Embarrassing Moments

March 16/10....8:17 p.m.

No, folks, I am not talking about grinning at people all day long and then noticing while looking into the mirror in the evening that you have a piece of spinach sitting right between your front teeth, a good one for the ladies is also having the hem of your skirt stuck in the waistband of your panties, ugh - no - I am talking about my own personal embarrassing moments like yesterday, when I had to drive my car to the dealer , where you find besides a plush sales room, where all the employees sit behind desks among nice new cars , also the body shop. So Herr Husband and Landfrau decided to meet at the shop, because I needed a lift back home. Herr Husband takes a route,which in my opinion is longer, I took my shortcut, but missed a right turn and the one I then took looked exactly like the one I should have taken, only I kept on driving wondering when the darn shop would show up and then realizing that I had taken a road which plum took me on the way to downtown.So I had to drive for quite a distance before I could make a U-turn and instead of being first, I was missed already by Herr Husband, my phone ringing when I was about to enter the shop. Once inside I was eyed by everyone, Herr Husband, aggravated " I thought you had an accident!" (gosh, as if I drive around having accidents all the time) being told by a smirking salesman "you have been missed already" me - mumbling redfaced something like "took the wrong turn, had to circle around" and then stumbling over the carpet. - And to top it off, I had to go back in from the parking lot when we wanted to leave, because I noticed my car sitting there with its window halfway down in the rain, so I had to get the keys back,which I had handed over. So, when I left for the second time, I turned around, smiled at all the grinning faces and told them "bye, today you won't see me any more, that's a promise".
And Landfrau kept her promise, there!

My Doubts confirm themselves

March 13/10....11:09 a.m.



The previous post gives me the willies and the one before that...I do not know if slowly but surely my shower turns into my enemy. This morning I grabbed my shampoo, put it on my hair and have been wondering why the darn stuff did not foam. Bingo, reaching for the rinse what did I have in my hands? Three guesses....the shampoo. - Touches of senility start with small things, I have been told. So folks - beware. (Not of me, yet - I hope)

What a Perspective!

March 13/10 ...... 8:36 a.m.

Found this early in the morning and it really made my day:

NOW I REALLY HAVE MY DOUBTS

March 7/10......9:45 p.m.

So Landfrau has been scrubbing shadows, next step is that Landfrau must love to scrub her face. Yesterday morning I went into my daily routine, washing my face and putting on my makeup. Then I went to take my shower, telling myself: do not wash you face, you are finished with that, opened the shower door, grabbed the washcloth and scrubbed my face. When I realized what I had been doing I told myself dumb ass silly woman - and then I had a terrible laughing fit. - So, you see it is hard to beat the old routine, normally face comes last, takes the most time and more so every year.

Hunting Shadows

March 2/10.....7:02 p.m.

I must be a natural nut. Herr Husband often says so, I do not always believe him, but this time... Well, for days I have been annoyed at an ugly spot in our upstairs carpet, right when you enter the door to the little office. Gave Herr Hund already the evil eye, him walking around with dirty paws all over the place. I tried to brush it off, no way, then I went at it with a cloth,water and some liquid soap, no way. I took a knife and tried to flush up the, already a bit worn over the years, carpet, the spot still was there. Then yesterday, leaving the office, I switched off the light, the spot was gone. Darn it... I switched the light on again, the spot was there. It turned out it had been the shadow of the electric cord of my portable radio,which I carry around where ever I want to listen to it. So it has been a fast repair, which can not be said for the damage caused by Landfrau kissing another car while backing out of a parking spot. First it looked like minor damage , only the frame of the licence plate broken, now the complete bumper seems to be a goner. Cars nowadays are not what they have been in former times. Bumpers are there to be hit, that's why they are called bumpers, right?

And in case you miss my weather pixie at the bottom of my page, I miss it too, I will put it back as soon as it reappears in the world wide web.

Well done, Guardian Angel!

February 24/10.....9:35 p.m.

So our little angel had a bad concience after all and really made an effort. Herr Husband does not need another operation and it turned out that his heart is doing fine. The doc said that it is an old heart on the weak side . Well, we all get there, eventually. All those good thoughts of great friends, real and virtual ones, helped too, that I am convinced of. So, thank you all from the bottom of my (hopefully still strong) heart!

Result of Insomnia

February 22/10....1:49 a.m.

Groundhog Day

February 22/10.....7:42 p.m.

In a grotesque way it is like a deja-vu, Herr Husband is in the Krefeld Hospital again, his heart is playing crazy once more. Last year had been a lucky year, no hospital visits, this year we start with a heart catheter and hopefully this will not be followed by another bypass operation. Landfrau told his guardian angel that he ows him!

There They Go Again!

February 13/10.....9:28 a.m.

Yes, friends, the smallest "Karnevals Zug" (mardi- gras parade) is on the go again tomorrow. Just to give your memory a little push and for my new reader friends, here is the link: http://landfrau.blogspot.com/2008/02/somewhat-listeless.html -
They skipped last year, much to the regret of many people, but it needs a lot of work and organizing, and there just had not been the time for that last season. But this year they are going to battle the cold and are inspite of the nasty temperatures hopefully being cheered by a big crowd. It will be cold beer - brrr -and hot spiced wine (the stuff where you have two heads ☺☺ the next day, if you drink too much ) and Landfrau regrets that she can not participate with her Farm Ville float, but the chickens gave their veto, too cold, they said.
And maybe there will be a report about the event within the next few days. So keep tuned!

P.S. ...and here is the weather for today! http://weatherpixie.com/index.php

Monday, Monday....

February 8/10.....12:45 p.m.

Just a song, to show you how I move on mondays!

The Mischievous Guardian Angel

February 2/10.......12:42 p.m.

Last night we got attacked by an angel, Herrn Husband's guardian angel as a matter of fact. How come? Well, let me tell you...

