Buffalo Roundup - Düsseldorf Style

November 13/06

Buffalo roundup ?? - Now really, thats what kind of reminded me of, in regard to crowds,gathering to watch an event.
Airbus A 380 test landed at Düsseldorf Airport, arriving from Toulouse at 11.00 a.m. yesterday morning. 100.000 people milling around at the airport, all the roads and highways in the vicinity plugged, and thousends of smarties (like us) watching from the dike. We had privileged seats, so to say, as we live right across the airport. So we watched the landing live on the computer screen and the take off at 3:00 p.m. outside. Apparently Landfrau seems to need an addional goodie lately at events, this time the dog lost me (not me the dog!). Took him along and he did not take notice - had to sniff around - that I went right to the banks of the river,where no trees obstructed the view,anyways, he just started running like the devil, to catch up on me, no yelling or whisteling could stop him, he was gone. Did not worry too much, since he knows his way around, and I certainly did not want to miss the plane on account of dog hunting. But when I arrived at home, no dog, and no man of the house including bike. - So,just to be on the safe side, I took my bike to go (drive) looking, no dog, no man of the house. -
To make a long story short, when I arrived home after an hours search ,there they were, both of them. Turned out, the dog found his master, but was not quite able to transfer, that he had lost me. A time consuming thing, fortunately with a happy ending. - The A 380 must have been back in Toulouse at that time.

|Art by Simon Christen|

Art by Simon Christen - Cute birds!

Touch it,it's a link!

November Blues

November 11/06 2:20 p.m.

Now we have it, real nice rainy (contradiction?), hazy, grey,our November weather. Thinking about fitting things to do, to get me out of this November blues, where I only keep thinking of losses, regrets and hurt feelings. Walking the dog this morning did not help - and I forgot to take my i-pod along - stupid.
So now, I will
heat up my sauna
switch on my sunbench
and mix myself a bucket full of margarithas (eh, little joke)

and then it will be Carribian - feeling in my basement.
Oh,yeah, music of course, but have not made my choice yet, definitely not Bach!

About 6 more weeks left....

November 10/06 7:20 p.m.

Nature this year is not so eager to show signs of upcoming winter. My friends, the wild geese, are still populating their favourite river bay and the only "real" turning of leaves is the one in our backyard-garden. Doggie is still sniffing his little nose off after bitches in heat, but alas, listen all of you with a sweet tooth, X-mas -sweets are to be had in abundance,and Landfrau buys them all the time and there must be someone eating them! Probably Santa,to fatten himself up for his chores.
Slowly but surely X-mas panic is setting in , Santas helper has no idea whatsoever in regard to presents to buy , food to cook and so on. Isn't there that cute little song "I hate Christmas?"

My Indian Summer

November 09/06 10:29 a.m.

Here it is,my own personal Indian Summer! Nice? I think so.

Down with Baby-Bush!

(SPIEGEL-online)
The Republicans' defeat in the House of Representatives is a disaster for George W. Bush. His political heirs now must distance themselves from him as he spends the next two years trying to define his legacy.

I firmly believe that history will portray Bush as not only the worst and most dangerous president of the United States but one of the most dangerous opponents of peace in the world.

So, get going ..HILLARY!!!

The Goose IS cooked!

November 04/06 8:02 p.m.
.....and it will be "slaughtered" tomorrow nite! - With dumplings, chestnuts (glazed) red cabagge and homemade applesauce. -
Does Landfrau deserve a medal?

The Goose is(not yet) cooked!

November 03/06 10:08 p.m.

Friends,friends, are you ever lucky, no politics yet!
No, I'm going to talk about my upcoming slavery of frying (not a stork,but) a goose. To me it seems almost as big. Have to pick it up tomorrow morning at our farmer, have seen the herd walking about all summer long and fortunately do not know, which one was supposed to be ours. Its our traditional family dinner for Martinstag,The day is celebrated in the evening of November 11 in Flanders, parts of the Netherlands and the Catholic areas of Germany . Children go by the doors with paper lanterns and candles, and sing songs about St. Martin and about their lantern in return for a treat, very similar to the American tradition of Halloween.Only they are not dressed in costumes ,but they sing nasty songs,when they dont get anything,you see, a united world. Often, a man dressed as St. Martin rides on a horse in front of the procession.
In recent years, the lantern processions have become widespread even in Protestant areas of Germany , despite the fact that most Protestant churches do not recognize saints as a distinct class of believers from the laity.
The food traditionally eaten on the day is goose. According to legend, Martin was reluctant to become bishop, which is why he hid in a stable filled with geese. The noise made by the geese betrayed his location to the people who were looking for him. Late punishment,now they are eaten! In our little village almost all the houses are decorated with lanterns and St.Martin rides in front of all the kids and the music,singing songs about St.Martin and afterwards coming to the homes for treats.

So, our "feast" will be Sunday nite, the correct date of Martin's Day is November 11th,only it is always a problem with the marching music, it is so much in demand,since every little part of town has its own St.Martin's parade, the biggest one of course beeing in Düsseldorf, but I would not say it was the nicest one, too big.
Last year I had that big lump on my head, my horse had knocked me against the wall of his box, this year its lumpless cooking, which at least is something,no?

