Gone with the wind...

Oh boy, that hurricane really hit us! I hope, Sabine left you safe and sound. But for safety reasons, our company told us to work from home today. Which I planned to do anyway because Mondays and Fridays are the worst for commuters, I can tell you! Therefore, I recently changed my habits and drive to the office only on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I am really grateful for this opportunity. 

And then I have good news - I will be in Vienna next May for our company concert!!! I already told you about our joint musical event, and it showed that there were more applications than availability, and thus they had to decide who can take part and who has to stay at home. I don't know exactly how they made their decision but last week I received confirmation that I am on board! I am really looking forward to a weekend in Vienna although we opted for hubby staying at home looking after house and hounds. The whole project will be filmed and surely published also outside of EY but if anyone wants to take a first glance at the location - please google for the Vienna New Year's concert… I, personally, am deeply impressed.

But before, there is Carnival, Alaaf! For five years I wasn't able to go to my hometown but two years ago I reinstated my tradition to celebrate Carnival in Eschweiler. Dressing up is obligatory, and as we are outside most of the time the costumes have to be nice AND warm. These were my costumes for 2018 and 2019:

And it's up to you to speculate
what the choice reveals about my personality :-)

This year I opted for Disney - and let's be realistic,
it's more Maxie than Minnie Mouse :-) 

Traditionally we serve deep fried sweets on Carnival such as "Quarkbällchen", "Muzen" and "Berliner" (sorry, there are no translations - rest assured that they are pastries high in calories and taste). At least they make the following fasting period (or lent) necessary… In order to cut some calories, I tried to make some Berliner in the oven instead of deep-frying them in fat, and when they were still warm, they were nice and fluffy. But all in all I wouldn't call them Berliner; they were more like the English Scones. You can do, but don't have to. I would prefer the original treat and prolong the gym-time for half an hour afterwards...

Please don't get blown away!