As a present daughter no.1 supplied her parents with guardian angels - well meant! -

Now, Landfrau's is (safely secured) hanging over her bed, Herrn Husband's is sitting on his nightstand. So far, so good. Yesterday Landfrau, while housecleaning, dusted the angels. The nighttable one, from here on called the devil angel, has , as you can see in above pics, a spring in his inside, so he can move back and forth, but he is not supposed to take flights and that is what he did in the middle of last night. Only explanation, the spring must have gotten stuck somehow and then loosened itself later on. We both were awaken by a big bang which made us sit upright in our beds. First thought was that Herr Hund had knocked something over. Then, after switching on the light, Landfrau discovered the angel, with broken off feet, right next to her bed. Now, mind you, the thing is made of sheet metal with a solid stand! Devil angel must have flown with such a force over our beds, that he did not even touch us. That would have made a brilliant headline: Person killed by Guardian Angel! - But maybe devil angel just meant well and wanted to protect its master so strongly ,that he shot over his aim. Whatever, since I fixed him with instant glue and got the stuff onto my fingers inspite of being very careful, I do not trust devil angel any more and I keep checking if he starts to grow little horns.

Holy Smoke!

January 19/10....8:59 p.m.

..is what Herr Hund said and where is the tree ? when he smelled Landfrau baking X-mas cookies. Yes, you have not been misreading. A bit crazy , I know, baking X-mas cookies in January but there is an explantation to everything. There still had been sitting half a box of cookie mix on the shelf, and since these butter cookies are the favoured ones of our grandson, I promised him to bake another batch. - Now, poor Herr Hund, he is in for hard times now-a-days, the construction of our new levee has started with the clearing of all the old trees, orchards, willow trees and meadows. So he lost his roaming grounds and we lost beautiful landscape, which had been growing for ages. Well, safety first, but there are always two sides to a medal and it is a shame to loose all that beauty. - When I went for my shopping drive today, I promised Herr Hund to bring him a goodie, he once a while agrees to open the front door, but he has been lazy lately, but today he could not wait to let me in and he almost crawled into my shopping basket for his treat.

Aside from that there are not so many news, except I finally got my new glasses and you now can call me "eagle eye" - I am thrilled!

P.S. Above pics are before and after, the lonely willow is now also a goner - so sad.

EAT DRINK SWEAT

January 6/10.....7:31 p.m.

That transfers it in short words, how we have been "sliding" into the New Year. We had a terrific Sylvester dinner, after a few drinks at the bar we started dining at 8:30 p.m. and only stopped shortly before midnight. Of course the menu had been accompanied by great wines. And at midnight, everybody started kissing everybody, 3 times, the french way, even the waiters joined in, two of them reminded me strongly of butler James in "Dinner for One", they must have been hiding a bottle in the kitchen. Very funny. Landfrau sneaked out shortly after midnight, wanted to see some fireworks - big dissapointment, I heard some in the valley beneath the hotel but did not see a single one. Hope this is not a bad sign for the year to come, I am a bit superstitious. Otherwise our leasuretime had been like always, except that it was wintertime. I took my daily walks with Herr Hund, somehow the so inviting shadow spending forrest seemed sinister and dismissive, especially at night. A bit spooky. - I finished a whole book in a jiffy, here at home it takes ages, swam in the pool till I almost sank - outside, breathing that terrific clean air, there is nothing like a heated pool to swim in outside in winter, pure luxury. And I treated myself to a massage. I felt spoiled, round about. Besides that, we ate. The food at that place is out of this world. -

We had snow when we arrived, then, overnite, it had been gone and when we looked out of our window the last night, it had started to snow again. But driving home with our 4-wheel drive had been not a problem whatsoever.

Now Landfrau is back in the chaingang - such is life.

Gone with the Wind!

December 29/09

Christmasdog - Reloaded

December 28/09...7:03 p.m.

Now for all my friends,who have been wondering how Herr Hund coped with the "first time in his life outside X-mas tree", here is my story and it is true I did not make it up. On the day of X-mas eve I started decorating our living room, setting the table etc. and had been watched continiously by Herr Hund, he was following me like a shadow. He eyed me when I was climbing up a chair to get his plate out of the storage place and from then on he kept returning to the place in the living room, where we usually had been putting his goodies. I tried to sneak into the basement to fill up his plate, thought he did not notice since he kept Herr Husband company in the living room. No way! Herr Hund spied me, came rushing into the kitchen, trying to have a glimpse at his plate. I told him that he would have to be patient still for a little while but when we startet our Christmas ritual, putting our christmas choral on the record player (no, we do not sing ourselves, that would be the end of christmas) he went haywire and started running around the table, whining demanding his plate. When he got it, he gobbled up everything except for a big bone, with which he kept running around the house, looking for hiding places.
So folks, you can rest assured Herr Hund did not have a problem with the Christmas tree sitting outside, which by the way was much admired by the family and friends and everyone thought it a brilliant idea not to have it constricting the inside space.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

December 24/09

Landfrau wishes all her friends and faithful readers a great Christmastime!

Winter- and X-mas Childhood Memories without Jingle Bells

December 19/09.......2:28 p.m.

What a beautiful day it is today! Landfrau took a walk with Herr Hund in bright sunshine through a snow- powdered landscape in biting cold. But now- a- days, with the proper clothing it is enjoyable. It had been different during my childhood, I remember having to wear scratchy woolen garments and gloves never were able to keep our little fingers warm. Putting them against the heated tile stove to get them unstiffened again, sometimes made us cry with pain. But it had been fun when Mom wrapped us into thick blankets and pulled us in a sleigh, my jounger brother tucked between my legs. But we never froze when we took our sleighs for downhill runs in the nearby park where it had a few quite nice slopes and a pond for ice skating. Skates had to be put on with a skate key, you had to be quite skillfull. Then we came home wet from snow with red cheeks like apples. - And Christmas! It had that real magic to it, without sprouting Santas all over the place, Santa (Weihnachtsmann) was ever present but never to be seen. And on Christmas eve we heard him rumble behind closed doors but by the time we were allowed to enter the festive room he had left, a little bit to our relief, because to be honest, we were a bit afraid of him . But, oh , the presents he had left, everything had been set under the tree, no parcels to be unwrapped, like nowadays and I vividly remember a beautiful doll with long black braids sitting in a little carriage. Since I only have brothers, I knew right away that it had been left for me and my heart beat with joy up to my throat. And the tree, adorned with real candles and giving away that terrific smell of forrest. The decorations were much admired by us, all those tiny little figurines, some familiar from fairytales, only pity, we were never allowed to take them down and play with them. - The Christmas meal the next day always had been goose, till the war started and all the geese had vanished. Did they also fight for the country like my Dad? From then on memories have dwindled, they must have lost their magic.

