Almost Easter.

To be brutally honest,  Easter kind of sucked.

Mind you,  I suppose being alive and kicking during any kind of holiday or celebration is a good thing, but Easter typically means a gathering of family for both Travelling Companion and I.  Even though that primarily mean her family,  we still were both missing having some relations around.  My siblings are all too scattered across Canada to ever get together any more than once or twice every 20 years or so.  Hopefully that situation can be remedied over the next few years.  We’ll see.   We’d have to BE in Canada to even come close to solving that one.

 

T.C. had to work today,  even though the rest of Austria is off.  There were going to be a couple stalwart individuals who where due to show up a bit later.  I offered to chauffeur.  There was certainly not going to be any traffic issues,  as you can well see:

 

 

This is almost as rare as a solar eclipse,  which was the reason for the photos.

 

Not much else going on.  Just continuing with the “clean up” from the visit.  That’s mostly laundry of course,  which isn’t that big a deal,  except that I can’t really wash any more than I have room for,  when it comes to hanging up things to dry.  Just one of those joys of living in Europe and not having a dryer.  Yay.

 

Oh,  speaking of cleaning up:

 

 

That,  ladies and gentlemen,  is an ear plug.  I found it (along with a pair of wayward socks) under the couch in the living room,  where one of the band members had crashed.  So this tells me that,  although they are young and play loud music,  somebody is making sure they are wearing earplugs.  Well I’ll be.

You can come to your own conclusions,  but it seems to me that this generation (or at least these guys)  would just as soon not end up stone deaf like those who have subjected themselves to loud music ever since the invention of the amp. 

Speaking of the invention of the amp,  we lost yet another contributor to loud music just the other day when Jim Marshall passed away. 

If Rock Music were a nation,  the four faces on the Rock ‘n Roll version of Mt. Rushmore would be Les Paul,  Leo Fender, Seth Lover and Jim Marshall.   Only my opinion of course.

I’ve included some handy-dandy links there for you, in case you just woke up from a forty year long nap,  or perhaps you’d just like to do some reading.

Have fun with that.

 

Keep an eye on those chocolates.

 

 

Thanks for coming by.

 

 

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The visit.

OK so,  we’re still alive.  In spite of having,  truth be told,  an overwhelmingly greater number of strangers in our household than we’ve ever had in our lives. 

Probably the nicest bunch of “kids” you could ever have any kind of a misconception about.  Of course, I had been told by the Mom of one of the band members not to be fooled by appearances,  but it’s pretty easy to let those nagging doubts start to enter your head.

Sort of reminiscent of an old chum of Daughter Number one who,  some time oh say,  20 years ago,  was perhaps a little scruffy looking,  prompting her mother to have some sort of off hand comment about his appearance,  and how she “just wasn’t too sure about that guy”.  Mind you,  these days he’s as “clean cut” as the next guy,  since he was called to the bar some 10 years ago.  So maybe he was kind of shifty after all?  No really,  he’s also a pussy cat.   And it never hurts to know just one more lawyer.

 

My biggest “challenge” of course,  is being up late enough to actually get them in the door.   These kinds of things almost always involve the wee hours of the morning and sure enough,  our doorbell rang at about 3:00 a.m.  I had been warned.

Thankfully there was a phone call the previous evening around six,  saying they were at the venue and setting up.  There had been no time to come by previously for introductions or whatever,  so that was the way things would roll.   See,  my scheme of the way I envisioned things playing out was,  they could come by here as early as they’d like,  I’d feed them if necessary,  point out the sleeping arrangements,  hand over a couple keys,  and not again be concerned about staying awake to know when they arrived. 

As it was,  the sleeping arrangements didn’t turn out the way I envisioned,  since at least two of the group had professional status in the snoring department.  It seems this was something that was well known by the group,  so each of those two individuals got their own rooms.  Even at the cost of leaving one whole bed empty.

I was a little surprised this morning to see Marc sleeping on the floor in our living room.  That wasn’t part of my plan!

The days of ever sleeping on any surface as hard as the floor are long over for me,  since I’d be a cripple for at least a week,  but he seemed to relish the arrangement.   The floor is always going to be of a consistent hardness,  whereas a minor back aggravation that he mentioned  would preclude taking a chance with any bed that happened to present itself.   OK then.   I’d still be a cripple.   I’ll admit there was that farmer’s field,  but I was even younger than these guys.

 

So we shoved some food into them,  since they had a drive to Ljubljana ahead of them.

I can’t say for sure,  but I think it was one of the better breakfasts that they’ve had on their tour.  We even made available some Canadian Maple Syrup,  to go along with the pancakes that T.C. made.   I mean,  they’re Canadian after all,  and they took great delight in having their Italian driver try maple syrup for the first time.  I think he liked it.   He’s the second from the right.  Forgot his name as soon as he introduced himself,  but that’s just me.

