Deutschland Halbfinale!

Hurray! Deutschland siegt im Elfmeterkrimi gegen Argentinien (Elfmeter 4:2) und hat 5:3 gewonnen. Wie ist das schon!..Die Deutsche Manschaft bei der Heim-WM geht weiter nach Halbfinale.

This time Jens Lehmann was the Hero. He has made his dream of winning a penalty in a World Cup cometrue..(this World Cup might be his last one as a Goal keeper)..

This time most of the Germans are dancing and singing: "Wir werden die Weltmeister"…

Hoffentlich!

.. aber..tja, ich bin nicht so sicher.

Summer menu: French Tilapia meet Spain Pinapple

I know that I am not a domestic Goddess; but I am not a really bad one either. (hopefully).  Although lately I am so not into cooking and cleaning, still I am trying getting my self in the mood. For this past three months, I got home around 7.30 and cook the dinner. As a daily task this is not one of my most preferred things to do.

Cooking in the evening, especially when the kitchen is sehr klein and has no proper exhauster, is making my small apartment stinks. Smelling the aroma of strong seasonings altogether meet No.5 or Omnia, is closer to smelling toxic gas or something similar to my nose. That’s why: thanks God it’s summer, so I can open wide all the window without being afraid of freezing and prefer to invite all those insects to come in than lock the cooked an fried air inside.

This evening, I had Tilapia to prepare for our dinner. But after a long Gramatik Tag, I was so tired, lazy, not feeling so well and I didn’t want to sacrifice my just-take-a-shower fresh and clean scent. Thus, instead of cooked my dinner on the stove, I baked the Tilapia in the oven.

I baked it together with chopped mushroom, pineapple, chili and onion, in salted butter sauce. I knew that I risked my self-disappointing Andri who always prefer Indonesian food, but I thought the idea to baked the Tilapia was not that bad. Nevertheless, who knows? After marrying him for almost 4 years, I believe what makes a recipe work to Andri’s taste is a mystery.

We ate our dinner right after France beat Spain 3:1. (By the way, the third France’s goal by Zidane was quite incredible wasn’t it?).

I opened the oven and unwrap the foil to found my dinner looks more like a Tilapia soup than a baked Tilapia. Arrgh..

When I served it, my stomach was little bit churning both because of hunger and nervous whether Andri will like the dinner or not. Na und?..

“Very delicious!” Andri said…applauding.

He loves it! He really really loves it! Alhamdulillah..what a relief..

“How do you call this dish honey?” Andri asked.

I had no idea and was completely blank when he asked me the name of the dish.

“In case I want to request this meal again next time” Andri gave a little smile..gave a hint that he knew that I made up the dish without an anchestor recipe or whatever..

It took me a couple minutes to think and finally to heard myself saying: “Uhmm..French Tilapia meet Spain Pineapple**"

Sounds good isn’t it? it’s inspired by World cup match! *chuckle*

** Athough later I found out that the pineapple was not from Spain..it’s from Honduras.

Portugal vs Belanda, Priiiiiiiiittttt!!!!!!!!

Orang Indonesia bertanding di World Cup??!!

Ada orang Indonesia bertanding di World Cup 2006?!!! Gossip neeh..?

Psstt…walaupun bukan pemegang paspor Indonesia dan bernama mirip turunan Italia, tapi Giovani van Bronckhorst yang memperkuat team Belanda ternyata berdarah Indonesia.

walah..beneran nggak ya??

Tuh kan..bukan karena genetik kalau Indonesia nggak bisa tembus World Cup. Tentu karena masalah mentalitas,..pembinaan, fasilitas dan lain lain ya? aduh..selalu deh..

Rosengarten: an imagination of mine in reality

For many many times since many years ago, I have been imaging and picturing a garden with roses’ gate, roses’ arches and completed with benches surrounded by roses.

Those pictures (of the same garden) were not only in my mind but also on drawing papers by pencils, crayons or get them painted on things. I’ve done all of them in various angles a little dreamer could possibly envisage.

As time goes by; knowing that I could neither be a gardener nor an owner of a Grandeur Garden like Royal family, I then skeptically, told my self that I would have never seen them in reality.

I thought the most tangible shape of those imaginations was only the real picture I’ve made years ago…

It is so until I saw the Rosengarten on its prime time with my own bare eyes, which then turned my tears out along with my down on my knee admiration.

Subhanallah..Subhanallah.. Subhanallah ….Subhanallah…

Its magnificence gave me a tremendous romantic feeling that I could not help falling in love with. It was just too much to resist. The magical power of astonishing moment when I treasured the fact that my long time imaginer garden, is actually exist (and located in walking distance from my school!!): could not be taken ordinarily. That feeling was can simply be said as: extraordinary!

This chronicle is my honest expression in order to describe how my feeling was, during my presence in Rosengarten.

Karnaval di Altona

Hari ini seru sekali ikut karnaval di Altona (Altonale Spassparade). Indonesia menampilkan Tari Merak, Reog, Hanoman, Kuda lumping dan…wah..maaf saya lupa namanya..(Teman-teman yang ikut karnavalan tadi..kalau kebetulan baca mohon ditambahkan yaa..)