My first Love!

November 01/06 7:20 p.m.

Landfrau does not have so many amusing things to talk about now-a-days, so let's venture again into the past a bit. My first love ( actually not the "very first one", him I lost at the age of 5, when fate separeted us, he moved away) I really have been smitten with. He has been definitely a little womanizer,dark hair, dark eyes and olive skin ,well, kind of grown up lost "kiddie"(see above!) love, and I had been so proud, he choose me as "his girl", it lasted for about 3 dates, then he showed me the cold shoulder, up to now I do not know why, probably the next cutie to be conquered. I really sobbed my little eyes out and what made it even harder,my mother showed no sympathy whatsoever,laughing and telling everyone about my desaster. -
Now my brother has been meeting the guy occasionally and he still is inquiring about me and if I still had that beautiful "golden" hair, my brother says, I do, I think touches of grey are definetely showing. Told my brother, he should tell him - that he broke my heart! -
Still, a soft touch for "dark boys" has been left over from that time of beeing sweet fifteen! (hope, man of my life will forgive me,hihihi).

And,next post friends, it will be politics again, I warn you!!!

Na, dann...

October 31/06

Happy Halloween!!!!!!

















And actually it's Reformationstag much more serious and valid now and forever!

Here they are again!

October 28/06 3:32 p.m.





Our screaming friends! - Every morning we hear them, when they fly over our roof towards the river. So today Landfrau ventured out with her camera. We are starting to have our usual weather for this time of the year, grey in grey, last week we had lunch outside in a Rhineside restaurant, blue skies, sunshine and over 20 degrees Celsius. Unbearable! I's so nice to have it back the way we are used to, this time of the year. (little joke, friends) . And next week the cold is supposed to come up. Anyway, it is still nice and warm for the World Ski Cup at downtown Düsseldorf , and that is no joke!

Panorama-Bilder Königstein/Sächsische Schweiz - Reiseführer meinestadt.de Königstein/Sächsische Schweiz

Panorama-Bilder Königstein/Sächsische Schweiz - Reiseführer meinestadt.de Königstein/Sächsische Schweiz

Yes, here it is, the solution!!!!

Another QUIZZ...QUIZZ....QUIZZ

October 22/06 4:00 p.m.

Fullfilling wish of faithful readers, here it is ...ANOTHER QUIZZ!

Let's see, if you have done your homework. Precise description of location of building,please!
And the winner gets, as always,free choice of picture postcard, personalized!
So, good luck!

My Month of Losses

October 21/06 7:53 p.m.

Stepped onto my $ 500 Chanel-sunglasses today, but really full power. Possessions are a burden. - My other loss I will not talk about, too personal and still painful. - It helps to be pragmatic. A little, anyway.

AAADD

April 12/07 9:45 p.m.

What a day today! (must admit, not my brainstorm)


Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.




This is how it manifests:
I decide to water my garden.As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide my car needs washing.As I start toward the garage, I notice that there is mail on the patio table that I brought up from the mail box earlier.I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car. I lay my car keys down on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full.So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first.But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mail box when I take outthe garbage anyway, I may as well pay he bills first.I take my check book off the table, and see that there is only one check left.My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of Coke that I had been drinking.I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the Coke aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over.I realize the Coke is getting warm , and I decide I should put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.As I head toward the kitchen with the coke, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye--they need to be watered.I set the Coke down on the counter, and I discover my reading glassest hat I've been searching for all morning.I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers.I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly I spot the TV
Remote Control . Someone left it on the kitchen table.I realize that tonight when I go to watch TV , I will be looking for the
remote control , but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decideto put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water theflowers.I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on thefloor.So, I set the
Remote Control back down on the table, get some towels and wipeup the spill.Then I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.At the end of the day:the driveway is flooded the car isn't washed,the bills aren't paid,there is a warm can of Coke sitting on the counter,there is still only one check in my check book, I can't find the
remote control ,
I can't find my glasses, and I don't remember what I did with the carkeys.Then when I try to figure out why nothing got done today,I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all day long, and I'm really tired.I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail. Do me a favor, will you? Forward this message because I can't remember to whom it was sent.

Super "Sounds of Jazz"

October 20/06 8:33 p.m.

...and very uncomfortable chairs for oldies! O.K. considering, the church, where the concert took place in a kind of side wing, 3 stories up (you would have never guessed, beeing in a church ), is an old lady of 150 years, you could not expect streamline comfort. But the concert has been worth it, first time in my life, that I heard a didgeridoo in a jazz concert. But - boy, those old guys really kept going, it has been a show. Wolf Doldinger, incidentely, is a friend of my brother in law, so of. cse. we got to talking, but that's not the issue.We met my sister in law at the concert, and afterwards had a nice glass of wine in a bistro across from the church together. Later on we found out, that our two cars were the only ones left in a garage,housing normally about several hundred cars. SPOOKY!! - So much for the "world capital" Düsseldorf.

Well, venturing out, is worth it once a while (not only to "stuff" yourselves).

Now,is'nt it great?

October 19/06 5:25 p.m.

Women know your limits

A hit among all my friends - and - this cute woman is visiting a jazz concert tonite! Hope not to mix up my brains, cheerio!

