Tag: music

Pamper Monday – Top Gear

DIANE IN DENMARK2 Comments

Mondays are all about finding new ways to pamper… What’s pampering? That’s looking after Number One, doing something nice for yourself, recharging your batteries 🙂 It’s a major part – nay, keystone – of the Flylady programme. If you’re nice to yourself, then you’re better equipped to look after your home and your family. It’s been one of the most difficult things to get my ahead around. Simple in theory but takes practice!

Last week my mission was to download some new tunes (did I mention we get them from our internet provider and it costs nada?) as music is a big motivator for me.  The kids are now thoroughly enjoying some classic Michael Jackson and I’ve been listening to various Danish stuff: I’ve Got You on Tape, Kasper Björke, Kashmir and When Saints Go Machine. All good! Glad I finally took 15 minutes to sit down and make it happen… 🙂

Anway, what’s new pussycat? 😉 Well, this may not sound like a conventional pamper, but it’s something that will make me feel g-o-o-d. Regular readers will know that I run two or three times a week. In the very beginning I just ran in the old aerobics gear that I had. Then when I started to feel that I was a ‘real’ runner I treated myself to ‘proper’ running shoes and a running jacket, leggings etc. But the only two sports t-shirts I possess – you know, not ordinary cotton ones but the other kind that don’t get so smelly – are official race t-shirts I got for free last year. Not exactly my colour choice or a good fit. So I’ve decided that I’m ‘worth it’ and am now on the hunt for some flattering ones. Today is, after all, the first day of March. Officially the first day of spring in Denmark. Wish me luck!

Hope you have a marvelous Monday! 🙂

Pamper Monday – A Musical Interlude

DIANE IN DENMARK2 Comments

Pamper Monday has come around again. Where does the time go?? I’ve had a nice winter week’s holiday at home with the kids. Took a lot of gentle coaxing to get them out of bed this morning… Back into their ski suits, hats and gloves, out into below freezing temperatures and (yes, more) snow and in to school by 8am. But I’ve just finished baking a batch of All Bran muffins for their return, so don’t worry, we’ll get all snuggly this afternoon 🙂

My dinky square muffin cases from Sweden!

As it’s Monday, it’s time to think of new ways to pamper… As you may or may not have picked up from this blog, I ‘heart’ music. Big time. It’s the one thing that can change my mood in a heartbeat. We have a large CD collection (ca. 700) plus lots of stuff on the computer, iPods and my (beloved) iPhone.

But I keep listening to the same old stuff and only buy CDs if I absolutely have to have it. Yet we have free access to millions of tunes via our internet provider. I just haven’t taken the time to get it organised on the computer. Tee hee – I’m already hearing the Flylady’s voice in my head! 😉

So I’m setting my timer for 15 minutes and off to download some stuff. And will enjoy listening to it via my cordless headphones while I’m ironing, doing my WHB or doing a spot of decluttering. After all, a change is as good as a rest…

Hope you have a musical Monday! 🙂

Good evening Vienna from Wonderful Copenhagen

DIANE IN DENMARK

I got a tweet this morning from Eddie Izzard. He retweeted this:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=90410227602&ref=ts

It’s a campaign to get the song “Vienna” by Ultravox to the number one spot in Great Britain. They were cheated at the post in 1981 by that irritating song “Shaddup You Face” by Joe Dolce. (Warning: Don’t think about that irritating too long – you won’t be able to get it out of your head again.)

I came across this little pink piece of paper (in an old recipe file) when I was doing one of my Flyladydecluttering sessions…

“Vienna”, handwritten, complete with my own attempts to decipher the lyrics and – what a clever little girl I was – no spelling mistakes! Ahhhh, for the old days. When ironing was something your Mum did 😉

Have a fabulous Friday! 🙂

PS: Don’t forget to join the campaign!!!