Actually,  I just realised that photo is missing the drummer,  who at this point had hit the showers.  And yes,  they did all shower. Note the pile of towels in the first photo.  Mind you, my orders were such that I was to give instructions on the workings of the shower (I suppose it could be confusing, but I doubt it)  but right along with that,  I did make sure to explain the charming side effects of our “lay and display”  type of water closet.  It’s kind of like crapping in the woods.  When you back one out,  it just lies there and mocks you, in a stinking kind of way,  especially if you haven’t been particularly vigilant when it comes to what you put in your pie hole to start with.

 

This ties in nicely with explaining the benefits of having an exhaust fan.  Complete with handy reminder:

I mean,  I’ve lived here two and a half years,  so I have the location of that switch down pat,  but I’ve observed far too many guests struggling to surreptitiously try to exhaust any lingering odours.   Having a little sign never hurts.   No one complained.

 

Actually they were all gracious and thankful.  I could never do what they do.  And this isn’t their first time.  Probably not their last.  Non of them are smokers,  but when it comes to most night clubs,  that doesn’t really matter,  since you’re going to stink when the day is done anyway.  Like I said.  Couldn’t do it.  I get a little vexed following someone’s “cloud” out on the street.  In a sweaty,  smelly night club?  Gah!

Oh,  and the young lady who does the crazy “singing”?  (more like growling if you ask me)  sort of reminded me of a French Canadian version of Laura Ingalls.  Only even smaller,  with a tinier voice, and every bit as polite.   I thought,  “OK,  where’s that crazy assed (i.e., slightly scary) chick I tried to watch on YouTube?”  

Some sort of “stage presence” alter ego going on there.   But,  like BASE jumping,  sky-diving,  or any other activity where I don’t quite “get it”,  the whole “Grunge/Grind/whatever” thing will forever remain a mystery to me.   And I’m OK with that.

I mean it.

 

 

I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their weekend.   Have a Happy Easter. 

 

Thanks for coming by.

 

 

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That crazy “multi-national” thing.

At this point in the game,  there’s really not that much that surprises us anymore.  We’ve become mindful of the different holidays in all the different countries,  and how employees of the European parts of The Company that Cannot be Named can mysteriously take holidays and leave nobody in charge.  Things that would get you summarily fired in North American culture.  I know it’s easy peasy to fire someone in the States,  and the impression is that it’s that much harder to do in Canada.  That’s partly correct,  but only to the extent that in Canada you’d have to pay some sort of severance to get rid of someone.  You don’t have to fire someone “for cause”,  but if you do, it’s not going to cost you.

Anyway,  I tend to not check emails after a certain time in the evening,  and since T.C. didn’t get home last night until after 10:00 p.m. it stands to reason that a note she had sent to me later in the day had slipped under the radar.

When a person is away from their desk,  it’s commonplace to have some sort of “out of office reply” set up to deal with incoming emails.  Typically all that is necessary is something like,  “I’ll be away from my desk until…such and such,  etc.”   It’s usually a good idea to put in the name of anther person to contact.  Something like, “Don’t bug me”,  isn’t terribly professional.  Just thought I’d mention that,  in case there was any doubt.

 

What T.C. had sent me was this example:

“It's tomb sweeping holiday in China from 2 April ~ 4 April 2012. For urgent matters, please text me at +86(some Chinese number). Otherwise, I'll respond to your email on 5 April 2012. Thanks.”

signed: *a person with an obvious Chinese name*

 

Well now.  That’s a new one.  "Tomb Sweeping Holiday”?   You got me.  Never heard of that one.  Should photographic evidence be a requirement?   Does a person have to get their broom well ahead of time to avoid the rush? 

We’re unfortunately scraping the bottom of the “blogging barrel” here,  so we’ll leave that one alone.

I’m still shaking my head though.

 

*******

 

There was also a short email from one of the band members that was sent last night some time.  Seems to me if it’s Thursday they’re in Budapest.   They won’t be hanging around here too long after they crash Friday night (well,  actually more like early Saturday morning)  since they finish up their tour at some club in Ljubljana. 

 

Just for fun,  I’ve copied and pasted their whirlwind itinerary.  The things we could do when we were young,  eh?

3/07/2012 Atlantide – Bologna, Italy
3/08/2012 Lo-Fi – Milano, Italy
3/09/2012 Dynamo Werk 21 – Zurich, Switzerland
3/10/2012 Exhaus – Trier, Germany
3/11/2012 Halle 14 – Karlsruhe, Germany
3/13/2012 La Zone – Liege, Belgium
3/14/2012 Worm – Rotterdam, Holland
3/15/2012 De Onderbroek – Nijmegen, Holland
3/16/2012 AZ – Mulheim, Germany
3/17/2012 Elbdeich – Hamburg, Germany
3/18/2012 1000 Fryd – Aalborg, Denmark
3/20/2012 Härden – Goteborg, Sweden
3/21/2012 Internasjonale – Oslo, Norway
3/23/2012 Ykan Pub – Oulu, Finland
3/24/2012 Musta Kynnys – Jyvaskyla, Finland
3/25/2012 Kahvila Hertta – Tampere, Finland
3/27/2012 Lepakkomies – Helsinki, Finland
3/28/2012 Svarta Dörren – Stockholm, Sweden
3/29/2012 Dödsmaskinen – Copenhagen, Denmark
3/30/2012 Zoro – Leipzig, Germany
4/01/2012 Modra Vopice – Prague, Czech Rep
4/02/2012 Plan B – Ostrava, Czech Rep
4/03/2012 M13 Muzak Klub – Brno, Czech Rep
4/04/2012 Collosseum Club – Kosice, Slovakia
4/05/2012 Szabad Az A’ – Budapest, Hungary
4/06/2012 Escape Metalcorner – Wien, Austria
4/07/2012 Klub Gromka – Ljubljana, Slovenia

 

 

How would you even know what city you’re in? 

