SEASIDE

August 2nd/10.......8:56 a.m.

One thing is for sure, Landfrau has been very much more of an early bird during our week of vacation at the seaside. We have been the usual crew, Herr Husband, grandson, daughter (delivering and picking up grandson) Herr Hund and myself.  We frequent this place in the Netherlands for several years and how time changes you notice, when you think about the "add-ons" which had to be carried along, like games, beach ball rackets and all that stuff to keep a kid busy. Now suddenly the kid is a teenie and the most important gadget is his laptop. And take Herr Hund - he loved to run next to the bike and we made extensive tours - nowadays all he is interested in is to trail my heels , to sniff around and to "tell" other dogs "look, I am harmless". But nevertheless - on account of him I have to get up early enough to walk him before breakfast and I am telling you - nothing beats a brilliant morning at the beach. A few other dog owners, a few horsebackriders  and aside from that you have the feeling you own that wide open space where the surf beats the sand.

So, it has been a nice time once again, but I also like it to be back home - I miss being spoiled but an eternal holiday would be boring too in a while, I suppose.

An Almost Perfect Party

July 20/10......10:45 p.m.

When our girls had been small and they had their birthday parties, somehow the birthday child, being so wound up maybe, found a reason to cry. Never one of the guest kids, always the birthday child who started bawling,  grown - ups are different, they do not cry any more, even if they have reason too. Herr Husband really had been in party mood for his special birthday, first the "small" celebration on his real birthday and then the big party on saturday, where he had to produce one of his  famous stunts. Due to his polyneuropathic feet he stumbled on strange terrain - daughter's house, where we had the party  - and  fell flat on his face, bit his lip, which of course started bleeding like hell and knocked a tooth loose. He did not have to be hospitalized, insofar we are one ahead of our very good friends from Luxembourg, where after the party at the hotel in the morning the host told all guests matter of factly that his wife had been taken to the hospital due to a heart attack during the night.  She survived and had been one of our guests at our party,which shows you that even at ripe old age you can fight the mishaps. - But enough of catastrophies. -  Our big party really had been a sucess, due to the help in setting up and organizing of our offspring. They not only supplied the facilities but had been very busy beforehand in different ways, preparing a presentation and organizing the tent, food and drinks. The speech, our son-in-law delivered in honour of the jubilee had been one of the finest and the prepared presentation of daughter No. 1 and son-in-law a gem. In short, everyone pitched in and we made the birthday child very happy. Also the weather played along, after the infernal heat we even had a somewhat chilly night where you could dig out a sweater. We had a Dixieland band, which had been a surprise for the jubilee and a collective present from quite a few of our guests and a french cook -  gift from daughter no.1 - who prepared the food on the spot. The tent, drinks and decorations had been organized by daughter no. 2 and family and Landfrau did her little share. -

It is great to have positive feedback from the guest after a party, which had involved so much organizing and work beforehand.

But we think that it had been worth it, well, we could have forgone the above mentioned stunt!

Herr Hund contemplating....

July 03/10.....8:25 a.m.

I am telling you, my people must be nuts. Almost every day they sit in front of that box they call "teevee "  and normally in that box there are people and sometimes even dogs and cats...oh, I love that! But nowadays all they are staring at are lots of little men running around with only one ball they fight about - they call that FUSSBALL - soccer for my english speaking friends - And there is that terrible noise coming out of the box, they say it is made by what sounds like "uwe seelers"(vuvuzela).  I try to tell them that I can not stand that terrible noise, my little ,flopping ears are sensitive - but no, they tell me to go and play someplace else.  I hope for sure, that the whole shenanigan will be over soon and my people go back to watching dogs and cats. I do not mind if they watch people, but without "uwe seelers" please.

Mad Max, Wine Tasting and Festivities

June 18/10.....10:07 p.m.

We have some festvities coming up, the "Konfirmation" (google it s.v.p. , I am too lazy to explain) and a special birthday - not mine, thank heavens-  so some planning is looming ahead.  Daughter No. 2 (the most involved one) and me, also involved,  decided to start off with the wine tasting. So I offered to supply the bread and cheese for the stricly and family size event, unfortunately son-in-law could not be present - what a shame - but we had fun and I think we made a choice of the right wines, one red ,one white. But when I arrived with my "supplies"  bread and cheese ,mad Max(and faithful readers konw whom  I am talking about, the not soo well educated Lab-mix of our daughter) who is used that I bring him a goodie, but sometimes I forget, snatched the whole baguette out of the paper bag in my basket and had been in the starting hole to run away with it, we saved the baguette just in time. Which shows you, never get into the routine of things and then break the routine. So it has been...mea culpa!  We ate the baguette, nevertheless.

PUBLIC VIEWING

June 12/10....9:33 p.m.