Here are the missing Goodies!

The panoramic view needs no explanation,or? - Then you have the "Blaue Wunder"(the blue miracle) and a view from the river Elbe upon one of the castles,the "Schloss Albrechtsberg".

Missing out on Putin

October 11/06 8:56 p.m.

No joke, you have been reading right, Putin had been staying at our hotel in Dresden! Only, the day he arrived, we had to leave in the morning. And I am not so sure, that I would have been so keen on seeing that man, in the opinion of many people responsible for the murder of that brave journalist Anna Politkowskaja. - But this post is not supposed to be about politics, but a great time spent in Dresden. The pictures just give you a glimpse about the beauty of this city and its adjoining countryside. Fortunately our hotel was right at the side of the castle (not quite finished yet) and all the other important sights to see. We had a concert the first night in the world famous "Frauenkirche", an organ concert - Bach - terrific sound of that organ, but, to be honest, without the wish to visit that church, which would have meant a lineup for hours, Bach would not have been my choice,neither that of about two thirds of the audience,my guess. Must admit, that I'm not such a great fan of this type of serious classical music.Or, profanely, no vibes! -
Since we had to take a very early flight the day of our arrival (which we almost missed, the taxi central office forgot us,let us stand in the dark in front of our home, imagine!) our room had not been ready, so we had breakfast in a neighbourhood bistro, very nice, sitting outside, with a view upon the Frauenkirche and the huzz and buzz of the people milling around. Next to us on the right, two American girls were sitting and on our left table,two Russian guys were having a beer. Would you have imagined something like that 20 years ago? you bet not.
The next day we had the address of a very friendly and educated taxi driver (thanks, brother M!) who took us on a tour around the city and into the countryside, Sächsische Schweiz,(freeclimbers paradise -our taxidriver did it) several castles and Festung Königsstein. We crossed the "Blaue Wunder" (blue miracle) the bridge,which had been painted green and then out of some chemical reason turned into the colour of blue. All in all we had been on the road for about 8 hours,but it really had been worth it.
Last day we ventured into taking the tram to the famous milkshop - I just love to go by tram in strange cities! - always a little adventure! The place had been packed with people, every tourist bus, serving Dresden, stops there and all the people, including us, drink buttermilk! - After that, my travel companion was deflated (like a balloon), so he spent the rest of the day spying out of the window (we were lucky, first floor windows right above the entrance), and Landfrau rushed off for some more culture,i.e. a marvellous exhibition of paintings (from Monet to Mondrian) , all pieces out of former privat collections of rich Dresden citizens - beginning 20th century. There were hardly any people visiting the museum, probably all lining up for the Frauenkirche.
At night it was our Galadinner,which I will try to copy in,to make you envious, of course!
Next day pleasant flight back home and pick-up by daughter No.2 and grandson, nice!

Blogger is a bugger, wont take any more stuff to copy in, so I will add a 2nd. one, just with the missing pics and the menue.

There They Are!

October 05/06 8:56 p.m.

Gee, there they are, our messengers of cold days to come, St. Martin's day, Nikolaus day and finally Christmas are looming in the air. The leaves will start to turn, my painter's eye just relishes those colours of autumn, a little glimpse gives the picture of the sunset,taken around the corner by the man of my life. Fall I just love, I love the smell of wooden fires in the air, the fog in the morning and the sun breaking through. And the river seems to be steaming. But - for today I love the upcoming trip to Dresden,I am all excited. And tomorrow a good friend from Berlin is coming to join us for lunch,and my bag is almost packed, a task I just hate! Well, as we Germans say: NO PRIZE WITHOUT SWEAT! - Till next week, folks....

HELPLESSNESS

October 03/06 7:15 p.m.

Spiegel- online Oct.3./06
Bush wanted Americans to focus on how dangerous Saddam Hussein was, and not on the obvious consequences of starting a war in the Middle East. Now, he wants voters to focus on how dangerous the world is, and not on his utter lack of ideas for what to do about it.

No comment needed.

A Beautiful Town or Phoenix out of Ashes

September 30 /06 4:30 p.m.

..That is Dresden, city full of childhood memories. My favoured aunt and more aunts and uncles from my mother's side lived there. Us kids used to visit during school holidays, and we always looked forward to staying with my aunt, she had no kids of her own, and she spoiled us rotten. Well, times long gone, and there are not even graves left. Since I grew up later on in the western part of the divided Germany, there had been no more chance to go and visit with my relatives in Dresden. However our aunt was allowed to come and see us "Westerners", once she had reached the age of beeing a retiree. Those people the communist system was not afraid to loose. -Even as a child, I had been fascinated by that beautiful Frauenkirche, which had been totally destroyed in that awful bomb raid of February 1945. But now it has been reconstructed as beautiful as ever, and...hold on to your seats, folks, we will be there for a concert coming Saturday! Great? You bet! -
We will take a flight very early Saturday morning and we will be coming back on Tuesday, which will give us time to look around. Unfortunately there were no more tickets to be had for the "Grüne Gewölbe", which must be a marvellous sight in the new, old setting in the castle. We had seen the exhibition in the interim settings in 1994,the first time we had been together in Dresden after the war.