Kebetulan saya kebagian kostum Legong Bali. Siplah! Kostumnya tidak terlalu sulit untuk di"akali" dan bisa dikenakan tanpa harus mengutak-atik jilbab saya. Segala pernak pernik legong tinggal dirangkap di atas jilbab dan kostum Legong di lapis di atas pakaian lengkap yang saya kenakan.

Kami sudah berkumpul sejak pukul 9.30 pagi di KJRI dan Start berjalan kaki di Altona sekitar jam 12.30 siang. Pada saat itu peserta dari berbagai negara dengan berbagai kostum sudah beraksi. Indonesia mendapat nomor urut 64. Kami kebagian memulai "start" di saat mentari awal musim panas sedang terik teriknya bersinar hari itu…

iya, terik!..cuaca sangat cerah ..bahkan agak terlalu cerah bagi saya yang diblebet baju Legong yang berlapis-l apis dan sama sekali tidak ringan. Tapi tentu lebih baik cuaca yang demikian daripada jika hujan turun, bukan?

Berjalan berjam-jam di bawah terik matahari bersama teman teman yang heboh dan seru membuat panasnya tidak terlalu terasa menyengat( ..tahu tahu setelah karnaval kulit kami jadi pada keling, belang-belang dan kamipun berjalan tertatih tatih karena kaki agak bengkak bengkak…nyuut nyuut…)

Mungkin posting ini akan ada lanjutannya berhubung saya sudah kehabisan tenaga dan lagipula, postingnya jadi kurang seru kalau tidak dilengkapi foto-foto. Insya ALLAH kalau foto-foto karnaval yang lebih bagus sudah di tangan, saya akan dapat lebih detail bercerita tentang karnaval hari ini. Ditunggu saja ya..

Kinder Boerderij

Last week in a sunny and warm afternoon; without any plan (read: without any proper preparation), I went to a kid’s farm (kinder boerderij) with Duncan and Dylan. It was fun to play with some animals in that farm, Dylan and Duncan made me forget the fact that I wasn’t a kid anymore and didn’t care about the dirts and the sun. I didn’t really care that when it’s over I was a kind of a roasted smelly gal..(hmmm..kebayang dong bau matahari bercampur bau hewan ternak….Chanel No 5 kalah telak). 

There are Horses, Ponies, Sheep, Goats, Rabbits, Hamsters, peakocks, pig, papagays..and many more. Most of those animals were having their babies around.. Except Max the pig..I think He was an unfriendly daddy pig without his kids around..He liked to play with stinky-muddy-soil alone..yuck! so, no no..I didn’t play with him. tschussie oink oink..

Then before we left, Duncan took me to the Horses stall. Subhanallah.. The Horses were stunning. So beautifull and so strong. Some of them are old enough to join a race, but some of them are still nurtured by the owner. I just realised that that was my first time touch horse’s nose ..hihihi..It felt like touching cat’s’ nose.

Too bad that I didn’t took many pictures there, besides, we didn’t really have time that day. May be next time..when I have another chance to visit Duncan and Dylan next summer in Groningen.

Thanks Duncan! Thanks Dylan! The kinder boederij was a good idea and I really have fun there! bedankt allebij! Tot volgende keer jongens!

** Just an hour after I posted this posting, My cell phone rung and I heard Dylan’s voice. Though I couldn’t catch all his words (He spoke Dutch, the language that almost dissapear completely from my brain) but I guess that He told me that he won a football match (in a Sons vs Mothers match). He just finished eaten his soup and the reward from his Mom was calling me in Germany! how sweet! ** Miss you jongens!

orange oranje

Tanpa benar-benar menyadari bahwa hari ini adalah giliran Belanda bertanding, saya berangkat keluar rumah memakai jilbab jingga, kaus jingga dan rok dengan motif berwarna jingga yang cukup terang. Alasannya sih sederhana saja, jingga alias oranje adalah salah satu warna kesukaan saya.Titik.

Nah, begitu saya keluar pintu, bertemulah saya dengan Herr Schneider yang tinggal di lantai yang sama. Demi menjaga hubungan baik dengan tetangga, walapun sudah hampir terlambat sekolah, tetaplah saya menanggapi obrolannya dan kehebohannya mengomentari team-team yang sudah bermain di WM.

Markus, yang juga tinggal di lantai yang sama, saat itu melewati kami dengan keranjang cuciannya menyapa kami dengan ceria. "Hei Lessy,..oranje sekali! ah sudah saya duga kamu pasti fans Belanda ya! Semoga Belanda menang ya!" ujarnya sambil mengedipkan matanya dan lantas menghilang di balik pintu keller.

Nah..mulailah..saya menyadari bahwa saat itu…saya begitu jingga …begitu oranje..

tanpa babibu, Herr Scneider pun lagsung ikut menyemangati saya karena hari ini Belanda bertanding. Dia menduga saya Fans fanatik Belanda.

eh, tidak berhenti pada Markus dan Herr Schneider, Mustafa pun melambaikan tangannya pada saya dan berseru dari tokonya dengan seruan sebagaimana bila saya adalah fans team Belanda. Eh ibu-ibu yang berdiri menunggu bis dengan saya juga tersenyum dan berkata: " Roknya bagus, fans Holland ya?"

lho? kok nuduh sih Frau?