Menu planning Thursday – 14 January 2010

DIANE IN DENMARK

Not going to beat around the bush…here it is! 🙂

Thursday

  • We’ve five extra kids coming for dinner tonight. It’s DS10 turn to ‘host’ the school ‘dinner group’. We take four kids (two boys, two girls) from his class home with us and they play together and then eat with us. Their parents turn up around 6.30pm and stay for a cup of coffee or a glass of wine before they all go home. It’s a nice arrangement – allows the kids and grown ups to get to know each other better and, ultimately, helps keep bullying at bay 🙂 If you want to read more about the social side of things at school, you can read a previous post on it here. Today we’ve also invited one of DD7’s friends to play and dine…the more the merrier! The kids will set the table and prepare the food themselves. Menu is chicken fajitas with lots of fresh salad/veggies, brownies and icecream for dessert.

Friday

  • Have invited friends for dinner. We’re going to watch”P3 Guld” show on Danish TV. It’s a music awards show and we’re hoping my sweetie friend Rasmus and his colleagues in Denmark’s finest rock band Magtens Korridorer are going to win! They’re nominated in two categories – best song and best live performance of the year. Cross your fingers and vote “P3 Guld Magtens” to #1212 😉 When we’re not holding our breath we’ll be eating smoked salmon, rucola and honey/dild mustard on my homemade foccacia bread. Then lamb steaks with twinkies salad and rösti potatoes and some kind of sauce. Before downing a yummy strawberry/marcipan cake from Lagkagehuset bakery (and, no doubt, squirty cream for extra effect).

Saturday

  • Will be waking DH with flags and a song today…it’s his 43rd birthday – woo hoo! 😉 Going out for lunch or dinner. Not sure yet. Will see how the land lies…

Sunday

  • Haven’t made Blender Quiche in a while, so will do that with any leftover meat and veggies we have. I found the recipe on http://www.recipezaar.com/ (one of my favourite food sites) and you can see the (easy peasy) recipe here.

Monday

  • Lasagne made in the crockpot. Love to use my crockpot on Mondays – because I always feel so tired by the afternoon! 🙂 Eternally grateful to Krista at http://www.typical-ramblings.blogspot.com/ for having opened my eyes to the wonders of lasagne in a crock!

Tuesday

  • Scout night for both DD7 and DS10, they come and go at different times. So always something easy. Today it’s Danish suppe (meatball and dumpling soup). From a bag in the freezer. I just add chicken stock and carrots. And homemade bread from the breadmachine.

Wednesday

  • Didn’t make crockpot chili or breaded chops as planned last week (our plans changed – as they often do…) so think I will do the chili today. The minced beef is already browned and in a bag in the freezer. I just have to put it into the crock with the other ingredients. Simple!

Bon appétit and happy planning! 🙂

High Five Meme

DIANE IN DENMARK4 Comments

My nice (and very blog-savvy) friend Pippa at http://www.amothersramblings.com/ has ‘tagged’ me with a ‘High Five Meme”. Thank you, Pippa! 🙂 Pippa’s name will be very familiar to regular readers…we were Christmas planning partners-in-crime! Aside being an excellent blogger, she is also a great tweeter. I only surround myself with positive people and she is definitely right-up-there in that category. You can find her on twitter at www.twitter.com/pippad or by following @pippad  🙂

I’m still very new (read: naive) at this blogging lark. Just keeping my head down and working on posting every day (which I have – hooray!) since I started on 1 August 2009. Don’t know the first thing about headers, HTML or how to add ‘buttons’. I’m just enjoying the writing process, using my blog as a Happy File and a diary, a way to keep me focused on Flylady routines and force myself to take time for crafts. So I’m not quite au fait with tags etc, etc but – as usual – I digress! 🙂

I’m about to list my five highlights of the old year. Which has caused a lot of hard thought because I honestly have so many of them. No kidding.

But before that, here are the five people I, in turn, would like to ‘tag’ – and hope that they will share their highlights. I present to you my lovely…. Twisters …twitter sisters!