Tonite we had the spontanious idea to have dinner outside. We went to one of our favoured spots, a riverboat, moored at the riverside quite near to downtown, Herr Husband is accepted by the young owner as "big daddy"  since he has been one of his first customers. Because the soccer world championships  are going on, Germany as a whole is in soccer fever. Tonite it is GB against USA and up to now the score is 1:1. So, we have been lucky, the place not too crowded, they have a big tv screen, very convinient, you watch and eat.  Tomorrow Germany is playing, fat chance to get a place without reservation, and it is then young crowds anyway. But the two oldies got an armband tontite from the restaurant owner and it says "I've got a little CAPTAIN  in me" in black- red - gold. Tomorrow grandson (13) will kiss our feet.
And, by the way, the inscription suits me!

Spider Woman

June 1/10.........6:23 p.m.

So mean Herr Husband wanted to give Landfrau a fright. While leaving the house,he discovered a big spider  right in front of our entrance door. He called me to have a look and I decided to take it away, did not necessarily want to have it in the house. Till then Herr Husband still had been laughing, but then I got a fly squatter, not to kill the little monster, mind you, just to take it away , and I flipped it, only Herr Husband had been in the way and the spider was gone and he started jumping around claiming that it must be on him now.  We kept looking, no spider, but when he started to shake himself like a dog, suddenly Mr. spider fell to the ground, and where has it been running to? - right!  -  smack to the entrance door. I caught it in time and this time I made sure to carry it far enough away to safety.

Now I am spider woman - I feel great!

I hate DROPINNERS

May 24/10 ....11:34 a.m.

Do not get me wrong, Landfrau loves visitors but I simply, totally hate dropinners. - There I am, still in my bathrobe, my hair hasn't seen a comb yet and my eyes no makeup (makes me feel I look like an albino, and who wants to look like an albino,I guess not even an albino) and the doorbell rings, and there they are, the dropinners. Oh, sorry, you are not dressed yet? Oh, no, we do not want to come in (tranferring, we have been on our bikes for about 20 kms and at least you could offer us a drink of water) and you mumble that you have been up for hours, just did not have the time inbetween feeding the dog, preparing breakfast, setting up the outside areas with sunumbrellas,tablecloths,cushions etc to look yet after yourself, but please...do com in, - Oh, no, we do not want to bother you - no, you do not bother me (FATHEADS, you do!) and then they sit there and sit there, sure, they are dressed and have all the time in the world. - Or, it is my housecleaning day and I look like right out of the slums, with my old sorted out t-shirt and slacks, all the furniture is upside down, the carpets are turned over and you fall over the vacuum cleaner and the doorbell rings and there...see above.

So, friends, in our times there are phones, there are cell phones -use them! You are always welcome in my home but give me notice before you DROP IN on me and a chance to say "no" if it is really not convenient from my side. - This way we always will be friends!

The Windmaker

May 19/10.....3:16 p.m.

Usually there are rainmakers, me , I am special, I am a windmaker. You can have a day, not a breeze around, as soon as I decide to clean our driveway, there...it starts. And not only a little bit of wind, no - real whirlwinds, which take my heaps of dried leaves, and we have plenty, I only say - ivy ! - apart before I can bend down to sweep them up. So, if you are in need, like you own a windmill or so,call me, I come with my broom ,shovel and basket and the wind will start out of nowhere. - Besides the driveway slavery I had hoped it would rain, because then I could have skipped mowing the lawn. Tough luck, blue sky, sunshine and that nasty wind of course, which does not bother me mowing. So there I was, in the chaingang and besides from cleaning Herrn Hund's puked up basket, fixing lunch, walking the dog all what now is left to do is changing the bedclothes. Well, as we say in Germany: wer rastet, rostet (he who rests, rusts) - Landfrau is a rustfree species, or maybe I am like rust, always active.

Gnome in the House

Mai 15/10

I have that gnome in the house, who keeps himself busy during the night to tighten my garments and lately he must have had his cotton pickin' fingers busied with my favorite jeans. Somehow they are not so comfortable around the waistline anymore. So I decided for a trip downtown, only I forgot, that Thursday, having been a holiday, the whole of Nordrhein Westfalen, not travelling, decided to go shopping/windowshopping in the city. Finding a parking lot - even in a parking garage - was like winning in a lottery. Same in the department store, finding an empty booth. Well, I had been lucky with both and for about 2 hours "enjoyed "myself wriggling into and out of clothes. And the gnome must have been busy in the department store too, tightening all the clothes of my size, so I had to get the size above. Really thrilling! Landfrau now keeps her fingers crossed that one day she does not have to limit herself to stores called BIG & THIRSTY. Then I will murder the gnome.

Again and still...small World

April 30/10.....3:36 p.m.

