I’ve recovered from last month’s episode of food poisoning with lots of sleep, soup, and probiotics, which helped me recover my gut and energy. Plus, having our dear friends, Gaby and Erich, over for the weekend helped a lot. Erich was the one who rescued me from the ER and brought me home, while Lutz escaped from Rehab and followed us in our car. He’s not supposed to drive! yet!
The heat has kept many prisoners in their homes. Air conditioning in Germany is a luxury. It is so bad everywhere around the world. Mother Nature is not happy, I guess. Our fans are running overtime, and people are not leaving their homes. It is so sad to see crops dying and being burned by the sun. I love the sun and the warmth, but when you refill your jacuzzi with shivering, refreshing cold water at 15 °C/60 F, and leave the heater off, and the next day it is up to 35 °C/95 F; it’s not that fun! Lutz is shivering… he wasn’t the next day.
Then, a few days later, the rain came, and we were singing Hallelujah; it turned into a storm—crazy: hail, rain, thunder, and lightning. As quickly as it came, it left. The picture is not very clear, but there truly was hail. I went to my German class the next day and asked Heidi what she thought of it, and she looked at me like I had lost my mind. It never hit her village.
It takes very little to bring Wolfach families out of their homes. Lots of events were planned for this time of year. However, the heat kept many home in front of their fans. But one evening, they had the best band in the city. They sang “American pop”. It was a blast. You couldn’t find a seat; it was so crowded, and people were dancing all over.
They were actually very good. We sat with Lutz’s primary school friends- yes, that’s right, his friends from elementary school.
We had a great family Lowenberg get-together. Dieter and Doris, Lutz’s sister, had two amazing sons: Thomas is in Munich, and Mattas is in the USA. Both came to Wolfach with their families, and we had the best three days ever. We got out of the house, away from the fans, celebrated life and Pia’s birthday, and reminisced about Dieter and Doris.
Another event that got people out of their “heat Prison” was the eclipse.
It was a great date night, and we brought our camping chairs, picnic backpack, bottle of bubbly, and a tray of sushi to enjoy the event.
Here, it was a partial one, but still worth the trip to the top of the Black Forest for the best view.
One evening, we were invited by Michael and Angelica to dinner to celebrate Michael’s birthday. We went to the Aichhäller Mühle, where we had a delicious meal at a great restaurant.
We decided to head to our house to celebrate with the new Fave recipe I’ve posted this month: Gluten-free German plum cake.
It was a month to remember for sure. To remember family, cooler days, and that I still have a lot of planning to do this month. We reserved a twelve-day river cruise on the Danube through 10 countries to the Black Sea and have been waiting for the cancellation notice since all the rivers are low. So far, no notice, and all is a go. We are leaving on September 2nd, so now I need to switch gears and get planning. Go to YouTube and search: What’s a River Cruise REALLY like? VIVA Cruises FULL Ship Tour-Viva. Enjoy or copy and paste the link into YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxYeXL3GNqM. You’ll get to see our boat!
At the end of July, my sister Melissa said she’d love to visit and, hopefully, take off for Greece or somewhere by the sea. So I’ve been spending A LOT of time in front of the fan, searching for deals and places to go. I finally gave up; I was going crazy. There are so many beautiful places in this world, and it becomes addictive to search. Finally, she got her ticket, so it’s real now. I did it, along with Moritz at TUI Tours! I booked the most wonderful place in Sardinia. Check this pool…
With its own private beach 200 meters away.
New Fave Recipe: German Plum Cake (Zwetschken Kucken)
It’s that time of year, and I’m cook’n up a storm with this over-the-top gluten-free German Plum Cake. Made it twice in one week. Check this recipe out!
New Fave Resource: 20 Lazy Kitchen Hacks You Need to Know.
Holy moly, this is the most helpful resource in all my cooking days. Allrecipes’ Nichole McLaughlin shared some of the most amazing kitchen hacks. One of my favorites is the almost-empty jam jar… check out these hacks!
I'm Melinda Stevens and living the life of a beach bum was inevitable since my father was a lifeguard for the city of Los Angeles. My memories of growing up on John Street in Manhattan Beach, California were filled with joy, excitement and adventures; until my world, as I knew it, fell apart when we moved to Del Mar, California. My father was offered the position as Captain of the lifeguards and we started the slow migration to the small deserted stretch of beach in 1963. At twelve years old, this seemed like the end of my life. Remember, I’m writing with clear hindsight now, ok somewhat clearer… Little did I know this would be the beginning of a new journey and give a bit more clarity to many of the events that led me to this new cooking adventure.