And here are my personal highlights of 2009 out of all those worthy nominees:

  • I’ve run two 5k races this year. Nobody saw that coming. I truly feel like a NEWO rockstar. Me, the person who isn’t sporty. At. All.
  • This is going to sound really daft but, just before Christmas, I got the chance to speak LIVE to my twisters Candace (@C_Joy), Lynn (@lynnnein) and Monika (@flybabymoni). It was 1.30 pm Copenhagen time and 6.30 am for them. We sang a song Candace had written for the Flylady on my radio programme. A magical 15 minutes for me and, yes, I even had a ‘Mum tear’! 😉 It was my best Christmas present.

  • Christmas – you probably realise from all the blog posts that I can’t get enough of Christmas planning, but this year the journey AND the destination were fantastic. If you don’t believe me, go back and read any of my posts from 20 to 31 December.  
  • The Stranglers concert, last January. A perfect evening, felt like I was 16 again. Goosebumps at their pre-stage anthem (“Meninblack”) and they played my favourites “Tank” and “5 minutes”. I could still sing all the words, even that funny bit at the end of “Nuclear Device” – go me! It also made my Top 10 Gigs post. And I got the set list 😉

  • Writing the blog. Which has taken me very much by surprise. It’s opened up a whole new world for me and – strangely enough – has given me my old spark back. Go figure!

Now go and have a happy Friday! 🙂

Jingle all the Way

DIANE IN DENMARK

I wrote in Wednesday’s post that I was baking sausage rolls and listening to Christmas music. But I forgot to tell you about my Christmas CD collection! 🙂

If you see me at a party, I’ll be the one who has a large handbag – I like to take my own music with me, just in case…  I actually used to carry around a couple of bags of CDs. These days, thanks to the wonders of technology, I just carry my iPhone and some cords… 😉

Anyway. I have a small stack of Christmas CDs. If I’m in the house on my own and not trying to do the whole ‘crowd pleasing’ thing, then these are the two that you’ll always hear:

  • Ella Fitgerald “Wishes You a Swinging Christmas”
  • Phil Spector “A Christmas Gift from…”

And the joker in the pack? Hee hee…a CD I was lucky to find when I was working in Luxembourg in the 1990s. The ‘stars’ of a soap I used to watch (and parody with my friends) brought out a Christmas album. A real classic….

Happy Friday everyone.

And don’t forgot to be ‘bold’ and be ‘beautiful’! 😉

These are a few of my favourite things (Danish bands)

DIANE IN DENMARK1 Comment

It was “Spil Dansk” (Play Danish) day in Denmark last week. Which meant that the public radio stations played Danish music. All day. Only Danish music. The funny thing is that I didn’t even realise that they weren’t playing any ‘foreign’ artists because there’s just so much darn good Danish music around! 🙂

So you don’t know any Danish groups? Hmm. What about Aqua and their global hit “Barbie Girl”? Or are you trying to forget? 😉 Alphabeat, Safri Duo, Infernal and Junior Senior have all had success in the UK.

Here’s my personal top 10 of current Danish bands – in no particular order. Some sing in Danish, some sing in English and some do both. Yep, those crazy Danes are also rather clever:

  • Magtens Korridorer (my sweetie friend Rasmus and the boys, currently at the top of both the album and singles charts – go Rasmus!)
  • Spleen Utd (great name, never tire of them, give me more!)
  • Carpark North (big, clean rock)
  • Michael Simpson (dark and electronic, his mum hails from Grimsby)
  • Mew (classical sounding rock)
  • Veto (electronica, very particular ‘shouty’ voice)
  • Oh No Ono (the ‘hair bear bunch’ look and a bit wacky)
  • The Broken Beats (clean, catchy rock)
  • Sterling (more clean, catchy rock with a twist – saw them in a small concert venue and, mid-song, the lead singer jumped up on to the bar where I was standing – luckily none of my G&T was spilt in the process…)
  • Kashmir (the legendary David Bowie asked – and got – to work with them, the result was “The Cynic“…need I say more?)
  • When Saints Go Machine (from very disco to very down-in-the-dumps, their song Spitting Image was instrumental, if you forgive the pun, in getting me through my last 5k race)