 

When this request first came in for some place to crash,  I took a look at where they were going to be “playing”  Friday night.   (Hey,  this is “Grunge/Grind”,  so words like “Musicians” and “playing”  will be in quotes.  My blog.  My rules.)   Anyhoo,  it’s some joint down on the corner of Neustiftgaße,  and due to a slight miscommunication between Travelling Companion and I,  she was quite sure that they would be wandering all over Vienna since the place wasn’t where she thought it would be. 

So the other day I took a little hike down there,  and sure enough,  the place is right where it’s supposed to be, and it’s about a 20 minute walk from our front door. 

 

I wasn’t too inclined to go over and peer into the window or anything.   This is another example of how you can drive right by a place every single day and have no clue what’s there.  Just a factor of city life I guess.

On the way back I found myself on yet another street that we’ve never had any business of being on,  where I found a very neat little tool shop.  This is kind of a rarity in these parts,  since the only other dedicated tool store that is within 20 minutes of our front door is a little cubby hole down on Mariahilferstraße.  

Again,  you could easily walk right by this place and not give it a second look.  Of course,  they had some pretty interesting tools in the windows,  so that was a clue.

It’s a little bit hard to describe,  but if you were looking for specific tools for jewellery making,  this is the place to go.   I tried not to drool.   Had it been woodworking tools of that quality,  I probably would have pooped a little,  so it was just as well that these weren’t tools that I’d run out to buy.   But fun to look at anyway.

They do have a website, although it’s a little goofy.  If you go over to the pull down menu on the left,  you can get an idea of all the stuff they have.   I mean,  I do have such a thing as jeweller's rouge,  but these guys carry about six different kinds!   And that’s just one example.

It comes in a stick,  and sort of looks like an old chocolate bar,  which is why you shouldn’t leave it lying around,  but that’s another story. 

 

Anyway,  I may go back there one of these days to pick up a couple pairs of their tiny little pliers,  which I’ll give to Daughter Number One,  who likes to make jewellery as a hobby.  She’d freak out in that place too.  I know she “borrowed”  a couple of my pliers when she first started out,  but I figure the kids are going to get all my cr*p when I croak anyway,  so what’s the difference?  She can keep them. I got drawers full. 

 

Even though I haven’t been actively looking for people doing stupid things,  since that would be more like something I’d have to commit to,  I took a picture of these dough heads after walking on by this morning.

Let’s block the sidewalk so we can unload a rack of clothes,  shall we?

Fortunately it was only about 9:30 a.m.,  so it wasn’t the glut of pedestrians that normally go along here. 

People here are considerably more tolerant of this kind of cr*p than I ever could be.  I just tell myself that I’m the foreigner here,  and to keep walking.   It can be a little annoying though when you’re sitting in your car on a street that’s only wide enough for one vehicle,  and some jackass decides to stop in the middle of the road.   I’ve been known to honk.  Not supposed to,  but I don’t care.

 

Well,  I have to go back to sorting out sleeping arrangements.

 

Oh wait.

 

There was an off hand request for the banana bread recipe.   Here goes:

“The Best Traditional Banana Bread Recipe
For the purists. A traditional banana loaf recipe with a touch of spice. Feel free to toss a cup of nuts in this recipe. No chocolate for this one as the spice will compete too much.”

*Note*  I DO NOT put nuts in this!  Can’t deal with crunchy bit in banana bread.  The only kind of nuts I’ll tolerate are the ground up kind (walnuts) in the Potica.
No other mention of nuts will be tolerated.

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, soft
3 bananas (ripe)
2 eggs
1 tsp soda, dissolved in 1 Tbsp cold water (Natron here in Austria)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg*   (only if you want to,  I don’t.  I don’t really care for nutmeg)
2 cups flour.

  
Instructions:
1.    Heat oven to 350°F   (I set my oven at about 190°C)
2.    Combine and mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
3.    Place batter in a greased bread pan (bottom only) or in muffin tins.
4.    Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
5.    Cool for 10 minutes then remove from pan. Complete cooling on a wire rack
Makes one good sized loaf.

 

Note as well:  I tend to use a knife to check on doneness.  And,  I mix all the stuff except the flour first,  and then I fold in the flour.  I have to do that by hand,  since our stand mixer is sitting in our kitchen back home.  In Canada.  *sigh*

Meh,  it’s worth the effort,  and I hate to turf out perfectly serviceable but slightly over ripe bananas.

Give it a go.

 

Thanks for lookin’.

 

 

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