So, my new camera will be in action again, hopefully to produce great pics!

Welcome and have a nice visit

Welcome and have a nice visit

Not only ham at Vianden, culture too!
Click the welcome..its a link!

A tip:
go to other Sites (in the upper line) then
to Tourist Info - on the right side it says:

Vianden
The Medieval City
see a trailer

....then you can watch a very nice trailer about the city and the castle!-

Here are the Cows!

P.S.

Now, would not deprive you of the cows! - Nor the ham-shop!!

Hunt the Ham

September 24/06 3:33 p.m.

Yes, you have been looking right, we have been ham-hunting. Longer story, but worth reading.
When we had been in Luxembourg at the same time last year to celebrate our friends double anniversary, they invited the whole party into a restaurant in a little village,right at some riverbanks, for a lunch of simply smoked and cooked ham, pickles and fresh bread, great! And in the same building there had been a butchers shop, selling all those food-goodies.- So, this year, we decided to drive there and buy that ham to take home. Smart Landfrau looked at the map and decided, the name of the village must have been Esch-sur-Sure, there is a river and a castle. Only an about 18 kms drive from our hotel,if you do not run into deviations, which we did, in such a way, that after about an hour a roadcrossing looked kind of familiar, and bingo, it turned out to be the one leading to our hotel in a few houndred meters. No sweat, being on vacation, we made a new start and with the help of a couple of construction workers ,who told us, which deviations had deviations, we finally made it to Esch-sur-Sure. Took us about 2 hours, by that time we could have hit Meerbusch. Only the place looked kind of unfamiliar and the restaurant must have gone broke, including the butcherie, so we phoned our friends, who told us that we should have gone to Vianden, a place with a river and a castle (found out, that this must be a trademark in Lux.) only Vianden was about the same distance from our hotel, only opposite direction. -
Well, like I said, beeing on vacation, we decided to continue this nice sightseeing tour,took us uphill and downhill,winding roads and high plateaus, thru little places with no people but an abundance of cows. And we found Vianden! and we got our ham!which by now is really dwindelling away and we keep accusing each other of greediness.
So,that's the ham story. Aside from that we had a good time beeing spoiled in every way, foodwise and health treatment wise. Landfrau felt 10 years jounger (a twen??) but lost 5 years yesterday again slaving away.
The copied menu should make your mouth water, and for the ones not beeing able to cope with the french language,they are just lucky, they wont get envious.

Coming home, we found our two goldfish, Max and Moritz, still alive,they probably enjoy having the pond all by themselves, bastards! and the old gelding horse has decided he is a stallion now and is busy,trying to make his harem,the two mares, happy, loosing lots of weight in the effort. Anyway, there are worse ways to slim down,am I right?

Promises...

September 23/06 9:22 p.m.

......should never be made! Here I am, with 97 pictures to
choose from, well enjoy those 4 ,folks, and a report about
the trip is to follow, too beat today, hard garden work and cleaning the car,Landfrau deserves a medal!

In case you forgot, this is all about Luxembourg.

BARFLY

September 15/06 8:30 p.m.

See that bar-supply? I drank all that! - Kleiner Scherz - and tomorrow more about Luxembourg, the trip has been worth it!

Oh, no! POPE!

September 15/06

Now I am really fuming, the Pope should stick to patting little kids on their heads and keep his fingers out of politics, the world is mixed up enough, without that old man butting in!

Muslims assail pope over Islam comments
By Ian Fisher The New York Times
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2006