And then very fast I had not been a child any more.

X-mas Shopping with Herr Husband

December 16/09......7:52 p.m.
Driving downtown at this time of the year is a pain in the neck but driving downtown with Herr Husband is a challenge. Since he is having difficulties walking long distances Landfrau always is looking for ways to park him which most of the time results in loosing each other. And Herr Husband's mobile phone is happily sitting in the parked car. Our story for today is a cute one again. Since we usually have lunch during our downtown excursions , I told Herr H. to walk to te restaurant, while I went for some fast errands. When I arrived at the packed place, I told the headwaiter, who wanted to place me, that I planed to join my husband and that I would scan the place if he had already arrived. Well, done - no husband, so the very friendly man offered to place me at a table to wait for my companion. Landfrau told him,if an elderly gentleman with a cane, looking a bit helplessly around, would show up (he never finds me, I could be right in front of his nose) , he should point me out to him. Well, sat there for about 15 minutes, studied the menu, called Herr H.'s mobile, which, as usual, sat in the car, when suddenly the headwaiter approached me. Smart guy had recognized Herr H. by my description, he had been sitting behind a pillar at a table across from mine already when I had looked for him in the beginning. So this time it had been Landfrau playing blind mouse. Thanks to the waiter we could have our meal together, not seperately.
I am thinking of ways we will not loose each other almost every time we go places, quite a task!

Our Christmas Dog

December 10/09.....6:44 p.m.

We will have a big problem this year and Landfrau is chewing her nails. Herr Hund starts to get very nervous around Christmas season as soon as we carry our X-mas tree home. He is watching us very closely, does not want to miss out when we take it into the living room for trimming. And from then on he is waiting for the big night, when it will be time to open the presents. His present is always a plate full of dog goodies and he gobbles it all up and what he can not manage anymore, he hides in corners around the house. But this year, we confuse him. We have brought the tree home and, having decided to leave it outside in front of the big picture window so we have more room inside, when the family shows up December 25th, he does not know what to make of that. He has that big question mark look on his face, like...where will Santa put my plate? I am having a hard time reassuring him, that Santa will find a solution. But Herr Hund is not so sure if he can believe me.

Same Procedure as every Year

November 29/09....9:16 a.m.

I am talking about decorating the home for 1. Advent. Aside from the fact, that I seem to need more time every year there is the problem of finding all my little gadgets. Now, mind you, not the boxes, I have neatly stashed away the previous year, I still remmeber those, it involves a little running from basement up to the attic, never mind, keeps Landfrau agile, so to say. No, my friends, it's the last year's forgotten things, like a little santa still sitting in some corner or a decoration hanging somewhere. Now those things, once discovered a while after Christmas, they go someplace and if I say someplace it could be anyplace in the house. Now since I do not draw a map, I do not find them the following year. This year my laquered bows for decorating the little cyprus tree next to our home front door are the winner and the every year missing fat golden angel. Have been looking like a madwoman all over the place, well, almost, otherwise I would have found them, right? and I know that I will find them, when I will be searching for my easter decorations next year. -

Such is life.

Riverside and Rubberboots

November 21/09.....2:48 p.m.

How nice, time for a long, leisurely walk with Herr Hund along the riverside. Nothing urgent to do, nowhere to rush to, no demands, great...

Little footprints from hundreds of sheep in the sand, seagulls -or are they called rivergulls? - galore but no sign of my screeching friends, the wild geese. But they are still around, I can hear them passing across the roof of our house in the morning and sometimes during the day. Amazingly few other dogwalkers around, so it has been a bit boring for Herr Hund, he loves encounters, even if not all the encounters love him. But he is wise, then he walks away, no fighter! There he is a bit different from Landfrau, who can run a temper occasionally. -
Airplanes starting from the nearby airport at the other riverside, looking at them makes me sigh, up, up and away, what a nice thought once a while. But there I am, stuck in my rubberboots and its about time to turn back home. -
Walks like that beat running around downtown anytime, for Landfrau for sure.

I am in Love...

November 20/09.....7:40 a.m.

...yes, madly in love with my outfit I found downtown. Thanks to the dentist appointment of Herr Husband Landfrau decided to come along to the city . Also there has been the promise of a lunch invitation, not bad, not bad. So all in all the action had been a success, since I also ran across some nice (I hope so) Christmas presents. But aside from that I do not like downtown so much anymore, with all those construction sites for me it has lost its flair and the chaos never stops, always some new corner ripped open and fenced up. And the - already opened - Christmas markets are sitting in between. Unattractive, if you ask me.

But my new outfit takes a load of my chest, now I am really looking forward to our New Year's celebration in Luxembourg. Voila!

Am I pretty ?

November 14/09.......3:00 p.m.

I do not expect an answer, the headline just came to my mind, there had been a movie once by that name, a German one - BIN ICH SCHÖN ?- anyway, have the feeling I am getting prettier by the day. First I got orthopedic soles for my feet, which grin at me out of their bag, second, last week I had been to a dermatologist on accout of my peeling hands, felt like a snake and had the suspicion that is was self infecting, like a snowball system. Now I got some lotion, of course with cortison and I should wear gloves for every,mind you, every kind of housework, fat chance! - My outfit for festivities, which still had been fitting perfectly last winter, is on the tight side. Landfrau asked Herr Husband if she should maybe put a band aid across her mouth at least till X-mas,to keep me from eating but he did not think that this was such a brilliant idea. I am still pondering, though. - But maybe till dress up time I am lucky enough to run across a very flattering potato sack, preferably black!

So , do not tell me about the advantages of getting older, they are playing hide and seek for me.

