It was a thank you present.. SHE had worked and worked and worked in a large back garden for a friend Ingrid, the area been neglected for many years by tenants.
Now they had gone, the flat was being totally refurbished and SHE had volunteered to do the garden. SHE took lots of before photos and set to work and three days hard graft produced miracles!
The last thing SHE did was power hose the paved eating area, the difference was unbelievable! The paving stones turned, from being dark and slimy, into the prettiest of sand coloured stone.
Ingrid, who had been stripping and repapering the walls, yelped when she came out, "wow, I had no idea they were that colour, how pretty it all looks, thank you so much".
As Ingrid has been one of few people who knew exactly how scared SHE was when the medical team moved had HER into hospital for tests, HER repairing Ingrid's garden was HER way of saying "Thank YOU for being a good friend and so supportive".
SHE had no idea that Ingrid had a surprise tucked up her sleeve.. a trip to Villach in Austria (Ingrid's home town) for the two of them to stay with her cousin, Trudy.
What a glorious place! And the surrounding countryside was breathtakingly beautiful. Trudy was thrilled to have a 'never been to this area of Austria before guest' and drove them all over the place.
Villach is surrounded by mountains and twice they drove up and over the mountain range to explore.
Heavenly wooded areas, streams running through mountain pastures, it really is 'Heidi' country!
The churches, Austria is a Catholic country, were spectacular. Some were tiny and appeared out of nowhere but simplistic or full of grandeur, all were actively in use and beautifully maintained.
One day, this was late October, the weather was absolutely dire.. raining and cold.. so it was a day for visiting Villach itself. Domestic shopping as Trudy called it.. butcher, baker, vegetables etc.
Ingrid said "no thanks, I am staying home", so it was just Trudy and SHE that ventured forth, no such thing as having to go out into the rain, oh no, the garage, laundry and store rooms make up the first floor of the house.
A press of the button raised the door and vroom, off they went!
To the butcher first, upon entering and greeting everyone with "Gruss gott", (SHE finds it very strange that people do not say it here in England, YOU certainly do in France and Spain.. not gruss gott but bon jour or buenos dias).
SHE said to Trudy "I smell toast, am I dreaming".. Trudy laughed and rattled off something to the
young butcher who smiled and replied "yes, of course" (in German). SHE speaks a little German so wondered what was a'coming.
OH.. OH.. OH.. For what was this!
SHE was handed a piece of toast, it was dark so SHE knew it was Rye Bread, with a white creamy spread on it, smelling of fresh garlic and pepper.
Trudy explained that "It is salted pork fat minced with fresh garlic and pepper, sometimes we add paprika as well".
Sadly.. all holidays come to an end and it was soon departure day, SHE had loved spending time in this charming country staying with Trudy and her large family, she has two daughters with their families who live on the same large area of land, three minutes walk from their mother.
Bags were packed, lunch was eaten, Trudy went into town to change a pair of shoes and said she would be back to drive them to the airport.
Ingrid and SHE went to say "auf Wiedersein" to the cousins and to drink a last cup of delicious coffee, then they went back to the house to find Trudy in the kitchen wrapping something in foil and putting it into a ziplock bag.
"This is for you" she said and handed HER the package, "time to go" said Trudy, the package was slipped into HER case and off they went.
Good byes were said, hugs were exchanged and the flight boarded on time. Home to London.
It was too late to collect ME from the aviary where I stay when SHE travells.. so all SHE did was unpack HER case, throw a load of washing on and looked at Trudy's package.. what could it be, SHE wondered, it was oblong, flat and heavy.
OH.. OH.. OH.. for what it was, was a two kilo pack of that beautiful Salted Pork Fat!
WE don't do this in England, HER lubbly-jubbly butcher knows it for he too has tasted it in Austria. Tereza knows it from Bulgaria and says that she has seen it recently for sale in France.
YOU can imagine HER joy when SHE saw it for sale in Bartek Express, exactly the same thing.
And as a very special treat, now and again, old Mr.Grindy Mincer gets clamped to the worktop, SHE peels fresh garlic, grinds fresh black pepper, sprinkles a little paprika and minces some of this extraordinary fat.
And on a very chilly-billy, dismal, wet day like today as SHE has just clamped old Mr.Mincer to a worktop, (I wondered why that loaf of Rye bread was in old Wheelie), I gather that WE are going to have a big treat.. some of Mr.Pig's lovely fat.
It can be found throughout Eastern Europe, where: Austrians call it Salzspeck, Russians call Salo, Poles call Slonina Prasowana.
SHE calls in Scrummydumptious and so do I!