ROME As Pope Benedict XVI arrived back home from Germany, Muslim leaders Thursday strongly criticized a speech he gave using unflattering language about Islam and violence.Some of the strongest words came from Turkey, possibly putting in jeopardy Benedict's plan to visit there in November."I do not think any good will come from the visit to the Muslim world of a person who has such ideas about Islam's prophet," Ali Bardakoglu, a cleric who is head of the Turkish government's directorate of religious affairs, said in a television interview. "He should first of all replace the grudge in his heart with moral values and respect for the other."Muslim leaders in Pakistan, Morocco and Kuwait, and in Germany and France, also criticized the pope's remarks, with many demanding an apology or clarification.The extent of anger about the speech may become more clear Friday, the Muslim day of prayer, in which grievances are often aired publicly.As the criticisms gathered force, the Vatican moved quickly to snuff out a potentially damaging confrontation with Muslims. It issued a statement saying that the church seeks to "cultivate an attitude of respect and dialogue toward other religions and cultures and obviously also toward Islam."The statement, from the pope's chief spokesman, the Reverend Federico Lombardi, said: "It should be said that what is important to the pope is a clear and radical rejection of the religious motivation of violence."The pope mentioned jihad in his speech and Lombardi said Thursday: "It was certainly not the intention of the Holy Father to do an in-depth study of jihad and Muslim thinking in this field and still less so to hurt the feelings of Muslim believers."On Tuesday, Benedict delivered what some church experts said was a defining speech of his pontificate, saying that the West, and specifically Europe, had become so beholden to reason that it had closed God out of public life, science and academia.He began his speech at Regensburg University with what he conceded were "brusque" words about Islam: He quoted a 14th-century Byzantine emperor as having said: "Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."The pope then used the word jihad, or holy war, saying that violence was contrary to God's nature and to reason.But at the end of a speech that did not otherwise mention Islam, he also said that reason could be the basis for "that genuine dialogue of cultures and religions so urgently needed today."Lombardi said the pope did not intend to insult Islam. But many experts on Islam warned that Benedict ran the risk of offense in using such strong language, especially with tensions between religions so high.And criticism began flowing Thursday toward the 79-year-old Benedict, who has taken a more skeptical, hard- nosed approach to Islam than did his predecessor, John Paul II, who died in April 2005."I don't think the church should point a finger at extremist activities in other religions," Aiman Mazyek, president of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany, told the newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, pointedly recalling the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition and the Vatican's relations with Nazi Germany.The French Council for the Muslim Religion demanded that Benedict "clarify" his remarks. Dalil Boubakeur, president of the council and head of the Paris Mosque, told Agence France- Press: "We hope that the church will very quickly give us its opinion and clarify its position so that it does not confuse Islam, which is a revealed religion, with Islamism, which is not a religion but a political ideology."In Kuwait, the leader of the Islamic Nation Party, Haken al-Mutairi, demanded an apology for what he called "unaccustomed and unprecedented" remarks."I call on all Arab and Islamic states to recall their ambassadors from the Vatican and expel those from the Vatican until the pope says he is sorry for the wrong done to the prophet and to Islam, which preaches peace, tolerance, justice and equality," Mutairi told Agence France-Presse.In Pakistan, Muslim leaders and scholars said that Benedict's words widened the gap between Islam and Christianity, risking what one official called greater "disharmony.""The pope's statement is highly irresponsible," said Javed Ahmed Ghamdi, an Islamic scholar in Pakistan. "The concept of jihad is not to spread Islam with sword."The criticism from Bardakoglu, the Islamic leader in Turkey, was especially strong, and carried with it particular embarrassment if Benedict were forced to cancel or delay his visit to Turkey.Many Turks are already critical of Benedict, who as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger opposed Turkey's entry to the European Union in 2004.Bardakoglu, the head of the directorate of religious affairs, demanded an apology, saying that the remarks "reflect the hatred in his heart. It is a statement full of enmity and grudge."In Morocco, the newspaper Aujourd'hui questioned the good faith of Benedict's call for dialogue between religions."Pope Benedict XVI has a strange approach to the dialogue between religions," the paper said in an editorial. "He is being provocative."The paper also drew a comparison between the pope's remarks and the outcry in the Muslim world over unflattering cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad published in a Danish newspaper last year."The global outcry over the calamitous cartoons has only just died down and now the pontiff, in all his holiness, is launching an attack against Islam," the newspaper said.Theologian voices concernsThe dissident theologian Hans Küng faulted Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday for not reaching out more to Protestants during his visit to his native Germany, The Associated Press reported from Munich.He praised the pope, however, for his defense of religion's role in public life.Küng, a professor emeritus of theology at the University of Tübingen, said he was gratified to hear that Benedict had told President Horst Köhler, a Protestant, that he would work for reconciliation.


Copyright © 2006 The International Herald Tribune http://www.iht.com/

Whispering....

September 13/06 7:07 p.m.
Yeah, and very softly,that the type, jynxing our latest travel plans does not listen in. We are making another try, to Luxembourg, this time to the very nice Hotel Leweck . We have been there last year exactly at the same time,before our river cruise in France. -

Problem is, what clothes to take, rigt now we still have that terrific late summer, but I bet, that the weather will chance around latest at the weekend, when we want to leave. Then we might have green winter again. Of course Herr Hund will come along too, logo.
We will be seeing our friends, who live in Luxembourg -town,looking forward to them,especially to K.,whom I have been rolling around on the street with the last time.Well, nothing beats a strong Landfrau to hold onto, n'est-ce pas?

And some pics are promised herewith(cross my heart), have to put my new camera into action, finally!

9/11

September 11/06 3:10 p.m.

That date, 5 years ago, changed the world and it turned a proud, self- confident, open nation into an overanxious, mistrusty and unsecure country. -
Heard a tape played this morning on the radio about the desperate cry for help from a woman, locked into one of the towers. Made my hair rise and I keep thinking about that call all the time. It's those individual stories, which make you realize the horror of the desaster, not statistics and numbers.
I sincerely hope, that justice is done to the survivers,helpers and relatives of the deceased by the US Government, things do not seem to go exactly right for those poor people, just as for the victims of Katharina.

I Am NOT Nice Today!

September 08/06 3:43 p.m.

Friend sent me a list of NEW DRUGS FOR WOMEN today (thanks, Chris!), so I took

DAMNITOL
Take 2 and the rest of the world can go to hell for up to 8 full hours

FLIPITOR
Increases life expectancy of commuters by controlling road rage and its urge to flip off other drivers

and must have been fed DUMBEROL
by someone - drug can cause dangerously low IQ, resulting in enjoyment of country music and pickup trucks(and cowboys) !

but then, as a revenge, I put NAGAMENT into man of my life's drink -
when administered,provides the same irritation level as nagging him.

So, and now : STAY AWAY FROM ME!!!

September Song

September 07/06 4:02 p.m.

