Lineanongrata

Almost there (Advent calendar giveaway, day 23)

 

We're almost there, friends.

Tomorrow night we Germans will celebrate Christmas, or Holy Night. I'm sure my godson (he's four) is almost sick with excitement tonight already. How can 24 hours be so long?

I'm sorry this Advent calendar hasn't always been on time or filled with the most original posts I've ever done. Maybe next year I'll start preparing my posts in July.

Yes. Maybe I'll also understand mathematics next year. Miracles can happen, you know?

In any even I have enjoyed this annual tradition. Your comments always make me very happy even though I've not had the time to reply this year. I do read and treasure each one though.

Today we drove from Berlin to our home village in Westphalia. Somewhere in the middle the car briefly stopped working. Fortunately at a gas station. I've not had a car break on my on years and this was quite the luxury version in comparison. After 45 minutes and some miracle operation the car-repair-man did it drove us home, safe and sound.

Tomorrow will be a whirlwind of last minute preparations (not to my siblings: I've wrapped most of our presents already! Believe it or not. And spare me the sarcasm, Hanna), makeup, dressup, church singing, family dinner, song singing, tree decorating... and a million other things.

Today I wanted to show you this video. It took me four times before I could watch this without crying. Singing really gets to me.

Merry! Only a couple of hours to go!

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LeeAnn and Inga, you won the Advent gifts number 21 and 22. Would you write me an email with your addresses, please?

For all the rest of you: Two more days, two more chances to win a little advent gift. Just leave a comment on this and tomorrow's post.

Feeling much improved (advent giveaway, day 21)

Once a year I get a terrible craving.

For green and pink electric lights, terribly tasteless Christmas tree decorations, the smell of woodfire smoke, drunk men (and ladies) and oh, that horrible german traditional music? Once a year I need my dose.

No Christmas without a Christmas Market in Germany.

Sausage with ketchup, red candy apples, grapes and strawberries (in December!) covered in chocolate, perfectly ugly cute stuffed animals, 'funny' gloves, hats and socks you don't wish upon your worst enemy... To all of this add a good dose of cold weather that makes your hands and feet fall off after ten minutes outside... and my Advent is a good one.

A dollop of mayonnaise with a couple of french fries

plus two or three cups of mulled wine that would kill a diabetic instantly...

and I feel much improved.

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Jorun, my 'old' blog friend, you won yesterday's Advent gift. As I said, I'm much in favor of traditions.

Would you write me an email and tell me your new address, please?

For everyone who's new to the Lineanongrata blog: We have an ongoing celebration of Advent until the 24th of December. Every day one of you readers wins a small gift. If you'd like to participate, just leave a comment on each post until the 24th of December and you'll automatically enter the draw.

 

 

 

 

Herb (the advent calendar giveaway, day 20)

(Herb's dandruff problem was seriously getting in the way of his social relationships)

About a month ago I've started one of Agency Acess's Campaign Manager programms. It's been very instructive and interesting so far and I'm very happy I took that step.

Along many other things they asked me to consider a more commercial use for my illustrations. How would I illustrate an add campaign for a product, for example?

Interesting question. I think they might have overestimated my propensity for seriousness. But really - I would absolutely buy an anti-dandruff shampoo with that add!

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Kristy, you won yesterday's gift! Yay! Would you please send me a message with your address?

For everyone who's new to the Lineanongrata blog: We have an ongoing celebration of Advent until the 24th of December. Every day one of you readers wins a small gift. If you'd like to participate, just leave a comment on each post until the 24th of December and you'll automatically enter the draw.

Useful, beautiful, thankful... (the Advent calendar giveaway, day 19)

This year's Advent gifts: Colorful. Useful. Thoughtful. Thankful (I am)...

Kiddingful, too. Not to forget glitterful!

Have you guys your gifts all ready for Christmas, or am I the last one running late? If you're my sister you're excluded from any comments. I don't want to hear it.

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Sara and Lubaska, you won gifts number 17 and 18. Would you please send me an email with your addresses?

For everyone who's new to the Lineanongrata blog: We have an ongoing celebration of Advent until the 24th of December. Every day one of you readers wins a small gift. If you'd like to participate, just leave a comment on each post until the 24th of December and you'll automatically enter the draw.

laundering money (Avent calendar giveaway, day 17)

I can explain this.

No really, I can. It's not at all what it looks like. I'm not money-laundering.

It was more like money-soaking.

I had forgotten that I put these twenty Euros in the vase in the hall one day, not knowing where else to put them but not wanting to leave them out in the open. 

A couple of days ago I decorated the flat for Christmas. Put pine branches in the vase, and in an enlightened moment - plants need water, right? - I poured water into the vase.

Turns out you can soak Euros for two days and neither does the color wash out nor does the paper loose it's nifty structure.

European quality, I tell you.

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Tam, you won yesterday's advent gift. Would you please send me an email and tell me your address so I can send it on it's way?

For everyone who's new to the Lineanongrata blog: We have an ongoing celebration of Advent until the 24th of December. Every day one of you readers wins a small gift. If you'd like to participate, just leave a comment on each post until the 24th of December and you'll automatically enter the draw.

Jingle Bells, or: Almost done, or: Advent calendar giveaway, day 16

 

Sorry friends, I was unable to resist this video.

Tomorrow is the last christmas market for me this year and things are almost packed and done. It's only 1:48 am, I'm a bit proud. Of course, my sister is helping so we're doubl-y fast.

Wish me luck tomorrow, and if you're somewhere in or near Berlin, come visit.