GeeGee Parrot..
February 9th, 2014.
Now they had gone, the flat was being totally refurbished and SHE had volunteered to do the garden. SHE took lots of before photos and set to work and three days hard graft produced miracles!
The last thing SHE did was power hose the paved eating area, the difference was unbelievable! The paving stones turned, from being dark and slimy, into the prettiest of sand coloured stone.
Ingrid, who had been stripping and repapering the walls, yelped when she came out, "wow, I had no idea they were that colour, how pretty it all looks, thank you so much".
As Ingrid has been one of few people who knew exactly how scared SHE was when the medical team moved had HER into hospital for tests, HER repairing Ingrid's garden was HER way of saying "Thank YOU for being a good friend and so supportive".
SHE had no idea that Ingrid had a surprise tucked up her sleeve.. a trip to Villach in Austria (Ingrid's home town) for the two of them to stay with her cousin, Trudy.
What a glorious place! And the surrounding countryside was breathtakingly beautiful. Trudy was thrilled to have a 'never been to this area of Austria before guest' and drove them all over the place.
Villach is surrounded by mountains and twice they drove up and over the mountain range to explore.
Heavenly wooded areas, streams running through mountain pastures, it really is 'Heidi' country!
The churches, Austria is a Catholic country, were spectacular. Some were tiny and appeared out of nowhere but simplistic or full of grandeur, all were actively in use and beautifully maintained.
One day, this was late October, the weather was absolutely dire.. raining and cold.. so it was a day for visiting Villach itself. Domestic shopping as Trudy called it.. butcher, baker, vegetables etc.
Ingrid said "no thanks, I am staying home", so it was just Trudy and SHE that ventured forth, no such thing as having to go out into the rain, oh no, the garage, laundry and store rooms make up the first floor of the house.
A press of the button raised the door and vroom, off they went!
To the butcher first, upon entering and greeting everyone with "Gruss gott", (SHE finds it very strange that people do not say it here in England, YOU certainly do in France and Spain.. not gruss gott but bon jour or buenos dias).
SHE said to Trudy "I smell toast, am I dreaming".. Trudy laughed and rattled off something to the
young butcher who smiled and replied "yes, of course" (in German). SHE speaks a little German so wondered what was a'coming.
OH.. OH.. OH.. For what was this!
SHE was handed a piece of toast, it was dark so SHE knew it was Rye Bread, with a white creamy spread on it, smelling of fresh garlic and pepper.
Trudy explained that "It is salted pork fat minced with fresh garlic and pepper, sometimes we add paprika as well".
Sadly.. all holidays come to an end and it was soon departure day, SHE had loved spending time in this charming country staying with Trudy and her large family, she has two daughters with their families who live on the same large area of land, three minutes walk from their mother.
Bags were packed, lunch was eaten, Trudy went into town to change a pair of shoes and said she would be back to drive them to the airport.
Ingrid and SHE went to say "auf Wiedersein" to the cousins and to drink a last cup of delicious coffee, then they went back to the house to find Trudy in the kitchen wrapping something in foil and putting it into a ziplock bag.
"This is for you" she said and handed HER the package, "time to go" said Trudy, the package was slipped into HER case and off they went.
Good byes were said, hugs were exchanged and the flight boarded on time. Home to London.
It was too late to collect ME from the aviary where I stay when SHE travells.. so all SHE did was unpack HER case, throw a load of washing on and looked at Trudy's package.. what could it be, SHE wondered, it was oblong, flat and heavy.
OH.. OH.. OH.. for what it was, was a two kilo pack of that beautiful Salted Pork Fat!
WE don't do this in England, HER lubbly-jubbly butcher knows it for he too has tasted it in Austria. Tereza knows it from Bulgaria and says that she has seen it recently for sale in France.
YOU can imagine HER joy when SHE saw it for sale in Bartek Express, exactly the same thing.
And as a very special treat, now and again, old Mr.Grindy Mincer gets clamped to the worktop, SHE peels fresh garlic, grinds fresh black pepper, sprinkles a little paprika and minces some of this extraordinary fat.
And on a very chilly-billy, dismal, wet day like today as SHE has just clamped old Mr.Mincer to a worktop, (I wondered why that loaf of Rye bread was in old Wheelie), I gather that WE are going to have a big treat.. some of Mr.Pig's lovely fat.
It can be found throughout Eastern Europe, where: Austrians call it Salzspeck, Russians call Salo, Poles call Slonina Prasowana.
SHE calls in Scrummydumptious and so do I!
GeeGee Parrot..
February 9th, 2014.
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