Happy Friday! 🙂

Top 10 Gigs

DIANE IN DENMARK

Still on the music theme and still on list-making – two of my favourite things 🙂

Ten unforgettable concerts. Gosh, where do I start? Have seen more rock concerts than I can shake a really big stick at. Grew up with punk, then new wave, new romantics, ska, etc, etc and these days I’m listening to rock and electronica. Have resisted the urge to go look at the Edinburgh Gig Archive because I’ll be sucked in – once again – to that fabulous time machine…

Before we start, here are a few of the other bands I’ve seen (some of them several times): Ian Dury + The Blockheads, Glasvegas, James Brown, Orange Juice, Beck, Blondie, The The, Bad Manners, Prefab Sprout, Prince, Altered Images, The Fratellis, The Farmer’s Boys, Kent, Hall & Oates, New Order, The Klaxons, Hue and Cry, MC Solaar, The Proclaimers, Heaven 17, The Boomtown Rats, OMD, Robert Palmer, Sterling, INXS, Penguin Café Orchestra, 1990s, Michael Jackson, UB40, The Tourists, Simple Minds, Spear of Destiny, Thomas Dolby, Franz Ferdinand, The Smiths, The Nits, Tina Turner, Spleen Utd, Michael Simpson, The Human League, Cocteau Twins, Tue West, Sting, Friends Again, Love and Money…  ** I shall add to this list as they pop into my old head 🙂 **

So here’s the ‘official’ top 10 list. Due to having given birth twice, I’m a bit hazy about some of the dates. And, as so often happens with these ‘from the hip’ blogposts, will no doubt think of 10 more concerts as soon as I hit the ‘publish post’ button! 😉

THE BUZZCOCKS + JOY DIVISION, Edinburgh 1979

My first ever concert. Little did I know back then that the support, Joy Division (lead by Ian Curtis, who hanged himself months later), would be iconic in music history. Only thing I remember about the Joy Division part of the evening was that Ian Curtis was a weird dancer. And not a happy chappy.

THE HIGSONS, Edinburgh University, 198?

My Dad was annoyed when he discovered, on dropping us off, that the concert didn’t start until 10pm (my friend Gillian and I were schoolkids) and that he would have to come and collect us at midnight on a schoolnight 🙂 Most memorable today because the lead singer was Charlie Higson, now a well-known comedian (“The Fast Show” and “Swiss Toni“).

KRAFTWERK, Edinburgh, 198?

You would think that a group who stand stock-still for most of the time would be boring. Not.

KID CREOLE AND THE COCONUTS, Edinburgh, 1983

A big party.

SQUEEZE, Edinburgh, 198?

Found out just before the concert that they were splitting up and this would be their ‘Farewell’ tour. (Though they, of course, reformed and toured again…)  My pals and I cried after the show (ah, we were so young!) because it had been so fantastic and went for a hot chocolate at a café on Leith Walk afterwards. Memories 😉

THE CLASH, Edinburgh, 1984?

Saw them a few times. The last time I saw them I knew that punk/new wave was finally dead because Joe Strummer told the audience to stop spitting on them, or they would leave the stage 😉

ELVIS COSTELLO

I’ve seen Elvis Costello more times than I can remember. First saw him in the late 70s. If I look at my (alphabetically organised) CD collection, he fills a very large space. Hard to choose but will say Falconer, Copenhagen, 200?. Stage crew started packing up and he kept on singing for us acapella. My fave song is Pump It Up and I still love him – please watch the video, those legs are fantastic 😉

MUSE, Copenhagen 2007

Where do I start? Everyone needs to experience Matt Bellamy live. As I’ve said before, a few days after the Muse concert a religious group came a-knocking and asked if I had a God. Was sorely tempted to reply, “Yes, and his name is Matthew Bellamy”, but very much doubt they would see the funny side.