Good Things close by

November 2/09....7:57 p.m.





What a day! First my vaccuum cleaner broke down in the middle of working, would not make the tiniest sound anymore. Good thing I still have the "predecessor" stashed away - and if I say away It is for sure good away - in the basement. Unimaginable, what treasures I found looking for it, a toddler's pottie, the holder for the X-mas tree (good thing) , a Black & Decker collection, wow! etc, etc. I still had the broken cleaner hooked up to the electricity, would not give up hope and tried again and again, no sound. Well, started cleaning with the replacement, which by far does not do such a good job, but all of a sudden the replacement had an echo, and believe it or not, the broken one had started making noise again. Probably did not like being replaced. Result - a messed up basement! -


By then I had to drop everything anway, doctor's appointment to pick up my orthopaedic soles for my heel spur, which is'nt a heelspur, which is a heelspur and on top of that a stupid different story. Had been lucky to find a parking place pretty close by, which turned out to be a blessing for the tale I will now tell you and I also tell you that I felt pretty stupid too. so I walked those about 50 meters from my car to the doctors' place, anyway, I tried to when suddenly I had the feeling of something sticking to the sole of my shoe, I thought it was a leaf, tried to wipe it off but it had not been a leaf but the sole of my shoe, flapping and after a few paces the sole of my other shoe came off too and I had a terrible giggling fit and so had the mother with a little kid, watching my dilema. Only solution was to rip off both soles and walk on the remains, odd feeling I tell you and I had been very happy to have my car close by, like I said, a good thing. - Only explanation I have is, that I had not worn those shoes for a long time and then had worn them yesterday in pouring rain, also hitting some puddles. Maybe the glue fixing the soles had turned dry, who knows.



Had to skip my remaining errands , but imagine it would have happened with my car parked far away, I would have been in a jam for sure.

An Autumn Day

October 31/o9 ....8:14 p.m.

Did I ever mention that I just love autumn? bet I did. Today had been one of those lovely days, not too cold and after spending almost all afternoon in the kitchen - sometimes I get into those crazy spells of baking and cooking like I was running a restaurant - Herr Hund decided to take me out for a long early evening walk. We went down to the riverside, there was an almost full moon at the not yet dark sky, then the word crepuscule always creeps into my mind, I like the sound of it, rolls around on the tongue - hmmm, crepuscule (french for twilight) . The moon has been reflecting in the water and the wild geese passed our heads, screeching in flight looking for their place for the night. Right now we have hundreds of them around the region, not so very much liked by the local farmers. But soon they will leave on their way south and then we will have winter. - We both, Herr Hund and Landfrau, love those late walks, there are hardly any people around anymore, no dogs either, which is something Herr Hund regrets, he is very sociable but only for a short while.
Coming home we had dinner, a delicious chicken with veggies and rice, very much to the liking of Herr Hund, he goes haywire as soon as he smells the chicken in the oven, there are always leftovers for him and he knows it.
O.K., then I cleaned up the kitchen, which by now I will avoid for sure for the rest of the day and here I am, telling you all about it . Next weekend the family will come for our annual goose feast (not a wild one!) it is St. Martin's again and from then on Christmas is approaching in big steps..... H e l p !

Red Sky at Morning

October 22/09.....6:21 p.m.

Pic had been my new header for the time being. You might have noticed, Landfrau changes them according to season and they always picture our surroundings. Makes me also think of one of my favoured books, have been reading it already several times and it won't be the last time, I have looked into it. You just will love the protagonists, every one of them. Get yourselves a copy, it is worth it! -

The author's name:

Richard Bradford

and the title: Red Sky at Morning

New Car, old Dog and Herr Husband

October 13/09....6:30 p.m.

Herr Hund just loves car rides, he can sit in his compartment and does not breathe a wuff, even for longer distances. But with our new car, a SUV again, he fell flat on his stomach when he tried to jump in. Since he is such a cry baby from then on the new car was bad and he would not go near it any more. Landfrau tried to lift him in, he wiggled and screamed like a pig being slaughtered and Landfrau twisted her back short of a lumbago and is now sitting in front of infrared light every spare minute. Fortunately I got a new book, sitting in front of that lamp is so darn boring! Then Herr Husband went and got a board for walking up, Herr Hund simply refused to go near it and again, screamed like a pig, when Herr Husband tried to push him on. On top of that tried to bite Herr Husband, or let's say, pretended to. Herr Husband claimed, Landfrau made the wrong approach, I said, it was his fault, always being too excited, hey, that transfers, right? - From then on it has been each of us sneaking out seperately together with Herr Hund, to somehow convince him to mount the car. Herr Hund would not even go near the car with Herr Husband, but Landfrau had the brilliant idea to try from the side door, first into the foot compartment and from there onto the seat, and bingo, Herr Hund went in and proudly sat on the backseat. Me too, I had been very proud of myself, but Herr Husband discovered a doggie footprint on the leather seat and Landfrau was short of being sent to deathrow. Then Landfrau called Herr Husband a car fetichist and muttered something about an extended penis under her breath, which Herr Husband, who normally is stone deaf, heard nevertheless and from then on played sorehead for the next two hours. Well, terrible paw print came off and now the sun is shining again and Herr Husband got a device like a hammock, it is fixed between front and rear seat and Herr Hund decided that he feels comfy in it. -
All three of us are talking to each other again!

Dinner for Two

September 10/09......12:07 p.m.

Last nite we had our wedding anniversary - dinner at a restaurant at the riverside in our neighbourhood. Amazingly, for a friday nite, the place had been almost empty, only two tables occupied and the couple from one of the tables left shortly after our arrival. Now there was only one table left taken by two women and two dogs. Too bad, they did not leave too, otherwise I could have bragged that Herr Husband had reserved the complete place for us on account of the occasion. But the food had been delicious and the anniversary couple enjoyed the twosomeness. Still - does not beat the time we flew to the US and had the complete first class section to ourselves. Had been like having won in a lottery!-
Well,well, those were the times, now we squeeze into tourist, like most of the travellers and the only advantage we have is, that Herr Husband gets pushed around in a wheelchair. Some other kind of privilege which we would rather not have.

