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!