No, I'm not talking about that great song by Sammy Davis, Jr., from whom I still hold a most cherished 45 single, dating back 1956, but about my own ,personal September song about Birthday party, Pflaumenkuchen ( the translation prune cake of this deleecious pastry just won't do justice) sitting in the last warm rays of sun in my parents' garden and of wasps, enjoying "Pflaumenkuchen" alongside with us. And, of course the cake had to be topped with whipped cream,nice,yummy, fattening! - Also used to be a day of family gathering, the kids still small and romping around in the garden. My father had set up a swing and the sandbox for the small fry. - Nice memories! - My mother, having been a very stern mother for us three kids, ( I had been into the subject) turned into a marvellous adoring grandmother, probably the lack of resposibility did the trick. -
The weather always had been great, we had such a day yesterday, and have been promised more for the weekend by the weatherman. Had been a long day for me yesterday, a patientpick- up at 8:00 a.m. at the clinic in beloved Krefeld, and had to walk the dog before. Woke up very early and decided to get up instead of dozing off again, would have never made it then in time. I think it's keen, kicking out patients at such an early hour. Took the opportunity to visit a nice at the maternity ward, who has to wait out her time for the arrival of her baby-son , he wanted to show up too early into this world, now the little mom is stuck and claiming, that she is outliving her own "groundhog" day -time. So, all of you, keep your fingers crossed for her!

And we are planning on a small trip (hopefully), in two weeks time. I believe it, when I'm there, more about it some other time!

Monday,monday....

September 04/06 8:43 a.m.

...mean, fat monday! So. for all monday haters, here is something to "Cher?" - cheer you up! And Landfrau has to get going, bye for now.

Scents, a Childhood-Reminiscence or How to kill a Rabbit

August 29/06 7:04 p.m.

Scents can, at least with me, trigger off memories. Think, I'm guided a lot by my sense of smell. Today I was cutting tomatoes for a salad. Had bought them at the local market at a farmers stall, and that fruity, genuine fragrance reminded me of the garden of my childhood, where we grew vegetables, fruits and also those delicious tomatoes. In this garden, we also had a box with two rabbits, not for us kids to play with, by no means! You must know, that it had been war time, with not so much to eat (especially meat) anymore, so the rabbits were no cuddly playmates, but food for the Christmas dinner. Of course we kids loved to take them out and stroke them, but were only allowed to do so under surveillance. So, one afternoon mother had to go shopping into town, that beeing a half hours walk to get there and back, no folks, no cars at that time! Strict orders, to leave the rabbits alone, were disobied as soon as mother turned her back. My brother and myself thought, that we would be very smart, building a little arena out of bricks, so the rabbits, beeing still babies, could not get away. Everything went fine, till my brother, by stepping over the "wall" knocked over a brick,which, -plum - fell upon one of the rabbits. It fell over, twiched for a bit, blood ran out of its nose and it was a goner. We tried to revive it, by shacking it and massaging it, no deal, it stayed dead. So then we tried begging a replacement off neighbours ,(everyone in the vicinity had rabbits) but people were stingy (wartime, remember) ,so we had to face our mother and confess, which led to beeing locked into the bathroom and beeing beaten with a whip. Must have been at that time, that I made that oath, that ,should I ever have kids myself, would never lay hand on them. And I kept my promise. Well, once a while my hand probably slipped, but I never did beat them up. - Well, in defence of our mother, I must say, that she was suffering all her life from a nervous condition. For her, raising us without my fathers help (him beeing an officer in theGerman army and at war), must have been a handful, and we were rascals! - The picture shows little Landfrau in the garden, all dressed up, tomboy- pics were not taken at that time.

So, up to today, I wont eat rabbit, neither horse, but there is not the traumatic experience of killing one!

Eventing- Cross Country

Aug. 26/06 5:11 p.m.

GREAT GOING!

Germany leading, so far,keep your fingers crossed!

GROUNDHOG DAY

August 26/06 1:30 p.m.

Have you seen the film ? (German:..und täglich grüsst das Murmeltier), of course, everyone has! Well, Landfrau is in such an continious loop of every day the same routine, fixing breakfast, taking the bike and the dog, climbing the fence to feed and look after my ,by now 3 horses (have adopted the two mares), fixing lunch, shopping(every day hateful, not fancy!) doing the chores around house, garden etc.,watching television at nite and falling into bed, that she thinks, that she must have created her own groundhog day. Think by now I could do the most foolish things, nothing would happen, would wake up the next morning and could start allover again. - Last Thursday, however, had been an exception, trip to downtown (dentist!!) , so man of the house came along, since he does not walk around anymore, for him it was parking lot hopping, for me rushing about afoot, which resulted in missing each other all the time. We managed to have lunch together, however. But the scream was me, watching the entrance of the parking garage elevators , where crowds kept popping out, to catch,my again lost, companion. So finally I saw him and made unmistakable signs, that he should come to me, only it has not been him, but a strange guy, ugh, very embarassing. He came so obidiently and when I apologized, that I had mistaken him for someone else(did not say:my husband) he just grinned and said that I resembled a woman he knows. And I thought, that I am somewhat unique! Which reminds me of a similar story, which happened to me several years ago,during one of our trips to U.S. -Will try to copy it in. And by the way, stopped smoking a year ago!
So, above, you see the copied story from my diary from years ago, have been too stupid, to put it in a link,but you can enlarge the scripts.