Two Sides to a Medal

October 6/09....11:30 a.m.


Got a rose this morning from a neighbour -mind you, a yellow one. He stopped me, when I walked by with Herr Hund and said that he had decided to give a rose to attractive women passing by. Cute, Isn't it? Of course "attractive" made my day till I came home, tried to lift Herr Hund, who has not gotten the hang yet to jump into the new car, and kind of twisted my back. There! - Landfrau was shown that old age is really creeping up on her. -
Now I have a yellow rose and an aching back.

Again B.B. or my Time when I wanted to look like her

September 28/09.....7:46 p.m.

← ..wanted to look like her

Everybody, at least around here in Germany, is talking politics and is full of pro and contra about the outcome of the elections. I have been very tempted to put in my modest opinion, but in the long run it only would be "another smartass talking". So I stick to the lady of the day - Brigitte Bardot - it is her birthday, she is now 75 years old. I vividly remember the times when she had been so popular and we all - us girls - wanted to look like her. Golden times in my memory, we were modest and hilariously happy to drive around in our "Messerschmitt Kabinenroller" (should have held on to it, would be worth a fortune today) and our long saved for holiday trip took us into a little bit of Switzerland and to Southern Germany. We stayed in small bed & breakfast places and always had to take two rooms, since we were not married. And Herr H., who had not been Herr H. at that time, sneaked across the floor, being very careful that the boards did not creak. There never were traffic jams on the Autobahn and the places we visited had not been overrun with tourists.

Makes you think about how fast time goes by, today Brigitte Bardot is old and so is Landfrau.

Summer's End

September 19/09......4:34 p.m.

Puts me into a touch of melancholy, summer's end. In a way there is a sad sound to it , have not heard that sound so much in previous years but then, maybe I did not listen so intendly. Found an essay in today's paper about the two actresses, Sophia Loren and Brigitte Bardot,both turning 75 this year. Now Sophia Loren, she still looks great, no doubt. Claims it on the spaghetti she ate all her life. Well, maybe I did not eat enough spaghetti, too late, this train has passed. Brigitte Bardot, on the other hand, I always remember - in connection with age - that rather stupid joke about the two withered , wrinkly elderly women, lying at the beach and one said to the other "we wanted to look like Brigitte Bardot all our lifes, now we do". But do not think I look like Brigitte Bardot either, she is much thinner. Well, at a certain younger age I have been told by people that there had been a slight resemblance...bygones, my friends. -
Today I really savoured the warm sunshine, lying and napping for a bit in my lounge chair on our sundeck, no more fear of sunburn, a slight warm wind caressing my skin. Now, before I become too poetic I shall get down to the realities of life. Herr Hund, who is slightly limping (age also catching up on him) is ordering me to take him for his walk. Will take him down to the riverbanks and as a reward I then can try to untangle the burs out of his fur. Also a sign of fall, those nasty things.

WARNING!

September 9/09......10:11 a.m.

I have been leading a normal life. I had hobbies. I read , I painted, I did horsebackriding. Well, had to send my horse to horseheaven but that's no excuse for the things to come. I discovered the internet. So far, so good. Then I got curious and curiosity killed the cat ,tried myself at blogging. I had one blog, not enough, now I have two. Had been quite happy with that for quite a while.Then folks started to yap about twitter. Twitter, what's twitter? Try it, Landfrau, try it. Gee, what a gadget! That did it for a while. Began to loose my tan ,though. Never mind. Then that talk about facebook. Facebook?? Sure, have to find out about it, have to try it out. Gee, what a gadget, such a nice toy and what you can stuff into it, marrrvellous! - Now, the cream on top, FARM VILLE!!! - Getting real mad when I forget to harvest my strawberries. And mind you ,I own a horse again, creepers! -
Now it will be:
a fat ass, sitting in front of the (f...ing) computer too much,
slanty eyes (for squeezing at the screen)
time for painting - out
reading, ha, what's that
bicycle - will have flat tires,sitting in the garage
outdoors? Tell me, what season do we have?
sleep: - none
divorce: - pending
Did I have friends?
and Herr Hund starts to hate me for taking him out too late in the morning.

So,guys, do not tell me I did not warn you.

P.S- This is a post not to be taken too seriously, or?

Our big,fat COUNTRY WEDDING

September 7/09.....7:16 p.m.

What a lot of work and planing, but it had been worth it for the creation of a wonderful wedding day. Driving to Hessen we kept doubtfully looking at the sky, rain and more rain, but then I told the weathergod "don't you dare!" and some blue sky showed and the sun kept peeking out. What more do you want. -The wedding ceremony at the little church right across the bride's home where she grew up and the same church where she, her brother and last not least her little daughter had been babtized, turned out to be a very cheerful and nevertheless touching affair. The couple's little daugther stole the show ,so to say and managed to confuse even the reverend, but he coped very nicely. Our young bride looked lovely and both made a beautiful couple. The reception and dinner party following up were a big success, decorations, food and the band - everything matched and show me the one, who didn't enjoy himself. Daughter No. 2 slipped down the steps to the washroom and grandson,who happened to watch said, that it had been like a whale diving from a board. Naughty kid! Fortunately she got away with a few bruises and scratches. So I thought that I might join her and later on, when I took Herr Hund out after getting back to the hotel, it had been so pitchdark that I did not see some steps in the gravel path leading into the forrest and I fell plum on my face, like a kid. My knee still hurts. Normally I take a flashlight but I had forgotten to pack it. But I presume we were the only bruised ones, it stayed in the family.

Now we are back home and a bit beat!

P.S. above canvass had been done by the wedding guests. You could buy a little square and fill it out, Landfrau did the 3 faces, wanted to add the family's cat, but fooled it up, the brush had been too thick!- bummer!

That good old Feeling

September 1/09.....7:17 p.m.