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Frido, you won yesterday's advent gift. Yay for cousins! Would you please write an email with your address?

For everyone who's new to the Lineanongrata blog: We have an ongoing celebration of Advent until the 24th of December. Every day one of you readers wins a small gift. If you'd like to participate, just leave a comment on each post until the 24th of December and you'll automatically enter the draw.

A ridiculous but short post about home bliss (the advent calendar giveaway, day 15)

For years I've thought that decorating your home for the holidays (Christmas or Easter, you name it) is for girls (it isn't mentioned in the kickboxer's manual to tomboy-ism, for example). Because really, the holidays only last for a couple of weeks (why aren't they called Holiweeks, or even Hollyweeks?) and you have to a) find the decorations in the basement, dig them out, dust them, find a place for them, find a vase for the entire arrangement... and then b), once the holidays are over, take them down, put them neatly into a box (because otherwise you won't find them next year in that croweded basement), hide them in the basement (because if you didn't, where would be the fun in searching for them next year?), and all that just for a couple fo weeks! A lot of effort for a couple of baubles, I thought.

This year though, being much better organized than last year (probably because I have invested in a dishwasher and an automatic vacuum cleaner) I have found myself with at least ten free minutes to spare. And I thought 'Wow, what now?!' So I went to the basement and...

You know what? I've found that a) is really worth it. Because even though I only run by my Christmas-bauble arrangement all day in great haste (and it lives in a water jug intended for large batches of punch), it still reminds me that this is Advent, that Christmas is coming and that damn, in all that running around, between all those trips to the post office, all those emails, the Christmas cards, the whatever-else-comes-up, we should be happy.

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Chrissy, you won yesterday's advent gift (which makes me happy)! Would you please write me an email telling me your address so I can send it on it's way?

For everyone who's new to the Lineanongrata blog: We have an ongoing celebration of Advent until the 24th of December. Every day one of you readers wins a small gift. If you'd like to participate, just leave a comment on each post until the 24th of December and you'll automatically enter the draw.

My new old book (Advent calendar giveaway, day 14)

My new old book was send by someone whom I've known for a very long time. I could say school friend except that we weren't really friends in High school. But we served our time there together. We have the same name. Julia was the most common name given to girls in 1978, the year of our birth.

After school we went our separate ways.

Our parents knew each other even before we were born so during the last ten years we had knews here and there. 'Julia this' and 'Julia that'. I knew she had done an apprenticeship to become a book seller.

A few months ago we met here, in Berlin. We spend three and a half hours in one of the biggest bookstores in the city and I have to tell you: Never go to a bookstore with Julia. Not unless you're rich, don't like reading or are absolutely resistant to good advice and counseling.

She's very good! I had thought I was a reader but I was sadly mistaken about that.

But not only had she read all the interesting books, she can sell them to a heartless stone, I'm sure.

A couple of days ago I found my new old book (it's out of print apparently and this one has belonged to at least one person before it came to me. I love old books.) in the mailbox and was, of course, delighted to get a thoughtful gift in the real mail, but it's also a book I am delighted to read. A week ago I knew nothing about Helen Keller and in a couple of days, when I have finished this beautifully written book I'll have a very good excuse to enter a bookstore once more. To buy more books. Written by Helen Keller this time. They'll then go on top of the pile of 'books I still have to read' (mingling with Chomsky, Arundhati Roy and Hemingway, to name just a few, and what a pretty party that will make) and maybe, in a year or so, I can build something from all those books. A house maybe. A small one.

What are you reading, friends?

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Sasha, you won yesterday's advent gift. Would you write me an email and tell me your address, please?

For everyone who's new to the Lineanongrata blog: We have an ongoing celebration of Advent going here. Every day one of you readers wins a small gift. If you'd like to participate, just leave a comment on each post until the 24th of December and you'll automatically enter the draw.

A favorite recipe (the advent calendar giveaway, day 13)

Much to my regret even I cannot live on Marshmallows and peppermint creams alone, handmade or not. So during the colder months I'm always on the lookout for recipes that are warm but still include salad or other green things. After all, one can't live on soup alone, either.

Recently I stumbled over this lovely warm radicchio salad recipe on Jamie Oliver's website. It's fast becoming one of my favorites and I can proudly recite it by heart, like a poem. I'm willing to take this as a good sign because I seem to forget almost everything else at the moment. If the thought of good food sticks that's surely a positive sign of sanity, right?

What's your favorite winter or late autumn recipe? Care to share? If possible, it should contain one of the following vitamins (otherwise I probably won't like it):

- The Marshmallow vitamin

- The chocolate vitamin

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Have I mentioned that since I get to teach illustration classes my ambitions as a class clown have grown disproportionally? Sometimes I even coax a laugh out of my students.

 

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Allison, you're yesterday's lucky advent winner. Will you write me an email with your address, please?

For those of you who are new to the Lineanongrata blog and would like to participate in the advent calendar giveaway: Just leave a comment on each daily post until the 24th of December and you'll automatically enter the draw. Each day until Christmas I'm giving away an advent gift to one of my readers. Good luck to all of you!

 

Free gift tags (Advent calendar giveaway, day 12)

If you would like a printable version of these gift tags, click on this link:

Download ChristmasTags_lineanongrata

Happy tagging everyone. And a very good start into this new week.

 

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Ikkinlala won Advent gift number 9, Martina won number 10 and Jenn won number 11. Will you all write me an email and tell me your addresses, please?

For all of you who are new to the Advent Calendar giveaway: If you'd like to participate, just leave a comment on each daily post until the 24th of December and you'll automatically enter the draw.