Did you marvel about my previous post? Well, friends, there is more not so spectacular, but nevertheless. - When I was a teenagegirl, I had a girlfriend. You know how it mostly is, one takes all and the other is the timid drag-along, that had been me. So my friend made me walk around lunchtime ever so often along famous "Königsallee" in our city. At that time already the avenue was famous for expensive shops, and among others there could be found an antique shop and having his lunchbreak, one of the salesmen used to stroll along the street and my friend, having a terrible crush on the guy, wanted to give him the eye. So they glared at each other, but never spoke. Me, the little dragger-along, of course was not noticed. - Years later,in the meantime I was married and had moved to Vancouver B.C., my husband went to a photoshop and was greeted by another customer, a friend he knew from his former motorbike club in Germany. Turned out this friend was visiting with some other German friends, a couple, also living in Vancouver. Of course they decided to meet the same night at our place and the friend asked, if he could bring along his friends. And...who walked into our place along with his pregnant wife? The guy from the Antique shop, my girlfriend had been so keen on. Of course we talked about those "old " times and he remembered very well my girlfriend, but not me, the drag-along. We had lots of drinks and later on my husband's friend, who had been so drunk that we put him into our conjugal bed to sober up , puked into our bed - the pig! -
We became friends with the couple, they had kids, moved to San Francisco, got divorced and he became a very successful interior designer. We are still friends with his former wife, she lives now in Carmel .We lost touch with the puker and with my former girlfriend I lost touch too, that's the way it goes.

Small World

April 26/10......10:20 a.m.

When a very old friend's befriended daughter of an old, now deceased boyfriend is incidently the sister of two school friends of our younger daughter - and we have been meeting those boys travelling highway No. 1 in the nineties during our Californian trip with our younger daugther by coincidence on and off (and we gave them "shelter ,shower and dinner" in our motel for one night, since they slept in their car) and the family had been neighbours of our son-in-law and that young woman now is the wife of a this year's Oscar winner for songwriting I call this a small world.

Center Parc Fun-----F U N ?

April 5/10......1:44 p.m.

Vaccation cut out for the needs of small fry....forgotten so fast, when small fry has grown up but reliving with small fry of now big offspring is quite an experience. Our young family is taking a short holiday in a Center Parc in the Netherlands, just across the dutch border from us - not such a long drive - and yesterday we decided to pay them a visit. Actually the whole complex is quite nicely situated, in the middle of a forrest, with ponds and playgrounds, and of course those indoor facilities which Center Parcs are famous for. Our granddaughter claims, that four days are the limit to be overrun by the indoor activities and the continious acoustic irradiation and her husband ran, when the parents were summoned to do the "Ententanz" (duck dance) together with their offspring, he claimed he had done his duty during a previous stay last year, and..no never again do I make a fool of myself up there on the stage! (O-ton). Well, the kids are fascinated and love it, and that is, why the parents endure it. Aside from that, the living quarters are not bad, houses scattered in the forrest all over the places and you even have a fair amount of privacy. Before we left, we decided to have dinner together, but rather did not take in one of the "market place" restaurants. So we made a reservation at a restaurant outside- wise choice to have made the reservation, because 80% of the dutch people must have decided to frequent the place, it had been packed, but the service had been efficient and fast and the food very good. Little Miss Sunshine behaved very well too, except for one temperfit, where I had the brilliant idea to take her to look at and "torture" (pet) tiny chicklets jointly with half a dozen other kids. That distracted her and then our food came and eating is one of her favourite pasttimes, so no problem any more.-

When we came home, we were greeted by a rather annoyed Herr Hund, having been left alone for such a long time.To make up with him I took him for a long walk in the dark and now he talks to us again.

EASTER 2010

Wishing everyone a

H A P P Y .... E A S T E R !

Young Boat - Old Passengers

March 30/10.....7:24 p.m.

To be honest - the other way around I would prefer, even better - young boat and young people. Since we are not youngsters anymore ourselves, I prefer to encounter younger folks when I travel, this trip had a bit of a touch of an old age home. We have been travelling the river Rhine from Cologne to Bale, Switzerland and there is nothing to be said about the scenery, enjoyable, even if we have seen it times and times before. We lived at the rhineside in Oberlahnstein for two years and all major errands had to be done at Koblenz, but going ashore in Koblenz for a little sightseeing, it must have been another Koblenz we had been living close to, I did not recognize a damned corner, no deja-vu, and where I walked around it had been the old part of town,which sits there unchanged more or less for centuries. I also took a bustour to Strassburg, unknown to me up to then, I liked it very much and what really amazed me had been the nesting storks by the dozens if not more, our guide told us,they do not migrate south any more, beeing fed with chickens during wintertime,they have adapted to the easier way of life. Easy way of life you have also aboard, lots of good food, and since all servings are buffet style, you have to be careful of the ellbows of the hungry masses, must be an extended pleasure of old age..eating. I took part in one board game, called Jakkolo, a wooden board with little gates at the end, where you have to shoot kind of pucks into. And I won right away, my rivals were pissed off, especially a couple, where the wife had been the champ up to then. I had a laugh and made a big show, throwing up my arms and making the V-sign , that showed them, they took it so badly. -

The weather had been nice too, except for Bale, where we checked into a hotel and took part in the christening of the ship in the afternoon. It had been quite a spectacular affair and fortunately by then the rain had stopped. The next day we took a trainride back home and before we could even put down our bags, our daughter No.2, having kept Herr Hund showed up with Herr Hund and mad Max and now I am dogsitter in return, bad bargain, since they are gone for a week and we only had been away for 5 days. -

That's the way, the ball bounces.

Here We Go!

March 22/10 .......4:44 p.m.

About time to have a change of scenery!

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...