Yes, there it is again, that feeling of fall, rain around the corner, wind and a dripping garden. Have been already afraid, that the climate change had moved us into southern regions during the last couple of weeks. - Honestly, I love autumn, the turning of leaves, the wild geese assembling screeching upon the surrounding fields, the fog in the morning and the cozy evenings with a nice glass of red wine in front of our little fire, listening to some nice music and being able to do indoor things without a bad concience and the feeling of missing something outside. - Some rays of sunshine would be appreciated though next weekend, it will be the big (fat) church wedding of our lovely granddaughter. So friends, keep your fingers crossed for us and I will bring you a piece of the wedding cake!

Everything comes to an End

August 25/09......9:44 a.m.

....good things, bad things and also my little report about our pleasure trip aboard the "Arosa "Stella" - river Rhone cruise. On the way back the boat speeds up and there had been only a small stop at Tournon. By then Landfrau was tempted to say "same procedure as every time, James" as far as those little provincial villages go. In a way they are interchangeable, one or two small cafes, a fort or castle, narrow little streets and oldfashioned little shops. Oh yes, this little village had a pretty pedestrian bridge, crossing over to the other shore. Well....-

The last day took us into Lyon again and there I had orders from son-in-law to hunt for "Florentiner", very tasty cookies, which he claimes he never tasted better ones than from Lyon. And imagine, I think I even found the confiserie he had pointed out. They are still sitting in my fridge now, nicely giftwraped and we will take them to Hessen when we meet end of next week. Good, that they are wrapped, they would be gone by now otherwise, I think, because Herr Husband is also a "Florentiner" lover! -

Then I took that sightseeing tour again atop that open bus, where you can get on and off at your liking. This ride is really great and it is a guided tour, where you can listen in your own language over headphones, which you get wrapped and sealed at the beginning of the tour. At night we had the last get together with our "boat friends", we had lots of laughs.-

The flight back next day had been o.k. and first time in our lives we took advantage of the invalid service, so Herr Husband had the pleasure of being pushed around in a wheelchair.Landfrau pushed the bags.

And this is now

THE END

of my little travel report. Hope you enjoyed it.

And what is next?

August 22/09.....3:06 p.m.

It's Marseille, such a grand city, have been told that you either love it or hate it, there is no inbetween. Landfrau fell in love with it right away and if I could have, I would have sneaked away from the bus crowd and might be still roaming the streets of Marseille. We went there by bus from Arles and after the sightseeing tour were driven to Port St. Louis, where our ship had arrived in the meantime.

But Marseille overwhelmed me and I did not regret having taken part in the excursion, inspite of my dislike of bus tours. Unfortunately there was a shortage of time, so we did get off the bus only 3 times, once up on the hill of the Basilika, where you had a terrific view all around all over the city. Then I walked around for a bit at the old harbour side where the fisherwomen sell the fish caught fresh in the morning and we had a stop at a place where you had a good view upon the Île d'If , where the legendary Count of Monte Christo had been imprisoned. Only the truth is, that he is just a fictionary person , invented by Alexandre Dumas, he never excisted. - We did see a lot by bus, we were lucky, our guide had been a French woman who had lived in Marseille for quite a while.

We then had quite a long drive back to the boat and there a shuttle bus had been organized, that you could drive to a nature beach and have a dip in the Mediterranean Sea. Herr Husband wanted to try his luck and come along, but when he saw the distance you had to walk through hot sand he drove back with the bus right away. Good choice for him but a shame as such, that he could not take that refreshing swim in the sea. But boy, it had been very hot and no shade and just sitting on the little beach towel was not such a comfort, so I went in for a swim, let myselft dry off ,went in again and then walked back to the busstop. The French people of course drove with their cars as far as it had been possible and then unloaded complete households of picnic baskets,cool bags,sunumbrellas, beach towels and what have you. Only thing I did not spy were portable toilets . -

At night our boat left Port St. Louis (not much to see there) for the trip back home and there had been only one more minor stop, before we reached Lyon again.

To be continued...

Creepers, I can smell the Camargue!

August 21/09......7:06 p.m.

....and I start singing: memories are made of this! We are in Arles, very old and very picturesque and close to the Camargue, where we have spent two times our vaccation. Did a lot of horsebackriding, one day -ride took us to the seaside and we galopped in the surf. Since we always have to produce our small catastrophy, daughter No. 2, who at this time must have been around 10 years old, got something into her eye at the beginning of the ride and it got worse and worse, of course rubbing did not help. So we had to cope with a bawling kid, and since it had been a group ride, we could not run back and daughter and myself would never have found the way back. The horses, maybe. At that time it still had been the cell phone less aera (good old times), so we had to live through the dilema. At the beach the guide organized some water from a picnic jeep group, but it did not help a bit to rinse the eye. When we finally came to our hotel we were lucky, one of the guests had been an eye doctor who looked at her and had the proper medication and equipment along. There was fortunately nothing seriously wrong, only an irritation. But the ride as such had been spoiled for both of us. But the little hotel we stayed at had been a gem, it was called Mangio Fango, which means "turning winds" and the owner cooked the most delicious meals at night. On one of our frequent sightseeing tours I bought a most adorable long,very comfortable dress, made out of that wonderful provencal fabric. Have been wearing it for ages till it was so threadworn that it fell apart. Well, memories...

Now Arles, on our this years tour, I took the little sightseeing train again, they are so nice, you get sights to see without having to walk around too much in the heat. Found out that the train passed the place where our ship had its mooring place and organized, that the guide would stop there on one of the next runs, so Herr Husband could get aboard ,take the tour around and then get off at the same place. The French people are so easygoing in this respect, in Germany you could never have done a thing like that, rules and regulations. So Herr Husband was quite happy again to have seen some sights not only in the display of my camera.

To be continued..

I killed my Housemouse

August 21/09....4:30 p.m.

For three evenings Landfrau had been laying in her lounge chair on our porch, on and off watching a tiny mouse running back and forth, very busy and very fast. It had been a little field mouse, brown, about the size of a big prune. When I came home from shopping today, Herr Husband claimed I was a murderess. He found my little mouse in the driveway, all flat and there even was a tiny puddle of blood. Apparently I had run over it with my car. He gave it a garbage can funeral. Now I only hope, that there isn't a nest of even tinier little mice, waiting desperatey for their mouse mom. If I discover them, I will have to find very tiny bottles, to feed them, would be like snow white with the seven dwarfs.-
So, no more mouse show at night, what a pity.