Tadinya saya mau berbalik pulang dan berganti pakaian, tapi Bus nomor 4 sudah muncul dan saya hanya memilik 10 menit tersisa untuk mencoba tidak terlambat ke sekolah. Akhirnya saya memutuskan untuk tetap berangakt dan alhasil sepanjang hari saya berpakaian bak Hollander sejati.

5 menit sebelum waktunya pulang, guru saya pun menawarkan apakah saya mau pulang duluan berhubung pertandingan Belanda lawan Pantai Gading (Elefant Bein Kuste a.k.a Ivory coast) akan segera dimulai. *waa..gubrak deh! segitunya deh si ibu!*

Lalu si ibu guru bilang : "Habisan, kamu oranje sekali sih Lessy!"

"Aduhh..yang bener aja sih?" batin saya malu (tapi senang juga, karena bisa pulang cepet mengingat saya belum beli sayur dan beberapa bahan masakan hari ini).

Ternyata seru juga pakai baju ala fans lho!..apalagi kalau ketemu dengan fans-fans lain sekitar daerah Jungfernstieg..atau di U2 Messehallen yang menuju FIFA Fan fest. Rasanya jadi ikut sehati dan menghayati gitu ..seolah olah negara saya pun ikutan piala dunia..hehehe..(padahal ..kan merah putih Indonesia tercinta nggak mungkin terkibar di Piala dunia ini?!..bahkan bila dibalik jadi warna bendara putih merahnya Polandia pun, tetap gak seru..Polandia sudah hampir tersingkir..)

Pulang sekolah lebih awal 5 menit sih tidak terlalu berpengaruh. Masalahnya tokh saya musti belanja juga, kalau pulang nanti tokonya tutup, wah..apa yang mau saya masak buat makan malam? kasihan dong Suami..

Maka jadilah saya menonton pertandingan babak pertama di Supermarket. Di Spar ada TV-nya lho. Entah sudah ada sejak lama atau hanya karena piala dunia ini. Siapa juga yang memperhatikan ada tidaknya TV di supermarket?

Sesampainya di rumah, ketika hendak menutup jendela yang seluas satu sisi dinding ruang utama, saya baru sadar kalau tirai wohnung saya juga oranje..dan kursi summer di balkon juga warnanya oranje..whehehe..pantaslah..bukan salah tetangga jika saya di duga fans Belanda.

Nah…baru saja Belanda mengalahkan Pantai Gading 2:1. Bagus bagus! ikut senanglah saya..walaupun saya bukan fans berat team sepak bola Belanda tapi sebagai orang yang seharian menanggung perasaan seolah-olah fans Belanda, saya pun jadi ikutan senang. Siaran Live yang di moderatori Gerhard Delling,  Monica Lierhaus dan Günter Netzer jadi terasa lebih seru.

hmmm..Ternyata enak juga ya kalau punya team yang dibela saat nonton Piala Dunia? Kalo Belanda akhirnya kalah sebelum final..bela team mana lagi ya?

Barenaked

Barenaked

by Jennifer Love Hewitt

Do you ever have that dream where you’re walking naked down the street and everyone just stares Do you ever feel so deep that you speak your mind to put others straight to sleep You wonder if anybody cares Sometimes I think I’m the only one whose day turned out unlike it had begun And I feel bare naked And I just can’t take it I’m getting jaded No I just can’t fake it anymore ‘Cuz I’m bare naked And I know life’s what you make it Wish I could float away to some other day You ever go downstairs to start your day but your car’s not there Yeah you know the joke’s on you You ever try your luck with a pickup line But you just sucked You tell yourself it wasn’t you And I know it’s hard to hold it inside It’s days like these I run and hide When I feel bare naked And I just can’t take it I’m getting jaded No I just can’t fake it anymore ‘Cuz I’m bare naked And I know life’s what you make it Wish I could float away to some other day It’s all a state of mind but I don’t mind trying to find a way to keep my head above the mess I make what the world creates sometimes it feels so good to let it all fall as the world fall I may fall we all may fall and then the world comes tumbling down down down down down I’m bare naked And I just can’t take it I’m getting jaded No I just can’t fake it anymore ‘Cuz I’m bare naked And I know life’s what you make it Wish I could float away to some other day When I feel .. feel (bare naked) .. feel When I feel .. Yeah no no no ..

summer’s veggies

gute laune..somer laune..die gemuse sind gunstiger ..yippy! Finding that chili / pepperoni (and most vegetables) are significantly cheaper in summer, brings me good mood to buy more veggies and grind more "sambal". My husband and I, are chilli lovers. *segala macam cabai dengan berbagai derajat kepedasan hehehe*

Winters always cost me at least around 20 Euro/USD per-month only to buy various kind of chilis. hmm..and this summer I think, I will only spend half amount of money for our "chilly" appetite. and I can buy more fresh vegetables…hmm..nyam nyam..