THE STRANGLERS, Copenhagen 2009

Wasn’t expecting much more than a nice trip down memory lane (I saw the Stranglers 7 or 8 times in the 1980s) but was completely blown away. Especially by Baz Warne, their new singer. Even DH was impressed and said that he would like to come back in another life as Baz Warne. I’d like him to do that too… ;D

MAGTENS KORRIDORER, Copenhagen

Can’t make this list without mentioning my sweetie friend, Rasmus, who twilights as guitarist in Denmark’s finest rock band Magtens Korridorer (which translates as The Corridors of Power). Always a fantastic atmosphere at their concerts – like being out partying with friends (including the beer and the singalong part). And, yes, we always buy our own tickets for the concerts. And, yes, we get to go to the After Parties – though I haven’t seen that free beer they keep promising me yet… 😉

Happy Friday! Hope you get a chance to enjoy some live music soon 🙂

Ten songs that’ll get me on the dancefloor

DIANE IN DENMARK

Yes, we’re back to wonderful list-making! 🙂 When I’m out on the town and have had a drink (or three), I always have the urge to go dancing. I love rock and electronica but if I’m out for a dance, then it’s dance music I want to hear. That’s why it’s called a ‘disco’, n’est-ce pas?

Here’s a (provisional…) list of 10 songs that’ll get me on the dancefloor. Or will make it impossible for you to drag me off it… 😉 Some are old, some are new. But as we said in the old days, “Say what? House music all night long!”

And if you know of a disco who actually plays any of these, please forward the address 😉

Top of the Pops

DIANE IN DENMARK1 Comment

I think it was @softthistle who recently asked on http://www.twitter.com/ “What gets you out of bed?” Simple answer for me: music. Can get me out of bed, get me cleaning, even got me running (though Jonathan Roche, creator of ‘NEWO’ http://www.noexcusesworkouts.com/ can take the credit for me putting one foot in front of the other).

I started making top 10 lists when I was a girl. Started in my early punk days. (How about the Buzzcocks, with Joy Division as support, for a first concert?) All through New Wave, New Romantics, a little dabble in soul (definitely not Northern Soul – ugh!), pop and electronica. Lists of songs for friends and boyfriends [cringes]. Lists of songs to play at parties

 :::On a sidenote be warned that, if you ever invite me (and DH) to your home, we will ruthlessly hunt down your CD collection and ridicule every CD that does not meet our high standards. I once counted 17 Queen CDS – on a single shelf – at an address north of Copenhagen. To our friends in Luxembourg we were known as the Music Police. :::

I don’t make top 10 lists anymore. I make iPod playlists. Here’s one I use. Every day. Amongst other things, it can ‘get me out of bed’:

LØBETUR 2 (RUNNING LIST 2)

  • When Love Takes Over – David Guetta feat. Kelly Rowland
  • The Girl and the Robot – Röyksopp
  • This Must Be It – Röyksopp
  • This Boy’s in Love – The Presets
  • LSD Någon? – Kent
  • Vesterbro – Magtens Korridorer
  • This Boy’s in Love – The Presets
  • Dance Wiv Me – Dizzee Rascal feat. Calvin Harris
  • Knights of Cydonia – Muse
  • (Get A) Grip (On Yourself) The Stranglers

Wonders of technology

DIANE IN DENMARK1 Comment

When I was at school, I used to write a Fanzine and had it photocopied on the school computer. Not that I sold many copies of it. I used it basically as an excuse to try and meet bands that I liked, under the pretence of being a reporter. Incredibly, it worked a few times. Biggest name was Morrisey who, though he arrived late at the concert venue and didn’t have time to do interview, did accept my gift of daffodils for his backpocket. Ahh, those were the days! 🙂

When I started working, I liked to make up fake copies of newspapers for friends who were leaving. At the EC Court of Justice I used to make up fake judgments for the same purpose and, if I was really lucky, managed to get someone from the Registry to put on the official court stamp. (Probably get fined for doing that these days.)

Fast forward to 2009. Stay at home mum. Got that itchy feeling again and – due the the wonders of technology – I can even have my own blog. Not sure where the blog is going right now, but will certainly include food, music, Thoroughly Modern Millie and the Flylady.

Welcome to my world.