...and around here today we have big celebrations,Nordrhein-Westfalen, our state, has its 60th birthday, there is the mobile homes and trailers-exhibition(not interested) and of course Aachen, Aachen, Aachen - military (cross country) today, my favoured discipline.

Wow, I'm GREEN LANTERN!

Your results:
You are Green Lantern

Green Lantern 90% Hulk 80% The Flash 80% Catwoman 80% Spider-Man 70% Robin 67% Superman 65% Iron Man 50% Supergirl 47% Wonder Woman 47% Batman 45% August 26/06 10:37 a.m. So friends, here it is - anotherQUIZ (no more "begging" for a while!) - Have fun! -

Hot-headed. You have strong will power and a good imagination.

Obituary For Two Fish

August 23/06 5:41 p.m.

Sad happening, this morning our two kois, Harald and Wanda, were afloat in our little pond, but not alive, dead as dead fish. Now only Max and Moritz, the two smaller goldfish, are leftover orphans, might hand over the spoon too, if the water should have turned bad. It looked kind of milky yesterday, but last night had been o.k. - Well, we had an unceremonical burial ,dropped them into the brown bin (for the organic waste,remember?) and since it is only to be emptied a week from next monday, I hope they do not start to smell too soon. You see,there it is again, our garbage problem.

Nice happening today,that our dressage-equipe took gold today in Aachen and are once again the world champions! Do I ever enjoy to watch those horses perform, they are so perfect, like dancers, could make your eyes water, even if you are not "horsecrazy".
Watching some on TV every day, yesterday had been "endurance", where the Maktoums all got disqualified. They were so pissed off,since they had counted on gold, (its their discipline), ripping off their tents, TV -station-set ups and everything in no time, all what was left over, were the bathroom facilities with golden faucets. Serves them right, those upnosed Arabs, although I felt a bit sorry for the Princess Haya , who is the president of the FEI. She is so nice to look at and a very smart lady.

Aachen live is great, we had been there before, but nowadays we dread the traffic line ups and the immense crowds. So we are couch potatoes, like mostely, lately.

The Healthy Alternative.....

August 22/06 8:06 p.m.

...for all of you, who have to watch out for the waistline. Doesn`t my "late summer arrangement" look good? But folks, no use showing up at my doorstep, most of the fruit have been gobbled up, by greedy Landfrau! The flowers are still there, but who wants to eat flowers? although, know a couple of guys who do, but only after a few beers too many. - No names dropped!

About Garbage Pick Up

August 18/06 8:37 p.m.

Well, friends, wouldn't you think that was no issue? Not for Landfrau. First: we Germans are well organized, brown bin for the organics, yellow bin for the plastics and the grey one for the rest of the daily waste. And the system had been that in turn the bins had been picked up alternately the same day every week, i.e. the brown and the grey one, the yellow one has been allowed every three weeks for company. Can you follow me? Good: So far Landfrau could follow up too. But now they have changed the system around and the bins are picked up in a wild arrangement, I'm too mega- goofy to remember. Of course there is a nice plan, where its all put down, but if you forget to look??alas! So a week ago I got stuck with the brown one, this morning it has been the grey one and it's so nice to be woken up at 5:30 a.m. by the riot of the pick-up truck,and then its definitely too late to jump out of bed and rush the thing out, there is that big,fat Mercedes sitting in the driveway and in the garage in front of the bins my small car (look post April 16/06!),which would have to be moved too. Fat chance, alors! -
So, the next evenings, when its dark already, I might creep out with my alibi dog, dragging behind, a bag full of garbage under each arm, which then I will sneak meanly into exposed bins of various neighbours! (little joke!)

P.S. ..and notice the nice,shiny new bike of man of the house,additionally sitting in front of the garbage bin assembly.

A Lot about Chocolate!

August 16/06 8:27 p.m.

Here is something for all of you who like chocolate and are lucky enough to not get fat. Landfrau wishes she could eat a pound! Klick the link ,will make a puddle under your tongue!

My patient is home safe and sound.



....and why, for heavens' sake, do I get such a huge page for those two sentences???

A Great Movie!

Aug.15/06 6:45 p.m.

Now folks, have not given a good link in quite a while,and instead of a walk with my little friend and guardian (pouring rain) , I' m busy with my not so good friend, the compi,which I could kick out of the window once a while, like the guy in the trailer!
Enjoy the trailer, and if you have a chance to watch it,dont miss that movie, its real good! The background song is damn great!

Biking against the Wind..

August 16 /06 11:45 a.m.

...have you ever tried it? I prefer horseback- riding against the wind, but unfortunately beeing put down to fenceclimbing to visit my former "buddy". I'm not so sure, think he still dislikes me for forcing a horse's life upon him . As for myself, I will check out a gym for "oldies", reccomandation of a neighbour, not so fond of getting all flabby on account of no horse excercise, a little bit of fenceclimbing wont do.

And now a big Wellcome home tomorrow for my patient, who, I'm sure, will peek into my blog right away!