Sur le Pont d'Avignon....

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August 19/09....3:15 p.m.





l'on y danse, l'on y danse, sur le pont d'Avignon l'on y danse tout en rond.....


is an old childrens ' song and playing the music our ship approached the bridge and the passengers toasted it from the deck with a glass of champagne, very stylish. The bridge had been destroyed by a flood in the year of 1669. A chapel is sitting on it and you can visit the remaining part. Since Herr Husband can not walk such long distances, like from the ship to the town, I had the brilliant idea to order a taxi and we drove right up to the Palais of the Pope, a gothic building dating back to the 14th century. From the square in front of the palais runs a tourist train and this way Herr Husband could also see some of the sights without having to walk. After the ride he went back to the ship by taxi and Landfrau took delight in roaming the little streets in the old part of town, buying some cute gifts and was passed by a taxi in which Herr Husband sat in the fond like royalty, not taking notice of pedestrian Landfrau. Getting back aboard on a hot day always had been a pleasure. Having a dip into the little pool and a cool drink at the poolside has been quite delightful. - Starting from Avignon Herr H. managed to slip from the pool ladder every time he tried to climb in and by the end of the trip we just counted the bruises, funny kind of record keeping how often he had tried his luck. If I saw some other passenger run, it was for sure to save Herr H., who did his slipping number again. We called it his daily performance by then.





To be continued

Cobbled Streets and 3 old Men

August 18/09.....1:43 p.m.

That is what had to be seen at Viviers/Ardeche. Besides the street were pretty steep, some of them and the 3 old men were sitting on a bench looking at the tourists and the tourists looked at them, both having nothing better to do. Quite a contrast, after having been in bustling Lyon for almost two days. O yes, there had been a castle sitting on top of the hill, which I decided not to visit,too steep- too hot. After all, I was on holiday,or?

To be continued.

He deserves a post for sure

August 17/09 ....9:27 p.m.

Wo does? Monsieur Bocuse of course, although I do not think he cooked for us personally, but he has a welltrained crew. Look at the menu, it speaks for itself, what is left to say is that we really were unable to taste all the goodies offered to us. Landfrau even got a birthday cake with a candle,which I blew out with all the waiters applauding and a boy in livree playing happy birthday on a street organ, to my regret there had been no monkey sitting on top of the organ. We dined for hours and it had been a great birthday present from my daugthers. Girls, you are gems!

To be continued..

The Day I almost drowned myself and lost my Ticket

August 16/09...10:37 p.m.

This is all about our pleasure cruise aboard a vessel on the river Rhone in France. - Since we did not want to be under pressure to reach the ship for boarding at 3:00 p.m. we decided to fly into Lyon the previous day. Also there had been that Bocuse birthday dinner the night before our departure. But that is another story. So we arrived pretty early in the morning at Lyon. We had an amazing small plane, and it had been occupied about 1/3rd, gave you the feeling "daddy is going to take you flying" very relaxing. - We had booked for a night into a hotel "Cour des Loges" situated right in the old part of town, very charming and unique - but that is another story. We were lucky to have our room right away, had a leisurely breakfast and then Herr Husband decideded to take a nap and curious Landfrau decided to roam the old part of the town of Lyon. We had been in Lyon before, so I knew a bit about the whereabouts. Decided to take the "furniculaire" (rack railway) up to the hill, where the Basilica" is situated. You have a marvellous view from up there all over Lyon. Tickets you buy at the bottom and you only can enter after having devaluated your ticket. After having visited the Basilica, enjoyed the view and walked around for a bit, I decided to take the trip back down. Looked into my purse - no ticket - . Looked again and again, no ticket. Decided then that I must have lost it while taking out my camera. Started to look around on the ground where I had been walking around, found a lot of tickets, none looked familiar. By then people must have thougt there was a nut walking around collecting cast away tickets. Problem is, you can not buy a new ticket at the upper station and you can not enter without a ticket. Had a last checkup into my handbag, and what grinned at my..my ticket. Had been hiding in a side pocket. So I had been quite happy that I did not have to decend on foot in the mid day heat. - by the time I arrived back at the hotel I decided to hava a swim in the tiny pool at the roof. A nice, little wellness center, but not a soul around. Dipped into the pool, which had been extremely tiny, and found out it was equipped with a device, which you could adjust to swim against. It gave a warning that one should put it to lowest level afer usage. Well, the idiot having used it before me had left it on the highest level and idiot me pushed the button and was thrown around like in a terrific surf, thought I really would not get out . Finally managed to reach the button and adjust it. From then on it had been great and I made a mess using lot of towels and walking dripping all over the place. Punishment! And at night we dined at Bocuse, but that is another story, as I said before.

To be continued.

VIVE LA FRANCE!

August 6/09....8:16 a.m.

About Life and Death

August 2/09 ....6:30 a.m.



Now we are into the month of August already, the vacation of daughter No.2 and family is over and it is the last day for mad Max as our houseguest. Have been awakened by a horrendous flash and thunder and outside we have one of those "green winter" days again. The smell of fall is in the air. Found a death anouncement in the daily paper, my teenage crush, who so long ago broke my heart, has died. It is always sad, to find the obituary of people one has known, even in the far away past. Carpe diem, that's what Landfrau sighs very often nowadays.

Apple of our Eyes!

July 29/09.......2:00 p.m.

And this had been my youngest visitor and she got the most attention for sure!

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A Promise...

Juli 28/09....7:57 a.m.



