Indy is celebrating his 3rd birthday!

Oh goodness, the boy is turning 3 years today. How time flies when you are having fun! And it is also a bit frightening: He grew so quickly and he is burning so fast. And we love him so very much!

When we took him into our home he was tiny, fit as a fiddle and the most curious kid you can imagine. Playing (lots), sleeping, eating - well, that was about it. And of course he was gorgeous!

And it was a really busy, busy time for all his other family members.  Especially for sister it was quite stressful!

But sis was perfect. With the help of all the other family members she succeeded in keeping the little boy happy, socialize him perfectly and helped him through the various steps of childhood. Thank you so much, Dessa!

We even survived the "one ear up" phase. And we were all quite happy when the second ear stood right up into the sky! And sometimes - when we were extremely happy - we even managed that he was actually sleeping. A healthy sleep with lots of dreams, to make him vivid and full of energy for his run into his grown-up Future.

Now he is a big boy, and he loves to go places with us. In Spiez he is not only enjoying the lake and the beautiful scenery, but he is also very curious to see what is happening outside our door. He loves to watch the world from the balcony, especially on hot and lazy Summer afternoons....

Water sports is something he extremely enjoys. Whenever there is a chance he is more in the water than outside of it. And of course his beloved ball helps him to have even more fun!

Styria, his particular home turf, is a place where he also finds lots of entertainment. Especially the Alt Aussee/Bad Aussee/Bad Mitterndorf area is something he explores regularly. And sometimes he is hiding in the Autumn woods and pretends he is a white wolf...

He is the most wonderful friend, shadow and guardian you can ask for! Thank you so much for sharing our life, my dear Indy - and lets hope for many more years to come right in the middle of our family and our hearts.

Happy birthday!!!!

Birthday weekend, part 1

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me.... Gee, I love birthdays! Not the age and numbers that come with it, but the festivities, good food, happy times... And it is always one last bit of nice weather and summery temperatures. Around my birthday the weather usually is brilliant, and again of course it was this year. Even the weather report in the radio was surprised about the temperatures close to 30°C, of course I was not. After all, I had ordered the perfect weather. Connections, connections...

Usually the festivities start very early, which means also the dogs do not have the chance for a lie-in. There is photo posing to be done, and of course preparations for the first good meal of the festival.

Usually the first good meal has something to do with a fondue bourguignonnes! The meat comes only from happy pigs and cows of course (otherwise I would not eat it), and instead of oil we use vegetable soup. It makes the fondue lighter, and it does not give you such a heavy stomach afterwards.

The lovely flowers Stefan gave to me this year were absolutely awesome! They are always wonderful, but this time they were even more so!

Usually there is also a little bit of champagne or sparkling wine involved. So of course there also was this year!

This year the sparkling wine was a special surprise from Stefan as it was cava! As you may recall we have visited the Codorniú winery in Spain recently, and my dearest husband roamed the Viennese speciality stores for just the cava we had there. It was not exactly the same, but it was a close hit! One might say, that this cava was maybe even a bit better. Great surprise, my love, thank you so much!

As part of a birthday festival it is also very important that the mamas are over. On the left hand side, in black, you see Stefans mom, on the right hand side you see my mom.  We decided to toast in the garden, because the weather was so extremely nice and warm.

And somehow Stefan managed to get onto the photos as well. He is the photographer, and he dreads to be on photos, so I always have to take care that there is also some photographic proof of him. : )

Eating out is always a very important and serious part of our festivities. This time we went to one of our favourite restaurants in the area where we live. Check www.woeglerin.at, we love the place! Nice staff, nice food - we have been there like a zillion times, and the food was always perfect! All friends who will come to see me on my hometurf, be aware that we might drag you there!

Right now there is hunting season here, so in all the good restaurants in the Vienna Woods you get a lot of game dishes. It is okay to eat game I think, as they are not bred but live more or less happily in the woods before they arrive on our plates. So I like to enjoy a piece of game now and then. The paté of deer was wonderful!

Also the roasted wild boar with Semmelknödeln. Yummy, the orange sauce was terrific! Hmmm.....

Definately none of my favourites, but a very typical and very famous Austrian dish: the Tafelspitz. Cooked beef is not my cup of tea, but people tell me that it is fabulous. The typical Tafelspitz comes with spinach, Potatoe roesti and apple radish. Definately something to consider when in Austria - hey, not for me, I live here.

Yum, yum, dessert: Karamelgüpfli with Moor im Hemd on the side! Together with coffee or some white dessert wine: a treat!

But then it was time for some serious business: the presents of course!

As you all know I am a bag addict: So I am really happy to welcome my new Louis Vuitton bag (called "Putzi") into my collection. I so needed it!! And the tiny little Swarovsky fellow you see is the surprise present we bought in Sankt Wolfgang the other weekend. It is "Lady" from Disney´s "Lady and the tramp" - and of course since Dessa is a spaniel we felt it was only reasonable to add "Lady" (or "Susi" as she is called in German) to our little Swarovsky family. Of course Dessa is black and white and Susi is brown - but it does not matter to us. A spaniel is a spaniel and rocks!

I would like to take the opportunity to thank all of you for your lovely birthday wishes! Thank you so much for thinking of me! Big hug!

And of course the festivities continue, so stay tuned...