Oh, and found a balloon card from a kid in Wuppertal this morning on the horse meadow,will send it back, maybe the 5 year old might get a price, Wuppertal is not so close for a little ,yellow balloon.

Gee,whizz, my dentist cancelled my appointment,she has a bad stomach, ain't I lucky, no gagging today!

The Junkie, Generosity and a locked Safe!

August 13/06 2.33 p.m.

So every day, I`m going to park my car at the Hospital`s parking lot,and there is that junkie, we are almost friends by now. He posts himself next to the pay-box, and when people come to draw a ticket, he sells the ones with leftover time, which he has begged off parkers, not using up their time completely. Sundays parking is for free,then he beggs for a token. I try to support him and once a while I give him a little bonus. -Now today, being hopefully the last Sunday to make those hateful trips into K refeld, I planed to be generous and give him a little more. My good intentions were killed by the safe in my patients room.We wanted to go for a little walk in the park and I decided to lock my wallet into the safe,and - bingo - pushed in a wrong key, which of cse. I did not remember, since I felt I had pushed in the right one. Shit happens, Sunday - no mechanics - so here I am, minus wallet and minus generosity and minus all my papers.

Man of my life, having time on his hands, has been fiddeling around with the "maybe" numbers I had timidly voiced, and believe it or not, he got the safe opened. An emergency opening today would have cost us(me?) € 150,--, the "for free" mechanic would have come only tomorrow, thats why I decided to leave without my identity, and the poor junkie got nada, will make it up to him the next time, he wont get lost on me.

This morning already had been dog- and horse time,remember, I have been an early bird today,but did not get the worm!

Ghosttime?

Aug.13/06 7:05 a.m.

The Mercedes(sitting at the curb - (too big for Landfrau to fiddle in and out of the driveway every day) started to scream and the burglar lights in the driveway came on,and that at 6 a.m., where it has been daylight already. Now I am wide awake, want my breakfast, where is my maid? - As goodie for the day .- a pic - I had been taking with my new camera - present for the not taken place trip to Vancouver - Also taken in the morning, but not soo early, this should not become a habit! Cute, my "watchdog" proudly accompanied me, when I went to check on the car, probably would have wagged his tail at every potential burglar!

Thinking About....

August 11/06

...life in general and my life and how time flies. Got into fotos of our youngest grandson (the birthday child) and really gasped,how I had aged in those 9 years ! - But,such is life and now enough about life! Climbed the gate (daily routine by now), to feed old horse his apple. He is now out on the meadows day and nite, running with two mares, which are really bitchy,although its getting better. It has been hard, to put him out, but there only was the alternative to send him to horse heaven. He started to have his falling spells again and I decided, to put an end to our riding activities, before we both turned the salto mortale. He is in no pain,so I told him, that he better gets used to live like a horse, he is not people anymore. - I am surrounded by oldies, my oldie in the hospital is getting better, hope to take him home next week. That really was close! -
So, as the saying goes "lets count our blessings".
Now I really feel,that I have put out the word for sunday, and we only have friday,so enough of that! Tomorrow is another day, as Scarlett O'Hara used to say!

Wieder ein Geburtstagskind!

August 11/06

Dieser kleine Mann ist nun schon 9 Jahre gross! Happy Birthday, Timm! ..und bleib so,wie Du bist (wachsen darfst Du natürlich). Gee, time flies!

Dissatisfaction all the Way

Honeymoon over
The devil, it is said, finds work for idle hands. And with the German Bundestag in recess this month -- and a number of politicians taking a bit of time off -- the devil seems to have a busy schedule in Berlin these days. The result has been a minor implosion within Chancellor Angela Merkel's party the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
One answer may be the discomfort many in the CDU have long felt with Angela Merkel's leadership. During the post-election honeymoon when Merkel's triumphant tour through world capitals resulted in sky-high approval ratings for the chancellor, one had the impression that many in the party were merely biding their time until she stumbled.A more stoic political party could perhaps ignore such public opinion vagaries. Particularly given that Germany is currently suffering from a post-World Cup, post-heat wave hangover. The current nationwide disgust with all things political feels a bit like a breakfast table spat following an epic night out.

Given the mounting critique, though, Merkel -- now back from northern Italy -- has said she would like to meet with Rüttgers this week to iron out their differences. And her most-trusted aide -- and general secretary of the CDU -- Ronald Pofalla has said that "we will have to continue to work on defining the profile of the CDU as part of the governing coalition."
This week, though, it seems as though Pofalla has turned over a new leaf. His solution to rising welfare costs? Why not require people to take over financial responsibility for their unemployed parents?
The idea might need a bit of work. The devil, they say, is in the details.

By Charles Hawley

August 11/06
Did I not predict we had hard times coming?

The Awful Alternative

August 07/06

...is shown here , instead of nice Vancouver, beeing with our friends, sundowners at the deck of the yacht-club, trips inland etc. etc. Lets think positive, a total kidney failure would not have been a piece of cake on a ten hours flight, neither at a hospital in Vancouver. So its daily trips for Landfrau to Krefeld, I hate Krefeld! -
So, friends,keep your fingers crossed for my patient, that the medics make him whole again.