...is a promise, so I might as well post about my birthday. Everyone has them, as a kid they are great and up to a certain age the birthday child mostly cries at his or her party. Starting from a certain age one has the tendency to sing the song: It's my party and I cry when I want to...well, getting older is not such a piece of cake any more and it really builds up your moral when you get a birthday card from a friend telling you, so now you too are a year older.Thank you, nut, has Landfrau bought the eternal youth, am I Dorian Gray? - But also I have been greatly amused, getting a book from another friend, which "she could not resist reading" first, after leafing through. Only the way it looked, about 3 other people could not resist beforehand either. Never mind , have the book in my collection already anyway. So, when you get in the future a book as a gift from Landfrau,which she could not have resisted reading you are "in the picture" so to say. - Aside from that (now we come to the good part of the story) Landfrau got spoiled galore by the man of her life and her family . I am like a kid, I just love presents. And we had lovely dinners, eating out, only my brunch party on sunday morning at the lovely Canoo I could not enjoy so much , somehow I had grown an addional head overnite and both heads hurt. Could have kicked my ass, should have learned by now that a hangover is a hangover. For sure Landfrau is old enough! - Also by now *laugh*!

Who is stealing my Time?

Juli 23/09.......11:13 p.m.

Actually I had a very good post made up in my mind, about the phenomena of mama-mom-whatever bloggers, very strange to us Europeans, but now I am too darn tired. So you will have to wait for my brainstorm tomorrow or whenever. Guys, you will survive it! But being in "the blog" now I might as well take the opportunity to thank all my real and my virtual friends for their good wishes to my birthday! From now on Landfrau counts backwards.
Hope that does the trick!

Shit happens!

July 16/09...8:82 a.m.

But nothing beats homemade shit! Ripped off part of my car mirror backing the car into our garage, bad but not so bad, since it just snapped off and flew to the ground. But then stupid Landfrau decided to drive over it and it made KCHHH and it was a goner. € 50 down the drain unnecessarily. For that I rewareded myself the "Deppenorden"! -
NO COMMENTS PLEASE!

Memories are made of this!

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July 14/09...8:35 a.m.
Why do good times pass so fast? And it seems I have been away for ages but it has been only a week.

Seaside, a Boy and the Tour de France

July 12/09 ....10:10 p.m.

One word Landfrau put on her "bad list" : AUSREISSER !

Being at the seaside with not exactly beach weather and having a (pre) teen along, who is a sports freak, an alldaylong TV run of the Tour de France is not really my piece of cake! - Aside from that we had fun, and who is talking about the weather anyway. We went on bike rides on dune paths, had refreshments at a dune pavillion with a terrific view of the sea, went into the little village with our bikes and for a swim in the hotel pool, where I must admit that I had been the absolute coward, the outside pool gave me the shivers. And the sea only saw my feet. Our last day gave us a marvellous experience, 2 seals from a station, where they raise abandoned baby-seals made an event out of setting free two youngsters, that had been so cute, they were set in their crates at the beach and as soon as those were opened, they robbed toward the sea, dived in and were frolicing in the water. Only, after a while, they decided that it was enough and now they wanted to go home. But with all the people at the shore cheering them on they decided the peace and quiet of the wide open might be the better idea and they left toward the sand banks.-

The last two days our daughter joined us to pick up her son and we enjoyed our time together. And, oh yes, mad Max came along too, so the rat pack had been together again at the seaside and Herr Hund made a real effort to learn how to be disobidient.

Here we go again!

July 3/09....7:54 p.m.

Getting our feet wet at the seaside - Netherlands! Stay tuned ;-))

Funny Weather

June 27/09...1:24 p.m.

Nothing to say? Talk about the weather. Today it is an effort to breathe, so sticky. Poor Herr Hund with his thick fur, went real slow on my bike tour on his behalf, never mind, gives me time to look around. Some fields have turned yellow already, might be harvested soon. And the corn is growing fast. I actually dislike cornfields, for me they are murder fields, too many corpses have been found in cornfields over the years. And there are the cabagge fields, which evaporate that nice smell in late fall and winter, always makes me gag, but the farmers take their time, to plow the remains. Thunder is now growling outside, too bad, no chance to bike for an icecream and relax outside the parlor. Will fix some strawberry tartlets instead. My strawberry marmelade yesterday turned out absolutely delicious. Unfortunately Herr Husband likes it too (had the hope he wouldn't), now I have to guard it like a miser.

I blew my Top today!

June 23/09...6:09 p.m.

Not that I do not blow it on other occasions too,but never mind that. But today had been the utmost. Had to have my routine breast check up and mind you, that is no piece of cake, having your tits sandwiched between two plates and standing in a twisted weird position, girls, you know what I am talking about. Anyway, had an appointment around lunchtime and after having had the x-rays taken sat in the dark stuffy little room, waiting for the doctor and my results. After leafing through outdated magazines for half an hour, I decided to put something on and go and check for the whereabouts of the doctor. A very astonished nurse asked me, if he had not seen me yet and after my denial told me that he must have forgotten about me and she would send him right away. Well, he showed up pretty fast and I asked him what kind of halfwitted action that had been, letting me sit around half naked for such a long time and if he has had lunch in the meantime. The nincompoop kept apologizing no end, he had been on the way to see me and them something came up and he forgot about me, blablabla. So I told him that this calls at least for a reduction on the invoice, fat chance that will happen,though. After I had given him hell I felt real good and by the way, my results were o.k.

My Friend sings on Sunday

June 21/09....5:23 p.m.

So good to find old friends on YouTube and good to see that old friends age too! ;-)

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Good for a Laugh!

June 18/09..8:52 a.m.

Yes, always good for a laugh are stories which involve Landfrau and grandson. Two days ago daughter #2 asked me to take care of the kid, I should see to it that he had his lunch and then give him a lift to his hockey training, feed and walk the dog (mad Max -my once a while houseguest), grandson would be home from school at 1:45 p.m. and I should be at their place by then. Obidient mom was at the place a little ahead of time, sat in the sun in their yard and by the time it turned to be 2 p.m. started to worry about the kid not there yet. So I gave him a ring on his cell phone and had the astonished question where the heck I was. So I told him that I was waiting for im right in front of the door and it turned out that he was waiting for me inside of the house. He had been early, but who would think of that, the door being locked and the dog not barking, because he knows me. We still would be sitting inside and outside of the house waiting for each other, if I had not phoned.