrot & beans?? I called my home and bawled...there's nothing here to eat...

Where were the brinjals,lady's fingers,bitter-gourds ,cucumbers and bottle-gourds??? And where are the green CHILLIES??? A visit to the Indian store yielded the answer. You'll get some of the Indian veggies there but they are pricey.

The only solution.. adapt to the food habits of the land.So, the learning has started again.This time,its not mom who's helping me-it's Google. Google helps me find the difference between a red and white onion, it tells me what to do with pretty pink radishes,how to cook Brussels sprouts,parsnips and a lot more. But the curiosity remains.

Well, there's something new to learn everyday..

Happy Easter and happy Holi!!!!

Love,luck and sunshine,
Deepa